Tatiana's Right Ch. 03

Tatiana let out a low growl at Amir and bared her teeth as she beat down every submissive thought in her head. Amir only grinned back and yanked her to her feet, then dragged her through the crowd to the den. As she realized what was happening, Tatiana began to scream and fight yet again in fury. Disbelief clouded her mind as what had happened sunk in. After coming so far and fighting so hard, she had been defeated. She would be forced to have several of Amir's pups and become nothing more than an accessory. A tool used for breeding the next line of Alphas. A slave to the pack rather than the leader.

Her inner wolf was ready to submit to the male that had dominated her. The beast didn't understand why the human half wasn't attracted to the stronger male. But that was the thing. A strong male wasn't enough for Tatiana. She needed to be herself. She needed to be the leader that headed the battle parties and protected her pack with every fiber of her being. And Amir was a threat to that.

The hold Amir had on Tatiana's neck tightened and she gagged. In her peripherals she saw the pack that had once looked up at her with reverence now looked down on her with pity and scorn. Every one she passed was given a deadly glare or a glimpse of her bared teeth. Amir stopped an Omega in the hall and asked where her room was. Conflicted and terrified by Tatiana's glare combined with Amir's presence, the wolf hesitated before spilling it all to Amir in a rush. In a matter of minutes Tatiana was dragged into her suites and thrown to the floor at the Alpha's feet. When she jolted to her feet, she was startled to see him pacing in front of her as if conflicted.

"What's the matter? Not willing to try and dominate me again?" Tatiana goaded. Amir looked over at her with worry and went back to pacing.

"I never wanted to mate you, babe. You are the one that issued the challenge that threatened every alpha male's position with their pack. It was to either answer the call or look like a coward," Amir snapped as he hurriedly walked toward the window. He shoved it open and went to Tatiana's room.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Tatiana demanded impatiently. She was so confused it was beginning to diminish the anger within her.

"Well, darling, I made a few plans before I flew over to challenge you," Amir drawled as he stuffed money, clothes, a new phone, a laptop, and food into an old hiking backpack of mine. "I decided that I did not have any desire to mate or have pups with you if I managed to be the victor in our little scuffle. So I came up with a plan to make it look like you had escaped me while you fought against my attempt to mate you. You will jump through that window and take off for the woods. I can only give you a five-minute head start before sending a patrol after you for appearance's sake. If they capture you I will be forced to execute you. I called up an old friend and he will be waiting for you at 13225 West Broadripple Street in Queens, New York. If you want help, meet him there at 6:47 pm on Saturday. That gives you three days, got it? Three. Days." He shoved the backpack into my arms and hurried me to the window. Before I jumped, I turned to him with confusion in my eyes.

"Why are you doing this Amir?" I asked softly. He only smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Because you have a strong spirit that doesn't deserve to be trampled. You remind me of my sister before my father got to her," he said kindly. I let out a small laugh and was rewarded with a questioning stare.

"Should I be insulted that you don't want to have se with me?" Amir had to hold back his laughter and shook his head.

"No honey. I'm not into women," he said, then shoved me out the open window to be swallowed up by the night.

**********

Tatiana's breath came in gasps as she ran through the forest that she had once called her home. Howls sounded behind her and she could hear the footfalls of wolves in the distance. They were close. So close. With a huff she morphed smoothly into her hybrid form, which increased her stride length and speed. She plunged into the wide river and was suddenly grateful that the bag on her back was waterproof. Instead of swimming across she let the water carry her farther downstream and clutched a rock that jutted out of the water about 50 meters from where she had entered the river. The water concealed her scent from her pursuers and they would go directly across the river rather than follow it downstream.

As the wolves splashed through the heavy currents Tatiana tried to recognize them. Mostly it was wolves from Amir's pack but she recognized a few of her own. James, who was a low Beta and a kiss up to every superior. Melinda, an old classmate she hadn't known too well. What pierced her heart was the sight of one of her best friends, Cynthia, in the lead of the group. Sorrow and betrayal made Tatiana begin to see red, but again her inner wolf was at odds with her. The wolf said to run and leave this behind. To begin a new life where it was safe. Begrudgingly Tatiana had to agree. Getting killed now would be pointless and a waste of Amir's efforts to give her the freedom that she needed.

Once all signs of the patrol were gone Tatiana pulled herself out of the river and walked. And walked. Miles and hours passed with the distant howling of frustrated wolves on a breeze. She went west toward the mountains, where she knew a small, private town lay hidden from society. She would get some rest in a tree outside the town and catch a bus to Atlanta the next morning. After that she would get on a bus to Washington D.C. and then New York. After a couple hours Tatiana reached the edge of the trees to reveal the tiny town in the valley below. It was so quiet and peaceful that it made Tatiana yearn for such a life. One where she could live in peace away from the politics of the supernatural world and the burning need within her for something different. Something greater.

After heaving a great sigh and pulling herself up onto a wide branch of an ancient Sycamore, Tatiana rested her eyes. She wouldn't allow herself to fall asleep, of course. That would be far too dangerous and nightmares would plague her. It amazed even Tatiana that she was handling this all so calmly. She was watching her life go to hell and instead of letting it tear her apart, she was given the chances to fight back. But why had Amir done this? Why didn't he just kill her, despite her 'strong heart'? Did it really matter that much in the face of losing his position in his pack?

Although she had no answers to her questions and no comfort of friends to guide her, Tatiana had hope. She was alive and where there was life there was hope. She would meet this friend of Amir's. At this point, how could it hurt? He was trusted by her savior and so she would give this stranger a chance.

With heart empty and her mind full, Tatiana rested. It had been a long evening. But it was so strange not to hear the heartbeats of her pack mates. Not to hear their voices in her mind or see their dreams meld with her own. It was a cold, lonely existence for Tatiana that night, one of many to come.

****************

Tatiana stepped off of the subway train in Queens, New York three days later. Her eyes were red from lack of a good rest and crying, her shoulders sagging and the existence without a pack was excruciating. Not to mention that her wolf had been at odds with her the entire time. It was mentally damaging and made Tatiana feel paranoid and self-conscious about every decision she made. She didn't stand out too much, though. Almost every person on the street where she was had bloodshot eyes that darted around suspiciously. When she reached the address that Amir had given her, Tatiana was relieved to see that it was an old cafe.

After walking inside and ordering a cup of chili and a glass of water, Tatiana sat down in one of the booths by the window as she looked out onto the street for any sign of Amir's friend. Hours passed. It was nearly closing time and she was the last one in the cafe. After five hours she was ready to burst into tears. Her last hope was gone and she would be driven absolutely mad from the lack of a pack. Wolves were not solitary creatures and whenever one was cast out or runs away from a pack they never last long. Suddenly the bells at the door rang as it opened with a soft creak. Tatiana ignored it after jumping every time the last several hours.

It surprised her when the person that stepped up to the table was in fact not the frumpy old waitress but instead a man who looked a few years older than herself. He had sandy hair that fell down to his shoulders and a 5 o'clock shadow covering his angular jaw. A strait nose led up to harsh eyebrows and piercing blue eyes. He had high cheekbones and lips that were almost too full for a man. She dared to say that he was even more beautiful than Amir. And her wolf did not like him one bit. Her eyes lit gold as she bit back a growl. The gorgeous man only chuckled and took a seat across from her.

"I'll try not to take offense to that," he rumbled. His voice was like thunder that rolled through his chest. The muscles in his arms and chest bulged slightly against his AC/DC t-shirt as he leaned his elbows on the table. Normally Tatiana's human half would want to lick a man like this, but something about him seemed off. Like he was off limits to anyone. It was all very confusing, but wasn't everything these days?

"I'll try to control it," Tatiana quipped. "But you should at least give me the courtesy of telling me your name."

"Oh, how rude of me. I'm Grant. My coworker was supposed to meet you, but he was.....delayed. So he asked me to be here in his place. I am here to give you, dear Tatiana, a choice. You may either join our cause or leave peacefully and live a human life away from any pack in the world until we give you the all clear or the no-go. Understand?" Grant said this all with a very businesslike tone as he leaned back in the chair. However his words only managed to confuse Tatiana further.

"What is your 'cause' exactly?" she asked suspiciously. Her question caused Grants eyes to open so wide she thought they would pop out of his skull.

"You don't know of the wars?" he whispered, then cursed when she shook her head. "Well then you have a lot to catch up on, dear."