Alpha's Prophesied Mate

APM 4

"Miss! Miss, Wake up!" I opened my eyes slowly to see a sharp light streaming in through my car window. I shielded my eyes quickly from the glare. Wait a minute? Car window?

The last time I woke up in my car was five years ago, when I first purchased my Honda Civic. I was so excited that I had a lone party in the car and ended up falling asleep in it.

I woke up with a heavy hangover and promised myself never to try such a thing again.

I opened my eyes sharply, trying to get my bearing, and I looked around me and noticed two male police officers standing by my window, signaling that I should take it down. It's still dark outside. A quick look at the timer on my dashboard shows that it was around 5 a.m.

"Hello officers," I said, lowering the window slightly to allow my voice to reach them.

"I was a bit tipsy and decided to be safe and not drive home in that condition."

I decided not to tell them anything about the events that transpired earlier that night because I was sure they would not believe me. They would definitely lock me in an asylum and throw away the key. A man whose face changes shape, or I tell them a werewolf bit me; I would even lock myself away and swallow the key.

"We have to commend your commitment to safety, but you should have called a cab; sleeping inside your car could lead to suffocation, and you could pass on without anyone knowing,"

He pointed out to a man who stood a little distance from where they were, wearing an orange reflective jacket.

"You should be grateful to this gentleman who noticed your unresponsiveness." “He had tried calling out to you several times before he contacted us.”

I gave him a quick “Thank You” wave before turning back to the officers.

"As you can see, I am okay." “Thank you so much for your service.”

I give a mock salute with my right hand and quickly drop it when I see my wrist is still stained with blood.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing."

"Madam, are you sure you are okay?" "Do you want us to call any of your family members?"

I remembered Kira and quickly grabbed my phone to check. I see it is off and plug it into the car charging spot while dismissing the officers.

"I am a very fine officer; I will be going home now." I started my car and shifted it into drive.

"Drive safe, ma'am,"

"Thank you, officers, I will."

I drive off, and while my phone slowly comes on, I see 21 missed calls, 15 messages from my sister, and 2 messages from an

unknown number.

I don’t break down until I get home and get into the shower. I let out body-wracking sobs as I tried to comprehend the fact that I could have died tonight. I grab the loofah and scrub my right arm vigorously until the skin looks red and angry, as if it could get rid

of the memory of what had taken place.

I find myself struggling to get air into my lungs and have to consciously get myself to calm down using breathing exercises from meditation videos I have watched.

Breathe in, in, in.

Breathe out

Breathe in, in, in, and out.

I find myself doing this repeatedly and finally feel some of the tension leave my body.

I get out of the shower, dry myself, and change into my pajamas. Before going to bed, I take antiseptic wipes from the first aid kit under the sink and clean the wound on my wrist, wrapping it in gauze.

It had faded to look like an angry bite. I know the healing rate is not normal, but not one thing that happened this night has been normal so far, so I am not going to complain about being alive with just a mild injury.

I fall asleep before my head hits the pillow, but the nightmares don’t let me sleep.

I am stuck in the middle of a dark forest and seem lost. I keep turning around to get my bearings, but I look down suddenly when I feel something on my legs, only to see a husky with a mix of white and black fur rubbing itself on me. I have always loved dogs, so I get on my knees to pet them.

"Who is a good boy?" rubbing its fur and petting it.

Suddenly, a howl rings out from the forest, and the husky I am petting lifts its head and lets out a soul-gutting howl, like it has finally found its missing piece.

When I got a closer look, I realized it was a wolf with amber eyes and blue flecks. I fall back onto my bottom and crawl away as fast as I can. I try getting up to run but find myself restricted by the tree branches stuck in my nightgown.

The wolf sits on its haunches and doesn’t move, but it keeps looking at me with a sad look in its eyes.

My mind doesn’t seem to process that fact, so I keep trying to pinch myself to at least wake up.

Wake up! Wake up!! Wake upppp!!!

I wake up with a headache and find my pajamas soaked in sweat; the injury on my limb is throbbing furiously, with a searing pain running through my wrist.

I took out my phone to check the time and discovered that I had only slept for 3 hours. I decided to get up to bake and clean, seeing as sleeping would be very difficult after such a nightmare anyway.

I briefly wondered who or what the wolf in my dream was; it appeared harmless and wasn't about to bite. However, after tonight's experience, I'm not taking any chances with any canine; in fact, I'm crossing getting a dog off my to-do list. I'm not taking any chances.

I grab my phone from the nightstand to find the messages from Kira, most of them in a worried tone.

Hey, sis, your date’s name is Liam; he is a professor of anthropology at my school; be nice. P.S. I will give you my new black and silver clutch if your date goes well.

I tried calling you, and Liam says he’s running a bit late, but he’ll be with you soon.

Why are you not picking? Are you mad at me? You might get madder. He’s not coming anymore; he had a family emergency.

I am sorry, and I solemnly promise I won't try to set you up again.

Pick up the phone; I'm worried. Are you home?

I called your neighbor; she hasn't seen you yet. Where are you?

My messages have stopped delivering. Emily, where are you?

You had better be dead or something, or else I am going to kill you myself. Where are you?

I called the cops; they said it was too early to file a missing persons report. Please call me.

So many others are expressing their worry; it is very cute to see her worry so much. I like to think that if I hadn't escaped, she would have made sure I got justice.

I shot her a quick text.

"My phone died; I am okay now."

I knew she would still be asleep, especially after the kind of night I imagined she had. Baking a couple of lemon-flavoured pastries had me cleaning the whole house eventually.

"Why are you an hour early?" Sarah teased me as I entered the reception. "Did my threats eventually get to you?"

As soon as she sees my face, she stops. I've had a fever since waking up, and I can't manage to keep anything I eat down. I know I look bad. Placing a hand on my forehead

"Oh, my God! You are burning up.” "You need to visit the staff clinic immediately."

"I know Sarah; that’s why I came early."

"As a thank you for all the hassle I've caused you so far, I also got you a few of the lemon-flavored pastries that you adore. She takes them from me and smiles as she does so.

I don't want anyone to know that I bake because if they did, all of their requests for the pastries would be too much for me to handle.

"You still have to tell me where you get those things; they taste like what I imagine heaven would taste like; aside from that, you need to get to the doctor right away; your color isn't looking good at all."

"Okay, momma bear, I am going now." I took two steps before I felt my vision go blurry. I take another step after stabilizing myself by grasping the reception desk. I feel myself falling as I experience total darkness.

**************************************************************************

"I told you explicitly that it is none of my business if you want to kill humans for fun, but you must never leave them alive, and what did you do?" "ARE YOU PLANNING ON HELPING THAT DIRTY CREATURE FULFILL THE PROPHECY?" A booming voice can be heard out of view.

"I am sorry, brother, I didn’t mean to, I swear!" "I smelled the hunter; he's been on my tail for a few weeks." The man tied to the chair whimpers. He knows what his brother is capable of doing, especially seeing as he has been brought to the slaughterhouse. Calling it a "slaughterhouse" is a mild statement of the true state of things.

The floor is littered with the skulls of humans and animals and their bones; the air is thick with the smell of decaying bodies he and his brother have killed for fun; and he knows first-hand what his brother does to everyone, including those who betray him.

"You have made a mess, now I have to find someone to clean it up."

"No, brother, please, I can fix it, I promise."

"What is her name?" "What does she do?"

"Uhmmm, I am sorry, brother, I am really sorry."

“I didn’t think she would be alive, so it wouldn’t matter. I am sorry”. "Please let me fix this." He rushed out in a panicked tone.

"WHAT IS HER NAME?" The face of the man came into view, morphing into an elongated snout with gnarly yellow teeth. He looked like a feral wolf.

"I am sorry!" By this time, the man in the chair was weeping like a baby.

"I don’t need your apology; what is her freakin' name?" He screamed into his face.

"I don’t know her name, brother, but I -." His head flies off before he can complete that statement.

"I am not your brother!" The werewolf says as he kicks the headless body to the ground.