Alpha Paxton

14 |

Her death, and my sudden appearance; someone was bound to put it together and I just hoped I could get away fast enough when it happened.

~

Now I sat, in the same spot that I was in when Paxton told me. By now, the mattress had sunk underneath me, creating a mold of my body in its flexible texture. The comfort of the warm sheets, and the smell of Paxton told me that I was safe. Yet, it was like I was paralyzed.

Paxton had left, taking my silence as acceptance and quickly after the light shining from the window dimmed and the air became damper.

Had I been sitting here for that long?

I peered at the clock that chimed on the wall. It was only mid-afternoon.

I knew that I had done it —that my sadness had made the sun disappear. I tried to make it come back but my clouded mind was reflected in the sky.

I knew I couldn't risk going outside; the guard stationed at the front entrance of Paxton's home would catch me no matter which way I tried to leave. So instead, I let the newfound darkness lull me to sleep.

I better get used to this, I thought to myself. Who knows how long I will be locked away after people find out the truth —or how long  I will even be alive.

I closed my eyes, letting the darkness consume me. I then dreamed of shooting stars, hundreds of them, flying across the sky. They were the lonely souls my sister had once told me, flying around the galaxy, just waiting to collide with their other half.

I saw a pink star shoot across the imaginary horizon.

I knew then why I was dreaming of such things.

Destiny.

My eyes shot open and the tapping I heard on my dresser confirmed her presence. I sat up, turning to find my sister. Her classic black fingernails probably making permanent marks in Paxton's furniture.

In her fashion, she gave me no chance to speak.

"Oh little sister, I guess that magic didn't work too well at keeping you human did it?" Her tone suggested frustration but her face was soft.

I was her weak point.

And I was going to use it to my advantage.

My face swol up with tears, real and fake. I stood, no longer finding comfort in the bed.

"Did you know? You must have known!" My hysterical voice was surprising to even me. I took a breath before continuing again. I had too many questions.

"Why would you put me here? Of all the packs, why did you choose to put me with my mate —even when you knew I couldn't have him. Even with Embry's flimsy magic, you couldn't expect me not to figure it out."

Destiny became defensive. I knew I had done it; I had gotten her to a point where she would be careless enough to tell me the truth.

She stepped closer to me and reached out for my shoulders. I took a step back; I wouldn't give her anything until she gave me something... anything.

"I did it because... despite the magic, I knew that he would feel it. The bond can conquer so much more then you think, Theia. It was for your protection. I guess you don't remember, but wolves aren't normally all that welcoming to outsiders. They take after our sister in that sense. If I had chosen any other pack —you wouldn't have made it past the first day unharmed."

Her words hit me hard. I found myself leaning for support against the dresser.  I knew she told the truth, but my judgement had been clouded by my desire to just shake her for putting me in a situation where I would have to keep this soul-altering secret to myself.

And watch as my mate tries to fill the void with others, believing me to be dead.

In a moment of silence, we collectively move on. I know the real reason she is here is not to talk about my mate.

The conference. It was only a few days away.

"What is going to happen, Destiny?"

My sisters face grew ever more serious.

"Alpha Klayton will be there, he is the one that has been chasing me in circles since your return. He knows that 'Theia' has returned, but doesn't know you are her. To all the other Alpha's,  you are the crazy girl that Paxton has been housing. Rumors have been spreading through the packs that you are a witch, or a fairy, or something of that realm that has been acting like a human to gather information."

I am shocked. The idea that the nation's packs were talking about me made me grow anxious. This was no longer a show for just Paxton, but the entire population of werewolves.

"You must play into this Theia. Give them something, do a magic trick. Anything. Tell them you work for a coven. Create a story... you must let them think that they have solved the mystery themselv—"

I cut her off.

"Some of them have seen me before, they may be able to place my face from when I was a child —what if Klayton recognizes me? He will kill me!" I start to go a little hysterical. An obscure amount of pressure builds in my chest. I didn't want to die —again.

My shoulder warmed by the touch of my sisters hand. Her outstretched arm held me in place as she looked straight at me.

I see the depths of her eyes, the swirling galaxy; forever pairing people and creating new pathways in the never ending universe. A human could get trapped here forever, watching the patterns form.

I am snapped out of it by the sound of her urgent voice.

"And soon after your younger years, our family separated ties from the wolves. No one ever saw or heard from you again. They even stopped praying to us after a while —their legends and stories include only Artemis. We have been written out of werewolf history; they have no reason to remember what you looked like. You were just another freckle face kid of the past."

My brain raced. I was going to have to put on the best performance of my life in order to pull this off. I was so deep in my thoughts that I almost didn't notice the commotion outside of my room.

I could hear a door being swung open, and the grunts of hello being exchanged between the guard on duty and Paxton. My eyes grew wide as I turned back to Destiny.

She knew that she had to go.

"Just remember, no matter what, you are the sun," she whisped in my ear, before kissing my temple.

And she was gone... just like that, in the blink of an eye. Just like a shooting star.