Destined for the Alpha

Destined for the Alpha

Published by Winifred LaCroix

Copyright 2014 Winifred LaCroix

Prologue:

He heard the wail in the forest, it was almost painful to his wolf ears. Was it a babe? Perhaps an easy kill for this hunt tonight? The golden wolf slowly walked towards the noise that was relentless. It was shrieking and he almost didn't even want to bother with it. He came across the noise finally, it was a girl who had to be about eight, and she had a scraped knee and was sitting in the dark alone, easy pickings indeed. He walked around the clearing to get a better idea of what he was dealing with but as made it to stand in front of her he noticed that there were small daisy blossoms blooming before him, the wolf put his nose to the ground and tried to go unnoticed but the wailing child noticed the golden wolf at the edges of the wood and wiped her face of tears, looking at the large creature. "Doggy?" the child asked and stood up, dusting her knee off the daisies seemed to stop growing when she stood, as if they were no longer needed, the wolf backed away, she did not have the scent of a human child, but of nature. "Here doggy doggy"

He resented that name but realized that if he wasn't going to kill her, he could at least try and find out what she was. He felt a small hand come down on his head as the eight-year-old girl with long blonde hair that was full of twigs hung loosely at her hips pet him. He nudged her hand with his nose and she recoiled as if burned. "Nice doggy," she batted him on the nose and the large wolf growled but she suddenly resumed petting him. Either the girl had never been around an animal before or she just didn't care, he laid down and let the small child stroke his fur, sniffing her again to see if he could determine what she was. After a few minutes he decided she was worth protecting, whatever she was. Eventually the small girl laid her head on his. "I'm lost, doggy." her voice was small and scared and he felt bad for her, he licked her hand in an effort to comfort her but she started wailing again.

The golden wolf that was almost twice the size of her and definitely not a doggy pinned his ears down on his head at the noise and whined, licking her hand again and nudging her. What an irritating child. She looked sad though when she sat back on her knees, playing with one of his ears. Perhaps her family was nearby. He stood up, towering over her and nudging her up. She wiped the tears off of her face and sniffed, followed by a small hiccup. "Can you help? Like Lassie?"

He didn't know who lassie was, maybe it was her mother. He nodded at her and she gripped on his fur near his neck, causing him to wince. She was not a careful child that was sure. He had not seen any campers or and cabins out this way, so she wondered how she had wandered too far out by herself. The golden wolf sniffed the air and realized that there couldn't be anyone for at least a mile. How had she gotten out here? Was she abandoned? She was a bit rough, but sweet. He walked with the girl who had no backpack and was only wearing some beat up jeans and a pink shirt towards where he knew a campsite to be, perhaps they could get her to safety

"Doggy?" she asked after twenty minutes of slow wandering through the woods. The wolf resented the word doggy but turned to look at her anyways "I'm scared of the dark."

He wanted to tell her that while she had found one of the most fearsome creatures in the forest and petted it as if it was some kind of domesticated puppy, she couldn't be afraid of anything else, he understood and nudged her gently and looked up at the full moon. "I wish I had my flashlight." she said looking up with the wolf.

He wished he knew where her family had went. How could the leave such an innocent creature in the middle of the forest? They were lucky that he had found her and not anything else. The night was full of terrors. They walked for another hour or so, the campsite was a far way away still at the pace they were walking and she was slowing, it has be exceptionally late for the small girl. She was yawning and struggling to move forward but the wolf kept nudging her forward, he didn't want her to be alone in the middle of the woods. Finally she fell down, he was stunned when the forest seemed to create a small bed of soft grass for her without her even noticing, he stepped back from the eight-year-old blonde in fear. What was she?

"Doggy, I need a nap."

No you don't, thought the wolf, nudging her side but she was back to crying "I'll never find my parents. They're gone forever. I'll be lost forever."

She was definitely one for the dramatics, he thought as he laid down next to her, laying his head on his paws trying to think how he could get her to keep moving forward. Her soft snores filled the air after a while and he thought he could transform back and carry her, but if she woke up and saw a strange man carrying her she might think he was a kidnapper, The wolf attempted to flip her onto his back and eventually he got her laying across him but she slid off just as quickly as he stood up, he made another attempt only to watch her slide off again. He growled in frustration and eventually settled for laying down next to her. The small girl sniffed and curled up next to him and he looked over at her. Why was he doing all this for some small child he had stumbled across in the woods? He huffed and laid down, after an hour he succumbed to the same sleepiness the girl had.

He woke up to something pulling his ear and he growled softly only to see it was daybreak and his small companion was impatient to get going. "Sleepy doggy, let's go!"

He stood up and stretched before feeling her scratch behind his ear and pet him on the head. Where was this girl raised where it was normal to treat a wolf like a golden retriever? After awhile of her humming while they traipsed through the forest "I will call you lassie!"

The wolf huffed, and wished that he could correct her but elected to follow the little blonde child towards the nearest campsite, nudging her from the left or the right when she went off track but eventually after four hours of meandering she began to softly cry and the golden wolf looked back. What could it possibly be now? He wondered how she had even made it out to the middle of the woods when she was constantly crying.

"Are we getting close lassie, my feet hurt and my knee is scraped!" He looked down and saw this scrape as barely a cut and he laid down next to her hoping he could coax her to get on his back since it would be quicker for both of them and she just pet his head again, he barked and looked backwards, get with the program girl.

She petted him on the head again and he grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled her over closer to him but that rewarded him with her slapping his sensitive nose. He yelped and let go and she looked down at the holes he put in her shirt and yelled "bad dog" and stumbled backwards just to fall down again.

He was ashamed for scaring her and licked her hand in apology, they'd walk at her pace no matter how many days it would take he would see her safely. It was late afternoon when he heard voices, they were nearing the campsite that he remembered was near by. She looked almost afraid to exit the woods. She looked back at him after she entered the campsite, he elected to stay in the woods. and he swore he must have been mistaken but replied, just before she was noticed "Peter"

He was shocked and as the adults started to swarm around her and he slunk back into the woods, he would never forget the blonde girl that smelled like nature.

He was running through the woods, chasing his prey, a group of campers he had caught deep in the woods. One was down it was a group of girls, three, that would make perfect sacrifices for the sages, he could smell the purity in the air, and at least one was a virgin. He howled to signal his deltas to come around and trap them. and as their screams filled the air realizing they were trapped by a pack of wolves he caught the scent of another, a girl who smelled like nature, pure like spring water, and fresh like rain. It had been years, he was sure it could not be the same one. He transformed back into his human form, "Ivan, finish this up I have other things to be attending to." He snapped and walked back up the hill, her scent was only the briefest, which meant she was far away. It could not be that little blonde girl, it had been five years ago, and yet he ran towards it, pausing every few seconds to make sure he was drawing nearer to her scent. Finally he saw the lights of the cabins and heard shouting, he fell back into his wolf form and stalked around the edges of the brush. Was it her? He wondered. The shouting ceased and he saw a blonde girl of thirteen slam the door to the small wooden cabin and huff out into the yard, he saw tears streaming down her face and backed into the woods as she neared him. She suddenly stopped, did she see him? No, he was well hidden. Well, as well as a five-foot wolf could be in such matters. She reached her hand out into the darkness, fireflies lighting up periodically in the yard, making her look almost angelic, her hair was in messy pigtail braids and she was in a sweater and shorts. "Peter?" she breathed and the wolf froze, she had seen him, she knew his name, he hadn't been mistaken all those years ago. She said it again "are you there?"

The wolf moved so that some light from the house hit him but never left the forest. She gasped "It's you."

"Catherine get your ass back in here!" shouted a voice from the house and she turned back to her mother who was leaning out the screen door

"Why should I?" she shouted back and turned back to the wolf "wait for me? please?"

She stomped back into the house and the fighting resumed, he laid at the edge of the forest. Catherine, her name was Catherine, his little forest nymph, his blonde haired angel was Catherine. Peter waited for what seemed like hours and his ears perked up when he heard a window slide open. Catherine slid out of the window feet first and fell to the ground with a small "oof"

She hadn't changed, he realized when she moved across the yard as stealthily as a bull in a china shop. She looked around the edge of the forest for her wolf but didn't see him, suddenly she saw a glint of gold as Peter padded around the brush, and she slipped into the dark woods. She put a finger to her lips and walked deeper into the woods, the golden wolf diligently following her as she walked deeper and deeper. She stopped at a stream and sat down near the water. Peter sat down next to her quietly, looking down at the water.

"I was adopted by some campers, I don't know where my parents are." she said after some silence and he flattened his ears, so he hadn't gotten her to safety after all "We come back every so often thinking my parents will be in the area, but no one has ever reported a kid missing. So they think I was just abandoned." she explained petting his fur absentmindedly, he wanted to find her parents and devour them whole, how dare they leave her alone in the forest, how could they leave such a defenseless little girl alone in the woods! She sniffed and he licked her hand realizing she was now crying "If you hadn't found me I would have died alone, but now I'm in a city and so far from the forest, I feel almost sick when I go home. I just wish I could live in the woods with you Peter."

She drew her knees to her chest and stared down at the stream of water that reflected the moonlight in small glitters. He laid down around her, making an irritated whine until she continued petting him. after an hour she laid on top of him sighing as she buried her face in his fur "I only feel at home with you." she whispered, and he closed his eyes. They were still relatively low ranking wolves, there was no way he could both turn and keep a human girl in the clan. If she was desirable she would be handed off immediately to someone else who deserved her more in the compound than him. It was only him, Ivan, Gwen and Shawn. He was sure if he continued to work harder he could turn her and keep her for his own, but how long would that be? He felt a wetness in his fur and realized that she was crying again. He licked her face and tasted the salty tears, he searched her face. She was always unhappy, if he could just take her away and keep her safe for just a minute, for just forever. She could be happy with him, he was sure of it. He was her home.

It was almost dawn when she left him, after sleeping next to him all night he nudged her back awake and she groaned, hugging the wolf tighter. He watched her patiently as she clamored back into her bedroom window, landing with a thud. He sadly walked away from his nature angel when she poked her head back out of the window. "Wait for me tomorrow night? we're spending the weekend here." the dawn caught her eyes and she seemed to almost glow. He barked in response and her smile made his heart swell. He would help her however he could, even if it just meant someone to listen to her and sleep on at night.

He let her land on him the next night instead of ungracefully falling to the ground, he gritted his teeth when a hundred pounds of girl fell on top of him and she patted his head excitedly as they disappeared into the woods. This time, he hoped she would be able to follow him and he trotted in front of her looking back at the blonde girl who ran to catch him, she was in an oversized shirt and shorts today, her hair just as long as it was when they first met, and free, the moonlight caught it so it looked like it had a glow of it's own, she ran with him as they went deeper into the woods and after an hour of obstacles and climbing he stopped at the edge of the lake that he often saw from the compound, it was untouched by man, and the moon reflected off the placid surface. "It's gorgeous," she breathed touching the water, causing the moon to wrinkle on the surface of the water. She set her legs in the water and laid her head back, staring up at the stars in the sky, the wolf howled and his angel Catherine imitated him, howling at the moon with him. She was meant to be his, there was no other explanation for her perfection. He howled again, and she joined him. Howling at the waning moon over the placid lake.