Tournament of Alphas

Chapter 8 *ONE*

I'm sprinting through the woods but I know my feet aren't carrying me anywhere. I'm running in circles, trembling with each step as twigs snap like bones. The ground beneath me is a blur of shaded reds. The trees held no colour they were only sharp and dead looking, painted black by the artist of my nightmares.

I felt gravity pull me back as I ran forward. Branches twisted and pointed me in all sorts of directions confusing me until I fell, defeated in this world.

What evil possessed my dreams? Why were they out of my control? I was trained, I was raised... I was born to be in control...

Wasn't I?

I was bent at the mercy of my dream and the master. The Alpha that haunted me in this realm. 

My knees and palms pressed against the ground, land soaked in red I could have mistaken it as blood.

Suddenly in the air, it lingered. That scent. Then another and one so familiar I could cry.

"Please... home, take me home... where is it?"

I couldn't find home. I couldn't. I was not yet awakened. The missing part of me laid dormant and needed to be stirred to finally connect to my being. To be fused to my soul permanently - I would be complete. One whole.

Home. Home...

Help me find home. My mate. My Alpha.

No, the 'spiritual being' would not choose. Who was that spiritual being? No! I was raised to believe only in the survival instinct.

The predatory behaviour that burns within us. We are practical, not spiritual...

The essences gathered around me in a whirlwind that confuses my senses. The hen of my dress lifted until I was bare.

Slick and camouflaged against the trees, the figures circled me like prey as their eyes stole the fragments of my soul away with their howls.

They circled me, their body close to the ground like our wolf counterparts until they rose higher and higher off the ground, their hind legs now pacing as their long arms - hooked with claws - swung beside their muscular build.

Each one called my name. Impossible. How? How could I hear them?!

I'VE NOT AWOKEN! 

ONE OF YOU! WAKE ME UP!

My body shivered from the chill that roamed the air, bringing a touch of ice to anything loving. The loud and constant crashing was at first foreign to my ears until I picked up the faint pattern.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

That was when my eyes snapped open. I shot up from where I was laid by my unknown company. My mind was in a strange and twisted loop of the sorts. It was like my brain wanted me to forget. To not remember who or what I saw last night.

I have been drunk once or twice, but that was nothing compared to this. My body shivered and I didn't have my coat to shield me. All I had was my dress to bring me some warmth but it didn't help much. 

Now that I was awake I took it upon myself to observe my surroundings. Who knows, I could find something useful.

My shelter was a large cave with a large opening. The cave had a divide in the centre, allowing a flow of water to cascade down into a pool of rocks that then flowed out of the cave. I followed the trail of water to quickly recoil from the sudden drop. Below was a few feet drop into another pool of water, green shrubs and moss was a bright and heavy contract against the texture of the dark brown floor and black water.

Despite the drop being an intimidating factor, the location was beautiful. Whoever chose it surely knew how to survive. That brought me to think of Logan.

When we sat around the fire, he told me about his training in the Australian outback.

I leaned forward with my chest pressing into my thighs, my arms folding over the tops of my knees. Logan was sipping away at a bottle of water. I watched as his throat bopped when he drank the refreshment. 

"So, tell me about your training, Logan. How do you ensure the outback?"

Logan pursed his plump lips in thought a for a short moment. "Australia is a challenge to navigate. Trust me, you would get lost in a matter of minutes," Logan said.

The thought of getting lost in the outback was a painful one. I could imagine the blazing heat. At the end of that thought, another started. My eyes drifted up and down Logan's lean frame. I could imagine the sweat lined his muscles perfectly...

BRRRR!

I shook myself, shredding that thought from my mind before it could continue. Logan smirked in my direction. 

"Tell me more, I'm interested to hear more about Australia." I shuffle a little closer to Logan who sat up a little more. His chest puffed out a little, seeming a little proud. His chin raised high he continued.

"Not many werewolves are in Australia because of hunting. Many tourists that come to Australia are looking to hunt. This happened a lot especially back in the... eighteen hundreds to mid-nineteen hundreds."

I gasped as my face contorted into one I could only assume was complete shock or horror. "That's horrible!" I argued.

Logan nodded, his jaw clenched tightly. "Yeah, but in our small communities, we thrive. We may not be a large population like here and elsewhere, but we manage."

"My training consisted of learning the terrain, analysing the land closely, each twig and rock is key to your survival."

Hearing this made me fascinated. I never heard any other werewolf looking so closely at his or her surrounding to the very detail of a tiny stick.

Logan could see my interest was peaked and he continued.

Logan was wise in the lessons he taught me. The wisdom of those before him, passing information like that down each generation was precious to them. 

I had to keep my mind sharp, as Logan advises me.

"I see you're awake, finally." A voice spoke from behind me.

— END OF PART ONE —