Chapter 2 - Darkness falls
1383 Words
Megan
“We are here to speak to your grandmother, child. No need to worry your pretty little head about grown-up business.” He replied with a smile that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“Dear Uncle, if it is business, surely the Alpha of the pack should know about it? Please tell me to what I owe the pleasure of your company.” I insisted on using my Alpha tone, which was not yet as strong as I knew it should be.
“We are merely here to visit your grandmother.” My aunt Lillian jumped in, pulling a face as if she had suddenly caught a whiff of dog sh.it. She really was an old hag.
“Go on, Megan. I will call you when dinner is ready.” My Gran gave me a warm smile.
I didn’t trust what was going on, but I trusted my Gran, so I went upstairs to take a bath and change for dinner. Not wanting to think that I couldn’t trust my grandmother, but father had taught me to always trust my instincts. While the water was running, I snuck downstairs to see if I could find out what was going on.
“She is only sixteen, Mother!” My uncle Henry was shouting. “Philip was clearly being spiteful when he named her Alpha! She is too young and inexperienced.”
“Yes, but it was their wish that she carry on as Alpha. It is done, and you cannot change that.”
“I will not stand for this!” He growled, and I knew that my life was going to take a serious turn for the worst.
He was a dangerous man, even when my parents were alive. He knew that he would lose against my father in one-on-one combat for Alpha. He used to challenge my father on every decision he made. Of course, he would never win the argument. He would always storm in huffing and puffing and then walk out growling. He never let up and was always looking for something to fight about.
Knowing him, he would find some way to make me look weak in front of the pack elders and have me removed as Alpha. I had a bad feeling. A cold that crept up my spine, saying that he might just do more than make me look weak if the elders did not approve his request. I could never trust him, especially not with my life. There was only one option if I were to survive.
I ran upstairs to my room and packed all my things into my backpack. I had to hide my scent, so I could not be followed. If they found me, I would surely be dead. How could they betray my mother like that? There was no time to dwell. I had to leave before I met the same fate as my parents.
With everything packed and a bottle of my Gran’s strongest perfume, I snuck out the back door and ran into the night. I didn’t run far. I knew I had to stay close to keep an eye on what was happening, but not so close that they would find me. I had to find a place to calm my nerves and think on my feet before they noticed I was gone.
Finding an old diner where the waitress and the cook hardly noticed me, with their eyes glued to the television, I went straight into the bathroom and was lucky that there were no customers to identify me later. First things first, I cut my hair. I had grabbed a pair of scissors on my way out of Gran’s house. They would notice the girl with the long red hair immediately, so I had to change my appearance.
I tore my new clothes up a bit, so they would look like they were old and worn out. Covering my head with a black cap, I had to get some money first before they could track me, so I ran to the ATM to withdraw from my parents’ account whatever I could. I dumped the cap in the first bin I saw and covered myself with my gray hoodie.
All that was left was to find a place to hide. I walked through the town streets, staying in the dark corners. The pack house was outside of town in the forest. Wolves that did not like city life lived there. The town was not big, but wolves that preferred to run businesses and live semi-human lives had the opportunity to do so there. My father was always thinking about the future. He wanted the pack to grow and evolve. He wanted them to be happy. I ducked into one of the alleyways overlooking my Gran’s house and made myself as comfortable as possible.
The floor was cold and wet and stank of mold and rats. Pulling my legs close to me, I sat there, intently staring at my Gran’s house, waiting to see what came next. I had diluted the perfume and added spearmint leaves to change the smell, otherwise, they would have just followed Gran’s scent and found me, but the odor of the alleyway would hide my scent. It was truly disgusting. Some cars arrived and screeched to a halt in front of Gran’s house, as I waited to see what came next. I saw some pack members jump out and run into the house as if it was on fire.
I started wondering if my Gran was alright. I couldn’t take the chance to open the pack link again. There were so many things that I had to give up … They were the things that would disappear as soon as I became a rogue. I had no other choice. It was either be a rogue and live, or stay Alpha for an hour and die at the hands of my uncle.
I was sure he would find a way of making me “disappear.” My father had spent many years teaching me how to survive should the pack be attacked by another. He never thought that I would need the knowledge to defend myself against my own pack, my own family. The pack members filed out of the front door, followed by my uncle and aunt and, lastly, my Gran. She was part of their plan?!
“They all wanted me out of the way,” I thought to myself as tears threatened again. I watched as they started to search for me. Some went out the back. They probably followed my scent to the diner, but from there they would not be able to track me.
I made my way through the alleyways in the dark to the diner, where I again made myself comfortable and watched as most of the male pack members gathered.
“Megan has disappeared.” My uncle told them.
“She was distraught when we went to visit her this afternoon. Understandably, everything must have gotten too much for the poor girl, but we need to find her. She is our Baby Girl, and she is in a lot of pain right now. Spread out and find her. Bring her back to us, so we can all stand by her and help her heal.” As soon as they all left, he turned to Aunt Lillian.
“Idiots! The lot of them! Don’t worry, my darling. We will soon have her back.” His smile made the hair at the back of my neck stand up.
I spent the night moving around the alleyways, following the pack as they tried their best to track a scent that wasn’t there. I couldn’t sleep in any case. I knew they would eventually have to give up, but I had to stay alert, at least for now. I was bone tired.
After having only one good night’s sleep in the past two weeks, and after running around all night, I started feeling fatigued. I sat behind a dumpster, listening to two members discussing where they had been and where they were going next. I closed my eyes for just a second when I heard a growl almost right on top of me …
- Writer
