The Alpha Female

Episode 2

She wanted to have a social life like everyone else. Maybe she would even be lucky enough one day to find love, find that prince charming who would be willing to become a werewolf just to be hers. Papa had been that lucky, hadn't he? He had found Mama, and they had fallen in love right away, at least that was how they told the story. She was a Japanese immigrant living in Denver who had met a young handsome man with purely black ancestry in high school. They had fallen in love but it didn't take long for Mama to find that her prince charming wasn't purely human. Mama had agreed to marry him anyway and had become just like him after their first s****l intercourse as a couple.

He didn't need to bite her as the hilarious stories about werewolves were told. Carla laughed hard every time she read them, they often said the dumbest things. People told many stories about werewolves that got her falling over in laughter, they didn't know a thing about life for her and her pack.

She thought again about Mama and Papa and how they had lived happily and in love ever since. But how was she ever going to find love if she had a hard time relating with the other teenagers? She was afraid that she would growl at someone in anger, or tear up her food in the cafeteria like she was tearing up some fresh animal carcass.

She didn't want that, it would only expose her and her family. The humans would find out immediately that she was a werewolf.

If it ever happened, her family would be in great danger. Rumors carried it that there were men everywhere looking for the last species of werewolves. Carla didn't know what they needed them for, but she was as certain as ever that it was for no good. She couldn't let anyone at school know she was a werewolf. They'd not just call her a weirdo but a monster, the kids would shriek in fear and she'd be captured, tied with hands and feet, and put in a cage.

She had seen that happen before, with a boy in her class. His name was Cole. They were both in junior high school together, and only two of them had known they were werewolves. He, just like her, had come out of the busy town because he wanted to keep in touch with his humanity. Carla still couldn't figure out how any other person had come to find the truth about Cole, but someone had, and that someone had had him reported. He was tied to his hands and feet and carried away in a cage like something worse than an animal. She could never forget his pitiful green eyes as they stared at her from behind those rusty iron bars. They were shimmering with tears, and so were hers. She never saw him again.

The school said the werewolves were dangerous and could kill humans when they were transformed, but Carla knew the people who took Cole didn't do it to keep the town safe, they did it to enrich their pockets.

She soon got to school, it was already a bright morning. Students trooped in in numbers, each one carrying his backpack. Their backpacks told of their different personalities and even told of their social status. Not like they had filthy rich kids at her school, Carla, however, knew that some of the students were richer than others.

Carla was no longer covered up in fur but in soft caramel skin with dark kinky hair which she had neatly plaited into six cornrows. Everything was perfect, from her hair to her school uniforms and her white sparkly pair of socks. No one would guess she wasn't purely human except, of course, if she told them herself or did something by impulse to expose the truth. So here she was again, on another bright morning, walking on eggshells, afraid to be exposed, unable to be herself and relate with others, timid.

"Hey, noodle head! I see you have cornrows on today."

Carla knew she was being referred to but she didn't turn around. Instead, she doubled up her steps and walked as fast as she could. She knew who they were, they were her torturers and they were at it again. It was barely two minutes after she had entered the school premises, yet she couldn't have her peace. What in God's name did they want this time?!

"Hey!" Sheila grabbed her backpack. She was the tallest and toughest girl amongst the bullies, the leader of the gang. She was so fierce, no one in or outside the gang dared stand against her.

"Why are you in such a rush Carla?" Sheila looked at her with mocking eyes, "you've been in a mad rush lately. What are you afraid of?"

Her words stung with a malicious undertone, like a Viper's bite, but Carla said nothing. Better to ignore her and seem weak than go overboard and get in trouble. Other kids wouldn't stop staring at them. Carla hated the attention all this was bringing. Sheila shoved her again, eyes burning with mischief, she mocked her eyes and kinky hair. She soon called her name, which no one deserved to be called.

"Today, after school, you'll be toast," Sheila said to Carla. Carla could tell Sheila was in a full mood for trouble but was at least grateful she was being left alone even if it was only for a while. She could now breathe, all she had to worry about was how to hide away from them at the end of school hours or she would have to face the music.

***********

Emma got up not long after she suspected Carla to have left the cave house, their home, which was a mixture of both worlds. Basking in the beautiful morning sun, she stretched her body, allowing the chilled wind to blow across her thick gray fur. It would soon be time, and then they'd be back to walking around on two legs like every other human being out there, at least until midnight, except for Carla. If she was to ever lose her temper at school, she would be exposed. She could not understand why Carla preferred to take the risk anyway. For Emma, the town was nothing but a center of chaos. She and Hudson had preferred the quietness of the mountains. They had seen and experienced much of the human side of life and Emma had concluded that it was all an endless and futile race in circles. People were more after money, prestige, fame, power, recognition, and even more money. The true meaning of family and friendship, solidarity and unity had been trampled upon and the world had become a circus with everyone seeking only his best interest.