The Female Alpha

Chapter III. Awaken

The noises around me reach my ears before my eyes open and I truly awaken. Much like the last time I awoke, I have no recollection of where I am or how I got here.

Looking around, I assume I am in some kind of cottage. A small kitchen block is in the corner, the cottage holds a bed, a couch, a small bookcase and a single chair at a small table. There are two doors, one seems to lead outside while the other is propped open slightly, revealing that it leads to a small bathroom.

I'm on the bed in the corner, there is no one else in the room with me. The sounds that awoke me did not come from inside the cabin. I hear voices speaking to each other, footsteps, furniture moving and more, so much more. Trying to focus my hearing on one of these elements is hard but I manage to slightly succeed. The voices quiet down but the footsteps near me grow closer.

The windows are covered by curtains, from behind them I can see light trying to make its way into the room. How much time passed?

The footsteps had come closer, by now I was sure they were just outside the cabin I was in, the light shifting from behind the curtains indicated that someone passed them. There was a knock on the door, slowly it opened as it brought more light in the room and revealed a young woman who then stepped into the room.

She was a blonde young woman, probably just a few years younger than I was. She treaded the room carefully as she closed the door behind her. "Good morning." She greeted with a smile. I watched her, motionless and without giving her a response. Instead, inside of my head, I tried to figure out what was happening.

"I brought you some food." She held up a basket I had not noticed yet, it seemed to hold a few bottles of liquid along with bread and some fruits and some other things I couldn't place. She walked over to the table where she put down the basket. I sat in my bed, repositioning myself to sit up better. Even in this confusing situation, she did not seem like a threat. Her demeanour shouted gentleness and kindness, I hardly thought she hid a knife in that basket that she brought.

She smiled gently though it showed she felt awkward. She stood next to the table as she waited for my response. When it was clear she wasn't going to get one, she spoke up instead. "So, how are you feeling? I heard last night was... rough." She paused before she spoke the last word.

"Where am I?" I didn't care for small talk, nor did I feel like discussing one of the most heartbreaking moments in my life with a stranger. I would much rather learn where I was and perhaps why I was taken here.

A smile formed on her lips, most likely she was pleased I had decided to break the silence and responded to her at all.

"You're in our village, our doctor took a look at your legs. You were pretty banged up but you seem to have healed quickly." She explained the situation calmly as she took a seat at the small table. I was confused, my legs? They were sore yes, but had they been injured that badly? I removed the blankets and spotted three rather large pink scars on my legs that had not been there last time I checked.

"What happened?" The confusion was clear in my voice. Even if I had been wounded, how could they have healed so quickly? The largest of the three nearly spread all over my right lower leg, from ankle to knee. The others on my left leg may be smaller but still considerably large. These look like injuries that take months to heal, not a single night.

"You were in a car crash; you were found in the woods after it happened. Your legs were badly hurt. And the car... well do you remember anything at all?" She was gentle as she spoke, most likely in an attempt not to push me in my somewhat delicate state.

"I ... I don't know how it happened. I only remember when they found me. And my eyes and ears, I feel so weird. Is that because of the crash?" I ask her and she looks somewhat troubled. She bit her lip, looking at me while she takes her time as she chose her words carefully. "Yes, and no. Your vision and your hearing is heightened because of the change, which was most likely caused by the car crash." Before I can ask what change she is talking about she continues to explain her words. "The change is when you have a specific gene inside you, it is triggered when something happens to greatly heighten your emotions. Such as the car crash... and well your genes... you saw the wolves right, that found you?"

The beasts, the huge wolves on steroids with an intelligence level which is far superior to that of a regular wolf, yes I saw them. I nod.

"I am like them, and so are you." Her face seems apologetic. I must look terribly confused and shocked. The stories told me of all sorts of beasts, but never that you could be one of them. By all the descriptions of them, I never thought them to look so human. And now I am supposed to believe that I myself am one of them.

In my head, I try to make sense of all that she says. Is this why I suddenly feel like I switched to an ultra HD version of my eyes and why I can suddenly hear things I couldn't before?

"Look, it's a lot to take in. Let it sink in for now and be sure to ask me any questions you might have, okay?" She stood up and walked towards the door. "For now, shall I give you a tour of the village? It might help. At least then you'll have a sense of where you are. You'll see we are not as scary as the stories." Her enthusiasm radiated off her face as she made every word seem innocent and exciting.

She reminded me a little of my sister... Olivia...

"I swear I won't bite." She added when she noticed my hesitation. Despite all the new information I had to take in, a walk around the village did not sound bad given the headache this whole ordeal had given me. However, there was one thing I needed to know before I was to go anywhere with her.
"Okay, but first you have to tell me...." I started, her face was curious and careful as she braced herself for what I was about to ask. "What's your name?" I smiled a little for the first time since I got here.

A blush spread across her cheeks as I asked her for her name. "Oh, I totally forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? My name is Lillian, nice to meet you!"

I stood up ready to follow her outside, into the unknown. For a stranger, she didn't seem too bad Not that I was ready to put all my trust in her. But at least for now, she could prove to be okay company and a way to get more information about this place.
"Same here, I'm Merindah."