(tw: descriptions of violence)
The day I found my mate was the worst day of my life.
My father's pack had been overrun by the Valeriano clan. They broke our perimeter in groups, setting fire to our farmlands first to draw everyone out of their homes. My father, our Alpha, was the first to lead the defense charge. He woke me out of a dead sleep, face serious but his voice was solid and calm as always. I blinked the sleep away, confused.
My mother's face was all the proof I needed that something horrible had happened. Fully awake now, I confronted him directly.
"What's happening?"
My father hushed me and took me by the arm gently but firmly, pulling me so we were all in the kitchen room. When the three of us were standing together I could finally start to smell the smoke. My stomach felt sick.
"Someone is attacking us, right now. Thoric ran all the way here to say it's the Valeriano clan. Everything is on fire and we have to get everyone out, now."
I froze, mouth agape. Coming to my senses, I found his eyes, terrified.
"Please dad, we have to run. I know you're going to want to fight but there's no use, that clan outnumbers us six to every one man we have if the stories are true."
I begged him, pulling at his arm as he turned for the door. He transformed into his gigantic, fearless ice white wolf. Just as he went to rush out of the door, I pleaded with him again, sounding like a child despite myself. My eyes were wide in the dark but I couldn't stop pleading with him.
"Dad, the Valeriano pack take no prisoners. They outnumber us. You will be the first to be killed by them if you go- please."
Dad's stormy blue eyes were solemn as he turned away from me. There was something misty inside of the look he gave. Something guilty. Mother had transformed into her wolf, following suit right behind him at the door with no hesitation and no fear.
"The day I became Alpha, I swore I would always fight to protect our clan. I have no choice Liana, this is our fight. You need to go to the nursery now, get all of the children down to the river, they'll lose your scent and you just might survive."
Tears rushed down my face. Our pack was not one of many fighters. We weren't the most powerful. We weren't a giant trade power. We were artisans, storytellers, and travellers. The last great pack of nomads. We lived by the old ways and harvested our food from the earth.
I ran out the back door of our packhouse and transformed myself. My wolf was the fastest in our pack, being daughter to the Alpha often had such benefits. The smell of fire and ash was thick in the air. I heard screaming and fighting in the distance. I steeled my nerves.
Reaching the nursery only moments after Dad had instructed me to, I woke the older pups first, telling them each to grab someone smaller and run down to the river. Each pair of two listened to me quickly. The scragglers were the kids who heard the screams in the distance and tried to question me. A set of triplets started to cry as I ushered them out of bed.
The smell of smoke and chaos was growing closer and we were running out of time. Half of the kids had already fled the nursery. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that they knew to cross the river and run into the woods. Many of the older kids tried to comfort or silence their younger counterparts. Some chose to just pick the children up, screaming, crying and all. When the last few kids all started to cry and disobey me, I had no choice.
I used the Alpha power over their wolves. I forced their wolves to run down the river, conjuring the command deeply from within my own wolf. It was something I hated to do, especially with pups so young. Soon enough the last of them exited the nursery door.
The sound of twenty to thirty small footprints making a break for the river cascaded just south of me and for the briefest moment I thought I would succeed. I thought I might at least save the future of our pack, even if our present was doomed.
I finished checking every nook and corner of the nursery, making sure all of the children had left. Then I made a break for the door. Just as I stepped out into the dark of night to run towards the kids, a scent stopped me. It was an earthy smell, alive, like the woods. Like fir trees and pinecone. A sinking feeling swelled in my gut as my wolf stirred and urged me to follow the scent.
I tried to beg the Goddess not to be so cruel, but it was too late for that. The scent drew nearer and every fibre of my being told me this was them. That my fated mate was nearby.
Just as my legs started to finally run as I commanded them to, we locked eyes in the moonlight. I knew as soon as I saw her that it was too late. Her eyes held mine and neither of us moved a single inch.