Alpha of Smoke

*Isabella*March, 1885“It’s an irrational decision.” My pa lowers his mug to the table, setting it down slowly where others would slam it in frustration. His black mustache has a waxy sheen in the light of the fireplace to his right, the left side of his face cast in shadow. Next to him, my ma shifts in her chair, her fingers knit together on the dining room table. I know that expression on her face, the one she wears when she wants to speak but knows my pa is handling the situation by himself. Any word from her would be cast aside by the other men in the room. My uncle, my ma’s brother, sits with his arms folded over his chest. Our neighbor, Mr. Casper, narrows his eyes, unhappy with my pa’s assertion but not sure how to respond. My older brother and my aunt also occupy chairs around our dining room table.“It’s the only decision that makes sense,” Uncle Tim replies. He has always been the sort to speak before he thinks. Now is no exception. When he is out of sorts, he’s likely to m

*Isabella*Dust rises up off the road, clogging our lungs and coating our tongues. Even though we’re walking on the raised sidewalk that runs along the outside of the shops to keep our boots out of the horse muck, it hasn’t rained much yet this spring, and the grit in my eyes is proof we are due a nice thunderstorm.“Where are we going, Ma?” Alice whines, darting forward toward our mother so quickly she near pulls my shoulder out of its socket. Keeping a good grip on her hand, I tug her back. “Sis said we aren’t going west.”“That was before.” Ma’s words are clipped. She doesn’t even turn her head to look at us. “We’re just going to listen.”On my other side, Robert huffs under his breath but says nothing. I wish I hadn’t promised them anything last night. I’d felt defeated myself and thought there was little chance of us ever leaving this place only to have everything turned on its head when our cousin was killed.“We’re doin’ more than that.” Joseph, who is a good four feet behind u

*Chet*I know that my cousins and younger brother will chastise me the moment we step away from the beautiful girl in the shop, and I am not wrong. Hell, they started the moment she looked in my direction, shouting out their rude thoughts in a language I was thankful she doesn’t understand.We head outside, and it’s my brother, Mowanza, who is the first to make a snide remark, speaking in our native Shaconage tongue. “She was pretty, but she won’t make it fifty miles.”I turn and glare at him. “Watch it, Mo.” I am in no mood to put up with his nonsense at the moment as I go over my conversation with the girl again and again. Why do people take such stupid risks? Why would guides act so foolishly?“Yeah, Mo,” our cousin, Howahkan agrees, but I know he is about to switch sides. “Don’t speak ill of the dead.”I turn and give Kan a playful shove, making him laugh. He is two years older than me at twenty-three and has always been thin as a rail until about a year ago when he finally starte

*Isabella* “You know that ain’t a fair price, Mac,”  Harry says from the other side of the fence that acts as a corral. Behind him, a whole buncha cows are mooin’ and rushin’ around, stirrin’ up clouds of dust. Pa and him would be nose to nose if he weren’t so much shorter than pa. The negotiation seems to be breakin’ down.I don’t like to listen to people haggle. Always makes me feel a little desperate and cheap, like maybe if I can’t afford what the fella’s askin’, I shouldn’t be buyin’, so I wander away, leavin’ Joseph and Uncle Tim with Pa. I see a young calf followin’ behind its mama, and it makes me smile.“You like the baby cow?” a warm tenor voice says over my shoulder. “Think he’s cute? That’s what most girls think about, right? Not eatin’ ‘em.”I turn to see a pair of cattle hands who

*Isabella* Over the last week or so, I’ve gotten used to the gentle rocking of the wagon back and forth as we slowly make our way across the prairie. From time to time, we’ll pass by a small town, and sometimes a few people will ride their horses in to see if there’s anything to trade.But for the most part, we’ve broken away from civilization already. It’s hard to imagine. We’re so far away from everything I’ve ever known, and in front of us sits a vast ocean of waving grass, the bright sun, and lots a critters that wanna kill us.Most of the day, I’m in my wolf form, runnin’ with the cattle. But Pa likes for me to stay with Ma and the younger kids whenever we get to a part of the journey that is a bit more dangerous. I tried arguin’ with him about it the first time he tried to run me off, but one thing I learned a long time ago is that it don’t make no sense to argue with Pa. I ain