Perigee

Chapter 2

He began appearing to me in the day time shortly after the incident with Laura. I knew how to hold a grudge, even as a child. I refused to even acknowledge Laura when I was in the same room with her. My dad watched, downheartedly, as Laura tried to apologize time after time, but I refused to pay her any attention, often walking out of the room while she was mid-sentence, usually resulting in her screaming to my parents about why she even tried. I didn’t realize at the time how difficult I was being, but Dad did and he was increasingly unhappy about it. After a week of attempted apologies, Laura gave up.

I sat in the yard, shifted into my puppy wolf form, unburying my favorite action figure. I chose to bury it to protect it in case Laura wanted to get revenge on me by way of G. I. Joe. Once I had freed him and his comrades, I sat in the pile of dirt, setting up my wartime scenario. In all of the times I played with action figures, the figurines were werewolves and G.I. Joe was the Alpha. He was strong, brave, and I imagined he had a truly terrifying roar. I arranged the figurines into two separate “packs”.

Dad walked up to me. By this point, I had dirt covering nearly every inch of skin and the two packs were in the heat of battle. “Hey kiddo… what are you doing?”

I explained to him the scenario, key players, and even how the battle was going to end: “And Alpha G.I. Joe is gonna win because he’s the strongest and he’s the best Alpha. He’s like you.”

Dad smiled, kneeling next to me, “Well thank you! But you know… being an Alpha is about more than just being strong, Derek.”

“I know!” I told him, looking up from my imagined carnage.  “You have to be brave. And you have to be able to roar really loud.”

He laughed. “Yes, you do… but you also have to care about your pack… even when your pack members say things that upset you.”

My face sunk and so did my excitement. “She said I wouldn’t ever be an Alpha like you. But Stiles said I would be! He said I’d be the best Alpha in the world! He promised.” I held up my pinky to signal that, in my mind, Stiles had made the most solemn vow a person could make. He pinky swore.

“And who is this Stiles?” Dad asked.

“He’s the guy with the tattoos… the one in my dream! He’s magic!” I told him.

Dad nodded, humoring me. “Well, this Stiles guy is obviously pretty smart to see that you would be a good Alpha, but you can’t do that if you’re holding on to anger… especially at your sister.”

I was frustrated. “But it’s not fair!” I exclaimed, exasperated that the adults in this scenario didn’t understand my six-year-old logic.

“No, it’s not. Sometimes Alpha skips the person who wants it most. Your Uncle Peter wanted to be Alpha… but it went to me. And who knows? It might go to him some day, it might go to Laura, you, or even Cora… but you’ll never get it if you’re too busy being mad about what is and isn’t fair, and not being the kind of wolf who deserves to be an Alpha,” he patted my back. “Does that make sense?”

I stared into space, trying to make sure I understood everything he was telling me. “So if I forgive Laura then I can become the Alpha?”

Dad laughed, shaking his head. “It’s not that simple. By forgiving the people who do bad things to you, you let yourself heal from those little hurts that can keep you from becoming Alpha. You strengthen your pack by strengthening yourself as an individual wolf.”

I understood that time. “So I have to tell Laura that I’m sorry for being such a butthead, don’t I?”

Again, dad’s hearty laugh cut through the air. “Yes, kiddo… yes you do.”