The Shewolf Alpha

Black and Blue - Part One

Caleb was looking at the deepest part of the river, it was really early in the morning, this was his favorite time of the day, he usually ends here after all his morning routine. Every morning he takes a run around the pack, checks that the ones that go to the city to work get into one of their buses in time, and then joins Frank and Alex to do a morning review of the perimeter. 

He walked to the gym, they had a training area as well as some gym equipment, wolves needed to burn a lot of energy daily, but also, they needed to train and stay strong. Alice entered the room after a few minutes, her long hair was braided in a french style and she looked tiny in her yoga pants and a loose shirt. 

- Alpha - she said half bowing her head 

- No, I am not your Alpha - he said smiling - you can call me Caleb unless you want to call me uncle

- Ok… Caleb - she said smiling

He saw her deep scars tense when she smiled, she was a beautiful girl, even with the marks she really looked like her mother, except for a few things here and there were Joe´s print. Caleb breathed deeply and only hoped that she also inherited a little force or agility from him. 

- You will become my equal, once you are a wolf we will equal Alice - he walked to a locker next to him - start seeing yourself as an Alpha, you can call me Caleb because we have the same rank, we know each other and we are allies. - He gave her a blindfold and put on the floor in front of her a foam brick. - Once you recover your pack and territory we will become stronger. 

- Caleb... please, be honest with me...Do you truly think that I can win? - asked Ali squeezing the fold 

- No - Caleb's hard answer made Ali´s stomach twitch - but we can make you have the best chance in doing it, and that is why we are here. Step on the brick and put that on.

Alice did what was instructed, she tried to put both feet on the narrow space, but she constantly had to put a foot down, even more, when she put the blind on, “you body will change greatly, we will have to train you harder after becoming a wolf, but, before that, you need to have a great control over your human body”. 

Ali fell down from the brick from a soft push of Caleb´s finger, she did not make a noise but she held her breath, her heartbeat speed up and she felt adrenaline all over her body, the normal reaction that she had since the first hit from Joe when she was 3 and the crying made it worst. 

“Breath deeply and steady” Caleb´s voice in front of her startled her “Like a wolf, I can hear your heart from the other side of the room “I scared you, you cannot show that in battle" Alice close her eyes inside the fold and pressed her hands against her ribcage to steady her body.

"Well done Ali, remember, you cannot control it, our animal side is stronger, your instinct will react quicker and more savage than a normal human, so the only exit is to harvest the feeling without letting it control you” Alice took lots of deep breaths until she felt her heart coming back to normal, “good, now, let's try again”...

After a few hours of training with Caleb, Natasha entered so her husband could go to some meetings. Natasha made Alice do yoga to stretch, strengthen and also help her control her body better. She felt tired and exhausted but better in some ways, all week was the same, she was feeling more able to control her body and she knew it was important but she still was not feeling any progress. 

- So... What does Caleb do? - asked Ali rolling her yoga mat 

- Business? - Naty pauses her water drink - Well, you know that keeping a pack requires money, your ancestors gave this land to us as their heritage, and the Hale clan use them to bread horses. 

- Where? - said Ali excited 

- Adjunct to this land we have a few estates with stables where we have a big name of giving pure blood stallions, all races winners - Naty´s face becomes bright with a huge smile - Your mom and I used to go every day to attend the horses, we manage the business and keep the buyers happy by giving them a ride for the kids. She was the funny one of us, so she usually convinced everyone and let them with a huge smile. 

Ali felt strange talking about her mom, the one Natasha described sounded so different from the one she had as a mother. 

- Did I said something wrong? 

- No - Naty´s worried voice change completely the light environment

- Can I ask you a favor? - Ali asked and Naty just noded in agreement - you sound so close to my mom, can you go and talk with her? 

Naty nodded again and let Alice walk alone out of the room. 

...

An hour later a smiling Nicole open the door to find Alice, she was looking for her, and all she had to do was close her eyes and let her wolf sniff the air to find her intoxicating fragrance. 

- How are you feeling? - asked Nicole laughing a little

- No-nonottt-co-co-cococool - Alice was shivering with cold, she was inside a bathtub full of ice, they wanted to boost her healing in order to help her, but these ice baths were not her favorite idea, suddenly a buzzer rang - Ahhh!!! - yelled Alice - Get me out of here!!! - Ali stood up and stumbled outside the tub. 

- hahahahahaha - Nicki laughs at the shivering little soaked doll in front of her, she wraps her on a fluffy towel and friction her arms and back - this is so over the top, they have someone expert in physical therapy and these machines that help you recover, this is definite a larger pack than ours. 

- ho-how is everyon-n-ne? - 

- They are good, some of them already found mates but the others really want to know what we are going to do 

- Do… - Ali took a step back from Nicki´s embrace - I am not even sure what I need to do, maybe they want to stay here, what if that is the correct answer? Just staying here…

- Ali, you have been changing your mind almost daily - 

- yeah, you are right - Ali looked away for a minute this week was just getting worst by the day and she almost felt sick from all the different emotions she was feeling

- Tell me what's wrong - Nicki demanded but Ali refuses to look at her and instead took off the towel 

Nicki gasped when she looked at her thin body in a bikini, Ali was covered in bruises but she also had a lot of marks from Joseph, she had never seen her like this before and now she knew the reason. 

A lot of the marks on her legs, arms, and abdomen were definitely clawed scratches and bites. A blind rage started to grow inside her. Those marks were definitely not recent, this was done to her when she was younger, and now all the long sleeves and hoodies make sense, she was hiding the marks. 

- The doctor gave me some tests today - she said covering herself up again - apparently, all of us have anemia, they needed my permission to give Bea some vitamins as my mother is still fragile, having terrible nightmares, and unable to make any decisions right now… but, Nicole, I also feel unable to make decisions, I am terrified, but somehow…

- what? 

- somehow… - she took Nicki´s hand in hers - I feel your strength as mine 

Nicki felt her blood pounding hard and strong against her veins, she saw some tears fall from Nicki´s eyes and she pushed her hard against her beating heart. She wanted to pass all her guts to her, healed her somehow, but she knew that she could only stay there and support her. The wounds that needed to be healed was not Nicki's responsibility and she knew that, as her Beta, she was a shoulder to lean on, not a knight in shining armor. 

She took Alice in her arms and carried her to her bed, Ali was so small that Nicki had no trouble in carrying her, she laid her on the bed and hugged her, she knew she needed to rest and cry, so for the rest of the afternoon, she let her do that in the privacy of their room. 

...

Monday morning, Alice preferred to catch Caleb before they entered the gym, she came to him while he was lost in his thoughts, but she did not startle him, he tensed up as soon as he caught her scent in the air. 

- It is quite early Caleb, why are you here? 

- As an Alpha, I like to wake up before anyone else, some of them do not live here full time, but the ones that do are even in more danger than the others

- Why? 

- Hate… - Caleb frown his eyebrows in anger - we have had a few cases of our pups being tormented at school and when they reach their teens the rage made them transform in the middle of the classrooms

- That happened to Nicole… - Caleb turned and looked at her with a clear question on his face - Joseph got angry at Bea, I cover her with my body and as she saw that he was going to hit us Nicki transformed and put her wolf between us

- That… - Caleb growled and he felt his skin itching as his instinct kicked in to transform him into a wolf, but Alice's sudden smirk made him forget everything - what? 

- It is funny that a father can choose not to recognize you, but you cannot do the same - Ali laugh bitterly and looked at Caleb to the eye - I cannot take my last name, my scars, or my blood away from him, I am forever tied to him

- That is not true - he said taking her by the shoulders - You are a Hale, your mother is a Hale, you can reject him, you can take our last name, your grandparent's last name… Alice, your father took you, Beatrice and Elyon away from me, but that does not mean that your are not my blood, my family. 

- I would love that - she put a small hand on Caleb´s big ones and smiled - Can we skip training today?, I need to talk something with you

- Sure, let's take a walk - he started to move in line with the river, Ali followed him and the morning rays were stealing orange and red reflections from the water. The black river started to swift into a deep blue color and the water sounded strong against the rocks. 

After a few minutes, he asked her - what is on your mind? 

- How do you know what is the right call for the pack? How can you be sure when choosing something? 

- I don´t - a deep breath after he continued - I don´t know if the elections that I made are the right ones, I just always try to think of the consequences that may come from me choosing something and how they can affect my pack, but I have definitely made some bad calls. 

He stopped at a black fence that led into a small part of the forest beside the most caudal part of the river and right before the barrier that separates the pack grounds from the exterior, Alice followed Caleb inside and he marched straight to a segment of the inside park. Two small trees were growing a few steps aside from each other, some bricks were protecting the stem and the delicate branches full of tiny leaves. Alice noticed the little metal plate that was in front of each tree, they had written: “Alpha Alec Hale” and “Luna Beatrice Hale-Cook” with two dates. 

- This is my parents, your grandparents that die of sadness some time ago, they would have really loved to get to know you, but... - Caleb´s eyes move to another tree that was tall and strong - but they couldn't stand losing another child. - Alice went to read the metal plate on that tree “Damien Hale” 

- What is this place? - 

- It is our cemetery - Alice flinched and looked at him with eyes wide open - we don´t believe in tombs, we believe in returning to nature so our ashes become soil to bring new life. 

- That is beautiful - said Alice in a whisper - who is he? 

- My twin brother Damien, he died when he was very young, right before we turned into wolves we had a big argument, he wanted us to battle for the Alpha title, our father wanted one of us to become Beta for the other one and my mother had the idea of us sharing the title, he was really upset, he took a motorcycle from a friend and crashed in the middle of the road. 

- I am so sorry - said Ali but Caleb kept talking

- They lost a child and maybe their Alpha, and then, Ely went away and we never saw her again… It is all my fault…

- Why? - Ali had a tight knot on her throat, Caleb´s eyes were full of pain - None of that sounds like it was your fault

- I am the one who offer to bow to my brother as Beta, I told him that I did not wanted to hurt him, he took it as an insult, like I was assuming that I could defeat him - Caleb extended a hand and touch the tree - last words he yelled at me were: “I rather die than to live in your shadow”...

Alice came close to the tree and put her hand on the rough wood, she could almost feel warmth coming out of it, she knew that plants were living creatures, but this one felt different like it was more full of life somehow. 

- My parents were devastated, we mourned my brother for a really long time, and my mother leaned on my sister real hard. When Naty appeared she adopted her as another daughter, but not even her could help heal her broken heart. 

- And then my mom left...

- No, he stole her from us... - he said with rage - I didn't like Joseph, I should've insisted harder, I let her go, as her Alpha I could´ve forced them to stay to know him, but she decided to took him, my mom was crying and my dad was going insane, they didn't want to let her go, she even joked that we would see each other again, and… they did not see her again, I waited almost two decades to see her again.

- I didn't even know about you or that this pack or they existed but, - Alice started to walk between the trees, all of them had a metal plate, there were so many different names and dates in them, some trees were bigger and older, and some looked young - but Caleb, it was your twin´s decision to ran away that day and it was my mother´s call to go with him. 

- Ali, once you become a leader you cannot run away from things like this, I am guilty because I did nothing to stop them. I lost them both… We tried to talk to Ely several times, Joseph always denied us to see her, to talk with her over the phone, or even to know how she was. 

- But… What happened to my grandparents?... That cannot be your fault, it was Joseph´s and my mom´s fault.

Caleb´s eyes tore up as he tried to control his emotions, he looked at Alice fiercely and made her spine chill in respect and fear, his eyes were pitch black, he looked more like a wolf than a man.

- Joseph took everything from me the year you were born.