The Alpha’s Weakness

Chapter 7 - Isabella

I could hear my parents whispering softly next to my bed. They held onto one of my hands and I tried so hard to wake up but my eyelids just wouldn’t open. I needed them to know I was okay, but my entire body felt like it was made of lead. I gave up on trying soon after, darkness swallowing me again.

The next time I came too a little bit my parents were again with me. They were crying. This time I wasn’t going to fall back asleep. This time I knew I was going to wake up. I fought every cell in my body to move. At first it was just a twitch of a finger, and soon my eyes were open. I blink a few times to clear my eyes and see my parents sitting on the other side of the room. Something was wrong. My parents were the strongest people I knew. They never cry.

“Mom….. Dad” I say softly, barely even hearing myself. Thank goddess for wolf hearing, or they probably wouldn’t have heard me. I can feel my energy very slowly returning. My throat was so dry that those two little words hurt coming out. Seeming to read my thoughts, my father hands me a glass of water and I take a small sip to wet my mouth.

“Why are you crying? What happened?” I ask my mother. I could tell when she was lying to me. It was why I asked her and not Dad. She wipes her eyes quickly and gives me a soft smile.

“Right now, we will worry about you. Your dad is linking a pack doctor now to get you checked up. You’ve been asleep for almost three weeks, baby.” It’s been three weeks since I passed out? Why would I have been asleep for that long? I think of the last thing that happened when I passed out. I suddenly wish I hadn’t woken up at all. I was now living in a world without Ryker. And it wasn’t a world that I wanted anymore.

I can feel tears fall out of my eyes and my mother wraps her arms around me as I bawl like a toddler. After a few minutes I calm down long enough for the doctor to come and check on me. With the all clear to get up and walk around a little, the first thing I do is use the bathroom. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror on my way out. I looked sickly thin. The waves of my dark brown hair held no shine anymore and my hazel eyes held large purple bags underneath them. My body hasn't changed much and I think my wolf had something to do with it. Speaking of Sierra…

“Sierra are you there?” I whisper inside my head.

“Hello my dear Isabella. I’m sorry about Ryker. I will have some news for you soon. But first I think you should talk to your parents.” She says back

I’m obviously confused. What news would she have for me, and what news did my parents have for me. I walk out of the hidden room and as we walk upstairs to our floor, I stop at the door to Ryker’s. My parents try to pull me away, but I knock on the door anyway. I wait a minute for the door to open to a tired looking Matthew. His eyes widen when he sees me and he swoops in and gives me a large hug. I didn’t realise just how much I needed that.

Without a word, he disappeared and returned with a sweater in hand.

“I know he would have wanted you to have this.” He gives me a sad small smile before placing it into my arms. I hold it up to my face and breathe in the fresh smell of pine. I visually relax and I slip it over my arm.

“It was just what I needed, thank you. I’ll let you go back to sleep now.” I give him a final hug before finishing the rest of the way to my room. There are two new scents in the house which were strange. One of them caught me off guard, the smell of fresh rain, and cut grass. I loved it. Almost as much as pine, maybe even a little better. I went and sat down on the couch while my parents fussed about for a few hours making sure I had everything I needed. They eventually left me alone long enough for me to take a proper shower.

After putting on some clothes and throwing away that disgusting hospital gown, I took a glance out the window of my room. There were tents scattered all over the yard. What was going on? There were at least two hundred of them.

I shake it off and go out to find my parents sitting at the dining room table waiting for me. I sit down in front of them and as I’m about to say something about the tents; my parents start to explain everything. How every night, except last night and tonight, we have been attacked. They sent my sister and her mate to recruit werewolves to fight, and since I was out of commission, a well respected alpha took charge of the incoming warriors. This of course was a smart thing to do.

They continued about small things as I noticed they were stalling. I clear my throat and they are quiet for some time before I say it.

“Okay what happened? You're stalling.” But what they told me next I just couldn’t handle. They tell me of the demands of the other side, and that on top of their demands, they killed my sister and her mate. I stare at them, shocked. I stand up and instantly rush out of the door. When I grab the handle, I feel a slight shock go through my arm causing goosebumps.

“Isabella we really need to talk” Sierra says quickly

I can feel her nerves and an image of a clearing, the clearing that Ryker was killed in, popped into my head. There was someone there but there back was to me. I put a mental block up from Sierra. I needed to get out of here. I needed to get out of here.

I take off running down the stairs. Tears were streaming down my face and I ran into someone on my way out. Before I even reach the front doors, Sierra rips through me and I shift. We crash through the doors towards the forest. I didn’t know where she was taking us. I honestly didn’t even care. I just needed time.

“Isabella I know this is hard but you have to listen to me!”

“Why are all of these things happening to me? I didn’t ask for any of this.” I cry back.

“While we were asleep I talked to the Moon Goddess. She explained a few things to me.” She growls at me, clearly getting impatient.

We run for a few more minutes in silence before we stop by a small pond. If I wasn’t so upset, I would recognize how beautiful this place was. Sierra lays down beside it before talking again.

“The Moon Goddess blessed us with an incredible gift Isabella, but in order to activate the gift, a powerful enough event had to happen. Us losing our mate was the key. If he hadn’t died that night, he would have died another night, just as brutal. Since our bond was only just recognized, it was safer for it to be then. If we had marked each other then we would have been killed. The Goddess doesn’t step in very often when it comes to our lives unless it's an emergency. She did us a favor.”

I let the words sink in. I missed him so much, but why did this have to be it. I couldn’t help but wonder what this emergency is. Why was it so important that I had these powers? Why did they have to take Ryker? Now I was never going to be happy. I wasn’t going to have a mate now, and now I had to rule over an entire country.

The more I thought of it, the more nauseous I became, and soon Sierra allowed me to shift back in order to lean against a tree and hurl up nothing but air. I was shaking so badly that I could hardly stand up. After five minutes, I get myself to stand up and lean against the tree.

“Are you alright Isabella?” She says softly

“Yes I’m alright, thank you”. I say back out loud. I lay down next to the pond and look up at the sky as it lightens up. I watch as rain clouds blow over threatening to spell down on me. I decide to go back when I suddenly get a funny feeling. I turn my head to see the shadow of a tall man in the distance. I didn’t sense any danger coming from him but I was still suspicious.

“You can tell my parents that I’m on my way, there was no reason to send you after me.” I say gently. I watch as he slowly steps into the clearing. The smell of freshly cut grass, and fresh rain filled my nostrils. I involuntarily close my eyes and take a large deep breath in. This was the same smell that was at home. I could tell I visually relaxed at it.

When I opened my eyes again, the tall stranger had stepped out of the shadows, revealing the most handsome… no, not handsome. Gorgeous. This man was absolutely the most gorgeous being I have ever seen. He was tall, seven foot tall at least. His body was muscular, but not so much to make him look like he was one of those weird bodybuilders. His chin was chiseled and he had an endearing little scar on his lip. The only flaw on his face. His black hair was a little long and slightly curly. His eyes though, were a stormy grey.

As I stared into his eyes, I saw a flash of silver. No it couldn’t be. A mate? This man was my mate? I looked away petrified and I could feel myself having a panic attack. I had a mate and he died. Tears started to fall. The first tear that fell started the rain. I don’t know how I did it. But I knew it was me. I could feel him start to walk over to me. As my breathing got harder, I started to pass out. Oh not again! I thought to myself.

I held my hand out and put it on his chest to stop him from coming any closer. Once my hand made contact I could feel the sparks coursing through my arm. Damn mate bond. I do want a mate. I just know if I could handle it right now. Then the softest sound came from his lips. It was like music to my ears.

“Mate”, he whispers softly to me.

I shivered at the sound. It wasn’t even like this with Ryker. I mean the only time I touched him after we found out was when he was dying, but I didn’t feel a single spark like I was right now.

“Please don’t reject me. Please! I know you’ve been through a lot Isabella but I’m here if you need me.”

“I just need a minute.” I say back with a shaky voice. Jeez. I couldn’t even trust my voice to not give it away that I was slowly melting at his begging for me to stay. It comes to my attention that I still have my hand placed on his chest and I quickly snatch it away. I back up a little when he takes a step towards me.

“Who are you and why do you know my name?” I ask curiously. I could feel Sierra prancing around in my head; giddy that we were meeting our true mate. I could also see her annoyance at me asking that question and taking precautions. I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me. His wolf or the bond wouldn’t allow that.

“My name is Xander. I was invited by your sister and her mate to be in charge of the incoming warriors that were sent by the Alpha’s across the country. I am the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack.” He says without a hesitation at my request.

I finally look back towards him instead of looking at the ground like a coward. I could see his worry that I would reject him. I couldn’t honestly put him through that pain, but I couldn’t accept him right now either. I was still hurting no matter how bad I tried to hide it. I knew that he was holding back for my sake too. Most wolves go full force when they find their mates and you’re in for it if you’re caught in the crossfire.

“I won’t reject you.” I say softly. I can see his shoulder slump with a breath he seemed to be holding in. He steps in a little closer again and I place my hand on his chest to stop him once again. I swallow a little and ignore the pleasurable sparks going through my arm once again. This was definitely harder than it looked.

“But I also don’t want this right now. I can’t. It would just feel wrong.” I look away from him and to the ground. I could almost feel the hurt that I gave him just now, but I really needed to process everything that had happened and I had to do it alone. I slowly back up and shift into my wolf again and stare at him. It only just occurred to me that we were both naked during that confrontation.

If I had realized that in my human form; my face would have been the color of a ripe watermelon’s insides. I watch as he shifts into his wolf and I catch my breath. His wolf was almost the exact opposite of mine. The black wolf with a white diamond on his chest, exactly where mine was. His eyes were a deep forest green. This was really strange. I was a few inches shorter than him, but I knew that his wolf was huge. Bigger than my fathers. My wolf was bigger than my fathers as well but that is besides the point. I had to hold Sierra back in order for her not to playfully pounce on his wolf. I was not about to give the poor guy mixed signals after what I just told him.

I start to head back to the castle, our bond trying to force me to turn around and go back, but I knew he wouldn’t be too far behind me. Once I reach the castle I notice my parents standing at the doorway, with the man I almost barreled through to get outside. I ignore them and head straight upstairs to my room, still in wolf form. Once I get there and shift back. I put on some pajamas and curl up on my bed. Allowing the rain to lull me to sleep. All I dreamt about was Xander and his wolf. And it somehow made for an amazing and relaxing sleep.