A Wolf Scorned by Taylor Spratt

Miles

Being Beta of the Blood Moon shifters pack was no walk in the park, believe me.

Over two thousand wolves looked up to me and the Alphas, trusting us with their lives and the lives of their pups.

With enemies from rival packs and occasionally even other Magicals, I'd had to train myself to constantly be on the alert for an attack on the pack lands.

But there was one thing all my training failed to prepare me for. Her…

The time had finally come for us to go and see the Oracle and my nerves were going haywire at the thought. Would Amira truly be the one? And if she wasn't, could I protect her?

“Amira, it’s time to go.” I knocked at her door and waited for her reply. "You ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, opening the door.

I couldn't find the words to speak. I thought I was used to those big, beautiful green eyes of hers by now. But every time I saw them my heart skipped a beat.

She had the thickest, most beautiful head of red hair I'd ever seen. It was like the Gods locked wildfire in each and every strand.

Her face was adorable, small and cute with delicately feminine features. Her body curvaceous in all the right places, making me shudder every time I stole a glance at her.

“Hello, Miles, are you in there?” She waved a hand in front of my face, calling me back to reality.

“Oh-um, yeah, sorry.” I laughed, rubbing the back of my head.

“Are you alright, Miles? You’re so flushed. Do you have a fever?” She reached up and felt my forehead. Her touch only served to raise my temperature and make my pants grow tighter.

“No, I’m fine.” I pulled away, not wanting her to see the effect she was having on me.

She giggled , as if she thought I was silly.

“You really are a weirdo, you know that?” she joked, and I hopped up and down on one leg, making a silly face for her.

“This weird enough for you?” I continued hopping as she laughed like a child at a carnival.

I loved to see her smile. It was like food for my soul. I could watch her smile forever.

“Do you like my new outfit?” She spun around showing off the pretty pink sundress that stopped just above her knee. “I found it in the closet.”

“It’s the loveliest dress I’ve ever seen,” I said.

Though, I’d love even more to see you without it.

“Great, so at least if I die, I’ll look good in my coffin.”

“Please, don’t talk like that. The Oracle will know just what to do. I just know you have great power inside you.”

“Oh yeah? How could you know that?”

“I can feel it when I look into your eyes.” I took both her hands in mine tightly and looked deeply into her beautiful eyes. I could feel her fear by the way her hands trembled in mine. I would have given anything in all of Dominion to take that fear away.

“Besides, I’ll be there to protect you, no matter what happens,” I continued.

Her eyes went wide with surprise and I looked away, taking my hands from hers.

Blast! You blew it now, Miles. That was way too forward. You might have just ruined everything.

“You’d really do that... for me?” she asked, her words unbelieving.

“Of course I would.” I swept some hair behind my ears and glanced over at the wall.

Next thing I knew, I felt the peck of her lips against my cheek.

My heart ran like an engine, as I slowly turned to face her. Her lips curled up into a mischievous little grin and I just stood there looking at this adorable little wolf, unable to say a word.

Thank you, God.

“Miles, bring Amira downstairs. It’s time to go,” Syrus yelled from the bottom of the staircase.

With a shrug and a sigh, Amira reluctantly followed me down the stairs and out onto the front porch. Syrus locked the cabin door behind us and turned was Callum pulled up in the car.

Syrus led the way toward the car with Amira and I following behind.

“Hey, Callum? What’s the deal?” Syrus slapped the roof of the car and Callum rolled down the window. “Why’d you bring the Bugatti out? Where’s the Lambo, man?”

“Why don’t you ask your Beta?” Callum pushed down his shades with one finger and Syrus’s face whipped in my direction. He folded his arms and gave me a chastising glare that made a cold shiver run down my spine.

“Does my loyal Beta have something he needs to tell me about what happened to my brand new Lambo?” Syrus tapped his foot on the ground impatiently.

“Soooo, I might have dented it. But it’s just a little dent! Al’s buffing it out as we speak, and you’ll get it back good as new by Friday,” I assured, hoping to calm Syrus. But, level-headed as he was, there was one thing Syrus never played around with, and that was his cars.

Callum honked the horn three times. “Are we going to the Oracle's anytime this century?”

Syrus’s lips pressed into a thin line before putting on his shades and getting in the passenger seat.

“Your chariot awaits.” I opened the door and gestured for Amira to get in. She stared at the car like it was an alien space cruiser, her eyes blinking rapidly.

“Never been in a car before, have you? Don’t worry, you’ll like it. Nothing to be afraid of.”

“Oh, I know that,” she lifting her head high as if to show she wasn’t afraid. Though, I really think she was. Without a moment’s hesitation, she stepped into the car. I went in after her and we were off.

Callum revved up the engine, driving us through the front yard and zipping us onto the main road.

All bravado left her, and Amira clung to the seat, digging her nails into the leather as if her very life depended on it. Her face transformed by sheer terror as Callum sped down the open road.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Here, let me help you with that.” I leaned over, clipping her seatbelt on.

“Thank you.” She nodded, calmly gripping the seat belt with both hands.

A few minutes passed and Amira seemed to calm down some. She released her death grip on her seatbelt and stared through the car window, utterly fascinated by colorful homes tucked away between the trees in the distance.

Syrus was the first to break the silence. With a disgruntled groan, he threw his phone at the dashboard and it fell to the car floor.

“And fucking Ragnaron strikes again. According to Jason, three of the Sentinels were killed last night in a fight with Ragnaron’s wolves,” Syrus bit out.

“Dammit! Just how many more of us is he going to take?” Callum tightened his grip on the steering wheel and drove a little faster to let off some steam. “If we don't stop him soon, he'll pick us off one by one until there's none of us left.”

“We’ve already found our solution. Once the pack is cured, he and his pathetic wolves will be no match for ours,” Syrus said.

Amira fidgeted and wrung her hands.

Poor thing, she was terrified. Her little body trembled in her seat.

I took her hands, pulling them apart, and rubbing my thumb over the back of one of them. It wasn’t much, but with every stroke of my finger I could feel her trembling slow, so I knew it was helping her.

Callum turned right down a dirt road with short bushy trees lining the path. At the end of the trail, the car stopped in front of a small wooden cabin, about a tenth of the size of ours.

It was a cozy place with flowers in the window boxes and white smoke rising from the chimney.

Callum knocked on the door four times before pushing it open. The door squeaked loudly before banging on the inside wall.

“Oracle Maxine, we've brought the girl,” Callum said, taking a large step inside. Syrus, Amira, and I went in after him.

I’d been here several times in the past, but I never got used to the weird otherworldly vibes in this place.

Inside was dim, with only a fireplace illuminating the room. Six witch's brooms adorned the wall over the fireplace. A large black cauldron sat on the floor near a small bed. An old rocking chair rocked in the other corner of the room.

The room was quiet until the sound of old lady mutterings caught my ear.

“I told you last time it's ‘Madame Maxine’, not ‘Oracle Maxine’. But don’t worry. I’ll forgive you for forgetting,” a voice said as the short, elderly witch appeared out of thin air in the middle of the room.

She was barely over four feet, with long grey hair, a long crooked nose, and wrinkled features. She wore a black dress and black pointed hat. One could describe her as a harmless, cute, little old witch. But no man would call her innocent once they’d gotten to know her.

“Syrus, you’ve come to visit me. I’m so happy to see you!” Maxine squealed in delight, eyeing Syrus from head to two with a sparkle in her eyes. “I bought something just for you while I was on vacation.”

Maxine fluttered her lashes before taking the hem of her dress in hand and slowly pulling it up to reveal her bare thigh.

“New stockings, what do you think?” She winked at Syrus cheekily, and his face twisted in discomfort before he pressed his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat.

“Very nice, Maxine. But we do have some business to attend to...”

Maxine was the horniest witch in all of Dominion. All she needed was to catch sight of a handsome man she liked and she would never stop until she got him.

Maxine set her eyes on where I’d wedged myself in the corner and, to my horror, she pranced right over to me like a happy rainbow pixie.

"Miles is that you? My sexy wolfy, did you really think you could hide from me?” She blew a kiss at me before pressing her hand to my torso and rubbing along my abs.

I jumped to the side. "Hey now, what I did I say about touching?”

“Nice, you’ve really been working on those abs haven’t you, Miles?” She made a kissy face at me like a horny school girl before launching herself at me once again.

She grabbed hold of my leg, latching onto me like a leach and kissing my thigh.

“Not again. We talked about this.” I shook my leg vigorously trying to shake her off but she wouldn’t let go.

“Sexy, sexy, wolfy!” she chirped with glee, hugging tighter to my leg the more I shook it. “I’ll never let go! Not unless you agree to marry me!”

“Maxine, we’ve talked about this. Miles is my Beta, not your ‘sexy wolfy.'” Syrus rolled up his sleeves, took hold of Maxine by her waist, and started pulling. It was a tug of war and Maxine showed no signs of giving up.

Losing all interest in Maxine’s drama, Callum leaned up against a wall, flipped out his phone, and started texting.

“Don’t be jealous, Syrus. There’s room in my heart for both you and Miles,” Maxine yelled at Syrus as her grip on my leg began to loosen.

“This is all a joke right? Where’s the Oracle?” Amira’s eyes were searching the cabin as if the Oracle had yet to arrive.

“This is the Oracle.” I pointed to Maxine, who was still latched to my leg.

“Is my love funny to you, girl? And I suppose you want all three of these gorgeous wolves to yourself. Don’t you?” Maxine detached from my leg and angrily scurried over to Amira.

“Want them for myself?” Amira threw her arms wide before pointing at Callum and Syrus. “You mean those guys, the guys who kidnapped me? Fat chance of that.”

“You can’t fool me, little missy. I’ve seen your type before.” Maxine jabbed her bony finger into Amira’s chin accusingly. “When I was locked away in Pembroke Penitentiary, I knew a greedy fae just like you. Yeah, she wanted to keep all the hotties for herself, too.”

“Let me guess, you boiled her up in that cauldron over there and ate her, right?” Amira jabbed a thumb at the black cauldron by the bed.

“She’s talking about Jessica, the Queen of Dominion. Madame Maxine helped her and King Alexandros escape prison and ascend to the throne ten years ago,” I explained to Amira.

“Yes, and would you imagine those ungrateful royals haven’t called me in years? Last time I do anything for anyone.” Maxine huffed, rolling her eyes before storming over to her rocking chair and throwing herself into it.

“Wait, there’s a king and queen now?” Amira said, looking confused.

“And this is who we're betting our futures on? Excellent,” Callum snarked, pocketing his phone and rejoining the conversation.

“Which brings me back to what I was saying earlier. This is the girl from the hole you sent us to find. The half wolf with the fiery red hair and emerald green eyes.” Syrus nodded at Amira, and gestured for her to go to Maxine.

Amira’s feet were planted to the ground like roots in the soil.

“Come, girl, I don’t bite…much.” Madame Maxine gave a witchy laugh that showed several rotting teeth, which didn’t seem to put Amira at any greater ease.

“It’s okay, we can go together." I offered her my hand and she took it, squeezing the life out of my fingers.

We slowly went over to Madame Maxine and stopped about a foot away from her.

“Well I can’t exactly read you from here. Come closer,” the old witch said with growing impatience.

Amira leaned down closer to her and, without warning, Maxine took two fistfuls of Amira’s hair and pulled Amira's face right up to hers.

Amira yelled as Madame Maxine looked her deep in the eyes. Maxine’s lips opened so wide you’d think they’d tear. Her pupils changed from black to a milky white and the temperature in the room dropped dramatically, compelled by magical forces.

Magic rose, electrifying the very air as Maxine set her powers free. Her body shook from side to side and her milky eyes went vacant and trancelike.

In an unfamiliar voice several octaves deeper than it had been before, Maxine chanted, “The ancients speak through me, so listen well. She is the part witch of whom fables tell. The dreaded curse of the blood moon shall be lifted, when her power ripens and the blossom is gifted.”

Maxine released Amira’s hair and she scooted away from the witch.

“Wait, so-so that means I really am a witch?” Amira asked. Maxine nodded as her pupils regained their dark color.

I couldn’t believe it. It was like a dream come true. I knew she was the one! I knew she could break the curse.

Syrus jumped for joy, leaping into my arms and giving me a high five.

Even Callum, with his infinite grumpiness, couldn’t control the smile that now lit up his face.

Our days of suffering and being picked off one by one by our enemies would soon be over.

“Wait, I don’t get it. How can I be a part witch if I’ve never noticed any powers before?” Amira asked. “And who was my grandmother? Did she know me and my mother were trapped in the hole? Is she still alive?”

Amira shot off questions one after the other at Maxine, and you could hear the desperate longing in her voice.

“Leave the past in the past and focus on the future.” That was all Maxine had to say, sparing little care for Amira’s feelings. Amira fought back, begging Maxine to have another vision and tell her about her past. But Maxine refused, denying her request.

Defeated, poor Amira slunk away from Maxine and went to sit on the floor by the door.

My heart sank in my chest watching her go. Syrus's brows furrowed as he, too, seemed saddened to see Amira so low.

“She has an incredible gift. But her powers are dormant. She needs to be trained, if her powers are to awaken.”

“And just how is she to be trained?” Callum questioned, nearing the witch and throwing his long white hair over his shoulder.

Maxine cupped her chin in thought before saying. “Both Alphas must train her.”

“What type of training?" Syrus and Callum asked in unison.

“Use your instincts, for goodness sake. The God of the Blood Moon will guide you. "And you," she pointed at me. “You must help the Alphas in any way you can.”

I nodded in agreement.

“You know what. Since nobody is going to bother asking what I think, I’ll just come out and say it.” Amira jumped from her seat to bear down on Syrus and Callum like an angry bull. “I refuse to be trained by a man who threatens to kill me at every opportunity and a two-faced master manipulator. So if you want your curse broken then you’d better do it your own damn selves.”

I moved toward Amira, begging her to talk to me but she was too far gone, lost in a sea of anger.

Amira screamed at the top of her lungs and her body slowly shifted. She fell onto her paws and turned to face me.

I’d heard stories but never before today had I believed they were real. She was a red wolf, larger than average wolves, with a vibrant crimson fur, and silver eyes that shone like diamonds.

She sprinted out the door at lightning speed. Syrus, Callum, and I looked at one another in disbelief before speeding after her.

“Wait, you three!” Maxine called out from her rocking chair. Unconcerned, she pulled a cigarette from her pocket and lit it with a match. “You boys be kind to that girl. One day she will come to mean a great deal to you.”

She took a draw on her cigarette, and the three of us busted out the door, tearing after Amira.

I prayed we would catch up to her in human form because it would be far too dangerous for any of us to shift. If she left us now, all our hopes and dreams would evaporate.

With all the air and hope in my body I called out, “Amira, wait!”