For The Love of An Alpha

Melancholy and Madness

Six years ago...

Her black hair fell down her back, the soft waves showing hints of brown and red among the soft tresses. Her green eyes flashed through the forest. She knew she didn't lose them. Taking a slow deep breath, she focused her senses, Her newly created bond with her wolf heightened her hearing and sense of smell. She faintly heard the crunch of snow as she closed her eyes, he long lashes barely brushing along her under eye. She smelled it, the track she'd been on. They thought they could lose her in the snow, but they were wrong.

Theresa, it's not safe. We should turn back.

Her wolf called out inside her spirit, but she shrugged it off. She wasn't going to be left behind anymore. Her brother and cousin had taken off to hunt and she was determined to hunt with them. She had finally gotten her wolf! She was seventeen and it should have happened sooner, but now that she was considered "of age" they had to treat her like part of the pack.

Theresa shrugged her shoulders and then stripped from her winter clothes. The heavy jacket landing with a thud on the fresh snow. She shifted as soon as she could, trying to beat the feeling of the chill in the air. The change in her senses flooding her as she got her bearings. She felt her nails dig into the snow, finding the moist dirt beneath it. She smiled to herself, letting her tongue lull to the side, as she took up the scent again. She was enjoying this.

Her hind legs pushed off from the ground and she was on the hunt. The smell was strong and she knew it all too well, her brother's room wreaked of it. That musty earth and trees smell. She ran along the edge of the pack property, until she reached the open land. The hunting was best in the mountains, and she knew they would go where they could get the best. She turned hard at the edge of the property and took off up the mountain.

The trees blurred passed her as she ran parallel to the trails. She wasn't sure if they had shifted or not, but the scent was close. She turned left suddenly, the scent taking her away from the trail and higher up the mountain. She followed it with a hunger, a desire to catch her prey.

Her attention to her surroundings was neglectful, as she only focused on the scent she was on. She burst through a stream, splashing her fur with cold water. She nearly whimpered at the sudden explosion of cold, but kept pushing.

They have to be close. Her thoughts coming loud and clear to her wolf.

Theresa, stop! You have to turn back! The warnings from her wolf continued, but she pressed on. She wasn't going to deal with this.

Rounding one more corner, she hung a hard right. The scent was strong, it was just around the corner. Her hind right foot dug deep into the earth, giving her the purchase she needed to take the sharp turn. She growled a playful growl as she entered the area they were in, hearing the growl from her prey. She kept going until she ran into something, hard. Looking up she expected to see her brother, instead it was the large form of a black bear.

Her eyes went wide and she began to panic and she started to awkwardly back up. Her footing was strange and she slipped several times. The bear was rearing up on his hind legs as she finally got her footing. The roar that came from the large beast sent a wave of panic and terror through her body.

They said the bears we still sleeping?!

No, Her wolf corrected, they said they 'thought' the bears would still be hibernating.

Theresa felt the flustering of her fury at the statement of her wolf. She turned and started to run, but she reacted to late. The bears paw swiped her in the chest, sending her flying at the nearest tree. She landed against the tree with a thud and then hit the ground, a whimper escaping her mouth. It took all the energy she had to ignore the pain and rise to her feet. Her ribs were screaming at her and she could taste blood in her mouth. She reared her head back and released an earth shattering howl. It was the loudest she had ever been, channeling her pain into the the sound that came from her throat.