The Alpha's Burning Flower

Chapter 3

Visiting Mom

Annabella POV

“Uhg!” I groan into my hands. At least it's only nine minutes before I was planning on getting up. I pull myself out of bed and drag myself to the bathroom. 

“Wake up.” My head snaps up at the whispered words. I can't usually actually hear myself talk in my head. 

“Be strong,” the voice seems louder this time. I take a deep breath and do suddenly feel wide awake and ready to go. I finally look at my reflection in the mirror only to find out that my hair has seriously changed. It looks thicker and longer but the biggest difference is the color. My hair now falls in long, silver waves. 

“Woah,” I tell my reflection, “what the heck?!” This is so weird. I try to just shrug it off and throw it up into a ponytail and brush my teeth. I walk back to my room and throw on a pair of black joggers and a grey tank top with a built in sports bra. I pull a sweatshirt over my head and shove my feet into my tennis shoes before walking downstairs. 

“Hey Bel– woah,” my dad starts as I round the corner to the kitchen, “did you decide to dye your hair before our run this morning?”

“No I just woke up and it was like this. Weird right?!” I say as I grab a bottle of water and chug half of it.

“It looks just like your mom’s did,” he says quietly, staring at me with a mix of love and sadness in his brown eyes. Suddenly, my dream from last night comes to the front of my mind. The forest and the wolves, how familiar everything felt. The feeling was so .... real. It almost seems like a memory. The wolves eyes keep flashing in my mind; beautiful, familiar eyes. 

“Dad, can we do the trail that goes to mom today?” I ask him still in a dream-like state. 

“Um sure honey, if that’s what you want.” I nod snapping out of my trance. 

“Okay then. Let’s go!” 

“You’re eager this morning,” dad mumbles following me out of the house. 

“I just feel really good today,” I respond. We walk out to the path that leads to mom’s grave. It's the shortest one, only two miles there and two back, so we will be there before the sun is up. Mom isn’t actually buried here since she died somewhere else but when we moved here my dad bought a headstone and put it in the woods behind our home with a few of her things buried there instead. It gives us a place to go to so we can still talk to her. 

We start running as soon as we hit the trees. I feel so much energy going through my body today, I'm not sure where it came from but I am easily keeping up with dad. We make it to the grave in about fifteen minutes, both of us stopping once we reach the small clearing. At first glance, the grass looks like it's starting to die but as I walk towards the grave, the ground seems to get greener and greener. 

I run my hand over the smooth marble stone before sitting down and leaning my back against it. Dad is no longer in sight but I know he's close. He’s always given me space when we come here but I've always known that he's close enough to see and hear me. I think it makes him happy when I talk to mom. I breath a deep sigh thinking about her. I will never forget the last words my mom told me before she died, the promise she made me make. 

“Promise me, Annabella Rose, that you will always be kind and be brave. No matter you what. And always listen to your dad, trust him. Tonight I will see the Goddess.” Since then, I have always talked a little to said goddess since that’s where mom said she was going to go. At this point, it has just become a habit to acknowledge her when I talk. 

“Hey goddess, you better be being good to my momma. A lot of people love her down here.” I tell her firmly. “Okay, hi momma, I miss you. Guess what! I’m eleven today! Oh and so weird, when I woke up my hair was totally silver! I didn’t even die it, it just changed! Dad says it looks just like yours did so that makes me okay with it. He told me the story of the white wolf last night. It was so cool momma! I wish you could’ve been there to tell me too. Then he gave me a huge picture of a white and silver wolf. I think they are in love. That’s what the picture looks like. It makes my heart happy. The wolves were in my dream last night too. I was in a forest and they were there. But it was like a young me. Everything felt so real! It was crazy momma. But when I touched the white one the wolves went away and I was looking into a mirror at an older me. Oh and get this: she had silver hair like I woke up with! Then her eyes changed color and a new white wolf was standing there. She said her name is London. She told me that I need to be strong for a while then she left. It made me think of when you told me to be brave. And I have been momma! I've been brave and kind and I always listen to daddy! I just wish you were here to see how big and strong I am getting. Daddy misses you too.” The words all practically fly out of my mouth as I talk. I scoot down so I am laying in the grass next to her just breathing in the air for a while. 

“Let’s head back, princess,” I hear my dad say. I stand silently and without another word, we begin the run back home. We don’t go inside but head straight for the car and hop in. 

I’m in a good mood but I have a feeling that dad is deep in thought so I decide to just be quiet and watch the trees go by out the window until we pull into the parking lot of Mammi’s Diner. Side by side we walk through the door, hearing the little jingle from the bells, and make our way to our usually table by the window. Within ten minutes, four chocolate chip waffles, several cheesy scrambled eggs, and a heaping plate of bacon is sitting in front of us, along with dad’s coffee and my chocolate milk. You could say we are regulars. I start digging in immediately and when I am stuffing a huge piece of waffle into my mouth, dad decided to start talking. 

“So, what made you want to go talk to mom today?” He asks me. 

“I don’t know, I just felt like I should. I woke up after my dream and felt really tired and weird but I heard this voice in my head telling me to wake up and to be strong, just like that wolf London did from my dream. Then I felt super refreshed and ready to go. Then I was thinking about the dream and I had this sudden need to go, like it was important to do today,” I explain to him shrugging and putting more food in my mouth. 

“A voice?” 

“Yeah I don’t know I think it’s just me hearing myself talk in my head but I don’t know.” I shrug again. I watch his eyes suddenly glaze over. They used to do that a lot when I was young but he hasn’t done it in a while. I just let it happen and finish my food.