The Wolf Wars Saga

Jasmine

The screams echoed from Jason’s and my quarters. Our boys were already at school, and I was just about to whip up some breakfast. Jason had been on guard duty until the wee hours, so he had the day off.

Well, as much of a day off as you can have when you’re the pack's Beta.

I sprang up and made a beeline for the door.

Jason started to intervene but quickly thought better of it. You don’t mess with a she-wolf’s maternal instinct and expect to walk away unscathed.

I sprinted to one of Gabriel’s guest rooms, the source of the screams. The screams had now morphed into sobs.

I burst through the door to find a little pup huddled in the corner, rocking back and forth.

“What the hell are you doing to her?” I shouted.

I rushed over to the pup and wrapped my arms around her. Sitting on the floor, I pulled her into my lap.

She stiffened and began to squirm, trying to escape my hold.

“Sshh sweetheart, it’s okay. I’ve got you,” I murmured.

I shot a glare at Gabriel and Erik.

“You better have a damn good reason for this,” I hissed, before turning my attention back to the pup.

She was a pretty little thing, for a human. Not that I’d seen many humans, but our history told us that one of the reasons they despised us was our differing appearances.

Shallow, I know, but that’s what we were taught. Maybe it wasn’t true. I hoped not.

There were many of my kind who despised humans because of their past actions. But that was years ago. Some of us held out hope that the world could be reunited peacefully.

Seeing the state of this pup, I now wasn’t so sure.

I gently rocked her and rubbed her back, then I started to sing a lullaby that I used to sing to the boys.

It seemed to soothe her, although she was still sobbing, she seemed a bit more relaxed.

I picked her up and carried her in my arms towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Gabriel growled.

I shot him a glare, “I’m taking her back to my place. Putting her to bed. Then I’m coming back here to give you two a piece of my mind.”

I carried the pup back to our quarters. When I walked in the door, Jason looked shocked.

The pup was still sobbing quietly, but she was a lot calmer.

“What the hell happened?” Jason asked, his face dark with anger.

I shook my head, “I don’t know babe, but I intend to find out. For now, I’m putting her in Ethan’s bed.”

Jason nodded and opened the door to Ethan’s room. He was the same age as her, but he was a lot bigger. She was about the same size as him when he was eight. His bed was still not full adult size.

The size would suit her better anyway.

I laid her down on the bed and pulled the cover over her.

She opened her eyes, then she saw Jason.

I thought she might start screaming again, but the opposite was true.

“J...Jason?” she sobbed, and held out her arms.

Jason bent over and picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and started to cry.

I watched as he gently rubbed her back and shushed her. He was always good with pups.

If she hadn’t been a pup, I might have turned into a jealous she-wolf. He was my mate after all. But she was a pup, and human.

Jason was the first werewolf she had met, and as usual his big heart had shone through.

I smiled at him.

“See if you can get her to go to sleep in a bit, eh?”

Jason smiled at me and nodded.

I left him with the pup. Now it was time to see what that stupid brother of mine had done now.

I stormed back into the room where I had collected the pup from.

Gabriel and Erik were still there. Amy had disappeared.

“What the hell did you do to her? She trusted you?” I growled.

Erik, who had been sitting on the bed, immediately stood up. He raised his hands in mock surrender.

“It’s not as bad as you think,” he stated.

Gabriel looked at the floor, “No, it’s infinitely worse,” he sighed.

Erik flashed him a look. It had guilt all over it.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my rage.

“Just tell me what happened.”

Gabriel stared at Erik, who sighed.

“Okay,” Erik began, “I took the bullet out last night...”

“Bullet?” I interrupted.

Erik nodded, “She was shot, I guess Jason didn’t mention that. Anyway, I took it out and patched her up. She’s so malnourished I suggested a drip. Seems that her body was too weak.

“She woke up this morning in pain and with a fever.”

I frowned, “That doesn’t explain why she is so traumatized, does it?”

Erik rolled his eyes, “I’m getting to that.”

I folded my arms and glared at him.

Erik sighed but continued.

“So, as I was saying... she had a fever, so I needed to take her temperature. I didn’t want to risk her biting on the thermometer. She’s had little or no medical treatment before today.

“So...” he hesitated, looking at me, trying to gauge my anger levels.

“I took it anally,” he blurted.

I stared at him; I was almost speechless.

“You did what?”

He closed his eyes for a second and sighed.

“That’s not the worst of it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Go on,” I growled.

At this point, Gabriel stood up, his fingers running through his hair.

“We restrained her while he did it, then he found out she’d been assaulted.”

I stared at him in disbelief. She was twelve years old.

“What?”

Gabriel shook his head and sighed.

“We knew she’d been beaten at some point; she has scars on her back...but this...”

I put my hand over my mouth; I could feel tears beginning to pool.

“Why? Why would they?” I asked, my voice breaking.

Gabriel walked over and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“I’m at a loss, Jazzy. Truly, I am,” he confessed, his voice trembling with emotion.

“Perhaps we could run a few more tests,” Erik suggested.

“No!” Gabriel and I chimed in unison.

I glanced at Gabriel, a smile tugging at my lips. His heart was always in the right place.

“No more tests, no more invasive procedures. She’s endured enough; we just need to help her recover, and try...” Gabriel paused, “try to regain her trust.”

I nestled my head against my brother.

“You will, Gabriel,” I reassured him.

Gabriel let out a weary sigh. He looked worn out.

“Come on, let’s get some breakfast, then we’ll plan a makeover for this room.”

Gabriel’s eyebrows knitted together.

“A makeover?”

I beamed. “Yes, so it’s suitable for a little girl pup.”

Gabriel managed a smile and nodded as I led him out of the room and back to my quarters.

Ellie

Jason slipped out when he thought I was asleep.

I waited a few more minutes, focusing on keeping my breaths even.

I was really good at faking sleep.

I would listen to Mommy and Daddy whispering to each other at night. They would talk about their worries, about finding us food.

I would feign sleep when the guards did their rounds, ensuring we were all tucked in.

And now I was pretending to sleep until the werewolves had left.

I thought they were kind.

Gabriel was sometimes kind and sometimes frightening. I thought maybe things would be different here.

But then they hurt me. They stuck a needle in me...they...they tried to—

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Jason was still kind...but so was Gabriel until that happened.

Could I really stay here?

Could I trust them?

Once I was certain they were gone, I slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the front door.

I peered out into the night...toward the border.

Maybe I could sneak back over. Find Jackson.

My legs started to tremble as I remembered the agony of the bullet tearing through my arm.

I looked up at the sky, feeling utterly alone.

I missed Mommy and Daddy.

I missed Jackson.

I glanced back and forth between the border and the werewolf house.

Should I take the risk?