Chapter 55: Chapter 55

/Aiden’s POV/

Rose handwriting was a sight for sore eyes, and so I curled up tightly in my side of the bunk, letting the words take me away.

Dear Alpha,

I am sorry that there is no other way to communicate. Your father told me that he used to write letters to his family in those days, so I am doing the same. I hope you are alright and have been looking after yourself.

Everything is fine here. I had dinner with the pack. Everyone is loud and loves talking about their day. It’s a nice change, so I stayed over instead of going back to our empty cabin. My stomach was upset from eating too many donuts, but other than that, I am fine. I’ll learn to handle things on my own, I promise.

Thank you for the coats. It is the best gift I got after the phone you gave me. They keep me warm, and I am always wearing one from so many of them. Beth keeps on teasing me about it.

Things are mundane as always. I also have something else to tell you, but I am sure it can wait until you return.

Please stay safe. Hope to see you soon.

Rose.

I read over the words again and again until my eyesight began blearing with weariness. A smile took over my lips as I thought about Rose thanking me for the coats, her eyes glittering and face breaking out in a wide grin. She would have forgotten breathing for few seconds at least. Folding up the letter tightly, I tucked it into the pocket of my jacket. I pushed my legs down and curled up on my side of the bed, the mattress doing nothing to fight off the coldness that settled inside the tepee.

***

That evening I just stared at the clouds above until the thoughts faded from the inside of my head. I stepped back, my heels clicking on the cobblestones, and then shoved my hands into his pockets. Ahead, I saw two figures; their buff bodies draped in heavy army coats, a weak orange flame between their hands as they both lit a cigarette.

My body sagged as I noticed one of them was Damon. He motioned me to come closer. I felt an itch under my skin, legs rooted to the ground, a sigh escaping my lips. Somehow I managed to drag my feet forward and kept walking.

The Alpha removed the cigarette from his mouth, a stream of smoke leaving his mouth as he did. “Need one?”

“I quit that thing a long time ago. Don’t make me start again.”

Zain was standing next to Damon, his hooded eyes raking over me. As I met his stare, he raised his brow. For some reason, I still had a suspicion of him for maybe playing on two teams. That’s how most conflicts between packs started.

“Aiden, I heard that you got a nice letter today.” My friend teased, snubbing the cigarette under his boot.

I hummed.

“You’re not going to tell me who’s it from?”

“I don’t think that’s anyone’s business but mine.” I crossed my arms together, lips pressed together at the mention of the letter. “Don’t you agree, Alpha Zain?”

“Sure, Alpha Aiden.”

“See?” I pointed out. “Even he agrees.”

Damon rolled his eyes, a snort escaping his lips as he shook his head. “You and your tendency to stay mysterious. Ridiculous!”

“Why, thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

“Oh, I don’t know; it sure felt like one”, I argued, my lips twitching when I saw Damon’s scowl deepen.

Zain softly chuckled, his eyes flickering between both of us. “You both are highly amusing. How long have you known each other?”

Damon made a sound, his voice dropping low. “We trained in the same academy and fought under one Alpha for a long time. Almost too long, I think.”

I hummed, my nose twitching as I thought back to the days we fooled around, and now we both were Pack Alphas. The only difference was Damon has been already crowned, and my father still thinks I need to learn few things.

Before I could say anything, a loud howl echoed around the hill, startling the three of us. It made me pause for a second, look over my shoulder, eyes narrowed only to see our guards getting attacked.

“Fuck!” Damon screamed. “Those sneaky bastards. Let’s go!”

The guards have filled up the previously empty space, and I couldn’t distinguish them anymore. Trying to quell the panic rising in my chest, I ran along, my eyes moving frantically through the throng of pack guards.

With a growl, I threw my head back, the sound of my bones cracking echoing as my body gave in. My muscles stretched, limbs aching, eyes clenched shut as claws started to jut out, canines digging the side of my face.

I took a deep breath, narrowing my eyes in concentration, swaying rapidly from side to side. The guards were making it hard to dodge out of the way. Upon reaching Damon’s tent, we saw the main culprit who invited the enemy’s pack.

Leonard. The new recruit.

He snarled upon staring at us and, with a guttural sound, shifted into his wolf form. I watched as his thick beige fur came into view, paws huge and eyes boring into me.

I wanted to be the one to take him.

We both collide as Damon and Zain rushed to the front. I gritted my teeth, muscles straining, swinging my forward, but the Alpha parried that blow as well. He didn’t get anywhere while we exchange a few blows, and it unsettled me more than I cared to admit that he’s an even match to my strength.

Somehow I got a hold of his small body, tried to uneven his footing, propelling my body up until I can hook behind his neck.

Air got punched out of my lungs when he ducked forward with all the force, falling heavily to the floor, his knee pistoning into my stomach. The Alpha was on his back, still reeling from the fall. Pain seared through my body, and I only managed to keep my mind clear enough to leap at him.

Leonard was hatefully screeching at me and began picking up the large rock fragments around him and hurling them in quick succession. One of them hit me right between the eye, and I knocked back. Black spots danced in front of my eyes already, and my lungs started to burn.

The wolf was back on his legs in less time than it took me to blink, eyes cold and hard, throwing his body forward again.

Because of the kick earlier, the midsection of my body ached, and thin air was making it harder to breathe on top of it. Already, I could feel sweat starting to form on my temples, the back of his neck, causing irritation to swell inside me.

Leonard tackled me from behind, trying to sink his claws in my throat, so I knocked my head back. There’s a crack, the sound of breaking accompanied by a dull thud that I hoped was his head hitting the wall.

Not giving him enough time, I jumped up and sunk my teeth into his throat, biting and gnawing until I was sure I had a hold of it. His eyes rolled back, body sagging against the wall. Leonards gurgles, along with sickeningly wet noises, made me feel even stronger, and with the last twist of his head, I finally pulled the throat out from the Alphas neck.

His head dropped down lifelessly, and I  quickly spit the mess of blood out of my mouth before raising my head in the air. I sighed in relief, knowing that we won the fight against them. I howled victoriously from inside the tepee.

***