Alpha Axton felt his heart skip. He raised his eyes to the sky, just as the place started to lighten up a little bit. He should be happy for the light, but it just showed the extent of the eclipse. Taking in a deep breath, he started riding the carriage with all the might he had in his burnt hands.
Natalia folded herself against the blanket Alpha Axton hurriedly out of her, finding the slightly elevated carriage comfortable. Even though it felt slightly rough, she didn't open her eyes.
The second howl came ringing through Axton's ears, and he ran further, forcing the carriage to go further. He had to get there. It was more dangerous now that they were out, and he needed to go as fast as he could to safety.
He decided to take a back route instead of through the front barricades of the pack. It was rocky, very hard to pass by and he knew he would have to leave the carriage behind and take her in his arms.
He didn't care however, and ran at top speed. Suddenly out of nowhere, he heard a loud thud hit the carriage. It rocked hard to the side, forcing him to stop. He turned, only to see a wolf had handed above it, trying to dig it's nails into the steel enclosure of the carriage.
Alpha Axton felt his own wolf losing control, and he immediately jumped out of the seat. With one swift jump, he was atop the carriage, and without a second of hesitation, put his hands right in the middle of the wolf's wide opened jaws.
It punched into his flesh, but he had to get him off. He pulled harder and upset the already flustered wolf's balance with his foot, then finally threw it off the carriage.
A lot more were running at top speed towards the carriage. They couldn't help their animal instinct, and he couldn't help his protective instinct.
It was, for the first tine, alpha against his subjects. For his mate. For his woman.
He got down, then turned the carriage towards the other side.
The rather rough movement woke Natalia up, and she looked around.
"How did I get here?" She asked herself, tapping lightly on the door of the carriage.
She tapped more, and alpha Axton heard the sound of the tapping. He wasn't the only one who heard it too, as the wolves that had gathered around him started to snarl again.
He walked to the carriage door backwards and only stopped when he felt his back tap on it.
Natalia felt the weight, and started to tap more, fear gripping her.
"Natalia?" Alpha Axton said, not removing his eyes from the wolves for a second.
"Axton? Is that you?"
He nodded. "It is me. It is me, Axton. You are safe. You are safe with me. You believe that right?"
She nodded. "Yes. I know. I do."
He moved a little away from the carriage. He himself had laced it with wolfsbane a moment ago, and he didn't know it would end up on his back.
The imprints were visible on his back ad he leaned away from the carriage.
"Stop," He said will that was staying to advance. "Stop right now...or I will not be able to either. I..." He clenched his fist, then pointed to himself with his other handcuffs index finger. "I am Alpha. Me."
They seemed to cower from the mention of alpha and some of them even lowered their heads in submission. Savage or not, they wouldn't dare touch the alpha. His smell alone was enough.
He opened the carriage door to meet Natalia who immediately jumped at him, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
"You are safe," he said. "You are safe with me."
She pressed herself further into him, her face pushing into the crook of his neck, his deep scent of pine filling her nose.
"I should have stayed there. In that room. I am sorry. I am so sorry."
He laced his hands into her hair, finding comfort in her just as much as she found in him.
"You didn't have to do anything." He said to her, and turned his face to her cheek so she could feel his lips moving against her cheek. "I will keep you safe. Trust that."
She nodded, and with one last look at the wolves, he put her on his arm bridal style, and turned, running at top speed into the darkness, with the wolves starting to follow.
Natalia only managed to hold on to his shoulder as he ran, his eyes glancing at her intermittently. Sometimes he caught her looking up at him, other times, her eyes were closed against the cold. It would be a very long run, but he didn't care. At all.
It was in the dead of the night that they finally arrive the little cottage where Natalia and her father lived. They had lost the wolves behind them and Natalia had somehow found sleep and peace in his arms, and she lost no time in giving in.
Her hand was still on his shoulder, but now a little loosely.
He opened the door calmly, trying to catch his breath as he did.
"Nicholas?" He called as he went in, but there was no answer. "Is he asleep?" He asked himself as he trudged forward into the dark, cold room.
It may be cold, but it was safe and that was all he wanted for Natalia. He managed to trace his way to the impromptu bed they had kept for him the first time he was there, in hopes that it would still be there. It was, and he kept Natalia carefully on it.
He carefully removed her hand from his shoulder and kept it beside her, then turned around to scan the room.
It was dark, and he walked slowly, giving his eyes time to adjust to the solid darkness. When it did, he made his way to Nicholas's room, then tapped on the door.
Still no answer. He didn't think Nicholas was always a deep sleeper, so he decided to check. He opened the door slowly, and stepped in, but once he did, he realized he shouldn't have.
The lamp was burning brightly in the room, illuminating the small space. As his eyes roamed around the room, taking in the details, he wished for darkness.
"Nicholas?" He called, but there was no answer. Nicholas was sprawled on the bed, a small smile on his face, and the woman that Axton wished he didn't recognize was sitting right next to him, her legs crossed.