The Alpha's Mutt
Touched by the Goddess

Farris and I stood in front of the pack house awaiting the arrival of the hybrid witch family from the Hemmings River Pack. As soon as we had reached out to their Alpha, they were more than happy to come and assist us with whatever we needed.

As their dark sedan pulled up, I found myself growing anxious. I had never met a witch before, and I was not certain what to expect. Most witches were quite secretive and kept to closely guarded circles. I could not blame them; they were powerful creatures and there were many out there who would exploit them for it. It was honestly quite a surprise that this one had left his coven in favor of joining a pack. A testament to how strong the mate bond could be even when one of the partners was not a wolf.

We watched as three beings emerged from the vehicle. Two hybrids and a witch.

“You must be Alphas Farris and Mysti.” The older male witch approached, holding out his hand for us to shake.

He had his long, gray hair tied back neatly behind his head and his smile reached his eyes, causing small wrinkles to form. I had gone from mildly nervous to completely relaxed in his presence. He had this aura about him that just welcomed you in, embracing you with his kind energy.

“My name is Relic.” He offered with a slight bow of his head. “These are my children, Lucy and Percy, the twins. I am sorry that my mate could not be here, she felt it necessary to stay behind and help tend to her pack. Speaking of which, our deepest gratitude for letting us know the cure and sending over some of your doctor’s fantastic vaccinations. I cannot tell you the relief that we are all feeling.”

“We are happy to have helped. Glad to hear that your mate is back on her feet again. And thank you so much for your prompt response to our call for help. Time is really of the essence.” I responded.

I reached out being sure to shake hands with the twins as well. I wanted them to know that we appreciated their help just as much as we did their father’s. They were both warm and friendly like their father, but admittedly their purple eyes had taken me by surprise, and I had to stop myself from expressing any sort of reaction for fear of offending them.

“Touched by the Goddess…” Lucy gasped upon taking my hand to shake it.

“What?” I wondered a bit surprised at her announcement.

“You. You have been touched by the Moon Goddess.” She nodded her head, affirming her own words.

“Interesting.” Relic remarked, scratching his chin in consideration.

“What is it?” Farris demanded, growing concerned now that they were talking about me.

“It is nothing to worry about, Alpha. I assure you.” Relic offered, sensing the shift in Farris’s energy. “If anything, it is a large point in our favor. I am keen to explore this further. However, if you would not mind, I think it is best that we get settled in. After which we can meet and begin discussing the entire situation at length.” He made a quick gesture towards their luggage.

“Of course. Let us show you to your rooms.” I agreed, completely understanding their meaning.

We led them inside the pack house, which over the last several days had begun to return to normal function. Almost all the wolves had received the makeshift vaccination that our doctors had been able to throw together in record time. They had even gone so far as to determine that the higher ranked that a wolf was, the less blood they required in order to trigger their immune system to fight the virus. This discovery had allowed the blood we had collected to travel quite a bit further than we had expected. We had even been able to begin sending some vaccines to other packs along with instructions on how they could create their own, as long as they had WILLING half breeds available.

This had been my biggest concern all along. I feared that a few more nefarious wolves out there may try to force the hybrids into giving their blood in order to create the cure. In my nightmares, I imagined mutts being held captive and their blood being forcefully drained from them for the benefit of someone else. But I had to shake off these fears, doing my best to trust that everyone would come together, peacefully, in this time of crisis.

The Moon Goddess had found a way to assure that we had a cure available to us. One which was, apparently, never supposed to exist. We had to be grateful for that and believe that she knew what she was doing; that she had a plan.

We showed them each to a room, all near enough to each other that they had immediate access to the other. We agreed that we would meet in Farris’s office in an hour, giving them a chance to freshen up and maybe unpack a little. I felt a little badly for having to rush them straight to work. But we were playing with fire here. We had no idea how long it would be before the vampires would attempt to attack. We needed to replace a way to get to them first.

A short time later, we were in Farris’s office, sitting on his couch, discussing different ideas when there was light knock on the door. I knew that it could be one of several beings that we were waiting for. But based on the light scent that I was picking up from the other side of the doorway, I assumed it to be Jamari. I had asked her to join us for this particular meeting, primarily because Jamari was half-elf. Elves had an affinity for magic. Not in the same way that a witch does, of course. And to be honest, Jamari had not spent much time exploring that side of herself, but she was the closest thing that we had within our own packs.

“Come in.” I called.

She entered the room and offered a bow of her head. I nodded back to her in response. A symbol of mutual respect rather than an acknowledgment of rankings.

“Alphas.” She offered in greeting.

“Thank you for joining us Jamari. Make yourself comfortable. The Vrebras family should be here any minute.” I stated, gesturing towards the chairs.

Jamari walked further into the room, but did not take a seat, which was something I had expected from her. As usual, she positioned herself close enough to be involved in the conversation, but far enough away so that she could remain standing without blocking anyone else’s path or view. This was typical behavior for her, so I had expected nothing less. She was always at attention when she was in public. It was rare to see her relax, especially now given the circumstances.

A few moments later, there was another knock on the door and the witches from Hemmings River joined us in the room. They wasted no time getting straight to work as they began to pull out various items, placing them on the coffee table that sat adjacent to Farris’s office couch.

“Now…if you do not mind, Alphas and Beta…” Relic began, making sure to acknowledge Jamari’s presence as well. “I believe the first thing that we should address is Alpha Mysti’s blessing. Once we have a better understanding of that, then we will know how it plays in with everything else.”

“Sounds like a plan. What do I need to do?” I wondered.

“Nothing really. Sit still and maybe answer a question or two.” Relic shrugged.

“Alright.” I nodded in agreement.

“Alpha Farris, I am afraid that I am going to have to ask you to give us a bit of space. My children will need to be able to have access to Alpha Mysti. Also, please be aware, my son will be sitting behind her and will be placing his hands on her shoulders. I do know that Alphas can be quite possessive, and I do not wish you to be surprised.” Relic explained.

“Will this cause her pain? Or harm her in any way?” Farris demanded, before he would budge even an inch from my side.

“No, sir. I assure you. If anything, she should be stronger for it in the end.” Relic assured.

Farris huffed in reluctance, but rose from his seat anyway, walking towards his desk, leaning against it, as he kept his gaze set on me. We had both agreed that the Vrebras family seemed trustworthy, and we sensed absolutely no threat from them. However, I was his mate, and he is an Alpha, he could not help his overprotective nature.

I moved to the center of the couch and turned my body so that I was facing Farris’s direction, instead of facing forward, and curling my knees underneath me. The female hybrid, Lucy, stepped forward and sat on her knees on the couch in front of me. Then I could feel her brother, Percy, settling onto the couch behind me. Percy then placed one of his hands on each of my shoulders as Lucy placed her hands on either side of my face.

They closed their eyes and began to focus intently, on what exactly, I did not know. I did my best to relax, trying to keep myself open to them. I had to be careful not to put up a wall and block their efforts, as would have come naturally to me in such a situation. I suddenly began feeling a strange energy start to flow through me, it felt both welcome and intrusive at the same time, an interesting sensation.

“What color is your coat?” Lucy questioned, almost taking me by surprise.

“Silver.” I answered.

“Hmm…” Lucy hummed.

Leaving me curious as to why that was important. Granted, I had never met another silver wolf with a coat quite like mine. In the past, I had considered it grey and dull, but my confidence had also been nonexistent. Now that I was a strong, confident wolf, I had come to appreciate that silvery color as it reminded me of the moon’s glow. And when the moonlight danced along my coat, there was shimmer to the fur that I had never seen happen on another’s. But I had only believed it to be unique, not of any real importance. Who would expect my wolf to be special, especially when I had no control over it.

“There is great strength here.” Lucy commented, as she continued to focus on something within me.

“Enhanced speed as well.” Percy interjected, causing me to jump some, this was the first time that I heard him speak since they arrived.

“Strength. Speed. And stamina. An impressive blessing indeed.” Lucy concluded before gasping slightly. “You have met with Her in person?! You have spoken with the Goddess?”

I was a bit taken aback by the sudden change of subject, but I quickly righted myself and responded to her question.

“She came to me in a dream.”

“Quite special indeed. Very few are graced with the presence of a God.”

“I do not know how special I am.” I argued. “I only recently started being able to control the shifting of my wolf. For the past couple of years, I have been stuck in wolf form for the majority of the time, only able to shift into human form for one week every month.”

“Those who wield great power must struggle to earn it. How else would the Goddess know that you can be trusted with Her gift?” Lucy responded without missing a beat.

“Those who suffer great adversity yet come out stronger on the other side. Are the ones with the courage to take on an even greater fight.” Percy added, almost speaking to himself.

I took in their words, processing their meanings. It made sense to me. Maybe the Goddess had never been ignoring me or neglecting me. Maybe She had been purposely testing me. Ensuring that I would be ready for what was to come. The suggestion did not erase the hurt or the years of painful memories, but to know there was a purpose behind it, gave me an odd sense of peace. I had not suffered for nothing.

“Can we trigger her gift?” Relic questioned.

“Quite easily. It is just under the surface.” Lucy confirmed. “I am surprised that it has not just revealed itself naturally at this point.”

“Good then the transition should be simple for her.”

The witches released the hold that they had over me, withdrawing their energy from mine. Then they all gathered around the coffee table, putting items into a small, stone cauldron while Relic read over pages in an old, weathered book. You could sense that there was much discussion happening between them, yet their conversation was silent.

After mixing all the ingredients together, they held their hands, steadily, over the cauldron, palms down. They closed their eyes and began to concentrate. They spoke quietly in an unknown tongue. I watched in awe as purple sparkles began to glimmer forth from their hands, flowing into the mixture inside the cauldron. The contents began to pulse and twinkle, until the otherwise unremarkable concoction held a steady neon blue glow emanating from it.

Once they were satisfied with their creation, they carefully poured the mixture into a small vial and capped it with a cork. They sealed the cork into place using the wax from a silver candle that they had burning. Then held it up to light to inspect it a final time.

“Drink this before you go to sleep tonight. It will be easier for your body to undergo the change if you are in a relaxed state.” Relic instructed as he handed the vial over to me.

“Alright.” I responded, cocking an eyebrow as I looked over the shimmering liquid.

“You may want to have some juice or something nearby to wash it down. It may not have the best taste.” He warned me and I nodded with a frown.

I was suddenly looking a little less forward to this. But a minor discomfort to give us any kind of edge in this battle was more than worth it. Anything that I can do to protect my packs and my mate, I would not hesitate to do.

“Now that we have gotten that out of the way…” Relic spoke up again. “Tell us all that you know about these vampires.”