The Plan

"Justa!" Alice screamed the name but her body was frozen.

As if her cry caused it one by one the other wolves joined in until he was hidden from sight by a ring of wolf bodies. His hisses of pain and cries could be heard, even from so far away.

Every one stabbed her heart over and over again. She caused all this. If he died it was all her fault.

"You can still save him," Harris whispered as if reading her thoughts. "All you have to do is give in, sweet mate of mine. Join me where you belong, at my side. Humans are not worth your tears. You want to keep your pet, you know the price." He chuckled. "Be smart now."

Alice bowed her head. She'd do whatever it took to save Justa. Everyone else could burn and she wouldn't care as long as he was okay. And if that meant him hating her for sacrificing the rest of the humans? She'd deal with that. Rather he be alive and hating her than dead and happy.

"That's my girl," Harris praised as he nuzzled her neck. Alice hid her wince at the contact. Now that she knew the truth she didn't want this monster anywhere near her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Justa grunted from afar. How had he even known what was going on?

Harris turned to mock the human as he raised his voice and went into details of all the things he was going to do to Alice.

Alice took that chance.

She didn't bother with stealth, speed was her ally here. She whipped her head down and grabbed the pouch that contained the precious formula and bit it into it. The sweet scent of chocolate, honey, and cranberries flowed over her.

Please work!

"Kill him," Harris ordered before frowning and thrashing his head back and forth as if he had a flea in his ear.

The wolves watching him hesitated as their leader whipped around before he turned and smelled Alice. "Why?" he demanded his voice soft like that of a child. "Why do you smell so divine?"

"You're going to stop this right now," Alice demanded with her head held high. "Justa and the rest of the humans, you'll let them go and stop this holy war of yours." The damned beast was wagging his tail.

In a way, it felt good to not be the fool and for someone else to be, especially if that someone else was Harris. He whimpered as he rubbed against her.

"Anything for you," Harris whispered as he leaned against her and sniffed hard at her neck. He growled but this was a soft happy growl.

Alice breathed a sigh of relief. "Call off your beasts. Stop hurting Justa, and the humans. Let everyone go."

Harris paused as he nuzzled her side again. "You are so perfect for me," he whispered as he licked her. "No other mate will ever do. No one else is as beautiful as you and as strong as you." He whimpered and his tail wagged faster. "Or as smart and cunning as you." He grinned at her. "You hold all the traits I do, see? Perfect."

His tail stopped as if frozen in place.

Alice glanced away from Justa. "What are you talking about?" she demanded. Unease crept through her paws. Harris was still smiling at her, but something was off. Why couldn't she figure it out?

"Just this," Harris announced before he threw all of his body weight into her and threw her off balance. Alice bounced back with a growl and grabbed onto the scruff of his neck, but her grip was off. She'd gathered too much of his fur and not enough skin. He shook her off with ease.

Now Harris struck. He lashed out like a snake but Alice danced out of his reach. He smirked and the ground beneath her turned soft and her paws sunk into it. She grunted and tried to pull them free but it was like fighting against gravity itself.

"That's better," Harris mused with a smile before he ran full tilt at her again and slammed into her. The bonds around her paws were loosened but before she could break them the other wolf had thrown all of his weight into her and knocked her to the ground where she was a prisoner beneath his massive body.

He pushed into her with all his weight and the watching wolves laughed like a pack of hyenas. Breathing was getting hard to do but Alice wouldn't let him know what condition he'd put her in. She'd rather chew her leg off than give this animal any satisfaction from her.

The laughter was so similar to one she'd heard before that Alice winced away from it. "I don't understand, it didn't work?" Why? What had she done wrong?

"Oh no, it worked, love. But you forget that I said I'm cunning too. And now I know without a doubt who is the traitor in my pack. Sucrose will be made an example of, I promise that."

"The empty vial," Alice whispered. She should have been prepared for that, but worry for Mark and Justa had overwhelmed all else.

Harris grinned at her as he licked her cheek while he held her prisoner. "Yes, Love. That's my smart mate. Now you understand. I always error on the side of too cautious. I didn't know if anyone would ever try to use my trick against me, but I was prepared for it."

Alice struggled to move but Harris's weight was like trying to move a full-grown tree. He was enjoying this far too much. "Let Justa go," she demanded.

"You're not in any place to try to order me around, Alice," he whispered into her ear. "You should be begging me to save his life. Maybe if you beg and plead for each life I could be moved to save a few. They're just humans, they'll breed like the weeds they are and we'll have to cull them again."

Alice growled at him and reached back to snap at his paw but he lifted it out of her reach with a mocking smile. "If you touch him I'll spend every minute of my life making sure you regret it," she said with a sneer.

"I'm sure you'd try," Harris agreed. "But it's too bad for you that is not going to be the case here. You don't want to beg for that little human? Maybe I'll force him to beg for you then."

Alice frowned as she glared up at him. The way he said that. It sent a chill zipping from spine to tail. "What are you talking about, Harris?" she demanded.

Harris smiled down at her. "My mate, now that you've proven that you're worthy of me. I'm dying to claim you. Will you still hold to that little pet so strongly when you belong to me?"

Alice summoned everything in her as she struggled against him biting and clawing but his weight was too much. She snarled as he leaned down. "I'll tear you into pieces, Harris!"

Harris chuckled. "Funny, that's what we did to your second in command. It was fun cornering him like a rabbit and tearing into him."

Alice howled as Harris opened his mouth and leaned closer.

He was going to bite her.

Claim her.

No! Alice wrenched her head around and grabbed Harris' ear in her jaws and tugged and ground it until the blood gushed into her mouth.

Harris howled and staggered back a few steps as he shook his head free from her. Alice got to her feet and didn't hesitate. She ran to Justa's mob even as the wolves beside him reached down to attack again.

They were going to rip him apart!

"Stop!" She ordered.

But they didn't listen. The wolves had swelled in numbers while Harris had pinned her down. It was an entire pack! They darted in each desperate to get their pound of flesh.

"Justa!" she howled. It didn't matter if he wasn't her mate. She loved him! She couldn't allow this! She darted in and one of the wolves turned and bit her causing her to yelp more in shock than actual pain.

As one of the wolves leaped forward there was a vicious low growl. Alice cocked her head. That didn't sound like a wolf. That didn't sound like anything she'd heard before. Her paw was forgotten as she moved closer.

"Enough!" roared a deep unfamiliar voice and a set of wolves went sailing through the sky and landing with thuds and yelps close to Harris. Whoever this was made her heart constrict.

Another group of wolves went sailing overheard and they had thinned out enough for Alice to get a glimpse of who this new savior was. She couldn't see Justa anywhere, but a white tiger was batting wolves left and right as if they were toys. The howled as they were sent flying.

The tiger turned and Alice stared.

Those blue eyes. She knew them far too well.

The deep scar down his right eye was new, but there was no doubt who this was.

Justa wasn't a human at all.