Chapter Two

Keeva’s POV

Canagan has always been like a father to me and Blake and Bleiz like older brothers. I can’t stay here among wolves. I am human and I want… no, I need to be among my own kind! I have never shifted. Never felt a presence inside of me. I am the daughter of the Alpha, and I am a human. Julius hasn’t hidden his disappointment and contempt for me, showing barely less disgust for me than he shows to the Omegas. I know Canagan will help me, I’m sure of it. He saved the twins when they were pups, and he seems to have some sort of unexplained immunity from the wrath of my father. He will help me escape this life and leave this prison, he is my only hope.

 Where has Canagan put those keys? I only have a key to let me in the service door. With the smell of this place all the doors need opening to get rid of the lingering odour of stale beer, and from what I can only presume is vomit. Canagan’s office is modest, with a big old desk at the back of the room and a comfy, red leather office chair behind it. A plant slowly gives way to death in the corner, it is one I had given to him for his birthday. My attempt to try and bring a nice homely touch to his drab work space hasn’t worked out. The brown carpet, although threadbare, is clean and a stark contrast to the modern bright bar just ten feet down the passage. There is normally a spare set of keys under the counter in the bar but after searching the place from top to bottom they are nowhere to be found.

‘Keeva, what time of day do you call this?’ Even after all these years Canagan still has an Irish lilt to his voice. His bright red hair is long and thick, and is pulled into a loose ponytail at the bottom of his neck. His deep green eyes laugh at me from below eyebrows which frame a chiselled and tanned face. I jump from the sudden eruption of noise behind me, and my slight body clears the floor by at least a foot. His chuckle gets rid of the annoyance I feel at being caught snooping around. ‘It’s gone ten Canagan, and we need to get this place cleaned and ready to go.’ It’s the last Friday of the month, and the night before the full moon, so it’s going to be a busy evening. Most of the pack will be in here tonight getting drunk, fighting, and the un-mated trying to hook up with the local human girls. He smiles at me showing his bright white teeth which are slightly sharper than you would expect to see in a human mouth. He pulls a huge set of keys from deep in his trouser pocket. ‘Let’s get to work then little Keeva.’

The day passes in a whirlwind and between us we manage to get the Blue Moon back to it’s shining glory. The floors are cleaned and polished to a shine, the tables all wiped, and their little lights checked to see if a new bulb is needed. The bar itself is made from a beautiful dark wood with high stools tucked neatly beneath the outer edge. The smell of meat cooking wafts from the now busy kitchen and signals that dinner service is under way. I notice through the windows that day is coming to an end the sky is already darkening. Regulars come and go, always ordering the same thing and having the same old conversations. Becky and Sacha have shifts tonight and we always have a laugh as we work together.

‘Who is that at table seven?’ Becky and I turn automatically to look where Sacha has signalled, and I can’t help but stop and stare. A man I have never seen before looks up at the three of us and smiles like he can hear our conversation. I feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I turn back to Sacha. Out of all of us she is the worldliest and a little older than Becky and I. With a child of her own she has experience neither of us have. I still cringe when she tells us about her latest boyfriend and the explicit, sordid goings on in the bedroom, or whatever room in their little home they happen to be in. ‘He would be sat at your table Keeva you get all the luck. Go on he is waiting.’ He is very handsome and his pink t-shirt makes him stand out in a crowd. ‘Sure you don’t want to swap with me for table eleven? Mr Hopton is such a sleaze ball.’ I laugh at Sacha and walk away. I would rather serve the intriguingly good looking stranger than deal with the filth that old Mr Hopton lets slip.

I feel the stranger’s eyes following me as I approach him. ‘Hey, what can I get for you?’ I risk catching a glance of him through my eyelashes. ‘Whiskey and some information. I’m looking for Blake, know where I can find him?’ What has Blake done now? Canagan has tried his best but Blake and Bleiz are packless and teetering on the edge of becoming rogues, with no pack hierarchy to keep them in line. ‘Sorry, I haven’t seen him in days. What’s your name? I’ll tell him you were looking for him.’ I can see from the contempt dancing over his face that he doesn’t believe me. ’Jonas. You are?’ He stands, unfurling his stocky body from behind the table. I notice his legs are as thick as my waist. I stutter as I take in his full form ‘K ... Keeva.’ He looks me up and down one last time and then he abruptly turns and stalks out of the bar. Only now do I notice how quiet the place has become and that Canagan has come around the bar looking absolutely furious. I don’t know why he is angry with me I was only trying to protect his adopted son. I need some air so I take the big rubbish bag with me and head out to the carpark. At least Canagan has enough sense to give me my space.

Leaving the door ajar I make it outside where I realise how quickly time has passed as the blackness of the night encircles me. The late winter air is much colder than it had been earlier. The bins are kept locked in a shed across the parking lot which isn’t great when the trash bag is heavy and close to ripping. I’m barely able to carry the bag so I gingerly walk across the car park with it. The surrounding florescent lights only penetrate the dense forest that by about five feet and then blackness resumes its normal place. Somehow, I sling the heavy bag up and into the big black bin, the smell making me feel nauseous.

I hear rustling in the forest just behind the bin shed, no doubt raccoons looking to get an evening meal. Not today, I’m not cleaning up that mess. I grab the broom which is kept in the shed and run as fast I can to chase the raccoons away, not thinking about the danger of going just beyond the border of where the light reaches. I am aware of by body being hit from behind and I’m falling through the air. I come to a crashing thud at the bottom of a steep hill when my body slams into a big rock. There is a blinding pain in my ankle as I try and pull myself up, stumbling blindingly in the darkness. I am not alone.

‘Stop!’ I feel the warmth of someone’s breath on my neck and a voice inside my head shouts out that I’m in danger and to run and get away from here. The cold breeze of the night bites at my cheeks as he moves in closer. The hairs on my neck shoot up I can sense his anticipation and feel unknown danger looming over me. His throbbing manhood pushes into the top of my buttocks. He reaches around and grabs my chest and squeezes firmly. With one lightning quick tug he whips me round and I’m face to face with him, Jonas. His dark brown eyes pierce through the gloom of the forest and I hear the voice inside tell me to be still. The night is silent, no crickets chirping. It’s like the forest is dead.

A small shriek escapes me as my chest tightens from panic. His top lip curls into a smirk revealing sharp teeth that could easily tear me apart. He knows I’m scared and that he could take whatever he wants, and I would be powerless to stop him.  ‘Make me stop, Keeva’ he jeers. He pushes into me from the front now and leans his head into my neck, my name a whisper on the breeze. He pushes himself into my crotch and his disgusting manhood reaches up to my navel. Never having been in a situation like this before my body recoils, repulsed by him, and fear grips my guts. He grabs my throat and pushes me hard against the ancient tree, slamming by body against its unyielding trunk. Hard, sharp bark scratches my shoulder, and the heat of my blood slowly warms my arm as it seeps from the wound and down past my muddy elbow. He stops for just a second and sniffs the air, his nostrils flare in surprise. Now he looks scared, and his hairs have pricked up on end. He knows who I am, or at least who I’m supposed to be, and I know for sure he is a wolf.

‘It is unusual’ I can’t help but smile as his grip on my throat lessens ‘for a lone wolf to come to our territory, to make it past our borders.’ His eyes dart from side to side. I can’t be alone, can I? The daughter of the Alpha of Crimson Pack, in the woods all by herself. I push him away from me and wrap my arms around myself to brace against the last wind of winter as it blows in from the north. Relief rushes through my body, but I need him to leave, now. If Julius hears about me talking to a strange wolf then we are both going to be dead. ‘I didn’t realise the Alpha’s daughter would be working in some slum bar, pulling pints and scrubbing floors’ He laughs mockingly at me with a smirk forming on his face. How dare he? I enjoy working at The Blue Moon. ‘Maybe you can take that up with Julius or Zev. You really didn’t think I would be here unprotected did you?’ Jonas’s eyes darken more. His jaw grinds as he thinks about the prospect of meeting the Alpha and Beta of a rival pack. His trousers no longer bulge from the strain of his copious member and his once proud, strong shoulders drop. He backs slowly towards the car park just twenty feet behind him. No one wants to fight Julius, and no one has ever lived to tell the tale if they have. With one quizzical look into the trees behind me Jonas grunts turns. He quickly climbs the steep hill with ease and walks out of the forest into the lights and presumed safety they offer.

‘Keeva, what are you doing out here?’ Zev comes into view from the darkness. How long had he been there, and what had he seen and heard? ‘I didn’t hear you coming’ I try to keep the surprise and panic from my voice but the high pitch squeak that comes out makes me wince. He stops and looks at me with eyes the shade of rich honey and I can see he knows something is wrong. He may be the same age as my, and his second in command, but Zev is anything but an old dog.  At over 6 feet tall he towers over me. ‘I was just helping a customer look for their dog. I wasn’t paying attention and managed to slip down here.’ He didn’t look convinced, but for some reason didn’t argue with me. Nor did he try to find out the real reason I was stood covered in mud and blood at the bottom of a hill. I take a step forward ‘I just need to collect my bag and then I’m ready to leave. Meet you out the front, ok?’ Without waiting for an answer, I carefully climb back up the hill slipping in the dirt and tripping over the thick roots protruding from the earth. I finally emerge from the darkness of the forest into the glare of the ten overhead lights circling the hard concrete of the carpark. My hair whips around me getting in my mouth, annoyed and exhausted I reach the back door. ‘Keeva, where have you been? It doesn’t take that long take the trash out!’ Canagan shouts over the noise of the drunks playing a game of pool by the bar. His emerald green eyes soften when he notices the state of my bare legs and the blood running down my arm. ‘What the hell happened to you my girl?’ He leaps forward and takes me in his arms. I can’t help but cry.