The Rise of the Alpha

21

Strolling the woods is always refreshing! There's just something about being by my lonesome with my wolf that feels freeing in many aspects! Once well away from the wandering eyes of my village, I undressed and placed my clothes upon a patch of star moss covering the thick, plentiful roots of a great oak tree, then I shifted into Xavier and took off into the foliage, having no real destination in mind. I was just out for a smooth and leisurely run, to be honest, but as I breezed through the thicket, the only thing that I could think about was an unwelcome playback of the night before…from the outside looking in. I saw nothing except for myself rushing through the darkened forest cradling my battered mate's cold, limp body in my arms and internally begging for the Moon Goddess' intervention, and I could clearly remember my shouting and the fear that washed over me.

Taking that unsettling flashback as a sign that I should go check out the shoreline and such, I decided to do just that, quickening my pace in order to get there faster. Selecting the well-covered footpath that veered off toward it, I f.ollowed it and was soon able to pick up the faint yet sweet and tempting scent of my mate. With my sniffer locked on to it, I tracked it.

After a while, I reached the shore and skidded to a stop, and from there, I just looked out upon what should've been peaceful, blue serenity, eventually averting my gaze to the ugly face of the dangerous, jagged cliff in the far-off distance. The very sight of that d.eadly chunk of earth produced more flashbacks and an unwanted lump to form in my throat, f.ollowed by unpleasant goosebumps popping up across my skin.

As I stood there motionless on all fours, I studied every rough, spine-tingling detail, from the color of the water that was breaking at the base of it up to the bit of greenery that I could barely make out from where I was standing. The longer the image burned into my mind, I pondered more and even more on what, exactly, had happened with my mate up there.

A bit of mucking around later, I began to head back the direction I'd come from, hooking a left at the appropriate point in favor of getting a better view of the cliff from a higher-up outcropping. At last, I reached the aforementioned area and scoped out the mostly-rocky, thoroughly-uninviting cliff. The vast expanse of salty blue sparkled beneath the warm, golden sun hanging high up in the clear, cloudless sky above me, and the gentle ebbing of the waves were an almost total contrast to the way they were the previous night. The mere thought of that latter part was enough to make my ears go flat for a few moments!

Having enough of looking at the water, I backed up a few steps and began my retreat. I wonder if she was running from something, I thought, then with my snout to the earth and deadlocked on my mate's scent amongst the abundance of others, my senses led the way…but not for very long at all, for about a minutes later, a mindlink from Sarah came through.

Where are you? she asked, no discernable emotions in her tone of voice.

Out. Is she awake yet? I answered, still focused on the smell of my mate.

Well, no … not exactly, she replied.

Bummer, I huffed out, disappointed in the news.

You didn't let me finish, she informed me, then after receiving no further response from me, she added, She isn't fully awake yet, but she's stirring around and trying to come to. Her scent's growing stronger by the minute, too … so, there's also that.

This excited me! Oh, great! I'll head your way now, I practically barked, filled with eagerness to get back and check on my mate's progress for myself. I wanted nothing more than for her to fill me in on the who's, what's, where's, and why's, but patience is, unfortunately, a virtue and positively not one of my stronger suits. More than my wishes, though, I hoped that she would desire to stay here in Everly with me when she awakes from the induced coma that Sarah had her in. Be there shortly, I added, then I headed for Sarah's place just as quickly as my itching paws would carry me, hoping, praying, and crossing my fingers that my presence would help to accelerate the waking process. Oh, and Sarah … you don't have to worry. I'm not gonna, like, pounce on her the second she opens her eyes or anything, so if that's a concern-

Oh, I know you won't be doing anything like that, Jay. Trust me, I'll kick your furry a.ss if you try, she cut my statement short. I could practically picture her standing right in front of me with her arms folded across her chest and all the sternness in the world etched across her features!

Genuinely amused, I chuckled in my mind. See you in a few, you scary lady, you, I joked, and with that, I trekked all the way back to my home turf, shifting into my human self and throwing on the clothes that I'd thoughtfully placed aside once I reached them. Fully clothed, I barreled toward Sarah's and all but flew into her when I reached her yard, the both of us dodging one another just in time to avoid a full-on collision. I poured out a sincere apology right then, but she in turn brushed off like it didn't bother her at all.

After she delivered a brief rundown on my mate's progress, she let me inside so that I could sit with her for a while, but a few hours and zero progress later, she insisted I go do my own thing rather than just stick around aimlessly at her place. Since no amount of pleading on my part was capable of changing her mind, back to my own abode I reluctantly went…and that's where I remained while the boring, figurative clock ticked away.