How It Started
1266 Words
Ash's POV
It started with a secret, or so I thought.
My name is Ash Rivers and today I’m going to tell my best friend Jasmine the truth, the truth my nana made me swear never to speak out loud.
“Ash hurry.”
Jasmine’s voice echoed from the narrow alley behind the market stalls, the sun already sinking low and everything felt wrong in that quiet way that makes your skin itch. I picked up my pace but still glanced over my shoulder.
Nothing.
He wasn't there.
I exhaled and jogged toward her. Jasmine stood with her hands crossed, long wavy hair blown all over the place by the wind. She looked restless, not her usual dramatic restlessness, this was different.
“You walk like you’re hiding something,” she said. “Also you make it very obvious how gay you are.”
I snorted and shrugged. She hooked her arm through mine like she always did and leaned her head against my shoulder as we walked toward the forest path.
“Two hot guys are obsessed with each other and I don’t even stand a chance,” she went on. “My life is a joke.”
My face heated instantly, if only she knew how wrong she was.
The trees swallowed us as soon as we stepped off the path. The air felt thicker here, heavy, quiet, too quiet.
I noticed then that Jasmine wasn’t talking anymore.
“Jas?” I glanced at her. “You okay?”
She jumped slightly like I had pulled her out of a bad dream.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said too quickly.
I raised a brow. She knew that look. She sighed and kicked a stone ahead of us.
“Okay, I’m not. I have something to tell you,” she said, “but you can’t get mad.”
My heart skipped.
“I have something to tell you too.”
There was nothing she could say that would make me angry. If anything, I was the one who needed forgiveness.
We reached the clearing and sat on the ground like we used to when we were kids. The grass was cold through my shorts. I tugged my oversized hoodie down without thinking. Nana always told me to hide, to blend, to never stand out.
Jasmine turned to me and lowered her voice.
“Do I ever make you hard?” she asked.
That was not what I expected.
I blinked. “What?”
She laughed nervously. “I don’t know. Ignore me.”
I studied her face. She looked pale. Her fingers kept twisting together.
“Jas,” I said gently, “just say it. Whatever it is.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her eyes flicked to me.
“No. You go first,” she said. “You said you had something.”
My chest tightened.
This was it.
I swallowed and stared at the ground. “Okay. But you have to listen. And you can’t scream.”
She smiled weakly. “Now you’re scaring me.”
I took a breath, then another.
“I’m not who you think I am,” I said. “I mean I am, but I’m also not.”
She frowned. “Ash what does that even mean.”
“I was born a girl.”
The words dropped between us like a stone.
Jasmine laughed once, short, disbelieving.
“You’re not funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
She stared at me, really stared. Her smile faded.
“No,” she said. “That’s not possible.”
I reached into my hoodie pocket. My fingers shook as I pulled out the leather cord Nana gave me years ago. I tugged it over my head and let the charm rest in my palm.
Then I focused.
The shift was subtle, enough to prove my point. My body loosened, my voice softened.
Jasmine gasped.
She went pale, like all the blood drained out of her face.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I wanted to tell you for years. I just couldn’t. Nana made me swear.”
She stood up suddenly like she needed air.
“You lied to me,” she said, not angry, just stunned.
“I know. And I hate myself for it.”
She paced back and forth, hands in her hair.
“So all this time,” she muttered, “you were hiding.”
“Yes.”
“Why.”
I hesitated. “Because the pack wouldn’t accept me.”
She stopped pacing and looked at me sharply. “The pack wouldn’t accept you if you were a girl,” she repeated slowly.
Yes it didn't make sense. It's not like I ever really wanted to join the pack and besides…Jasmine was a lady and she was in the pack!
Before I could answer, footsteps crunched through the leaves.
We both froze. I tighten my clothes around me protectively.
“Hey,” Dale’s voice called out. “Why does it feel like someone died.”
He stepped into the clearing with that easy grin he always wore, tall, confident, already carrying himself like the future Alpha everyone said he would be.
Jasmine forced a laugh too quickly.
“Drama queen,” she said. “I just forgot something. I’ll be right back.”
Before I could stop her, she ran off into the trees.
The silence between Dale and me stretched.
He tilted his head. “What was that about?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Just girl stuff. We can't understand them sometimes.”
He chuckled. “Funny.”
He stepped closer and my heart started racing for no reason I wanted to admit.
“I got you something,” he said.
He pulled out a small dagger and placed it in my hand. The handle was carved with pack markings.
My breath caught. “Dale this is serious.”
“I know.”
Our eyes met. He leaned in without warning and kissed me.
I froze.
“Dale we can’t,” I whispered when I pulled back.
“Why not,” he asked quietly.
“You’re going to be Alpha.”
“So?”
“So it complicates everything.”
He frowned. “Is this about me liking you and you thinking we can't cause we're two guys?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“If you were a girl,” he said softly, “would you still think I couldn’t like you.”
My throat tightened.
“If I were a girl,” I asked carefully, “would you still want me.”
He nodded. “Yes. It would even be easier. Not for me. For my father.”
My heart pounded so loud I was sure he could hear it.
I almost told him.
Almost.
Then branches snapped.
Jasmine came running back, breathless and panicked.
“Dale,” she gasped. “I saw a signal. Something’s wrong. The pack is in danger.”
“What? What do you mean?” He asked walking up to her immediately, and she placed an arm around him.
“We need to hurry.”
I didn't like the way that looked,and the way he leaned into her touch like it was something he was used to…but then again…that's Jasmine for you.
Before I had time to process what was going on, they were gone at the speed of light.
All I could think of as the night covered the trees and cast shadows around was…
Dale had kissed me.
- Writer
