ALPHA ASHAWe raced through the woods, our wolves trilling and howling with joy. It was late, although it was probably early considering the light of dawn stained the horizon beyond the mountains. I chased after her with a brand new fire blazing in my lungs, something I never thought I’d ever get to feel again.I caught up to Pixie again and pounced on her, tackling her to the ground and loving the way she huffed in amusement as we both fell to the grass. Before I could do anything, I heard the telltale rumble of hunger coming from Pixie’s stomach. Without another thought, I hopped up and gently nudged her with the end of my snout, silently telling her to wait for me. She nipped my ear in agreement and slithered out from under me.I stalked off into the thicket of trees, hackles raised and nose low to the ground. I could faintly pick up the scent of deer not too far off. There must have been two, no, three of them just a few hundred feet away. They’d left behind traces of shorn leaves
PIXIEThe air wasn’t as heavy once we’d shifted back to our human forms. But it was still overpowering, and I couldn’t help the way my eyes stung.It seemed like nothing had changed since the last anyone had come into the house, it was abandoned and untouched, like he had totally forgotten about existence and yet now that I knew what it was, it felt all the more sinister.The house looked like it hadn’t been tended to in years rather some months. The grass in the yard out front was overgrown with wildflowers and weeds popping out of the ground and circling the larger shrubs. The porch was sun damaged; the wood looked brittle, and I briefly feared that one misstep would send both I and Asha crashing through the floor.The paint on the exterior was weatherworn, enough that I wasn’t sure what the original color had been. Maybe a deep sea green? I wasn’t sure; it had lightened to a sickly teal that looked unnatural in the vibrant woods surrounding it.The shutters had been destroyed by a
PIXIEAsha must have sensed the sudden shift in me, because he reached out and gently cradled my face, bringing my forehead to his.“You are my mate, Pixie,” he murmured, his voice rumbling and sincere. “The person I fell for is you, not a ghost.”“She looks just like me, Asha,” I breathed, hearing the fear in my own voice.“But she is not you,” he reassured me, the pads of his thumbs rough with callouses but still heartbreakingly gentle on my cheeks. “She isn’t the one I want to build a life with. You are. It’s only you. Always.”All the tension that had pinched my shoulders seeped out until I felt more relaxed and at ease in his hold. I let my eyes slip closed and pouted.“I’m sorry,” I sighed, feeling small and embarrassed for feeling so petty when he must have gone through hell the first time he laid eyes on me. “I know I don’t have any right to feel that way, and it’s so unfair on you. I’m sorry.”“You never have to be sorry for the way you feel,” Asha said, pressing a kiss to my
PIXIEMy thoughts strayed to Amber, whom I hadn’t spoken to in what felt like months. I hadn’t had contact with my best friend since I’d first left the pack, after I’d heard Amber’s voice and she did sound okay. I had hoped that Amber would call again because I didn’t want it to be like the distance had separated usBut knowing Amber she was probably having a good time and wanted me to have a good time with Asha too though I still waited, praying that Amber would call to let me know she was okay. But my phone had remained achingly silent, the quiet empty but so heavy. I labored over it, wondering what the hell I could do. Asha had already promised me that Amber could come visit me at anytime but the presence of Ashas father alone was enough to cancel out any visitation plans Amber did have for me.It still irked me that I was unable to do anything to be with my best friend. It was thanks to Amber that I’d even met Asha in the first place. I wanted to share all the wonderful things tha
JAREDIt was getting cooler, the afternoon warmth giving way to the evening breeze that chased the sun from the sky.And it was somehow colder atop the small hill near the pack cemetery.But I didn’t mind, not when Asha was finally at ease with visiting the graves of his dead mate and their son. He’d come to find me earlier in the day, asking if I would accompany him on his visit, and I had immediately agreed. There had been a number of things that needed to be attended to, things that Asha needed to be present for, and having him back at full capacity had changed everything.It wasn’t that Asha was underperforming as an Alpha. In fact, he was doing better than most Alphas at their prime, even though he left the bulk of the work for his father. But I knew my best friend well enough to know when he wasn’t operating at a hundred percent. I had noticed the way Asha would look fixedly at an empty spot in a room for far too long, or how his eyes would slide in and out of focus if anyone so
ALPHA ASHAThe grass was slightly damp under my knees, and the air had cooled enough to make the hairs on my arms stand. But I didn’t mind.The headstone was rough beneath my palm, and I felt the guilt burn the inside of my chest. I hadn’t taken care of Naomi’s headstones at all over the years, and the stone had become weatherworn, roughened by the snow and storms beating down upon it season after season.I hadn’t really spared myself enough time to visit her, too scared of how much it might destroy me to face her headstone knowing that there was nothing I could have done to save her.And now, I knelt before her, her name I’d carved into the stone myself smooth and almost invisible. I would have to replace it, and take care of it this time around.“I know it’s been a long time,” I said sadly, the guilt weighing on me heavily. “I’ve missed you so much, more than anything.”The chilly breeze caressed my cheeks, lifting the pressure in my chest a little. It was almost as if I could sense
ALPHA ASHAI left my family’s graves and made my way into the pack cemetery, weaving through the headstones spanning back a century.The south Asha pack was old, one of the oldest in the west, and had seen its fair share of bloodshed and senseless violence.I was still ashamed that I had been a part of that violence, that I had contributed to the headstones sticking up out of the ground.It was why I was there, walking further down the lines of fallen wolves until I spotted the very distinct headstone I had personally erected there months ago.After Naomi’s blessing, I wanted to pay my respects to the late pack doctor and a young sentry who had been killed by rouges while on a recon mission to the pack borders about a year ago. For so long, the guilt and shame of losing a pack member, an innocent wolf who had only been trying to help, had eaten away at me until I was nothing. I stood before their graves, my hands clasped firmly behind my back to hide the subtle shaking in my fingers.
ALPHA ASHA“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” I chuckled, my neck feeling warm under Jared’s sincerity. “Make yourself useful and go get supplies for the run.”WormWhick got to his feet, reaching past Ayla to grab Jared by the scruff of his neck and haul him to his feet, effectively cutting off whatever wisecrack remark Jared had sitting on his tongue.“Hey- wait, WormWhick- ow!”“Quiet master Jay,” WormWhick sighed, ignoring his protests and dragging him to the door. “We’ll handle the supplies, Asha.”I nodded in thanks, watching as the pair of them disappeared out the door, Jared sulking and trying to push WormWhick off while WormWhick dragged him along with a soft smile.I pushed back my seat, Julio did the same and we walked out together.“This is going to be great news Asha…” Julio said as he trailed beside me.“I just hope all would be happy to hear it.”We broke ways, I pushed open the door to my room, hoping to find Pixie with a tempting smile on her face but she wasn’t there.“She’s on