HER REBIRTH

Episode 2

Alpha Vincent De Santis. The name rings a bell. My father hands me over to George who proceeds to gently push me inside the house.

"Go inside," he whispers roughly, his eyes running around the environment and the pack members walking around without a care.

"Please, lock your door," he adds before nudging me inside. Immediately he sees that I'm heading inside, and he rushes back to join my father.

I stand on the first staircase for a few seconds, assessing the scene. The conversation between the men only gets fiercer and with each passing second, the air only gets more charged.

George is hanging on to every word that comes from my father's mouth, his attention intense.

I have three elder brothers; George, Aiden, and Louis. George is the serious one in the pack. He takes his position as the next Alpha in line very seriously and he doesn't play about his family and pack.

Seeing him standing next to my father, looking focused in such a tense moment, shows me that George will make a fantastic Alpha. He is always ready to protect and guard and from the way my father directs the conversation to him, asking for his suggestion, I know my father is proud of him as well.

Before anyone can turn to see that I'm still on the staircase, I make a dash for it and head straight to my sitting area where my mum is seated with Beta Walter's wife.

When they see me, they both stand up to envelop me in hugs.

"I was so worried, Cassie," my mum effuses, breathing out in relief.

"We were about to send Louis out to get you from the stream," Mrs. Walter says, running a hand through my waist-length blonde hair.

"I'm okay, I got back just in time," I assure them, flashing a smile to prove that I'm alright.

My mother is gorgeous. Standing over 6 '0 tall with her head full of short-black hair and the signature blue eyes that she passed to all her children, she is a force to be reckoned with.

Mrs. Walter might be Jessica's mother, but she's a jewel. I honestly don't know where Jessica got her hateful heart from because it definitely isn't from her parents.

"Have a drink," Mrs. Walter hands me a glass of sherry which I lift up to my lips gratefully, lowering myself into an armchair.

They sit back down, resuming their conversation.

"Where are Aiden and Louis?" I interrupt, surprised at how my two immediate brothers have gone AWOL.

"Oh them," my mother flaps her hand. "They went out to mobilize the young men in the pack. They were already out training so all your father had to do was send word to them."

"Oh," I reply, not having anything else to say.

"I can't believe he's getting so close," Mrs. Walter murmurs to my mother and my ears prick in interest.

"Last time we heard, he was heading south to the SoulKiller pack because of their mineral-rich land," my mum replies, her face clouded with worry.

My mum is a formidable woman and few things shake her. The fact that this infamous Alpha Vincent is making her scared is a testament to his ability.

"Why would he suddenly make a U-turn and head back to the North?"

This question comes from Mrs. Walter and no replies spring up.

I'm reluctant to disrupt their conversation but my curiosity is getting the best of me.

"Who is Alpha Vincent De Santis?"

Both women turn to look at me, their faces bearing lines of worry.

My mum is the first to speak.

"Sweetheart, I know you heard that there is a new Alpha on the block who is going around, fighting various Alphas and making them submit to him."

Mrs. Walter cuts in.

"By doing this, he has grown his pack to five times our own and they are all-powerful."

Yeah, I remember hearing a story of that kind.

"He's the one that refused to kill Alpha Joseph but gave him no choice but to hand over his pack's revenue to him, right?"

My mum clicks her finger in confirmation.

"You got that right."

"So he's coming for our pack next?" I ask, horror sinking its fingers into me.

"Yes, we suspect so," Mrs. Walter says. "Some of our border patrol guards saw him a short distance from the pack's border."

"Goddess," I breathe out, trying hard to block out fear but being unsuccessful.

"Easy," my mum cuts in, using her two hands to make a 'calm down' gesture. "We don't know anything for sure, yet. Don't get yourself overworked, you know it's not good for you. But better safe than sorry, right?"

I feel a frown settling deep into my features at my mum's words. It has been several months since I last had an episode, but my parents are really careful. Anything that requires more than a little bit of worry or work is automatically prohibited.

I loathe it so much, but there's little I can do. I just hope I never have an episode, ever again.

"I'll head up to my room," I announce, draining my glass before leaving the room and making my way up to my room.

"Cassie!" Mum calls as soon as I step past the threshold.

I turn to look at her and she has a small smile on her face.

"Anthony stopped by to see you earlier. If this is nothing but a false alarm, he'll come back."

"Alright," I replied coolly. "Thank you."

The truth is that I'm feeling anything but cool. My insides are twisting with worry and my palms suddenly feel sweaty.

Anthony Evans is one of the pack members and the only person, aside from my brothers, that I can call my friend.

We became friends a few weeks after the first failed full-moon experience and he has been a joy to have around.

Twenty-one and hardworking, he inherited the town's departmental store from his aged parents and had been steadily improving the store.

My mother liked him a lot and Aiden and Louis found him cool, but my father and George weren't that warm with their feelings or enthusiasm for him.

I know Mum knows that I have a big crush on him, but she hasn't said anything, probably waiting for me to bring it up, and I never will.

I see it as embarrassing that I am so desperate for attention that I'll fall in love with the only person who has given me a little bit of attention.

Shake it off, Cassandra. Don't be pathetic.

**********

Guards are stationed all over the city and everyone is made aware so they can be on the lookout.

But nothing happens.

It's absolute crickets.

Everybody is so tense and scared, but Alpha Vincent De Santis does not show up.

Instead of that, the most unexpected thing happens.

On the second day, the guards bring in a wolf who claims he has a message from Alpha Vincent De Santis.

"He says to get ready to receive him," the man relays, "he'll be here any day from now."

After the message, preparations are at an all-time high, and meetings are held at all times of the day. Her father was neck-deep in meetings and her mother was busy taking care of the women and reassuring them.

He still hasn't shown up for several days.

One night, as everywhere is silent, my parents go to a set of chairs in the back and sit down with their hands around each other.

They look so tired and tense but it's obvious to Cassandra that they are just trying to relax.

"Do you think he has forgotten about us?" Mum asks hopefully and Dad chuckles humorlessly.

"I don't think so. He's showing us who's in charge here and that it's not us.".

I hate him.

I really hate him.

My parents are good people and he's making them stay up all night to worry.

When he doesn't come for a week, everyone slowly begins going back to their normal schedules.

I, on the one hand, can't wait to head to the stream, and at the first chance I get, I make my way down there, evading my father and brother.

I know they won't agree to it but I've grown tired of their overprotective ways. My mother is more malleable, but she still tries to coddle me.

The fact that people can now move freely around town doesn't seem to convince them in the least.

"I'm so happy for you," a girl squeals behind the bushes and I immediately go to attention, my heart thumping in my chest.

"I'm so happy too," another girl replies, and they both squeal happily.

The adrenaline that had coursed through me at the sudden noise eases, noradrenaline taking up its place and returning my breathing to normal.

Moving cautiously, I part a few of the three feet long bushes and peer cautiously at the two girls seated on a log of wood, their faces reflecting the glow of the sun and joy shining in their expressions.

"I was getting tired of waiting," one of the girls replies. I recognize her as Amanda, one of the girls I had been friends with before I, apparently, got too sick to keep on being friends with her.

She had been a good friend, and losing her as a friend had set off a motion where all the girls had started avoiding me.

I was twelve and wide-eyed, so I sought out to understand why I was being alienated.

Amanda was the only one that had deemed it fit to give me a reply. She said that since the day I had an asthma attack in front of all my friends, they saw me as a strange case as it has never been heard that a werewolf would have a life-threatening disease that her wolf couldn't cure.

I had become an anomaly and was relegated to the sidelines, having no choice but to watch my old friends build flourishing friendships with each other.

Amanda is seated with a girl named Cassidy, and my chest echoes at the sight of their affection for each other.

"The goddess kept the best mate for you," Cassidy replies, clasping Amanda's hand in hers.

She has found her mate!!

That is wonderful news.

"She really did," Amanda replies and they begin squealing again.

I release my hands and allow the grass to hide them from my view again.

Turning back to my path, I continued my walk, my mind still dealing with the news I heard.

Every wolf dreams of finding its mate. It's something that has kept me awake for several nights, finally having someone outside of my family who loves and cherishes me.

It would be a dream come through, but one that has been eluding me for years.

A lot of the wolves my age started finding their mate immediately after their first full moon.

It's been three years and dangerous thoughts have been trying to sneak into my mind but I hold it all at bay.

I won't even allow myself to think of the possibility of not finding my mate.

I'd rather think about how my mate looks.

Will he be tall like my father and brothers, or will he be a few inches above my 5'2" height like my uncle Tito?

I'll love him either way. I just pray to the goddess that he is kind and caring, a friend to take the sting out of the friends I've never had.

The goddess hasn't made it a habit to listen to my prayers. I know it's blasphemous to think so, but I believe that I've gone through enough to warrant thinking this way.

I pray with everything in me that she will answer this particular prayer. All I can do is pray.

********

I feel the presence before he makes any sound.

The feeling of the wolf's eyes boring into me is like a scratch on my skin and I quickly take my feet out of the water where the fishes were swimming around it and look around wildly, looking for the wolf.

It may just be a member of our pack coming to the stream as well, but the probability of that happening is very low.

The members of the pack know the stream as my favorite place. On more than one occasion I have heard it being referred to as the "outcast's spot".

They mostly refrain from coming here.

The main reason I believe it's not a pack member is the charge in the air. The air is charged with danger and an intent to hurt.

When the growl breaks through the charged air and the brown-furred wolf's eyes glow at me, I break into a run.

I am not naive enough to believe that I can outrun a wolf, but I'm determined to not be maimed by it.

The streets look eerily calm and as I race past, I have a gut feeling that something is very wrong. The wolf is still chasing me, although slower than I know a wolf can run. It almost seems like he's playing with me.

Once I get closer to home, I can finally admit that something is definitely wrong. Fear and rage permeate the air and I am not sure if the former is from me, but I can see the wolves gathered at my home.

There are strange wolves gathered and in front of them, my father, brothers, and other powerful members of the pack are gathered.

I don't take into consideration my father's careful stance or the waves of anger that are coursing off of him.

I hear growls of surprise as I dash through the crowd and throw myself at my father.

I see my father's lips moving but I can't hear him above the tightness in my chest.

I can't get enough air in or out of my lungs, And in an attempt to force some air in, I begin to wheeze.

My father places me on the floor and grabs my purse from me, dumping the contents on the ground.

I feel as if a heavy weight is pressing down on my chest, making it difficult to take deep breaths and anxiety floods my body. It's obvious that I'm having an asthma attack from the long run and the last thing I see is my father's face above mine, yelling and bringing the inhaler down to my face.