Her Savior Alpha

A pile of leaves were stuck to my face, and I had no idea why. Spitting them out, I patted my hands around myself to figure out what was going on. Oh, their were on my bed. Thank god, but still leaves were stuck to the side of my face and I wanted an explanation.

Soft snoring beside me made me open one eye in the direction of Grant’s bed. She snored and thankfully it wasn’t too loud and I had the space to think clearly. Where was I last night?

A deep fog clouded my brain as I recollected myself, ah yes it was my 18th birthday and I’d turned. I had no idea what I looked like as a wolf, but I was sure Thelma would tell me me when I got over to the barracks. All I could remember was grabbing the alcohol and food and creating a mission for myself to the outskirts of the barracks. Grinning in my waking slumber I recalled how fun it was with me and Thelma. We were dancing around trees whooping and hollering down the hill near her outpost. Nothing could stop us. Ah, freedom! It felt so good to be 18, but the fleeting moment of feel good happiness was apprehended by my ungrateful princess of a sister.

“Was that you snoring? You are so annoying. I swear. Keep it down.” She threw a pillow at my head, and I launched it back at her laying down again. Why did I feel so tired? Was it normal to feel this wrecked after turning? I wished I knew. I wanted to see Thelma as soon as possible as she would be able to tell all.

My bones creaked and ached with every slight movement I made. Even as I shifted the sheets back from me my shoulder blades burned and my thighs felt as if they were going to fall off.

Putting my feet down on the floor I padded to the shower not knowing what time it was. Peeking through to the oven clock in the kitchen I could see the timer saying seven thirty and a hammering in my chest propelled me to the showers. I had to register my wolf at eight thirty and it would take me 20 minutes to walk from the main house to the barracks.

I poured way too much soap on myself and adjusted the hot water up a notch so as to soothe the ache out of my bones. “Damn, I am way too sore,” I mumbled in pain as I got out of the shower reluctantly. I scoped out my plan to have breakfast before I got called out by Dane.

I stepped out of the shower feeling a little better, but for the first time I decided I wouldn’t be able to skip breakfast. The body was screaming for food. I slipped on my loose fitting clothes excited by the lack of chores on my list. I had done a lot my next day chores at the recommendation of Clive and Archer.

“You will want to have an easier day after you turn, trust me. You’re going to need to recover.” Clive and Archer had exchanged this special look and as much as it perplexed me then, it perplexed me now. Both of them had been completely right and if a pillow to lay my head down was anywhere around I would have found it and slept.

Limping to the kitchen I was curious if I would be able to now call my wolf on command. I planned on testing out my theory once I got out of the kitchen. Poking around in the fridge I pounced on the crisp, red apple in the freezer compartment along with the yogurt and berries. I quickly mixed them up and gulped it down as quick as possible all the while on the look out for Dane or one of the guards. Either was as dangerous as the other, the guards would report me to Dane who would proceed to crush me or it would be the slave master himself. Satisfied and feeling sore still I added a few snacks in my backpack to eat on the run.

Once I pattered down the stairs to cross through the thicket of forest I sighed with happy relief. Yes! I made it out of the house unscathed. Maybe Dane knew how hard it was when a new wolf turned and had it in his heart to give me a pass for the day. My body couldn’t take a beating right behind last night even though my recollection of events was hazy.

Me shifting was not something I remembered. All that remained was extreme muscular fatigue and my hips felt funny. I shook out my legs as I broke into a job hoping that would make it better, but proceeded to make me feel wonky and off center. I summoned my strength and endeavored to call my wolf.

“Wolf! Come in, can you come back to me? Tell me who you are. What do you look like?” Clutching at non-existent straws is pretty much what I was doing, but I still went for it anyway.

I would have to ask Thelma more about how to call my wolf or go to the wolf study room and find the appropriate literature to find out. Nevertheless as I skipped through the last of the branches and the woodland a buzz of excitement seeped into my bones. A wolf. A Mount Hunter wolf, that’s what I was, funny I didn’t feel too much different other than my inflamed body parts and fuzzy head. As I entered the compound I cast my glance past the mess hall to another small hall attached to it noting wolves who’d trained with on the grounds studying a sheet on the outside of the hall window.

Probably seeing what time they have to register. I looked down at my watch noting it was pretty close to time for me to sign up. Where was Thelma? Questions were burning in the back of my brain as to what my wolf looked like. I needn’t have worried as her pixie-like face showed up around the corner a few minutes later.

“Hey! My god, I am so glad to see you. I wouldn’t know what to write at registration. I’m a complete mess. My limbs feel as if they’re about to fall off. Is this what it’s like?” I droned on to her, but she had trouble holding my gaze so I figured my extreme drunkenness’ was the problem. Her small hand ran up and down her slender neck as she coughed lightly.

“Yeah, it kind of is, but you did pretty well. I will definitely come with you. I just have to drop my bags in at my locker. Hang on a minute,” she said in a half whisper. Her voice was so feather light I could barely hear her.

“Did I embarrass myself or something? Is that why you’re so bizarre this morning?” I poked around for the answer, but she walked slightly ahead of me as she opened her locker and a few other wolves cruised by.

“No Vera, you didn’t embarrass yourself or me. Don’t worry about anything. You’ve got it. Give me a sec.” That wasn’t much to go on, but if Thelma said I didn’t make a fool of myself then I was inclined to believe her.

I dumped my backpack as well and we walked in silence to the registration hall with Thelma sneaking glances at me. I could feel her eyes on my skin and she was starting to freak me out with it.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Was I really that ugly of a wolf? What did I look like? I have to write down what I looked like and obviously I couldn’t see myself so I assume you got a good snapshot.” I winked at her trying to liven up her mood, but Thelma was more silent than normal as we lined up and reached the tables.

In front of us right in the middle of the echoey hall were four tables with wolf soldiers sitting at each one ready to sign wolves in for registration. I head counted twenty of us as a start and was proud that I’d trained with a lot of them and made it through. For me even to make it to age 18 with all the physical abuse I suffered was a miracle in itself.

I stepped up to the middle right table where a clean cut soldier with cargo pants and a side part hairstyle sat. “Good morning. All the registrations are in alphabetical order, this is the registration for G to L. Are you in this category?”

“Yes, thanks, I am.”

“Great. Please take these details and fill them in to the best of your ability and hand them back in. There are seats over to the left, please find a place there.”

I moved with Thelma over to the seats that surrounded the edges of the room and stared at the basic questions being asked.

“These seem normal. I can answer the first few of them.” I glanced at Thelma who had her eye on the wolves in the room and some of the bulkier guards. One stood taking up space at the entry point and another stood on the right hand side of the registration tables appearing bored of their brains. “You have to tell me what’s up because you are being evasive this morning. Is this practice for your next recon?” I joked.

“I don’t mean to be, but I want you to put down that you look like your mother. Do you remember what she was like? Her fur color? Her eyes? You were pretty much the spitting image of her.”

“Are you lying to me?” I squeaked as I squinted at her. Clive broke up my questioning of Thelma as he strode over.

“Ah, you’re here already. I wanted to come and find you to see how you’re feeling today.” Clive’s dazzling smile sent a wave of desire through my veins and brought an instant lift to the corners of my lips.

“I’m feeling fine- I mean I’m feeling tired, but I’m fine. There’s plenty of body aches and creaking parts. I’m too young to be an old woman so I don’t get what that’s about. You forgot to tell me.”

I wasn’t trying to be funny, but apparently it came out in a funny way I guessed because Clive chuckled a little louder than expected at me.

“Sounds about right. That’s exactly what it is like. Give yourself an Epsom salt bath and you should feel better.” The power of Clive’s gaze seemed to penetrate beneath all my clothing and if he could feel the heatwaves rolling over my body I wondered what he would think.

“I don’t think I’m going to have enough time for an Epsom salt bath, but that’s life. I gotta fill out this paperwork and its an endless list of chores for me.” I rubbed my knees as Thelma sat quiet beside me.

“I hope that Vera, I’m going to put in a protest on your behalf. You have a lot of talent and it would be a shame to have one of our quickest and most agile wolves cleaning and doing chores all day.” Clive’s ego boost was welcome, but Thelma’s silence was not. I wanted more information from her, but her responses were the same as a wolf who’d been tasered.

“Thanks, that would be great, but getting past Dane and my dragon princess of a sister will be your biggest problem.”

“You got that right, but hey I might catch Dane on an off day. I think he’s out of the district today and tomorrow on wolf business so things should be a lot more relaxed around here.” I admired Clive from head to toe. Chiseled in all the right places and a gentleman to match. How did him and Reily turn out so differently?

“Ha! Fat chance, but thanks.”

“Alright. I have to set up a new round of training today and the agility test is on, I’m pumped to see if anyone can match your speed Vera.” He waggled his eyebrows at me and I giggled.

“I hope I leave some sort of legacy on the training ground. I hope nobody beats it.”

“Me too.” Clive lifted his hand and I high fived him as Thelma continued to look at me as if I was from outer space.

“What’s with you?” I prodded again not convinced that I didn’t make a fool of myself at the border.

“Nothing. Let’s just fill in this form okay?”

“Okay, no problem. What color would you say my fur was and wolf eyes?”

“Hmm, same as your mother. You had golden colored eyes with the same emerald green you do now. Your father had brown eyes so that makes sense. Same fur as her, chocolate brown with black feet. Her hair was a combination of both colors right?”

“Yes, really? I turned to look like my mother?” I guessed that wasn’t a bad thing. My mother was incredibly beautiful to me and if I had to be like anyone it would be her.

“Yep. That’s what you’re going to write down anyway.”

“Why are you saying that? You’re being cryptic Thelma.”

“Can you fill out the rest of the paperwork without me?”

“I can, I guess I don’t need anything else. Why aren’t you answering what I’m asking? You were acting funny before Clive came over as well.” No way on moon goddesses land was I letting her get away from the answers.

“I will tell you later, for now you should add down what I’ve told you on the sheet. Just do it for me, can you do that?” Thelma shot me a fierce look as her jaw stiffened bringing up fear inside of me.

“I do trust you. Okay, I’m going to do what you say as long as you tell me what’s up with you.”

I fiddled around with the pen, but filled in the blanks ready to submit my information.

“I will, I promise just don’t make any changes to your description. It must be the same as your mother’s okay?”

“Okay. Promise. It’s no worries. I won’t make changes.”

“Good.” I filled in the rest of the generic sheet and turned it in to the drab soldier.

“Great. Thanks Vera. You’re free to go now. That’s all we need from you today.” I nodded solemnly at him.

“Thanks.”

“Now will you tell me?” I urged.