Becoming Alpha

Chapter 4: Strange Events

I couldn't quite comprehend what was happening.

My teacher was pressing against me, wearing no shirt at all -- and looking hot. I couldn't really concentrate; it was too difficult not to look at him, not to touch him. My hands were on his chest, my fingers spread out to take in more of his warmth. His eyes were wide and had a shade of pure gold. I knew this was wrong. After all...

...he was still my teacher.

At that thought, I tried to shove him away but it didn't help; he was pressing too hard against me. I looked up, my lips parted in surprise. I frowned at the sight of his eyes. They were closed. Had he fallen asleep?

"Ryan-"

"Stop. Don't say anything." He pushed himself away from me and took a deep breath. His body seemed to grow tense again. I could only watch with wide eyes. Why was he doing this? I knew that I was attracted to him, but Ryan? He shouldn't be attracted to me! He was at least seven years older, at least -- that was what Alana had told me. Don't judge me, I just needed to know more about him. I'm not a stalker.

"Ryan?" I asked, slightly breathless due to what had just happened. He wasn't responding to his name so I tried something else. "Mr. Samson-"

His eyes flickered towards me and I blinked rapidly. I could've sworn that his eyes were gold before. I bit my lip hard, confused. Was I delusional? I couldn't help but stare at his handsome features; his toned chest, muscular arms and that V-shape at his hips. I felt my mouth go dry as I imagined how his body would feel against mine, naked-

I mentally pinched myself for such vulgar thoughts. Tsk tsk. Stupid Rose.

At the sound of his last name, he seemed to grow cold towards me. He did obviously not want to touch me again. I sighed; I wanted him to. It felt nice... so nice.

Wait. What was I doing?

Why was I thinking about him and his body when I couldn't find Trystan? I didn't know where he was -- and why was Ryan here anyway? Was he stalking me? My eyes widened at the thought as I looked at him and blinked rapidly at the sight of him.

His eyes had been pure gold a few seconds ago, and now they were dark once again.

"I thought you knew..." I heard him murmur and I frowned, furrowing my eyebrows as I took in his words. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"What do you mean-" I began but was cut off.

"What are you doing here, Rose?" he growled softly at me.

It was obvious that he was angry -- but then again, why? There were so many questions flooding my mind and I tried to escape the chaos of it.

"I - I was here with Trystan- wait. Where is Trystan?" I mumbled. Was he in danger? Had he just left without me? No, he wouldn't do that.

"I sent him to the car," he replied curtly, his jaw clenched. I gulped. Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned Trystan. "Now. Answer my question, Rosemary," he began coldly, glaring at me with those mysterious eyes. "Why are you here?"

I frowned, not liking that tone at all. He wasn't in a position to use those words against me. It wasn't like he was of higher authority here, only in school. "Trystan took me here - to the lake. We were just having some fun-"

"Fun? Fun? It's dangerous out here, Rose! These woods are very, very dangerous. You shouldn't be here, especially not at night," he said slowly, his eyes carefully watching me.

"How so? I know that there are animals around, but no wolves or things like that," I snapped. Who did he think he was, bossing me around?

"You know nothing about such things." He glared at me, but I couldn't understand him.

I still didn't know what he was talking about. "I know nothing? What I do know is that you are here as well! Why are you here then?" I scowled at him, wanting an answer as well. If he could ask me questions, I could ask him things too. Something inside me whined to stop as if I didn't want to fight him. I wanted to have his strong arms around me, pressing me against his chest-

Oh God. Not this again.

I pushed those feelings aside; I couldn't use them. As I looked up and met his look again, I almost gaped at him. He didn't look furious anymore -- he looked caring, and his gaze had softened.

"Rose, I don't want to have this argument. Just please, promise me that you won't go into these woods again," he begged, his eyes pleading. Oh goodness, how was I supposed to resist those beautiful puppy eyes?

I sighed. I shouldn't have given in, but I knew I had to. I couldn't resist him. I had to obey him. I just had to. "Fine," I mumbled. I didn't want him to be angry with me... I wanted him to like me. His smile made my breath catch, and I struggled to compose myself. I shifted uneasily on my feet, still not able to concentrate because of the shirtless state he was in.

I glanced at his chest, his eyes following them. "Oh," he mumbled, "I'll be right back." He then turned around and walked towards a tree. I couldn't really see him that well any more as it was so dark. I should go home soon. If my mom noticed I was gone, I was going to be grounded my whole life.

I still didn't know what Ryan was doing here, and why he was shirtless. Okay, I didn't mind, and I liked it even more when his shirt was off than on, but still, not every man walks around shirtless in the woods at night, right?

He came back with a white button-up shirt on, and it surprised me that it was still clean, but I ignored those thoughts. Why would he keep clothes in the woods?

He gently took me by the arm and began to lead me back up the hill where Trystan's and probably Ryan's car was. As we reached it, Trystan was leaning against the car, a dazed look on his face.

Same here, bro, same here.

"Rose!" he exclaimed, and reached out to me. I was pushed behind someone -- Ryan -- and heard a faint growl rumble through his chest.

"No. I will take her home. You've put her in enough danger, Mr. Parrish," he told him sternly, and it made me blink. He was protecting me? There was so much authority in his voice that it was really intimidating, and I could sense that Trystan was taken back by his comments. He shot me a look and I glanced back helplessly. It wasn't like I had asked for it to happen.

"Fine," my friend eventually said after a long stare between him and Ryan. It would've been pretty funny if there hadn't been so much tension in the air. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rose." I knew I would have to explain to him what happened, though I wasn't quite sure if I even understood it.

Minutes later, I watched as Trystan drove out of our sight. I was left standing alone with Ryan. Looking up, I saw the night sky, filled with stars and a large full moon. It was gorgeous-

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around my waist, making me jerk out of my thoughts. I blinked and looked to my right to see Ryan leading me towards a dark blue truck. It was very pretty and looked very expensive. I'd never really had a lot of money; my mom wasn't that rich so she couldn't afford a new car for me. I didn't mind, and I usually went to school on my bicycle anyway, because Mom needed the car to drive to her work.

"Get in," Ryan said softly, and I sat down in the car after he opened the passenger door, before getting into it and swiftly starting the engine. It roared to life and he started to drive back. It was like he knew where I lived, which was kind of creepy.

We drove in silence for the first part. It wasn't exactly awkward, but I just couldn't stop myself from staring at him. He was so handsome, with his dark hair and the light stubble on his strong jaw. I bit my lip and glanced at him again, and I caught him checking me out. I couldn't help but blush and stare out of the window. I fiddled with my hands. "Well, er, you need to turn right here-"

"I know where you live, Rose," he cut me off, and I went silent again. We were both at a loss for words. I mean, he had just hold me tightly against his body and he was my teacher. I was wondering if he was going to ask me to shut up about it, and I kept wondering about it on the way back home, which he figured out.

When he pulled up in front of my house, I turned to look at him. This had been an incredibly strange night. I could feel the tension as if there were electrical wires attached between us, sending sparks to each other. I gazed into his eyes, wondering if I should ask him something: what had happened; why he had been in the woods; why it was dangerous; if he cared about me. But most of all, why did I care about him? I didn't know him -- I only knew that he was Mr. Ryan Samson: twenty-five years old; a literature teacher; born and raised in Alamery. That was it. The only things I knew about him.

I didn't get it.

"Mr Samson-"

"I honestly thought you knew. I'm really sorry about what happened tonight, but those woods are dangerous, You shouldn't be there. I know I have no right saying this but I care about you, Rose." He gulped. "Even as your... teacher." He seemed to force the word from his lips. "I lost my girlfriend in there, in those woods. Attacked and murdered by wolves," he stated bitterly.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry-" Wait. Girlfriend. A pang of jealousy ran through me and I couldn't help but feel angry at myself. How could I be jealous of a dead woman? I scowled at myself in my mind and nodded at my own words.

"It's okay, it happened quite some time ago," he said gently, staring into my eyes. A lock of my hair fell in front of them, and I saw him reach out to tuck it behind my ear, but he dropped his hand. It left me somewhat disappointed.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, Rose. I..." he began unsurely, grazing his bottom lip between his teeth. I badly wanted to tell him that he shouldn't bite his lip but resisted.

"Yes?" I whispered.

He leaned in, and in that magical moment, I did too. Our gazes locked and my breathing picked up slightly as our lips neared. They were so close to his that I could almost kiss him, almost. I closed my eyes and waited... but he wasn't there anymore. He had pulled away and was now staring out of the window, hands curled around the steering wheel. He was gripping onto it so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. I blushed deeply as I thought about what had happened seconds before and quickly got out of the car.

"See you tomorrow," I muttered before hurrying inside.

My mom was still asleep. I felt incredibly happy and confused at the same time, if that was even possible. I felt bad for leaving Trystan like that, but on the other hand, I kind of had to. Ryan had forced me, and I couldn't say no to him. As soon as I entered my room, I curled up on my bed and quickly fell asleep, dreams full of one man only.

~

The next day was very hectic and chaotic. As soon as I reached the front door I was deafened by the doorbell. It was Trystan. That morning he had wanted an explanation. What had really happened? Well, I couldn't exactly tell him, now could I? So I just recited the story about his girlfriend, and Trystan told me that he hadn't heard it before -- in fact, he didn't even know that Ryan had a girlfriend, and Trystan had lived here for quite a while. Mr. Samson keeps a lot of things hidden.

Those three days went past pretty fast, but I couldn't help but wonder what was in the woods. I mean, don't get me wrong, Ryan had been pretty serious, and wolves killing a woman wasn't really... that good.

But still, I was very curious about his theory. Was he lying to me? I didn't know, and I badly wanted to find out. I was so damn stubborn and curious. I just had to.

So, on the Wednesday night, after Alana dropped me off at home, I immediately went to the woods. It was still daytime, and less creepy than it would have been at night. I dropped my backpack at the edge of the woods. I didn't want it to get broken or filthy. It had cost a fortune, at least for me.

Then I began to walk.

After twenty minutes I was beginning to worry if I should have brought it. Probably, but I was stubborn enough to leave it there.

The nearing darkness made me worry again. What if Ryan was right? What if there were wolves in these woods? After all, on the first night, the noises seemed an awful lot like wolves.

I reached a path that led towards a small clearing. I didn't know if I should try to find my way back, and I reached for my pocket to retrieve my cell phone, but I couldn't. Dammit. No escape route. As I reached the clearing, I sat on the cold grass and stared at the moon. I don't know what it was with me and the moon but I really loved looking at it. It was so amazing and energy seemed to radiate from it.

Maybe people should just call me a hippy, because I was obviously starting to love nature; more than I expected. I loved New York -- it was so full of life, always alive and burning bright -- but this place was different. It was calm, but there was natural light as well. There was beauty.

I hugged my knees to my chest as I grew cold, shivering from a tiny breeze and resting my chin on top of my knees. I was such an i***t for leaving my phone and knew that I should attempt to go home, but I was afraid that if I did, I would get lost even more.

I felt my eyes starting to droop before I heard something.

A howl.

The noises were starting, and they were more terrifying than ever.

Maybe Ryan was right. I had been such an i***t for not believing him or in anything that he said about wolves. I had school tomorrow- wait, why was I worrying about that? Stupid Rose. I needed to get out of these woods -- fast. I got to my feet quickly, careful not to lose my balance before I began to run. It made me breathless, as I had never been the athletic type of girl.

I made my way through the trees, darting into the forest in a random direction -- which was probably not such a good idea, but I tried to get away from the sound. There it was again, the howl. It was getting closer to me. I gasped, trying to catch my breath as I struggled with my footing. God, I was such a terrible runner. I glanced behind me-

I bumped into a tree.

The pain was breath-taking -- seriously, all the breath was knocked out of me. I fell onto my back, staring up at the leaves of the trees and the black sky. I felt something dripping from my eyebrow onto my temple. My head was fuzzy and my eyes were wanting to close.

I felt a soft vibrating close to me. If the wolves were going to kill me right now, I would be such a clumsy i***t. I looked up and felt like I was staring into the sun.

The last thing I saw was something so beautiful that it blew my mind.

Pure gold.