There was outrage for cancelling this, so here's what's gonna happen: I will keep updating but it will only be once a month or so, and if it picks up with more reads and comments, I will try to put more time into regular updates.

*winks* sound fair?

In the Beginning - Part Three

Jakkon

The pack's high-ranked had taken their anger out on him today.

Growled at, teeth snapping within an inch of his skin, he could withstand that better than he could the judging looks. The looks that told him they thought he'd somehow bent Signy to his will, or blackmailed her into her wish to be with him. If Jakkon had the power to do any of those things, Signy would have been his the moment he came of age to take a mate. So he'd escaped back into the forest, a place he and his parents had spent most of their time, his cunning plan coming together so well, he was afraid a jolt would startle him from sleep and this twist of fate would be revealed to be nothing but a dream.

The limping stag stopped in the thicket, foolishly believing himself safe behind a wall of thorny branches.

Jakkon's nose twitched.

He'd picked up the tantalising scent of musk mixed with blood miles back and now it was right before him for the taking.

If he could bring this prize back, well, his standing might not alter much but he would at least have standing.

Claws sunk into the moss softened ground, body hunkering down, ears twitching. If he could just crawl to the gap, he would have the beast pinned into its own den with nowhere to escape unless it wished to drag itself through skin splitting thorns. There was of course the chance he could end up trampled beneath its hooves, a fear that brought up flashbacks of memory from his youth, of fleeing the thundering herd of moose. . .

He shook those memories away, then froze when his movement made the stag lift its huge head decorated with antlers, glistening dark eyes searching the foliage while his ears picked for sound.

Jakkon didn't dare to so much as breath.

If he could bring this stag to the pack, he would finally have a fighting chance. He could lay its head at the feet of Sigar and Toran, Signy's parents, and maybe they would see a male who could provide for their female.

Unfortunately, Jakkon wasn't the only one who had caught the deer's trail.

Before he could make his move, another wolf tore through the thicket, pale fur burning gold in the sun.

If Jakkon had been in skin, his mouth would have fallen open.

What was she thinking? Barrelling in was going to startle the stag, and no sooner had he thought it did it happen.

The stag bleated at the sight of the huge she-wolf, spinning around and lowering his antlers to fend her off. Thankfully she managed to avoid his weaponry, but that wasn't the only danger. She darted out of the way of antlers only to end up trampled under hooves.

Jakkon would never forget the horrid high-pitched yowl that rattled his sense, so similar to the last sound he'd heard from his Alpha Female when she'd saved his life. The horror startled him into action without thought of safety. He didn't even have time to howl for the help of any nearby pack members. He barely felt the prick of sharp brambles as he forced himself through the bushes, driven by instinct to get to Signy no matter what it did to his own body.

The stag snorted, fear glinting in onyx eyes that spotted him sooner than he'd have liked. Jakkon may not have had Signy's speed but now grown into himself, his eyes were nearly level with the huge beast's, and he was far more muscled. Jakkon didn't need to growl or bare teeth to terrify his opponent, the stag wavered as if he knew he stood no chance, forgetting about the bleeding she-wolf tangled beneath his legs. Lowering his mighty antlers once more, he faced off with Jakkon who centred his weight and licked his lips.

The pair flew at each other.

Jakkon ducked low to avoid being pierced, clamping his teeth down on the stag's front leg and jerking his head until he heard the snapping of bone. Adrenaline guided him, Jakkon then rearing up as the stag staggered, to take its throat, dropping his weight to bring the great beast down. Hot blood spilled into his mouth, ragged breaths sounding like rolls of thunder by his ears. It wasn't until two more wolves appeared from the same direction Signy had that Jakkon let go. Mind lost to instinct, he widened his stance to cover his prey and his wounded female, baring his teeth at wolves he was too wound up to recognise as pack mates straight away.

The mated pair approached slow and low, tails lose and wagging to show kinship. The smaller she-wolf whined. Her gaze was on the female twitching and whining softly beneath him while her mate lifted his head a bit higher. Jakkon didn't back down, though he allowed the female to slink closer. Somewhere in the back of his rational mind, he recognised her as a mother-wolf concerned for her female. Jakkon wasn't ready to let her father anywhere near his prey when he stood with a challenging crinkle of his maw.

"We will need to carry her back."

The soft voice anchored a little more of himself back to his body. He shifted instantly, as did Sigar who glared as if finding fault in what Jakkon had done.

"You let her get ahead of you," Jakkon growled, reminding the male this was not his fault. It wasn't really her father's fault either, Signy had acted foolishly, but he couldn't reprimand her right now and the ball of emotions making him shake had to be directed somewhere.

Much to his shock, a stricken look of shame crossed Sigar's face.

Signy would have much to answer for.

Crouching by Toran, he met the mother wolf's gaze and stated, "I will carry her if you let me."

"You did not get in the way? You did not cause this?"

Jakkon flinched at the assumption. His past gave her good cause to wonder, but she must have seen how much the question had jarred him for she leaned towards him and pressed her tear-stained cheek to his. Jakkon froze. Behind him, her mate uttered a terrifying growl. But Signy's mother had made her decision and Jakkon wasn't willing to let his female out of his sight until he knew she was alright. Only then would he hand her back to her parents. Even if they should have kept up. Wolves weren't meant to hunt big game alone - wolves with reputations and a wish to live anyway- which only made Jakkon question once more what exactly Signy had been thinking.

Sigar took a step forward, and for a moment the two males stood stiff, measuring each other up. Toran stood slowly and placed herself between them, snapping fangs at her mate and holding her hand up to keep Jakkon in place.

"We need to get Signy home," she said, looking between the two males.

Challenge drained from Sigar's stance. He approached his mate to brush his cheek to hers, then assessed Jakkon before jerking his head to where Signy lay. "She is my female. I will help you carry her."

A truce was agreed.

Blame could be placed later.

Signy whimpered as they carefully maneuvered her wulven form, smears of red marring pale fur. The sound of her pain shredded at Jakkon's control. He didn't care that he had to leave behind the stag, that another predator might scavenge from it before he could take it to the pack, all he cared about was getting Signy to a healer. Toran walked at his side, avoiding the gaze of her mate, and Jakkon began to wonder if something had made Signy take off ahead of her parents. It was clear to him now they had been out here together.

Jakkon couldn't help but let his eyes wander to Sigar, as if the tension in the older male's body would tell him what had happened. Something had certainly come between the silent mated pair before he had.

Toran placed a hand on Jakkon's back, and it stayed there even after they made it back to the pack.

***

Signy

Fingers stroked through her fur. Strong and steady, the touch was so sweet she could nearly ignore the ache of her body. Nearly.

Mixed scents filled her nose with each inhale, earthy herbs, the familiar scent of her parents, and the healer, even Sol must have checked on her at some point, but it was the pine forest scent that was strongest, wrapping around her, as comforting as the fingers in her fur. Signy didn't need to open her eyes to know she was in her parents' den anymore than she did to know it was Jakkon here with her.

"You are in much trouble," he said, the words taking a second to form properly in her mind while she was in the form of her wolf where communication in skin made less sense.

She already knew she was in trouble. The pain she was in told her that. She'd been reckless, running on instinct when she caught the the scent of deer, fleeing the disappointment in her father, eager to prove her point but instead she'd made an absolute mess of her hunt. Yet, Signy couldn't have accomplished what her accident had even if she'd arranged every part of it herself, because Jakkon had come to her rescue. In front of her parents. Unless she had dreamt all of that after being trampled on by a 200kg stag.

Fingers stilled in her fur.

"You could have been killed, Signy." Anger tightened his voice, hand sliding up her body to cup her fur covered cheek. "What were you thinking?"

About you, she thought. Her father had been doing his best to make Hagbard catch her eye all morning, and she needed to get away. She knew Jakkon had been waiting in the brambles for his hunt, but in her mind she had seen them taking the stag down together. She'd made an ill-judgment about the young beast she thought would panic at the sight of a huge wolf. He had panicked, just not quite how she thought.

Signy wanted to shift to skin so she could say this but her body was limp and she barely had the energy to peel open an emerald eye to see the glowing blues of Jakkon's in the dim.

Jakkon. In her parents den. Something must have shifted for that to be allowed but she wasn't sure what. She'd remained conscious long enough to watch her father square up to Jakkon, then the dark had taken her. He was alive at least, and she could find no fresh wounds on his flesh, so her father hadn't bitten a chuck out of him.

"You will tell me this was all part of your plan, won't you? That today had to happen. That your pain was worth it. It wasn't. The only reason I am in here with you is because the moment I step out there, your mother's sanctuary ends. Their den is the only place she has a right to keep him out of."

His strained laughter at that irony was as pleasant as his fingers in her fur. She could smell fear on him though, could sense tension that told her he kept one eye on the doorway.

"I was going to take that stag for you, Signy," he murmured, his hand still on her shoulder. "I was going to drag it back here and leave it at your father's feet. A feast for the pack."

That too would have garnered him favour, she supposed.

Without warning, his hand slipped up to collar her throat, large enough to make sure she had no choice but to lift her head when he hoisted her up. Midnight eyes swirled with dark clouds warning a coming storm.

"I am not happy with you. You messed up my hunt. You took my chance. I am not foolish enough to think you did not notice my presence before you pounced. Now your father thinks some mistake I made caused you to get injured, and so will half the pack because of my past." He snapped his teeth close to her nose, close enough that her ears flattened against her head and a small whimper slipped free.

She would set things straight, she promised wordlessly, her gaze searching his, tongue lapping out towards his skin. The pack would know he had saved her. Her father would see the truth. Jakkon would find another prize to hunt, claim, and offer to her family in show of his ability to provide. Something better than a stag. All this she wanted to tell him but was unable to. Instead she had to lie and bear his fury, watch the doubts crease his features and weigh down his shoulders with no ability to offer comfort.

He had proved he was no coward today. Her mother would spread the word. If she was keeping Jakkon safe in her den, then it meant he had one more wolf in the pack to count amongst his allies, and there was no better female to have at his back than her mother, who hunted and fought on the right of their Alpha.

"Your plan didn't work."

Oh yes it did, she thought, holding his gaze, making sure he was the one to look away first.