Belle And Beast

Ch5: Unexpected

I remember my first Shift like it was yesterday. The agonizing and unrelenting pain of having to break every bone in my body. The burn of the heat that was caused by the transition between body, spirit, and mind. I also remember what it was like to let the animal take control. I remember hunting with my Guardian for the first time. To let the animal take control of every sense, every moment, every movement, everything. To let go and sit in the backseat of my own mind and let it take control. But now wasn't the time to let go.No, now was the moment for control, the moment for harmony. The balance of me and my animal.

I looked out to the people whom I would one day rule over. Faces, worn of old age and laugh lines that told better stories than most award-winning novels. Smiles that I would never forget, but no one wore a smile now. Only lines of worry that creased faces young and old. I took a deep breath in and let it out. The room was crowded and the narrow walls offered little room to breathe. I looked over to my mother. She wore a peaceful and calm smile, comforting those who were close to hysteria with her posture alone, but I could see the small taint of worry deep in her bright green eyes.

My eyes scanned the small room, reading the faces that filled it. I looked to my right. Standing behind my seated mother with crossed arms and leaning against the pale beige wall was Callum. He was my father's Beta and my best friend. We had taken him into our family when he was twelve. His entire pack was slaughtered in front of him. Somehow, he and his younger sister were able to get out of there alive. He gave me a single nod of his head at the same time I could feel his voice penetrate my mind. You got this, brother. Show them their future Alpha.

That was all I needed to take charge of the room. I cleared my throat and every hushed tone silenced. "Right then, I suppose you are all wondering as to why you were called to this pack meeting." There was a collective of looks around the room, but no one spoke. "We have news of a possible Rogue sighting," A collection of gasps sounded but was again silenced by the simple raising of my hands. "Now, the sighting was made by a Human so we can't be completely certain tha-"

"Not a Human, son. A pre-Shifter." My father walked into the room while everyone in his path parted like the Red Sea. The power that I had once felt growing in my chest deflated, feeling minuscule in the presence of my Father and his Guardian.  

The next voice that was heard was Callum's. "I thought Tessa's niece was Human, Alpha?" He had addressed the giant pink elephant in the room with a deep baritone voice that practically shook the walls.

"No, Beta Callum, she's far from it." The room exchanged looks of various expressions, mostly worry, and surprise. This was... Unexpected.

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"Yo, Tess! Where's the Seasoning Salt?" I shouted from the kitchen while preparing dinner. I danced around the kitchen in my running shorts and an oversize t-shirt. My hair was up in a messy bun as I bobbed it to some random pop song that played on the radio in the background.

"It's in the cabinet to the left of the stove, on the second shelf!" I could tell she was coming down the hall to help with dinner by the sound of close she was. I put the ground beef in the skillet, chopping it up with a plastic spatula and sprinkling it with seasoning salt. Aunt Tessa burst through the kitchen door rubbing her stomach playfully."Mmm, smells good! Whatcha making?" She licked her lips while peering over my shoulder to inspect the meat.

"We're making tacos, rice, and beans. I already finished the taco shells and rice, so you can make the beans." Aunt Tessa gave me a pouty face jokingly.

"Fine! I guess..." We both laughed at her exasperated tone. We continued this until we finished dinner. A playful banter had always been the center of most of our conversations, it's what I enjoyed about my Aunt Tess, her sense of humor. As we sat down to eat, I could feel the question she had been wanting to ask for the past ten minutes.