The Alpha Girl and Her Rogue Mate

Whispers

Naturally, I hear my wolf call me tonight, just 9 hours after I bet Rosa that I wouldn’t. 

Skylar, a small voice says in my head. I’m reading, a book called These Violent Delights that Mr. Lassier recommended. So don’t initially register that the voice I hear is coming from within my own mind. 

“Come in,” I say softly, not looking up. But after a second I realize what happened, and I look up at the door across the room from me. When no one walks in, it confirms for me that no one was calling me from outside.

Hello, says the voice again. It’s a bit higher than my voice, calm and authoritative. It’s the same voice as before, the same voice that spoke to me in front of the pack a few weeks ago.

Hi, I say to myself. I don’t speak out loud. 

I’m Petra. The voice isn’t mine, but it is familiar. Close to mine, with a sense of purpose, but more self-assured. I’m a little surprised. Most of my packmates have told me that their wolf toys with them the first time, kind of like how Rosa’s wolf basically just said “soon” and then disappeared. Petra, apparently, understands this thought instinctively.

I’m not interested in that kind of game. You’ll shift in a few days. I’m a little speechless for a moment and then I wonder if she’s still ‘here’. But I hear nothing new and assume she isn’t. Still, I sense something strange in me. I think it’s her presence, because they do say that once you feel your wolf for the first time, they’re always with you, a connection that can’t quite be explained. 

As I sit in my bed with my book loosely hanging out of my hands, I wonder if I should go speak to my parents. 

Probably. I hear. Petra again.

Thanks, I laugh a little to myself. Then I form a thought directed at Petra, do you think there’s something wrong with me?

I sit in silence, internal and external. A moment later, I think, or us?

No, I don’t.

Even though I’m--

Being a firstborn female wolf isn’t a mistake. I wanted to tell you before, but you never really wanted to hear from me, did you? I blush a little, because it’s true. Even though you can’t talk to your wolf before the heat, a lot of wolves can sense their wolf in their thoughts, not consciously speaking to you but as a sense of intuition. I never exactly felt that, so it was all the easier to assume I was a mistake. Or human. Just go talk to them.

Almost without thinking about it, I jump out of bed, putting my book down on the page I stopped at. My parent’s room is upstairs, so I sneak up there, trying not to disturb anyone on my way past. My brother Roan is a particularly light sleeper, although most wolves are. My mother thinks it's a sign that he will make an excellent Warrior, because he has such great senses. Lini is an unusually sound sleeper, and can actually be difficult to wake sometimes. I manage to slip by his door avoiding the creakiest floorboard, which is inconveniently outside his bedroom. I climb the stairs, trying to be particularly quiet here as well, since I know sound sometimes echoes from the stairwell into the attic. Two of our Omegas are living upstairs right now, and I don’t know if any Warriors have decided to sleep up there after or before their guarding shifts. When I reach the top of the stairs I pause and listen, but I don’t hear anyone upstairs move around. It’s only about 10 PM, so I don’t think my parents will be asleep.

Sure enough, I hear the TV in the living room as I open up the door to the third floor kitchen. Crossing the tiled floor and rounding a corner, my parents are sitting on the couch, giggling softly at something on the television. My mother is sitting with her legs across my father’s lap, and he is softly rubbing her feet. It’s their preferred nighttime routine.

But when my mom sees me, she sits up straight. This causes my dad to look over at me.

“Hey, Sky, what’s up?” He asks, his voice slightly low. The living room is above Acer’s room, but the house is well insulated. Sound rarely drifts between the floors.

“I, well, um,” I hesitate. It’s just weird to acknowledge that I was wrong. I’m not just a human. And it’s all happening much faster than I expected. I’m still not sure if I want a wolf.

I’m not sure if I want a human, I hear Petra. I smile, and it gives me a bit of confidence.

“I heard… Petra, she’s my wolf,” I blurt out, before I can decide against it.

My mother jumps up, looking excited. “Oh, Skies!” She runs over to embrace me. My face is buried against her shoulder, but I hear my father stand and walk into the kitchen. My mom doesn’t release me for a long, long moment. When she does, I turn back toward the kitchen and hear my father pulling something out of the refrigerator.

He fumbles around in a drawer, and a moment later he comes around the corner holding a cupcake. There’s a little candle in it. I can tell it’s my favorite flavor, vanilla with raspberry frosting. The candle is lit and he brings it over to me.

“Congratulations,” he says quietly. I look up at him and I remember that because my father is the Alpha, he can sense when someone’s wolf comes into their consciousness.

“Have you known since... “ I trail off, not finishing the sentence in case I’m mistaken.

“Since three weeks ago at the pack meeting. Yes, I felt her presence in the pack at that moment.”

My mother nods at me, smiling gently.

“You didn’t say anything?” I ask, taking the cupcake gently into my hands and blowing on the candle until it goes out.

“We thought it was better to let you tell us, when you were ready. We know that you’ve always had a, well, complicated relationship with who you are. We wanted to give you space.”

Against my will, and even though wolves rarely cry, I feel tears well up in my eyes a little. “Thank you,” I say quietly.

“How do you feel now?” my dad asks me, again, quiet.

“I think I’m excited. Rosa told me she thinks I will be a Luna, a strong one. I had never thought of that before. That maybe that’s why I was a firstborn.”

“Well, did you ever ask her what she thought before?” My mom asks. I shake my head.

“Not really,” I sigh. We talked about it a while back, when we were younger, but she knew I didn’t like to talk about it. We hadn’t addressed it in years. The unspoken agreement was that Rosa talked about us being wolves in a general sense, but she didn’t ask me to daydream about maturing as wolves or ask me what I wanted to do within the pack. I didn’t shoot down her daydreams of us being Warriors together, and she didn’t press me for details.

“You know, she asked us if that was a possibility a few years ago,” my mom says, “because she thought you would be. But she didn’t know how to bring it up to you.”

My father gently takes my hand, the one not clutching the cupcake. “You’ve never been a mistake, Skylar. I don’t know if you’ll be a Warrior, or a Luna, or a Hunter, or something else. But every possibility is open to you. We are so proud of you.”

I smile. It’s slightly watery as my eyes continue to water, but I realize I don’t feel like a mistake, all of a sudden. I think maybe it’ll be okay.

“So, did your wolf tell you when you’ll shift? This upcoming moon, I assume?” my dad asks.

“Yeah,” I nod. “Petra, that’s what she said.”

Nice to meet you, Skylar. I hear as my parents both embrace me again.