The Lost Alpha

3

Feeling a terrible headache coming on, Bella rubs her forehead and silently prays for this nightmare to go away.

It can only be a nightmare, because there's no way this is true. There's no way...

Her mother is already gone, her face... it has gone pale and her skin is mottled with blue and purple patches.

Bella's eyes fill up with tears as she walks slowly towards her father, who is still alive.

Barely.

Several claw marks on the most vulnerable parts of their bodies; the neck and stomach, and Bella wonders who was heartless enough to do this to them, to her. She has no one, surely whoever did this to her parents should have thought about that before digging their claws into the only people she has in her life. This is going to haunt her forever. That is, if she survives that long.

Because Bella feels like dropping dead along with her parents.

And this is not the work of a human. This was the work of a shifter.

She wishes her parents would jump up and scream 'April fools day!', even though she is well aware it is October. And she can sense that her mother is dead, thanks to her wolf and the appearance of her skin.

"Dad, what happened?" She whispers fervently, barely able to get the words out.

"Unknown things, not human," the old man's voice is hoarse and shaky, as though still in fear. "Snuck up on us. The boy, I talked to him the other day, there's no one else. He will help you control the trailer park and collect money from our tenants..."

"You mean Jack? Dad, no, don't talk like you are going to leave me too! I will get people to help, you can't leave me... NOOOOO!"

There is no single soul in the trailer park that does not hear the loud cry of grief.

It touches everyone who hears it, instantly alerting them to the fact that something has gone terribly wrong.

And all the tenants around the trailer park rush to the landlord's mobile home to check what has made the usually collected Bella to give out such a painful cry.

~

The following days after the death of her parents prove to be some of the worst days in Bella's life.

She still has to get her head around the fact that she is alone. And her mate is nowhere in sight, since the last day she saw him on the day her parents died.

He seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth, and when she calls him, his number is always busy.

No child should bury both her parents on her own, and Bella keeps asking the heavens what she did to deserve such cruel punishment.

She planned the whole funeral alone, chose the caskets and the kind of service she wanted for her parents' funeral.

And now she is standing by her parents' graves, telling them that they were right to distrust Jack. He has abandoned her in her time of need. She should have listened, and now she is regretting because, for all she knows, he might have been the one that had sent people to kill them.

Or animals or whatever killed them.

It hurts that the last time she spoke to her mother, she argued with her. If only she had known it was goodbye.

"Also, mama," she says conversationally, wiping a tear, "I always forgot to tell you this; I've been having weird dreams since I was little. I am sure you'd have provided answers for that, you always had answers for everything. I wish I knew who the woman is that keeps visiting my dreams, but I guess I will never find out. You want to know what she says to me?" Bella wipes another tear, imagining her mother frowning in concentration at the revelation. "She tells me I mustn't let him find me for I am the only hope of their pack. Would you have happened to know about that, mama, had you still been with me?" She sighs. "Like I said, I will never find out..."

She straightens up, stopping in the act of wiping tears from her eyes, for there, right there behind a large tree a few metres away from her, a large man stands watching her.

He is wearing all black clothes and sunglasses on his face, and when he notices her look at him, he starts to walk away.

Are ghosts real? The man gives her the creeps, watching her like he knows her.

He could be a ghost. She's gone through a lot of stress lately, she wouldn't be surprised if she is now half dead and seeing ghosts. But then she observes the man carefully, walking at a brisk pace towards the opposite direction.

He doesn't look anything like a ghost, and Bella follows him at a dead run, determined to catch up with him and know why he was watching her.

Bella effortlessly moves with the swiftness of the wind.

As a werewolf, she has recently unearthed another intriguing aspect of her nature: there seems to be no limit to her speed. This enables her to rapidly close the gap between her and her stalker.

She discovers he is not a human when he increases his speed to match hers, and hides in the trees. Bella stops, listening.

The forest stands in stillness, save for the rhythm of her own heartbeat. Turning slowly, Bella conducts a deliberate scan, watching, listening for any sound out of the ordinary.

Suddenly, he comes up behind her. Swiftly turning to confront him, her fingernails extend into pointed claws, lightly grazing his skin. His reflexes match her own in speed and agility, maybe even better, because he avoids her effortlessly.

"You want to keep those to yourself," he utters, stepping back and gesturing toward her claws. Bella inhales sharply but does not retract the claws.

His striking handsomeness shocks her, and she finds it hard to believe he is real.

The man's eyes shine with a captivating color, like silver that's very hot. They look shiny and strange, and when he looks at you, it feels like magic that pulls you in.

If she thought Jack was handsome than most human males she knew, he is nothing compared to the creature standing before her, watching her as though he finds her a little intriguing.

And the only conclusion she can come up with is that werewolf males are more blessed than humans in terms of looks.

Her eyes travel over him, and he lets her have her fill of him before speaking.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Who are you, and why have you been watching me?" she demands sternly.

"That's not important..."

"It is important, and that's why I am asking you!" she hisses, stepping closer and narrowing her eyes at him. He may be a gorgeous man, but her safety comes first.

"I have been watching you because I noticed you are a werewolf living among humans. You need to answer to that. You will come with me to the car and explain."

She has never been more confused in her life.

From what she has gathered so far, there are more werewolves out there in the world. She thought she was the only one, and when Jack came along, she thought there were two.

And now here is a third one. He demands to know why she lives with humans; that question can only mean that there is a place somewhere occupied only by her kind.

She is intrigued.

"Living among humans? I am not sure I follow..."

"Just a few minutes in the car, miss. I won't waste much of your time. You know it is dangerous for a young wolf like yourself to be on her own especially at this time, right?"

She frowns, and her nails retract immediately, because she no longer thinks the man is any threat to her.

"What do you mean 'at this time?'

"I asked you to come with me to my car. I will explain what I mean from there."

Her eyes narrow to slits, shaking her head.

"No. I won't do that. What if this is a trap? I'd have to be mad to willingly get in the car of my stalker. That would be like stepping right into the trap, and you would have your way with me."

"Don't flatter yourself," he says, his strange silver eyes sliding over her. "You are not my type."

"I still won't come with you."

"Fine," he raises a hand. "But just so you know, I am your protector, and if you decide you need my help, you will let me know."

And he vanishes into thin air, like a ghost.

Her protector? Who assigned him the job of protecting her?

He is a mystery she probably will never solve, perhaps he isn't even real and she is going to wake up to find he is another of those dreams that leave her perplexed, like the dream about the fiery headed woman.

What makes him think she will ever need his help? Her protector; what in the name of the lord is that even?

As she turns around to leave, she realizes that she misses his presence already, and that surprises her.

But then her emotions have been all over the place since the death of her parents.

She gets back home, only to be greeted by a suspicious scent the moment she gets to the door of her trailer.

Trembling slightly and praying that she should be mistaken, she follows the scent to her room and her heart breaks into a million pieces at the sight on her bed.

Jack has returned, and he is lying on her bed, naked, with a blonde woman on top of him, bumping up and down his erect manhood.

Of all places he could have cheated on her from, he chose her room.

What kind of monster is he?

Waves of pain so intense she wonders if it has come to claim her life, wash through her.

"Jack! What the hell are you doing?" she screams, the hurt evident in her voice, and her scream draws his attention, as well as that of the girl riding him.