Agent Alpha

Analise awoke with a start. "Laura!" She let out in a gasping breath. She blinked her eyes a few times to adjust to the synthetic white of fluorescent bulbs. The jerking movement quickly proved itself as her entire body seared in pain. Between the bar fight, the marathon run, and the startings of getting raped, Agent Shepherd's body finally gave out and she had no choice but to succumb to the pain.

The woman let out a moan as she eased back down into what she assumed was a hospital bed. The room certainly looked that way, though there weren't any windows in her room to distinguish whether or not she was still in Riverton or some other city.

Analise wearily examined her arms, about the only thing she could lift without hurling herself further into exhaustion. They were covered with bruises and scrapes and littered with the occasional stitch. Rhys hadn't been kidding; she really did look like hell ran her over with a monster truck.

The thought caused her to smirk slightly until she remembered what had happened to him. Rhys was likely dead, mauled to death by the cult's wolves. Analise's expression sunk into misery. She had

tried

to save him, hadn't she?

Sure

she thought.

Just like I

tried

to save Laura

.

Memories of that night almost thirty years ago started to play out in her mind...

Laura had snuck out in the woods to meet her boyfriend. She was obviously sick of her irritating little sister following her around, but Analise had snuck out and followed after her anyway.

Analise walked through the woods with nothing but the moonlight and her My Little Ponies flashlight to guide her. She had been thankful, unconsciously so, for the full moon. Her little flashlight was really more of a novelty than anything useful. Still, the five year old girl wandered after her older sister, clutching to her cabbage patch kid for support as she wound her way along the path.

Analise could hear Laura giggling and whispering off in the distance, some unknown teenaged boy replying with giggles and whispers of his own. As the little child rounded the corner, intent on jumping out to surprise her sister, she heard Laura let out a frightened scream. Everything had happened so quickly. Laura was screaming and the teenaged boy was shouting. In a few seconds, a fight had broken out between the boy and a large man Analise had never seen before.

The terrified child crouched behind a bush, too afraid to move or run for help. The stranger snapped the teenaged boy's neck in a sickening crack, letting the lifeless body fall haphazardly to the ground as he menacingly stared down Laura. Laura's eyes were as wide as quarters. She tried to turn and run, but the stranger grabbed her by the hair and yanked her backward.

Analise hadn't known what to do, but bravery and courage suddenly started to swell inside of her. Mustering every ounce of it she had, the little girl jumped from the bush and began punching and kicking the man holding onto her sister. For all her best efforts, the man simply offered her a callous laugh, kicking her easily aside.

"Don't worry, little pup," he had told her in disregard. "You'll have your day soon enough." Another kick to Analise's stomach was enough to keep her down. The man tossed the screaming Laura over his shoulder and disappeared into the night without a trace.

Present day Analise frowned as the memory flashed before her. She had tried and failed to save her sister which was no better than doing nothing at all. Everything she had become was so that she would never fail again and here she lay in this hospital while Rhys was probably dead and Allison Reed and the other missing girls were probably still just that: missing.

Analise let out a dismal sigh as she rolled her head to the side. She was surprised to see an old woman sitting in a chair not too far from her bed, giving Analise another jolting start. The old woman's eyes had been watching Analise the whole time, appearing both ancient and eerie to the younger woman.

"D... do I know you?" Analise asked innocently. Her tone was about as far from General Shepherd as it could be. In reality, she just sounded like a heart broken, sweet woman.

"No," Came the woman's reply. "But I attend to you none-the-less."

Analise's brow flickered lightly in confusion but she tried not to appear ungrateful. "Th-thank you.... Where am I? Who are you?"

"You are in our center for healing," the old woman replied. "I am Isa. You are Analise Shepherd."

Confusion started to tickle at Analise. She was too tired to even push herself up and she could barely keep her eyes open. "I... yep, that's me," she answered, clearly unsure of herself. "Captain Forrester? Is he ok? A wolf bit him...." Analise slowly started to realize that she had work to do and awkwardly pushed at the blankets. "I've... I've got to find the girls," she offered weakly. "What day is it?"

Isa hushed her with a gentle tone. "You are in no condition for this," she replied. "The girl child, Allison, was found. She is with her parents. The other girls were taken to their homes and are with their parents. Your efforts were instrumental in this."

Relief flooded through Analise and she stopped struggling to get up for the moment. "Good... That's good..." This was not the Analise that had been described to Isa. She had only heard stories about the brutally harsh, arrogant FBI agent who had stirred up so much fear and tension with her keen ability to locate were's. No, this was a woman who obviously cared for the well being of others and who threw all of her potential into trying to protect them. The harshness was just a manifestation of what she really was; an alpha female. "What about Rhys?" She asked in the same caring and fragile voice. This one was laced with uncertainty.

"He is badly injured," Isa reported. "Who is Laura?"

Analise sank visibly. It was her fault. She shouldn't have missed when she was shooting at the huge wolf. It was all her fault. "Can... can I see him?" She asked as guilt permeated into her tone.

"No," Isa replied bluntly. "He is badly injured."

Agent Shepherd brought a weak hand up to her head, resting it across her eyes. "Fine," she let out, clearly disappointed. "Any idea when he'll be well enough for visitors?"

"I do not know," Isa answered cryptically, implying a dual meaning. "I will give him a message if you wish."

Analise perked up slightly, looking over to the woman with curiosity and hope. "Can... can you tell him I'm sorry?"

Isa returned the curious look. "Why are you sorry?" She wondered out loud.

Some internal hurt began to surface. "... he's hurt because of me," she said simply. "Because I messed up. I got him involved in something way over his head and he only did it because he was worried about his community. I'm just... I really am sorry."

Isa's curiosity was still getting the better of her. "If you were in his position, and you felt your kin was in danger, would you have acted differently?"

Analise snorted slightly. "You mean if I thought a cult was moving into the forest around my home town? Yeah, I'd burn down the forest and slaughter every one of those sick bastards who made it out alive." She shrugged slightly, wincing in the pain she felt where her left shoulder and neck met. That asshole Marek had bit her pretty hard. "Seriously though, baring that sort of unrealism, no. I would probably have responded like him and do what I could to help out the cocky FBI agent who showed claiming to have all the answers."

Isa lifted her eyebrows at Analise's drastic solution to a threat to her pack. That was the sort of dedication that the alphas of old had toward their own; it was something that was lost in this era with all the panic over the females dying.

Meanwhile, Agent Shepherd haphazardly pawed at the bandaging along her neck. She had been raped, she realized. She still felt emotionally numb over the issue. Had the cult done that to Laura too? She pressed her eyes closed and a tear spilled out from underneath. Without the missing girls or Rhys to worry about all of the emotional turmoil from the event began to surface.

"Can I use a phone?" Analise asked pitifully. "I need to start filing my report..."

"No," Isa said bluntly as she stood from her chair. "You must rest. The phone will be there when you are stronger."

Analise wanted to argue, but she couldn't even get out of the bed. She had almost no dexterity in her fingers, so even they would let her use a laptop, it would take her an hour just to type a paragraph. As the older woman left the room, Analise's heavy eyes pulled shut, lulling her into the horrors of post traumatic stress induced nightmares...

***********

Rhys was pacing back and forth in his room. They had bandaged up his arm well enough, but even with his super werewolf healing rates, they estimated it would take several months to fully heal after that beta had shredded so much of the muscle. That he didn't have full use of his arm and had to wear this stupid sling was only furthering his anxious and irritable state.

Brody was sitting in a wheel chair opposite him, looking irritated himself. His leg was propped up and a sort of cast filled with pins surrounded it. The battle had been the worst in pack history and everyone had the scars to prove it.

Rhys's pacing only stopped when Isa made her way in, calmly approaching a chair and taking a seat. Rhys's face lit up with worry reborn. "How is she? Is she awake? Did she say anything?"

Isa lifted an eyebrow at the speed and insistence at which the questions came. "She awoke briefly. The change is happening very quickly and taking much of her energy. Her blood is well suited for our kind. She will make a strong wolf."

Rhys fell heavily into a chair and buried his face in his remaining good hand. "This is all my fault," he growled miserably.

"Interestingly, she believes the same," Isa replied.

Rhys rolled his eyes. He had witnessed Analise single handedly dispatch a Beta and then, after sprinting a full mile, kick an Alpha with enough force to break his ribs. That would have been difficult for any female in wolf form and should have been impossible for a human, regardless of gender. She did so much more than what was expected that Rhys thought she deserved a medal of valor.

"That's stupid," Rhys retorted. "What could she have done about this? Hell,

she

was the one who figured out how to find them to begin with. It was my responsibility and I failed. Simple as that."

Isa growled at Rhys, challenging his dominance in a very rare display of her own. "Then you are stupid too. She is human and thinks as humans think. She could not have known the full scope of the danger, but in her eyes, she held all of the knowledge and improperly gave it to you. Did you not agree to work together?" Isa challenged. "To cooperate? To do so is to share in responsibility. You are both to blame. You are both the hero, and in your eyes, Rhys Forester, you are both stupid."

The hair on the back of Rhys's neck stood as the irrational wolf within considered attacking Isa. Brody offered a skeptical and mildly concerned look before turning to Isa with a question. "Did she say anything about Laura?"

Laura, they learned, was a dominant female in the rogue pack. She was also Analise's sister, though the Agent believed her to be dead. The dynamic intrigued Brody more than anyone else and he had expended a great deal of energy trying to learn more about the situation.

Isa shook her head. "She was preoccupied with the condition of Rhys and the safety of the four human women. She also wishes to contact her superiors and begin reporting on this situation. I have delayed her, but this will not resolve the issue. Once her strength returns, it will be difficult to achieve her compliance."

Rhys frowned. "I'm going to go talk to her," he said with resolution.

"No," Isa barked. "You must let her rest."

Rhys growled again and stepped menacingly toward the old woman. "Damn it, Isa, I've had about enough out of you," he snapped furiously. "I've finally got the pack convinced that our little werewolf hunter just acted on our behalf, you're sitting here implying that as soon as she comes to, it's back to being our enemy again, and now you're telling me

not

to fix this? Don't talk to me like I'm some stupid pup who can't figure this shit out!"

Isa growled again and Brody half expected them to throw down right there. No one, Rhys included, ever spoke to Isa the way he just had. "Uh... maybe I should leave..." Brody suggested hesitantly.

"Your hormones are affecting your judgment," Isa returned dangerously. "Her scent has affected you."

Rhys looked like he was about to blow a gasket as his face turned cherry red with anger. "If you ever,

ever

make that suggestion again, I'll rip out your throat, you hear me?" He answered in a gravely voice.

Isa did not back down. "It is affecting me as well," she continued, much to Rhys and Brody's surprise. "She is a High Alpha. The chaos which is to ensue has only just begun."

"What's a High Alpha?" Rhys asked skeptically.

"The wolves on the council are High Alphas," Isa replied. "Analise is the first female High Alpha in almost two hundred years. They are as fierce and ruthless as any alpha male but far more dangerous. As her turning completes, Analise will produce a pheromone that will enable her to control the weak and influence the strong. Even now it has begun. You desire to protect your pack from her but you would choose diplomacy over the correct action."

"I'm not going to kill her," he snapped.

"In your position, she would," replied Isa. "I asked her how she would solve this problem; a strong pack hiding in the woods, threatening her own pack. Your solution was to search the woods and kill them. It was the solution expected of an Alpha Male. Hers? She would set the woods ablaze. An Alpha shows little mercy or restraint when dealing with his enemies. A High Alpha shows none. There is a reason that those men compose the council. They are feared by all because they act with finality. Their dedication to their packs is absolute and without question."

"And she hates werewolves and wants to kill us all," said Brody through a sardonic sigh. "Great. Your girlfriend's turning out to be a real charmer, Rhys," he added through a snort.

"Brody, so help me," Rhys warned in a dangerously trembling voice. He turned to Isa with a hard glare. "I can convince her that we aren't a threat," he said surely. "I understand her. I

think

I even have her respect a little and if you're serious that she's concerned about my well being, then that only works in our favor."

"The problem is broader than this," Isa said, not disagreeing with his intent. "The Council Males have all lost their mates to this disease. The High Alphas were the first to perish. They will all desire her as a mate. There will be war."

Rhys blinked a few times at this. Some part of his mind was already considering the idea of courting the woman. She had all of the characteristics he was searching for in a mate. He assumed there would be battles with other packs, other alphas trying to claim her for their own, but having to fight off the council? There was no way. Their pack barely fended off a group of rogues. If the Council sent in even a small pack of their best alphas, the Forester pack would be decimated.

The disappointment Rhys suddenly felt was obvious to everyone. "Ok, then I really need to talk to her," he said in an accepting voice.

Isa frowned. "Did you not hear my words?" She countered sharply.

"Yeah," he interrupted before she could lecture him some more. "I heard you. You said that she's going to be some Council level wolf. If we're about to get into a battle with the Council, then she's the one running the show, not any of us," he said frankly. "And Brody's right; she hates wolves. Regardless of what she ends up being, my responsibility is to protect this pack and as it stands, she's the worst threat we've ever seen. I've got to eliminate that threat and if that means making her our ally, then that's what I'm going to do. That's the only way we come out of this in one piece." Rhys didn't wait for a response as he quietly and calmly left the room.

Brody and Isa sat in stunned silence for a moment. "You know," Brody approached curiously, "If that's the effect these pheromones of her has on him, I think it's an improvement."

Isa nodded sagely. "Rhys has begun the path of wisdom," she commented with a sense of pride. "Our pack will soon see the golden age of old and it will be he who leads us there..."