Alpha Cain

Chapter five - Leila

Chapter five - Leila

I grip my mum's hand as she walks me into the classroom on the first day of school.

"Don't go Mummy." I whisper as she pulls her hand from mine.

"I love you sweet pea and I'll be back soon." She kisses my forehead and smiles down at me. My eyes burn with tears when the teacher, who's name I can't remember, puts her hand on my shoulder and guides me towards a group of girls playing with dolls.

I don't like dolls, but I don't tell her this. Instead, I sink down on the carpet, hugging the one she gave me to my chest and hoping my mum will come and get me soon.

A boy trips over my foot while racing against another one and lands in front of me. His golden brown eyes are filled with such mischief that I knew instantly I wanted him as my friend.

"Sorry." He grins at me, displaying a large gap where his tooth should be. "You wanna race?"

"Yeah." I drop the doll on the floor, following him over to the colourful rainbow lines on the floor and standing on the green one.

"I'm always green." The boy frowns at me, crossing his arms across his chest and waiting for me to move.

"You should be orange, like your hair." His friend stands beside him, mimicking his position and I see red, shoving the friend with such force that he falls onto his bottom.

"You be orange." I tell him, my bottom lip stuck out in an angry pout, when I turn back to the brown eyed boy, he's smiling at me.

"You can be green. I'll be yellow, so we're always next to each other, like best friends." He offers his hand out to shake, like my dad does with his friends and I laugh, because no one's ever shaken my hand before.

"I thought I was your best friend." The other boy whines, glaring at me and I feel a wave of possessiveness rush through me for the brown eyed boy.

He's mine and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.

Luckily, he's ready with a solution that seems to work for everyone.

"You're my best boy friend, she's my best girl friend. You're orange." He points to the orange line and the other boy dutifully stands on the other side of him. "Ready, steady, go."

He starts running as soon as he shouts go, his tiny legs propelling him forward as fast as he can.

I don't think about anything but catching him, my own stubbornness refusing to let him beat me means by the time we reach the other side, I'm sprinting side by side with him.

"Snack time everyone." The teacher calls out and I follow the brown eyed boy and his friend to a table to sit down, while the teacher gives us each a plastic glass of milk and a plate full of fruit.

The brown eyed boy nudges me hard in my side and I open my mouth to tell him off, when he pushes something in my hand and then puts his finger to his lips to tell me to keep it a secret.

Peeking into my hand under the table, I see two small cubes of chocolate and gasp, looking at him to see he's chewing, but his fruit's still on his plate.

He's shared his chocolate with me!

In that one generous act, he's solidified our friendship and I plan to sneak some of my Grandmother's cookies in my pocket tomorrow to repay him.

"What do you want to do now?" He asks me when we're allowed to leave the table for outside play time and my eyes widen at the sight of the bright red climbing frame with the flag flying at the top.

Instead of speaking, my hand raises, pointing to it and his gaze follows.

"Good idea. Race you to the top." He's off again, with me and his other friend running after him.

He beats us to the bottom, which is only because he cheated and ran off first, but I love climbing, my dad says I'm part monkey. As soon as I hit the bottom rung of the climbing frame, I fly past him, making it to the top first. Instead of being mad that I beat him, he high fives me and asks what I want to do next.

The three of us spend the day exploring the playground and the classroom, sitting together for lunch and the few small bits of lessons we have.

"Hiya sweet pea did you have a good day?" When I look up, both my parents are there with proud smiles on their faces. I grab the boy's hand and drag him over.

"Mummy, daddy, this is my best friend." I tell them.

"Hello, nice to meet you." The brown eyed boy offers my dad his hand, making my parents smile, but dad shakes his hand and says hello, then tells me it's time to go.

The brown eyed boy seems reluctant to let my hand go, but I promise I'll be back tomorrow and he gives me a hug, before going back to his other friend, watching me until I'm out of sight.

"What's your friend's name, sweet pea?" My mum asks and I shrug.

"I didn't ask, but I beat him to the top of the climbing frame." I announce proudly and they laugh.

"Good for you. Now, what do you want for dinner?" I walk back home with a hand holding each of my parents hands, swinging between them to leap over puddles, sticks and imaginary things too.

We get to the house and two smaller children waddle towards my parents, an older lady runs towards me and scoops me into her arms, pressing kisses to my face.

"Tell us all about your first day at school pumpkin." She carries me into a room, where another lady and two men are waiting, all of them smiling at me with warmth and love in their eyes.

~*~

I wake up feeling safe and loved, then I'm hit with the sudden loss as if it's real and an ache starts low in my stomach.

It's getting worse, now I'm constructing an entire family in my dreams.

Light is peeking around the curtains of the room, but the house is quiet, telling me everyone is still asleep. When I check my phone, it tells me it's only half seven and I don't anticipate them being up for hours yet, giving me ample time to go for a run and rid myself of the sadness left over from my dream.

Dressing quickly, I step outside and breathe in the fresh air. The birds sing as they hop from branch to brach nearby and I tell myself that I'm being ridiculous for missing something I've never had.

The sun warms my back as I start to run, automatically following the path I took yesterday up to the beautiful moorland, where the livestock is already grazing, barely lifting their heads to look at me as I jog past.

The tor I climbed yesterday comes into view and suddenly I start to feel nervous, as though something is watching me but all I can see are the ponies off to my right, none of them looking my way.

"Stop being stupid." I tell myself, but I speed up as I pass it anyway, looking around for any signs of whatever it was that I saw yesterday.

When I can't shake the feeling of being watched, I give in, turning around and starting towards the house.

I don't know what makes me look towards the tor again, maybe to confirm there isn't anything there, but I see the creature, his dark brown fur moving in the breeze and his dark brown eyes fixed on me.

I'm frozen to the spot until the creature snarls, spooking the ponies who start to run, the stallion rearing up and whinnying at the creature to distract the beast from his family and take his attention off of me for a fraction of a second.

It's enough to set me off and with a speed I didn't know I possess, I flee from the creature, my legs burning as I sprint back along the road, not daring to look back because I can hear it's ragged breathing as it chases me.

I'm going to die! Help, Coal!

I don't have time to think about how ludicrous calling out for the figment of my imagination is, because all I'm focused on is the house in the distance, the road that weaves its way towards it and the creature chasing me down.

Against Ollie's instruction and acting purely on instinct, I cut across the moorland, leaping over a stream and forcing my tired muscles to continue the brutal pace up the hill.

Miraculously, I throw myself through the front door before it manages to get to me. I scream for helo as I lock it behind me and hurry to the window. The creature pauses outside, looking directly at me before turning and running away as soon as my friends come barreling into the room.

"What's going on?" Damien asks, a cricket bat held above his head as he looks around.

My legs give out and I fall to the floor, shaking from the adrenaline and exhaustion of being chased home.

"I saw the thing again. The wolf I saw yesterday, although now I think it's some sort of wolf, bear hybrid because it's enormous." I pant, gesturing to the front door as though it's still there. "It chased me home. I don't know who we're meant to ring. The police or something. It's dangerous."

"There's no wolves or bears or anything in this country, Lei." Ollie says gently. My fear must be convincing though, because he's looking out of the window. "There's nothing out there."

"Here, drink this." Emery passes me a cup and I can smell the sweet tea inside. "Why don't you go and get a shower. Ollie will call the police or whoever it is and tell them there's a dangerous animal out there that chased you."

"Right, ok." I nod, trying and failing to stand on shaky legs.

"Hey, it's ok, you're safe now." Damien pulls me up, letting me lean on him and Gale until I'm stable enough to stand. He laughs softly, trying to ease my anxiety. "I guess you won't be running around here again."

"No way, not until they find whatever it is. I thought I was going to be it's breakfast." I force a laugh and pull my hands away from them both. "Thank you, I'll be down soon."

"I'll start cooking breakfast." I hear Ollie call out and then the TV turns on.

The warm water eases my strained muscles and I'm disappointed that I don't feel safe enough to run here again, because I was really enjoying the surroundings.

Hopefully they'll catch the creature before it hurts anyone else!

I can hear my friends laughing and talking as I get dressed, but as soon as I walk down the stairs, I come face to face with a handsome stranger, staring at me with his mouth open as though he knows me.

"Leila, this is Darius Coombs, he lives nearby and it was his dog, Yogi, that chased you this morning." Ollie says, scratching the large brown head of the dog who must be Yogi.

"I'm very sorry for the fright, he can be overly friendly and I'm afraid that someone left the gate open so he got out." The man, Darius Coombs, offers me his hand, and I glance at my friends, then the dog, who takes one look at me then launches himself at me like I'm an old friend.

There's absolutely no menace or aggression in him whatsoever and even if there had been, he's only half the size of the creature that chased me.

Darius doesn't attempt to restrain the dog as it throws itself at me over and over, rubbing its body against me and licking my hands, he just stares as though he can't believe what he's seeing.

"Right, calm down boy, sit down a minute would you, you big fluff ball." My friends laugh as I try reasoning with the dog who is clearly very affectionate. He sits on my feet, his body pressed firmly against my legs and I stroke his head to try to keep him from jumping all over me again.

"Darius came over to apologise for scaring you, apparently someone was out walking and spotted you running away." Gale explains and I can see the excitement and interest in the man shining in her eyes as she speaks.

"Yes, I'm sorry again. They caught Yogi and called me to come get him, but said they hadn't managed to catch you before you came inside. I'll make sure he doesn't get out again." Darius adds with a friendly smile. "Your friends told me you mistook him for a wolf, but I promise you, there are no wolves around here."

"Thank you, but it wasn't Yogi that chased me this morning. It was something much bigger and more aggressive." The man's jaw clenches quickly, his eyes narrowing as he stares at me.

Pretending I don't notice his irritation, I bend over, ruffling the fur on the top of the dog's head.

"He's a beautiful dog though, aren't you, boy?" The dog's tail slaps against the floor and I feel the man step closer to me, his eyes boring into the top of my head as though he's trying to see my thoughts.

"What are you doing?" He hisses under his breath like he knows me. "Where have you been?"

"Excuse me?" I stand up to face him and I know my face is the picture of confusion.

He frowns, the intensity in his stormy grey eyes growing as we face one another, until he looks at my hand ruffling the dogs hair.

"Leila, right?" I nod and his frown gets deeper. "Ok, Leila. Forget the fact that wolves don't exist in the wild in this country. They can run up to sixty miles per hour after their prey. Do you think you could outrun a wolf if it was chasing you?" He doesn't wait for me to answer before tapping his leg so the dog returns to his side. "Yogi here tops out around twelve. Downhill, with a good wind behind him. I don't mean to be rude. I'm sure if you're not used to dogs and with his jowls flying everywhere he could look quite fierce."

"It wasn't him." I tell him, feeling more and more annoyed with this arrogant stranger.

"Perhaps it is the renowned Beast of Dartmoor that chased you then." He rolls his eyes and turns to leave, before tugging at my collar. "You have an interesting scar here."

"And you clearly have no boundaries." I tug my t-shirt from his grasp, glaring at him.

"How did you come by it?" He asks, unperturbed by my anger towards him.

"That's absolutely none of your business." I snap, looking at my friends for help, Gale gives me a reassuring smile, jumping up beside me and I'm grateful for her interference until she opens her mouth.

"So, Darius, we're looking to go out clubbing tonight. Where's good?" She gives him a dazzling smile, which he returns.

"Gale, wasn't it?" He drawls her name out seductively and I can almost hear her internally screaming in excitement as she wraps her hands around my arm. "You should try Jericho's. Tell them Darius sent you and you'll get fifty percent off drinks all night."

"Will you be going out tonight?" She chews on her bottom lip, toying with her hair and I'm appalled to know she's flirting with this i***t.

He meets my gaze briefly before looking at her and the smile he gives her is full of promise.

"Sure, that sounds like fun. Let me get Yogi home before he gets mistaken for the Abominable Snowman." He winks at me and I glare back, but Gale is already walking with him to the door, making plans to meet with him this evening.

"Why did you invite him out with us?" I ask her when she gets back.

"Uh… because he's fit, obviously." She looks at me as though the answer is obvious, before wiggling her finger towards me. "Plus, I think he likes you. Did you notice how he was teasing you?"

"Did you notice how overfamiliar he was? Who asks personal questions about someone when they first meet them?" I throw my hands up in the air and look at my other friends for support.

"You totally fancy him." Gale squeals and I have no idea where she's got that idea from. "I've never seen you react like that to a guy before. I bet you by the end of tonight you'll have your tongue down his throat."

"You're insane." I shake my head, walking away from her and dropping down on the sofa next to Ollie. "You're insane and he's a liar. I could see on his face that he knows it wasn't his dog that chased me."

"He might not even turn up." Ollie nudges his shoulder into mine.

"Doesn't matter to me either way." I look pointedly at Gale who's muttering about how attractive the guy is. "Ok, look, I don't want to argue or spoil the holiday. But I swear I'm not interested in the guy, so if you are, which you look like you are, go for it."

"I just might do that." She giggles, flopping down in the chair.

"Do you lot want to go to the beach today? Or maybe stay here and swim?" Ollie wraps his arm around my shoulder and hugs me close.

"Beach." Emery jumps up and runs to her room to get ready.

"I guess we're going to the beach then." He grins. "We can get fish and chips for lunch too, there's the best place near the coast."

After a quick change, we climb into Ollie's car and drive to the beach, as we go across the Moors, I keep a lookout for the creature that chased me, but there's no sign of it anywhere.

It wasn't Yogi, I know it wasn't.