Alpha Rising

Chapter Three

Alvira's P.O.V.

The last thing I remembered was standing in the clearing, the moon in my eyes as I let out a long keening howl. The taste of the wind on my tongue and the sound of leaves rustling with the breeze. Soft earth shifted beneath my paws, and my nails raked short channels in the packed dirt. It was the first time in days that I’d felt whole, and even remotely at peace. 

After that, my night went black and blurry. It wasn't until the next morning that I started with a jolt, still expecting to wake up nude in the forest after shifting back. But...no. I was in my bed, clothed, with one of the worst headaches of my life. I groaned, wiping the sleep from my eyes and trying to make sense of it all.

Was it all just some terrible nightmare? It had to have been, right?

The memories started to rush back to me little by little. My mother’s terrified voice, the sensation of Alban’s pulse matching my own when she told us-

“Hey there Sleeping Beauty,” a familiar voice called, rousing me from my thoughts. I shot my eyes around the room until I caught sight of Nell, curled up in the large chair that sat next to my bookcase. SHe squeaked slightly as she stretched, her shirt riding up on her stomach before she stood and made her way over to my bed. 

“Hey,” I muttered, flopping back into my pillow with a groan. Already, she was there, sprawling out over my stomach in the overly dramatic fashion that suited her so well. It did, however, end up making me laugh just enough o roll her off to the side and curl my arms around her. “Who called you?” I asked, burying my face in her shoulder as I let her readjust and slide her arm under my head. 

“Alban,” she sighed, reaching down to pull the covers back up over us. “He was real worried about you, Vi. Still is, by the sound of it.” She looked up over my shoulder at the door to my bedroom.

At first, I hadn’t heard it, but with some more focus and a clearer head, it became clearer. There was soft snoring coming from the other side of the door. The sound of it made me smile, even if just slightly. “I’m worried about him too, Nell,” I said. “Mom dropped a bomb on us last night. I don’t even know where to start.”

I could feel her attention shift and her posture change to something more alert and more concerned. “Yeah?” There was a slight shudder to her tone, though I could tell she tried her best to hide it. She was curious, and I wanted to lay it all out for her. But I needed more information first. I don’t know what Alban told her, and I don’t know what she might have overheard from last night. 

“Yeah,” I finally replied, wrestling with my want to stay curled up in bed. I felt the tight squeeze of my friend’s arms and grumbled as I looked up at her. She may only be a few months older than me, having just turned twenty-one herself, but she was by far one of the wisest she-wolves I’d ever met. A fleeting thought had come to pass through my mind at that- at what a wonderful Beta she would be. The anxiety flared in my chest again, tightening its grip on my heart as my breath came in a strangled wheeze. “I promise I’ll tell you soon, Nell. Just…”

She was already shushing me, petting my hair, and pressing an understanding kiss to my temple. “Girl you know I’m a patient b***h. You get yourself in order first, and I’ll be here to help put you back together.” What had I ever done to deserve such an understanding friend? Goddess bless her. 

It was easy for me to spend just a few more minutes in that easy comfort of my friend’s arms, and I wished more than anything that I could have stayed there all day and willed the near-insurmountable stresses away. But I heard Alban stir on the other side of the door just a moment before he knocked. When he pushed the door open, his relief was clear on his face. Green eyes glittered with a deep and resonant pain that spoke to me at my very core. I was certain that it was the very same look shining in my own eyes at that moment as I pushed up in my bed. 

“You didn’t have to sleep outside my door,” I told him before he could even speak. I knew him, better than I knew myself at times. I could feel him buzzing with conflict. His eyes met mine and darted to Nell. Thankfully, she still had her face pressed into the pillows and had missed the subtle shake of my head at my brother’s silent question. It was easy to see the relief in his drooped shoulders before he took it upon himself to lean up against my desk. 

I let out the deep breath that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and ran my hand back through my hair. As I pulled my hand away, there was still a dried leaf stuck in the slightly matted curls from my impromptu forest nap. Great. Just what I wanted to deal with. “Is Mom awake?” I asked turning to meet Alban’s eyes. 

“Yeah,” came the sigh that barely passed for a reply. “She’s down with Uncle Ethan in the kitchen.” 

Oh, now that actually was a bit of good news. Mom’s younger brother Ethan was one of the best chefs in the pack. That was his main job, actually, while his mate ran one of the medical centers and worked with the pack healers. And oh, was it a glorious morning when Uncle Ethan was the one in charge of breakfast. My stomach betrayed how hungry I actually was with a strong growl, and both Nell and Alban started to snicker and laugh once it passed. With a hand to my stomach, I felt my lips draw to a tight frown. “Maybe we should go and…” But my stomach spoke again, cutting me off.

“Oh for sure,” Nell said, hopping right up and lightly bumping Alban’s hip with her own. She stood there a moment, slinging her arm over my brother’s shoulder and letting her head rest against his for a moment. 

The closeness had elicited a healthy blush from my brother- but I don’t think that Nell even noticed it. He’d been smitten with her for some time now, and it was honestly the cutest damned thing. When Alban turned eighteen and could start sensing his mate, he was more than a little disappointed that it hadn't been Nell. And I had a feeling that if they both stayed unmated for too long, he would likely ask her to be his chosen mate.

I could see him pause like he wanted to say something to her beyond the greetings we already had, but it looked like something stopped him just as Nell pulled away. Pity. They would honestly be perfect for each other. Even if they didn’t find their fated mates, they could still mark each other and give me some nieces and nephews to spoil. 

That thought was a momentary reprieve from this damned stress eating at my very core, even if it was fleeting. It didn’t take long for the pang of guilt at the back of my head to yank me back down to Earth. With one quick swipe I nabbed a hair tie from my dresser and twisted my mess of curls up into a loose bun. It was just enough to keep my hair out of my face while I ate, at least. Once I gave myself the obligatory half-assed once-over in the mirror, I gestured for the others to lead the way.

Alban took the lead first, hefting himself up off the desk and almost moping right out my bedroom door. Almost as soon as the door was open, the smell of warm vanilla hit my nose and had me nearly salivating. My feet fell softly on the cold hardwood floors, and I could feel the thin layer of earth still stuck to the balls of my feet. A shower would absolutely be next on my docket. The three of us came down the stairs and rounded the corner into the kitchen, coming face to face with Ethan grinning ear to ear with a hot and fresh platter of french toast just waiting for us to dig in. Had it been any other day, I might have met him with a warm hug or some playful jabs. But today...I just felt too tired.

Mom, on the other hand, still wore the same faded blue top from last night. She hadn’t slept at all. But as soon as her eyes fell on me, she was pushing past her brother to come and wrap me in a tight and warm hug. I couldn’t see around her shoulder as she held me, despite being nearly half a foot taller than tiny her five foot four frame. She was clutching me so tightly that I feared I might lose circulation in my arms. That is, until Alban cleared his throat behind us. Mom caught herself and readjusted her top while wiping her eyes. 

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered to me, gently touching my cheek before moving past me to peck a kiss to Alban’s cheek. “Eat up, kids,” she said with the typical grace and comfort of a Luna. Her bright eyes fell on each of us in turn, a silent order if ever we’d been given one. After a few hushed words to her brother, she returned to the three of us with a sweet, if forced, smile. “Once you wash up, your Father wants a few words with you both.” There was a heavy emphasis on both that truly hit home the gravity of the situation. 

“In his office?” I asked, already loading my plate down with warm, buttered french toast and sausage. 

“No,” she countered, much to my relief. “Just in the back garden.” 

Alban looked at me with a faint shrug, and we both knew that we couldn’t really fight it. But at least it wasn’t in his office. It would feel significantly less formal and intimidating that way. We may be his children, and he may want to dote on us in his own way. But he was still our Alpha. We had to pay him every respect that a non-relative would, even in the direst circumstances. 

“Okay,” Alban and I called in unison.

With that, Mom called for our younger siblings to come down and eat. Jacob was first, his little pajama-covered feet sounding like a heavy stampede as his energy carried him down the stairs in a near avalanche. He was only ten, but he was already nearing Mom’s height. It would be no surprise if he cleared Alban’s height of almost six feet when he finally got older. He had our father’s hair when he was that age, a mop of dirty blonde fluff that never seemed to be controllable. His rich brown eyes were a mirror of Dad’s too, warm and full of honeyed flecks. Full cherubic cheeks were puffed out full of sweet breakfast foods when he mouthed off a chipper morning greeting to me. Goddess guide me, I would do anything in my power to protect that boy.

Cecilia, older than him by six years, was fully engrossed in her moody teenage stage. She had been blessed with those same blonde waves, but she took after our mother with her striking green eyes and bold features. It was clear that she’d been up far too late and had little to no idea what had been going on down here last night. If I had to guess, she was probably chatting with that Evans boy from her class. Ever since her first shift back in December she’d been more than a little bit boy crazy.

They both seemed rather at peace. At least as much at peace as a pair of kids on a Saturday morning could be. Cecilia would have liked to sleep in more, I could have bet money on that. But to their credit, they brightened up the whole room just by being there. 

Jacob had started to go on about one of the games he’d been playing in his grade-school class, but I could feel Alban losing his focus just as much as I was. We both tried to put on a brave face for the little one, but as much as we wanted to make this meal feel even remotely normal, we just couldn’t. The mood was too dire and too tense for us to be able to go at this in any such lighthearted manner. All I could really hear was the delicate scrape of utensils on china, and even that was starting to drive me mad.

At the tail end of the meal, I could feel my brother hesitating just as much as I was. We were both pushing around the final dregs of our meals and drawing out the time to keep us from having to face the proverbial music. What could we do, honestly? Our entire world had shattered and shifted in one single conversation last night, and we had to hold it together around quite literally everyone else. 

I was the first to push up from the table, muttering a thank you before dropping my plate off in the sink full of soapy water and giving my mother one more kiss on her cheek. I saw Nell look back at me as I headed back for the stairs, and I left her with a slow nod. I would be fine At least I hoped I would. 

Right now, I just needed that hot shower to melt all of my troubles away for just a few minutes. And then I might have the courage to face the Alpha of the Black Opal pack.