Chapter Four
“Kara? Will you take the run with Antony tonight?” Isaac asked, standing beside me in my front yard. He and most of the others were going on a recon to find out who these three evasive wolves were outside our territory. I heard Vincent saying he had an idea as to how to deal with them, but I didn’t care.
Take a run? With Antony? Oh, yeah, that sounded fun. Isaac raised an eyebrow and I sighed.
“Yes, fine. When should I leave to go?”
“Once Antony gets here. I want no…serious fights, Kara. I mean it.” He looked me in the eye until I nodded.
“Whatever,” I breathed. It was barely audible to my own ears, but Isaac studied my brooding expression and cracked a smile.
“Finn, Vincent, Zena, Antony, and you will be staying behind.” Marshall said walking back up to us from the car. “We will be back tomorrow night. Please be good.”
“Why ask me to do something I am utterly disastrous at, Marshall?” I wondered.
Isaac snorted and went to help Luna load up the car. I didn’t even know why they had to take it. For show?
“Kara,” Marshall sighed, “I am so proud of you.” He chuckled, kissed my head, then went to the car.
Proud my butt. I thought, only being petulant because I had to run with Antony.
“Bye Kara!” Luna called as she got into the car.
“Love ya, mom!” I called back and waved as they left. They’d go pick up the rest of the crew now.
“Hey, kid.” Antony said, walking up my driveway. His short dark hair hung in his eyes in the front as he smirked at me.
“Kid?” I bristled, turning to walk around my house and into the backyard. “Your only a few months older than me.” I pointed out.
I was already barefoot as I reached the first trees lining my yard. I heard Antony crunching his way into the trees a few yards from me, but I didn’t look.
When I was a little ways into the brush, I shrugged off my clothes and crouched down on all fours so I could be in position when it was done.
I felt the hot burning in my abdomen and clutched it with my left hand. It rippled down my spine and soared through my veins. My spine cracked as it extended to grow into a tail and the hand clutching my stomach dropped to the grass as my palms grew rougher. Five seconds later my ears popped and I was free. I heard Antony groan somewhere near me as his transformation completed also.
Without thinking about it, I let out a howl that carried my giddiness.
Antony charged me as he appeared from behind some trees.
Shut up! We don’t won’t them to hear us! Do you want them thinking we need them? He snarled.
I growled, but just jogged away from him. He was just upset that I’d called him out earlier. Antony ran up behind me and stayed silent until we caught the scent of Isaac and knew we reached the border of the territory.
All right, we go separate ways then meet up in the middle again once we’ve covered the entire circle, got it? I asked, already turned from him and crouched, ready to run.
I hate you. Antony huffed behind me.
Taking that as a yes, see ya! I barked a laugh and took off running.
I took a deep breath and let my lungs fill with the sweet scent of oak, moss, and wild flowers. Well, that and Isaac’s scent.
As I flung myself forward and embraced the speed I was so fortunate to have, I kept my nose close to the ground to pick up any stray scent that didn’t belong there. It was crucial that I didn’t slack off. I didn’t want to hear it from the rest of the pack.
I caught the light scent of damp canine that was a mixture of human as well. It was hard describe our scent. We were such an intricate concoction. It was…musky and almost wet smelling, along with a flowery, metallic smell as well. So I picked up a light trace of that just beyond the border and assumed it was the wolves that the pack was so worked up about. I paused my run and took a few seconds trying to memorize the scent, then picked up my run again.
I was going a little slower, to enjoy myself more. The sun on my back felt warm and safe, like a blanket, but also uncomfortable and heavy, because my fur was used to cooler weather.
I didn’t often feel one-hundred percent happy as a wolf anymore, since Antony, Vincent, and I caused so much tension nowadays. As I ran, I thought about how avoided the situation of three potential alpha’s usually was in a pack. See, most of the time, only the alpha pair had pups. The other pairs in a pack—depending on that packs rules—had to either ask permission to whelp, or were allowed to anyway.
Before Isaac was alpha, Marshall and Luna had been the alpha pair and our pack was smaller than it is now. Vincent, Marion, and Farrah hadn’t joined yet, and of course Zena, Antony, and I hadn’t been born yet. Luna already had Finn, but from an early age they could tell he wasn’t destined to be an alpha. He was too reckless. So Marshall and Luna kept trying for another cub, until finally she was pregnant with me.
Isaac was almost as large as Marshall then and Marshall saw the alpha beginning to form him. Isaac had joined the pack as a stray pup and had been born the son of an alpha from his natal pack. Marshall judged this situation from an unbiased standpoint. He wanted his genes to carry on to a child that could take the role as alpha. So, with the unlikelihood of me being an alpha, he decided to step down from power—along with Luna—and give it over to Isaac and his mate, Mariah, despite the fact that Isaac was only seventeen at the time. Isaac had been worried about taking this responsibility so spontaneously, so Marshall took up the second-in-command position, beta.
Marion and Farrah were two she wolves impregnated by an unbearable alpha from their old pack, which had been demolished by a gang of lone wolves causing trouble. Marion and Farrah wandered, when one night stumbled onto an old territory of ours. They were so lost and scared, they needed a new pack, so Isaac offered them places and they gratefully accepted.
They gave birth two months apart—Antony first—then Zena, then a little bit later, I popped out.
I wasn’t anything less of a surprise. Two weeks after cubs are born—we’re born human by the way—we have our first transformation. It’s not always exactly at two weeks. It may be a little after, but never before. They saw immediately the length of my muzzle, the curve of my neck, and the ginormous size of my paws and knew, without training, I would be an alpha.
Marshall was shocked. He’d given up power to train me and it wasn’t necessary. He couldn’t just take the rug out from under Isaac’s feet—paws—either. So he decided he’d still train me, but train me how to be a good leader. But he also so Antony’s future, and knew one day we’d have to fight for power. That only made him want to train me harder. He started working on training me how to fight. But after Mariah died, when I was ten, he stopped with no explanation.
A little later, when I was still a pup, about three or four, I can’t remember, someone in the pack discovered a half dead boy about seven years old and we took him in. He spit out that he had no family and that he was a werewolf and we knew we couldn’t let him go. Luna nursed him back to health, and from there on he took care of himself. Vincent had always been more independent from us. After Luna cared for him, he refused any other help. He never told us what had happened to him to mess him up so badly, and no one’s forced him to. It was only a few weeks after he’d joined the pack and he was completely healed that Isaac and Marshall saw that Vincent had the potential also. Antony and I had competition.
And now, Vincent being nineteen, Antony sixteen, and me fifteen almost sixteen, the alpha blood in our veins was growing stronger.
Marshall believed that the right was mine and—at least he used to—strongly disliked Antony and Vincent. But, the decision laid on us. And whoever won out of us three would only have to battle Isaac unless he stepped down, and how could we do that? I would gladly—without hesitation—throw down Antony and Vincent any time. No prob. But fight Isaac that way? I couldn’t.
Antony I was sure I could take. He was big, but all that broadness didn’t help him since he didn’t fight often anymore. He knew he was weak, didn’t want to admit it, so just observed from a distance. Plus, his reflexes were much slower than mine. The only thing Antony had was wit. He could think through a situation like lightning. But other than that? Nothing. Not much of a challenge, in my book.
Now Vincent, he was I tricky one. He was faster than Antony, but still slower than me. He was more muscled than Antony, but that could get in the way, since I was fast. I considered him more of a challenge, but not by much.
I huffed and caught Antony’s scent as I approached him.
Did you find anything? He asked, trying unsuccessfully to stretch up on his toes, to be taller than me.
I grunted impatiently at his ignorance. Of course not! Wouldn’t I have howled? Ya know, to let you know.
He growled at my tone and then took on a look of mischief.
How ‘bout a race back, hm?
I gave him a dubious snort. Race? I was the fastest. He knew that. Why challenge me? Because he wouldn’t fight, maybe? I shrugged. This would be sooooo easy.
Eh?
Fine,
He grunted then turned. Later!
And he took off. I was quick to follow. And I wasn’t going easy.
It was fifteen seconds before I was ahead of him. I breathed in the invigorating smell of the outside and smiled inwardly at the wind gently caressing my fur. The trees flew by and I gracefully leaped over fallen trunks and the occasional rocks. By now I was a quarter of a mile ahead and really didn’t get why he even bothered.
I was about a mile from my backyard when the trees suddenly cleared and abruptly I was skidding to a stop in a gorgeous meadow. It had sunlit pools of water and rocky benches scattered around. The grass was fresh and green with a few Bluebonnets still in bloom. For a moment I forgot about the race.
Wow, the beauty slowly registering in my hazy mind. The sound of Antony nearing me jarred me back to reality.
I noticed a path that was relatively worn. Obviously this was some kind of seasonal hiking trail. It didn’t smell as if a pure-bred had been here in ages. I made an executive decision and sprinted off down the trail. It would probably lead me to a) my yard (which would be weird and would mean I’d have to alert Isaac. Hmmmm,) or b) no where near my yard and I’d lose the race. In which case I was screwed.
It turned out, it led to a marker about half a mile from my yard, which did save me some time since I didn’t have to dodge trees. Woopee.
I reached my clothes and paused to catch my breath.
Jeez,
Antony’s thud caught my ears as he came closer.
No way are you going to beat me. I growled.
So fast it hurt like mad, I literally pulled the wolf back inside of me. I whimpered a little as my muzzle shrunk back into my face. It felt like my nerves were exposed and my skin heated like it was suddenly set ablaze. Then it was done and I was dressed and tripping very ungracefully back into my kitchen.
Changing back had never hurt like that before. I was suddenly worried. Could we get stuck, mid-phase? I hadn’t ever heard of it happening before, but who knew? I shoved the thought from my head.
Antony stumbled much as I had, into my kitchen as I was pulling out my cell phone to check if Ayden had called. Yesterday, Friday, I gave her my number. But she had yet to call me.
“You…” Antony gasped, still very out of breath. “are waaaay to dang fast. Who the hell gave you the roadrunner gene? Jeez,” he ran his hands through his stubbly hair and gulped down air. Finally, he stopped hyperventilating.
I put my phone back into my pocket and looked up at him as I leaned against the counter.
“Well, you shouldn’t have challenged me then, omega.” I said. The last word was whispered, but I knew he heard me. Calling him that was the worst possible insult among us werewolves. Especially a PA (potential alpha). His face switched from just whiney to fury in less than a second. His eyebrows went down into a v, his eyes flared purple, his mouth opened as his teeth clenched, and he was suddenly vibrating with heat.
“Omega? God I hate you,” he spit and stormed through the hallway, then through the front door. It slammed shut with a gunshot like bam and left Finn and I with stunned silence afterwards.
I silently walked into the living room and sat beside Finn. He scooted over to give me more room and picked up the TV remote.
“Why, oh why, Kara, did you call him that? He’ll never let you live it down. I mean, I don’t like that pup much either, but I would never think to call him that. I don’t want to be called an omega, that’s for sure.”
I sighed deeply and closed my eyes. My head throbbed and my body ached. I wanted to sleep.
“Kara?” Finn pressed.
Oh, yeah. He asked me something. I opened my eyes.
“Because…Vincent, Antony, and I are contenders in this ever consuming war. And I do not think Antony is eligible. He gives in way to easy. I swear there’s not an ounce of leadership in that boys body.” I mumbled. It would have been a good explanation, if it hadn’t been half unintelligible because my mouth felt dry, and I was suddenly exhausted. Good thing Finn had that handy wolf hearing.
He was thoughtful a moment. Which could be really bad, or really good. Finn always knew what to say right off the top of his head, so when he had to think about it, meant he was about to say something important.
Finally he spoke, “My opinion is: he will compete when the time comes, if it comes. He will. Do not count him out completely. Why do I think that? Because he’s stubborn as hell and really pretty much hates you.” Finn coughed. “Vincent is a larger threat, but I think…well, we’ll see. Anyway, Isaac, on the other hand, won’t fight you. The two boys? Yuppers. You? Nah,” his voice turned dark and suspicious as he spoke of Isaac.
I stared at Finn, barely keeping my mouth from hanging open. “What? I mean, the Antony thing, okaaay…the Vincent theory…whatever. But the Isaac thing? What do you mean he wouldn’t fight me?”
Why? Because I was a girl? That was sexist!
“Kara, calm down. It’s not…s-sexist—trust me I know what your thinking—or anything. Just an…observation. He seems…fond of you.” Finn said uncomfortably. Fond sounded like the last thing he meant.
I absolutely refused to let that sink in.
“Well, I wouldn’t fight Isaac unless I felt the absolute need to.” Which wouldn’t surprise me. “I know he is a great leader and…I am not ready for that.” It was the first time I realized it. I wasn’t ready to lead a pack. The pack.
“So maybe you wouldn’t. Vincent? Now that omega would run us to the ground.” Finn mumbled, flipping through TV channels.
I let out a gust of breath and curled up next to my ginormous brother. After awhile, a thought rose in my mind and I quickly voiced my worry. It was too much to keep inside.
“Finn? Do you honestly think I’m worthy to be an alpha? That I’d make a good one?” My voice was quiet. Do you think I would make a good leader, or would I run us to the ground also? He muted the TV and turned his knowing brown eyes on me. “Kara, honey. You are one of the…most determined wolves of us all. You can decide what’s right or wrong, even if it’s against your own first judgment. You—well used to—fulfill Isaac’s wishes without complaint and you are so…you. Just great. So…” he smiled wide, revealing gleaming white teeth. “of course you will make a wonderful alpha. You, my hot-tempered little sister, are worthy.”
I blinked back tears and pride, and laughed, “You seem to have thought a lot about this.”
Finn nodded, “Marshall and I have discussed you many times. I think he will leave, honestly, if you don’t win in the end.”
I laughed again and hugged him. “Oh, yeah. Thanks. You know, your awfully nice for a brother.”
Finn playfully shoved me away. “Don’t let it spread.” He winked and laughed along with me.
Zena showed up randomly that night and decided to just spend the night since it was, “eleven-oh-friggin’-o’ clock” in her own words.
Up in my room, she sprawled across my bed and giggled. “Kara! Promise me you won’t tell.” She squealed, practically bursting with excitement. Her platinum curls bounced erratically around her beautiful face.
Oh, what is it now? Get your kicks out of teasing pure-bred tail?
“Sure, all right. Unless you killed a pure-bred.”
She snorted, disgusted. “No, I…” she actually blushed. That was the first time I’d ever seen her do that. In my life. I had a bad feeling about what she was about to say.
“I, uh, you know…with…Vincent.” She gulped, then winked at me.
My head was mayhem as I processed her words and the meaning, while my face stayed blank. She what with Vincent? Oh, no…. It was then I erupted.
“You screwed Vincent? Your kidding me! Please, oh please tell me you are joking. That is…beyond repulsive. Zena!”
She scrunched up her nose. “Nuh-uh. We both know he’s hot.”
Yeah, well, his attitude totally killed it.
“You will tell Isaac. No doubt.” I looked at her seriously.
“No! I won’t, Kara! I really like him! Please?” She begged, jumping off my bed and crawling over to me on the floor.
“I’ll tell him then.” I growled, ice dripping from my tone. There was zero sympathy in my dark blue eyes.
Zena saw that, assessed how serious I was, then dropped the girly demeanor.
“Jeez, no wonder he hates you.” She sneered, standing up and striding straight towards my window.
“Hates me? Yeah, right! When I was twelve, he told me he wanted to be my mate, Zena. He may not like me, but he does not hate me.” I clamped my mouth shut as the last word escaped my lips. I had never told anyone that. Ever. What was wrong with me?
Her eyes were lit like purple fire. “I know, he told me. Your too stubborn to take advantage of that situation.” Then she leaped from my window and into the darkness with one swift motion.
I grasped the windowsill and yelled, “So dramatic! Don’t do this Zena!” But she was already gone. I heard her high pitched howl in answer to my words.
How the hell did those two think they could get away with this? That stupid puppy! I hated Vincent! Oh, the second I woke up, I was on his tail. Zena was more than likely with him right now anyway.
I paced awhile, muttering to myself under my breath, before collapsing on my bed and falling into sleep roughly.
I was aware I was dreaming the second it began. I was my wolf-self and I was searching for something, or someone, in the woods. As I searched, I came upon a vast clearing of moonlit grass. I walked ahead, feeling my mind open and expand as I set foot into the valley.
I looked around, when I had the sensation of someone watching me. I turned to see that beautiful white wolf—Kerza—trot up beside me and lift her head to the stars. Her howl enveloped my entire body and soul—yes, soul—with a kind of dark despair and sadness. It was the worst thing I’d ever heard.
I watched her carefully, wondering why she was here.
Well Kara? Do you want to run? Kerza asked, her ice blue eyes reflecting silver in the moonlight.
Yes,
She nodded and we took off at the same time.
I was so surprised that I almost woke up, when she easily kept pace with me. And I was going my fastest. I propelled myself further, but still she ran along side me, breathing normally.
Who are you? I asked.
You already know the answer to that question. And don’t ask what. You know who I am. It may not seem clear now, but there is someone coming to help you understand how to help me. She replied.
I decided to let that sink in and we kept running. We ran for what seemed like forever, though it must have been the entire time I was asleep. Oddly, this running didn’t wear me out. I actually felt rested as I ran. I forgot the tension I felt, the stress over Vincent and the whole alpha situation. I just ran peacefully with this strange werewolf in my dreams.
I didn’t know who she was or why she wouldn’t give me a straight answer, but I woke up in the morning feeling relaxed for once.
At least for a little while.
After I dressed, ate, and straightened up, I told Finn about Vincent and Zena.
“That…ugh. Okay. You were right. We have to tell Isaac if they do not.” He growled, watching my agitation as I edged towards the back door.
“Kara,” he warned, “don’t take this into your own hands.”
I grunted and slammed the back door as I ran out. “ ’M not. My paws’ll do the job.”
“Kara!” Finn called, but no sounds of pursuit followed.
I angrily tore into the woods and shed my human skin, eager for the release of my muscles. I embraced the hotness and took off in full track mode for Vincent.
This time I wouldn’t let him win. This was it.
