The Beta's Daughter

Light

My heart pounded. I could feel my pulse thrashing wildly against the skin of my neck. I span around, my eyes roving across the darkness desperately.

            “Hey, it’s okay,” came Jacob’s soothing voice. It did little to calm me, but I took a deep breath before I jumped up.

“Jake,” I hissed. “Help me look.”

“It’s probably just an animal,” he placated, but he stood up beside me nonetheless. I held a finger up to my lips.

            I crept away from the log we’d been sat on, my eyes wide. I was afraid to blink. I could smell something unsettling, and familiar, but I couldn’t place it. The sun had set completely now; the woods were washed in darkness, shades of black and blue coating the forest floor like bruises.

            Another footstep fell to the ground. It was quiet, but the sound radiated through the trees like ripples in a pond. I turned towards Jacob, but my breath stilled in my throat when I caught sight of him.

            He was staring at something. Through the thicket I could see the outline of a figure, something tall and ominous. A low growl rose from Jacob’s throat. Then he turned and pushed me away, shouting: “Ari, run!”

            Everything in my body told me to leave. I could feel my muscles ready to spring. But I didn’t. I stepped forward so that I was next to Jacob, one small step that brought me so much closer to the unknown.

            He was peering at a man. His body was larger than average, but not broad: he was spindly, like the leg of a spider. I squinted into the darkness, something about his eyes seeming familiar. One looked scarred, with claw marks sunk deep into his eye socket. His eye was half-shut, as though it was too painful to open. I grabbed Jacob’s arm, and mindlinked him.

            That’s the rogue I fought the other day. I heard his sharp intake of breath.

Shit. You should go.

I’m staying here and I’m fighting.

            The man began to shift, coarse hair sprouting from his skin. His eyes glowed a venomous red. Even in the dim light I could see scars from where I’d slashed at him. It shouldn’t have been possible for them to heal so quickly.

            Knowing that I was an adept fighter in human form, I didn’t shift. I was wary of aggravating my wounds, and I was certain Jacob would see him off. My wolf was ready if I needed her.

            Jacob shifted beside me. As an Alpha wolf he was huge, and being stood next to him, in a humanoid body, was intimidating for me; I couldn’t imagine how the rogue felt, being dwarfed by an aggressive Alpha. Jacob growled, his mouth dropping open, letting his distended canines hang out.

            The rogue halted its approach. It seemed to be listening to something; almost like it could hear a mindlink. But mindlinks were only possible between pack members, so it couldn’t be. Then, like a recalled dog, it bounded away, headed back into the darkness.

            Jacob shifted back and grabbed me roughly by the elbow. He started towing me out of the woods and back towards the pack house. I stumbled through the undergrowth, struggling to keep up with his longer stride.

            “You didn’t run,” he said. His tone was settled somewhere between pissed off and proud.

“And leave you to fight on your own? You’d get your ass kicked,” I teased. My breathing was coming in short bursts, my heart hammering against my ribs, and my fear undercut my light tone. I sighed. “If you’d got hurt and I’d run, I never could have forgiven myself. I fight for this pack, Jake, and I fight for you.”

            We got back in record time. Jacob ended up carrying me; my tired legs couldn’t keep up with him. The adrenaline had faded, and with it my speed, it seemed. I clung to his back like a monkey, letting my head fall against the back of his neck.

            He set me down by the kitchen door. There was a main entrance, round to the side, but we usually came and went through the side door that went straight into the kitchen. We walked up the stairs in silence, ruminating on the encounter in the woods. Then I remembered – he still hadn’t told me why the Silver Shore pack were arriving early.

            “Jake,” I said, breaking his contemplation.

“Yeah?” He hummed.

“You still haven’t told me.”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Look – I need to go and tell my dad about this. Come up and meet me in my room in, say, fifteen minutes? I won’t be long.”

“Okay,” I agreed. He gave me a peck on the forehead when we reached my bedroom, and it sent shivers cascading through my body. I felt goose bumps raise along my forearms and thighs.

            I grabbed my towel and headed straight for the shower, once I was inside. I sent my little wolf a quick smile, then paused. “I’ll try and find you some cornmeal, soon, okay? But tonight I might be staying upstairs. Just so you know.” It felt strangely normal to be conversing with a wooden carving. I shrugged to myself. I could turn into a wolf at will. Normal for me was already extraordinary.

            I showered and washed my face quickly, then cleaned my teeth and dragged a brush through my hair. I checked my phone. I’d taken seventeen minutes already. I chucked on an oversized t-shirt and my pyjama shorts, grabbed my phone charger, and then headed up to the top floor.

            The Alpha’s floor seemed larger than ours, even though they were exactly the same. Perhaps it was the sense of entering the grandiose that came with the Alpha title. The layout was a little different, too – where my bedroom was at the opposite end to my parent’s, Jacob’s was right beside the master bedroom; all of their offices were in the equivalent space to my bedroom and small bathroom.

            I crept along the plush carpet, my socked feet revelling in the comfort. Our floor had hardwood floors in the hallway, which looked nice – especially in the evening sun – but was less soft on the feet. When I reached the door to Jacob’s room, I knocked quietly, a quick double tap that let him know it was me. I wiggled my toes appreciatively while I waited.

            After a while, though, even the novelty of the carpet was beginning to wear off. I gave another knock, and then mindlinked Jacob. Hey. I’m outside.

I’m so sorry! He replied. I’m still with my parents. I’ll be there soon. Go in and make yourself comfortable.

            My hand reached for the doorknob. It felt as though I was watching the movement in slow motion. I wanted to hear what they were saying; why was their conversation taking this long?  Usually I’d trust everyone around me to fill me in, so I’d never felt the urge to eavesdrop before. It was out of character for me, and my hand paused, my fingertips grazing the doorknob. My parents were keeping something from me. And Jacob seemed to be stalling.

            But what if I didn’t need to eavesdrop? What if I had valuable information that I thought they just had to hear? I smiled to myself, and let my hand drop. I wouldn’t have been able to live with the guilt if I’d eavesdropped, but I had to know what was being said. I turned on my heel and marched towards the Alpha’s office.

            I knocked on the door. Jacob opened it, his eyes wide. “Ari?” He hissed. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Perhaps she should,” Liliana said from somewhere behind him. He stepped aside to let me enter.

“Thank you, Luna,” I said, bowing my head. I then turned to Kele, too, and said “Thank you, Alpha.”

“There is no need for that,” Kele said, waving a hand. “Come here. Jacob has informed us about the rogue you saw today, and he said you recognised it, even in human form. How?”

“That’s what I’ve come to talk to you about. It was his eye. It was scarred, from where I clawed it. But that was only hours ago. My cuts are not healed yet, and I’m a Beta wolf. Theoretically, I should be much stronger than a rogue. So, how were his?”

“I’m glad you came,” Liliana said. “That information is incredibly useful, although it suggests the worst. You may have been wondering why the Silver Shore pack are arriving earlier than planned?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “That was why we were outside in the first place. Jacob was going to tell me.”

“I’m not surprised,” she said with a poorly hidden smile. “I did not want it to be kept from you in the first place. It seems that sometimes the men think they are best placed to be protectors. I disagree.”

“As do I. But why was it being kept from me in the first place?”

            Liliana sighed heavily, and gestured for Kele to move aside. He was stood beside a large, curling map, and she motioned for me to come and look at it. It showed the pack lands, and there were a large number of dots plotted on it. They were clustered mainly by the woods closest to the pack house and training grounds, as well as some by the warrior wolves’ houses. “What do they mean?” I asked.

            Liliana took a deep breath before she spoke. “These are all of the locations where rogue wolves have been spotted in the last month. We usually keep track of it, just as a precaution – most rogues are not a threat to us, and we have even taken rogues in as pack members in the past. But these sightings have increased at an alarming rate.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jacob drag out a chair and sit in it heavily, letting his head drop into his hands.

            “Okay,” I said, after the silence had gone on for too long. “Do we know why?”

Kele spoke, then, his voice deep, gravelly, and sincere. “We believe they are watching you, Arienne.”