The Rise of the Alpha

15

(Leila's POV)

Falling. Blackness. A total loss of consciousness, even more so of life itself! I felt like I'd been knocked the hell out and was just falling into the abyss where there seemed to be no end anywhere in sight! Was I d.ead? I sure felt d.ead! Was this what d.eath felt like? All warm and fuzzy and serene? What about my ties to my pack?! I can't feel them anymore! What's this…bottomless void I've found myself in? Did I really wanna reach the end of this terrifying gulf? Nope, I think not! I couldn't become a part of the nothingness! I had to escape it somehow...but how, exactly, to go about that was a mystery to me.

In the next moments, my darkened consciousness registered a most peculiar sight far off in infinity, and I couldn't help but ultra-focus in on it. There was a large, random, beaming, golden globe of delicate light, and although I can't explain how, I just knew that it was hyper aware of my presence; I could feel it somehow!

By no prompting on my part, it began to float leisurely toward me. It didn't frighten me or anything of the sort; it was quite the opposite, actually, bringing me an unexplainable comfort and piquing my curiosity. The closer it drifted, the stronger and deeper the realization of what it truly was set in, ultimately making me gasp the moment it split in two, for even in the nothingness, I understood what I was looking at. I was able to make out familiar features, and there…coming toward me like the divine does a weary dreamer…were my slain, beloved parents dressed from head to toe in garments of the purest, most brilliant white I'd ever laid eyes on before. Those golden globes served as permanent background for their heavenly beauty! The whole scene yanked hard on my broken soul!

"Come with us," suggested my mother as she extended her hand toward me, pairing that delicate motion with a gentle jerk of her head. "The abodes of the gods are far more beautiful than anything we've ever seen on Earth, sweet girl. We promise you. You'll love it there…"

In a trance, I reached out and touched her hand as cold as d.eath itself, but my father interrupted quickly, placing his own hand upon mine and my mom's and stilling us both. "No, Lavinia ... she can't," he told her, then he turned his gaze to me and added, "You were born an Alpha, my dear ... and an Alpha, you shall eventually be. It's fate."

Now admittedly, I didn't understand him. Didn't he realize that I was ultimately the reason for both his and Mom's demise? "B-but Dad, I-"

"We're out of time, Love," he interrupted me, placing his free hand upon my shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "But, remember this – we're always with you. We're the sunshine in your hair, the shadow on the ground, the whisper in the wind, the beat in your heart, and the moonlight shining down. Always and forever, my darling." As the words came forth, his and my mother's globes of light began to dimmen, and their physical holds on me loosened right along with it, much to my utter despair.

"Wait!" I shouted (or so I tried), already missing the feeling of their cold hands upon my own. "I wanna go with you! Please … take me with you! Please!" The things I'd said mattered not, however, for as I yelled at the space in which my parents had just been floating, I felt as if the hands of God, himself, had wrapped around my waist and began to pull me backward into the darkness. "Mom! Dad! Help!" I hollered, only the globes that they were did not respond in any way, shape, or form. As they faded fully from my sight, those large, mysterious hands seemed to switch course and pull me in an upward motion, and it seemed as if my body slowly drifted right along with it.

*****

(Jaden's POV)

From the lake's shoreline, I heard her s.cream and watched her free fall from the treacherous cliff sitting so high up. The rain was not helping her at all, beating down upon the water like it was angry at the heavens or something! God, she must have been so terrified! I certainly knew the grim, wild thoughts that were racing through my own mind in those moments, so I could only imagine the things that were whizzing through hers! She begged for her life on the way down, and for some reason, it nearly broke me in two! Who she was and where she'd come from didn't matter a scrap! All that my wolf (Xavier) and I could focus on was saving her mortal life and praying to the Moon Goddess that her collision with the bone-breaking surface didn't do her any instant damage.

As one would expect, I didn't give the situation another thought! With myself on high alert and Xavier clawing to break free, I ran full force into the choppy water and swam out toward the cliff. Keeping both my aim and my sight glued upon the section of surface where I'd seen that girl go under mere moments ago, I swam out with all of my might; it's a good thing I'm a strong swimmer, especially in the face of danger!

Soon, I spotted her head breaking the surface, but since her back was to me, she could neither see nor hear me. I continued to swim toward her as fast as my body would allow me to, but eventually that heart-stopping wave overtook her body and smashed her mercilessly into that cliff's face…and holy f.uck, my wolf and I nearly lost it! Straight-up panicking, I rode that wave out then dove beneath it in a frantic attempt to locate her, fear rushing through my veins at top speed with each second that dragged by. I searched the depths until my lungs began to burn and plead for air, then I granted their reasonable request only to dive right back down and commence where I'd left off.

At long last, I found her floating body and grabbed it around the waist, then surging through the pain in both my lungs and muscles, alike, I propelled us to the surface and broke it with vigor, gasping for oxygen and thanking the heavens that I was still alive and able to be of her assistance. Focusing on getting us to the shore, I rode the waves and hauled us through the wretched water until my feet were at last able to scrape silt, and from there, I trudged using every last bit of the usable energy within me until we finally met the firmness of the life-saving shore.

Panting wildly, I laid sprawled over her body for several moments, then I sat slowly up on my knees and braved a look downward. Apart from the dirty necklace she was wearing, she was a.ss naked and producing no visible breaths, in turn sending both my hysterical wolf and my terrified self into a panic like we'd never experienced before.

Everything in life happens for a reason...or so, that's what they say, right? Throughout mine, I'd never understood fates and destinies and other things of that sort, so you can imagine my total surprise when I really took in the lifeless, soaking-wet girl beneath me and realized that she…was none other than the peanut to my butter. The bees to my knees, if you will! What the absolute F.UCK happened up there, mate? I muttered to myself, then I scooped her up into my arms and dashed directly into the woods, full-on determined to fetch her any kind of help that I could.