The Unwanted Wolf

ADIRA

“You don’t understand,” Cain repeated. “This is bigger than you or me.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t care. You’re not listening to me, and I have no reason to trust you. Leave now.”

Cain scowled at me as his frustration ran wild. “You’re going to regret this. I’m not done with you.”

“Well, I’m done with you,” I said.

I pushed my hand out in front of me, causing an invisible wave to rush forward. It hit Cain, and his form broke into a million little particles that wisped away with the wave. Once again, I was alone in my subconscious. My hands were burning with power, and I could feel a shift in me. I didn’t know how Cain was able to enter my subconscious without my permission, but I never wanted that to happen again.

I looked at my hands, glowing with the anger I felt at his violation. I knew before that I didn’t want to work with him, but the ambush solidified that feeling. I walked forward, waving my hand in front of me and creating a doorway. I opened the door and locked it behind me.

When I opened my eyes, I was back in my bedroom. This transition from my subconscious to a waking state felt different. I felt different. I sat up and looked at my hands, which were still glowing. The power I had used in my mind palace was still surging within my body. Normally, I had more control when I was in my mind, but when I woke up, most of that power was gone.

I still had a long way to go towards developing my powers. I had practiced healing, but I could still barely do that. I hadn’t been able to achieve the same level of healing as I did when I saved Mark from near death. There was something about the emotional intensity that made my powers burn brighter than ever, but when I was calm, it was more like a dim light. I had also been able to create light balls of energy that could do damage, but I knew there was so much more out there that I hadn’t figured out soon.

I needed to find a way to expand my magical powers, especially if I was going to face off against sorcerers. Hopefully, Ginger would be able to help me again. I hadn’t heard from her since I sent the letter, so I didn’t know what she was up to. I thought about just taking a trip to her, but with Pack Lyna now staying here, I knew my help would be needed. I couldn’t go running off like that.

I got up from my bed and went to the bathroom. I splashed some water on my face and then examined my hands. They were still glowing like night lights attached to my arms. I flipped them over, unsure of what I was looking for. I could feel the magic inside of me bubbling just beneath the surface, ready to be used and manipulated.

I wasn’t sure what this meant or what I could do with it, but the possibilities felt endless. I waved my hand in front of the mirror, and little sparkles started floating down, disappearing right before they hit the counter. A smile erupted on my face as I watched the shimmering lights fade away. It wouldn’t do much good in a battle, but it was something new that I created all by myself.

I turned the lights off and threw more sparkles into the air. It was a truly magical feeling as everything shimmered around me, and I felt at peace, seeing I could make something so beautiful. It was a good reminder that the powers I had could be something wonderful, too. So much chaos and frustration had come ever since I discovered the part of me that was a sorcerer, that I hadn’t had a moment to realize the beauty of the possibilities it also held.

Leaning forward, I pressed my hand on the mirror, smiling at the sparkles slowly falling down around me. The mirror started to ripple, and I quickly pulled back, shocked by the sudden change. I wasn’t trying to do anything, so it surprised me. I held my hand close to me as I looked into the mirror.

As the ripples settled, the mirror no longer showed my reflection in it. It seemed like I was staring at a completely new world in front of me. It was dark in the mirror, but the moon shone down on the world below. The silhouettes of trees stood out against the bright ball of light, and in the middle of it, there were two figures standing in the middle. There was one male and one female, standing several feet apart. I couldn’t see their faces, but they stood there, looking at each other.

After a moment, the female turned away and walked into the forest. The man ran after her, grabbing her arm. She tried to pull away, but he grabbed her and pulled her back to the center of the forested area. He stopped and embraced her. She tried to resist, but then she slumped into his arms.

I held my breath watching the scene unfold. I didn’t know what this was, but I knew it wasn’t my doing. Somehow, I still felt connected to whatever I was seeing in the mirror.

Shadows burst out from the two of them and swirled around the couple into a large tornado. The shadows grew bigger until they started getting sucked back into the couple, once again revealing them. The man was standing tall, but the woman had collapsed onto the ground. The man walked away, leaving her helpless on the ground. As he walked forward, everything in front of him began decaying.

The mirror suddenly cracked, and the scene in front of me disappeared. I blinked a few times, and then black smudges started emerging. It wasn’t long before I could make out the words, “You’re mine,” on it. They disappeared, but I couldn’t take my eyes away from the mirror, unsure of what I had just seen. Was the girl in the mirror supposed to be me?

I felt queasy suddenly and found myself dropping to my knees. I threw up over and over into the toilet until there was nothing left in my system. When I was down, I sat there catching my breath before I stood up and rinsed my mouth out. I still felt a little queasy, and I started wondering if there was something wrong with me.

A realization hit me. I grabbed my stomach, worried I was going to throw up again.

–

MARK

I smiled as another warrior approached me. It was nice getting to know all of these warriors that were here to help protect my mate and my pack, but I was getting a little exhausted from all of the interactions. I needed a moment to breathe and relax and check on Adira. I hadn’t talked to her much since Jori had shown up, and I still wasn’t sure about that whole situation. I loved that she wanted to believe the best in people, but I needed to make sure she was safe above all else. I wanted to believe Jori had truly changed, but the timing of it didn’t feel right. I didn’t understand what could have changed his mind between kicking Percy out and now. I definitely wanted to tread lightly on the situation.

As the warrior left, Alpha Lyna turned to me. “It’s different running a pack with so many members, isn’t it? Small packs are pretty easy to manage.”

I held my grimace back at his comment. I felt the underhandedness of it, but I didn’t want to react. “It is more work running a larger pack. I grew up in one, so I have seen the ins and outs that go along with it. Having the right team can make the world of difference, though, and I trust my team. Besides, when I grow my pack, I imagine it will be a lot slower than this.”

Alpha Lyna smiled, and I couldn’t tell if he was amused or impressed by my response. “True. Being a good alpha is understanding when to delegate tasks to the right people. As for the size of your pack, you never know how your pack will grow or when. One time we had a large group of werewolves whose pack had been destroyed by humans. Their alpha was dead, and they had nowhere else to go. Luckily, we were able to take them in and assimilate them into the pack.”

“That’s quite impressive,” I commented. “I know I may seem young and inexperienced as an alpha, but I know more than you might realize. I’m also not afraid to admit when I’m wrong or need help.”

He clasped his hands behind his back and nodded. “I’m glad Adira was mated to someone like you. You’re not this cocky young alpha who thinks he knows everything, and you seem to know when to respect your elders.”

I smiled back at him, holding back my true feelings. “There are some things I should check on before I get pulled into another conversation. I will see you at the first training session later today.”

“Of course.” He turned away from me to do his own thing.

I quickly walked away, wanting to be near Adira, even if it was for only a few minutes. All of this preparation had pulled each other to other duties, and she was already asleep when I had gotten into bed last night, too. I missed her, which felt crazy. I had seen her a few times today, but it was different than our normal quality time.

I caught a glimpse of Rie, so I headed that way. I knew she had been working with Adira on the room preparations, so I hoped my mate wouldn’t be too far off. As I approached, I saw a line of warriors waiting to talk to Rie, but Rie seemed rather distracted by one of the warriors from Pack Lyna.

I approached the two of them, not seeing Adira anywhere nearby. “How’s the room assignments going?”

Rie jumped and screamed. Clearly she hadn’t seen me approach, even though I was almost directly in front of her. “Oh, Alpha Mark. You’re so quiet.” Rie giggled.

I c****d my head to the side, trying to gauge the situation. Rie seemed flustered and distracted, which wasn’t like her. I looked at the man standing by her, and he practically had hearts coming out of his eyes. There was definitely some sort of vibe between them, and it was pretty strange seeing that side of Rie. She had always been into shopping and decorating, but I hadn’t seen her show much interest in guys ever. I wondered what had changed for her.

“Have you seen Adira anywhere?” I asked, deciding now was not the time to broach the subject. I would have to ask her more about her behavior in a more private setting.

Rie tucked her hair behind her ear. “Oh, she was feeling really tired, so I told her I could take over for her while she rested. She’s probably in your room.” She looked at the warrior and blushed again.

Weird. “Okay thanks. Make sure you’re helping these warriors in a timely manner. There seems to be a line forming, and we need to make sure the first patrol is ready to go for their shift in forty-five minutes.”

Rie’s eyes widened in realization. “Yes Alpha… Mark.” Her face shifted as she pulled her lips tight. She was definitely nervous. She never called me Alpha Mark.

I shook my head, almost amused at her behavior. Just to make sure things were getting done, I turned to the warrior standing next to Rie. “I’m Alpha Mark, by the way. Who might I have the pleasure of meeting?”

Rie chewed on her l*p and then turned to the line forming in front of her while I took the attention of the man making her go googly-eyed.

The warrior held out his hand and smiled brightly. “I’m Mason, fifth rank warrior in Pack Lyna. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“That’s quite the hand shake you have there,” I commented. “I look forward to meeting you.”

“As do I.” Mason looked me up and down and smiled brightly. He was definitely an attractive man.

“I hope I meet you again soon, Mason. I must take my leave and check on my mate in this brief moment of down time.” I gave him a quick nod before heading to the pack house.

It worried me a little that Adira would agree to lie down at a time like this. I had caught her awake in the middle of the night several times, so I knew she wasn’t sleeping well. It must really be getting to her if she chose to take a step back from an event like this. Adira was the type to push herself past her limits.