AN ALPHA FOR ME

VERITY I feel the wind keep pace with me. My big paws leave their prints behind on each jump. I don't stop for a breath. Even when the little human on my back holds on dearly to me in excitement. I sniff the fresh scented air of the woods, and even my black shining furs stand as it grazes through them. It never gets old, racing with the sun before it rises until we both come face to face over the horizon. As a wolf, I naturally love the moon but still, my human side rubs off on me. As soon as I was old enough to shift, rising with the sun became one of my routines. Finally, I stop, letting out a howl. Eli echoes my action, screaming and almost jumping on my back. "Do you think we will be able to go for runs in the new town?" Eli, my seven years old brother asks as we navigate our way back home. "We should, mom says it's made up of just werewolves. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll love it there" "You think dad will come to visit?" His gray eyes stare into my soul. "I'm not sure but maybe he'll come to see you " His brows and face reset into a frown. "I don't care if he does, mom is never happy around him" "Hey, buddy.. don't worry about that. Just focus on the new life that awaits you and new friends." My hands reach to tickle him. The distraction works and soon, Eli chatters again. "Was about to come to find you both. Hurry we barely have an hour left." my mother says while sealing the last boxes. "Mom, I can freely talk about wolves in the new pack Right? Eli asks with excitement dancing in his eyes. " Yes sweetie, go freshen up " "Need help with anything," I ask scanning through the half-empty house to make sure we got everything that is ours. My mothers curled black hair and gray eyes face me. A reminder of how I look even though I wear my hair in a messy ponytail. "Thank you, Verity. We got everything" she heaves another breath. "It's gonna be good there and before you ask I'm fine dear" "And where is he?" Mother scoffs "Sulking over the family he just lost somewhere " "He didn't lose us now, it happened a long time ago. I'll freshen up". The drive takes three days on road. Mom and I alternate driving, the moving vehicles had already moved most of our boxes a week before our traveling. So we only drove our car, stopping at motels to spend the night, food breaks, and gas. When we finally arrive at Albaysa, it's night. I drive around the small town, trying to locate our new house. The houses are quite close to each other, very different from our formal city. But it doesn't matter, not with the attractive job pay for mom and the free house. Mom was barely keeping up with the bills and we were up for eviction when the offer came. An old friend of mom said a pack out south needed a teacher for one of their grades, it came with a free house and good pay. It was like a miracle and an escape from my nonchalantly half-useless father. The first thing she did was to serve the divorce paper as she should have a long time ago. Our last pennies were used to finance our journey, so here we are. A new town, a pack, and new life. " It's that one" mom points to one of the houses. The house is in-between two other houses and the lawn is freshly mowed. Not bad. Eli springs up from the back seat "we're here?" "Yeah, get out of the car " mum responds " Mom, how exactly do we get in ?" She frowns " someone is supposed to m.." "Sal " a voice interrupts us A blonde curvy woman makes her way to us. My mother's eyes lit up in recognition." Charity" my mother calls out in excitement. They both rush to engulf each other in a hug. My brother and I roll our eyes but still, we are both in shock. For the nineteen years of my life, I've never seen my mother with a friend. The poor woman has been working so hard to foot bills. The blonde woman starts talking " oh sal, it's been years. I've been looking out all day, I tried calling and it wasn't connecting. I was certain your battery was dead, So glad you are here safely" she rambles Her energy is high. Oh oh, she notices us. "And this must be Verity and Eli " I'm in shock when the woman hugs me before hugging Eli. Keeping my smile, I peek at my mom who only smiles widely at her old friend. "Alright let's go inside. I've got the key" charity tells us. I decide the boxes in the booth can wait till tomorrow, we are all exhausted from the trip. As soon as charity opens the door, I'm in shock. The house is even more spacious than our former apartment, and our boxes which arrived days ago are well stacked to one side. "Oh, I didn't want to go through the personal stuff. So I just stacked them here, but the house is clean and I laid fresh linens on the beds." It's difficult to not warm up to charity, I can't believe she did this. "Thank you charity " my mom quickly says. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just happy that you are here, I'm sure you will love the town. All of you. I've got a daughter just around your age verity and my twins Ron and George are nine" "Really " Eli chips in excitedly Charity chuckles " Yes, they will come around tomorrow morning. Alright, I'll leave you to rest. Good night " "Thank you, Charity " I chirp "Silly you, alright guys go get some rest." She says as she notices Eli's yarn. My mom escorts Charity out while I lead Eli upstairs to locate his room. As soon as I hit the bed, I'm gone with thoughts of what the new town holds for me. I rise with the sun even though I don't go for a run. Immediately we start unpacking our boxes and offloading. Thanks to charity we don't have much to do, may the moon goddess bless her soul. The doorbell rings, and I'm greeted by the sight of charity and three children. Like their mother, their blonde hair stands out but they have different eyes. The young girl has blue eyes and the twins have brown eyes like their mother. "Hi there, come on in. We just finished with the last boxes " I say with a smile. Charity hugs me. Oh boy, I should get used to her energy. We spend the morning eating the breakfast charity made. The twins quickly hit it off with Eli and I'm glad my brother already likes it here. "So I work at the library s***h bookstore and coffee shop " Tiffany, charity daughter says demonstrating with her fingers. "Wait, all those in one place or like three different jobs" I inquire We are in my new room and Tiffany has spent an hour telling me about the town. " Sweetie this town is small, although not that small. So it shouldn't be surprising. But to answer your question, it's a library in one section and there is a bookstore. We sell children's books, all kinds of courses and courses we supply the school with books and the college in the next town. And the good news is the owner Hakeem is a pretty good guy so you are getting the job." I sigh in relief concerning the job "That sounds like a good business. How does the pack even prevent humans from living here? " "It's not too hard, some bullshit rules about population and all that. And besides, you look human to them " she says chuckling I join in "So about work, can we go today or when?" "Of Course, we can go now. I just need to go home and change. Meet me outside in ten minutes " I quickly change up, add some lip gloss, and repacked my messy ponytail. I'm right on time as Tiffany opens her door just as I open mine. Yup, we are neighbors. Her right jeans cling to her curvy figure. The girl has a hot white girl body that I suddenly feel bland next to. "You ready," she asks "Yeah, you're sure I'm going to get the Job. It's not like I have any qualifications or experience" "Sweetie looks at me, do I look like I'm a college graduate? Hakeem can be strict but he is a nice guy and even if he wasn't nice, with a face like yours I'm sure you can pull any job" she says, making a face. "Very funny Tiffany, " I say chuckling. Tiffany takes her time showing me things on our way. The mall, owners of different houses, and names I will certainly not recall. Pack members seem to know about the new family in town as the few I came across stare at me with deep interest. "And we are here," Tiffany announces. I see what she meant about the multipurpose store. The owner sure has a sense of organization. A large store with demarcations, on one side, is a coffee space. Round tables with neat napkins and well-arranged chairs overlooking the glass walls into the street. It feels homely and also classic for a small town. On the other side were the book section, rows, and shelves of books for sale. I can feel my heart race in excitement. The counter with different indications of where to order coffee, book, and library permission. " We barely have coffee customers in the afternoon. Everyone in the pack is quite busy then. And the bookstore moves quite slowly when kids are at school. But our biggest customers are the school and colleges. The library is this way, away from any form of noise" Transfixed is an understatement when I walk through the door by the counter. It feels like I just stepped into another world. My favorite world of books. The library isn't extremely large, just perfect for a small town but the orderly old-style arrangements warm my heart even more ". "Hakeem " Tiffany screams over shelves of books "Over here " a nice manly voice replies We pass two rows before a sight greets me.