Alpha Beach

On The Road

They were on the road that evening and even Hildi lifted her brow to see just how Michelle lived. She did so out of a duffel bag that faintly smelled like Shane, not that she could completely scent him, not yet anyway. But it didn’t stop her from clutching the thing close while Hildi loaded the rest of her things into her long and narrow vintage bus. 

Michelle questioned all of her life choices then. This was going to be a disaster. The only good thing she could take out of it was that her replacement wood fit inside. Her stipulations that their team would track down her original board was never going to go anywhere, especially after being stolen earlier in the day. The best they could do was purchase a couple of planks of koa wood for her to work with on the way down. 

“Tony said you could use a board their sponsors give out to team members if you can’t produce…” Hildi began as she looked back at Michelle. 

Again she could feel Hildi’s eyes on her but not in a way that the other Alphas had. Even though she was an Alpha herself, she was mated and older. Her grey hair curled in soft waves around her face as if she had just done it. Michelle felt the need to look her in the eyes to reveal her pain but decided not to, avoiding it altogether. 

“I don’t mean it like that,” Hildi added softly. “I’m just trying to help you.”

Michelle nodded, wanting to say she knew but simply couldn’t. In the chaos, she lost her history. It wasn’t about the board itself. The board could be replaced. She could make a new one. It wouldn’t take long now that she was on her own again.

“I know,” she finally replied.

The start of the engine made Hildi turn from Michelle and back to the wheel. Her attention remained there unless she sensed Michelle moving which was a nice feeling. It helped her feel less alone. 

Her gaze drifted off down to the planks beside her while she day dreamed about how it used to be. 

**

Traveling with Hildi seemed to go as well as it could. She was a steady, careful driver with a lean tongue and no trouble leaning on her horn if someone had the nerve to cut her off. Otherwise, the ride through the night had been peaceful. 

The next beach had been about several hundred miles south of them given all of the building along the shore. It seemed like a nice thought, having restaurants on the water instead of at a pier. Homes seemed to do the same which made her wonder about the people who lived there. The fleeting thoughts of if they were older and just liked the view, or if they were younger and like to rip through the waves like she did all surfaced like lost boards. 

It was as fleeting though, as the world around her and the thought of recreating her board had gone out the window with them too. 

She would have time, Michelle told herself. The tidbit of Hildi’s comment at the start of the trip had come back to echo in her mind. 

If she had to surf with one of their boards, it just wouldn’t be the same. Michelle was sure she would amplify her problems both in her mind and physically too. 

Lifting off of her chair to get down on her knees and off to work on one of the slabs had been enough work to try. Once she finally touched the koa wood with her palm she closed her eyes, taking in the feel of its energy as she was taught to. There she told herself that it would be okay, even if her board wasn’t completed or had the carvings her original did, she would make sure this board was rideable for this competition.  

Michelle moved in practiced precision as she collected her tools to shape and clean the board by hand as if she was rewriting her legacy. It should be known, she told herself while the voice inside of her stayed silent, unknowing what to say now. 

She knew it would be back to wreak havoc on her mind but for now, it had no choice but to allow her body to respond to the koa wood. Each run of her razor press peeled a new layer off of the board as if it too was shedding a tremendous weight. Just like herself. 

As she finished the body, she pieced together it’s fins which would be added to the board to keep her stability in the wave itself. They were like little anchors to it’s board, she thought, as she carved the icon into one side of the largest triangle. 

Michelle stared at her handiwork. While she knew it was a risk to surf on an untreated board, she couldn’t help but need to take it.There was no way she was going to ask to treat it within the bus, and therefore would just accept the day as it was while she looked out the window into the oncoming day. 

**

Michelle had never been one for keeping up on professional surfers. She spent so much time in the waves that it never really occurred to her that there was more life to live out there past them. It still didn’t to a point. 

Sure, the beach was filled and sectioned off. Reporters and photographers that weren’t with the scene were barricaded off which had been a welcomed thought after her incident. All of that and more was on her mind as she rounded a large white and grey pavilion where it seemed to be taken over by most teams. Their bags and gear had been strone about along with them which made her wonder if she was simply under prepared for this level. 

So many of them were noticeably older than her, she thought, or maybe the sun damage really was a thing. The wrinkles on their faces suggested otherwise. Regardless, the ones that hung around, lounged, while the others were busy joking and overly excited for the contest to commence already. 

It was a lot to take in and apparently, they were taking her in as well. Nearly every head turned and that voice inside her simply growled. They were all built in some way or another, but until she was fully out, she wouldn’t know if they were unless they disclosed that information with her. 

Tension within the airy space grew. It began to creep up her spine and surround her shoulders like the threat in the bathroom which made her more alert than she would have been if she was home any other time. Today she kept her board and stuff close and Hildi even closer. 

Checking in was simple enough. She was given directions to Munar’s section at the top of the pavilion and she would be lying if she said she didn’t notice the whispers behind her because of it. She watched as Hildi signed the paperwork as her guardian and manager but revealed nothing else. Her Alpha knew how to protect, that much was true. 

Hildi spoke to her, not down to her as she asked Michelle to sign her name next to hers, acknowledging that she understands her role in all of this. 

“It says much of the same as your contract. Signing this waiver says that if you compete and happen to be injured we can’t sue unless it was unsafe conditions to begin with.”

Michelle heard the way she hummed when she rolled her eyes at danger. 

“We aren’t home,” she chided. “And these are all new rules, new patterns…”

Michelle nodded softly as she made her mark on the waiver. Something about doing it, signing the paper made it more real than signing the original contract. It made her ears ring slightly. The sound of the metal tip of the pen scraping against the paper and the hard surface of the table underneath had also been present, far louder than usual. Her senses seemed to be out of whack, or heightening at the movement behind her due to it.