Harlan
Last night
Harlan hated border control. He always had, ever since he was a boy. Running around aimlessly, standing guard for hours, doing absolutely nothing. He knew this was pointless. The rebels were not going to show up, and they lacked the guts to deal with him or with his brother.
His brother was the alpha of the North American pack. The pack was so humongous he had to appoint several other alphas that were in charge of different territories just so he could keep control of it all. It worked splendidly. That way, he didn't have to kill any other alphas the moment they were born, which was what their father used to do.
The rebels were a few of the older wolves that had been around when the last alpha was in charge. They didn't like the way things were being handled and decided to try and take down the new leader. They knew they wouldn't be able to take on any of the new regimens directly. They would all die the second they tried. So they started killing newbies, women, and children that had nothing to do with any of this. Fuck, Harlan hated them.
He wouldn't deny he wished they did show up, just so he could get the satisfaction of ripping out their throats with his teeth. Now that he would enjoy. The mere thought even made him smile.
"Feeling murderous, aren't you, brother?" He heard Damien's voice in his head.
"Very," Harlan admitted to his alpha as he lowered his head in salute. His brother's wolf form was very similar to his. The only main differences were his eyes and the color of his fur. But other than that, they were basically twins.
"You're coming with me?" Harlan asked. He couldn't remember the last time Damien accompanied him on such a boring task.
As the beta, Harlan wouldn't even usually be in charge of this. This was a task for a common pack warrior, which was why Harlan was so bewildered he had been asked to do this.
"I'm beginning to think you are scared, brother," Harlan teased, but it was a genuine fear. His brother would have never asked the second-strongest male in the pack to go out and control his borders if he wasn't scared.
"I am," he shamelessly admitted. "We fought a seemingly endless war. I thought it would end the moment we killed Father, but I don't know... It seems like it has just begun," he admitted. "That is why the gammas are guarding the border with the US while we make sure our camp is safe."
"I can't imagine Elowen being happy about that," Harlan joked. Gammas were like the generals of the pack, and Elowen was very proud of her duty. She would have hated to do such a menial task.
"Yeah, I had to enlist Arden's help to convince her, who was, in turn, very happy to take a trip." Arden was Elowen's mate. They were complete opposites, but both of them were very strong gammas who fought extremely well. "Blaze went without questioning, as always." Blaze was the other gamma. He was extremely driven and focused. He was the perfect soldier, a man that never questioned orders. Harlan knew Damien secretly hoped he would find his mate soon. That was the reason he hadn't appointed another gamma to fill the remaining spot.
"I don't think you need to worry," Harlan changed the subject as they slowly walked around the area of their little clearing, which wasn't little at all. "You are doing a good job. Most of the pack alphas are okay with the new rules."
"I'd like to think that..." Something distracted Damien for a mere second, his red eyes glowing fiercely. A second later, it hit Harlan as well. Blood, a lot of it. And a foreign scent from another wolf.
"Let's go," was all that he said before he went into a sprint. Harlan followed without hesitation, but they separated so that they could cover more ground.
Her scent hit him first. It was a human girl. It took him less than two seconds to find her. Her eyes were open, and she was bleeding profusely. Her wounds were visible due to the fact she had no clothes on. She had a few scratches, but it was the bite that really worried him.
He felt an unbearable amount of rage he attributed to whoever had bitten her breaking the rules, but deep down he knew that wasn't the reason. There was something about her that made him care deeply.
But that didn't matter. There was no way she would survive that. Humans that turned into werewolves were unstable and very fragile. Most of them never survived the transformation. It was forbidden to turn humans into wolves because of that. There was only one exception. But he was sure that exception didn't apply, seeing as whoever bit her left her for dead.
He decided to approach her, trying to learn the scent of her attacker. Maybe that way, he would be able to avenge her. That way, her death wouldn't be in vain.
The moment she saw him, her breathing became very shallow. She probably thought he was going to eat her. He, of course, had no intention of that. And the moment their eyes met, she understood that.
Harlan had no idea how, but she did. There was something about this girl that got him slightly on edge. How was she not scared of him? Had she already accepted she was going to die?
He had no idea why, but something inside of him begged him to save this girl. He convinced himself maybe she would have information about who did this to her, so he howled.
Damien heard him from miles away and came running. He was there in seconds.
"What happened?"
"She was attacked," Harlan answered in an obvious way.
"I noticed," Damien responded with sadness. "Do you think a rebel did this?"
"I don't know, but she might," he gestured his head toward her. "We shouldn't let her die."
"She is probably not going to make it, Harlan," Damien countered.
"Selene would want us to try." Damien tensed at the mention of his mate. Sometimes he couldn't help that initial reaction. But he knew Harlan was right. And he would do anything for her.
"You get her to the pack house. I'll follow this scent and see where it leads."
As soon as his brother went away, Harlan turned back into his human form. The first time he did so, it was extremely painful. But now, it was as easy as breathing.
He gently scooped her up in his arms, and the moment their bare skin touched, he felt a tingling sensation all over his body. He figured it was the blood trickling all over him and ignored it.
He didn't even think to tell Selene he was showing up at her door with a bleeding human girl. He was too confused by his feelings. But his brother did tell her.
"Quickly, come in," Selene urged him inside without even sparing him a second glance the moment she noticed he was naked. "Take her to the east wing. Callum is there waiting for you." She looked directly into his eyes, and Harlan couldn't help but smirk at how flustered she looked.
He couldn't deny he still had feelings for her. But the bond snapped into place for his brother and her. And although he was extremely jealous... he had to be happy. He loved them both. They deserved each other.
He did as she said. Carrying the unconscious girl, he followed Callum's scent and found him easily.
"Hurry," Callum said as he took her from his arms and gently placed her into the bed. Harlan had no idea why that made him so uncomfortable. But the moment he started examining her, he had to remove himself from the room with the excuse that he needed to put on pants.
When he came back into the room, he couldn't even pretend he understood what the healer was doing. He was chanting and mixing herbs and doing shit.
"It is not 'shit,' Harlan," the witch doctor said calmly. "It's ancient medicine."
"Don't disrespect the craft, Harlan," Selene said with a teasing smile as she brought a bowl of water to him. Harlan just rolled his eyes.
"I have managed to stop the bleeding," Callum announced as he put her into a seating position and started bandaging her wounds.
"That in and of itself is a very good thing." Selene sighed with relief.
"So she'll live?" Selene asked what he was thinking.
"I think she will," Callum responded as he finished with the bandages and covered her up with a sheet.
"Please bring her some clothes. She looks cold." Harlan could see she had goosebumps, even from far away. Wolf sight.
"Right away." Selene exited the room and came back with a loose sleeping gown. Callum helped her put it on the still-unconscious girl.
And just as he made sure she was safe, he decided to go help his brother with the search for the bastard that did this to her.
"I'll be right back," he said calmly.
"I'll tell you once she wakes up," Selene declared.
"There's no need," he said as he exited the room and ventured into the woods.