Unknown POV

I laid on the grass underneath the night sky, listening to the faint song of a nearby cricket.  I twirled a lock of my hair around my finger as I scanned the cloudy sky, searching for constellations.

Was that blood on the moon?  It couldn’t be.  Blood on the moon was a bad omen.  My momma had always said that blood on the moon meant that blood would be spilled.  Nothing was going to happen tonight; that was just an old wolves’ tale.

Clyde should be coming home soon; nothing would be out of the ordinary.  It would be a perfectly normal night.  Goddess, how I wished he would hurry up.

Clyde should have been home already.  Of course, the Alpha needed him late tonight of all nights.  It was a year ago today Clyde and I found each other.  I just wanted to spend the evening with my mate.

Mind linking Clyde wasn’t an option; Alpha Delbert hated when people mind linked in his presence.  He was so paranoid.  He thought the world was out to get him or something.

Believe me, I wanted nothing to do with him.  He gave me the willies.  He was only my Alpha because of Clyde.  I wish we had stayed with my pack, but you know that’s not proper.

I  shook my head and sighed as I rolled over to my belly.  I didn’t really care if I wrinkled my dress at this point.  I had looked perfect an hour ago; it was his own fault if I wasn’t as pretty as a picture anymore.

A rustle coming from the bushes caused me to sit up abruptly. “Who’s there?” I call out, demanding an answer.

Clyde stumbled out of the brush; blood was dripping down from his hairline.  I clambered to my feet and rushed to his side.

“Doll, we got to go.  We got to make tracks.” Clyde heavily breathed out; his body was trembling.

“What?  Why?  What happened to you, honey?” I helped him cross the lawn to the back door leading into the kitchen.

“Alpha Delbert happened to me.” My feet halted, and I looked up at him.  I searched his face for any sign of a joke. “We got to go.”

“Why do we have to go?” I didn’t understand why we were running.

“I tried to free that slave girl the Alpha picked up last month.” Clyde ransacked our kitchen, dumping food into a sack.

“Clyde, we talked about that!” I gasped as I followed him into the bedroom. “We were going to keep our noses down!  It was safer that way.”

“I know, doll.  I tried, but how could I turn away from her.  She looked so scared.” Clyde opened our chest of drawers and threw in some random clothes.

I knew what he meant.  Every time I saw that poor child, my heart was torn in two.  No one deserved a life like that.

“Come on then.  You said we go to make tracks.” I reached down and grabbed the shotgun from underneath our bed.  I dumped the box of ammo inside my dress’s pocket.  Clyde gave me a halfhearted smile.

The only sound coming from our little house was our footsteps.  We crept back out the kitchen door to disappear into the night.

“Well, well, well,” a voice boomed from across the backyard.  The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.  I knew who that was, even if he was hidden in the shadows.  That was Alpha Delbert.

“Oh, Alpha, it’s nice to see you,” the words were barely able to be formed.  My mouth was so dry like all moisture evaporated.  Fear took over my body in the form of cold sweat.

“Hmmm, really?  Nice?” Alpha Delbert’s eyes glowed red in the darkness, followed by the smoldering crimson of a cigarette. “This ain’t a social call, dame.”

“Alpha, this has nothing to do with her.” Clyde stepped in front of me, blocking me from the Alpha.

“You know that’s not how this works, Clyde.  I trusted you, and you betrayed me.” Alpha Delbert stepped out of the trees; he was a massive man.  Alpha Delbert’s oil-slicked hair glinted in the moonlight. He took a long drag of the cigarette in his mouth before he spoke again. “You know I have always been an eye for an eye kind of man.  You let my property go, so I will have to take yours.”

My heart was running a mile per minute.  I clutched the back of Clyde’s shirt in one hand while I clung to the shotgun with the other.

“That’s not going to happen, Alpha,” Clyde growled.  The next thing I knew, Clyde had shoved me towards the woods. “Run, doll!”

I hugged the shotgun as I ran.  I refused to look back.  The gnashing of teeth and growling faded with every stride. Thorns reached out and grabbed at my dress.

Tears streamed down my cheek as I prayed to the Moon Goddess to save my mate.  My prayers would go unanswered; pain took over my soul.  I fell to my knees, grasping my hand over my heart.  He was gone; Clyde was dead.

I let the tears pour down my face as I scrambled to my feet.  Clyde died protecting me; I wasn’t going to let his death be in vain.  I ran for what seemed forever, but as soon as I made it to the cliff line, I heard the growl come from behind me.

I turned around and stared into the demon’s eyes; blood was smeared across his muzzle.  Alpha Delbert stalked me slowly.  I walked backward until my heel felt the edge of the ground.

***Come on, let’s go home.  I won’t hurt you.***  Alpha Delbert’s voice assaulted my mind.

“Malarky!” I spat out as I cocked the shotgun with trembling hands and aimed it at Alpha Delbert.

***Drop the gun, dame.***  An angry fire burned in his eyes as he tried to use his Alpha tone on me.  Unfortunately for him, it didn’t work because he was nothing to me but a murderer.

“Over my dead body!  Kiss off!” I didn’t even blink as I wrapped my finger around the trigger.  A deafening boom violently exploded from the barrel of the shotgun.  Shattered bone fragments and blood spilled from Alpha Delbert’s shoulder.

I didn’t know if he was still alive or not, but I wasn’t going to take my chances.  I took another step backward off of the cliff.  Air hissed past my ears as I screwed my eyes shut, bracing for impact.