The Animal Inside

chapter 1

Brantley's POV:

I was just pulling my boots back on when my phone rang. I was up at Paul's cabin in the woods, enjoying some solitude and the peace of mind that a full moon always brought. As a wolf, it was hard to completely integrate myself into the human world. There are parts of me that I can't change. That I can't tame. As an Alpha, I have to shift. To run. To release the lock on the cage that contains the animal inside. I am a man. But I am also a wolf. The Lycan gene has been passed down through my bloodline for centuries, the eldest male always receives the Alpha gene. Our family is one of the purest bloodlines left in the world. Royalty, you could say. Our lineage was legendary. I answered my phone with an agitated "what?!". It was Paul. He'd been admitted to the hospital. His health was failing, and the wolf in me could smell death approaching. He was a dear friend, and always let me use his cabin, his land. To hunt. To run. While he didn't know what I was, he knew there was something different about me. Something primal. We didn't speak about it. I quickly finished dressing and hopped on my motorcycle, I could shift and be there in half the time, but a massive wolf running through town would be difficult to explain.

Once I reached the hospital, I quickly got the information I needed and headed to Paul's room. I walked in without knocking and turned quickly at the soft gasp that came from the bathroom door. A tiny little female was standing there nearly trembling. She was human, with the bluest eyes I'd ever seen, and small. So damn small. Her eyes were red from crying, and she sniffled pitifully. "Who are you?" I asked as neutral as I could. "M-my name is Lila. I'm Paul's niece, I'll be staying at his cabin while I'm in town. And who are y-you?" The little human asked timidly. "You're staying at the cabin?" I asked a little harsher than I would've liked. I barely bit back the growl threatening to break loose as I turned my eyes to Paul.