Rebirth

Chapter Ten - Bad Habits

Chapter 10 – Bad Habits

I’m not sure how long I sit out there, my back still against the steel door which grows colder by the second. The only thing I do know is that the wind is picking up, a dark grey cloud looms over head and my body is so frozen that I could probably touch my own skin and it would shatter like glass. My breaths come out shaky and short. My eyelashes have snowflakes on them and my lips are probably purple from exposure.

Overall, I’m freezing to death – literally, but I can’t seem to move.

Images reel in my mind over and over again, Tai’s eyes that changed colour, the depiction of the wolves and the man. My mark; even now I stare at it, my frozen fingers numbly tracing each intersection and curve. If it wasn’t some kind of supernatural curse I would think it was beautiful.

My body fights to stay warm, I shiver practically nonstop – I’ve lost count of how many minutes ago that started.  My mind is numb as well as my body.  How could I be a Werewolf? I think to myself. I haven’t seen anyone come out this way; nobody has come to the door or tried to find me. At this point I’m not sure whether it’s a good or bad thing. Perhaps they think I’ll come back in when I’m cold enough.

Well, at least one good thing has come out of this god awful weather, I can actually think. No distractions, no interventions, just me and my thoughts. It occurred to me that my family probably didn’t even know about this curse, on the other hand, they might have and just decided to keep it from me. Trent said that the packs alphas were stripped of their title, only a female heir could inherit the alpha name and rebuild the pack. But since they did not conceive any female heirs they simply abolished the pack. The Alphas lost their pack and the members fled with their families to join other packs. And the only werewolves left would have been the Alphas, unable to join another pack due to their blood and unable to create a pack of their own because of their curse.

So, my reckoning is that they chose to breed with humans instead. And slowly, over generations, the curse became a legend and the werewolf line was severed. It is possible that my father did not know of his heritage because there was not one left for him to inherit. His werewolf genes may have been recessive, meaning he could not become the beast that I am.

And now, here I am, a very cold girl. A lone she wolf; an Alpha without a pack.

Perhaps this is what I’m supposed to do, rescue my family’s honour and create a new chance for those who deserve a new start, in a pack. They say a wolf is only as strong as their pack, but does that apply to creatures so unnatural? I plan to find out. Nobody’s going to tell me what to do, not even the Elders; I’ll do what I want – on my terms.

I breathe in a deep breath, allowing the cool air to fill my lungs. My breath exhales in a large puff of steam. Bowing my head I look at my fingers as I attempt to move them. It aches when my frozen joints begin to move, allowing the blood to flow through. Steadily and painstakingly slowly I manage to stand up, my body still against the cold metal door.

As I stand there a freezing gust of snow and air blows against the building, I turn my head to shield my eyes and face from the blizzard like conditions. I catch a glimpse from the corner of my eye and I swear I can see a snowy silhouette in the distance; a barely visible change of colour against the stormy grey sky. I try to focus in on it but when I look again, it’s gone. Shivers run down my arms, although I’m not sure whether it’s from the cold conditions.

I turn my back to the storm and raise my hand to the door handle. Flexing my fingers I practise forming a solid grip before attempting to open the frozen door. As I touch the handle a pure electric current flows throw my arm; a frozen touch that spreads its way across my fingertips. All my hairs stand on end, and I feel a strange presence, like someone is standing behind me.