The Loner

Chapter 11

When I finally woke up, I thought it was all a dream. I was back in the shack again. The powers, the doctor, it was all a dream?! Wait, that means that dream about my father...... My powers...... it's not real. Storm isn't scared of me, there is no mysterious doctor that knows all about me and my father.  Maybe I can still get away from this. 

Don't run from this again Midnight. Stop running. This is your destiny. I heard my fathers familiar voice whisper 

I started walking away from my mother's forest my fur ruffling in the wind, my paws on the oddly hard ground, only to run right into a wall. A flat, smooth, sold wall. Of course. It was too good to be true. There's no way after all that I could just walk away. What was I expecting? That's when the wall changed from the solid forest to a plain white wall. All the color and imaging just drained from the wall and was gone. There was no bed, no sink, nothing. Only one door at the far side of the white square room. And look who it was entering the room. That weird doctor who seems to know everything. 

"Good Morning Midnight" she chirped

"What do you want Luna?" I growled

"Calm down, I'm just here to take you to your new room. Or, I guess you could call it your old room." Luna huffed

Once we reached my room I realized, now that I'm back, won't they want me to take Kovu's place? He becomes alpha tonight. My room had my usual black curtains and black sheets. Did I mention that black is my favorite color? I also had a black chair sitting in the corner of my room surrounded by bookshelves. Yes, I'm a reader, I know I know. I'm a teenager, I'm supposed to hate books. but I'm the exact opposite. Books used to be my life. I used to spend every day when I wasn't at school sitting in my room, in a small corner with a black curtain blocking out everything else, and diving into the world of books.

"Okay Midnight, Tonight you will attend the ceremony. You have some new clothes in your closet and I stocked you up on your favorite bath and body works in the master bathroom. See you tonight."

And with that Luna walked out and shut my door. I walked into my master bathroom smiling when I saw the stack of new makeup and hair and body products. I decided to take a shower and start getting ready for tonight. Once I'm ready I can just lounge around and read like the good old days. 

I grabbed my favorite bubble gum scented body wash and my bubblegum scented shampoo and conditioner. After my 20 minute shower, I sat down at my vanity to do my makeup. I started light in the center of my eye, then I took it darker all the way to a black at the outer corners. I added some eyeliner and mascara to finish it off. I grabbed my curling rod and proceeded to curl my hair. I walked out of my bathroom and strolled over to my walk-in closet. I opened it up to find a stunning black dress with grey fur trimmings. It was covered in lace and hung off of my shoulders. It also was skin tight so you could see the curves of my body. On my nightstand there were some black rose earrings and a matching necklace. It all fit perfectly together. 

I sat down in my comfy chair and pulled the curtain closed. It got darker in my room and I realized to read I needed light. I thought about my powers and what I could do with them. Well, there were a lot of candles around me. I normally don't like electricity so I have always used candles. I gave it some thought and then whispered fire. At first, nothing happened. so I blew on the wick of a candle just to try it and it lit! I was so excited that I did it to the rest of the candles in my corner too. I picked up my favorite book, Delilah's Grave, and started reading. 

I don't know how much time had passed before I heard the banging on my door. I growled as I spun out of my chair and stomped over to the door. I heard the doorknob start to turn and I snarled. I snatched the door knob and ripped it off my door. Oops. The door slowly creaked open as Kenya (our packs Delta, third rank on a power triangle) stood there out of breath. 

"What do you want Kenya??" I snarled

"I....I.....I just c...came to warn you that you are late for the ceremony, and Lyla (my mother) does not appreciate the next alpha being late. Crud! I mean her d...daughter, not n...next alpha." 

I rushed over to my mirror to make sure I was presentable slamming my door in the process. I now realize why Kenya was so scared. Not only were my eyes glowing red, but I was hovering about an inch in the air as my black hair blew around behind me. Wait! I don't have black hair! My hair is a blueish grayish color! What in the world happened. As I calmed down I sank to the ground, my hair faded back to its natural color. Don't get me wrong, I loved the look of black hair, it was just unsettling. 

I made sure I looked presentable, and then I left to see my brother named alpha. Once through the twisty halls of that manor that I used to call my home, I sneaked into the courtyard. My mother was up on a stage. Her eyes met mine as I walked in. Her face was full of disappointment for a split second until she focused back on our pack. She smiled and began her announcements. The alpha naming ceremony came last. This was not just the ceremony, this was also a pack meeting. Everything was addressed, including the information that we had a new litter on the way, and that we had a new member in the pack. It was Storm. He got put in with the warriors. Warriors were the ones we had on guard and the ones that were our first line in battle. 

"---time to name the alpha." called out my Lyla

I snapped back to attention the second I heard that word. I had been lost in my own thoughts the entire meeting. Such a stupid thing to do. I needed to know what was going on in the pack. Wait, no I don't. This isn't my pack, I won't be their alpha. 

"--Kovu. Midnight I need you up here with us too." 

I slowly walked forward keeping my eyes on hers the entire time. Kovu took one look at me and stepped out of my way for me to stand next to Lyla. There was lightning in the distance and the sky was growing darker. My hands started to warm up with a heat as warm as the suns rays. I looked around the crowd looking for Lily. Lily was standing in the back her eyes trained on me watching me until Lyla snapped me back to attention. 

"I know you all were expecting my son to be named alpha tonight." Lyla started

No no no no no no no no no no. This can't be happening. I can't be alpha of this pack. The rouges will then target them because of me. 

"But instead I have a little surprise for you!" Lyla nodded to me before continuing "My daughter, Midnight, has returned to the pack. And as the oldest, she is next in line. So tonight I present to you the first female alpha!" 

I just stood there staring at Lyla. She hadn't even talked to me about this. I looked at the pack as one by one they broke into howls of joy and submission. The next thing I knew I was flying through the air. I couldn't hear, I couldn't see, all I knew before blacking out was I had to do something about this. 

I woke up in my bed, the silk sheets tucked in around me. I opened my eyes to see there was a lump on my floor wrapped in blankets. It had a familiar smell and was snoring softly. I sat up in bed and lit the candle on my nightstand. The snoring stopped almost immediately and the lump started to move. I let a soft growl escape my throat as the lump sat up. But the growl barely escaped before it caught in my throat. The lump on my floor was Storm.