The Alpha's Mutt

As I lay in my bed that night, which was little more than a collection of tall grasses and reeds, I could not get comfortable. I tossed and turned, my mind reeling with all of my unanswered questions. The long-buried emotions that had come bubbling to the surface without warning.

I was certain that I had no interest in involving myself with Farris ever again. However, my mind was having little success in convincing my heart. I had to remind myself repeatedly that he was the one who had sent me away. I did not run from him. He pushed me out. Everything that had happened to him since had been his doing, not mine.

So, why did I feel so guilty, knowing that he may be in pain? Why did knowing that he was desperate to see me, pull at my soul in a way that I could not control? I huffed in frustration.

When I finally fell into a fitful sleep, I found myself pulled into a mysterious place. There was darkness all around, yet the atmosphere seemed to glow. Tiny pinpoints of light could be seen dotting the horizon in the distance. There was a dense fog rolling across the ground, keeping me from being able to see my own feet underneath me.

That was when another realization struck me. I was a human. I usually dreamt of myself as a wolf since that was the form that I lived in. I was surprised that this dream had allowed for this change. Though many things about this dream were beginning to surprise me already.

Starting with how vivid it seemed and how real everything around me felt. It was almost as though I was actually existing in the space rather than merely creating it within my mind. I slowly began walking forward, my mouth agape at the strange energy surrounding me. I studied the space carefully trying to determine my location. It felt like an unknown, mysterious sort of place, though highly familiar all the same.

Suddenly, before me, there appeared a bright light. It glowed and throbbed, becoming brighter as it went. I felt the urge to blink away, but something would not allow me to remove my gaze. I was witnessing something of great power, a light so bright that it should blind me with its intensity. When I finally felt that I could take no more, it shifted, transforming itself before my eyes.

I blinked several times, clearing my vision. When I finally focused again. I gasped in surprise at the sight. The most beautiful woman that I had ever seen now stood before me, glowing in an ethereal light.

Her long, silver hair floated behind Her, dancing lightly, as if being hit by a gentle breeze. Her caring, silver eyes lacked pupils, as the imagine of the moon appeared inside of them instead. Her long white gown fell gracefully about Her, fading into the fog as if She was more spirit than person. Power radiated off Her, but Her demeanor seemed kind, almost loving.

“My child…” As She spoke, Her voice was soft, echoing, and floated upon the air like a song.

“Moon Goddess?” I asked, though somewhere inside of me, I already knew the answer.

“You may call Me Selene.” She answered with an affirmative nod.

The idea of calling a Goddess by Her first name seemed strange. It was too informal, I felt that there should be some kind of title involved. Though, that was likely due to rigidity of the rules in the wolf world. We always called our superiors by their titles. But this request was coming from the Goddess, Herself. Who was I to question Her?

“Of course.” I offered unsure what else to say.

There were so many questions beginning to run through my mind. The most important of which was…what is happening here?

“I see you have queries, My child. Feel free to voice them.” Selene bid with a soft smile.

“Well…uh…I was just wondering…if any of this is real?” I asked, rather sheepishly, glancing around us.

“This is very real.” Selene confirmed. “Your body remains on Earth, but I have called your essence here, your very soul, using astral projection. You are here, just as I am.”

“O-kay…” I hesitated for a moment; all my confidence suddenly lost in the presence of a Goddess. “But…um…why?”

“Because I needed to speak with you about a grave matter.” Selene’s smile dropped as She spoke, Her face changing to express the seriousness of her words.

“Alright.”

Selene took a moment to gather Herself before continuing. She knew that we were about to discuss a particularly sensitive topic and She wanted to broach it carefully. As the protector of wolf-kind and the one responsible for assigning their soulmates, She felt particularly at fault when one of Her children had their hearts broken.

While my case was different than a typical rejection, the pain was still very real, and it hurt Her as well.

“I have watched you grow and change over these last years, gaining the confidence that I always knew was within you. You went from an unsure girl at the bottom of her pack to the leader that you were meant to be. I have never been prouder.”

Selene’s words filled me with joy, and I felt myself standing a little taller as She spoke. I had come a long way from the mutt that I had been to the Alpha that I was now. I had learned that I had value in this world, no matter what anyone had said to me. I was just as strong as the next wolf. Being half-human was not the disability that I thought it had been for so long. I could still be an effective wolf and I could live a fulfilling life.

“I appreciate Your kind words, Selene.” I offered with a slight bow.

“However…” She spoke again, causing me to pause. “There is more that I need from you.”

More? I wondered what She could possibly mean. I had come a very long way. I had united rogues into a pack, even when others believed this to be impossible. I could not imagine what else I could possibly do.

“I need you to return to your mate.” Selene admitted after a pause.

“Excuse me?”

I was certain that I must have heard Her incorrectly. Why would She want me to return to the wolf who had rejected me? All of the things that She had praised about me, thus far, had been since I left that life behind. What use was there in returning to it?

“I know that you have been hurt. But I promise you that there is a greater plan at work. I need you to return to your mate. The two of you must work together to defeat what is to come. You will need his support and his love to keep you strong through your endeavors.”

“But he does not love me.” I countered without thinking before I spoke.

“There is more to his feelings than you know. While you have blossomed during your time apart. He has floundered, his depression becoming all consuming. He needs you to return to him so that he can be an effective Alpha in the times to come. You need to return to him, so that you can be an effective savior in the time to come. It has been foretold since before your birth.”

“What are You talking about?” I asked, flabbergasted. “I am no savior.”

“I cannot tell you more. There are greater things at work in the universe and we all must play our parts. But to do that, you will need to return to Farris. I assure you, in time, you will understand why. The wolves will need you and those like you. You will be the key to saving all of them.”

“I am sorry…I still don’t understand.”

This was too much information for me to process. I was supposed to save the wolves, despite the fact that they looked down on my kind. On top of that, I was meant to return to the mate who had cast me out to die. Why would the Goddess ask such a thing of me?

“There is not much time. You will need to return soon. Just tell Me that you will do it. Promise Me that you will return to your mate.”

“I…I…” I stumbled over myself as I attempted to find an answer.

I did not want to return to Farris. I wanted nothing to do with wolves that were outside of my current pack. I know that I should do what the Goddess asks of me, but can I really set everything aside? Can I really forgive and forget? Returning to Farris’s side? I needed a moment to think. I needed time to sort my emotions.

“Please, Mysti, there is no time…you need to return to Farris. Take your pack and unite with his. The wolves are counting on you.”

Before I could answer, the whole world began to fade away from me. I felt myself being sucked backwards as if by some giant vacuum, returning me to the body I belonged in. But before it had completely faded away, I heard Selene make one final plea…

“Return to your mate. Return to Farris. All will be made clear in time.”

I jumped up from a dead sleep, to find myself now wide awake. That dream had been so real, so vivid. It was hard not to believe that it was more than a dream. But if it had been real, if I really had been to speak with the Goddess Selene, then that meant that what Selene had said was true as well.

I was somehow meant to help to save wolf-kind, but to do that I had to return to Farris. This was a difficult concept for me to accept. Could I really bring myself to return to him with the plan of making a relationship between us work? Would he even be interested in doing so after all of this time? I know that Selene had stated that he was miserable, mirroring what his trackers had told me earlier. But did he not deserve his misery? Was this all not a choice that he had made?

I huffed in frustration. As much as I did not want to return to Farris, I knew that I could not leave the rest of wolf-kind in danger. If what Selene had said was true, then it would be selfish of me to make the choice to continue hiding away in the mountains. I may be able to protect my pack, but what about all of the others? Did all of wolf-kind deserve to suffer because of the mistakes of one Alpha?

I had been many places during my travels, and I had met many wolves. I found that most had broken away from the view of mutts as abominations. While they avoided mating outside of their species as much as possible. Many had embraced the offspring of the children that had come from mixed pairings, treating them as regular members of their packs.

Did these wolves deserve to suffer because my pack had been cruel and antiquated? Could I live with that on my conscious, should something terrible come to pass?

I knew the answer to all of these questions before I had bothered to ask them.

I knew what kind of wolf that I was. More importantly, I knew what kind of leader that I aspired to be.

“Jamari…”

“Yes?”

“I need to speak with you, immediately.”

“On my way.”

I took in a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose.I sincerely hoped that I was not making a terrible mistake.