Chapter Seven

Alice’ POV

I laid weirdly on my bed, my hair sprawled across the pillows as I stared blankly at the ceiling. I really wasn’t expecting to be the Alpha’s mate, who am I? Some newbie who doesn’t even know the first thing about being a werewolf. I’m such a joke. No matter how hard I tried to not think about this whole situation, I couldn’t help it and not feel self-conscious; it was unavoidable.

But on the bright side, I get to start training really soon. Mother can’t keep me away from the pack and considering the fact that I’m Gabriel’s mate, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t want to get on his bad side which is a great thing for me. I grinned thinking about how I was starting training soon. I’m definitely going to see Zara and Tad again.

Is Gabriel going to train me personally or I’m going to be trained with the other youngies?

‘Calm down, smart pants. Why would the Alpha train you personally? I’m sure he has a lot to deal with at hand and besides, he hasn’t accepted you to be his mate yet’ I gasped loudly, sitting up. That voice… that voice sounded exactly like mine, what was that?

‘I’m your wolf, Gabriel told you that earlier today. I guess you don’t have a very sharp memory then’ That was true, Gabriel did tell me about my wolf or something like that but I didn’t get the chance to ask him about that, thanks to Mother. Anyway, why do I have a talking wolf inside me?

‘You’re not very bright either’ I frowned, slightly offended by my wolf’s comment ‘Werewolves are basically shapeshifters but we only shift shapes from humans to wolves and then back. Whether we are in human or wolf form, we still have the other part in us; just you and your subconscious… you communicate to yourself from time to time through your mind. Your wolf has the mind of both human and wolf and is technically smarter and more experienced than you, I do not know how or why so do not ask. Just think of me as your spirit guide, like in the fairy-tales and you know the fun part of being a werewolf? You get to name your wolf!’ Name you, huh? What name is befitting for you? White? Peaches? Snowflake?

‘Those are all dorky and irritating names. Think of something else’ So demanding.

Pearl?  Hyacinth? Oakley? Iris?

‘I’m pretty sure I’m not a fairy and I did not emerge from the sea’ I rolled my eyes, clearly unamused, she’s the definition of ‘sassy’.

‘What about ‘Snow?’’ 

‘I guess that makes much more sense than the horrible ones you’ve been mentioning’ I rolled my eyes again, Snowflake and Snow are not much apart and her she is, telling me I’ve been giving her horrible names… like she would die if I actually called her one of those names.

“Snow it is” I declared, feeling slightly proud of myself.

‘Whoo! Yay! Bring forth the cake!” She exclaimed unenthusiastically. I sighed, face-palming myself; she’s insufferable. ‘And your father is heading right this way’ I focused on the sound of heavy boots on the staircase that seemed to have changed directions and was coming this way. I lied down back on the bed, resuming my former position and trying to act like nothing happened or like I had just found something out.

“Princess?” I turned my head to the voice at the door which was creaked open a bit with Father’s head popping in “You okay?” I shook my head negatively, suddenly feeling too tired to talk. Father let himself in and sauntered his way to my bed, settling on the edge as he gently caressed my hair that was sprawled across the pillow.

“How are you feeling?” He grabbed a fistful of my hair, running his rough fingers through it.

“Like shit” He chuckled and sighed “I feel worthless”

“I get that. But it’s okay to feel insecure and self-conscious sometimes… it reminds you that you’re still human and you have feelings. It’s not okay that you feel worthless though because you are not and I never bore a worthless child” I scooted closer to him, resting my head on his laps “This is all a big deal, I know that; in fact, if I were you, I would have picked my slippers and ran for my dear life” I laughed, imagining Father in that kind of a situation “You should know that you are unique and special in  your own way and that nobody can ever be you. You are Alice, my own flesh and blood, you are the bravest girl I know and I want you to see this part of your life as a challenge; a chance to make you feel good about yourself, a chance to many experiences you have never had. Do not look down on yourself, carry yourself with pride and with the expectations of wanting to achieve something good. And about Gabriel being your mate…” He paused, my heart skipping a beat as he did “Get to know him first, he’s a great kid. Don’t push things and simply because he’s your mate or the pack’s Alpha does not mean he has control over you. For now, I want you to just focus in being the best in your training; you want to be useful to him, right?” I nodded silently “Then focus. He’s right and I know he would never reject you, just give it time” I nodded again, sitting up “Okay?”

“Yes Father”

“And Princess… You should know you mean a lot to both me and your mother and that we love you very much no matter what” I sniffed as I tried not to cry but the tears were just too stubborn, they would not stop pooling even though I’ve sincerely  made efforts by raising my head and staring at the ceiling, trying to suck the tears back in. I invaded Father’s space and hugged him tightly with my eyes shut.

“Okay, okay” Father said chuckling as he patted my back and I relaxed before I let him go “You ready to start training?”

“Yes” I said quaverly, wiping my tears with the hem of my shirt.

“Good. Just what I wanted to hear!” I laughed, feeling slightly relieved and Happy that I’m starting training with the other youngies. I’m so excited. “Have some rest and come down to dinner later” With that, he rose to his full height, kissed my forehead before walking out of the room, gently closing the door behind him. I sighed, falling back on my bed.

‘Well, that was very uninteresting. I could give better motivational talk’ Shut up.

The next morning, things were kind of in a rush when I woke up. Mother preparing breakfast really quick and Father packing some stuffs in a bag.

“What is going on?” I asked once I took in all that was going on.

“Hey Pumpkin”

“Princess, you’re up” My parents greeted simultaneously

“Yea, good morning” I walked to single sofa and sat down “Why are you all in such a rush this morning though?” They both paused, giving each other glances.

“Alice…” Mother turned down the stove and walked towards me, sitting on the arm of the sofa I was on “Your father and I have decided that you start your training today” My eyes widened as I jumped on my feet, staring at them with mouths agape.

“Really?!” I asked excitedly. I stared intensely at their faces, looking for any form of deception or joke but didn’t find any; it seemed they were serious.

“Yea. We thought it would be selfish of us to keep postponing when you get to start and figured it would be much better to send you now. Besides, the Alpha sent a message that all new werewolves must start their training as soon as possible; apparently, at the end of the training, you’re becoming reinforcements for the pack. Also, considering the fact that you’re Gabriel’s mate, it would be quite bad to keep you away from him so here we are” I shrieked, jumping on my mother in excitement. She laughed, patting me on the back.

“But why are you packing a few of my clothes, Father?” I pulled back as I peered at Father. He sighed, dropping the camo trousers he was about to put in the bag.

“Well, your training is going to be three months and very intense so we think it’s best you stay there, in fact, that’s the way it is. We spoke to Gabriel and he prefers that you stay with him for safety purposes” Stay with Gabriel?

‘We’re staying with Gabriel? Yes!’ Shut up. I wore a very conflicted look because it was how I felt. I’ve never been away from my parents for so long, we went everywhere together always so this change… is very new and I might not get used to it. I suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, probably because I was feeling really paranoid and nostalgic.

“Alice” I raised my head, my eyes coming in contact with my mother’s. Tears were welling up in her eyes, seems I’m not the only one who isn’t happy about this “It’s hard to see you go for the next three months, believe me, I would know. I’m going to miss seeing my daughter everyday and I’m  going to miss our arguments” She said, her voice shaking “But you have to do this. For the pack. For us. For you. You’re going to learn a lot and it’s going to be very intense so I want you to put your all. Keep in mind that we’re cheering and rooting for you and we’re waiting patiently for your return” She stood, wiping the tears from my eyes and hers “You’re going to be just fine” I whimpered, moving forward to dive into her embrace. Father came around, joining in the hug.

“Now now, that’s enough. We don’t want you to be late, go freshen up and come downstairs for breakfast. Your mother is preparing something special for you” Father said, breaking the hug. I nodded and made my way to my room.

So, here we are. I sat between Father and Mother as they spoke to Gabriel about the whole training and arrangements and he seemed pretty pleased. I, on the other hand, had my mind wandering far far away. I felt a gaze burning into my face so I looked up and caught Gabriel staring at me intently, I was caught off guard. He gave me a killer smile and focused on my parents once more.

‘My god, just look at that smile!’

‘Can you stop popping in and out of my head?’

‘Where’s the fun in that? Gosh, he looks so hot up close, I could just jump on him right here and now’ I shook my head, pushing her to the back of my mind. She seems to be a really big fan of his.

“So I’m guessing Alice already concedes to this?” Gabriel asked, sparing me a glance.

“Yes, totally” I looked down at my fingers, nostalgia kicking in again. I have to do this and let the fear go. It’s just like Mother said, I’m doing this for everyone involved, including myself. I shouldn’t let this opportunity pass me by because I’ll be way disappointed if it does.

“Thank you so much for letting her stay” Mother offered, clasping her hands around Zara’s. I stood beside Zara, facing my parents.

“But of course. I wouldn’t want to miss spending three months with my future sister-in-law” Zara said, sending me a wink. i looked away, blush creeping onto my face “Do not worry, she’s in safe hands”

“You’re right” Father smiled down at me.

“In that case, I’ll give you space to talk. See you out there, Alice” Zara touched my shoulder and headed to the training ground.

“I’m so proud of you, Alice. We are proud of you. We’ll visit from time-to-time” Mother leaned into Father as he spoke “Never lose focus. We’re cheering for you backstage” I walked into their embrace, their arms engulfing me in the hug.

“I love you guys” I said, sniffling.

“We love you more” They broke the hug, stepping back. I turned to head for the training ground and when I turned back, they had gone.

“I’ll miss you” I whispered and faced the direction of the training ground again.

‘So we doing this?’

‘Yes, we are’ I took in a large breath of air and headed for the place where I get to be among people of my kind.