The Alpha's Rayne

* Rayne's POV * I'm running around with Daddy, or Alpha Sors as the pack calls him, he's chasing me in circles in front of our pack house. He then changes into his wolf, which always makes me giggle. "Come on, daddy! Faster!" I squeal while laughing. His wolf grunts in acknowledgement as we both pick up our paces. I can run very fast, my feet just move before my brain can even think to, sometimes I'm even faster than some of the wolves in our pack. Daddy says it's because I'm special, I don't know if I want to be special, but I love running. It's not too long before he catches me, Daddy is fast, too. His wolf curls around me- then he nudges me with his nose as I happily climb on his back and hug his fur. His wolf has his own name, he goes by Fatum- which I think is a really awesome name- but I don't have a wolf yet, I'm too young because I'm just eight. I'll have one when I turn fourteen, because Alpha pups gain their wolves faster than the other wolves. The pack teacher taught me that other pups gain their wolves between sixteen and eighteen, she said that it's because their human bodies have to be strong enough to go through the change so their wolves wait for them, whatever that means. I'm just glad I don't have to wait that long. I wish I had my own wolf now. I look up to see where we are, because we've been moving for a while, and I know that Fatum is bringing me to the lake by our pack house. I can see daddy's Beta, known to the pack as Beta Osiris; but to me he's Uncle Siris, he's following us. Daddy likes to have Uncle Siris follow because they're both very protective of me, and Uncle Siris is the best and strongest warrior of the pack. When we get to the lake, I jump from Fatum's back and run to the water. The water is my favorite place, the only place that makes me truly feel at home- and I know Daddy knows it. As Fatum shifts back to Daddy, Uncle Siris shifts to his wolf, Arsenio. They switch because the wolves are stronger, physically, than they are- and if Daddy isn't in his wolf to protect us, than Uncle Siris needs to be. Daddy told me that, he said I'm too smart for my age, and he says I learn fast. I'm splashing around in the water, "swimming like a Nymph," as Daddy says. He never comes in too far, says the water brings back memories of my mommy- but I don't know anything about Mommy, and anytime I bring her up Daddy gets upset. I don't ask questions about Mommy now, I don't like to see Daddy upset- we're best pals. Daddy is watching me when I stop splashing. I smell something different than a wolf, or at least any wolf I've known, and I don't like the way it smells. "Daddy... Do you smell that? What is it?" I ask him. He sniffs the air, and beckons Uncle Siris forward. "Beta, watch Rayne, there's a human nearby." Arsenio nods at Daddy, I think they might be talking through the pack mindlink, but I'm too young to do that yet. Daddy runs into the woods. ****************************************** * Alpha Sors' POV * "Beta, watch Rayne, there's a human nearby." "I will protect her with my life," Osiris tells me through the mindlink. "Good." I run into the woods in my human form, to protect our secret. Humans shouldn't be exposed to wolves- not if there's a choice. "Fatum, which way is the human?" I say in my head to my wolf. Fatum tells me to veer to the right after the next few trees, and then we run. All that matters is protecting my daughter, and my pack. A human this close to my pack land- which is in the middle of nowhere, I did that on purpose when I bought all of the land- is either a rogue spy, a mate (that hasn't gone through the change yet) to a now-dead wolf, or a hunter. A human typically becomes a spy because they believe in the legends of a bite or scratch turning them, and that part is true. There's more, though. Not only does that human become a wolf, but since their bodies didn't naturally contain the gene- they go into a very painful transition period- and unlike a born wolf whose wolf soul will wait for their body to be ready, they'll go into this transition at whatever age they are bitten or scratched. Many don't survive the change into a wolf, and those who do survive typically become pretty strong and gain another soul that inhabits their body, this would then be their wolf. Since we don't want humans to come to harm, the changing of them is very rare, and mostly rogues do it- so they can have more strength in their packs. Hunters on the other hand, they're an entirely different story, and only two usually exist at one point in time. When a human becomes a hunter, it's typically after a tragic incident; like a young wolf losing control and hurting someone in front of, or near, them. That human then knows wolves exist, and if their will is strong enough, and they have a specific "mystic" gene, they can change into a hunter. What's more is, even though they've magical blood, one part of their many abilities is that they still smell human. Hunters are faster than your average human, and stronger; capable, sometimes, of outrunning and overpowering wolves. They are one of our biggest threats, next to rogue alphas and other mystic creatures. For myself and my pack's safety, I hope it's not a hunter. Even knowing my abilities, I would never underestimate a Hunter's. "You've been running for a while, Alpha, are you close?" Beta Osiris says through the mindlink. "The smell is getting stronger, Siris. I should be upon the human soon." "Good. Rayne is getting scared, she's trying to follow. I've told her you've respond-" BOOM! I've been hit and I fall to the ground. By the burning I feel in my stomach I know that this bullet is pure silver. Just this one bullet will poison- BOOM! I'm bleeding from my arm. There's more silver, still I try to get up to see my attacker. BOOM! My leg feels like it's gone through a grater. A man walks to me holding the gun- my hopes are dashed as the hunter holds the gun against my breast. BOOM! ****************************************** * Rayne's POV * BOOM! I hear a loud noise and I scream as I take off running. BOOM! That's two, and my body is moving so fast that I feel like I'm flying. BOOM! That's three, and Uncle Siris takes over Arsenio to scream to me, "Rayne! Stop! I can't catch you!" He's always been able to catch me when we run, why can't he now? BOOM! Four, and I smell Daddy, and that bad smell is getting further and further from me. "Uncle Siris! I can't stop! Don't you smell it?" "Rayne, wait!" I find Daddy, covered in blood, barely breathing. I don't know who killed my daddy, but I'll remember the way they smell forever. "Daddy! Daddy, wake up. Please it's Rayne! It's me, Daddy. Wake up." I don't know how long I was screaming to my daddy, but Uncle Siris and Delta Gene eventually pull me away- while warriors from the pack carry Daddy behind us. All I can hear is mine and Uncle Siris' crying as he carries me back to the packhouse. "Uncle Siris?" I ask between sobs. "Yes, Rayney?" "So what happens now?" ****************************************** SIX YEARS LATER * Rayne's POV * I dream of that day every single night since, my grief pushing me. The day my father was taken from me was the day that everything changed. When I got home that day I cried to make my little heart content. We had a funeral for my dad, and after the funeral Uncle Siris became the new Alpha- unchallenged. He and I grew closer through our grief, my dad was our best friend. I wake up thinking that I've never gone back to the lake, in fact I'm sure I've not spent any time swimming since then. I feel like I'm punishing myself for us being there, because Daddy was there for me- and he died trying to protect me. Sometimes I think I smell the human who killed my dad, and then it goes away just as quickly. I never want to forget that smell, and since that day I've trained like no other pup. I've quickly become the top fighter of all training sessions for pups under eighteen, and I train extra with Uncle Siris. I've taken advanced classes for english and other subjects that are common in the human world, so that I can blend in more when I submerge myself into the world of my father's killer. My features have been changing since that day, too. My eyes went from their chocolate brown to an icy blue. My hair has since changed from it's straight jet black to a more wavy platinum blonde, one that most women use a bottle to achieve. I'm not sure what is happening in or to my body, but I have grown faster and my reflexes have intensified. Today is June 18th, my fourteenth birthday, and it is the first night I'm meant to shift- today my wolf comes to me, and hopefully I gain more strength from them. I've been waiting for this day my whole life, and somehow I'm still terrified. I heard the first few shifts are the most painful, but I'm not afraid of the pain- I'm afraid that my wolf won't understand me the way they are meant to, or maybe they will and maybe that's worse. I start walking towards the training grounds, to clear my head and gain some perspective. "Rayne!" I hear Uncle Siris yell behind me. "Where are you headed? I missed you at breakfast." "That's because I haven't gone." "You need to eat! You need your strength. Come," He says as he ushers me towards the pack kitchen. I'm left thinking of how I just wanted to work off my mind's worry, until we walk into the kitchen and I see a large pile of my favorite pancakes- strawberry banana. They have a card in front of them, and all it says is "Happy Birthday." I can feel my smile on my face as I quickly hug my Uncle. Each and every one of my birthdays since I was eight, he's done something for me. He treats me as nothing shy of his own daughter, and I'm forever grateful. Truly, I don't know what I would do without him. We eat and we laugh all morning, and we head off to training together. "Uncle Siris?" "Yes, Rayne?" He says while we're walking. "What if my wolf doesn't like me? Or what if they're the worst parts of me? Will I change, or will I just gain another soul and remain myself? I have so many questions, and so many fears." After thinking on it a moment he responds. "At first it can be like your wolf is at odds with you, because you may not understand each other completely yet, and that's okay. As you grow to know one another it becomes a gradual shift to unity. As for the rest of your questions, we won't know until you've been granted your wolf, but you can always choose to be the person you want to be- you're very strong, and I believe your wolf will be meant to complement you, not to contradict you." I breathe a sigh of relief at his words, and he must hear me as he abruptly stops walking just before we've reached the training grounds. He turns towards me and pulls me into a hug. I suppose that speaking with Uncle Siris was all I needed to gain perspective. Maybe he understands me, perhaps even more than I thought.