The Girl The Alpha Chose (18+)

Chapter 10

Sunni’s arm was grabbed as she was pulled out of the car and brought back on to the couch that she was just on mere hours ago. Her fingers rubbed against her temple as Archer’s dad had muttered for her to wait before leaving the room. Just like this morning, she could feel eyes on her and she did her best to ignore them.

She stared at her hands, wanting to feel relief as the claws had retracted and the cut from the sharp nails had healed but it served to stress her out.

She stayed in that position, flexing her hand, for about fifteen minutes before the sound of running feet made her look up. Archer came in through the doorway, a frantic look on his face. His eyes landed on her and he was quick to take the space on the couch next to her, his hands reaching towards her but pausing when she flinched away.

“Sunni...are you ok?’’ He asks, gently.

She doesn’t say anything, watching as Archer’s parents come in followed by a couple more people that the curly haired girl didn’t pay attention to. Her eyes trained on Noelle’s warm eyes as she gave her a soft, reassuring smile but Sunni couldn’t find it in herself to relax.

Not with William’s burning gaze.

“Everyone, leave now.’’ William commands, so strong and firm, and the occupants of the room are quick to leave, leaving Sunni, Archer, his parents and a few others.

Finally gathering the courage to hold her head up, she lifts her head and stares into hard blue eyes. Wincing, she held his gaze even as the gaze grew more heated as she stared head on, the urge to flee stronger than ever but she couldn’t.

Not until she got answers.

She could feel Archer tense next to her, whether because of the situation, the fact that WIlliam looked ready to jump at her or both. The urge to flee simmers as a new urge arises, and she turns her gaze to Archer and gives him a smile, patting his hand before placing her hands on her lap, her stare turned to the table as the tense air dims down. After a few moments, William speaks up and she looks up.

“I’m going to get straight to the point. You are-’’

Noelle elbows her husband, shutting him up as they glare at each other before William turns his glare to the coffee table. Had it not been a tense moment, Sunni would have cooed at the obvious affection for each other despite the mini argument they had. They kind of reminded her of her parents, her father never winning an argument against his mother through their silent shared looks.

Noelle turns to Sunni with a motherly smile. “Excuse my husband, he can be abrasive. Now...Dear please be honest. Has there been weird things happening to you this last week?’’

Now that the attention was back on her, she felt sweat starting to form as she took a moment.

“Weird how?’’ No way she was going to mention everything and have the freaking Mayor send her to a mental institute!

Noelle nods, a bit flustered. “Oh yes, sorry dear. Weird as in changes. Like your sense of smell becoming stronger. Your eyesight is better. Things like that?’’

Sunni nods slowly, studying Noelle as the older woman smiles, a bit relieved.

“That’s perfectly normal dear. Before we give you an explanation, I would like to apologize. How we handled this wasn’t exactly ideal and you suffered because of it.’’

Sunni’s lips pursed a bit as she stared in confusion. She turns her gaze to Archer as he takes her hand, his hazel eyes as he speaks up.

“Sunni, there’s a reason all those are happening and it also explains why you had that freak out earlier. We...aren’t human.’’

The curly haired teen blinks, uncertainty filling her as she straightens up and looks behind Archer, wondering if she could book it out of here. She looks back to Archer then to Noelle.

“Not human?’’ Was all she could say. Archer squeezes her hand and smiles reassuringly.

“Yes. We are wolves. I know it’s hard to take in, but it’s why you can see better, hear better. It’s why you have been irritated lately. The full moon is nearing and it’s your wolf calling out to it. It probably explains why you found us this morning, it must have been your wolf calling out to us since we are the only pack nearby. You are turning into one of us. Are..is this making any sense to you?’’

Throughout his rambling, Sunni just nods, her face contemplating and the second he says pack, some sort of understanding fills her. It still does little to soothe her anxiety, which has been steadily climbing at the explanation.

Patting his hand, she gives him a confident smile even though she feels sick to her stomach. “I totally get it, Archer.”

The group around the teen relax immediately, the girl surprisingly taking it rather good before they freeze at the next words that leave her mouth as Sunni squeezes Archer’s shoulder.

“I think it’s cool that you didn’t let society squash your dreams. I mean, when I was younger, I thought I could change into dragon so….’’ She said, laughing nervously before quieting at the lack of response. Archer had an exasperated look as grabs her shoulder, turning her to him.

“Sunni, no, I’m not a… We are werewolves. Like, huge wolves. I even saved you from that other wolf-’’ Archer freezes at the confession and Sunni jumps up, her hands gripping a hand full of her hair as she tugs down, pacing a bit. “Sunni…’’

She doesn’t hear Archer talking to her, nor Noelle coming over to calm her down.

Wolves were real. Actual Werewolves were freaking real and she was bit by one. She was bit by a freaking werewolf and she apparently was changing into one? It explained the sudden weirdness but how was that possible? Mythical creatures don’t exist!

She pauses in her steps as a sudden memory hits her.

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“Ah, there’s my little lady!’’ a baritone voice called out in happiness, the man crouching down with his arms open as a little girl no older than six ran to him, jumping to him as a childish giggle filled the air. “And how is my Sunni doing?’’

“I’m good, daddy! Today we learned about diff’rent animals! I really like the big grey doggies!’’ Wide eyes stared up into matching grey eyes.

Ezra chuckled as he held his daughter close. “You mean wolves? Yeah, they are pretty cool. In fact, I have something to show you.’’

The older man carried the girl into the house and up the stairs before setting her down at the end of the hall. He quickly made work of the attic door and once the ladder was set, he allowed Sunni to climb up first, making sure she didn’t fall and once the two were in the dusty area, Ezra pulled on a string and the light flickers on.

Walking to a medium size box, he crouches down and opens it. He shuffles around before pulling out a wrapped item and ushers Sunni closer. The curly haired girl runs over and slides under her dad’s arm as he pulls her closer.

“This right here is a little something I want to give you, but of course when you're older is when you’ll actually get it. Your mama would kill me if I gave this to you now.’’

Sunni giggles as Ezra tickles her before unraveling the object. It was a sheath hunters knife, the handle was a dark stained oak that was carved in a beautiful design. There was a moon and two wolves sitting on a mountain underneath with a few words carved into it. Something about it pulled Sunni closer as her small fingers traced the woodwork.

“This here is something that has been passed down from generation to generation for who knows how long. It holds a lot of history according to your grandparents and when you come of age, it’ll be yours until you pass it off to your own child one day.” he pauses before leaning down, as if to tell her a secret and Sunni tilts her head to listen. “Between you and me, I think it holds some power but enough about that. When you're a bit older, I’ll read you some of the stories in this chest. Now let’s go get dinner ready for mama.’’

Sunni watches as her father puts the beautiful knife away, feeling sad about it and when she turns thirteen, she feels full when her father places the blade into her hands, a warm feeling filling her.

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Sunni slumps down on the couch as that minor memory fills her and she looks to Archer. “Where’s my knife?’’

Archer blinks before looking at his mother. Noelle points to a hallway, and Archer leaves a moment before returning and hesitantly hands her the blade. She clutches the knife to her, ignoring how everyone tenses. She lifts her head and smiles at Archer. “Thank you.’’

“Why do you have a knife, if you don’t mind me asking?’’ William asks, speaking up for the first time since the whole thing started.

“It’s a gift from my dad. It holds a lot of history and is very important to me.” She pauses as she stares at the slightly scratched wood work, tracing the wolves before sighing. “If what you say is true, then please show me.’’

She doesn’t know what possessed her to take Archer’s word seriously but something in her tells her to trust Archer.

Noelle smiles and holds her hand out. Sunni takes it and is led to the backyard and when she and William turn into gigantic wolves similar to the one that attacked her, tears fill her eyes and as Archer shifts into the wolf that saved her, she exhales before blacking out.