Meeting In The Middle

Meeting The Alpha

The wolves stay unmoving and I stay frozen, mirroring their stillness. I know I wasn't in danger but did they know it was me? I back away, slowly, my every move watched by their stale and dark eyes. My bones seemed weak and frozen. The stream ran, still and the birds still chirped, chasing the silence away. I could hear the sounds of nature and it eased my racing heart, calmed my panicked soul. Instead of retreating, I inch forwards, towards the two wolves. They blink, but they didn't try to attack me. I bite my lip. I should've listened to Caleb's story yesterday so I knew what to expect of them. Did they lose all their human senses when they shifted? I shake off the thoughts and keep taking small steps forward. I was almost across the river when I stumbled on a jagged rock that rested in the sands beneath the river. The auburn coloured wolf catches me before I could fall. I gasp when I feel the heavy and warm body under me, supporting me. I step onto the other side of the stream and steady myself. The wolf doesn't back away, it just stands there, watching me less than a metre away. I was going through a mental state of shock and disbelief. I was probably going out of my mind. Lucian, the wolf behind him was smirking... If wolves had facial expressions, it would be it.

I finally gather up the courage to reach out to touch one. Unlike my dream, Caleb snuggled into my hand. He fit perfectly and I crack a smile.

"Good boy." I grinned as he backs away, staring at me with horror. I laughed. He reminded me of my dog that passed away when I was very young.

Caleb and Lucian both disappear into the trees and come back as boys. They were both dressed in different clothes than last night and I raise an eyebrow when they approach me, smirking.

"So, how was the magic trick?" Lucian runs a hand through his golden hair, something he does often. I shake my head, trying to get the image out of my head.

"I believe you now, Caleb." I admit. "I think I believe you."

Caleb crosses his arms and pulls on a leather jacket. "You weren't disgusted, or scared?" He questioned me.

"When I first saw you at the stream, you were both in human form." I confirm, feeling extremely awkward saying 'human form.' I continue. "Then I look at the deer, and I look back, you guys were wolves."

I recall. "I was so confused and then it all hit me. Caleb told me about werewolves the day before and I hadn't believed him. I also had a dream yesterday and it was about you."

Lucian's loud snickers stopped me from telling them about the rest. I replay what I just said in my head and blush a bright red. "In wolf form!" Lucian's laughs were still rumbling off his chest but I decide to ignore him.

"Then today when you were about to kill those deer," I gulp. "I had to stop you because they are innocent animals that don't deserve to be killed."

I finish and they exchange glances.

"Can't you just buy meat from the supermarket?" I groan, thinking about the poor deer that were so close to death today. I made a good choice in saving them, hopefully they are still enjoying life somewhere in the forest. Lucian settles down on a large rock and places his hands on his knees. Caleb sits beside him with a concentrated look. I watch them, slowly sinking into another rock. I frown.

"You have to get used to be killing things." Lucian breaks the tension, furrowing his eyebrows. "Because you are one of us."

I look at them, tilting my head. All this information was killing me. My brain couldn't register all these accusations and legends. I couldn't take this. I felt dizzy and overwhelmed. Lucian bites his lip, seeing my state and jogs towards the car to get water. I sigh and stare into the river where little fish flitted around.

"The reason the guys got so defensive on the first day of school was because we smelled a scent on you that didn't belong to our wolf pack." He explains. "Then when we approached you, we realized that you couldn't do any harm to any of us so we accepted you."

"How can I have a werewolf scent when I'm not even a wolf?" I cringe, just thinking about being a wolf. With paws and a tail... I just couldn't imagine it. Caleb watched me and his gaze shifted to Lucian when he came back with the water and another guy. It wasn't someone I recognized, perhaps another werewolf. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Caleb now his head slightly and shift his eyes downward. Why would he do something like that? Was this person of a higher status than him? To show respect? I wonder all these in my head as they approach, Lucian's eyes on me. When I look at the man to his right, I could feel myself bowing my head without meaning to. It was an instinct, a powerful vibe that glows off him.

He had dark black eyes that displayed an essence of power and control. His raven black hair was swept to the side by the wind and his sharp jawline could give you a paper-cut. I was shaken and breathless as his eyes bored into mine. I finally resist them and look away. He had so much power and looked so menacing that it was hard to pull away from his stare.

"I'm Damian." He states simply, his voice deep and low, a rough but calming sound.
"Rosella." I greet him, my eyes never leaving his. I feel a little uncomfortable and I shift on the rock. I crossed my legs over one another and ask Caleb what was going on.

Caleb eyes meet Damian's and he nods.

"He's our Alpha, the leader of the pack." Caleb introduced him with authority. Caleb never spoke this professionally. "Everyone in the pack is under his control and if you disobey the Alpha, he can and will punish you in the worst way imaginable." He says this like he's reading from a book. I shift my eyes back to Damian. Lucian continues the introduction and history of werewolves.

"There are different packs, each one taking a different territory, claiming it theirs." He explains. "This is our territory, claimed by Alpha Damian."

"Since you are part of our pack, we allow werewolves to enter our land."

"I'm part of your pack?" I was planning to let my brain process some of the information he's throwing at me but now he's thrown me something else to chew on. "I'm not even a werewolf!"

"Yet." Damian corrected. I stare at him incredulously.

"What if I don't want to be a werewolf??" I was so close to exploding from the things building up inside me. "My parents aren't werewolves."

Damian raises an eyebrow. "The werewolf gene is passed on every two generations. Your grandparents must be werewolves."

I was about to say something back but I realized that I never knew my grandparents. I had gone quiet for a moment and they all looked at me.

"I don't think you knew your grandparents very well." Damian guessed. I stare at him.

"How do you know?"

Damian sits down on a rock beside me. "All the werewolves from the past generation had a war, a fight between two packs. The two in this area. The SkyLiners and our pack, The Black Arrow." He continues as the sun slipped behind the clouds, casting a shadow across his solemn face. I was caught up in the story as he opened his mouth to speak again.

"The war was one of the wars of the century, killing dozens and dozens of wolves. Even wolves from other packs chose their side and joined the fight." Damian looked down and kicked a pebble across the river. "My grandfather was one of them."

I stare at him, dumbfounded. "I'm sorry."

He looked at the river. "It wasn't because he died that made me resent them." He kicked another rock. "His pack abandoned him. Hours after the fight began, they had already lost hope. His teammates ran and never came back. There were very few that stood with him."

"He was the only one that stood ground." He recounts the memories. "That's what makes me angry. The disloyalty and hopelessness his pack had."

He looked around at us with determination in his shining black eyes. "I believe that this pack can stand ground and defeat the enemy, even when there's no hope."

The birds had stopped singing, and all was quiet. Just Damian's ringing voice in the forest, echoing down the trees.