The Broken Alpha

Savannah (2)

I heaved a sigh and looked into the bathroom mirror, checking my face for any blemishes even though I knew there wasn’t any.

“No matter how much you keep looking, your still beautiful Anna”

I turn my face to my fried Tara and watch her wash her hands in the sink. I smile at her and scoff

“Says the girls who looks like a model” I laugh

“Model! Hah!” She joked “If my parents heard that, they’d definitely insist I stop practising magik and marry me off”

I laugh at her words, knowing that some part of that was true. Tara and I grew up together. I had been found as a baby by our covens head witch who had been out foraging. She had said that after one sniff and seeing a special witch mark on me before it faded; had convinced her to take me back and raise me as her own. From as long as I could remember, Deedee has raised me and had me call her mum. She even gave me my name, calling me Savannah which later became Anna for short by my friends. I was one when I started to show my magikal powers and the coven had decided that I would be the next grand witch. Around the time I was three, I was doing spells and magik that adults often found hard doing.

Deedee had started to help me channel it when she was told I needed a friend to help me be more balanced. In came Tara Swan. My quarter Pakistani, quarter Malaysian and half white friend who looked like a runway model. While we were both 5’5 in height, I had the naturally poker straight brown hair that barely curled no matter what I did. While I had blue eyes and was pale like the moon; Tara had the black hair from her mixed background that curls and framed her face perfectly.                                                                                                                                                                                           Her stunningly high cheekbones were always tinged with a natural pinkish blush that complimented her light amber tanned skin which gleamed and glowed in all weather. While she was athletic, I was curvy. When I say curvy, I don’t mean the cute little curves that people say are hot or the kind that are attractive. I’m talking about the ones where shape wear sometimes is needed. I know I do look good. Both my past boyfriends and yes, friends and the mirror have told me this. But I still can’t help but wish I was one of those girls that could walk into any store and always be able to find anything. Tara on the other hand, could shop without even trying things on.

“What’s wrong Anna?” Tara asked me

“I feel it again” I say quietly before moving away to dry my hands.

“Are you sure?” She asked wide-eyed

I nodded as she and I took out our lip glosses to touch up. We only did this so we could stay in here and talk while other two ladies washed, dried and started to leave the bathroom

“I’ve been feeling it for the last couple of days” I explained “But when the the scent and feeling disappeared, I thought whoever was tracking us, was gone”

“I know you say that it’s not someone magikal, but they must be. There’s no way they’re tracking us and have been ever since-” Tara cut off and looked around the bathroom.

Even though there was no one here, she leaned in closer to me and whispered in a quiet voice “Ever since the fight with Celine”

“I know,” I reply. “I don’t get it either and I’m next in-line to being the grand witch after Deedee. Some grand witch I’m going to be” I snort

“Ok, ok. Let me see if I can contact my sister. See if she knows the best way out” Tara said

“I’ll just hide our scent again and we can leave” I frowned

“It took you three days of being out of it after the last spell Anna” Tara said worriedly “You have been hiding our scent from whoever this person...thing….is for the last three years! I’m just glad we are home and only have to go to Belfast from here and be back with the coven”

“Won’t this cause more problems if your dad finds out?” I ask

“Only if he finds out. Shirma can’t hide it forever” Tara giggled

Tara’s father didn’t approve of her or her sister Shirma doing magik. When Tara had first come into her powers, her father nearly erupted, saying that his asian side didn’t approve nor condone magik or doing magik of any kind. That in his culture, it was an act against god’s wishes. Shirma was only eighteen months younger than Tara but she had a flair for positions and herbs. She used that skill to convince her dad she wasn’t doing magik, but using herbal teachings to help people. It was Tara who her father had an issue with when she used magik because her magik was the chanting, scrying and learning to conjure things out of thin air kind.                                                                                                                                                                                          In the end, Tara had moved out of her parental home and moved to live in the coven’s mansion in Belfast with Deedee and Anna. It had taken almost three years before her dad finally came around to accepting Tara...but with a condition. No magik talk, action or antics of any kind in front of him. He was devoted to God and his teaching and therefore didn’t agree to any form of magik. Shirma and Tara often communicated in secret about any form of magik without their father knowing but Anna didn’t want her friend to do anything on her behalf that could ruin the father-daughter relationship

Tara had gotten the magik gift from her white mother who couldn’t be prouder of her daughters. But when she too saw how well Tara was doing; and combined with Tara’s good looks, the parents united in their worry for her. Any talk of Tara using too much magik or attracting too many boys would result in her parents wondering if she should be more settled down rather than galavanting halfway across the world visiting other covens with her friend.

The ringing of my mobile broke my concentration when I pulled it out and saw Deedee’s name

“Hey mum” I greet her

“Anna” Her gentle voice came through “I will send an enchantment to you. You will feel very dizzy but push through it and come home”

I groaned. The enchantment spell meant that the person who received it, his or her outer appearance would be spelled to change their look and smell. The only problem with that was that due to being such a powerful spell; often, someone would have a headache after it but during the spell working, someone would also often experience dizzy spells. Strong enough that after the spell stopped working, going into a deep sleep for hours or even a day or so; was normal.

“Mum, I wanted to still go to another city before coming home” I explained, not even bothering to ask how she knew what was happening to me

“I know love. But you must come home immediately. I have been consulting with our shaman” Deedee said

“Why does this sound bad mum?” I asked worriedly

“Because it is. Anna, it seems that whoever is after you has had a blessing from the moon goddess” Deedee replied

“What do you mean?” I frowned, then put her on speaker so Tara could hear her

“The shaman thinks that the moon goddess has blessed whoever has been tracking you. Anna, I think you are is graver danger than we originally thought” Deedee rushed out

“Moon goddess? Wait….as in the moon goddess for…..wolves? Werewolves?” I ask in surprise

“Yes. Come home straight away Anna. I’m going to spell you both now” Deedee said before hanging up

“What the f**k?” Tara esclamined “Could this have something to do with you helping to defeat Celine when you stab-”

“Sssshhhh!” I grip at Tara “Not here. Walls have ears too you know, especially out here!”

Suddenly, I stumbled. Tara reached out her hand to steady me even as she herself slightly swayed. We both moaned as we felt the telling icicle feeling settle at the base of our spine as the spell took place and the slight feeling of nausea made our mouth pool with saliva. We both breathed through the sensation as it only took a few seconds to put everything into motion. When I felt less unstable, I looked into the mirror and sighed; wishing I looked like her all the time. My appearance had changed, I had blonde wavy hair, Tara had a short bob cut with strawberry blonde hair. Our skin tones had also changed along with our eye colour and our scent. We smelled normal, like a human. We both took a breath, grabbed our shopping bags as well as our hand bags and walked through the door, leaving the bathroom.

As I tried to look left and right without being obvious, we made our way out of the cafe; the day now sour as we hurried to try and get to our hotel. We had wanted to go back to a hotel we had seen earlier today that had a small patisserie in it; but now, the priority was to get safely back home. I wonder if the hotel would let us check out a day early without a fee if I claimed a family emergency?

“Anna” Tara hissed as we stepped out into the sunshine and started walking briskly towards the way back to the hotel “I think someone is following us”

“What?” I asked, shocked

“Don’t look!” She said, panicking “Just keep walking”

I wanted to look but I knew we had to get to the hotel. It was only another block away since we had taken the budget friendly hotel close to the main city centre. As I took another step, I got what felt like a brain-freeze; exactly like when someone eats too cold an ice-cream. I moaned, holding my forehead in my hand for a few seconds.

I stumbled, not seeing the little broken pavement which caused my wedged heel to trip a little. I cried out as my stumble changed into a fall, causing me to fall backwards, my hands waving about comically in the air. I braced myself, preparing to fall as I tried to quickly read a spell that wouldn’t cause me any damage, knowing I couldn’t stop the fall magically in front of the many humans walking around me.

Only to feel a pair of arms catch my fall. A pair of big, strong; muscled arms. The kind I imagine Chris Hemsworth would have when playing Thor. I opened my eyes, not realising that I had closed them in the first place and looked up at my rescuer. I was wrong. It was Thor who held me. It was the hulk. My body relished being in the arms of this man who looked like he stepped out of a GQ magazine and who took lessons from the Hulk on how to obtain muscle mass. His muscles had muscles! I looked up at his scruffy and shocked face as he looked at me, his eyes both portraying fear and wonder. He opened his mouth and closed it before shaking his head, his face descending closer to my face. While internally I tensed up, wanting and not wanting his closeness, my body relished being held in his strong arms, the feeling of safety and home strong within me.

“Anna” I could hear Tara whisper

But I couldn’t move my eyes from his face, from the masculine lips that were nearing my own. What was happening to me?

“How is this possible?” He asked, his voice strong and smooth

“W...What?” I asked, wanting him to keep talking, needing to hear his voice again as we both stood suspended like some romantic movie scene

“You” He whispered, his lips now close to mine

“Me?” I asked, whispering back and not wanting to break this special feeling “What about being me?”

“How can you be?” He said, almost as if talking to myself.

I heard Tara once again calling my name. I knew people walked around us and some had even stopped to look at us, but I didn’t care. I had to know. Know what? I’m not sure. I just know that my breath stopped for a second, my heart started beating faster and my brain-freeze was being more prominent

“Be what?” I whispered back

For a moment I didn’t think he was going to answer. I don’t think he even acknowledged our awkward body positions or the people around us. His eyes seemed to glaze over for a second and his face paled. My right hand reached up to hold onto his wrist for more support and sparks erupted at the touch of our flesh. I gasped as electric shocks ran up and down my arms. I felt his muscles bunch up beneath me before he opened his mouth and spoke once again, his eyes now clear and resolute

“Mate. My Mate”