JAX:
The pressure I felt from killing off the ignition was worse than what I felt from driving into the pack. It has always been the same feeling in the last five years whenever I am summoned. Except for this time, it was a strong feeling of dread.
Right through the front view window of my car, I could see the massive building that housed the Alpha family. The same building that I happened to live in most of my life.
Seeing the extravagant number of warriors around the building as compared to the amount I know to always be around there made me wonder if there was something huge I was not told of before I came over. As usual, I'm in the dark about situations around here.
I take out the key from the ignition and then walk out of the car slowly after that. The cool breeze of the morning swept on my face like I just welcomed it for the very first time today.
I was not one to savor the feelings that came with this so I just ignored it and carried on with what I wanted to do. And that was to get into the building ahead and find out the reason I was summoned in the first place.
Being me was a whole lot more complicated. On the outside among the humans, I was human like them. But if any of them knew what I really was, I'm certain they wouldn't even want to take a step close to me.
I'm not a monster. But to them, I will be. Which is why I call myself an extraordinary being. So it was best to keep my identity a secret just to avoid any complications that I'm sure I will be unable to handle when the time comes.
The warriors all bowed their heads as I passed by them. It was a courtesy greeting to acknowledge me as the son of the Alpha. Or rather one of the sons.
The two warriors stationed directly at the entrance instantly pushed the wide door open once I stepped up the stairs leading up to the balcony. And with that, the interior of the building was revealed which I took the chance to walk into.
I pause first after coming in sight of those in the large parlor. Two familiar individuals with one of them oozing a type of pressure that could easily overwhelm me if I let my guard down.
I noticed that both individuals had their eyes fixated on me as they awaited my next step and I do not intend to keep them waiting so I proceed into the living room, taking a seat in a position that gave me a good view of both of them.
"You're late..." said the being that I mentioned was capable of overwhelming me.
"I'm sorry, father. There was no way I could beat the traffic in the human territory," was my response in defense of my tardiness.
Asides from him being my father, he was also the Alpha and ruler of this pack, the Silver Falls pack. A pack that was among the numerous wolf packs that were kept discreet away from the humans.
Yes, I said wolf pack because that is what we are — Wolves.
For many years now we have been coexisting among humans without them having knowledge about our existence. This is because of our physical appearances that look nothing different from theirs.
Just to ensure that nothing goes wrong with our identities, we have all been warned not to have any form of cordial relationship with humankind. It was the only way to keep our existence a secret and it has been working for us.
As if on cue, I find myself thinking about the mistake I made some nights ago. I only hope Manuel is looking after that human girl as planned.
"I called you two here because I believe it's time the process began," my father's voice takes me out of my reverie and I was quick to place my attention on him just so I would be able to hear what he has to say to me and the other individual with us.
The look on my father's face told me that the information he was about to pass across might be the turning point of a lot of things in my life. The question now is: Am I ready?
"I have waited for the both of you to evolve into mature wolflings as expected and I can see that you two are growing well," my father says, pausing for a while before he continues, "Now it is time that you both get to decide among yourselves on who is going to take over from me as the Alpha of the Silver Falls pack."
My eyes shift to the third individual in here with us. I notice that he was staring right back at me when I do so and I waste no time looking away from him after that.
It was weird that this same individual that I cannot stand to look at his face for too long was my brother. And it seems we might be going against each other soon just to ensure that one of us gets a taste of power.
"I know you have businesses to attend to in the human territory, but it's time you moved back into the pack, Jax."
That instruction that came from my father put me on an edge instantly. I wasn't prepared for this. Not even ready to leave the human territory when there was a critical situation I have to look into.
"Father," I call out after taking my time to think it through, "I don't think I will be able to do as you asked me to. As important as this is, there are a lot of things I cannot abandon at the moment. If you could give me some time to fix them all then I can do as asked,"
"This shouldn't be a conversation. It's already decided. Come back to the pack and do the necessary."
And that was all from my father who stands up after that. I couldn't even try to argue because he was walking away already and I dared not to stop him from leaving.
My mind was in disarray. And as much as I hated the feeling that came with it, I knew there was nothing I could do about it.
The timing was not perfect. Why did it have to happen now? Makes it feel like everything was working against me during this period of my life.
Feeling the eyes of my brother on me, I look in his direction. And my intuition was right because he did have his full focus on me.
Something tells me this was all his idea. He might have done something to persuade our father to get the next Alpha position process started.
If I had it in me, I would confront him. But it would only lead to him calling me insecure and shit. So, because of that, I was going to let the confrontation slide. There was going to be another day for that.
I'm up the next minute as I prepare to leave the room. I haven't even taken more than a step forward when my motion is cut short.
"What are you so worried about, brother?" I hear the voice of the one seated right across the room.
Slowly, I turn my head to look in his direction. "What?" is what I ask him.
He stands up to his feet, adjusting his clothes as he did so which looked a bit rumpled from sitting in the same spot for a long time.
Then he says to me, "You claim to have a lot of things that you're looking into, but do you also realize that I'm also abandoning affairs that concern me just to see to it that the pack's next Alpha is chosen? Why then can't you do the same?"
I give him a once-over and in a stern voice, I respond, "It's none of your business what I do,"
I didn't wait for him to even speak to me again because I was out of his presence the next second and out of the house too.
In haste, I walk up to my car, getting into it swiftly. I already inserted the key into the ignition when I notice a presence right beside the window.
I have a choice to ignore the being but I wound down the window instead. My brows are raised questioningly as I wait for the words of the being who turned out to be my brother.
"If you're going to forfeit, do it now," he says without mincing the words.
I shake my head as I grip tight the wheel. "Like I always say, Wade, I never run from a battle. So don't expect me to run from this one,"
"Not even if there's a chance that there's something that can bring you down?"
I didn't like the sound of that. So much so that I have no response to it. To make sure I do not have to go through an altercation with him, I ignite the car and zoom off.
JAX:I still have no clue what Wade meant when he said there was something that could bring me down. But the uneasiness that came with thinking about it made me have a rough ride on my way to my company.There was no chance that he already found out about the mistake I made. I'm particularly sure I haven't felt the new bond that comes with having a new member of the pack so this means nothing has changed yet.Still, I wanted to know if he was looking into me...Wade and I have never been on clear grounds ever since we both found out about the tendency of one of us to be the next Alpha. Because like me, he also wanted the taste of power and that wouldn't be possible if another was preventing the other from getting it.It was like a whole new stress on its own thinking about the rivalry between me and my brother. If I had a choice, I would sure be seeking a way to kill it off.So many times the thought of calling it quits has crossed my mind. The only reason I'm still in the race is tha
JAX:That was close...How in the world was she able to realize I was standing there? I can't believe I almost got caught out by an ordinary human girl when I was very good at masking my presence.Something was not right. If she could have easily sensed my presence, then she must have turned. If that's the situation, why can't feel I the new bond?I couldn't even dwell on that for too long because as I stood there, I realized the abnormal rate of my heartbeat. It was clear that it happened right after I saw her for the very first time since that night. Even before I hid myself from view.I have no idea why seeing her made me this unsettled. It was almost like I couldn't control myself. But it shouldn't be right, should it?I wish I could tell what put her in her present position. The fact that I even had to trace her down to a hospital was damning. Manuel has a lot of explanations to do once I find him. I can't be left in the dark anymore about an issue as vital as this.I manage to p
ROZETA:I wasn't too sure about resuming back to work. Not like the break I took wasn't enough. But with the way I was feeling after the two last two incidents, I think I was bound to be in this position.After I was discharged from the hospital for yet the second time in the space of a week, I resorted to reflecting on myself. I didn't want to believe I was going through a change I couldn't control. Especially when it was something that could make others see me as a maniac of some sort.My self-reflection led me to discover that the change I was going through was just a one-time thing. Perhaps it didn't even occur at all because I had been dizzy during that time frame that I thought I heard someone's thoughts.How would it even be possible to hear the thoughts of someone else? That was the key question I had asked myself during my time alone last week. Lauryn made it clear to me that I was just suffering from a concussion and I just had to agree at the end of the day that it was what
ROZETA:It was almost like a dream. Maybe it was because I didn't realize I would be seeing him this soon. Or it could be that I was just so surprised to see him again.The more I stared at him, the more I get flashbacks of that night. I could still picture the way he looked at me that night. Hell, he was giving me that same look at the moment.Standing here and staring at him gave me the feeling that I was lost in my own world. Sounded like some fairytale which gave me the cheesy vibe as soon as I processed the whole thing.It was clear he wasn't planning to walk up to me. And in no way was I going to stand and wait for who was going to make the first move while we both stand on the busy walkway. So I take the first step into reaching out because trust me, I have a lot of questions for him.The weird thing about this is that even with the long distance between the two of us, I was still able to recognize him. He has seldom left my mind in the first place so I guess it was justifiable
ROZETA:I sluggishly drop my bag on the center table before plopping down on a sofa nearest to it. My body was a bit heavy, more like it has been in use all day. Should be an effect of being away from any tedious activity for over a week.I relax my back completely on the sofa, my eyes shutting close as I move to get my body back in order. Since I was the only one in, I didn't care about how I was sitting which is why I just went for a very careless position by having my legs on the table. This was most definitely after I took off my shoes with both my feet as aid.I should be glad I had that unplanned one-week break away from work. I guess I missed what it meant to be free and not be without any unnecessary pressure that I get from work each time I'm there.'I'll be seeing you around, Rozeta.'Those were just simple words from the man but they felt like he meant what he said. It should be something figurative but I think he was being literal. It was giving me a headache thinking abou
ROZETA:I'm dying. And it isn't a drill.I woke up all of a sudden from my sleep and I found out everything was wrong with me.My breathing was hitched and I was sweating all over even with the electric fan turned on. Moving my body proved to be difficult as well as it seemed like I was glued to the bed. All of that was enough to make me scared.I want to scream for help but the words couldn't out of my mouth. None of my body systems seemed to function and for a moment, I could swear I was going through paralysis.In no time, tears start seeping out of my eyes and down the side of my face. I couldn't bear the difficulty anymore. My life was being forced out of me right before my eyes and it was the most horrific thing that I could ever imagine.As I stare up at the ceiling, I start to recount how unlucky I've been in the past one week. One good week at my place of work would have prevented me from going to that nightclub and then having a twist of fate. I am not one to have this type
JAX:My reflexes helped me grab the attacker by the arm before I got to the ground, so we both crashed at the same time.I didn't hesitate to get up on my feet as soon as the momentum of the crash leaves me. I was ready to face the challenger without backing out when I notice it was someone I know."What the hell are you doing, Manuel?" I ask in annoyance as I face my right-hand man who looked like he wanted to do something dangerous."No... what are you doing?"The question he throws back puts me on the edge instantly even though I haven't deciphered what he's talking about. I check around for any intrusion first before saying, "What's going on here?"He takes a step toward me but I have my hand raised. "Stay where you are!" I tell him to which he adheres."I followed you all the way to the human girl's place thinking you were going to get the job done on her. But what did you do? You stayed there with her and helped her until the whole phase of her possible turning passed," he says
ROZETA:'Rozeta, take a deep breath. There's nothing wrong with you. It's just a stupid voice in your head. You're only imagining things, trust me,'I keep telling myself that inwardly just to ensure I have not gone crazy. As a matter of fact, I think I am crazy. Because if not, why would I be thinking I heard someone speak in my head when there was nothing of sort?There was absolutely no way that what I thought I heard was from my head. It was just a fraction of my imagination. Possibly from the stress of all that I've been going through this past one week.'When you're done reassuring yourself, then we can talk,'I jump from my bed all of a sudden at that. This time I was sure of it. It wasn't just me thinking some random thoughts. Someone was speaking to me. But I would be indeed crazy to think it was actually inside my head.I look around. I need to find the intruder. No, I have to leave this place before I get attacked by whoever it is that has made his way into my room.'There