Encounter

1144 Words
"Topaz!" my mother shouts from the downstairs living room, her smooth honey voice waking me from my deep sleep. As the alpha in training, I've been nothing but busy. However, due to recent events, I have a lot of downtime since all my mentors seem to be disappearing. So what could she possibly want? Nothing important since my training can't resume until we find a suitable teacher. I roll over and smash my face into my cotton pillow. I'll just ignore it; what's the worst that can happen? "Topaz! You get your ass down here right now!" she howls once again, displaying her dominance over me through voice alone. I have no choice but to obey her. After all, she is the alpha of our skulk since my father isn't around. "Coming!" I groan loud enough for her enhanced hearing to pick up on as I blink the tired burn from my eyes. I roll over in bed and scoot to the left side, carefully rolling out from under the covers as my bare feet touch the cold wooden floor. I rub my right hand through my curly matted hair, it's an untamed mess, and I don't have to look in the mirror to know that. The small snags and pulls as my hand stops midway through is all I need to know that I will never get a brush through this mess until it's washed. With no other option, I bend over and flip my hair, so it hangs down, rubbing it against my scalp as I work it into a high ponytail. I keep it in place with a black scrunchie I always have on my left wrist. My hair's too long to put into a bun, and I wish I could cut it. However, it's shameful to have your hair cut in my home if you're high in rank. "Topaz, for the love of the Great Kitsune, get down here now!" my mother howls again, irritation evident in her voice. "I'll be there in a minute!" I growl as I storm my way toward the stairs that lead directly to the living room. As I walk into the small living room, a man I don't recognize stands beside my mother. He appears to be around my mother's age, 40 years old, which isn't old for us at all. On average, a normal fox-shifter can live to be over 200 years old. That doesn't include the hybrids, something rare among our kind since we don't mingle with other shifters. The man still has a twenty-year-old complexion, except his left eye has a large red scar down it. It spans from the top of his eyebrow down to the top of his cheekbone. The fault in his eyebrow is void of hair, and his eye is a solid milky white color, the other a solid red iris. I'm not so sure that he can see out of it. Vibrant white, a few stray strands flow around his vamp-shaped face. The rest is pulled back into a braided ponytail that reaches slightly below his hips. The man's muscles show through his plain white t-shirt that appears almost too tight, and he towers over both me and my mother, who are the same height. He's intimidating, but this is my territory, and I won't bow to someone else. "This," my mother hums as she motions toward the man. "This- this is Crevan, your dad's brother," she says with a tinge of sadness. My heart tightens at the mention of my father. Not even a week ago, my father was on his way to meet this exact uncle and crashed on the way there. We never got his body back. I push the thoughts out of my head. Why exactly is he here? As far as I know, even though I've never met him, he's a loner and doesn't run with any other fox shifters. "Why's he here?" I ask bluntly. She brushes her long red hair out of her face. "With your father gone and our Betas missing, we needed someone to help finish training you." How could I forget? Even though my father is dead, I'm still the next alpha. With my father, my mother's mate, gone, it makes me next in line when she steps down. Typically it's the current alpha's job to train the next generation. However, in rare cases, if they die before they get the chance, the Beta's, or second in command, take it over. Unfortunately, about four days ago, the entire Beta line in my clan went missing—no trace of them anywhere, just gone. "He knows how to train me, how exactly?" I quip quickly. How much does a loner know about teaching me to be an alpha? He isn't even a female, the most dominant of our species. My mother is an exception; for some reason, she never shifted, which makes her an extremely weak alpha. My mother frowns at me and crosses her arms, "He's your father's brother. He may not have a skulk of his own, but he knows the same amount of leading your father did." "Uh-huh," I huff as I roll my eyes, crossing my arms in return. "Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?" A small sigh leaves my mother's lips as she looks at my uncle and back to me. "No, but apologize to Crevan." Me? Apologize to a loner of all things. Through all my training, I was told they were useless. A fox that runs alone dies quickly and therefore is a waste of time. Besides, I've never met him before, even if he's my uncle- we have procedures for letting people into the skulk. "I'm not apologizing to him." "You will, and you'll do it now," she orders with her dominant tone. Something I can't refuse until I become the official alpha. "I'm sorry," I grunt forcefully to Crevan. "I get it, Topaz, I'm a loner, and you feel like I'm invading your territory. Which is why you're mother has made me the temporary Beta of your skulk," he offers quietly with a husky voice. I make an o-shape with my mouth as I nod my head in understanding. He's technically not a loner anymore; he's my Beta. Which if I paid any attention to his smell, I would've noticed. My mother chimes in, her voice soft, "Go shower and get changed. Crevan has offered to show you a few things about being an Alpha as soon as possible." "Yes, mother," I state, as I glance at her before running off. She's been dragging herself through the dirt, trying to be an alpha when she isn't cut out for it. Dark circles sleep under her now dull green eyes. I'll do this for her and for myself. The quicker I take over, the quicker she can rest.
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