The Wolf's Prey

  Alpha Lennox Hall

  Alpha Lennox Hall stood in our living room taking in our scents and listening to my father. He never smiled and rarely spoke. When he did speak, the timbre of his voice shook my chest. The Blue Shore Pack is the largest in North America and Alpha Hall is said to be the strongest, he's never been beaten and is rarely ever challenged. It’s not unheard of for an alpha to greet new pack members. We live in an upper middle class community backed into privately owned forest that spans for miles. The nearest city, where most wolves work and shop, is only 40 minutes away.

  My mother ushers us to the sofa to sit until we were called on. I glanced at Alpha Hall under my eyelashes noticing how big he is. Burly doesn't describe him. He's around six foot seven inches or taller. It's hard to tell because at five foot tall myself, big is big. His shoulders are wide with thick corded muscles. Every inch of him is sculpted to perfection and flowing with power. In one word I am terrified of him. I don't see him as a protector, as many would. I see him as someone that could kill me with a single touch.

  I glance at my twin sister Marta with wide eyes. She looks back at me, but instead of being afraid like me, she looks intrigued and smitten. I make a face at her, letting her know I think she's crazy and she shrugs. Marta and I are complete opposites. We are fraternal twins, not identical twins. She got everything that I didn't. Long legs, perfectly curly brown hair and dark brown eyes. Like my mother, she is striking. When I say opposite, I mean opposite. I'm short, with light blonde almost white hair down to my waist and pin straight, the only thing that I like about myself are my violet eyes. Every time I look in the mirror I remember my grandfather who I inherited them from. He was the most amazing man in the world and last year when he passed of old age, I felt my whole world shift and the only comfort I have are my eyes.

  I hear my name being called and glance up. I notice they must have said my name more than once because my dad looks annoyed. "Sorry, I was thinking about granddad." I explain, knowing my dad expects an explanation. I zone out a lot and it always irritates him.

  "This is Jocelyn, she and Marta are twins. Stand up and address your alpha." Dad orders.

  I stand up and bow my head in a sign of submission and obedience, but most of all respect. "Alpha Hall."

  "Look up." Alpha orders and my head snaps up. His eyes narrow on my face; I can feel it even as I avert mine, to avoid eye contact.

  He nods to my parents and walks out of the house without saying another word. "What is wrong with you? You can't pull it together for fifteen minutes!"

  "Chill out, dad. He didn't care." Marta states, defending me as always.

  "Sorry." I say again and finally my father relaxes.

  "You need to try harder to be part of the present. It looks bad and reflects negatively on us." I nod and excuse myself.

  I know I'm not normal. I am easily distracted and rather be alone than in a group of people. I wish I could be more like Marta. She's outspoken and makes friends easily. Everyone loves her. There's a knock on my door. "Come in."

  "Hey, let’s go for a run."

  "Nah, I'll stay here."

  "Please?" Marta begs and I cave instantly.

  "Okay, but not too far. I don't want to be late for dinner after that screw up with the alpha."

  "Alright. Let's go." She agrees, pulling me off the bed. I walk behind her to the edge of the woods. Just as I'm about to take my clothes off, a figure steps in front of me. I feel his authority and automatically lower my head.

  "You’re not allowed in the woods without supervision and clearance."

  "I'm here with my sister."

  "You'll need Alpha or me with you at all times. I will also need notice, so the woods are cleared."

  "What? Cleared?" I ask confused.

  "Cleared of other wolves." He informs me.

  "I can’t run with anyone but you or the alpha? Not even my sister?"

  "No."

  I know I'm not supposed to ask questions. So, I wait. Thinking maybe he'll explain, but he doesn't.

  Marta comes towards us having heard the conversation. "Why? That doesn't make any sense." She says upset.

  "Because it was ordered." He replies gruffly and turns to walk away. Before he leaves he orders me to go back home.

  We walk in the back door seeing my parents and tell them about the incident in the woods. My father seems to think it’s all my fault. "It’s how you were acting. The alpha is probably suspicious of you, or wants to punish you for your insolence."

  I stare at my plate as my dad lists all the things wrong with me and how I need to make more of an effort to be like Marta. She rolls her eyes while my dad rants. When she starts to mimic him, my mom and I suppress our giggles as best as we can. After dinner I'm excused to go to bed. Tomorrow we have school, which I'm not excited about. I know it won't be too bad having Marta there, but I hate having to lean on her when she's trying to make new friends.

  My alarm clock goes off at 7:00 a.m. and I get out of bed to take a shower. I knock on the bathroom door, hearing Marta is brushing her teeth.

  "Come in." I walk in and after a quick good morning, I get in the shower. Once I'm done I leave Marta in the bathroom applying her makeup and get dressed in my room. I choose a long simple dark green dress with a brown belt at the waist and brown sandals. I brush my hair and let it air dry. I take a bobby pin and pin back the front layer on each side of my part. This is what my father calls my hippy look, I call it my look. Walking to the mirror above my dresser I apply mascara and lip gloss and go to the kitchen. I pour a bowl of cheerios and eat quickly. Marta comes down as I'm going back up to brush my teeth.

  "Meet me outside. We're going to be late."

  "Two minutes." I say, running to the bathroom. I brush my teeth and grab my bag from the floor sprinting out the back door to our lime green Beetle.

  We share a car, but Marta claims it’s hers, so she drives everywhere. I rarely ever go anywhere unless it’s to work; even then I usually take my mom’s car. We arrive ten minutes before the first bell. I wait for Marta who is smiling and waving to everyone she passes. I chuckle and turn back to the door taking a step, I hit something. No, I hit him.

  "Sorry, Alpha." I apologize immediately.

  He grunts. "This is your schedule." I take the papers he's holding out and he walks away.

  "Thanks." I say, to his departing back.

  I look over the papers. Math, History, English, lunch, gym, ethics and Biology. I didn't get art history or wood shop, which are the two classes I really wanted.

  "What's that?" Marta asks, coming up behind me.

  "My schedule."

  "You already got yours?"

  "Yeah, Alpha Hall gave it to me." I explain.

  "Well let’s go get mine and compare." She skips ahead. I follow her to the office and wait for her to get her papers. I hand her mine and she compares them. "We don't have anything together. Even our lockers are on opposite ends of the building!"

  "You’re joking. Let me see that." I grab the schedules and sure enough we have nothing together. Marta even got art history and wood shop. "You got the two electives I wanted."

  "This sucks. Excuse me Mrs. Leech, is there any way we can switch classes?"

  "No, dear." She replies, turning to the people behind her. I sigh and we leave.

  "See you at the end of school?"

  "Yep, hang in there. Make friends." She orders and hugs me.

  I smile and walk to my locker which is the last one in a deserted hallway. After finding my locker I go to my first class, Math. As soon as I walk in the room I notice everyone is quiet and it’s almost like they avoid looking my way. I don't know whether to be grateful or offended. Class starts and we get our books and go over the first lesson. The
bell rings, the halls are crowed yet people go out of their way to walk around me or stop altogether to let me pass. They whole day ends up being like this. No one talks to me or touches me, even my gym teacher Mrs. Rubo, makes sure not to brush my fingers with hers when she hands me my gym uniform.

  The last bell rings and I sprint to the parking lot, feeling irritated and confused. I lean against our car waiting for Marta. I don't understand this place. I made one bad impression with the alpha and I'm singled out as a freak. I feel like crying, I know my dad will find out about this and complain about how humiliating I am. I'm lost in thoughts of how to make it better when I hear Marta scream, "Earth to Jocelyn!"

  "What?" I ask, snapping out of it.

  "How was your first day?" I can see by her face she knows all about my first day.

  "Fine. How about you?"

  "Don't give me that crap! I know what he did."

  I shrug like it’s no big deal and get in the car. "What exactly did he tell everyone? No one will talk to, look at, or touch me. It’s like I have the plague."

  "From what I heard he warned everyone to stay away from you. He didn't give a reason. Maybe he likes you?" She says, wiggling her eyes brows suggestively. "He's so hot all the girls want him, he hasn't chosen yet."

  I huff. "If he liked me he wouldn't want people treating me like I was diseased. No, this is punishment. Did I really make that bad of an impression?"

  "I didn't think so, but yeah I guess you’re right. He won't even let you run with the rest of the pack. He's singling you out and it doesn't look good."

  "Maybe I should talk to him. What do you think?" I ask.

  "Yeah, you should. This is what we'll do. We'll dress you up nice and pretty and you can go to his office and beg him on your knees to take your virginity as a penance for your behavior. Spanking included."

  "I'm not going to ask the alpha to spank me-"

  "Get out of the car." I hear the deep rumble of his voice. Oh, shit. Tell me he didn't hear that.

  "We were just leaving." Marta replies, looking just as startled.

  He opens my door. I look at Marta knowing there's nothing she can do. I get out, leaving my book bag and am careful not to touch him. I don't want to make him even angrier.

  "Follow me." He orders, walking to a big black truck with huge tires. He opens the passenger side door and picks me up by my waist and places me on the seat. He slams the door shut and walks to the driver’s side. I feel my nervousness spike as I watch him get in. The flexing of his arm muscles as he turns the key and grips the wheel makes me sit at full alert. We drive for about a minute before he speaks. "Did anyone speak to you? Hit on you?" His voice rumbles through the truck.

  "No." I answer truthfully.

  "Did anyone look at you?"

  "No."

  "Touch you?"

  "No, look I'm really sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to zone out, I can't seem to control it."

  "It’s fine." He replies automatically.

  "And we were joking about that whole spanking thing."

  I know he's watching me, but I keep my eyes averted looking out the window. I don't want to get into any more trouble with him and eye contact is a big no-no.

  "What are you talking about?" He asks, pulling up to my house.

  "Earlier at school. Marta was joking about the whole thing with the spanking. She was just trying to make me feel better."

  I glance at him quickly his face is passive, controlled and completely blank. I can't tell what he's thinking and he's not talking. Do I get out of the car or wait to be dismissed?

  "Why would she have to make you feel better?"

  "About today and my punishment." I answer, looking at my hands.

  "Punishment?" He asks, his voice getting dangerously low.

  I nod. "For yesterday. She was there when you restricted me from running with the rest of the pack and then today, she heard you told everyone to avoid me."

  He continues to stare at me making me uncomfortable. "Where does the spanking come in?" He asks seriously his voice level and deep as always.

  I turn to him trying to read him to see if he's lying about hearing us and is teasing me, but I get nothing. I look away from his icy blue eyes and back to my lap. "Ah, she thought it'd be funny to tell me to go to your office and let you...um, well you know and ask for a spanking. She was completely joking, I was going to come to your office and apologize for yesterday. If I offended you in any way I'm really sorry." I babble feeling my cheeks flush.

  "I told you not to worry about yesterday." He reminds me, his voice getting a little deeper.

  "Yes, Alpha."

  "You’re not running with the pack because you need protection with you. You’re smaller than any wolf I've ever seen. If another wolf tried something with you, you'd be useless to fight them off."

  I nod. It doesn't explain why he won't let anyone talk to me. "I'll let the others talk to you, but the running stands."

  "Thank you."

  He doesn't respond and I start to fidget, he's so off-putting. He's like a block of ice. I can't read his face or voice, both lack emotion and any clues to what he's thinking and feeling. Finally, he gets out and walks to my side of the truck. He opens the door and lifts me up. Startled, I put my hands on his shoulders and look at his hard angular face. I notice a scar trailing from his temple to his jaw and up under his chin. I think it makes him look darker, more sinister. With the scar, his eyes, his voice, his size, I don't think I'll ever see a scarier person in my life. My feet hit the ground and I back away from him.

  I feel his eyes narrow on me as the front door of my house opens. I look behind me and see Marta in her "sexy outfit," this is the outfit she uses to get what she wants. I can’t help but smile; I have the best sister in the world.

  "Alpha Hall. Can I speak with you for a minute?" She asks, playing with her hair.

  "No." He replies. My eyes snap to his and I want to back up even more.

  "You’re afraid of me." He observes. Do I answer him? I don't think it was a question. "Look at me." He commands. He steps forward cupping my chin and lifting it so I am staring directly into his face. He growls. "You don't have to fear me."

  "Yes, Alpha." I squeak out. Feeling my body tremble, how can I not fear him? He's terrifying.

  I know he can feel my reaction to him because his eyes get even colder. "S-sorry," I stutter. He drops my chin and growling he walks away. He gets in his truck and leaves. I look back at Marta who is looking at the departing truck wistfully. I still can’t believe she's attracted to him, he was a jerk to her two minutes ago. Not to mention all he's done to me.

  **********

  Weak Link"Thanks for trying." I say looking at Marta.

  "I think he has a problem with the whole family now. What'd he say in the truck?" She asks curiously.

  "Nothing. All he said is he was going to lift the no speaking order, but that I still couldn't run with the pack. He thinks I'm too small. Then he dropped me off and you were here for the rest." I answer getting frustrated with myself. I did it again, I made him mad.

  "Well, he definitely doesn't want you afraid of him. Maybe he sees you're the weak-" She stops talking and turns to me. I see she's sorry but it still hurts.

  "I'm the weak link in his pack. That's what you were going to say, right?" I ask. I feel the tears but blink them away.

  "I was just talking out loud. We could be wrong. Who cares what he thinks anyway?" She says waving her hands.

  "No, you're right. I'm sure that's why he's being so rude. Please, don't tell dad."

  "I won't." She says, offended that I'd think she would.

  "Thanks." I say, as she throws her arm around me.

  "Let's go eat something. I think there's left over lasagna." She sings.

  "You had me at eat."

  "That's the sister I know and love."

  We eat our snack and I'm itching to run but I know I'm not allowed. How am I supposed to schedule a run? It's not like he gave me a p
hone number to call. I hear Marta on the phone talking to one of her new friends. I sneak down the stairs quietly and out the front door. I walk down the road hoping to burn off some energy. I don't want to risk seeing the Alpha but the park is close to his house and that's where I want to go. I pick up my speed and turn off onto the trail as quickly as possible to avoid being seen from the street.

  Hidden by some trees is a meadow full of play equipment and picnic tables. I see a large tree that would be perfect for reading under. If only I would have thought to bring a book. I walk to the tree and sit down. There are a few kids playing on the slide and I can't help but smile at their antics. I decide to lie down and watch the sun through the leaves.

  I'm starting to wish we never moved here. Not that I had any reason to stay in Oregon. Even in Everton, I didn't make friends easily. Still, Alpha Rhys was always nice to me and never made me feel like this.

  "Found her!" I hear someone shout and I sit up quickly, noticing it's dark out. Shit! I'm in so much trouble. I see the man who yelled coming closer. It's the guy from the woods. I'm sure he's the Beta; I just can't remember his name. I stand up and brush myself off. I couldn't have been asleep for that long.

  I hear a loud snap and the birds take flight letting me know someone is coming our way. I look at the guy next to me and he keeps his eyes on the woods. Whatever is coming towards us is snapping trees and scaring the wildlife, seconds later a very angry Alpha exits the forest.

  I keep my head down. Not only to show I submit but also because Alpha Hall is completely naked. His footsteps as he comes closer makes me want to pee my pants, literally. Why didn't I go to the bathroom before I left?

  I feel my hands shake and link them together. I don't want to show my fear, he doesn't like that. "You've been here?" He asks stopping in front on me.

  "Yes." I answer.

  "She was sleeping." The Beta explains for me.

  "Leave." I turn around but his large hand on my shoulder stops me. "Not you."

  I nod and turn back around, keeping my eyes on the ground. I shift on my feet, really needing to pee. "Are you nervous?" He asks.

  "Yes and I have to go to the bathroom really bad." I reply still bouncing from foot to foot.