The Rise of the Alpha

08

"Weed!" I nearly shrieked, then Jory and I hurried toward the smell and j.oined the circle of friends, the likes of whom had chosen to congregate underneath the large, covered patio due to the continued, gentle sprinkle of rain. None of the guys present were my mate, though; bummer, I know, but it is what it is! Hopefully, I'll get to meet him soon…whomever he happens to be!

We cut up and gossipped for a lengthy while out there, and soon, the girls and I decided it was time to go crank the party up insi with a dance off. Excusing ourselves from the circle in favor of going about our business, we made our way back inside the Hall, and once we had the DJ up to speed, I dipped off for a minute to approach the bar area and demanded the bartenders' attention (in a sweet and polite way, of course). "Another margarita on the rocks, please, Jeremy," I requested of him, "and for the love of all that can be considered holy, please hold that nasty-a.ss salt again." Sweet Jeremy chuckled like I'd just told him a funny joke or something then began to fill my order, but I had to interfere at the last second to stop him from garnishing it with a disgusting cherry instead of the usual wedge of lime. "Eww," I remarked of the red, stomach-churning nastiness pinched by its skinny stem between his forefinger and thumb.

"Oh, right. You don't do cherries, either," he remarked with a cheeky grin, then he tossed the gag-inducing morsel into the garbage bin precisely where it belonged.

I thanked him for both the drink and his time then rejoined the girls, and soon we crowded the stage and began to dance away to the beat of the music. A while passed, and maybe I was just caught up in the whole of the merriment being had, or maybe that last margarita from Jeremy was a smidgen on the stronger side than the one before it was…but whatever it was, it had me feeling great! After a while of letting loose, however, I felt I needed to catch a breath of fresh air. Jory! I shouted via mindlink to my friend, who popped up at my side a few seconds later clutching her half-empty drink. "Wanna go outside for a few?"

"Sure thing, birthday girl," she answered without missing a beat, then we excused ourselves, linked our free hands, and proceeded toward the main exit. On the way, we passed my uncle and Cyrus, who had chosen seats in chairs on the outskirts of the dance floor and were sipping some of Cyrus's homemade fae juice (sort of like red wine, but a bit more stout). We acknowledged them with a nod then made our way outside, and there we chatted with the few guests who were standing under the awning. That light sprinkle began to pick up by, but rain in general had never been a deterrent to my friend and me; we loved it! It did, however, push a handful of the outsiders to move their conversations back indoors.

At some point while we were jabbering away, my ears perked to the sound of footfalls far off in the distance thundering steadily closer, prompting me to focus in on the woods around me rather than the company beside me. I looked away from Jory for just a moment, and that's when I noticed that Silas and Andrew, two of the very best from our team of border patrolmen (and the only two who were on duty at the time, mind you), were barreling our direction, sending out mindlinks to everyone capable of receiving them. Why they were not in the forms of their wolves, I didn't know…but then wasn't the time to ask them such a question.

"Rogues! Multiple rogues across the border!" shouted Andrew as he flew past my friend and me, then he bursted into the hall and out of my sight.

Rogues? inquired Chloe. But, we've never had a problem with rogues before...right?

No! Just rumors! I answered straightaway, however chewing over what she'd said only prompted me to f.ollow Silas and Andrew's suit. Mom? Dad? What's going on? I tried to link them, and the silence I was met with in return was enough to begin setting off the alarm bells in my mind. Grabbing Jory's free hand, we hurried back inside to find the atmosphere had drastically altered. Silas and Andrew rounded up my parents, our other higher ranks, Cyrus, and a few of the other visiting alphas, and all of them were huddled together in the far corner of the Hall and talking over one another to lay all of the details out. No sooner than I had began to approach them, my parents made brief eye contact with me then ordered me via mindlink to stay inside and near Cyrus, then they sprinted for the exit and disappeared out of sight, leaving me standing there confused and my temper beginning to rouse. Our other higher ranks f.ollowed the action, and the moment I registered the distinct sounds of swift shifting, I booked it back across the Hall and out the exit, skidding to a halt almost immediately thereafter due to finding everyone still together. My verbal attempts at gaining a better understanding of what in the world was going on fell c.ompletely flat, for all my parents did was shout a command for me carry my tail back inside and stay put no matter what. Regardless of my protesting, they let it be known that I needed to trust them and allow them and our higher ranks to handle the situation; I couldn't ignore a direct order from my alpha and luna, parents or not! I simply had no other choice but to submit while I watched them take off into the uncertainty of the darkened forest! My uncle, who had quickly sobered up (or so it seemed), assured me via mindlink that everything was going to be okay, then he took off into the night and ran after them out of sight.

Despite my wolf howling in opposition, I planted my feet firmly on my spot, attempting several desperate times to link anyone who would hear me. To my frustration, each of them fell flat, so I linked the friends of mine who could link me back, ordering them to keep themselves near Cyrus and the other visiting higher-ranks; I would keep them posted on what was unfolding outside in the meantime.

With a few 'okays' and 'got its' in reply, I turned my focus to the woods. Come on, man! Somebody answer me, damn! What's going on out there?! I bellowed in yet another d.ead attempt, but no one was responding to me, in turn p.issing me off. Not only was I being ignored (something I loathed with a fiery passion), being told to stand down just wasn't sitting right with my concerned wolf, who by then was howling in plea for me to make a move already.

DON'T JUST STAND THERE, LEILA! SCRAM! GO AFTER THEM! she roared with authority, so much so that in that moment, I couldn't ignore her. Man, she sure has a strong and authoritative voice, if I do say so myself!

Despite my orders to stay put, my feet moved on their own accord and f.ollowed the action, carrying me as fast as they possibly could into the foreboding darkness of the forest ahead. Hearing Cyrus holler for me to 'get back here right this instant, young lady', I skidded to a stop, turned to face him, waved a dainty, unapologetic little 'goodbye', then shifted effortlessly into my wolf and took off again, barreling like a mad woman through the thick foliage and eerie darkness.