Creating The Perfect Alpha

Chapter 6

I stared up through the tree crowns at the blue sky above me. I let the wind glide over my skin, yet I barely felt the chill.

Are you okay? the wolf asked me.

“Do you really need to ask?”

I... don’t know what else to do. You have been so quiet since realizing this.

“It’s just... not possible. I can’t be this... Sofia!” I hissed. “I’m... I’m Aurora!”

You’re still her, you just...

“Look and sound different?” I snapped.

Yeah...

“Goddess, I’m even a different status!” I growled.

What were you before?

“I was a luna,” I whispered.

Wait... a luna... Luna Aurora?

“Yeah, you recognize me?”

A pause followed.

No.

Her reply was confusing. How could she ask about me and then say she didn’t know anything about me?

“Why did you say no like that?”

She didn’t respond.

“Hey, I’m speaking to you.”

You certainly have some luna qualities left in you.

I sighed again. Her words hit hard.

“I wish...” I fell back against the tree again.

What do you mean?

“There wasn’t much luna about me... my wolf can attest to that. s**t, where is she even?”

I don’t know.

“Well, where is this Sofia?”

Most likely dead.

“Are you saying my wolf is too? That you and I were somehow... combined?”

I... guess, she replied.

I groaned.

“Do you know anything?”

Not... really. I’m just somebody’s wolf.

“And clearly not a very strong one.”

She whimpered and slipped further into my mind. I instantly felt guilty. I hadn’t meant to let my anger hurt her.

“Sorry,” I called. “Don’t go. I... don’t want to be alone right now.”

Slowly, she moved back, becoming more present in my mind.

“I just don’t... understand how this is possible.”

Well, what is the last thing you remember?

Her words instantly triggered the memory of that day—the day Darren had thrown me into the cell, my sister coming in the night to free me, and then...

“Somebody shot me,” I whispered.

Shot you?

“Yeah, or I’m pretty certain somebody did.”

Why?

“I... don’t know,” I admitted.

Do you know who did it?

I remembered the image of two pairs of boots in front of me, but there was nothing else.

“No...”

Do you have a lot of enemies?

“Enemies?” Could I call them that? “Not really, but I don’t have a lot of allies either.”

How come? You were a luna.

“Not a very liked one.”

What is that supposed to mean?

“It means when my mate turned against me, so did the pack.”

Why would your mate do that?

I had so many answers to that question, but none of them really brought any satisfaction, just more pain.

“It doesn’t matter,” I whispered.

I could sense my new wolf’s interest. But this was still so weird. I was connected to a complete stranger. We grew up learning how precious our other side was, but I didn’t know this wolf.

“What the f**k am I going to do?” I murmured, not really asking anyone.

You can eat a little.

I stared down at the food in my hand, but I threw it away in anger.

“And how is that going to help me? Huh?”

She whimpered, once again disappearing into my mind. No wonder this Sofia hadn’t held a very high position in the pack if her wolf was like this. My sister was an omega too, but that didn’t stop her from owning every place she walked into. Yet as I contemplated the person I was now, I came to think of something.

“Hey,” I called.

The wolf came back to me. Yeah?

“How come Sofia doesn’t hold a high position if the alpha she is mated to is the one leading this place, and he is not abusive?”

He isn’t the one leading it.

“What?”

His father is still in power until his younger brother is ready to take over.

“Hold on,” I said, holding up my hands. “There are two sons?”

Yes.

“And we are mated to the oldest?”

Yes.

“Who is how old?”

Twenty-six.

“And we are?”

Twenty-three.

Only a year younger than my original body.

“And the brother?”

Twenty.

“But why is the younger brother next in line? It’s always the oldest, and with how old the one we are mated to is, he should be the one in charge by now, mostly to ensure the pack is used to his leadership, used to following his orders!” I exclaimed.

Yes... that would be the way.

The way she hesitated told me she was hiding something.

“What’s going on?” I inquired.

We should head inside.

“Why?”

Well, it’s the routine. We stay with him for the rest of the day in hopes of...

I already knew where she was headed. The pack expected heirs too. They needed us to... start getting busy, so to speak.

“How long have we been mated?”

Almost a year.

“And omegas can bring forth a heat if they want to, right?”

The wolf nodded.

“And no children?”

No.

“How come?”

Again... let’s go inside.

“How is going inside going to answer anything?”

Because once you meet him, you will understand.

Her cryptic reply made me extremely curious. She claimed he wasn’t abusive and that he wasn’t next in line for the alpha position, but this Sofia... she had tried to end her life.

What was she trying to escape exactly? I had to figure this out, and then... then what? Could it tell me how to return to my old life? But another question arose: did I want to?

Falling deeper into my thoughts, I began seeing this from a new perspective. My sister had helped me escape precisely to give me the chance at a new life, one away from Darren, away from expectations and the pain everyone had inflicted on me. She knew my family wouldn’t accept me back.

Where would I even have gone? Suddenly, I felt like an i***t, but now I was here, in a new body, in a new life. No one knew Sofia had tried to kill herself or that I had somehow become her. But maybe I could become her. I had said I wanted to switch places with my sister. Now I was an omega, in control of my own fate.

I stared down at my hands. They were so small and feminine. I curled them into fists, for the first time in a long while feeling powerful despite my new status.

What’s going on with you? my new wolf asked.

“What should I call you?” I inquired, surprising her with the sudden shift.

Um, we are called the same as our host.

“Yeah, but you and I aren’t the same.”

She whimpered.

“I didn’t mean that as a bad thing.”

I pushed away from the tree and began walking back toward the house.

I... don’t know then.

“Sofia. I’m going to call you Sofia, in honor of your old host.”

What do I call you then?

“Aurora, of course.”

I could sense her contemplating it, even making humming sounds.

A bit strange, but all right.

Feeling a smile spread across my lips, I continued toward the house.

You suddenly seem quite... happy.

“I feel lighter,” I admitted.

Why?

“Because I realized I can’t change what has happened, so why not just roll with it?”

That was awfully fast.

I didn’t tell her the whole emotional journey I had just gone on. Instead, I stepped inside again and asked, “Where to?”

Hmm, he would probably be in the workroom.

“Workroom?”

Yes.

“What does he work on?”

Different small crafts. He is quite creative. He would probably have made an excellent architect.

Is she serious? I wondered. Creative wasn’t exactly a trait I ever associated with alphas.

“Okay, which way?”

This way.

She began guiding me, leading me away from the living room and into the hallway. We walked down a long corridor, passing a few pack members. They barely glanced at me, acting as if I were air. It felt kind of strange. Omegas usually turned heads.

What exactly had made Sofia fall so far from grace? I had a sense I was about to find out. Moving to the far end of the right side of the house, we stopped in front of a large door. I could hear noises coming from the other side.

He is there.

“Do I knock?”

Yes, just knock.

I raised my hand and knocked on the door.

“Yes?” a voice called.

For a second, I froze. The undertones of that voice sent a strange tingle through me. I quickly shook the sensation off and opened the door carefully. I poked my head inside, instantly hit by so many smells, but one was overwhelming: wood.

Stepping in, I noticed shelves filled with carved wooden figures and objects hanging from the ceiling. Other shelves held long rows of books. The room had large windows spilling sunlight across the space.

“Morning.”

I turned my head, my eyes landing on a sight that instantly confused me. In front of me stood an alpha leaning over a table, his gaze fixed on me... through a pair of glasses.

That couldn’t be, I thought. I didn’t believe any wolf in history had ever worn or needed glasses. My eyes slowly traveled down the alpha’s body. Lean... too lean to be an alpha.

As he straightened, I noticed he still had height—a lot of it, in fact—but it didn’t help because of his leanness.

Is he starved? I asked Sofia.

No.

Then why does he look like that?

Um... that’s kind of why I needed you to see him yourself.

That’s not an alpha!

He is...

But I was absolutely certain he couldn’t be. Nothing about him screamed alpha. I wouldn’t even have noticed if Sofia hadn’t been so adamant about it. Slowly, a nervous smile spread across his lips. Did I make him nervous?

“Have you eaten?” he asked.

He sounded so... careful.

“Um... no. I’m not hungry.”

“You skipped dinner too,” he said.

“I will... eat later.”

I stepped closer, seeing him nod before leaning back over his drawing. Curious, I kept moving closer, seeing his eyes slide to the side as he watched me.

Was he scared of me?

I looked down at the drawing, seeing the measurements.

“What are you making?”

Don’t ask that! Sofia yelled.

Why not?

You never ask!

I saw the alpha turn his head, blinking in deep confusion. Seeing those glasses on him... they made him look ridiculous!

“You’re... interested in my work?” he asked.

The deep confusion, the way he asked me—I understood now what Sofia had meant. The former Sofia had clearly never shown any interest in what her mate was doing. How had these two even ended up together?

It was arranged, Sofia quickly pointed out.

Clearly, I replied.

“Sure,” I said. “What are you making?”

Sofia rolled her eyes inside me, but what was the harm in asking? If I were to live this new life of mine, why not get to know my new mate too?

“Um...” He looked nervous again, tapping a pen against the drawing, then shrugged. “A birdhouse.”

“A birdhouse?”

Had I really heard correctly?

“Yeah, with spring comes a lot of new eggs. It’s important they have a good place to raise their young.”

Spring? Did he say spring?

“You mean summer.”

He frowned, looking even more confused. “No, it’s spring.”

Spring... that couldn’t be! It was summer!

“No,” I said.

“Yeah?” he replied, making it sound like a question.

Turning around, I stared out the large windows. I walked over to one of them, really taking a look outside, staring at the way the trees were in bloom, the grass somehow freshly green, as if it had only recently changed from surviving winter to embracing the warmth.

This wasn’t right!

“Sofia?”

I turned to look over my shoulder, seeing what appeared to be almost a boy staring at me with a confused look in his eyes. But I could barely focus on how little of an alpha this alpha was. Everything began spinning around me. Things weren’t adding up. There were too many loose ends.

“Sorry, I...”

I didn’t explain myself. I stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

Wait, wait, where are you going?

I didn’t reply. I ran back upstairs, found the room I had woken up in, and slammed the door shut. Leaning against it, I slowly slid to the ground.

What’s going on?

“Spring... it’s spring!” I yelled.

So? Sofia asked.

“Y-You don’t understand.”

Then explain it to me.

I shook my head.

Yes, please, talk to me. I’m the only one who can understand, after all.

She had a point, but that didn’t make this any easier.

“Sofia...”

Yeah?

“I... died in the summer.”