The Love Triangle

The Great Alpha

     “What are you doing here?” I ask. Could it really be him? Is this my dad? What is he doing here? How is he here? Oh, my Goddess. My concussion must be worse than I thought it was. I’m now seeing the ghost of my dead dad.

     “Your concussion isn’t making you see this.” I back up further from him. Is he reading my thoughts?      “Yes.”

     “Stop that!”

     “Samuel, it’s really me. I could sense your distress and I wanted to see you. I know you have wanted to meet me as well.” I shrug. I mean… I’m excited to see my father, but I didn’t think it would be in ghost form after I got a concussion. “I’m glad you’re ok. I was scared when I passed, so I wanted to know you’d be safe. I’m sorry if it makes life harder for you, but I needed to protect you.”

     “No, it’s ok. I kind of understand.”

     “What questions can I answer for you?”

     I think about it. I don’t really know. I would love to ask him what to do about Carson and Jace, but my mom was useless. I can’t imagine my ghost father would be much help. I think of the question I want answered. “What happened between the two packs to cause so much hatred?” His look grows weary. I can tell I struck a nerve, but it’s an important question that I want an answer to. I don’t understand why there is so much fighting between packs. We should be peaceful with one another.

     “That is quite a complicated question you have asked.” I can tell he doesn’t want to talk about it, but if this is the only time I will ever get to see my father, I want to get the answers that only he can give me. I continue looking at him, so he can realize that I am not leaving without an answer to the question. “Very well. I will tell you the information that you seek.” He comes closer to me. I grow uneasy, but I let him come closer. He places one hand on my forehead and one hand on my chest and pushes forward. My body falls to the ground, but…

     My aura leaves my body. The world around me ripples and changes. I look around and can tell I’m in the Pack lands. The sun is shining, and it is an absolutely gorgeous day. I suddenly notice something is different. The lands are much different from as I know them. Some of the buildings I know as old and decrepit are brand new. They aren’t the Pack lands that I am familiar with. “Yes, you are correct.” I am getting really sick of this old man reading my thoughts. “You shouldn’t think them so loudly if you wished to keep them secret.” I glare at him. I hate this whole mind-link sometimes. It makes s**t really complicated. Wolves are supposed to learn how to block their thoughts, but I haven’t been able to yet.

     “Our pack used to be one as you know. The Orion Pack was the strongest in all the surrounding lands. Wolves from around us would try to defeat us, but we were formidable opponents. When we allied with local packs, we were too strong for anyone pack who could beat us. I was a strong Alpha with a gorgeous, beautiful Luna standing by my side.” I look and see my mom. She looks just as beautiful as she is today except with a few fewer wrinkles. “She is just as beautiful as you explained. Back then, we were only mates.” Her beautiful, blonde curls look exactly the same.

     Then, I see an Alpha and two young warriors walk out of the house. The Alpha is dressed in the Alpha cape and crown. I recognize my father as one of the young warriors. My father was breath-taking. Each muscle toned to perfection and each long flowing hair laid perfectly on his head just like Carson’s. The two kiss. I like seeing them together. It’s embarrassing and gross, but I can see so much love in their eyes. I can’t imagine people’s love to be as pure and strong as theirs’ looks right now.

     “Who is the other wolf?” I ask. I notice he looks like my father, but they aren’t identical. He has sharper facial expressions with a pointy chin which makes him look like a sinister genius. My dad responds, but his tone is wrought with pain.

     “That is your Uncle. He was my brother. We both served as Gammas.” I gasp. I didn’t know my father had a brother?!?

     “What happened?”

     “Everything will be explained as you wish, but you need more information before I can fully answer.” He looks at me. I nod for him to continue. “We were still just young boys. I was 19, and my brother had just turned 18. We were both old enough to become Alpha. One of us was destined to become Alpha, but we didn’t know who yet. My father hadn’t decided which of us yet.”

     The vision blurs and changes. We are back at the Pack lands, but it is different. Some of the buildings are on fire, the moonlight is stirring, and the heavy winds are coming from all directions. I can tell that a war is going on. I see a circle of wolves surrounding 3 people from my pack. It’s Dad, Grandpa, and Uncle. They are holding back the wolves and fighting in a synonymous team. My Uncle and Father play off of each other’s every move like clockwork. I can tell they are beautifully in sync. “This is the last time that we were all together.” I see the tears hiding behind my father’s eyes. Something about this memory specifically pains him. I can feel it.

     “What happened after this night?” He points with his eyes. I follow where they are looking and see another wolf charging at my grandpa. They look like the Alpha from the other pack.

     “Noooooo!” I scream, but they can’t hear me. It’s only a memory. I want to jump down and fight alongside them, but it doesn’t work like that. My grandpa is too busy fighting two wolves in front of him to notice. The enemy Alpha has a long sword in his hands. I realize now why this memory pains him so much. The younger version of my father turns and sees the Alpha. He leaps forward, but he is too late. The evil Alpha stabs a sword through my grandpa’s chest. My grandpa falls to the ground. My uncle runs up next to him and stays by his side, clasping their hands together as my grandpa takes his last breaths. My father pounces on the evil Alpha, knocking the sword out of his hands. He continues slashing and thrashing at the evil Alpha. Wolves circle him, but I can tell they are too afraid to stop him. The evil Alpha has lost all strength. My dad grabs his head and snaps his neck. I look back at my father who came to visit me. “Ok. What happened next?”

     “Next,” he says. The memory blurs again and changes to the Council room. “I became Alpha.”

     “That’s not fair.” My uncle yells. “We haven’t decided who was meant to become Alpha. We were still waiting on father’s decision.”

     An Elder says, “Your father’s decision would’ve carried weight, but the natural Law of the Pack must be followed. When an Alpha is in a clash, whoever kills the Alpha becomes the new Alpha. When their Alpha killed your father, their Alpha became our Alpha, but when Robert killed him, Robert became the Alpha.”

     “This is ridiculous.” He yells. He turns to my father. “You can’t be ok with this!”

     My dad responds, “I’m not.” Robert looks at him. “This isn’t how it was supposed to happen, but I was destined to become Alpha.”

     “You know father was going to choose me to be his successor. You are only ok with this because it means you get to become Alpha.”

     “Regardless of what I think or what we think dad would have wanted, we must follow the Law of the Pack. The law states that when I killed their Alpha, I became the Alpha of both packs.” My uncle punches my dad across the face. “Michael!”

     “Coward.” The vision fades. No new memories come forward. Instead, the visions ripple constantly changing into what looks like the inside of a tornado.

     “So all the fighting was because you became the Alpha.” He nods yes.

     “Michael never truly forgave me for what happened. He said that I betrayed father and in doing so, betrayed him. He said he would never be my brother ever again and left. Days later, we received a note left on one of our wolf guards who were murdered. It was from Michael. It said, ‘I am now the Alpha of this Pack. We don’t respect your authority. My Pack will now be known as the Ursa Majors. Any acts against us will be considered treason.’ Some of the other wolves left to follow him. Many of their wolves stayed because they were upset that I killed their Alpha.”

     “This led to constant fighting and war between our packs. A war that I fear that I started. In truth, a part of me knew/questioned whether or not father would have picked me for Alpha. I took the easy way out and took the title when it was handed to me instead of earning it. I spent the rest of my time as Alpha trying to prove to myself and to the members of my pack that I was worth enough to lead them.”

     We go back to the woods where I first met my father, and I return to my body. “It is my deepest regret in all my life that I couldn’t amend the mistakes of my past or the conflicts with my brother. It is the same conflicts that took both of our lives in attacks. I don’t know if the packs will ever be able to unite or resolve their issues again. I was supposed to be an Alpha of peace. I was meant to save all werewolf kind, but instead, I created more conflict. Does that answer your question?” I nod. He looks me up and down. I am so happy that I am wearing werewolf pants and not completely naked in front of him. “You have grown to be such a good, strong, man. I am so proud of you, Samuel. I wish I could have been there to see you grow up and help you along your way in person. I am always here for you when you need me. You only need to summon me.” I run to hug my father. Tears well up in my eyes. He disappears just as his arms are wrapped around me. I get a second's long feeling of warmth from knowing my dad. I wouldn’t trade it for the world though. While his ghost is gone, I hear him whisper, “and tell your mother that I love her and she shines brighter than the North Star.”

      I try to walk home, but I stumble to the ground. It looks like I am still not as good as I thought I was. “Hello? Hello!” I hear Jace’s voice calling out in the woods.

     “It’s me. I’m over here.” I respond. Jace runs up to me and picks me up into a hug. Warmth rushes over my body and I feel myself rise up down below. His hug feels just like my father’s. They feel connected         “Are you ok? What happened?”

     “Yeah, I’m ok. I just tripped and gave myself a concussion when I was running.” He looks at me funny. “What?”

     “Did the Great Alpha come to you?” My face turns white. How did Jace know? “I woke up when you contacted me. Well, I thought you were contacting me. I looked around but couldn’t find or sense you anywhere. Then, I sensed his presence. I felt my former self talking to you. As you talked, I could tell something was wrong with you, so I ran into the woods to make sure you are ok.” I smile at him. “Sorry, I thought you were in danger or something.”

     “Just a tiny, severe concussion. Nothing I can’t beat.” Jace grins at my response. “Can you help me get home though. My brain is still fuzzy from the concussion.” He wraps my arm around his shoulder as his arm holds me up. He firmly places his hand on my hip. I love the feeling of his strong hand on my body, I love the scent he produces, and I love the determination within him to protect me. I know Jace will never hurt me in any way.