Tania's POV
Four years ago
Tomah Pack, Wisconsin
I surfaced in the lake, shaking my hair as I took a breath. "Nice one, Tania," my best friend Claire said. "I can't believe you did a double backflip!"
I smiled as I swam over to her and the other kids in the shallower water, tossing the rope swing back towards the shore. Pat caught it, handing it up until it was on top of the cliff again. The big oak tree's limb overhung the lake far enough for us to get a good thirty feet out on the swing, and you could get a long hang time if you timed it right.
I stepped out of the water, looking down at my body as I got out. I was getting curves now, my birthday had been two months ago, and I was going through a growth spurt. I was almost as tall as Talia was. My sister was sixteen, and I was pretty sure I'd be taller than her when I was done. Curvier, too, if the early returns were true.
I moved over to the towel I'd set out, drying my long blonde hair while I watched. There were twenty or so of us at the lake on this hot August day. "Talia, I need you to come up to the road, your parents are on the phone,"Beta Todd sent to me. I looked in that direction, the road was a good half-mile west of where we were.
"Give me a few minutes to pack up,"I said.
"Just shift and run up here,"he said. I looked around, everyone was busy swimming or eating down at the beach. I shifted into my straw-blonde and white wolf and took off up the hill. A couple minutes later, I had jumped into the open passenger door of Todd's Suburban. "Here you go," Todd said as I shifted in the seat and closed the door. I grabbed the phone and put it to my ear, right as I felt something poke me in the neck.
It burned like fire as the wolfsbane hit my bloodstream, and I dropped the phone as I stared at him in shock. I tried to call for help, but the link was blocked. I looked over at him, he was grinning as he saw the recognition come over me. I had been betrayed by a man I looked at as an uncle. "What have you DONE," I cried. I felt rage well up in me, but the dr*gs left nowhere for it to go as I slumped back into the seat.
"Goodnight, Tania," he said. I fought the blackness for a few moments before I lost that battle too.
***
Beta Todd's POV
I didn't have much time, so as soon as she was out, I started driving. Turning off the main road, I followed a logging trail to the edge of the territory. Another vehicle was waiting, and I pulled up alongside them. I got out and went around, opening the door and taking the young Alpha heiress in my arms. "Hold up your end of the bargain," I said with a low growl.
"Don't worry about us," the man said. "My men will be in place and ready when your Alphas return."
"Good." I put her in the back seat and closed the door, and they drove off.
I drove right back to the Pack House, parking and going back to my office. It would be a while before her absence from the beach would be noticed, I hoped, and I was right. It was two hours before I got the panicked link. "Beta, it's Claire. We can't find Tania."
"What do you mean you can't find her?"
"We haven't seen her for a while, she must have wandered off. We can't reach her on the link, can you try?"
"Of course."Betas and Alphas had the ability to 'break in' to wolves who were blocking out communications, it was a necessity in case of emergencies. I waited a good twenty seconds before talking again. "I've got nothing. Organize everyone, start a search from where you last saw her, I'm on my way."
I ran out to my Suburban, broadcasting to the whole Pack on the way. "Tania Stillwater is missing and is not responding to my calls, last seen at the beach by the rope swing. All warriors to the perimeter, patrol and report. All other available Pack members are to respond immediately to the beach for search detail."
I drove quickly towards the beach, getting there as a few younger Pack members in wolf form were sniffing around on the road and the ditch. Pat shifted when he saw me. "Beta, her scent led here but it disappeared."
I pulled my clothes off, shifting to my wolf and trotting over. It was important for me, since anyone who picked up my scent would now expect it. "Tania entered a vehicle on the access road above the beach. Warriors, close the roads leading out and report any activity."
"Beta, the only activity at the main entrance was the return of a van with the food order from town, nothing outbound."
"Search every road and trail,"I ordered. "Any leads or scents are to be reported immediately."
I stayed in my wolf form, running down the road with a few of the younger members following. I turned off the main road to the logging trail, holding my nose down to the tracks. I left the juveniles behind as my wolf tore through the woods, knowing I had to get there first. It was the only way the others would scent me and not suspect me. I got to the boundary line of the Pack, where a chain ran across the trail, and stopped. By the time the others arrived, I had already circled the site several times.
"She was here,"I said as I sniffed at the ground. Crossing under the chain, I left Pack lands and entered State Forest. The road here was open, and ATV's and mountain bike trails criss-crossed the area.
"Get the trackers up here,"I said. "Warriors, the Alpha daughter has been taken. I want all women and children back at the Pack House, Group C warriors set protection. Group B warriors, I want constant patrols of the perimeter until further notice. Gamma Jones, bring a squad with to follow the trackers, they'll need to be in vehicles since they are going off Pack lands."The Pack was well-trained, and my orders were carried out quickly.
I didn't have to worry, Tania was long gone. Every action I took was being judged by my Pack, and now was the time to prove I was capable of being the Alpha. The three trackers were in wolf form, and when the warriors arrived, one jumped up into each SUV. They would stay in that form, guiding the warriors as they followed the trail.
I ran back to the Pack House, trotting past the guards who removed the reinforcing bars and opened the front doors for me. Going up to my office, I pulled clothes out the closet and sat at my desk. It was time to put the second part of my plan into effect.
I took out my cellphone and called my Alpha. "Todd, I'm a little busy," Thomas said.
"It can't be helped, we have an emergency here. Tania has disappeared, we followed the trail off territory. Someone took her away." I heard a scream, probably Luna Tasha.
"We have to leave NOW," I heard him say.
"Talia's out on the lake with her cousins," the Luna said.
"Her grandparents can bring her later, we have to go," he said. Coming back to the phone, he started talking again. "What has been done?"
I filled him in on what had been done; while I was talking, I could hear them getting into a car and the tires squealed a little. "I was about to call the surrounding Alphas and ask for help," I finished with.
"We'll call them, you focus on the search," he said. "We'll be back in two hours, maybe less."
"Yes sir. We're doing everything we can to get her back," I said softly.
"I know you WHAT THE" and then was the screeching of tires and the crunch of metal before the line went dead.
Forty minutes later, I got the call from Alpha Clark Grissom of the LaCrosse Pack, our Luna's older brother. "Todd, it's bad," he said. "The car carrying your Alphas went off the road and down a steep embankment," he said gravely. "The Alpha and Luna were killed."
"Oh no," I said, pretending to be in shock.
"We have Talia here, she's with her grandparents and my mate. The human authorities are involved, so we'll have to wait for the bodies to be released to us before we can hold services."
"I understand." I paused for a minute, a grin coming over my face. The men had done their job perfectly, and we were both happy. They had a young female werewolf, and I had a clear path to the Alpha position. "What do I tell the Pack? We're still in an uproar over the disappearance of Tania."
"I think you should gather them and tell them," he said. "You're going to have to be strong for the Pack, Todd. Hold things together and keep up the search for Tania. I'm calling the Council, I'm sure they'll get involved, but the Pack knows and trusts you. I'll make sure they understand that."
"I'll make sure the Pack stays together," I said. "Let Talia know we're all here for her."
"I will." He hung up the phone, and I tossed mine back on my desk. Now all I had to do was convince the Council that I should be the new Alpha instead of some second or third son of an Alpha from elsewhere. The best way to ensure that would be to mate Talia, and that is what I would tell the Council was the best solution. After all, keeping the Stillwater pack in her bloodline would make everyone happy.
It made my dick hard just thinking about it.
***
Tania's POV
When I came to, I was on a concrete floor and I was cold and naked.
Opening my eyes, I didn't see much. There was a stairway, and a little light coming from under the door. My wolf vision was just enough to make out a few details; it was a basem*nt, poured concrete floor and block walls. Boxes and utilities could be seen in the back, but the area around me was open. There was a support column a few feet away, with a thick chain padlocked around it.
The other end was padlocked to a leather and metal collar fixed around my neck. I moved it, but it was not coming off. At least it wasn't silver, that would burn badly.
I grabbed the chain and pulled, it wasn't coming loose. All it did was make noise as it rattled around the thick metal post.
I took a deep sniff; the smells of the unfamiliar Pack wolves were stale. I couldn't hear any sounds in the house. I tried sending to my Pack but got nothing; I was probably too far away, since this house wasn't on our land. I yelled for help, but no one responded.
Looking around, there was a drain in the floor a few feet away, and a small plastic bucket filled part-way with kitty litter. A hose ran over from a laundry sink, at the end was a spray nozzle. I pointed it at the drain and squeezed, it was pressurized. I let it run for a little, rinsing off my arms and my body before it got too cold. I was thirsty, so I drank deeply. Whoever left me here was treating me like a cat, litter box and all.
I got to know the limits of my new home as time lost its meaning. The collar was brutally effective at keeping me from anything, and my stomach was rumbling with hunger. There were noe windows, and the light through the door didn't vary.
I heard a noise, someone was upstairs. I could hear heavy footsteps across the floor, then the sound of a deadbolt. The door opened, and I covered my eyes, standing and moving as far away as the chain would allow me. "LET ME GO," I said.
He just laughed and raised his hand. Pain shot through me as the collar sent a shock through my neck, locking up my muscles so I couldn't even scream. I fell to the ground, twitching until it was over. "You don't look at me, you don't talk to me, you have no status anymore. You will do as you are told, immediately, or you will be punished severely."
All I could do was cry as he walked up and yanked on the chain, pulling me until I lay gasping at his feet.
