Alice and The Rogue Wolf

Alice I heard the melodic sound of birdsong before I woke up. My limbs felt extraordinarily heavy and so did my head. I felt like I had slept for ages. I opened my eyes slowly, letting it adjust to the brightness of the room, with the sun streaming in from the large windows. My vision blurred a bit, and I blinked, slowly at first, sleep clearing from my eyes. I focused my eyes onto the ceiling of my room, recognising the glow-in-the-dark stars and moons I had somehow found a way to place there when I was six. I sighed deeply, feeling too well-rested for my liking, before moving to raise myself. I struggled strangely, my limbs were far too heavy and my hands shook as I tried to get them to obey my commands. I frowned down at myself; what was wrong with me? I barely managed to pull myself up into a sitting position. It felt like I had slept for decades. Why had dad and mum let me sleep in? it’s not as if I hated it, but really. I thought about it, recalling it was not a full moon yesterday. Nor was it my birthday (it was in January, not August), and I never did anything noteworthy the previous day. In fact, I had lazed about trying to avoid work as much as possible. Mum had argued with me over that, I recalled. No sooner had I thought that then I heard my room door open and close, and I turned to it, curious. I could see my mum slipping in with her back to me, and I frowned. She rarely came to my room, unless it was an urgent matter. And even then, my door was often locked. Why did she feel so free to slip into my room like she had done it times before? I watched as she turned, eyes finally noticing my presence. Her reaction was that of shock and disbelief, with her nearly dropping the laundry basket containing sheets and towels. Her eyes widened, as our gazes met. “Alice?” I heard a whisper in a tone of disbelief. It was my mum, looking amazed at finding me awake. My brows furrowed; she looked like she had seen a ghost. What was wrong? I opened my mouth to speak and found my mouth dry, so all I was able to do was croak weakly. She slowly set down the laundry basket she was holding, before rushing over to me, and taking me in a tight hug. I could not help but wonder what was going on. I noticed a few more grey hairs than usual on her head. Her perfume and general scent were still as comforting as ever. I felt relief with her just hugging me. However, my limbs were heavy, throat dry and body weak for some strange reason. So, I just stayed, limp as she held me for a few more seconds before slowly letting go. I coughed a bit, swallowing painfully and wincing. She noticed, and made to get up. “Water,” she murmured. Standing up and walking to my room door, “Hold on, honey. I’ll get you some water.” I watched the door shut, her exit leaving me alone once more. I looked down at myself, feeling lost for some strange reason. Why did this room seem so unfamiliar yet so familiar? I began to look around it, noticing how my bookshelf suddenly seemed a lot fuller, and I saw a lot smaller plant-pots of succulents around. I even had a new desk and chair it seemed. Great, I sighed to myself, mum must have done all of this. But what for? She came in through the door, holding a glass cup filled to the brim with water. She walked over to me and sat beside me once again. She refused to hand it to me, instead placing the rim of the glass against my lips for me to sip. I gulped it all up as she tilted the glass, unable to quench my thirst satisfactorily. But at least my mouth had been wet enough for me to speak. “Mum, what’s wrong?” were the first words out of my mouth, still croaky but clearer. She dropped the cup by my bedside table, sniffling a little bit. I caught how her eyes looked glossy, glittering with unshed tears. “You’ve been unconscious dear, for quite some time. You hit your head and…” she began to sniff, and I felt a piece of the puzzle click into place. That was why I felt lethargic, I thought, looking down at myself. I raised my hands shakily, feeling the blood rush through it. I clenched, once, twice, thrice. Each time easier than the last. I turned to my mum, who still looked at me in wonder. “How long?” I asked her, voice still crackly. I cleared my throat, repeating the question in a clearer voice. “How long have I been out?” “About two weeks,” she said, wringing her hands. She walked over to me again, sitting on my bedside and giving me a hug which, this time, I could return. I felt amazement at her reply. Two weeks! What had happened to me? For some reason, I felt tears prickle in my eyes, and I could not help but sniff. “It’s fine, mum,” I choked out. “I’m fine, see?” She sniffed even more, letting me go to look at my face once more. When she had looked her fill, she spoke, “I’ll go call the doctor.” She exited soon after, taking her now-empty laundry basket with her. As soon as the door shut behind her, I made to swing my legs over and place my feet on the floor. It proved very difficult, with my feet not obeying my commands. Soon, they were both on the warm rug that covered the floorboards of my room. I heaved a large sigh, moving to the next step. I pushed myself up into a standing position, ultimately falling back to sitting on the bed. I felt massive pins and needles run through my legs and up my arms. It was mildly unbearable. I hissed lowly at the feeling. Okay, new plan, I thought, instead working to shift my feet from side to side without help of my hands. It took me some time, and I could practically feel the minutes pass by as the clock hung on my room wall ticked slowly. I then made to slowly stand, aborting the mission the first time after my knees locked and I needed to sit down to readjust myself. Keep going, Alice, I told myself. I got up, finally, after the third time, feeling blood pulse in my legs and some pins and needles that I hated very much. I shuffled around on heavy limbs, feeling like an old lady. I couldn’t help a dry laugh as I felt triumph for accomplishing such a meagre task. I shuffled around, placing my hands on the wall for support various times. I moved from corner to corner, until I got to my bathroom. I opened the door to the bathroom shakily, moving slowly without wall support into the blue-tiled bathroom. I looked around it to find nothing different, or t least, not too different. I moved over to my sink, now stepping more confidently, eyes on the mirror that was placed above it. My eyes narrowed as I took step by step towards my destination. Then I paused, catching a glimpse of my reflection. I could not help my eyes widening as I moved closer, not sure of what I was seeing. It was me! I let out a gasp, comprehending my slightly new appearance. My hair. My face. What was this? I raised my hand to touch my face, feeling it. I saw my reflection do the same. This was real, I told myself. I looked into the blue eyes of my reflection for a second, eyes moving back to examine my hair. No longer was it the usual wavy and long locks I always sported – it was different now. My hair was different. I gazed at my straight, shoulder length hair which I now sported, shaking my head in curiosity. The hair moved with me, and I touched my strands, wondering what had happened to it. I didn’t hate the style; I just don’t remember cutting my hair. Was it mum who did this? Would she ever do something like this? I heard the door open, and my mum’s voice call out my name. I didn’t answer, simply transfixed upon my reflection. I looked down on myself, noticing that I was taller even. Before, the top of my head was seen on my reflection, but now, it seemed like I had grown an inch or two overnight. Either that, or the mirror was shorter than I remembered. What was going on, I wondered, dread settling in my bones and giving me that heavy feeling again. Something was definitely not right here. Chapter two: Alice “Honey, what’s wrong?” I heard my mum come into the bathroom, and saw her reflection stand behind me, looking on in worry. I saw her brows furrowed, her expression tense and I knew she could sense that something was wrong. “What’s wrong with me? I turned to her, blurting out. She made to open her mouth but was interrupted by a knock on the door. We both turned our hands to the direction of my room door. Then, she turned back to me, smiling gently, taking my hand and tugging me out of my bathroom. “Come on, honey. The doctor is here.” I followed but I couldn’t shake my feeling of upset and confusion. I made to sit atop my bed, sinking my butt into the soft mattress, my mind in disarray. But I knew, as my mum opened the door to welcome the doctor in, that she was feeling the same way. Because I saw that beneath her smile, her muscles were tense. A blond, young-looking doctor came in, holding a big leather bag. His scent was of pack, and I frowned to myself. I had never seen him before, not in the packhouse or the rest of the compound. Was he new? “Hello,” he greeted me cheerfully and I nodded, returning his greeting. Soon, the doctor had taken a seat beside the place I sat on the bed. “Alright, Miss Walker. My name is Doctor Tanner, and I will be checking your vitals for today to see how everything is. The checks I’m going to do will be painless and quick but I will need your cooperation so that this can move as fast as possible. Do you understand?” the doctor – Dr. Tanner, I corrected myself – sounded as if he had made this speech everyday of his life before now. I nodded in response to his last question. He continued, “Good. I appreciate that. Now tell me, how do you feel?” “Okay,” I replied, even though I did not feel all okay. Thoughts of my appearance still plagued me. but it was okay. He nodded at my non-committal reply, moving to get a few things from his bag. Soon, he had arranged a few items (including s stethoscope, blood pressure machine and a tiny flashlight) atop the bed beside where I sat. “So,” he started, and I looked at his face. “Shall we begin?” I am not sure of how much time passed after that. All I knew was that I felt like I was being slowly poked and prodded. I made an effort to calm myself, feeling the urge to transform and bite the man’s head off. dad would laugh if he heard that. Where was Dad, anyway? I recalled he did not have any afternoon pack meetings scheduled for the upcoming weeks. Or did something happen that I was not aware of? “How does it look, doctor?” my mum asked, voice tense. She had been lingering behind Dr Tanner, since he started his examination. I jolted a little, my mind brought back to the present. “Well, your vitals look okay,” the doctor said, having just finished taking my blood pressure. I heard my mum heave a sigh of relief, and a smile slipped on my face unbidden. Everything was fine. Thank the goddess. “Now to the next set of tests. I will now ask you a couple of questions, just to check your cognitive functions a bit, okay?” I nodded. “Good. Let’s start with the easy ones. What’s your name?” he asked me. “Alice Gene Walker.” I replied. “Do you know where you are right now?” “Yeah,” I answered confidently. “I’m in my room.” “Okay, good. How old are you?” “19.” Silence. Dr Tanner paused momentarily, looking at me oddly. “Begging your pardon, miss Alice. Can you please repeat that?” he sounded like that was not what he expected to hear. I looked at my mum, noticing her face was pale. What was going on? I turned to the doctor again, repeating my previous answer. “I am nineteen years old, Dr Tanner.” He nodded; his brows now furrowed with concern in his words as he asked the next question. “What day is it today?” “Uhm,” I began to think, recalling that it was sometime around the first week of August. Mum said that I had been unconscious for two weeks, so it should be the end of August, right? I replied with my answer, a bit unsure. “Year?” he asked me, and I told him. The doctor sighed, pausing in his questions, obviously catching something that I didn’t. I felt my heartbeat quicken as I saw him fumble for something in his pocket. Finally, he pulled out a phone, which looked unlike any other phone I had seen since. Must have been a new model, I mused to myself, watching him do something with it, before handing it to me. “Take a look at this, Miss Alice.” he said, and I took the phone in unsteady hands, and I looked. When I saw it, I gasped, letting go of the phone and watching it drop on the bed. “What… It’s not…” I spluttered, mind in disarray. It can’t be, I insisted inwardly. The date I had stated, was off. way off. By over three years. Oh God! “I don’t remember this,” I looked at Dr Tanner, unable to articulate my thoughts. “I swear, it’s not what I remember. My mum began to sniff again, and I felt horrible for it. “It’s okay Miss Walker,” Dr Tanner soothed me. “It’s alright. This happens.” I shook my head vigorously, turning to my mum and trying to explain to her. “It can’t be true, mum. I swear, I don’t-” “It’s fine, honey. You hit your head. It’s fine-” She tried to also console me, but I could not take it. “It is not fine!” I exploded at her, my eyes prickling. “How can I forget three years of my life?” “Calm down honey,” my mum said to me, I heard her plead with me, as I shut my eyes briefly. “It is possible,” I heard Dr Tanner say. “Miss Walker, you suffered a major blow to your head in an accident. It is possible that due to the concussion you might have had, that you lost some memories.” “Well, get them back.” I insisted. “How can I get them back?” “For now,” he looked from me to my mum. “A lot of rest. You are a little underweight a little due to your lack of nutrition during your unconsciousness. You also need a lot of exercise.” I made to speak, but he cut me off, saying. “You’re no good to yourself or the pack in this state.” I felt morose. The news was still very baffling to me. I, Alice Walker, was an amnesiac. I felt the worst I had ever being, recalling all the changes I noticed made to my room. They must have been from me, instead of my mum like I had thought. I made those changes. I also changed my hair as well. I grew older and had experiences, that I don’t even remember now. Dr Tanner was right – I needed to rest. I still felt my body weak. He was right. I would rest, and hope that I could get them back. At least, I would have the support of my father, the Alpha of our pack. And my mother as well, as well as the rest of the pack members. I was not alone. “Very well,” I sighed, making my decision. I turned to my mum. “At least dad hasn’t seen me in this state yet. He’d freak,” I smiled tearfully. My mum gasped, loudly, covering her mouth with her hands. I frowned, wondering why she made such an expression. Before I could speak, she said, smiling at me tearfully. “Let me show Dr Tanner out, honey. I’ll be right back. You just… lay back down now, and get some rest.” I snorted at her as the door closed being her. I could barely sit still, having been unconscious for over two weeks and now, I discover that I have lost apparently three years of my life. I groaned, covering my hands with my face. I was 22 years old! Not 19! I had apparently lost three years of my life for nothing!! What the frick was going on now?! I sent a short prayer to the moon goddess that I would gain my memories back eventually. Dr Tanner had said it was going to be gradual… but what if I did not end up regaining everything? Or anything at all? What would happen then, to me? I would become the weak link of the pack. The Alpha of Excelsis Pack, having a daughter that was an amnesiac. It would be shameful. And then, would I be able to ever live a completely normal life again? I have not just forgotten time, but precious memories, experiences, meetings, absolutely important information, that due to my position as the Alpha’s daughter, I could not afford to lose. I snorted at my predicament, feeling lost. This was definitely what I had not signed up for. Alice, oh Alice. What a mess you have become.