Heart Of The Alpha

Chapter 1 - Arrival

*Amelia's POV*

I ran through the forest behind my Father, the autumn leaves crackling beneath my paws as I traversed the dirt path. Birds sang overhead and a cool breeze drifted through my fur, sending chills down my spine.

Max, my brother, slowed down next to me. Our paws thundering against the forest floor as we began to run alongside each other. I looked over to him and yipped happily in his direction, eliciting a playful bark from him in return.

Max's dark brown eyes sparkled through his wolf appearance and I smiled internally as I noticed how much older he looked. How on earth could this be the same wolf who had played alongside me when we were younger? It felt like only yesterday when he had begged our Father to let him practice in the training fields with all of the 'big wolves'? 

My eyes glazed over as I reminisced over the day that Max had been given his Beta position. The joy in his eyes was just as evident as it is now. I blinked a few times as, allowing the nostalgia to encompass me. In those times, it was hard to wait for when I would be on my way through these woods with my family.

Now that I was older, though, I contemplated the closeness of the future before us and how truly different it would be. I was, however, pulled from my thoughts when Max carefully tilted his head as though to ask me if I was tired from running.

Now, don't get me wrong, I would be a very fast runner if my legs were just a little longer. Let's take a second to address my height. I'm very small compared to a normal she-wolf, and I know it, so no need to remind me. Usual female Werewolves in wolf form at age seventeen are around 4'0, while I am only 3'0. This means that I do almost twice the running and have to really strive to keep up with the rest of my pack.

My Mother always said that I would eventually grow to around her size. However, I highly doubted that my future of being somewhat average height would come anytime soon.

I like being short for multiple reasons, but it can be a real disadvantage when making trips on foot.... or should I say paw?

It also makes things a great deal more difficult when fighting. The number one intimidation tactic for quarreling wolves is to claim dominance.  Who ever saw a chihuahua and cowered in fear?

That's where a wolf's true tactics come into play. Small dogs set a dominance by baring their teeth and acting like big dogs, faking it until they make it. Max chose to feed off of these primal activities and mannerisms when creating specific battle tactics catered to my size of wolf.

These infamous battle moves included cowering in fear and lunging when an attacker stands over me along with pretending like I was hurt before gaining an advantage in whatever way I saw fit. After weeks of work and improvement, Max said he planned on getting our head of pack fighters to teach these battle strategies to the younger wolves and wolves who fit my size requirement in order to better the pack.

Realizing that I had been lost in thought, I shook my head a little in an effort to put my attention back on the path before me rather than on pack memories. I yipped to him as I verified that I was ok. He looked deeply into my eyes for a few more seconds before nodding to me and looking back in front of him to the path ahead.

The last time I had gotten as distracted as I was today while on the way to a meeting, a kind branch had decided to engage in a pleasant but painful conversation with my unsuspecting muzzle.

Max howled proudly as we approached the clearing for the pack meeting, confidence practically dripping from his stature. I offered him a wolfy grin at the sound and looked to the road ahead. Picking up the pace, I began focusing on the moment I was currently entrapped within.