The Alpha's Beta

Chapter 10

Happy Tuesday!! Hope you guys are having a good one! :)

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I woke up curled in a ball, on the cold, hard ground. I sat up and looked around. Apparently, Anita decided to just shove me back into consciousness in the middle of the woods. In the middle of nowhere.

Not the middle of nowhere. You are always somewhere. Your nest is close to our current location. Anita argued.

Fine. Which way?

I felt Anita gently nudge me in the right direction. 

After about an hour walking in that direction, I wondered if this direction was in fact the right direction. 

It is. You are heading where you need to be.

Okayyy. Because that cleared everything right up. No worries.

An hour more, with still no house in sight, I sat down on the forest floor, tired and hungry.

"This day has turned out just wonderful." I said, talking to myself, apparently. "First, find out I've been bitten by a Lupine Wolf guy who happens to be one of my best friends here. Then get told that I've turned into said Lupine Wolf thing. Then I shift into a Wolf and, once I'm human again, my body felt like it was being bombed on the inside. After that, my own mother comes out of the woods, telling my friend that the only way to save me was to turn into my 'true form.' So, I did as I was told, except my Eagle decided she wanted a test drive and flew me into the middle of who-knows-where! And, to top it all off, I have a headache." 

"That does sound like a problem. Now, what are we going to about it? Run away, afraid of what bad could come from these things? Or fight them? Or learn to control your new found abilities?" A man asked, emerging from the shadows. I took a step back in surprise and fear, but he held his palms up in surrender. "I mean you no harm. Only to train you in the ways of a Shifter. If you will let me, that is."

"Who are you?" I demanded. The man looked about my mother's age, with light brown hair and brown eyes. 

"I am Dylan Wells, Leader of the Sky Flock." He gestured to the trees and the people - and birds - emerging from them. "These are my people. Don't worry, they don't bite. In any case, I'm sure you bite harder than they do."

"How do I know I can trust you? My mom didn't even tell me any of this!"

"You don't. Simple as that. I'm sorry that your mother didn't explain this earlier."

A woman crept forward, her blond hair matted against her head, her blue eyes swirling around crazily. "You look like Rick. How can you look like him? You cannot look like him! He is gone, his legacy gone. His child dead! It is impossible!" By the end, she was an inch from my face, screaming at the top of her lungs. 

Two boys that looked a little older than me came up and pulled her away, back towards their spot on the outskirts of the tiny clearing.

"I'm extremely sorry about that. Lora is quite mad, ever since Rick died about seventeen years ago."

"May I ask you this Rick is? And why Lora said I looked like him?"

"You may. Rick was our old Leader, before he died in battle. As to why Lora brought him up, you do look strikingly similar. Which would explain Lora's behavior. You see, Lora and Rick were married - and mated - but Rick had had a child before Lora and he were together. Not even Rick himself knew about her, though. So, Rick was as surprised as everyone else when his daughter showed up in a small basket on his steps. 

"Only a few days after she was brought to us, she was taken away. By who, we'll never know. It has always been a mystery to us. Rick fought even harder against the Shifters we had been at war with. And, as a result, fortified his death. As I was his Second, I became Leader, and tried for peace. The Shifter Pack agreed, since they had suffered as many deaths as us. Anyways, I'm sure you're bored with this story, and we should be getting home anyway. Wings out, my Flock!" Dylan finished.

The people around us soon Shifted into their Eagle forms. You'd think that they'd all be the same, but there were many different sizes, species, and colors. They flew to the sky, yet waited in a position of the famous 'V.' Waiting for us, apparently. Dylan whistled a sharp note, and the birds started flying. Towards their home, I guess.

"I'm sorry about Rick. But I really need to get home. My mother is probably sending out the entire U.S. Army looking for me by now."

"On the contrary, my dear. She was the one who got your sweet Anita to come. And, as you are becoming more apt to run any second now, I wish to summon your Eagle." Dylan was slowly stepping closer to me, quite the opposite of who he was in front of his Flock.

"Yeah, uh, that's not happening. Ever. I think that I'm going to go now. Soo, bye. Talk to you later!" I gave a tiny wave and started backing away. As I was, I mumbled,"Not."

"Oh, that I will. Don't you worry, dear fledgling. You will soon see sense, once you are trained properly. Everything will be fine. You'll see." Dylan then whistled again, this time so sharp, I dropped to my knees with my hands over my ears. Dylan crooned softly, "Come out, Anita. I know you crave to come out and play. Anita, I call to you. Come." 

I fought to stay in control, my mind fighting against itself. Anita herself was battling, trying to stay in my mind, out of control. She wanted to stay sleeping, or unconscious, or whatever we do when we aren't at the wheel, so to speak.

In the end, Dylan won. Anita unwillingly Shifted, and against her will, followed Dylan and his commanding whistles. To Raven, Anita, and the Wolf, it seems as if everyone has turned against them, even Raven's mother.

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Any questions or concerns about the turn of events? I still feel like this story is moving quite fast, am I right? Please let me know below!

EDIT: All I changed was the Flock's name, to match the Pack's name.