The Alpha’s Weakness

Chapter 3- Isabella

The rest of the week goes by quickly and before I knew it, the night before my birthday had arrived. It was about eleven o’clock in the evening. We were having a small family get together while we waited for midnight to come around. I would meet my wolf counterpart in about an hour. If Ryker is my mate, I will find that out a few hours after that. Since my wolf and I will be still getting used to each other, a bond couldn’t be established until after my first shift tonight.

They say your first shift is always the most painful. After your first, you don’t usually feel anything. While my parents, Ryker’s parents, and my sister went and talked about royal business, I joined Ryker and Matthew on the balcony. Matthew was going on about his college classes, while Ryker drank from his beer can. I never enjoyed the taste of beer, or most alcohol for that matter. I was not the drinking type. I sat next to Ryker as he smiled at me.

“Are you nervous?” He chuckles a little.

“Of course I’m nervous. I’ll be meeting my wolf in less than an hour. Shifting for the first time in less than two. And possibly meeting my mate in less than three. And on top of all that, I’m supposed to be getting special powers. Yeah I’d say I was nervous.” I couldn’t help but laugh after my comment.

“We will all be with you to help you out. There is nothing to fear.” He takes my hand gently and I can feel my cheeks heat up. I look out towards the forest before listening to Matthew start talking about his college again. I sigh silently knowing Ryker will be there to help me makes me feel a little better. He lets go of my hand suddenly when my parents walk out on the balcony to find me.

“Are you ready, my dear?” My father asks me. “It’s time to head out to the clearing.”

“Well as ready as I’ll ever be.” We all stand up and head to a clearing that I’ve picked. While meeting my wolf, I choose a place with a calming waterfall nearby. I heard that sometimes speaking to them can be overwhelming and can cause headaches. So I chose a place I knew would help me with that. Or it would help me recognize how much I needed to pee. Guess we will find out.

I sit down in the middle of the clearing as my family and closest friends sit around me. They are all excited to see my wolf for the first time. While I’m starting to sweat bullets with how nervous I was. I was feeling extremely hot for it being a cool September night. I wipe my head off with the sleeve of my T-shirt. I was told multiple times not to wear anything I liked, since I would most definitely not be getting them back. My head started to hurt a little and I knew it wouldn’t be long. I groan at the sudden pain and everyone goes quiet. I close my eyes feeling like if I didn’t, my eyes would be popping out of my head.

“Hello Isabella”

I gasp as all of the pain suddenly vanishes with the soft voice that rang through my head. I open my eyes and look around in shock. While gaining your wolf, you will also gain all of their abilities. You don’t even have to be in wolf form to use these. They aren’t as strong in human form, but it definitely was an improvement to what I had before. I could see ants crawling through the grass back to their home. I can hear the sound of the waterfall and it's roaring was causing my ears to ring. I took a deep breath in, I could sense everyone around me. The familiar smell of pine helped me calm down a little and focus on only what was in front of me.

The full moon helped light up the forest; but even if it wasn’t full, I think I’d be able to see just as clearly. My eyes skirt around to everyone that was here. They land on a pair of bright green eyes. I could stare at those familiar eyes all day. I didn’t need enhanced vision to have them already memorized into my brain. I hear my dad clear his throat and I instantly whip my head towards him.

“How are you feeling Isabella?” He asks quietly.

“Like I could throw a mountain”. Everyone chuckles at my statement. But I honestly did feel like I was powerful enough to throw something five times my size. This was like the best drug in the world.

“My name is Sierra. It is nice to finally meet you” she says.

“Hello Sierra. I’m happy to finally meet you as well. You have a beautiful name.” I say happily to her.

I can feel that she is happy and content. I look at everyone I know. I smile at them lovingly as happy tears start falling from my eyes. My parents rushed over to hug me. I tell them her name and we soon get lost in conversation as we all guess on what she is going to look. We are all having a good time when I feel a sharp pain in my side.

I double over groaning. Soon pain erupts everywhere from my body. This could take up to twenty minutes. They weren’t kidding when they said this would be painful. That’s when the smell hits me. The strong smell of sewage erupts in front of us. Rogues. And a lot of them. I notice everyone has circled me, some already in wolf form. I scream in pain and fall to the ground. Ryker is instantly by my side.

“Looks like we’ve been ambushed Bella” he whispers to me as he rubs my back. I tremble like a leaf as the pain gets stronger and I start to feel my bones pop out of sockets and grow in length. I vaguely hear the fighting that erupts around me. I hear warriors coming in from behind me, no doubt my father linked them as soon as he noticed the rogues.

I feel hair start sprouting from my face and arms as my face elongates into a snout. A massive blood curdling howl comes from me. Sierra, now in control, stands as every being stops and stares. I notice Ryker vaguely back away from me, to get a better look at my face. He stares into my eyes. I can sense the fear coming from everyone but I didn’t care. I stared back at Ryder and I knew right then and there I was staring at my mate. The pull I felt towards him was incomparable.

“Mate” he whispers to me “Beautiful”.

I see movement from the corner of my eyes and I whip my head around to see a rogue. Before I even recognize what is happening, the battle begins again. Sierra takes charge and we plow through a group of rogue wolves. I couldn’t help but notice that they were tiny. Rogues were usually smaller than a pack member's wolf, but they were half of my size. I watched through Sierra’s eyes as we plowed through enemy after enemy. There were only a couple left when I heard the most awful noise.

A gunshot rang through the air. I turn around to find the source of the gun. There he was, my beautiful mate, falling to his knees clutching his ribs where the bullet struck his chest. I ran towards him shifting back to my human form before dropping to my knees.

“No, no, no! Ryker please stay with me. You have to stay awake.” I vaguely notice the fighting come to an end and people surround us. I didn’t even care that I was completely naked. He reached his hand up and caressed my cheek. I put my hand over top of his as tears start spilling from my eyes.

“You know, I’ve always known you would be my mate. Somewhere inside I’ve just always known. You are so beautiful. And I’ve always loved you. I was just too much of a coward to tell you.” He gives me a weak smile. I stare into his eyes as I watch the life drain from his eyes. With his final breath, I feel the bond snap , shattering my heart along with it.

“I love you too.” My tears fell onto his face as I kissed his cheek and shut his eyes. I lay him on the ground before closing my eyes. I was heartbroken. Sierra was heartbroken. I could feel her sadness, her misery, and her anger. I let out a loud angry scream. Suddenly the air pressure changes as storm clouds appear in the sky. Everyone backs away terrified. Including my parents. Lightning cracks across the now black sky and loud thunder follows soon after. I shift again, embracing the pain this time. I howl as lightning strikes down on top of me. The overwhelming feeling it brings causes me to change back to my human form once again.

I whimper slightly and fall to the ground. I noticed my family running towards me before I started to pass out from exhaustion, pain, and the void that was now very present in my chest. I close my eyes allowing the darkness to overcome me. Nothing could hurt me here. I wouldn’t let them either.

I feel a presence in my restless sleep. A powerful one. I look around in the black void before my eyes fall on a single wolf. She was huge. Easily the size of a large grizzly bear. One of the largest I’ve ever seen. Her coat was as white as a mountain top. With a single black diamond across her chest and her eyes were a bright blue. The color of lightning.

“Sierra” I say with a sudden realization.

She nods her head in agreement. I can feel her sorrow from here. I walk up and place my hand against the side of her head. Her coat is as soft as silk. She leans her head into my hand.

“Are we dead?” I say softly. I watch her study me with careful eyes.

“No we are not. We are currently in the pack's hospital. We have been asleep for about a week. Our bodies went through a lot in the few short hours we were first together and we were soon overwhelmed.” She paused a few seconds before continuing on.

“Ryker is at peace. This is not the end of our story. Only the beginning. The moon goddess has special plans for us.”

I hear her inside of my mind but her mouth doesn’t move. We stand there together for a moment before darkness swallows me into her void once again.