Choice of The Alpha

1.6

I spent the rest of the evening helping my mother organize the house. She wanted to make sure she got everything set up and ready. We went through my grandparents things and figured out what to do with everything.

After supper I decided to go for another run. It was starting to get dark and I didn't want to be out too late in unknown territory. I got dressed in my jogging clothes and headed out the door. This time, I decided to head towards the woods and see if I could find one of the trails.

Thankfully they were clearly marked and not hard to find. As I got closer to the woods I saw large signs that had maps of all the different trails I could take. I found one that stayed nearby and looped back around. I decided that would be my best bet since it would be harder to get lost.

I found the trail within five minutes and set out. As I'm running down the trail, all I could think about was how beautiful it was. This is so much better than in the park. The trees stretched so high that they blocked out the sky. There were so many different kinds of trees mixed in. I passed a batch of oak trees where the leaves were starting to turn. There were shorter trees with white flowers and some with purple flowers. Here and there I saw pine trees. Some short and full, while others reached a high as the oaks.

It was peaceful and not quite silent. There was no honking of cars or laughing of people. No police sirens or ambulances. The sounds that are out here are pure nature. The chirps of birds, hooting of owls waking up. The sound of the wind in the trees and occasional branches snapping. Most of the sounds I couldn’t even explain. They just were.

Surrounded by all this peaceful nature, I slowed down. I just wanted to soak up the Serenity. I saw a rock leaning against a large tree and decided to sit and enjoy this place. I leaned against the tree and closed my eyes, just listening to the sounds around me.

At some point I must have dozed off because I suddenly jerked awake. I was sitting on the rock and wide awake as if something startled me. I noticed that it was much darker, but something else seemed off. That's when I realized that all the sounds of the forest were gone. It was deathly quiet. Something was wrong.

I thought I heard some rustling in the trees across the path from me. It was a quick and quiet sound that stopped as soon as it started. It felt like I was being watched. I started to get really scared. My breaths were coming short and fast, and I could hear my heartbeat in my head. I knew I was in trouble. I’ve watched movies and read books and I knew when nature gets silent, there’s a hunter nearby. Here I am in unknown territory, in the middle of the night, and being stalked by something. I am screwed.

I slowly got up and started to head down the path. I moved as quietly and steady as I could. I knew if I started to run that I would be in trouble. All I wanted to do was break out into a fast run and get out of these woods. It took all my concentration to hold back and walk slowly.

As I started to move around a curve in the trail, I heard more rustling behind me. I whipped around and tried to see it. I couldn’t see anything, it was too dark. Then I heard a quiet growl coming through the night. I still couldn’t see where it was, but at this point it didn't matter. I turned back around and took off down the path. Between the pounding in my head, the sound of my breathing, and the crashing that I was making through the woods, I couldn’t hear anything else. I had no idea if it was following me.

The pounding in my head got worse. It was getting hard to focus. I was afraid if I stopped that I would be caught by whatever was chasing me. Yet, if I didn’t stop I was going to pass out from the pain in my head.

Before I had a chance to decide, I got a sharp stab in the base of my skull. It radiated through my whole body. I let out a scream and stumbled from the pain. Next thing I knew, I was falling face first into the dirt. As I fell, I blacked out from the pain.

When I woke up I saw that daylight was starting to seep through the trees. I just laid there with my eyes closed. If hurt too much to try and open them. I remembered having weird dreams. I was running through the forest faster than possible. I was lower to the ground and ran like the wind. I remember chasing a rabbit and catching it. At one point I went to drink out of a steam and saw a reflection in the water. What I saw was a wolf. That startled me and I whipped around, only to see nothing there. I don’t remember much beyond that.

It still hurt too much to move. It felt like my whole body was on fire. Even thinking about moving hurt.

“Hi, Lexi. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

I opened my eyes and tried to look around. Where was this voice coming from?

“I'm not out there.” She said. “I'm inside you. My name is Sasha and I’m your wolf. Don’t worry about the pain, it will fade soon.”

My wolf? What is she talking about? I don't have a wolf. Am I imaging things? I must be. This must be more of the dream.

“You're not dreaming. I'm your wolf. I've been with you your whole life, but I haven't been able to talk to you until now. Now that you finally transformed I am able to talk to you now. I'm sorry this is such a shock. You should've been warned about this. Most wolves are raised their entire lives knowing about their other half, so it's not a shock to them. You've spent your entire life in ignorance. Now that I'm here, I can help you.”

I tried to ignore the sound of her voice. This wasn't happening. There's no such thing as werewolves. I must have had a panic attack and hit my head when I fell. Yes. That had to be what's going on. There's no other explanation.

I realized I wasn't in much pain anymore. So, I opened my eyes and looked around me. I wasn’t sure where I was. It didn't look like I was on the path anymore. I was in some type of clearing. It wasn't very big. All around me the grass was trampled. It was like this was a spot that gets regularly used. As I looked around, I saw some dark liquid splashed all over in the leaves. From the smell of it, it must be blood.

That's when I realized, I could smell it. How could I smell the blood? There didn't seem to be that much of it. I could also smell the dirt and the grass. There was even the smell of tree sap. This is starting to get too weird.

I sat up slowly. That's when I got a good look at myself. I was covered in dirt. My clothes were ripped to shreds with almost nothing left to them. I had blood smeared on my arms. What on earth happened to me?

“I told you. You transformed. So I took over, and I was hungry.” I heard the voice say.

“NO! Just go away! This isn’t happening!” I yelled out loud.

“I can’t go away. I’m a part of you.”

“This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.” I repeated this as I stood up and looked around me. Nothing was familiar. I couldn’t see any sign of the path. I’m completely lost. What do I do?

I started frantically looking around for my phone. There was no way it was still in my pocket since I really didn’t have a pocket left. I scrambled through the leaves trying to find it. If I couldn’t find it, I have no clue how I was going to get home. As I dug through the leaves, I felt my stomach drop. It wasn’t here. I have no clue how I’m going to get home.

“I could help you, you know.” I heard her speak again inside my head. “ I know the way. I even know where you lost your phone.”

I felt completely defeated. I had no choice.

“Fine, you can help me. But when I get back , we are going straight to the hospital! There’s no way that hearing voices is normal!”

She chuckles inside my head. “ No, hearing voices is not normal. But you aren’t normal. Very well, let’s go get your phone.”

I started walking, following her directions. As I walked, Sasha remained generally quiet. At least she was keeping her comments to herself. Walking through the forest, with occasional directions from Sasha, was pretty calming. I was still freaked out and not sure what was going on, but atleast it was peaceful out here. Some of the landmarks I passed, gave me a sense of déjà vu. As I approached a small stream, it dawned on me. This is the same stream I saw in my dream. I glanced down into the stream, half expecting to see a wolf looking back at me, but all I saw was myself looking back.

The reflection looking back at me was hardly recognizable. So I knelt down to the creek and started washing myself off. The more I scrubbed, the more frustrated I got. Things like this just don't happen. I have no idea what happened. I wake up dirty and covered in blood, and now I have this voice in my head telling me I'm a werewolf. The stress of the move must be making me literally crazy.

As I got angrier, I started hitting the water. Everything was wrong. My reflection was wrong. My memories were wrong. Not a single thing has gone right.

“I'm sorry. This isn't how it's supposed to be. You were meant to know this was going to happen.” She sounded sad as she said this. “That’s because I am sad. The union of human and wolf is sacred. Once they join together, it’s supposed to be joyous and celebrated. Since you didn’t know what you were, it has made this a hard and confusing time for you. Like I said before, I am a part of you. I feel your pain, your joy, your fear, and your happiness. Over time, you will feel mine as well. We are two parts of a whole.”

The sound of her voice made me feel bad. Even if I am crazy and just hearing voices, that is no reason to make the voice in my head sound depressed.

“Look, I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I’m just so confused and scared. It was dark and I was being chased by something. Then I end up with pain I’ve never felt before. Next thing I know, it’s morning. My clothes are in shreds and I’m covered in dirt and blood.” I sighed. “I just don’t know what’s going on with me.”

“I understand. I promise it will get better. You’re mom can’t keep you in the dark anymore. So maybe, you should talk to her and process the information before you make any drastic decisions.”

My mom! Does this mean she knew this was going to happen? Why wouldn't she have told me? What type of mother would let her child go through something this life changing without even hinting at something?

I stood up from the creek. “Alright let's get out of these woods and see if we can get any answers.”

I started walking through the woods again. I started noticing things I've never noticed before. I could smell the flowers on trees I couldn’t see. I could hear the sounds of animals in the trees that I normally wouldn’t hear. I heard some slight crunching, when I looked for it I saw a caterpillar chewing on a leaf. The fact that I could hear it in the first place and then find it was amazing.

“That's the wolf part of you.” Sasha explained, “The wolf senses will cause many changes. You will smell more, hear more and even see better. You will be able to run faster. When you get hurt, you will heal faster too.”

I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Some of it sounded really awesome. But the rest? It will be nice to heal faster, sure. But do I really want to have my smell enhanced? I remembered the overwhelming smell of all the flowers at the house. I couldn’t possibly imagine that being any stronger. Not to mention if my smell is enhanced then all the gross things are going to smell worse too. Could it be worth it to have enhanced abilities?

“I’m not saying it’s all sunshine and rainbows. But it can definitely be worth it. Imagine being able to run faster. To see the colors in the rainbow clearly. To be able to smell when someone was around and know who that person was. Yes, it has its drawbacks. But the increased senses can be a blessing as well.” I heard Sasha explain.

As we were talking, I stepped through some bushes and onto a path. I recognized the rock leaning against the tree.

“This is where I fell asleep last night.” I shivered at the memory of the animal I heard in the woods.

“Yes, just down the path a ways is where we first shifted. That’s where you lost your phone.”

Before I headed down the trail, I tried to find any sign of whatever was stalking me last night. I looked around the bushes and trees. I nudged some leaves around with my foot. No matter where I looked I couldn't find anything.

“Sight isn’t the only sense you have. Try smelling.”

“No offense but that's just weird. “ I said.

“ Maybe for humans,” she chuckled, “but you forget that you are part wolf. Just try it”

I walked over to the trees where I heard the noise last night. I wasn’t really sure how to go about this. I sniffed a couple times, then I took a deep breath. In that breath, I smelled so many things. I had to try and pick through the scents. There was the smell of dirt, green grass, moss, tree sap, and something musky. I wasn’t sure how to explain it. I took a few more deep breaths, and suddenly the image of a wolf pops into my head. It’s a large wolf with reddish fur and black trim around the neck. It stood there with its head down and snarling.

“Whoa!” I yelled, as I backed away quickly and tripped over a root. I fell down into the dirt on the trail. “What the hell was that?!?” I yelled.

“Calm down,” I hear Sasha say, “That is how it works for a wolf. When you catch a scent and focus on it, the image of what you are seeking appears. It's perfectly normal.”

“It is NOT normal! Nothing about this is normal!” I yell. “That’s it, I’ve had enough for one day. I’m out of here.”

I stood up and started down the path to where I passed out. There was a bunch of leaves scattered about, and amidst them was my phone. I picked it up quickly and kept going down the path. I just wanted to get home as soon as possible.

As I got to the end of the trail, where it leaves the forest, I froze. I suddenly remembered that my clothes are hanging off in shreds. I’m not fully covered, and I look like I got in a fight with a grizzly. There was no way I was going to be able to just walk home. I sighed and unlocked my phone.

“Not much of a choice here. I wonder what she’s going to say about this.” I found my mother’s name and pressed the call button.