Chapter 22


    ‘This is my home. I''ll give you one chance to leave, or I’ll rip your heads off!’ I yell, and the alphas


    ‘You are surrounded, Alpha Maximus. I don''t think you’re in any position to threaten us,’ he snaps.


    I shift into my lycan, and Hope shifts into her wolf, and lets out a howl.


    ‘Such a pretty little wolf,’ the alpha says, smirking; admiring Storm’s unique silver and white fur.


    ‘She would be good for breeding pups with,’ the other says. I snarl, and race towards the alpha.


    They and the warriors shift into their wolves.


    Snarling, I bite a leg, and fling the wolf with great force across the room, baring my fangs near


    someone’s neck, for my next kill. Hope is fighting off the warriors who have her surrounded. She is


    putting up a good fight, but there are too many of them.


    One of the alphas hold her down, and she is forced to shift into her human form. She kicks him,


    while a warrior wraps his arms around her, from behind, pinning her arms to her chest. Ten warriors


    and two alphas are attacking me, but I run to Hope, to free her, before feeling a sting in my back. Not


    again! I fall into darkness.


    When I wake, I’m in a cell in my own dungeon, with chains around my wrists and ankles. It’s just


    like the night I met Hope. I howl loudly, and frustratedly, and hear the sound of footsteps and keys.


    ‘Will you shut the fuck up?’ An alpha yells.


    ‘Where is Hope? What have you done to her?’ I yell.


    ‘No need to worry. We’re taking very good care of her, if you know what I mean,’ he smirks.


    ‘If you touch her, I swear on the Moon Goddess, it will be thest thing you ever touch!’ I yell. The


    alpha chuckles and walks away.


    ‘Come back here, you coward!’ I yell, only to hear it echo.


    ‘Alpha... Alpha...’ Someone is whispering, and I’m looking around, but I can’t see anyone.


    ‘Up here!’ They whisper, and I look up into the moon hole in the ceiling.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    ‘Mother of the Moon Goddess! Is that really you, Nathan?’ I ask, utterly shocked. Nathan pokes his


    head through the moon hole; it’s too small for the rest of his body to fit through.


    ‘I-we thought you were dead?’ I stammer.


    ‘As soon as I saw you grab Hope and run, I ran. I didn''t fully escape the explosion. My back and


    arms were burnt. But I outran it enough to survive,’ he exins, and my eyes well up.


    ‘You have no idea how happy I am you survived. I''m sorry I didn''te back for you. I wanted to.


    But I couldn''t,’ I say, ashamed.


    ‘It’s fine, Alpha. The men followed you. You had to save our Luna. I came back here as soon as I


    recovered. I''m not sure who’s winning. There are a lot of dead wolves in the field. I’ll enter via the


    hidden entrance near the well. Sit tight, Alpha. I''ll unchain you and get you out of there!’ Nathan says,


    and I nod. I wait an hour before he arrives.


    ‘Come on Nathan! Where are you?’ I wonder aloud.


    Nathan enters; keys dangling in his fingers.


    ‘About time,’ I say, and he rolls his eyes.


    ‘Do you know how hard it was to get these, without being seen?’ He says.


    ‘Sorry. I''m just worried about Hope. You didn''t see her, did you?’ I ask. Nathan shakes his head.


    Free from the chains, we make our way upstairs, searching for Hope. We kill any warrior wee


    across.


    The alphas are arguing about iming Hope, in a room nearby. Kicking the door in, I see Hope


    tied to a chair, wearing one of my shirts, that reaches her knees. One of the alphas stand.


    ‘How did you get out?’ He asks, angered.


    Nathan steps out from behind me, grinning.


    ‘Nathan!’ Hope screams, delighted; tears of joy fall down her cheeks.


    We shift and lunge at the alphas. I rip a chunk out of one of them, and he bleeds profusely from his


    ankle. I then fling his head backwards, breaking his neck, and let him fall to the ground.


    ‘One down! Two to go!’ I snarl. The alphas panic, knowing they’re about to die. I lunge and rip into


    one of their necks, while Nathan rips into the other alpha''s chest, and when my alpha is dead, I join


    Nathan and finish the kill.


    Shifting back, I untie Hope, and she flings her arms around me, not caring about the blood all over


    me.


    ‘Max!’ She cries, into my chest. Holding her tight, I look her up and down.


    ‘Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?’ I ask, worried.


    ‘No, I''m fine. I''m just d you’re here,’ she says, smiling up at me, before flinging herself into


    Nathan’s arms. ‘I thought you were dead! I saw the explosion!’ She says, crying into his chest. He rubs


    her back tofort her.


    ‘I only just made it out. I was burnt, though,’ he says, letting her go and lifting his shirt. ‘See?


    They’ll probably leave some nasty scars,’ he says, shrugging.


    ‘No! Wait!’ Hope says, before he pulls his shirt back down. She gently ces her hands on his


    back, her hair flows upward, her skin glows, and her eyes turn silver.


    A few momentster, she is back to normal and Nathan is scar-free.


    ‘No way! You healed the whole lot! It feels so much better!’ Nathan shouts, excitedly. He pulls


    Hope in for a hug.


    ‘Thank you, again,’ he says, smiling at her. Chaos briefly tries to take over.


    ‘Mine!’ He snarls, and Nathan lets go of Hope.


    ‘Yes, Chaos. We know she is yours. I was just thanking her!’ Nathan says, chuckling.


    In the fields out the front, there are dead and injured everywhere. As soon as the alphas are dead,


    the packs stop fighting.


    Hope goes around, healing the pack members with life-threatening injuries first. Everyone watches


    her, in awe, and with admiration. After healing a few dozen warriors, she is struggling to stay


    conscious. I run to her quickly.


    ‘Hope!’ I yell, kneeling next to her and pulling her into myp. ‘Are you alright?’ I ask, brushing her


    hair off her face.


    ‘I''ll be fine. It’s just, the more I heal, the less energy I have,’ she exins.


    ‘Hope you need to rest. I’ll take you back inside,’ I say.


    ‘No! There are still so many badly injured. I need to heal them,’ she pleads.


    ‘Absolutely not! You’re barely conscious yourself. I won''t allow you to weaken yourself any further!


    The rest can be seen by the doctor, and the trained she-wolves,’ I say.


    I carry her into the castle, and by the time I get to our room, she is snoring. She is just too darn


    cute.


    Pulling the silk coverings over her, to keep her warm, I kiss her gently on her forehead and go back


    out to help the others.


    Alex and Nathan run across the field into each other''s arm, like they are mates.


    ‘Alpha Maximus!’ A familiar voice says, and I open my arms to hug my dear, elderly, chubby cook,


    and close family friend, Beth.


    ‘Beth!’ I yell, lifting her up. I give her a friendly, loving squeeze, and put her down.


    ‘It was terrible being forced to cook for those snotty alphas and their packs! I''m so d you’re


    back! Where is the Luna? I must meet her!’ She says.


    ‘Our Luna is resting in our room.’ Beth runs back into the castle, all excited. I grab her arm gently.


    ‘Beth. Don’t wake her. She has been through a lot and needs rest,’ I say.


    ‘Oh, spoonfuls of sugar!’ She says, stamping her foot.


    ‘You’ll meet herter. There is something you can do for me, if you like?’ I smile, and she smiles.


    ‘Anything for you, Alpha,’ she says.


    ‘I could really go for one of your apple pies right now,’ I says with a grin.


    She smiles and runs into the castle kitchen to start baking. I help the rest of the injured into the


    castle.


    Returning to my room, to check on Hope, she is in a deep sleep, with a smile on her face. I take


    my clothes off, and snuggle up next her, just to be near her and hold her.


    Without opening her eyes, she snuggles in closer to me, nuzzles her face into my chest, and


    snores. I can''t help but chuckle at my perfect little mate.