The Year of the Wolf (Completed) (Book One of The Almair Series)

Chapter 4 (Edited)

"Is it her? Is it her?" voices asked, all around me.

I looked around, stunned to see a lot of wolves. I had to make sure that I didn't have this gawking look on my face, not wanting to be made fun of. However, my eyes were wide open, and I knew I had that deer in the headlights look.

Wolves! Many and many types of wolves! They were all different shapes and sighed. Their fur ranged from dark gray to light gray. A few of them looked different with brown or amber colored fur. But, they were mainly a darker gray.

"Silence!" a wolf growled. He stood up and glared at the wolves, making them go silent. Reading somewhere, I knew that he was the Alpha of the pack. He came and stood in front of me, nodding his head in greeting. "Welcome, daughter of Annabeth and Jack. I am Faolon, the Alpha of this clan. You've got some questions, I presume."

. I nodded. "Why do they-" I paused and gestured towards the wolves, using the stone hand, "-ask if it is her?"

  The wolves looked at me surprised. I'm guessing they were shocked about what I said, however, I don't know why. I was new to this whole thing, because my parents had kept it from me.

"Faolon, you can't let her talk to you like that," one of the wolves said. There was a grow as one of the wolves stood. I looked at him and saw dark green eyes looking at me. They were filled with hatred, but I didn't know why.

"Lobo, she is new at this."

"But, there are others who are new to this, also, but they don't act like her," Lobo spat. He glared at making, me feel slightly annoyed, even though I didn't know why. He had this deep sense of hatred for me, and I'm thinking that everyone could tell.

"Lobo, stop it now," he growled, narrowing his eyes at the other male. Faolon went over to Lobo and pushed him down onto his stomach. "Don't tell me what I can or can't do," he growled. His ears were back, and he bared his teeth at him.

"Yes, Alpha," he said. He whined and showed him his neck.

Faolon got off of him and came back in front of me. "I'm sorry for Lobo's behavior. He just didn't like the way you had asked the question so direct."

I looked down and blushed, slightly. "Then it is me who should be apologizing. Lobo must have just been doing his job. So, I'm sorry for the way I had acted... Alpha."

Faolon raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "You seem to have a good spirit," he said, making me blush a little brighter. "Sit, by your brothers and I'll tell you what they mean."

Brothers? I thought. I looked around and saw John sitting by another wolf. The wolf looked young, maybe my age in human years, with a kind of light gray coat that was speckled with white. He had two small ears, rimmed with black and green eyes, that were watching me. I sat on the other side of John, keeping clear of the other wolf. I didn't trust him.

"I'll tell you later," John said, not looking at me. There was sadness in his voice, but he looked straight ahead.

I really hated being the last one to know things. I bit my lip, not wanting to retort back. I didn't want to show any disrespect to them.

Faolon came over to where we were sitting and sat in front of us. He looked at me, his brown eyes holding knowledge. "Long ago three clans lived in peace. The clans were the Wolf, Horse, and Tiger. Once an Almair, or Keeper of the Mark, died, a new was born to one of the three clans. The birth of the Almair switched from clan to clan to clan, making sure that it was equal. The Almair was the only one who was able to change into all the clan forms, and they could also do it outside of wherever they had been The reason was because they could look after all the clans, making sure that they were all right."

"What does the symbol look like?" I asked, when he paused. The image of my mark appeared in my mind, and I wanted to know if that was what it looked like.

"Three lines that make up a spiral. I'll answer your questions about it later," he said, knowing that I had questions about it. "Everything changed in the last century or so when Dark Forces came. The clans started to hate on the other, because they thought that it was the other clans fault. The Almairs have had been killed off before they could reach their true power, so there was no way to hold onto each other. Only the one with the Stone of Guidance can kill the Dark Forces and bring back peace to our clans. The Stone of Guidance is yellow when the True One is not holding it, but it is green when the True One is holding it. Now, on saying that, please open your hand."

I was startled, not knowing if I should do it. I didn't trust him, nor did I know him. But, he wanted me to open the hand that had the stone in it.

"Do it, Martha," John said.

I looked at John and nodded, obliging by his wishes. I opened my hand and my mouth dropped, because it was green.

Everyone was stunned and silent, staring at the stone in my hand. The green light pulsed, as if it was a living thing.

"The True One," John whispered, looking at it.

"She can't be the True One. She doesn't have the mark of the Almair," Lobo said, breaking the trance. He growled, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Show us your wrist," Faolon said.

I looked at John for guidance, and he nodded. I sighed, placed my boots on the ground beside me, and pulled up my sleeve so the mark showed. I frowned not knowing what both of them meant.

"She is the Almair. The one we have been waiting for," Faolon said.

"Or the one we've been dreading," Lobo muttered, under his breath, even though we could hear.

"So, if I am the Almair and the True One, what will happen to me?" I asked. I crinkled my brows together, not knowing what to do.

"Your life will go on as before you had found out that you are the Almair, but you will have to start training with John, starting tomorrow night," Faolon replied.

"What about school?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You will still be going to school. And, you can do your after school activities."

He was like a mind reader, because that was what I was about to ask. My body relaxed, because I was the Team Captain of my school's Varsity Basketball Team.

"Excuse me," Lobo said, as he got up to leave.

Faolon nodded and Lobo left. "Don't mind him. He lost his wife and child to the Dark Forces, a few years ago. He doesn't like talking about them or about the Almairs, since he kind of blamed them," Faolon said, watching to where Lobo had left.

"I need to go and talk to him. I don't want to get on the wrong side of anyone. I'll need all the help I can get if I want to train to become a wolf." I looked to where Lobo had left, frowning slightly.

Faolon nodded. "I think that might be a good idea. Would you like to go by yourself?"

"Yes, please."

"Faolon, do you think that would be a good idea? Lobo could or might kill her," John said, sounding worried. There was a frown on his face.

"Hey, I can take care of myself, thank you very much," I said folding my arms across my chest and setting my jaw. I was stubborn sometimes, but that was how I got my way.

"She is just like her mother," Faolon said, chuckling.

"You should see her during sports, then you'd know that she is her daughter," John said.

I could feel the pride coming off him, and I couldn't help but blush.

"I think she can handle being by herself with Lobo," Faolon said to John. "You may go and talk to him," he said, looking at me.

I nodded my head in thanks, before I got up and left following Lobo. I had left my boots with John, so that I didn't have to worry about them. I was going to need all my focus on Lobo, because I didn't know what he would do to me.

Hopefully, we wouldn't end up fighting.