The Alpha's Hidden Heart

There was something breathing behind me. Not footsteps. Not the wind. Taking a breath. Take it easy. A lot. Too near. As I walked faster, my heels hit the wet pavement and my hand tightened around my keys. The shortcut through the alley had never scared me before. Walls made of bricks. Trash cans. The smell of rain and rot from long ago. The air felt wrong tonight. Thick. As if it were holding its breath. I shouldn't have stayed up so late. Again. The lights in the office had gone out by themselves, leaving me alone in the stairwell with only the sound of my footsteps. This alley made the walk home ten minutes shorter. I had done it a hundred times. I had never heard breathing before. There was metal scraping behind me. The sound went straight up my spine. I stopped. The breathing stopped as well. My heart beat so hard that it made my ears ring. I turned slowly. A trash can rolled across the sidewalk, wobbling as if someone had pushed it. It tipped, made a noise, and then stopped. The shadows behind it moved. Not moving. Moving. I took a step back. My heel slipped on the wet ground. Cold went through my shoe and into my bones. A shape came out of the dark. Too high. Too wide. It didn't walk. It moved around. Then it opened its eyes. Yellow. Not bright. Not a reflection. Shining. My breath was stuck in my chest. Another shape changed. Then one more. Three of them. Their shoulders jerked, and their skin pulled tight as if something inside was trying to get out. The alley was filled with a sharp cracking sound that kept hitting bone over and over. The fabric ripped. Fur broke through the skin. I tried to push it away with my mind. Tried to tell me I was sleepy. That fear was playing tricks on me. People only talk about wolves in stories. One fell to all fours. Muscles rolled under thick gray hair. It opened its lips to show teeth that were too long and too sharp. I was afraid I couldn't yell. I picked up the glass bottle next to the dumpster, which was shaking in my hands, and threw it. It broke when it hit the wall. They didn't move. One of them lunged, and something hit it from the side. A body.People. They hit the ground hard. The wolf snarled and snapped at the man, but he hit it in the throat with his elbow so hard that it stopped making noise. He moved like he was full of rage. Like his body had been through this fight before. He rolled and tried to get up, but he fell. His shoulder was covered in blood. He wasn't one of those people. But he wasn't normal either. He raised his head. And the world got smaller for him. Silver. Not gray. Not pale. Metal that looks like silver when it catches the moonlight. They locked onto mine, and something flashed there. Fear. Not for himself. For me. "Run," he said in a rough voice. The word hit me hard and cold. There was a wolf behind him. Another one turned to me with their head down and eyes burning. I didn't run. I picked up a broken piece of brick and backed up against the wall. My heart was beating so hard it hurt. "Behind you!" I yelled. The wolf jumped. The man turned, but it was too late; the claws tore through his shirt. He grunted, and the sound of his breath leaving him was harsh, but he stayed standing. He looked at me instead of the wolf. As if I were the mistake. Like I was the threat. The wolf next to me crouched down. I tossed the brick. It hit its nose. The wolf jerked its head back, more surprised than hurt. The man looked. His face changed in some way. Not relief. Not hope. More profound. More pointed. He pushed the wolf away and stumbled toward me. "Stay close," he said, his voice rough from pain. I should have gone the other way. I moved toward him instead. As soon as his hand closed around my wrist, everything went crazy. It felt like touching fire when the heat shot up my arm. My breath came out in a punch. My knees almost gave out. No pain. Power. Something fierce ripped through me: rage that wasn't mine, grief that felt old, heavy, and buried deep. It wrapped around my heart and squeezed it. I gasped. He did as well. We stared at each other. The silver burned brighter. He began, "What are you..." The wolves stopped moving. All three of them looked at me. Not that guy. Me. Their growls changed. Less. Not sure. The air was thick and charged, like it was about to rain. He tightened his grip. He looked really scared. "Run," he said again, this time in a lower voice. "Now." I gave it a shot. My body wouldn't budge. The wolf I hit stepped forward, its nose twitching as if it were smelling something new. It didn't know what it was. The man moved in front of me, and even though he was bleeding, his shoulders were square. He stood still. Last. His voice got lower, deeper, and more dangerous, and it carried more weight than the alley could hold. "Don't look at her." The wolf lunged. He met it in the air. The alley was full of snarls and claws, and in the dark, silver eyes flashed. I stood there, shaking and holding m y breath, knowing without knowing how that whatever I had just touched... Nothing would ever be quiet again.