Chapter 3 Chapter 3
I knew that they were stronger than me and my wolf, and as I pushed my feet to go faster, it felt slow–paced compared to them. Marcus was the first to get close to me as he pounced to push me down, but Carissa dodged him and managed to scramble away. For now, I was a spectator in this chase as Carissa bared her teeth and growled at Marcus. However, as he tried to jump on us again, his claws scraped into my side while Carissa dodged him, causing him to crash into the ground.
I heard Carissa whimper, but she didn’t stop. She moved so fast that we could now see the border, and we both knew that as soon as we were through the trees, we would be free. Our hearts pounded as we surged forward, and we suddenly realized the pack had stopped chasing us. When we turned our heads, we saw them bow and bare their necks.
We knew Alpha Jenkins was here. Our hearts hammered in our chests as we turned to keep running forward but were suddenly hit by a rush of aura that enveloped us, causing Carissa to fall to her knees, whimpering. She tried to fight the command, but his aura was too strong, and she had no choice but to bare her neck as well. I could feel the pain the aura inflicted on her, and I knew that we were lost to it.
“Bring Beta Astro,” Alpha Jenkins ordered.
Tears flooded my eyes as I realized they knew my dad had tried to help me. As a Beta who went against his Alpha’s orders, the punishment was death. “NO!” I screamed, but it was barely audible as the Alpha’s aura still commanded us.
Thompson and Hawkins dragged my father in front of me. He had been beaten severely, and his eyes barely opened. I could see blood oozing from his body and a chain of wolfsbane burning his skin as it held his arms together. The wolfsbane would have weakened his wolf, preventing him from healing.
I tried to move forward to comfort my father, but the Alpha’s aura was strong, and my body couldn’t move. I watched as they pushed him to the ground, and the pain I felt gripped me, pulling my already shattered heart into the pit of my stomach. In that moment, all I felt was hate toward our Alpha and our pack for allowing this to happen. I knew I couldn’t stop it; I wasn’t strong like they were.
“Dad,” I whispered.
A smile crossed his face, and he whispered, “Liberty.”
“Stop,” Alpha commanded.
The pack looked on helplessly, not moving as the aura washed over them. Alpha Jenkins placed his foot on my father’s chest, and I could hear his breathing become labored. I winced at his pain. Suddenly, the crowd parted, and I saw my grandmother.
My grandmother was highly respected in our pack. She’s a human being, but she insisted on training herself as a warrior after my grandfather and his wolf chose her as a mate. I believed it was Grandma’s persistence and bravery that made her who she was. So when the war with the Drakos pack happened, she refused to listen to pleas to stay inside. She walked onto that battleground and fought to protect her home. She was awarded the highest honor within the pack for her bravery and was a well–respected member of our pack.
She stumbled and ran toward me, her eyes full of tears. I felt an unbearable pain. At her age, she should be enjoying her last days, but look at her now–she was shedding tears for me and worrying about my troubles.
She hugged me tightly, and I couldn’t stop my tears.
“Don’t worry; I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Grandma was unaffected by the aura that the Alpha commanded. She wasn’t afraid at all; she walked straight up to the Alpha, and it was clear that he was pissed off with her. Yet he did not command her to obey; he simply narrowed his eyes at Mary and said, “You shouldn’t be here!”
“You hunt and torture my family; how can I leave it alone? Beta Astro has always been faithful and true to you. Why would you do this to him?” she asked.
“Beta Astro went against my command and tried to help his daughter escape! You should know the consequences he will face for rebelling against me!” he said through gritted teeth.
“Can you blame him? She is his only daughter! He lost his mate, my daughter, in the war you had with the Drakos pack. He fought by your side, even when his mate died, and the link between them made him crash to the ground. The pain he felt ripped through his body. He fought to protect you, his Alpha! He lost everything that day but her!” she said confidently, pointing at me.
The Alpha looked at my father and then at me, and a flicker of doubt crossed his face momentarily before it vanished.
“Alpha, you are almighty, no one here disagrees, but this is barbaric. He is the best Beta you have ever had. What he did wasn’t questioning your authority; he was acting as a father. Do you honestly think he would allow your pack to beat him and chain him in wolfsbane if he weren’t just trying to buy her time?” Mary said.
Her voice soothed me, and my sobs began to subside. I questioned her ability to actually change the Alpha’s mind and save my father. The realization that my father was only this battered and bruised because he was trying to save me hit me hard, and I felt numb from the waves of pain that flooded over my body.
“What she did was act on the emotions she felt, but what Harris did to her was much worse. You know Liberty didn’t mean to hurt Luna!” she said, and her emotions of guilt and regret for not seeing it and protecting me hit me hard, making my heart ache.
The Alpha moved his foot off the Beta and looked down at me, his sorrow glazing his eyes as he finally understood what his son had done to me. “Remove the chains from Beta Astro,” he commanded.
As Thompson stepped forward nervously, he glanced at me with a look of regret in his eyes. As my father rolled on the floor, gasping for much–needed air, I realized the Alpha’s aura had been released. I surged forward, grabbing my father and wrapping my arms around him, protecting him from the pack.
Liberty’s Secrets
“Liberty,” Nanny Mary said, kneeling down beside me.
I wiped my tears away, and as my puffy eyes met hers, I could only say one word: “Thank you.”
Mary nodded and stood to face the Alpha. “Thank you, Alpha; you are truly great,” she said, and then knelt and bared her neck.
The Alpha tutted at this display, and through gritted teeth, he said, “Stand.”
The Alpha glanced at me and then back at Mary. “She must pay. I will show mercy to Beta Astro and allow him to stay, but I will strip him of his title as Beta. However, this little evil wolf cannot go unpunished for what she did to my mate. She can’t be part of us; she can’t stay in our pack anymore, and you can choose,” Alpha Jenkins said. “Would you prefer that she die here today or at my hands tomorrow, hmm?”
Gasps from the pack were deafening. I realized I was in trouble; my father would live, but he would lose me either at the hands of Alpha Jenkins or his son Harris. Nanna had only managed to save my father and not myself. The growl that escaped me shocked me more than it did Nanna.
Nanna turned toward me and winked, a motion unnoticed by the Alpha and the pack. “We know Alpha Jenkins too well. Don’t worry. She has a plan,” whispered Carissa.
The doubt in her words crossed my mind, but I had no choice but to hope she had thought this through.
The pack bowed once again as Luna Jenkins and Millie walked through the crowd toward us. Millie darted her stare between me and Nanna. I could see the mark on her neck, indicating that they had already mated, and the bond between them was unbreakable.
“Luna, why are you here?” Alpha asked with devotion.
It was evident that he would move mountains for his Luna, and the love they shared shone brightly. It was said years ago that she used to be a rogue herself and that the Alpha had found her in a trap, healed her, and brought her back. Harris loved to tell their love story often.
“Jenkins, you are punishing a girl to death in our pack!” she said with a harshness that scratched at the soul.
My father started to move in my arms. I knew his wolf was getting stronger and trying to heal him.
“Luna, this evil wolf hurt you. I definitely won’t show her mercy!” the Alpha snapped back.
I heard Millie suddenly scream, “ROGUES!”
Everyone instantly turned to where Millie was screaming and pointing. The commotion had distracted the pack enough for Thompson to yank me from my father. He wrapped his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming.
The entire pack was in a tumult of fear, scouring the borderline for these rogues that Millie saw, so Thompson pulled me away. He led me into a house as fast as he could. No one noticed us. Then a car pulled up outside the building, and I could hear footsteps on the gravel.
Thompson grabbed my arms, and with a fierce look, he demanded, “Renounce the Alpha.”
Shock at his words filled me and must have shown on my face as he shocked me. “We don’t have time! Renounce him!” he hissed.
“I renounce Alpha Jenkins and his pack. I renounce Alpha Jenkins.” As the words left my lips, I could feel the tearing within me as the bond to my pack broke.
My head was pounding, and my heart beat fast. My body shook as I felt I no longer belonged.
I crumpled to the floor, and Thompson scooped me up in his arms. The knock on the door was frantic, and as Thompson opened the door, my eyes went black, and my surroundings blurred out as a stranger’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me from Thompson’s body before I fell into the abyss.
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