Chapter 5

 I wrung out the washcloth and watched as the water slowly turned red, the blood snaking through it like rivulets and swirling traveled down the drain. I was a great fighter, in theory, but untried in a true fight. Frustrated, I rested my head against the cold wall, feeling the water beat down on me, each individual droplet uniting with more to create a stream. A stream cleansing the blood from my body, my blood, the blood of others. I felt the tears forming in my eyes, blurring my sight, and pricking my eyelids, so many gone and for what? And I had proven worthless, strength did not matter if you could not do anything. I may have held the Alpha at bay, but when it came down to it, I couldn’t finish the job. Sure, I took out one wolf, but that was already one wolf too many. When it counted, I had faltered, and it had almost cost me my life. If it hadn’t been for Jay and Christian, I would have joined those who did not make it back. Needless fighting, and both packs had suffered greatly. For what, territory? Damn the Red River Alpha, damn him for coming in and destroying our peace. Damn him for killing so many innocent people, people we could not replace. The scene flashed in my mind, bodies littering the scorched earth. The brown grass turning red, watered by the blood. Dead wolves, their fur matted with their blood, throats ripped open, limbs bent in abnormal ways. I had recognized many, people I saw each day, spoke to, had hugged, laughed with and more. All gone in the blink of an eye. All because some Alpha got greedy and wanted our packs land, and both sides had paid with their lives. My hands clenched into fists as I shook, my tears began to fall, mingling and merging with the bloody water. Mesmerized and lost in my grief I watched the water and slowly crumpled to the floor.

A knock sounded at the door, and then I heard it open softly; without looking up I already knew who was there. "C, you ok?" His voice was soft, careful. Jay knew me the best, knew that I would be shook up and frustrated. I made a small noise of assent and heard his footfalls coming toward the shower. I'm not sure what I looked like, but it must have been a mess, his face morphed into one of concern when he saw me. Slowly squatting down, to my eye level, he asked "can I come in?" I nodded yes, he stripped his clothes off quickly and stepped into the shower. He must have already rinsed the gore off his body because no blood-stained water was coming off him. He sat down next to me, his ash brown hair matted to his head with the water and his green eyes searching mine. He didn't say a word but reached for me and pulled me into his embrace, our nakedness did not matter, I wrapped my arms around him and began to weep. His hand ran down the back of my head, attempting to soothe me, but instead it encouraged me to let everything out. My vision completely blurred as the tears fell freely, my sobs came choking out of me as my body shook with the anger, the frustration, and the grief of it all. He held me close, allowing me to vent my emotions out, his arms firmly around me providing the physical support and reassurance I did not know I needed. When I had finally finished, I rested my head on his shoulder, and felt his arms cradle me. The water had gone cold long ago, and now my body was shaking from the ice-cold droplets hitting us. I wiped awkwardly at my nose, which had begun to run a long time ago, and to my horror discovered I was dripping snot everywhere. I glanced at Jay’s arm and saw it had suffered the terrible fate of my runny nose as well, grimacing I wiped my nasal secretions off him, and he laughed.

“A little snot is nothing between friends” he grinned. “How are you feeling?” He looked down at me as he began to move to get up. He held his hand out and I took it, allowing him to help me to my feet.

"I think I'm good now, thanks." I said softly and smiled up at him. He was a good friend, one of the best, and one of the only ones I would allow to see me like that. His lips turned up at one side, his trademark smile, I swiftly stood on my tip toes and kissed his cheek. He wrapped me in a bear hug and lifted me up.

"You know I can't see my favorite girl sad, when and if you want to talk about it; or need to fight it out I'm here." He set me down and I nodded, I would take him up on that sooner or later, especially the fighting part. He wrapped a towel around me and began to dry himself, his hair sticking up everywhere. Jay was a blessing in disguise to me, sure once we had been more than friends and it was wonderful but ultimately, we knew it wasn’t destined to be permanent. We parted ways as friends, and occasionally sought comfort with each other when we were both single; but that had not happened recently. Whoever my sweet, goofy Gamma ended up with was one lucky she wolf, because he was a catch. Tall and beautifully made, with lean muscles flexing and stretching he was a work of art. His light brown hair looked close to grey and was always tousled, with mischievous green eyes keenly observing everything it was little wonder he had so many women after him. He caught me ogling him and smirked knowingly.

“Like what you see?” He cocked his head at me, grinning widely.

“I do and you know it!” I replied tossing my towel at him before striding out of the bathroom. My mood much improved I had gotten dressed in a simple black tank and jean shorts; my long auburn hair tied back in a loose ponytail. Jay had stayed for a bit but had left to go see if there was anything he could do to help. Having been one of the few members to have seen actual combat from his time in the Marines his guidance would be invaluable at a time like this.

 I needed to check in with parents and I knew just where they would be lurking Mom had insisted on having a small space for them separate from the pack house, and it sure came in handy in a time like this. I knew it was because she was a hoarder and wanted her own space to keep her things away from where everyone could see her. She had built a cabin behind the pack house, not directly but sort of catty corner and at least 600 yards back. I was walking across the burnt grass, listening to it crunch underneath my feet, when a thought crossed my mind, and for some reason it became increasingly urgent. Turning around I began to jog, then began to run toward the prison.  

"Hey CiCi, what brings you this way?" Nick questioned as I ducked under the stone arch, following the path that led to the cells. The prison was brick with big stone arches at each entrance, lending to the building an olden feel. My footsteps echoed off the walls as I approached the desk Nick was sitting at, papers and files strewn across it with a rather large cup of black coffee steaming in the corner. It had already been a long day, and I couldn’t begrudge him a giant cup of the stuff, hell I probably needed some myself.

"Nick, where are the prisoners? Do you have any Alpha's or Omega's among them?" My voice was somehow pitched high with worry. Why was I so worried about those two? I shook my head, no I needed to know they were alright. Not sure why I cared so much, but something told me I HAD to know if they were alive. Almost as if I was compelled to seek them out.

"We do. They didn't put up a fight unless you count that damn Omega's mouth." His lips had quirked up, and I could tell he was amused. Couldn’t say I didn’t understand, the Omega in question definitely had a good deal of sass. "But why do you want to see them?"

"I honestly don't know" I murmured, "just that something tells me I need to check on them." He nodded and gestured for me to follow him. The stones under our feet turned to paved floor, and the fluorescent lights felt a bit too bright as we made our way further and further into the depths of the jail. Rows and rows of cells carved out in the bricks we passed, mostly empty, save for the few prisoners we had taken from the Red River pack. Nick was leading me to the holding cells reserved for Alpha wolves, these cells were made so strong that even the strongest wolf could not break them. Finally, we arrived at the very last cell, the one where Zach and Mike were being held together.

 My breath drew in with a small gasp as I looked at these men. They had been attractive in wolf form but were simply stunning in their human form. My heart began to pound, and I felt my brow begin to sweat slightly, my body started to get warm and tingle. My throat went dry and it seemed as if my vision grew sharper, clearer, my body on high alert. I saw two heads swivel towards me, and four eyes go wide as they took me in. Two eyes deep blue, the other two warm honeyed amber. Both men unfolded themselves from their seated positions and began to approach me, it seemed as if time had stood still, and all of this was happening in slow motion.

The one I knew to be Zach, the Alpha, moved with the lithe grace of a dominant predator. He was built for speed and agility, slender and tall, with a face that was all angles and sharp lines. His slightly olive skin and tousled almost black hair only served to set off his honey-colored eyes, eyes that were trained on me. And oh lord, they did not have shirts on. Where were their shirts? Unable to tear my eyes away they tracked down Zach's body, appreciating his smooth chest, flat stomach, and his V-lines. Holy Christ on a cracker, this was one smoking hot Alpha, and I could not deny wanting to sink my teeth into him. It seemed as if he was gliding toward me, heat and confusion burning in his eyes, lips drawn into a thin line.

While Zach was dark and sleek his brother Mike, the Omega, was bright and built. Mike was shorter than Zach by a few inches, where Zach may have been about 6'4" Mike was 6'1". His gait was more purposeful, almost like he knew why he was striding toward me. He was built for strength, his body not overly bulky but with clear definitions of musculature. His hair was rumpled as well, a bright red hue with deeper shades of orange in it. I wondered what it would be like to pull on it. His quick eyes were a deep blue, like the depths of the ocean, and those beautiful blues were currently scanning me. HIs skin was white and creamy colored, with a few freckles placed here and there. His face was rugged, angular like his brothers but tempered by his larger features. His broad chest was the perfect expanse of flawless, his abs rippling down and merging into sharper lines that disappeared beneath his pants. When had an Omega ever been this sexy?

I needed to touch them, to taste them, I was having a hard time schooling my thoughts as they began to go completely sideways, and I felt like I was no longer in control of my body. My breathing became slightly quicker as they both came towards me. The tingle in my hands grew in intensity and I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. My vision seemed to tunnel so that all I saw was them and nothing else, my throat felt like sandpaper. Just what was going on? It seemed to take years for them to reach where I stood. I didn't know why but I was compelled to touch them both, snaking my hands through the bars I cupped each of their faces. Their rough stubble almost seemed to turn soft as both leaned into my touch, as if they had been waiting for me to touch them.

Two sets of eyes looked back at me going wide in surprise, and then narrowing with understanding. Golden eyes became hooded and grew thoughtful, blue ones squinted and then became affectionate; and our three voices at once said the same word, that rang throughout the prison walls and seemed to bounce around and get louder as it echoed.