The Lycan Queen

Chapter 4: 15 going on 16

    “Abel, quit.” Rose grumbled as Abel attempted to shake her awake. “Would you quit being a cry baby and wake up. I have to pee and you’re on me.” Rose grumbled a few incoherent words and returned to snoring. “Rose,” Abel said loudly trying to wake her. She had been sleeping peacefully before she felt her body make contact with the floor. “What the f**k!” She yelled out rubbing her head where it had hit the hardwood beneath her. “I told you I had to pee,” Abel laughed as he stepped over. She huffed as he headed towards the bathroom. They had fallen asleep in the entertainment room watching movies like they had so many nights this summer. She got up plopping down on the couch thinking about how peaceful the summer had been after their freshmen year.  She hadn’t completely hated the school year. It just wasn’t what she had expected. While Abel was almost immediately welcomed with open arms by the entire school body. She never even made it on single person’s radar. It was like she was invisible to everyone including Abel. He got so caught up in the moment of freedom and the human girls constantly throwing themselves at him. Every other week she would find him with his tongue shoved down a random girl’s throat. It disgusted her, and for some reason infuriated her.

            “What are you glaring at,” Abel asked plopping back on the couch next to her. “Huh,” she blinked. “You were glaring at the wall like you wanted to fight it.” “Oh, I was just thinking about my meeting with my dad yesterday.” She lied. “What now?” “What do you want to do for your birthday?” she asked changing the subject. “What we are doing right now. Watch movies and eat junk.” “That’s not a birthday Abel. Come on you’re going to be sixteen tomorrow.” He rolled his eyes, “Yeah and it’s also the first day of school.” “Even better. Everyone at school will probably load you down with presents. You’re literally friends with every guy and every female is trying to get your pants off.” Laughing,” And you exaggerate a lot.” She went to say something else, but there was a knock at the entrance of the theater area. Her and Abel both turned to see who had knocked. “Your parents want you home, Abel.” The omega standing at the entry way informed. (Omegas are basically like housekeepers or maids. Generally, an Omega was a wolf who had broke the packs law and earned the title by verdict of punishment or in addition to punishment. “I’ll text you in a bit,” he said as he stood to leave. The omega stayed where she was. Rose looked at her wondering why on Earth she was still just standing there. Standing to leave herself just as the front door closed signaling Abel was gone. “Your father would like to see you,” the omega spoke as Rose passed by her. Rose headed to her father’s office hoping he had reviewed her request to ride with Abel to school and approved it.

            She knocked twice on his office door and waited. “Come in.” Alpha Daniel called from the other side of the door. “You wanted to see me,” she asked closing the door behind her. “Yes, have a seat.” She took a seat in one of the leather chairs across from him at his desk. “There are standards and a certain image that the Alpha, Luna, and their children are expected to uphold.” “I am aware,” she responded clenching her teeth. She didn’t know what he was getting at but was positive he was going to use it to not let her ride with Abel. “Then why do you feel it okay to be found sleeping next to a male wolf who is not your mate.” “Are you serious right now. We fell asleep watching a movie.” “As you have clearly done several times over the summer. You’re the gossip of the packhouse and I will not have my daughter known as a dog in heat.” “You are blowing all this out of proportion,” she argued. “No, I’m doing what I should have done a long time ago. It’s time for you and Abel to take some time apart. I am denying your request to ride with him to school in the morning and I have also had your schedule rearranged to where you will not have any classes together. You will also remain in our personal quarters when home unless escorted by an Omega.” “This is f*****g ridiculous,” she jumping to her feet and holding tears back. “You will not speak to me,” he roared. “f**k you,” she yelled as she slammed the door.

            In her room she fell onto a bed allowing the tears to stream down her face. So much for her not being forgotten this year. What was his deal with her being friends with Abel. As she laid there in our own misery her phone vibrated.

Hey cupcake my parents are doing a BBQ tonight

                                                                                                                        I can’t

 Awe, Why not?

I thought you wanted to do something

For my birthday

                                                                        My dad thinks we hangout 2much

What the heck?

                                                                                                Yeah

Well, what about in the morning?

                                                                                                NOPE!

Well at least we have 3 classes together tomorrow

                                                                                                Nope

What do you mean????                                                                                                               

                                                                                                He had my sched. Changed

Why?!

                                                                             He doesn’t want us hanging out

☹☹☹ 

                                                                                    Yeah I kno

Did he say why?

                                                                                    Yeah the pack calls me a dog in heat

What the heck?!!!!!

                                                            Apparently us falling asleep makes me a whore

That’s ridiculous

I guess I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow

The one class he cant reschedule

                                                                                                                        Yeah ttyl

Later cupcake

After talking to Abel she curled up under the covers and cried herself to sleep.

            Rose jerked awake to thud. Looking at her phone she saw that it was eleven at night. Something tapped her glass door that led out to the balcony. Slowly she climbed out of bed trying not to make any noise. Another tap on the glass. Holding her breath, she reached for the curtain pulling it back slightly. Peering out she saw Abel standing there sweating like he had ran a marathon. “What are you doing,” she hissed opening the door. “My birthday is an hour away and if I have to climb five stories to be with my best friend at that time so be it.” “Get in before someone sees you,” she felt her cheeks heat up. Locking her bedroom door to prevent any surprise wake ups in the morning she crawled into bed and curled up next to Abel. It wasn’t five minutes before Rose was deep asleep.

            Abel looked at Rose sleeping peacefully curled up next to him. He knew they could get in a lot of trouble for breaking the Alpha’s rules, but he had to know if his hunch was right. He had always felt drawn to Rose for as long as he could remember. The older they got the more drawn to her he felt. A month or so ago the pull started to get stronger. After reading about mates in the pack library; he was almost convinced that Rose was his mate. He looked at his watch, “Only twenty more minutes until midnight. He laid in bed listening to the time on his watch slowly tick minute to minute and second to second. “Ten more minutes,” he thought checking the time for the thousandth time. He let out a deep sigh, “Why must time pass by so slow tonight.” “Sixty seconds. This is it no going back,” he said sucking in a deep breath holding it as the seconds dwindled down. He let out a breath midnight, thinking he had been mistaken this whole time. Then at exactly one minute past twelve the sweetest smell of honeysuckle hit his nose; a growl formed deep in his chest. “Mate,” a familiar voice growled in his head.

            He looked down at Rose still sleeping peacefully, but it felt as if he wasn’t looking down at her. It felt as if he was being allowed to see through the eyes of the person looking down at her. It felt as if he had been pushed to the back seat of his own mind. He softly kissed her forehead. “Stop,” he demanded. “No,” a rough voice growled back, “You allowed them to take her from me for a decade.” “What are you talking about? Who are you?” “Don’t tell me you don’t even recognize your own wolf, Abel?” “Well yeah, but you’ve been sleeping this entire time. You talk as if there was a time you were aware before my sixteenth birthday.” “You need to remember. Remember the memories taken and locked away from you.” Before Abel could respond Rose began to stir. Abel felt his breath hitch and his heart shoot to his throat. From the first day he had laid eyes on her in class he felt drawn to her. He remembered passing her not asking her to eat lunch with him. His palms were soaked with sweat from our nervous he was waiting for her to pass it back with her response. All through their childhood he thought they were simply meant to be best friends. It wasn’t until about a year ago that he started to suspect it could be something more. He brushed her hair from her face looking at her, taking in all of her beauty, trying to savor it. The need to kiss her, to claim her was strong. His wolf was trying to push him to the back again. He feared if he accomplished doing so, he wouldn’t be able to control him. Being careful not to wake Rose he slid out of the bed. He couldn’t be here. He couldn’t trust himself around her. Her wolf wouldn’t awake for another year. He couldn’t, He wouldn’t steal that moment from her. He slid out of the double glass balcony doors and climbed down the side of the pack house. Shifting as soon as his feet hit the ground he began to run towards the woods.

            Rose stretched under the covers. Bringing her arms down beside her she realized she was alone in bed. “Had she dreamed about Abel coming last night.” Making a mental note not to fall asleep crying again to prevent any further crazy dreams. She climbed out of bed and headed to her bathroom to shower.  “Why did the first day of school always have to be so nerve wrecking.” She chose to go with a flowy topaz tank, skinny jeans, and strappy sandals. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her bag and headed down to meet the transport. Luckily, she wasn’t the only sophomore still riding transport. Two of the others were only 15 as well and couldn’t drive.

            Stepping out of the transport she felt as if people were staring at her. She could feel her cheeks heat up. There was no doubt that they were as red as candy apples. With her head down she headed to her first A-Block class. In a way she liked the way the classes were spaced out. At the Pack’s school you attended 8 different classes a day referred to as periods. While at the human school the classes were known as blocks. You attended four classes every other day and four different classes the days in between. The days were labeled as A Day and B Day.

            The first two blocks seemed to drag on forever. After an eternity the lunch bell finally rang. As she walked into the cafeteria, she scanned the crowd for Abel, but she didn’t see him. She grabbed her lunch and headed outside to the outdoor dining area hoping she would see him out there. Taking a seat at one of the vacant picnic tables she picked at her lunch. “Um, hi” Rose looked up to see a blonde girl who she recognized as one of the girls Abel had briefly dated the prior school year. “hey” She responded unsure of what made the girl approach her. “Look I know we don’t really know each other but have you by chance seen Abel?” Rose looked at her confused. “Your Rose right? He said you and him were friends.” “I mean we are, but I haven’t seen him.” “Oh, we have first block together and he never showed. I just figured you might know why.” “No, I’m sorry. I spoke to him last night, but I thought he was driving himself to school today.” “Oh well if you see him tell him I was asking about him. The girl turned and skipped off to her friends waiting at another table for her. Rose immediately got up and threw away her trash. She pulled out her phone scrolling to Abel’s name and hitting the green call button. It went straight to voicemail. The bell rang signaling lunch was over. She sent a quick text (Dude wtf where are you) before sliding her phone into her back pocket.

            She could not focus on her classes for the rest of the day. She repeatedly checked her phone for a message or missed call from him; but even when the last bell rang, she still had not heard from him. She was anxious the whole ride home. When the transport pulled up the front of the pack house, she wasted no time jumping out of the escalade. She headed straight to her father’s office. Not bothering to knock she slammed the door open, “Dad”. “I’m sorry are done showing respect to our Alpha.” “Right now, you’re not my Alpha, you’re my father. Have you heard from Abel?” “No, was I supposed to speak with him,” “The last time I talked to him we had talked about the first day of school, but a girl approached me today asking if I had seen him. He never showed up to school. So, I tried to call him but it went straight to voicemail. I text him and still have not received a response. “Rose, I’m sure you are overreacting due to our conversation last night.” “I am not overreacting, Dad. Something isn’t right.” “Look if it will keep you from exploding again. I will contact Charles. I am sure he can answer where his son’s whereabouts are.” Daniel’s eyes clouded over as he mind linked Charles. After what felt like forever his eyes returned to their normal brown color. “Interesting,” he spoke. “Dad what is it? Is Abel, okay?” “It would appear that the last Charles was aware Abel was staying here for the two of you to ride to school together. Rose, are you positive you don’t know where he is?” “I have no idea the last I heard from him was when I spoke to him last night. I swear.” “I will alert Billy and the warriors, but if I discover at any point in time that this is some kind of ploy for you two to get you way. You will regret it, both of you will.” Before Rose could say anything else his eyes clouded back over mind linking Billy more than likely. Rose stood still fighting tears and left for the fifth floor. Once in the comfort of her own home she fell on to her bed allowing the tears to flow freely. She said a silent prayer for Abel to come home before she drifted to sleep.

            That night her dreams tormented her. She dreamed of a boy crying in the woods only to discover it was Abel. She dreamt of Abel holding her and kissing her. Then she dreamt of a war. There were creatures she had never seen before. All looked human, but none of them were actually human. There was a woman who looked like her fighting shouting commands and encouragement to the Lycans. All of a sudden, the dream changed from her watching the woman to her actually being the woman. It was like having a front row seat to what was going on. It looked as if they were winning the war before Rose felt the most excruciating pain in her chest. She screamed out in agony. She could actually feel her spirit leaving her body. She laid there dying each breath becoming more and more shallow. A gorgeous woman in a flowing gown, with long luscious brown her going down her back walked towards her. Rose gasped; her eyes shot open taking in her surroundings. She was safe in her room. She held her chest trying to catch her breath. “Who was that woman in her dreams. What does all this really mean?”

            Rose next awoke to someone gently shaking her. She peeked out of the covers to see an Omega. Rolling her eyes, she rolled over tugging the blanket over her more. “Ms. Rose, I apologize for disturbing you, but the Alpha has called for all the pack in the meeting hall.” The omega spoke softly. “What about school?” “The Alpha has cancelled all classes within the pack, attendance at the human school, and morning training.” Rose rolled over looking at her confused. “What do you mean he has cancelled everything.” “There’s and urgent meeting in the hall is all I know.” Rose’s heart sunk. She sat up in bed quickly. “I’m going to be sick,” is all she could get running into her bathroom. “It can’t be. It just can’t be, but why else would he have an emergency meeting. I don’t think I can keep it together if something horrible has happened.” Rose cleaned herself and quickly dressed before heading down to the Meeting Hall.

            Everyone was whispering amongst each other when she walked. All curious as to why we were called. What was it that was so dire to require cancellation? As far back as Rose could remember; she could not recall a time that something like this had happened. She took her sear next to her mother to wait for the Alpha to enter. Five minutes had passed when her father entered taking his place at the front looking out at everyone. She stood along with everyone slightly bowing as was expected. Her mother reached over squeezing her hand in a form of comfort. Although, she knew her mother only meant to signify comfort and love. Rose couldn’t help but feel her heart sink more.

            “I have called you all here in a moment of uncertainty. It would seem that one of our own is currently missing. As many, if not all of you may know the young pup Abel’s coming of age was yesterday. It is to best of my knowledge that he was alone when his wolf awoke. Now, while I do not wish to breed fear, and it is rare but not unheard of. We can not ignore the fact that his wolf may have awoken rabid. When we heard he was unaccounted for my Gamma Billy led a group of warriors checking the entire territory. His scent was found and followed to the edge of the Northern border. I have asked her brethren packs to aide in his search. I call you here to also ask of volunteers to join with the warriors in the search of the young wolf. If any of you are willing or able to do so; I ask that you meet Billy on the training field at noon today. The sooner we establish a search the higher our chances of finding him before damage can be done.” The Alpha spoke swift and clear leaving no room for interruption. The pack sat in silence absorbing the information the Alpha had just provided them. Rose herself felt faint.

            It was ten minutes until noon when Rose stepped onto the training field. “What are you doing here,” Billy demanded walking swiftly to her. “I want to join the search,” she responded firmly. “Your father has made it very clear that you are not to be present for this.” “I have just as much right if not more than any wolf in this pack,” she cried it out. “Look, I know you want to find him. Believe I do understand but please try to understand. While we all hope that Abel is okay. We can not ignore the fact that it just doesn’t make sense for a wolf to disappear when his wolf awakens. It is very possible he has a rabid wolf.” Rose remained standing firmly in her place, “I am quite aware of the possibility.” He cursed under his breath, “Your father doesn’t want you to know the consequences of the matter. There is only one solution for a rabid wolf. I love you like you were my own daughter and have been there since the day you were born. I can not allow you to bare witness to such a tragic event. Let alone risk you sabotaging the matter.” She could feel the tears building up again. “Now I’m going to say this one last time. Leave Rose, before I alert the Alpha.” Rose turned walking at a fast pace back to the pack house fighting tears back.

            For the next three months Alpha Daniel had wolves searching every day for Abel, each day ended with Rose crying herself to sleep. No one had a clue where he could be or even if he was still alive for that matter. By the third month everyone had lost hope, at least everyone but Rose had. She held on to the hope that he was out there and that one day he would return. The Alpha called off the search, Abel’s parents Charles and Lexa were devastated that the Goddess had forsaken their only pup. On the first full moon after the searches were called a funeral service declaring Abel dead was held. Rose walked slowly down to the garden. Her long black dress brushing the grass as she walked, a black veil hid the tears in her eyes. The white roses held between her hands glistened under the moonlight. She took her seat next to her mother and Abel’s parents bowing their heads as the Alpha spoke.

            “Wolves, she-wolves, and pups I have asked for your attendance this evening in the remembrance of a young wolf. Abel was a pup to Charles and Lexa; as you all know they struggled for many moons before rejoicing in the Goddess’s blessing of conception. I know that you all will embrace them with warmth in your heart as they go through their time of mourning. Abel was lively pup, always making people smile. He was a dearest friend to my daughter, from the time they spoke at the ages of nine and eight up until his untimely departure. Always viewed as an intelligent and strong-willed lad, I looked forward to the day his wolf awoken. After the tragic events that have taken place on his coming to age, I only pray that the Goddess had given us just a little more time. Join me as we honor his remembrance; join me as we mourn not the loss of the wolf but the loss of a brethren, friend, and family member.” The Alpha then tilted his head back and began to howl. One by one each wolf tilted their head back howling at the moon as one. As the pack howled you could hear the shared sorrow and heartache that everyone felt. (That was the thing about belonging to the pack, extreme feelings were not felt by one but all. The howls began to die down as one by one each wolf approached the alter placing flowers beside the picture of Abel, that sat upon it.

            Over the next month the pack started getting back to normal, or at least a new form of normal that is. Due to the events prior to and after Abel’s disappearance, the Alpha closed the Human Education Program. All pups returned back to the pack’s school. Rose struggled to cope with everything still, becoming extremely distant with not just everyone in the pack but her intermediate family. The Alpha and Luna worried she wasn’t even eating before an Omega informed them, she had seen Rose leaving the private kitchen before they had awoke. She would awake every morning, attend school, and the remainder of the time remain locked away in her room.

            Abel gasped as cold water hit his face, immediately crying out at the pain caused by the silver chains chaining him to a concrete floor. “Good, your still alive.” A voice spoke from the darkness, “As much as I would find pleasure in your death, I need you alive a while longer.” “Who are you?” Abel asked through clenched teeth. “Don’t jump ahead of yourself boy, you’ll have all your answers in due time.” The gate opened a woman dressed in tattered clothing open the door to the cell, sliding a plate of what looked like slop of to him. The very smell made his stomach turn, if he had any food on it already, he would have thrown it up. “I suggest you eat,” spoke the voice from the darkness. “That is, if you want to be alive to ever see your precious mate again.” Abel tried to lunge in the direction the voice was coming from causing the chains to burn him even more. The voice burst into a deep laugh followed by the slam of what sounded like a solid metal door. Abel slumped to the floor feeling defeated, trying to recollect the events that led up to this moment.