Rise of the Makoce Pack

Chapter 2. Doubts and Sorrow

Chapter 2.

Small glimpse of part of the destruction.

I slowly made my way back inside the pack house and picked my way through various debris and finally up the stairs to the damaged hall the Alpha family lived in. Now it just looked like a deranged construction site with debris everywhere and patches of dried blood on the carpet and walls where fighting took place. I can't help but wonder if any of that were my parents. I shake my head at the thought, fighting back tears as I finally find my room. Things aren't so bad in here in terms of damage, it's just the memories that are lodged deep within the grains of the dark wood on the floor and the hunter green walls that surround me. I suck in a deep breath and just let myself feel what the room was like before the raid. I felt a brief flash of love and warmth, the feeling of safety and serenity. Now it was just a room that made my heart ache. It felt like eternity had passed by the time I actually made it into the bathroom. Greeted by the sight of the shower I became eager to soak in the hot water. I found a couple towels stashed away in a cupboard and set them on the sink. I began to take my hair out of its pony tail when I finally got a good look at myself. My curly chestnut hair is greasy and matted, weird curls sticking out of odd places. A mix of dirt and blood streaked down my forehead, onto my cheek and stopped at my neck. One of my eyes is swollen and scratched and those tired hazel eyes are red and puffy, evidence of sleepless nights working around the compound or crying, or both. Probably both.
Steam quickly fills the room and I take a deep breath, I need to get myself together if I'm gonna lead this pack. letting the water fall down my back I rest my forehead on the tile and close my eyes. People are depending on me for their way of life, for their security, for their future. Could I be the Alpha my dad was, could I be the Alpha my brother was training to be? He was being groomed for the position while I grew up learning all I could about our world, everything that pertained to the human world I strove to study. Of course I learned all about pack history, and all the basics like how to fight in case the need ever arose, that was common stuff taught to us while we were young pups. I never learned how to be a diplomat, or an ambassador, or even a warrior. Heck, I wasn't even sure if I was organized enough to lead a pack. I couldn't  remember where I left my phone two hours ago, let alone organize 200 people into a tight knit, cohesive family. The weight pressing on my shoulders was almost unbearable. I finally understood what it must feel like for the Greek God, Atlas, who punished by Zeus, was forced to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I took another deep breath and began to clean off the dirt and  evidence of my injuries. as I turned off the shower and dried off I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself while using a second one to wrap up my hair. I could smell dinner before I even left the bathroom and man alive my stomach came alive with its growls and rumbles! I don't even remember the last time I actually sat down and ate a full meal in all the recent chaos. I took the cover off my plate to reveal the dinner of champions. A thick venison steak covered with mushrooms and sautéed onions, with a side of buttered mashed potatoes, asparagus, and sweet honey wheat rolls. I lifted a second, smaller cover off of another plate to discover a large brownie topped with ice cream, hot fudge, sprinkles, and four cherries. "Fletcher Collins, you have outdone yourself." I laughed, if there's anything in the world that can cheer up a person it's a hearty home cooked meal.

I took my time eating. As much as I wanted to scarf my food down like the carnivore I was, I knew that I needed to take it slow or risk becoming sick. I cherished the taste of the venison, savored the buttery flavor on my vegetables, and when I finished with that, I mopped up the juices on my plate with the warm, soft rolls. Then, eagerly removing the cover on desert, I let the sweetness of the creamy ice cream take over my taste buds as I enjoyed my brownie and the warm hot fudge. Even the cherries were sinfully delicious and I thought to myself right then that I had never savored a meal as much as I just had. It made me laugh as I remembered a memory of my family. 
   
Dinner was always an occasion. Mom was always adamant that we all ate together, no phones, no distractions, just quality family time. It was always a time where we reconnected after a long day. No matter what happened pack related or not, the dinner table was a place of solace, a place where we forgot about everything for a while and just enjoyed being a family. My brother, the goof was always trying to run off,  especially when he hit his teenage years. He was always eager to run off to his friends, or train down at the pack gym. He would eat so fast that mom threatened to chain him to the table every night and feed him like a baby. "Coleson Michael, you sit there and you eat your food like a proper human being!" she would scold, her southern drawl always peaking when she was irritated. She would scowl at him and shake her finger as if her finger could manage the punishment by itself. Coleson would just chuckle at her, "Mom, that's the beautiful thing about it,  I'm not just a human, I'm a wolf too and we need to eat fast so both sides of my form are satisfied." He grinned mischievously at her, "I gotta fuel up fast." Dad would always watch from his seat trying to hold back laughter. That was one war he knew he could never win. Mom was famous for always telling my brother during those times he was eager to run off, "Coleson Michael, you are eating so fast your wolf doesn't even know what he's tasting, for all he knows you could be eating cow dung from the pasture right outside the territory!" Coleson's eyes widened in horror at mom's suggestion and from that moment on, he ate like a freaking English gentleman.

Man, those were the days. I sighed to myself and shook the memory from my head. The dinner table would never be the same again, I wondered if I would ever be able to eat there  without feeling an empty hole inside.. I replaced the cover on the dishes and sat back. It was only then that I felt exhaustion kick in and it didn't take long to overwhelm me.