Alma

Chapter Eleven: Alma

Alma:

We reach the woods in a quick couple of minutes, and I hurriedly phase, leaving my clothing on because there is no reason to remove them-- they don’t rip like they do for other people, namely the males. I stash my clothing in a log and walk in circles waiting for the guys to finish discussing the route for the run, which was what they always did while they waited for my phasing to finish. Finally coming to a faux pas, they both phase and Mark tries to slink off, but I give chase, not letting him sneak out. Dante yips and follows, not quite sure what I am doing.

Mark’s path is small and a little difficult to track down, but we all manage, and come to a small brook. Mark is standing in it, showing it to Dante and I. I smile and leap. Mark is confused, and flinches when I am launching at him, but ends up getting splashed as I land in the water next to him. I stomp my feet a few times, splashing water everywhere, before I take a small drink and run off, only to charge back and jump in again, splashing both of them. Mark, finally deciding enough is enough, throws water back using his nose. I huff out a laugh and show him how to throw it by kicking, using Dante as the dummy model. Dante doesn’t seem to care, but only because he is too concerned with figuring out how to move his leg to splash like I did too. I only learned because Ro showed me as a feline, and since their front legs are different from a canine, it takes a while to learn. I’m patient though, and soon enough, the three of us are splashing, chasing, and overall being goofballs.

I hear others running through the forest, and am surprised to find Heather standing on the edge of the small area we are in; not because she is here, but because she is human, and bleeding.

I growl at the next splash and walk over to Heather before I sit, waiting to hear what’s wrong, because she’s crying. “Ma, its Bet. We need you, now.”

I am pushing Heather before she finishes her sentence. Catching on, she starts running.

I hear the thunder of Dante and Mark soon after.

***

Heather leads me to the amphitheater where the school hosts bonfires and students use to study. Sure enough, Bet is sitting on the ground, and her leg is broken, badly, and her arms have deep gashes down them from the shoulder to the wrist. She is crying with rage and pain. I tug on Heathers clothes gently, realizing I forgot mine. I am going to have to force my phase back, again, for the second time this month.

I am about thirty feet away from the half bloods when I start to phase back, nearly crying with the pain. My wolf was enjoying herself, and is putting up a fight. Heather is sitting patiently, an extra pair of shorts, which she always keeps on her in case of emergencies in her hand. Jeff hands her his shirt, which is huge because he is so fricken tall and broad shouldered, so she can keep her shirt. They both look on with sympathy, knowing how difficult it is for me to do this, but I see she is getting impatient. Dante has already phased back, another pair of sweats handed to him from Garv, who is really good at partially shifting and tearing his, and is asking what happened, but I ignore him as I straighten my spine and correct the shape of my legs, arms, and head. This is as far as I can get, leaving me in warrior form. I have wolf ears, teeth, claws, and a tail, and my feet are paws, though my hands are human. I put on the borrowed clothes and walk back to the crowd.

Mark audibly gasps, still a fox, at how I look, but I turn to Bet. “What happened?”

My speech is garbled, but Bet understands what I am trying to say.

“Um, well, I uh…tripped?”

I turn to Heather, who gives me the real answer. “She got attacked.”

“Who and what.”

“It doesn’t matter--”

“It does, Bet. No one hurts me or mine without facing consequences. So who and what attacked you.”

“It was the figureheads, Ma. You should already know that.”

I was mildly surprised. “They did it themselves?”

Bet only nodded. Dante speaks up then. “Why though?”

“Boy, you sure don’t notice how much Aubrey talks about you, watches you, and is obsessed with you. Stop listening to the mainstream gossip and focus on the outcasts-- they have the real info.” Bet snaps the words before catching herself.

Go Omega, I mind link her, causing a small, single laugh to exit her mouth.

Dante only looks confused, but Mark speaks up, no longer caring about not having some clothes. Garv quietly volunteers to go fetch some more clothing from the lockers a few minutes walk away. The lockers were everywhere and had identical sweatpants and tee shirts in them, just in case a kid lost control and needed new clothes around campus. It was quicker than running back to where our clothes were by the dorm across campus. “Aubrey is the female Alpha right? I heard she was Dante’s mate? And that the only reason they aren’t public is because of the uproar from the others they would get.” Mark explains this with a confused expression, staring Dante down as he speaks.

“Yup. He,” I gesture vaguely to Dante, “knows nothing of this though.”

I abandon the conversation and turn back to Bet and Heather. “Which figureheads, specifically, hurt you?”

Even I wince at the growl to my tone this time.

“It was Aubrey herself, and Marsha. They had a few of the others with them, and some bear shifters Aubrey must have paid off-- that’s how she got injured in the first place.”

I nod as Jeff gives me this information, then I turn to face Dante head-on, in full alpha mode. I push my wolf down enough to be able to speak understandably. “I’m not gonna beat around the bush. You deal with this, or I’m going to f*****g kill her.”

Dante ducks his head out of respect before nodding and pulling out his cell phone, and dials a number. I raise my eyebrow when he hands the device to me. “Hey Dante! I was--”

“Listen here, you little b***h. You want to fight, you come to me. You should know where I am.”

“What are you doing with Dante’s phone?”

“You have five minutes-- then I am finding you and making art with your insides.”

I hang up and hand the phone back. Heather and Bet are both making small noises, and Mark is struggling to stand by the time I realize I am holding my dominance over them. “Sorry guys.”

“We know, Ma. It's okay. Just, don’t kill Jeff, okay? He and Garv are the only guys we got, and our only sources for the real gossip.”

I chuckle at Bet’s joke, before walking over and sitting next to her. “So, do you want us to call the campus infirmary, or would you like me to do it myself?”

“Depends. Is Rod on duty tonight?”

Rod is Bet’s mate, and a nurse to boot. “No sweety, he isn’t. Remember, he told you that he is working tomorrow night, and has the rest of the weekend off.”

“Well, then what’s the point? Fix me up, pup.”

I nod, and grab her hand, which she is reaching toward me. “Sleep now so I don’t have to listen to your whines,” I tease.

She nods and closes her eyes. A second later, she is unconscious. That is one of the better parts of having alpha blood— I can take away pain, but also heal.

“Heather, brace below her knee. Mark, above her ankle. I have to set the bone.”

As soon as they comply, I am poking and prodding to find how I need to set the bone, when I get it, I quickly place it together, and start drawing energy from the people around me to funnel into Bet, in order to mend the bone. It is a trick only alpha-born wolves can do, and I excel at it. When I feel the bone heal, I let go, and order the other’s to do the same. The gashes I closed enough so they would heal on their own without scars.

“All healed up. Be easy on it.” I say as I stand up and back away, gesturing Mark and Heather do the same thing.

I take back the pack magic I have running around Bet, keeping her unconscious. She nods before slowly standing up. “Thanks Alma, I mean it.” Her voice is somewhat drowsy.

I only smile as my wolf pushes again, shoving her sharp teeth into my mouth. .

“Don’t do that. You look like you want to rip out my throat.”

“Maybe I do. You’re not allowed to get hurt.”

“But how am I supposed to have fun if I don’t risk getting hurt every now and again?”

I only growl. Bet sighs and the air stirs, a sense of calm spreading out like invisible fog over us. My wolf settles a little bit and I smile again, this time with human teeth-- my feet and ankles are popping and snapping as the bone grows painfully, and finally I am all human once more.

“Thank you.”

I hear a ruckus as Jeff starts to bounce around, sending little sparks of magic everywhere, something that happens when he is nervous. I turn to face him and he only points. Following the bright white sparks, the same color as his hair and skin, I find the figureheads are marching forward, along with a couple of bear shifters. As if they can help her.

“Hello!” I say, overjoyed.

“What do you want?”

“What do you think I want, Aubrey? Because I know you think you have something I want.”

“Isn’t it obvious? You want to be me.”

I hear my friends sputter out laughs as I smile, holding back my own laughter. “What makes you think I want to be you?”

“Oh sweetie. You’re drawing attention to yourself with those fights, keeping you and your friends in the social spotlight, displaying the power you think you have, staying right by Dante’s side--”

My wolf comes right up to meet this b***h, cutting her off after that comment. “Excuse me? I can’t get rid of him, not the other way around.” I immediately want to take the words back, and can feel a tear running out of my eye as I look over my shoulder at Dante.

Dante only nods, and I hear Jeff and Bet quietly start speaking to him, soothing his ego. I don’t mean to insult him, or hurt him, but my wolf has some idea that Dante hates the both of us, and is looking to wound. I send Bet a mind link, telling her I need help and please get Nao and a sensory deprivation chamber ready, because my wolf has total control, and she is f*****g crazy. “Also, power I think I have? I know what my power is. And sorry, but I don’t try and draw attention to myself. The fights? A result of being a shifter outcast that the pack doesn’t care for. The only reason they’re the talk on campus is because of the Oni. Lastly, social spotlight? We threw a party because the Omega found her mate, but please, continue on.”

Aubrey snarls at me, but decides not to focus back on me and my discrepancies. “Omega my ass. Your Beatrice isn’t an Omega; Jackie is.”

I laugh a little. “Jackie is a salient submissive; she isn’t dominant but she can’t be forced to obey someone who isn’t her alpha or beta.”

Outrage blooms like a hyacinth on Aubrey’s face: pretty looking, but stinks to high heaven. I wonder how dominant Aubrey really is and look her in the eye; she looks away after only three heartbeats.

“Aubrey, I recommend you dismiss all but your beta and one enforcer; otherwise, the next five minutes are really going to hurt your social life.”

I say the words with only a hint of dominance, and she immediately obeys.

“Good. Now, I would like for you to tell me exactly why you did this.”

“You needed to be brought down a little bit. If you can’t protect your friends, then what the hell are you good for? Bad enough your family line has tainted this school, and one of the largest packs in the world-- I was just making sure everyone knew just how awful and worthless you are.”

Bet gasps and instantly reaches out to me with her abilities, but I block them. I need to feel the anger right now, and I need Aubrey to see my crazy ass wolf. I let the predator really shine through my eyes, and the other girl stumbles backward.

“I challenge you for the title of Luna.”