The Alpha's Cursed Beauty

Shift and Vanish

"Tomorrow after her first shift, Alpha Chris will take her and mate her, forever uniting our packs as one, and we will be stronger!" My father roared with such gusto it was sickening. He was so ruled by power and wealth.

‘1 more hour, Avia.’ Mari whispered in my head and I relaxed. 1 more hour and we could leave. We'll never have to be here again and we'll be free. I don't care about being rogue. Anything is better than here at this point.

I looked up and saw my father looking at me with such hate that I thought he would burn holes in my skull.

"You. Leave." He said, and I retreated, going towards the Omega dorms but shifting direction once I was out of sight, going towards the South border, where there was a small opening in our defenses that I could slip through and no one would be alerted of my departure.

I walked through the forest, even in the dark, I could make out everything from memory.

‘Soon.’ Mari said, and she sounded excited. I could just imagine her tail wagging and jumping around.

Once we made it, I slipped through the opening and waited. I listened for the siren, but heard nothing, so I continued walking towards the lake that was close by. I found it by happenstance and knew no one had never been there because it was behind a bunch of bushes, trees and vines. Once I pushed through the foliage, I looked out towards the lake, the full moon's reflection dancing on the water.

‘Get ready, Avia. I feel it.‘ Mari said, and I shivered. I'd been looking forward to this day, but I was still nervous. I know, I can feel it too.

I said back and undressed, leaving my clothes on a nearby rock when I felt the first snap. I stifled my scream and collapsed on the ground as deafening cracks, snaps and pops sounded all around.

’Just let it happen, Avia. Don't fight it.‘ Mari coaxed me and I did what she said, feeling a surge of power and then blackness.

*****

I smelled crisp air and earthy leaves at first. Then I heard birds and the soft huffs of nearby deer. I opened my eyes and everything seemed a lot...brighter. More colorful. More... enhanced. I need to see. I thought and stood up, feeling wobbly on 4 legs instead of 2. I cautiously walked to the edge of the river and felt my eyes go wide.

We were beautiful. Fur the color of blood with pure white paws that made it look like I was wearing socks. Our eyes were captivating, one was a deep ocean blue and the other, an emerald green.

'We're beautiful.' I told Mari, and she giggled.

‘Worth the wait?’ She asked, and I nodded. I also took note of our size. We were massive. Bigger than my father, and he's an Alpha. My guess, if Mari was trained and coached? She could easily take down my father.

'I've never seen a red wolf before, Mari.' I told her and was amazed at how red our coat was. Because we're the only ones to exist in a thousand years!

'We're special, Avia. We're stronger, faster, and more powerful than an Alpha.‘ She said, and I was surprised. ’And, the Alpha command won't work on us anymore either, now that we're shifted.‘ She added, and I was even more surprised.

‘No one can control us again.’ I thought and I saw Mari nod her head.

'Never again, Avia. We're free.' She said and then she took off south. She shared control and I felt the air breeze through our fur, it felt wonderful. She was fast. Very fast. We had already covered at least 20 kilometers already. It felt like we were flying.

This feels amazing!

I laughed, and she chuckled back but didn't say anything. I guess she was enjoying being free finally. I know I was. This is amazing, and I don't think I'll ever get sick of it.

We ran for days, stopping occasionally to sleep, drink and hunt. But Mari was always in control, and she said she could cover more ground if we stayed in wolf form. I agreed. We covered a lot of ground and stayed away from pack territories. Anytime that Mari sensed a pack, she changed directions and didn't stop until we were far enough to take a break.

‘Where do you think we are?’ I asked, and she sniffed the air with her muzzle.

‘Somewhere near the ocean, I can smell the salt.’ She said, and I wanted to go see, I had never been to the ocean and I had always wanted to go.

‘Yes, Avia, we can go.’ She said and started trotting along the forest floor, stopping occasionally to sniff the air and scratch her ears from the onslaught of mosquitoes and flies. She walked for what felt like hours, and I lost track of time, seeing nothing but green and brown.

‘Avia, look.’ Mari suddenly said, and I did, seeing an endless sea of golden sand and blue water.

'It's beautiful.' I said and suddenly felt cracks, snaps and pops again, but it wasn't painful. It was easy and within a few minutes, I was lying naked in the sand, feeling the hot, pebbly sand underneath me and hearing the waves crash against the shore. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked out at the sea. Wondering what it felt like.

'Well, go find out, silly.' Mari said, and I smiled, getting up and steadying myself on a nearby log.

It felt weird to be on 2 legs again, but I managed to steady myself and took a few steps. Feeling comfortable, I walked towards the ocean and felt the cool water on my toes. I sighed and relaxed, walking more into the water, feeling the cool chill but embracing it on my aching muscles. It felt amazing, and I floated for a while, making sure not to stray too far from shore.

I looked up at the sky and enjoyed the feeling of just floating, it was calming and peaceful. I don't know how long I floated for but out of nowhere, Mari started getting restless.

'Mari? You okay?' I asked and she shook her head.

'Something is wrong, get out of the water. Let's shift back.' She said, and I started swimming towards shore. I was never going to second guess Mari. She always kept me safe, and I have no reason to doubt her suspicions.

Once on shore, we wasted no time, and we were shifted within seconds, and she began sniffing the air and the ground, her hackles raised and on edge, ready for anything.

Suddenly, we heard it: a small snap. That we probably would never have heard if I was still in the water. Mari was on guard in an instant, looking towards the sound and growling.

"Easy there, rogue. You're on our territory." A voice came through the forest, and Mari got confused but didn't let it show.

'Territory?' I asked, but Mari didn't answer me, too focused on whoever was in the trees.

"I ain't ever seen a red wolf before, Jared. Should we bring her to Raven and Markel?" another voice asked, this one female.

"Yeah, dunno how she slipped in, but the Alpha's will have questions." The male voice, Jared said and Mari growled again.

We were not going to be captured again. f**k.

Mari had the same idea because she darted to the left and started running. Hopelessly, we didn't get too far because suddenly, there was a shot and then a sharp pain in our right flank. Mari stopped running and looked at her hip.

You have got to be kidding me... I thought.

It was a f*****g tranquilizer dart. In Mari's hip. Thankfully, it wasn't Wolfsbane or Vervain, but it was a tranquilizer because we got very sleepy, very quickly. We vaguely saw an outline of the ones who shot us, but it was so fuzzy, and we were so sleepy.

'I'm sorry for not protecting you, Avia.' Mari said, and I shook my head lazily.

'No... we'll... escape... again...' I said, and then there was nothing but blackness.