My Life as the Teenage Alpha

Chapter 8~

     I ran for what seemed like hours. I knew, that in reality, it had probably been 20 minutes. Which, hopefully, had put me at least couple miles from home. Home, where everyone was wondering where I went. I had become a runaway bride. Bet they didn't see that one coming, but then again, neither did I.  

     Everything had been fine, so why did I run? Asking myself this over and over, I slowed and began to walk. Under the quickly darkening sky I sat down, my tail coming around my side. Somewhere along the way I had shifted, my clothes mixing in with my fur. Thank god for enchanted clothes... My auburn coat looked almost black while hidden by the trees, except for the few light spots that the moon managed to shine through. I crawled over to a tree and layed there, waiting for something. Waiting for either someone to find me, or to fall asleep. Whichever came first, I didn't care.

     The problem with waiting was, it gave me time to think. Thinking was bad. Thinking is what got me into this situation. If I hadn't been thinking as much, I would've gone through with the ceremony. Yup, that settles it. I'm an overthinker.

     I lifted my head up off my front paws to look down on my left shoulder. Right where it should be, was a small, yet noticeable, intricate design of swirls. They were light brown, but they stood out enough to be seen from a few yards away. As much as I wanted to shift, take off the band, and throw it as far as werewolfly possible, I couldn't bring myself to do it. A part of me still wanted it, that part said it felt right. The larger part didn't.

     I huffed and plopped my head back down onto my crossed paws, hoping to fall asleep. I felt guilty for leaving Josh standing there, but I guessed I should. He didn't deserve that, I was being selfish. When I ran, I didn't even turn back to see his face. I think it would've hurt too much to see. The same small part of me as before wanted to go back, to tell everyone I was just scared and selfish. Josh would forgive me. Wouldn't he?

     A couple of trees away, I heard a crunch of snow. Someone found me already? I was torn between running, and going to see who it was. Both options had some good and bad outcomes. Run, and they might think I don't want to go back. Stay, and it might be Emily, she would understand. Run, and they might just think I need space. Stay, and it might be Josh. While that same slightly annoying small part of me wanted to see Josh, I wasn't quite ready to face him yet. And if you didn't realize yet, that small part? Was more wolf than me. There was no, "my wolf and I," it was just me. But there would always be a part of me that had more wolf instincts than the rest. I think it was part of the reason I was accepted to become an alpha. I could easily separate wolf and human matters, whereas for most it blurred. Unluckily, the regular part of me was larger, and far too curious for her own good.

     I stood up, shook some snow off, and carefully crept toward the noise. I was lowered down, ears up, and claws out, when I heard a hiss. Hiss? Hiss?! You're kidding me right? I raised back up and pulled my claws in, knowing that it was just a cat. True, a cat in the woods was odd, but hey, why not?

     I craned my neck around to the other side of the massive tree, and staring back at me, were two large golden eyes. The eyes were connected to the body of a cat, a cat far larger than normal. Being under the thick branches of the tree, I couldn't see much, so I took a step to the side, not breaking eye contact. As the cat hissed again, I growled in response, and it's eyes glowed brighter than before. With a bit more light I saw how big the cat really was. Not overgrown, not fat, just large. About the same size as me. It wasn't just a street-cat. I raked my eyes over it, every few second glancing at its eyes again. The entire time it stared at me, with its ears back and tail swinging. I used to have a pet cat (yes, I know, odd), but, I knew that those signs were not good ones. Here, kitty, kitty, I mocked in my head.