THE ALPHA HAUNTS ME

Maxine Ortega frowned as she forced herself to pedal faster beside Paul’s bike. Dry leaves scattered across the narrow trail while the tall trees blocked most of the afternoon sunlight above them. “You’re too slow again, Max!” Paul laughed loudly. Maxine rolled her eyes. “Not everyone has monster wolf stamina like you.” “Excuses? Hahaha,” Paul teased. A small smile appeared on teenage Maxine's lips. Moments like this were rare for her. At school, she was always the weak girl everyone mocked. But here in the forest, away from cruel laughter and judgmental eyes, she felt normal, of course she has a real friend, Paul. The same age with Maxine, Paul is from the bloodline of the Omega family, known as Paul Martini the youngest son of the Martini family known in the fishery business, in town. The forest surrounded the Northern Valley was beautiful. But all young wolves were strictly warned not to go too deep because ancient ruins and hidden caves existed beyond the borders. But Paul loved adventures too much, to care about that warnings. “Lets race to the river!” he shouted. Before Maxine could answer, Paul speed up ahead. “Hey! That’s cheating!” She laughed softly. Maxine pushed harder on the pedals. The cool air rushed through her hair while her bike moved quickly across the rough trail. But when she tried on the six times of the pedal ran in the ground, suddenly... something like stone walls cracked below. The ground beneath her tires broke apart. Maxine gasped. Her bike tilted violently as the rocky part of the ground collapsed. AHhhh!!' She screamed while falling into complete darkness. Everything happened too fast. “MAXINE!” Paul’s terrified voice echoed from above. SLAM! Pain exploded through Maxine’s small body as she hit the hard ground below. For several seconds, Maxine could not breathe. Her head spun painfully while dust filled the air around her. Sharp pain burned through her left arm. Slowly, she forced herself to sit up, groaning weakly. “Maxine! Are you okay?!” Paul’s voice sounded distant above her. “I… I think so…” she answered shakily. Her entire body was hurt. She looked around and realized she had fallen into some kind of underground chamber hidden beneath the forest floor. The place was dark, cold, and silent. Then in a sudden, goosebumps touched her skin. “Can you climb up?” Paul shouted. Maxine looked upward. The hole was too high, loose dirt and stone's continued falling from the edges. “No! I think, I’m stuck!” she called back. “Wait there! I’ll get help!” “Paul...!” Maxine calls him but his footsteps were already fading away. Maxine sighed nervously, she was trapped in the underground alone. She looked around carefully, if ever there are some things that could help her to get out. But the strange chamber did not look natural at all. Stone walls surrounded her, carved with ancient letters and faded symbols, but she could not understand it. Broken candles rested on old shelves and thick dust floated everywhere. It looked like a forgotten place, a hidden sanctuary buried beneath the ground. Her breathing slowed, as curiosity slowly replaced fear, while she ignored the pain in her legs. On the next turn, she noticed several old objects scattered around the chamber, glass bottles, books, rusted chains, and strange black stones marked with silver symbols. “What is this place…?” she whispered. The air suddenly felt colder. A strange feeling crawled down her spine, as if someone was watching her. Maxine swallowed nervously. She should stay, and wait for Paul. But something inside her pulled her deeper into the underground room. As if the place was calling her. Step by step, she moved forward until she noticed a large wooden table covered in dust. Several old books rested on top of it. One book immediately caught her attention. Unlike the others, this one looked untouched by time. Maxine slowly reached for it. The moment her fingers touched the cover. A strange warmth spread through her hand. She quickly pulled away. “What the…” Her heartbeat quickened. After a few seconds, she carefully opened the book. Dust scattered into the air while old pages revealed strange writings and drawings. Most of the language was unfamiliar. But one sentence was written clearly in English. “The blood of the forgotten shall awaken the hidden knowledge and power” Maxine frowned in confusion. “What does that even mean?” Suddenly, sharp pain burned through her arm. She looked down and realized blood from her wound was dripping heavily onto the stone floor. One drop landed beside a dusty glass jar resting near the table. The second drop, the blood touched the jar... WHOOSH! The jar exploded with silver light. Maxine screamed and stumbled backward. The entire underground chamber shook violently. One by one, glowing symbols lit up across the walls. The candles suddenly burst into blue flames. Cold wind circled around the room even though there was no exit. Fear filled her heart. “What’s happening?!” The silver light from the jar grew brighter until it illuminated the entire chamber. Then... a female voice whispered softly beside her ear. “Finally…” Maxine froze. Slowly, she turned around. Because since his affortable.obody was there.. Her breathing became uneven. “No…” she whispered fearfully. But then she saw it. A shadow standing at the far end of the room. He is a tall guy, who is watching her. Maxine’s heart pounded wildly. The shadow slowly disappeared into darkness again. She grabbed the book tightly with trembling hands. Trying to calm herself, she looked back down at the pages. More words had appeared where blank paper once existed. And this time… she could read everything clearly.“The witch bloodline lives.” Maxine stared at the sentence. Her body turned cold. "Impossible.!' she whispered. The Witches disappeared thousands of years ago. Every wolf child grew up hearing stories about the ancient war that destroyed all of them, almost. Witches were dangerous monsters. They are the most, and worst enemies of wolves. Maxine's eyes moved quickly across the next page. “Only those carrying blood, may found the hidden sanctuary.” Maxine almost stopped her breathing. She thought that her wolf body has a problem, like what they said she's the most weak wolf in the pack, and now the realization hit her.. maybe because she's a witch. “No…” Her hands trembled violently.