Alpha's Wish

Stories and Facts

(Steven)

Something about Zephra's story hit on a memory that I had. I think it was a story our mother had told me back when we were little. There had been an Alpha and a Luna who had been troubled by an evil witch. They had to send their infant daughter away, and she was never seen again. I couldn't remember the whole story, so I needed to go talk to my mother. I know many of the tales that they told us as pups were to scare us into being good, but this one, for some reason, seemed different.

As I got to my mom and dad's house, I saw the little rose garden my mother planted. She was so proud of the many different colors of roses. She was sitting on a cushion tending to them as always.

"Hey, mom." I called to her as I walked up. She turned and stood coming to hug me.

"Hey Steven. How are you? I don't get to see you much anymore. You are always so busy with your work for the Alpha." She seemed a little sad. I didn't come to see them as much as I should. There was just so much to do with a pack as large as ours.

"I know, mom, and I am sorry. It is just a lot to get done." Hugging her tight, I loved to feel the warmth she put into every hug she gave me.

"How is your brother? Riley doesn't come to see us either." She had a look of frustration on her face. We really did need to be better sons. They weren't getting any younger, and I know how much Alex missed his parents. I don't want to miss too much time with them.

"He is good. Being Beta has been kinda a strain on him. He has a lot more to do than I do. How are you and Pop doing?" We were walking towards the little bench my father had built for her to come and sit to watch her roses. He really was a good craftsman.

"Oh, you know us. I'm just getting older." That was always her way of deflecting away from something that was going on.

I c****d my head to the side as we sat down. It was my way of asking the question without actually voicing it, and she usually would tell me. She looked at the ground and then back to her roses.

"Your father is just so restless. He wants to be doing the job he had for so many years. He seemed to feel like no one needs him anymore. I just wish he could retire gracefully." She was so much in love with dad and had always done everything to make sure all of the family needs were met. She did everything to make my father happy, and now she was at a loss as to what to do for him.

"I know, mom. Maybe there is something he can help me with. First, I need to talk to you, though." she turned and looked at me with her full attention.

"Do you remember the tale you told us as pups about an Alpha and Luna that had sent their infant daughter away because of an evil witch?" Her face pinched as she tried to remember. I could see in her eyes as the story started to come back to her.

"Yes, I do. Why are you asking about that one?" she looked a little worried.

I relayed the whole story of Zephra to her and how she had come to the packlands last night. My mother seemed very concerned for this girl.

"That poor thing. She has had a hard time of it. What makes you think of this story when you are talking about this girl?" I hadn't told her about what the doctor had told us about her blood. I wasn't sure Alex wanted anyone to know about that just yet.

"I don't know, just something made me think of this. What can you tell me about this story? Where did you hear it?" It was sheer hope that Zephra was the infant that was taken from the Alpha and Luna. But if it was just a story, then there was no hope.

"Well, I had heard about it from my cousin in the Silver Creek pack. She had been there the day the omega had come into the pack and asked to stay with an infant that they were sure wasn't hers. After a couple of days, the Alpha of the pack had come to the omega and taken the child. They never saw the omega or the child again. Then soldiers came asking about the omega and infant from another pack and were told they had never been there. She had said that there was a witch, the Alpha of Silver Creek, called an oracle, but the whole pack knew she was just an evil witch. She played on the fear of the Alpha, and he was never going to find his Luna. After the child and omega disappeared, so did the witch." So this was just a story. Silver Creek had been wiped out by a strange disease that had decimated the whole pack. The Alpha and Luna of that pack were the ones to rebuild and called it River Moon. Our pack stood today.

" So it was just a story then. There is no way that Alpha Bently would have done something like that. He was a good and loving Alpha. " I was a little disappointed.

"You were not alive back in the Silver Creek years. Alpha Bently was harsh and mean. Only when his Luna Beverly came into the picture did he start to soften. He only cared about making Silver Creek the biggest pack, not about its members. After the plague that wiped out many of the packs, we always believed that the Luna had made a deal with the Moon Goddess to allow the pack to rebuild." Well, that did sound like it might be something to follow up on.

"Do you remember the pack that the soldiers came from to look for the omega and the infant?" She looked back at the roses, trying to remember, but shook her head.

"That's OK, mom. I need to talk to dad. Is he inside?" I gave her a big hug and kissed her cheek

"Yes, in his same chair." She sounded frustrated. I was hoping I could help them and myself.

I walked inside the house. It still looked and smelled the same. Like mom had been baking apple pies. My father was in the living room in the lounge recliner we had bought him for Christmas three years ago. He had loved it, and that was his favorite perch.

"Hey, dad." I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Riley. What brings you here?" He sounded depressed. There was no spark in his eyes, and his face looked older somehow.

"I came to ask a favor. Do you still have any connections with that rouge unit you used to get information out of?" His face perked up a bit, and he smiled a knowing smile.

"Yes, I do. What is it that you need?" he was sitting up a little straighter, and I could see a glimmer in his eyes.

"Well, a group of rogues came into the packland last night chasing a young girl. They were bound and determined to kill her, but we stopped them. I was wondering if you could get in touch with your contact and try to find out who they were working for?" He rubbed his hands together and gave me his best smile.

"You got it, son. I will ferret out the information. Give me a couple of days." I stood and nodded my head.

"Thanks dad, this is going to help us out a great deal." He nodded at me and stood up. He was headed into his office. I think he will be better now.

I left the house and told mom that I had given dad a job to do, and he seemed to be happy.She hugged me and handed me a bundle of the roses she had cut. She told me to give them to the girl that was being chased. She hoped it would brighten her day. I was sure it would. How could it not? My mom's roses always put a smile on everybody's face.