The Falcon Ridge Series Book 1 She's Not For You
Chapter 13

(Chapter song ‘Feel So Close’ by Calvin Harris)

RIVER

This smile. This smile on my face right now, hasn’t left my lips in five fucking days.

Oh my god.

Ok. Yes, she blew me off, but you know what? I’m in way farther than I expected to be. I made headway and I can tell I made an impression on her. I gave her what she wanted and she was so responsive to it. I’ve never had a girl like that. My god. She felt so damn good! I still feel her. I’ve fantasized about her, dreamed about her and I can’t wait to touch her again.

My week at the Unit is almost over and I need to make two stops when I get out. One is to see Anna and hopefully get an nice welcome home from her and the other is to my dad. I still feel like I can help Anna with her problems, but this next relationship step is an added bonus. She wants it to be a hook up, but I feel like she felt what I did. There’s a connection there. Something’s holding her back. I just need to replace out what and convince her that I’m the one she needs to fix everything.

I’m flying high as I walk to the Operations Unit. I throw out fist bumps as I pass fellow soldiers in the fifteen foot wide halls. Falcon Ridge may be a military base, but some days it feels like high school all over again. I’m definitely sporting that vibe after nailing the hottest girl in school. Nothing’s pulling me down from this high I’m riding.

Just as I open the briefing room door, Zeke hits my back. “Hey, where have you been?”

“Training, why?” I let the door close.

“We got a mission. Dragons were seen heading to Maple. About 400. We’re being deployed in twenty minutes.” He informs.

“Weird. I didn’t get the link.” I scratch my head.

“Are you blocked?” He asks as he tilts his head.

I shrug. I let my mind go and check. Fuck. I must have closed my link while thinking of Anna.

I unblock my link and tap his chest with hand. “Let’s go.”

We both turn and jog down the hallways to the east side of the building. The deployment area is filled with supply and transport trucks.

When we get there, Andrews is already barking orders.

“Ops 2 and 6 will set up on the west side!” He points to a location a map that’s pinned to a board. We all stand at ease as we listen. In our heads, we’re praying we don’t die today.

People are running around, loading trucks and soldiers who have their orders already. Medics are also getting ready to deploy.

“Ops 1. You have front line.” Andrews eyes me and I slightly nod to him.

Andrews is the dad I wish I had. He always treats me with respect and listens to what I have to say, even if it’s not my place to do so.

Our Ops leader is Alpha Oliver Fredericks. Son of Head Alpha Fredericks. He’s a real dick. Especially, when it comes to protocol. He also hates his position here. I’d love for him step down, but he won’t. Not until the Head Prison Unit position becomes available and Alpha Cole isn’t stepping down from there any time soon.

Oliver barks at us to deploy and we all load up on the trucks.

So, who are we fighting? The sickest of all shifter packs. The Dragons.

They first came on the scene a little over 20 years ago. Nobody knows where Draco Torrent came from, but it doesn’t matter. The guy is sick. Murderous, evil and downright scary.

Torrent gives you two options and two options only. Join him or die. He's a purest for sure, but has no problems absorbing packs and gathering rogues, if that’s what it takes.

A dragon is a white wolf. Usually with almost white eyes. They’re human counter parts are white haired also. They all sport a tattoo of a crested dragon on their forearms.

Through the years, he attacked for bodies or body count. Now he wants pack land. He’s been hitting town after town, killing everyone and moving in dragon troops. Then we come in and flush them out.

He’s smart and calculating. He's always ahead of us. So much so, that by the time the Intel is confirmed, the attacks already happened. We’re always just a little too late.

Our biggest blunders were Helena and Timber. 1600 men, women and pups. Literally gutted with no survivors except one and to this day, she can’t tell us anything about Torrent or how they knew about out Intel.

Torrents a major player. We take him down, we will win this war.

It’s just over an hour’s drive to Maple.

Alpha Jacobs assured us the Intel was sound and that the Dragons weren’t there yet.

We were all set to save a town from destruction, but we rolled right into an ambush.

Sounds of gunfire ring out as our truck comes to a stop on the highway.

“GET DOWN!” I yell.

We hit the truck bed and the walls were filled with bullet holes. The sound of the metal being shredded was deafening.

I covered my head as metal shrapnel flew around the truck.

The back door opens and I lift my head.

“MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!” A soldier stands outside waving us out fast.

We all scramble and tear through our clothes. Jumping off the end of the shot up truck as wolves.

Loud growls fill the air as I round the trucks and the army of Dragons came into view.

I get a bead on one in front and rear up. My back legs push off the pavement and I jump at the first throat I see.

My jaws open, I barely see his eye as my teeth sink into his flesh. My chest hits him and we fall to the ground. I feel his jugular and I shake my head like I’m dead if I don’t. His blood fills my mouth and pours down my chin. As I shake and tear at his neck, his blood splatters the fighters around us.

I rear my head and slam him down. My paw step on his chest and I rip that fuckers throat out like it’s a grade A steak. His body has less than minute to live as his heart pumps his blood onto the road. You’re not healing that, asshole.

I look around and pick my next target.

As I kill anything with white fur, I replace Zeke.

‘How the fuck did they know we were here?!’ I yell through the link.

His blonde wolf looks at me. ‘I don’t know, man. Don’t worry about that. Worry about killing them.’

My wolf nods and rejoins the fight.

‘UNIT 3 BLOCK THE EAST! UNIT 7 GO FOR THE THROAT! WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY GUNNERS?!’

Andrews links orders as his large brown wolf throws dead Dragons over his shoulder.

‘ANDREWS! 100 MORE OFF THE SOUTH LINE!’

Communications leader Alpha Jacobs informs.

‘UNITS 1, 2 AND 4! SOUTH SIDE! MOVE!’

I run through the fights and breach the edge of the road as the surrounding trees fill with snarling white wolves.

I rush into the trunks and gunfire erupts as Unit 4 starts a volley of bullets. Trees splinter and barks flies as bullets ricochet off them at my sides.

I twist my body to the side and skid my legs under an incoming dragon. Tripping him. My wolf grabs his throat as he starts to fall on me and I spin around, landing his back in the dirt. I lift him up by his neck and slam his body into a trunk. I feel his throat tear and I finish him off.

‘ANOYONE HAVE A BEAD ON TORRENT?!’

‘NEGATIVE!’

I start to scan the trees. I don’t see anyone who would be considered the Alpha here. They all look like fighters. Maybe he’s somewhere else.

I run further into the trees and jump some brush. I run down a path and I’m struck in the side.

The Dragon has my rib meat and he’s shaking me like a fucking rag doll.

My wolf yelps and screams. His paws try to replace ground to push off of. When that doesn’t work, he twists himself in half and lands his canines into the head of the bastard. The Dragon squeals and lets go. I quickly assess the damage and decide I’m good to go for now and turn on him.

His head is bleeding. His white fur is filthy and caked with blood and mud. His lips tremble in a snarl as he growls. I give it right back. My fur stands on end and I run at him with open jaws. He does the same and we clash. Drooling and biting, we both try to replace the sweet spot.

I grab his leg and pull up, sending him to his back. I go in for he soft under belly and dig into it. His insides practically burst out of his gut. His wolf’s screams pierce my ear drums, but it was a sweet sound.

I rip his head off for good measure, then assess.

If Torrent is anywhere, he’d be at the back of this mess.

I run through the fight and come to an area that’s near a deep creek. Water is splashing up in waves as Alliance fighters are tirelessly attacking a huge white wolf with a black cross on his head.

His red eyes look for blood as he rips us to pieces.

My eyes narrow. ‘I'VE GOT TORRENT! SOUTH EAST QUADRANT!’ I send out an open link.

I sprint to help my brothers and leap at Torrent. Just as I was about to make contact, his wolf grabs mine and he spins. I fly through the air in his circle and he lets me go. I fly a distance and hit a tree. The crack of a rib sends shooting pain into my side.

He tosses another fighter, lifts his head and howls.

The woods respond.

In a split second, the area fills with Dragons.

Our fighters are on their asses, but it was enough of a distraction for Torrent to turn tail and run.

The pain made me shift and I was leaning on the tree I hit, holding my side.

My eyes met Torrents as he ran by. I swear, his wolf was smiling. His evil filled my soul and created a chill that ran right through me. He disappeared into the trunks and got away.

The rest of the Dragons still alive, took off right behind him.

Some of our fighters followed, but then turned back.

Zeke found me. “Hey, you ok.” He helps me up.

I cringe. “Broken rib.”

He smiles. “Could be worse.” We step across the blood soaked forest floor.

The Units help the medics assess who’s alive and who’s dead. The dead Dragons are dragged out and piled on the highway in both wolf and human form.

Andrews stands in the center of it all. “Get those men to the hospital!...Any Dragons left alive, I want in interrogation rooms in five hours!...Let’s clean this mess up!”

We walk up to him as he barks orders. He turns to us. He sees my blood soaked side. “Son, get that checked out.”

I nod. “I will. What’s the status on Maple?” I ask.

He places his hands on his hips. “Untouched. I’m starting to think this was a trap for us. To call us out.”

“So, a direct attack on Falcon. Is he coming for us, now?” Zeke asks.

Andrews shakes his head. “I can’t answer that, but if I had to guess…Torrent just declared all out war.” He looks around. “Let’s clean up and get out of here. I’ve got to go home and hug my boys.”

We both nod and he turns to bark out more orders.

Zeke carries me to a temporary medic tent and sits me down on a cot. I wince at the pain as I sit.

He thumbs over his shoulder. “I’m going to help search for bodies in the woods. You ok here?”

I wipe my brow. “Yeah, bro. I’m good. You go.”

He slaps my shoulder. “You did good.” He smiles.

“You too.” I grin back.

I watch him leave as a medic comes over to me to patch me up.

I definitely need to see Anna now. I came so close to dying today. I need to feel her around me and taste her lips…one more time.

I take stock of my emotions as the medic wraps my chest.

Every dragon I killed today, I killed for Anna. I made the world little less dangerous for her. I use to fight for the thrill of it, the celebrity of it, now I feel like I have purpose. A goal. To kill the Dragons and make them pay for hurting her. To help her fight them and the demons they created within her.

If the dragons are coming, Anna needs to be stronger and I’m the only one that can make her become stronger.