Bound by fate to the future Alpha.

**Chapter eleven: close encounter- Malia's POV**

Skipping back and forth, I’m reveling in my drunkenness along this never-ending bridge, the shimmering lights of the city twinkling in the distance like a siren’s call. My voice, if you can call it that, spills into the night, a symphony of half-remembered melodies that the wind seems to carry away. I'm blissfully unaware that back at the party, my friends are anxiously searching for me, worry etched into their faces as they scan the room for any sign of my wayward spirit. But here, on this expanse of concrete stretching endlessly before me, I feel invincible.

Just then, a car zooms past me, throwing a rush of wind that almost knocks me off my feet. In a moment of reckless abandon, I trip, and the harsh reality of the pavement greets my knees with a painful thud. I fall, rolling onto the ground, but oddly enough, I feel nothing at all. "I'M A GOD!" I scream into the void, laughter bursting forth uncontrollably as I revel in my own delusions of grandeur. Yet somewhere beneath this inebriated bravado, my body is protesting; unknown to me, my new jeans have ripped apart, and my knees are ravaged, crimson trails of blood painting the surface beneath me.

I stumble, taking two steps back and one step forward, trying to regain my footing on this bridge between reality and a dreamscape of my own making. It becomes a dance of sorts, a clumsy choreography set against a backdrop of shimmering stars. With every shaky movement, I realize that navigating this night is going to take a lifetime, each step a reminder of the world I’ve temporarily left behind. As I inch forward, the darkness enveloping me feels both comforting and isolating—I’m utterly lost, yet somehow, inexplicably alive.

**Blake's POV**

Panic draped over the group like a heavy fog as they scoured the dimly lit house, calling out Malia's name with voices edged in urgency."She wasn't supposed to leave," Keira said, her voice trembling as anxiety etched lines on her face. Aimee glanced at her watch, her heart racing. "She’s meant to celebrate her birthday with us! We all agreed to shift together," she exclaimed, recalling the exhilaration they had planned to share. My mind raced until Aimee's words hit me like a sudden downpour. "Wait, what did you just say? It's her birthday?" I asked, confusion mingling with dread.

Aimee nodded gravely. "Well, technically it's tomorrow, but once midnight strikes, we were all supposed to unleash our wolves and embrace the wild in the woods." A chilling realization swept over me, and I knew time was running out. "Shit...the woods! Danny, come with me; we need to check there," Keira said, urgency igniting her voice. Their determination sparked, and I watched as they shifted into their wolf forms, muscles rippling with power, and dashed into the night, following the scent of their friend.

Meanwhile, Jackson piped up, glancing at Aimee and me. "Well, I've not been drinking, so why don’t we take my car and check the roads?" His suggestion was a breath of hope amidst the mounting anxiety. "Good idea, mate! I’ll hop in with you,” I replied, feeling a flicker of resolve. As Aimee, Jackson, and I piled into his jeep, the tires crunched against the gravel as we sped down the driveway, the darkness of the woods looming ahead. "She can’t have gone far if she’s that drunk," Aimee said, her brow furrowed with concern, but a sense of foreboding seeped into my bones.

Our instincts kicked in when a car zoomed recklessly ahead of us. "What is that driver doing?" I wondered nervously, maintaining a safe distance when Aimee gasped. "OH GODDESS! Was that her?" Her scream echoed in my ears as we watched the chaos unfold, my heart plummeting into the pit of my stomach. The search had shifted gears, and the weight of our mission pressed down harder than ever as we raced into the unknown, desperately hoping it wasn’t too late.

**Malia's POV **

Out of nowhere, the whirlys hit me, and everything was spinning. "What a strange feeling," I gurgled to myself, the words tumbling out like marbles on a slick floor. The world around me warped, each sound twisted into an echo that barely resembled the original. God knows where I am, I thought, my mind racing like the chaotic scenery around me. "GODDESS, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME… wait, what was I going to say?" I burst into uncontrollable laughter, the absurdity of my situation somehow amusing me. This bizarre sense of detachment from reality should have alarmed me; instead, it felt like surrendering to an unknown embrace.

Suddenly, a car came speeding in my direction, its headlights slicing through the murky haze. Was it one car or two? My blurred vision played tricks on me, distorting shapes and colors into nonsensical shapes. Panic flickered in my gut, a primal instinct urging me to move. I heard a voice amid the chaos, whispering in the shadows, "Jump out of the way." "Who’s there? Who said that?" My thoughts spiraled as I stumbled backward, oblivious to the drop that lay behind me. Before I could process what was happening, gravity seized me, and I plummeted into the unknown.

For a fleeting moment, it felt like I was flying—freedom and weightlessness enveloped me. But the illusion shattered as my body crashed into what felt like an iceberg, sending shockwaves of pain through me. I found myself hurled into icy waters, panic swallowing me as I flailed and fought for breath. The cold gripped me like a vice, and I was disoriented, rebounding off jagged rocks beneath the surface. Desperation clawed at my lungs as I struggled to push up, only to discover my leg trapped or perhaps my jeans ensnared in the unforgiving environment. The fight rapidly drained from me, and I felt the life ebb away like the final flicker of a candle. Darkness swept over me, cloaked in silence, and in that last desperate attempt, I gasped for breath—only to find nothing but water filling my lungs.