Torn Between Enemy Alphas

Chapter 43- Coming Home

It was close to midnight and they were nearing the border of his pack lands. Fin felt a sudden surge of energy and excitement. This was it. He was bringing his mate home.

Bringing Alice home didn't look anything like he had imagined it would. He still had to end this thing with Cadman before they could settle down to their happily ever after. But he'd found her and she was more perfect than he'd believed was possible. Everything they had to push through now were just details they needed to get out of the way.

The forest around them had become familiar. He recognized the scents and sounds, and managed to pick up a trail that he knew as he led the way with Alice staying close behind him. It struck him, for a moment, that it had almost been too easy, making their way from the cave to Lena's cabin, coming upon it as if guided there by the hand of the Goddess herself, and then finding their way with Lena's directions to his own lands without a single bit of trouble. The journey had been absolutely nothing like he expected, and he was grateful for it.

Half an hour later they arrived at the boundary of his land and he stopped, reaching out with his mind for his Beta, Rune, only to be met with a torrent of confusion and anger. He tried again, sending the message that he and Alice had arrived, but no coherent words managed to come back through the link.

Just then he heard footsteps coming from the north, running along the trail that skirted the perimeter of the lands. He nodded. He'd hoped to come across a border guard on this night, especially now that he hadn't been able to contact Rune, so that he could get an update on what was going on before he arrived at the Pack House. It would also prevent any of the guards from picking up Alice's trail, since they didn't yet know her scent, without him having to announce their arrival via the pack mind link to every person in the entire pack, since he didn't know who was on guard duty that night.

Roric was young, but Fin knew him fairly well. The dark haired young man was in human form, or he would have noticed the two wolves watching him long before his Alpha shifted into human form and stepped foot onto the path about ten feet in front of where the young warrior had been walking steadily, his eyes sweeping from side to side.

"Alpha." The expression on Roric's face was not what Fin had expected. Usually when his men saw him they smiled warmly. He was both well liked and well respected. Especially because he had been unmated before this past week and he had spent a good deal of his waking hours, at least those not devoted to other pack business, training and working with the warriors of his pack. They knew him better than anyone else. But the expression that flashed across the young warrior's face now, as he met his Alpha's eyes and then quickly looked away, was fear, and Fin thought, maybe doubt.

"My mate and I have been through a lot this past week and we've only just made it home."

"She's with you now?" The warrior glanced around, his eyes finally finding the golden She-Wolf as she stepped forward, staying close to her mate's legs.

"I'm sorry about what's going to happen, Alpha." Roric's voice was so low that Fin barely heard it.

"Roric?" He tried to meet the young man's eyes again, but Roric was gazing steadily at the ground near Alice's paws.

"There were so many of them. And you couldn't expect us to stand up to soldiers with their training." Roric glanced up meeting his Alpha's eyes for just a moment. "Not once they took Beta Rune. And you were gone. And they said that Izzy said such horrible things about you Alpha. We didn't believe that. Not really. Not most of us. I don't even think they do really. At least not the Alphas. But they have to investigate. I would let you run. But they'll catch you. And probably kill me. They're everywhere. Even out there beyond our borders, searching for her. Alpha Vos is losing his mind."