She Who Bears The Wolf's Mark

Supreme Alpha

Supreme Alpha

They were holding a bonfire party in my honor, or so Xander told me. The sun was now below the horizon, and a beautiful crescent decorated the night sky. Teary-eyed, I had watched my parents get chased away on the excuse that this party was 'pack-only', and was then made to join the huge gathering of werewolves to celebrate my joining their pack. So on a tree log I sat, surrounded by complete strangers who were making no effort to hide their blatant staring, feeling more alone than I'd ever felt in my entire eighteen years of existence.

Happy birthday, me.

How utterly ridiculous. It wasn't like I was joining their pack willingly; the threat on my parents' lives had forced my hand.

My eyes were fixed firmly on the roaring fire right in front of me. I was thankful for the warmth of the bonfire; the fact that I wasn't made to endure this all while feeling chilled was my only solace.

I pretended not to notice the excessive staring. Had they never seen a human before?

I inhaled.

Humans and werewolves.

Werewolves.

The word felt heavy on my mind and tasted bitter on my tongue. I was still reeling from the shock of what I'd witnessed. A part of me was in total disbelief, refusing to believe what I'd seen with my very own eyes. Oh, but there was no denying it, no running away from it.

How was it that freaking werewolves managed to hide themselves and coexist in an era like this without being detected or found out about? Wasn't technology advanced enough to expose them to the world? Or were they truly as powerful as the tales and stories dictated?

I dared to sneak a peek at Xander, who had his back to me and was putting on new clothes. The ones he'd worn earlier got torn during the... shift.

I looked away. It was all I could do not to start hyperventilating. I suddenly realized that my pulse hadn't calmed since I saw Xander change to a giant black wolf. It was still erratic and all over the place. Who could blame me?

"Here come the beer kegs!" I heard someone say to the loud appreciation of the crowd, and raised my head to see a guy about my age carrying a keg of beer on his shoulder as if it weighed nothing. He was totally naked except for the jean shorts around his hips.

The party was gaining traction. The tension that had hung in the air began to evaporate as soon as my parents left, and while they were not exactly relaxed now, they were certainly much more at ease than they were before. They chatted and laughed together, huddled together in groups of four or five, either oblivious to my suffering or indifferent to it.

My eyes returned to the keg guy. He set down the keg by the fire, then went to fetch more kegs.

Somehow, he realized I was starting at him from across the bonfire and stopped to stare back. He surprised me by winking at me, and then he looked past me and his expression changed from playful to ashen in a heartbeat. Before I knew it, he was on the other side of the clearing, far away from me.

I sensed him then.

I looked over my shoulder to see Xander standing right behind me. I couldn't help the shudder that raked my body. But my reaction was completely justified; he had an expression that was a mixture between death and fury plastered across his face, and I was pretty sure his eyes were glowing and that it wasn't reflected firelight.

I felt it again: potent, crippling fear that left me frozen in place. I brought my legs closer to my body, practically hugging them as I sat on the log. I was afraid he'd see how badly I was shaking, afraid that, like a shark, he could smell my fear, and would pounce on me at the slightest provocation or indication.