Happy Friday Everyone!!!

Here is this weeks Friday Flash Fiction!!  This story ended up being too long for the flash fiction and was creeping toward the short story category.  So, I’ve split it up a little.  Hadley and Gavin’s story will be in a 3 part mini-series.

As will ALL of my Friday Flash Fiction….This is RAW and UNEDITED!  I write the story and DO NOT go back through it.  I only correct spelling (if I get that little red squiggly line under the word).  I hope you enjoy this weeks story and would love to hear your feedback! 

Much love to you ALL and have an AMAZING weekend!

“Saving Windrose”

She ran for her life.  The car that scurried away from the curb belonged to her brother, Koby, but it wouldn’t get her far.  The hunk of junk BMW was about a hundred years old, and stood out like a sore thumb. The yellow paint could be seen for miles, but she had to leave. The car had sat for the last six months in the barn, covered up…so no one knew it was there.

The new alpha of the pack was after her.  Hadley Easton, unmated female alpha, was prime real estate these days.  Twenty-seven and unmated was unheard of.

The new alpha had rolled into their little town of shifters and fought for his place as head of the Windrose pack. Windrose was a little town, deep in the backwoods of southern Alabama.  The town had no red light, and could barely even be called a town.  There were only one hundred and fifty residents. Well, now one hundred and sixty-two, after the old alpha and his family were killed by the werewolf who’d taken over the town.  The new alpha and fourteen of his men had increased the population of their tiny, werewolf only community.

Unmated females were treated no better than slaves, and Hadley had a big target on her head, since she was born an alpha female.  A hot commodity at her prime, she could rule a pack a hundred times the size of the one she was born into, once she was mated to her true mate.

And Jericho Ross was not her true mate.  He wanted to force a mating with her, but she was not willing to go through the ritual he had planned.  Bile rose in her throat just thinking of it, and if she wasn’t in such a hurry to get away, she would’ve pulled to the side of the road to retch.

The ancient ritual was one of what the old-timers called a ‘true mating’.  ‘True matings’ were done hundreds of years ago, when their kind were more animal than human.  The matings were usually arranged, and the female would be mounted in front of the pack, to ensure there was no question about if the mating had truly taken place.  Hadley’s grandmother had told the stories to her once about their ancestors, and how the females were basically raped and brutalized at the hands of their mate, until they had become with child.  This new alpha, Jericho Ross, wanted to revert back to the old ways, and Hadley was his target. He wanted her, and he’d stop at nothing to get her.

There was nowhere to go.  Just hours before, Jericho had found Hadley, hiding in a cabin in the woods surrounding Windrose.  He was in his wolf form and attacked her.  Thankfully, she was able to get away from the new alpha and went straight to her brother’s house.

Koby had shoved his keys in her hand and told her to drive south, almost to the Florida border, then she’d know when she found where she needed to be.

There were only eighty miles between Windrose and the state line.  Hadley just hoped that whoever Koby trusted would find her, before Jericho did and took her back home…to hell.

Gavin Ward paced alongside the road, waiting for the bright BMW to come into view.  This was the only way Koby’s sister would be traveling, as she escaped from the clutches of Jericho Ross.

The man had tried to take over the Eldridge pack months ago, but Gavin was too strong and beat the man in his challenge to take over his town, his pack.  Now, he was seriously angry at himself for not dispatching the man when he had the chance.

It was in his alpha nature to fight to the death, but he’d let Jericho run with his tail between his legs, thinking the man had learned his lesson.  Obviously, he didn’t.

Since word came from his best friend, Koby Easton, that Jericho had fought and won in Windrose, Gavin had heard of the horrible things that were happening.

Koby had gotten a message out saying that Jericho was going to force a mating with his sister Hadley and that he was desperate for the Eldridge packs help.  Knowing first-hand Jericho’s ability and strength, Gavin had sent word back to Koby to get her out of there as soon as possible and to his safety.

Hadley was an unmated, alpha female, just coming into her prime.  From the way Koby had spoken of his sister when they were in college together, Hadley was as special as they come.

Oh, and Gavin had seen her picture so many times that he still had wonderful dreams about the female.  She was strong, muscular, and absolutely stunning.  Long brown hair, that fell in ringlets to her waist, and huge blue eyes that could out shine any luxury sports car or multi-million dollar home she stood next too.  She wasn’t a model, though.  No, Hadley Easton was a mechanic at the garage she and Koby owned in Windrose.

“Here she comes,” Gavin’s second-in-command, Colton Farris, announced as he saw the yellow hood of the car topping the hill at a high rate of speed.  With his enhanced sight, Gavin saw the fear in her beautiful eyes, as she sped down the road.

The convoy of his men’s trucks were parked alongside the road, just at border of the town limits of Eldridge, Alabama.  The next town over was actually in the state of Florida.  She had to know that this was where she was to stop, but she didn’t seem to want to let off the gas.

“She’s not stopping,” Colt announced, loudly.

“She’ll stop,” Gavin assured his friend.

He locked eyes with Hadley, his true nature taking ahold.  He felt his fangs punch through his gums, and his eyes turn the shade of the moon.  It was only a split second before the car slowed, and he saw relief in her eyes.

Gavin waited until the car came to a complete stop, before moving from his original position in the grass.  The stretch of road they were on was usually deserted, only traffic from locals coming back into town form their jobs at the sawmill in the next town over.

The car shuttered to a stop, a defined hiss coming from the engine as it quieted. Hadley clenched her hands on the steering wheel for a moment, before taking a deep breath, pulling her true alpha nature to the forefront of her mind, before opening the door.

There were not many female alphas born in recent times, so Gavin and the other men around him made hesitant steps toward her, she was an oddity.  Their automatic instincts were to protect her at all cost, with their lives, if it was called for.

“Hadley Easton,” Gavin growled, his alpha bubbling to the surface.  If she was in any state of shock, his leadership should calm her wolf and the two of them would come to a conclusion, together, that Gavin was here to help…not to harm.

“Gavin,” she whimpered, and immediately fell to her knees on the asphalt.  The men rushed to her side, but didn’t touch her, until Gavin reached for her arms.  They were bruised and bloodied, like she had been mauled by a wolf recently, in his shifted form.

“Did Jericho do this to you,” Gavin demanded.  His harsh use of words caused his entire guard, all four of them to bow their heads in submission.  Only, Hadley was not affected by the strength of his words.  In fact, she buried herself into his embrace, letting him take the brunt of her weight, which wasn’t much.  She’d had lost weight since the last photos he’d seen of her, just a year prior, when her brother had sent an email to him, attached with photos from their vacation to the beach.

“I narrowly escaped,” she swallowed, her mouth was parched.  Gavin motioned for someone to bring water.  Hadley took a long swallow before continuing.  “It was hectic there for the past few hours.  Jericho…he did things, tried to do more things, but I fought him.  I was able to get away and that’s when Koby shoved me in his car with directions to head toward the state line, due south.  He said that help would be waiting.  My brother didn’t tell me it was going to be you.  Thank you…just, thank you, Gavin.”

“I’m here, my alpha,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.  You can let go now, rest.” At his command, she succumbed to her exhaustion and lost consciousness.

Gavin scooped the tiny woman up into his arms and carried her to the cab of his truck, positioning her inside, where she would be comfortable.  He called back for someone to grab her car and get it hidden for the time being.  He was heading home with the alpha of the Windrose pack.

A prickling in his chest caused him to rub the spot over his heart.  Her scent wrapped around him, the confined space of the truck quickly filled with the most amazing scent…hers.

His alpha!

Gavin’s wolf howled in celebration that she was close, but his human side tried to knock down the animal who was pacing in his mind, worried for the female.

Mate. Mate.

Gavin groaned from the words his wolf was repeating constantly in his head. “Down boy,” he mumbled, trying to be as quiet as possible to keep from waking Hadley.

The ride back to the pack house only took a few minutes.  Gavin took the long, bumpy drive through the forest to his home at a slow pace, attempting not to jar her as she slept.

The injuries that were visible were severe, even for a werewolf.  It didn’t matter that she was an alpha werewolf, any open wounds from another wolf would take time to heal.  Infection was possible, just as it would be if she were human.

Gavin placed a text to his healer, Macklin, requesting he rush to the pack house immediately.  The older man lived within the property and would be there without hesitation.  The entire Eldridge pack was on high alert after the call from Koby, and they all knew that the female alpha would most likely be in need of care once she arrived.

So, Gavin wasn’t surprised to see the pack gathered around his two-story brick home when the house came into view.  The two hundred acres owned by Koby, was a common ground for his men and women, and they were free to come and go as they pleased.

Gavin wasted no time removing Hadley from the passenger side of the truck and rushing her upstairs.  He bypassed all of the females who were crying softly, either to themselves, or snuggled against their mates for comfort.

“I’m here,” Macklin announced, as he met Gavin at his bedroom door.  “Alpha, may I enter your quarters?”  It was a sign of respect, and Gavin was pretty sure the old man sensed something coming off of Gavin, when in regards to the woman in his arms.

“Please,” Gavin said, desperately.

“Are you and your wolf going to be able to leave the room while I treat her,” Macklin asked with a raised brow.

Gavin’s wolf howled deep in his soul. No!

“I don’t think that is an option,” Gavin said with an air of authority.

“Well,” the healer smiled.  “If you’re going to stay, then you are going to help.  Get me some clean towels, some dry and a few soaked with warm water.”

Gavin hurried to the bathroom and did as he was told.  Even as alpha, he had no problems taking orders from Macklin, especially when it came to his mate.

Mate!

“Fuck,” he groaned silently.  There was no use denying, or even fighting it.  Hadley Easton was his mate.  He didn’t even question his wolf, or the sudden need for this female to be his.  When a wolf chose his mate, there was no use denying it, because her wolf would feel the same.  It was their nature, instinct, to recognize it immediately upon meeting.

His need for revenge took on a whole new level.  Not only for disrupting his own pack, but now…now, it was to avenge his true mate.  Jericho Ross wouldn’t be breathing in the next few days.

Hadley had said that he ‘tried’ to do things to her, and from the destruction of her clothes, Gavin’s blood boiled wondering how close he’d actually come to mating her.  His wolf wined inside his mind when numerous thoughts ran through his brain at what could have happened.  Until Macklin did a complete exam, Gavin and his wolf would just need patience.

Once Hadley was healed and resting, the Eldridge pack would be coming for Jericho.  Gavin made a silent promise that Jericho be nothing more than charred remains, as they burned him in a ceremonial fight to the death.

He just needed to take care of his mate first, then they’d be heading to Windrose to deal out justice to an out-of-control male, who’d dared to attempt to take his mate.

Stay Tuned for Part 2 of “Saving Windrose”, coming next week!