Chapter 4 - The Alpha's Office

Melanie 

‘HELLO,’ I heard a boisterous voice. 

"Who is there?" I exclaimed, startled. After a few seconds, I heard the voice again. ‘It’s me your wolf silly,’ the voice giggled “What! O.M.G! "I did not expect you to show up today," I heard a sigh as I exclaimed, ‘I came just at the right time, I am Amethyst, it's a pleasure to meet you.’ 

I knew that Mom and Dad had returned at that moment because I heard the front door open. I lay down, closed my eyes, and pretended to sleep because I knew they were going to come to my room.

'Amethyst, did you know we have powers?’ I asked my wolf but I got no reply just then my door opened and my mother stepped in.

Her footsteps echoed as she approached my bed and switched on my purple-colored astronomy night light. She presses feathery kisses to my left temple, "Good night sweetie, sweet dreams," she says. 

'Ourpowers are unique and are passed down every 500 years to a firstborn female in the original 6 families,' my wolf explains, ‘Who are the original 6?’ I inquired, perplexed. 'Once upon a time, there was peace and harmony among all the moon's creatures, including werewolves, bears, and witches. We all lived in peace, and the children of each of these creatures' leaders grew up together.

Micah, the son of the bear king, captured the heart of Diana, the daughter of the High Priestess of the Raven coven. Noah, the son of the werewolf king, had always had a thing for Diana, but he was jealous because he had to watch them together all the time. Diana and Micah dated until they were 18 years old, when they discovered they were not mated. They intended to mark each other on the day of the red full moon because creatures who mark each other on this day have a stronger bond than even fated mates. Fated mates who mark each other on this day are said to have been bestowed with special abilities by the goddesses.

The three of them were supposed to go out the night before the red moon, but Micah had to cancel, so Diana went out with Noah instead. They instantly knew they were mates when they laid eyes on one another. Noah was overjoyed, but Diana was disappointed because she did not love him. Noah was furious because she was going to reject him and was in love with Micah, despite his best efforts to persuade her that she would come to love him. He stopped her from doing so, however, because he had marked her right there.

The mate bond between them solidified at the exact moment of the red moon, but Diana, a formidable witch, attempted to counteract its stronghold. She ran away from Noah to wait for Micah at his residence.

When Micah returned, with tears streaming down her face she told him that she was mated to Noah and that he had forcefully marked her. Micah was so enraged that he stormed the wolf pack to meet Noah. Because they were both strong fighters and driven by intense emotions, their encounter ended in bloodshed. Just as Micah was ready to strike Noah in the final moment, Diana let out a cry. He realized that if he killed Noah, she would also die; Noah only needed this distraction to gain the upper hand in the fight.That day, both men left the field harboring animosity toward one another.

Diana was imprisoned in Noah's wing of the pack house, preventing her from returning to her coven. Her abilities began to wane because she could not replenish from the source; the moon, because she could not leave. This gave Noah the upper hand because she could now sense the mate bond. After one night of coercive mating, she became pregnant, which further reduced her abilities.

Her mother, the high priestess, demanded that she be returned to her, but the wolves refused, sparking a war between the witches and the wolves, in which the bears joined the witches in their fight against the wolves. This is how the Great War began, 100 years later: the moon goddess created six special wolves, each with their own set of abilities, to put an end to the Great War.

Following the war, the witches went into seclusion, the bears moved further north to avoid the wolves, and the wolves moved south. The moon goddess appointed one of the gifted wolves Ignatius Borne to be the start of a new royal family, because of his position after the war, he was the only gifted wolf who had a mate. One of the gifted wolves Zagreb became angry and vengeful. The moon goddess instructed Anya, one of the gifted wolves, to kill him.

Following Zagreb's death, the other gifted wolves lived until they died. Every 500 years, Zagreb's spirit of vengeance roams the kingdom, causing unrest and the rebirth of the gifted wolves.’

'Wow, so that means I am a descendant of one of the original 6,' I exclaimed, 'Yes, we are descended from Anya.’ 'Wow, wait, can I call you Amy, Amethyst is too long,' Amethyst replied, chuckling, 'Yeah, and I will call you Mel as well.’

'Our abilities need to grow and develop, which is why it arrived on your 13th birthday.’ 'Okay, I noticed that I see colors around people; what power is that?'I inquired. 'That is aura detection, you can see and detect people's emotions and auras,' Amy replied. 'What do the different colors mean?' I inquired impatiently. Amy laughed, 'blue represents love, pink represents happiness or joy, orange represents fear or apprehension, green represents lies or deception, red represents anger or disgust, and black represents danger or evil.’

'Wow, that is a lot; after my silver bath, the alpha had a bright red aura, so he must have been very angry,' I said. I let out a loud yawn and rolled over to see what time it was—far past midnight. 'We have been talking for a while.’ I said, ‘We had a lot to say, goodnight Mel,’ Amy said with a smile in her voice, ‘Goodnight Amy.’

****

Mom knocked softly on my bedroom door and said, "Mel sweetie, it is time to wake up, we have a meeting in the alpha's office." I groaned and buried my face deeper into the pillow, mumbling, "Five more minutes.”

With a knowing chuckle, Mom said, "Young lady, five minutes turned into thirty last time. ”Rise and shine, princess, the sun is waiting for you; do not make me come back here to wake you up.”

As soon as I heard the door close, I grudgingly sat up and removed my bonnet. A strange prickling sensation danced across my scalp, making me want to scratch with the ferocity of a cheetah chasing its prey. Hesitantly, I reached up, my fingers sinking into the familiar coils of my Afro.

As I sleepily walked through my room into the bathroom, I took a step back and noticed something in the mirror through the periphery of my vision. 

And then I screamed.

Not a blood-curdling shriek, but a strangled gasp that died in my throat. My fingers, accustomed to the rich, jet black of my hair, came away… purple. Not the soft, lilac purple of a newborn's blush, but the vibrant, unapologetic purple of a purple honeycreeper's feathers.

I stumbled closer to the mirror, my heart pounding a frantic tattoo against my ribs. And there it was, reflected at me, the impossible, the ridiculous, the utterly mind-blowing reality. My hair, my beautiful, kinky, crown of glory, was decorated with purple highlights. Every single tip.

I let out a scream and this time it permeated throughout the house.

Dad rushed upstairs, violently slamming my door against the wall.Normally I would be scared that the door would fly off its hinges but this is not normal. Mom's footsteps trailed behind.

I ran out of the bathroom, tears streaming down my cheeks, to meet them. Dad gave me a kind of amazed look, and Mom came over to comfort me, putting her arms around me and dabbing away the tears. “Oh baby girl what happened to your hair?” In between sobs, I replied,“I woke up to see it like this,” Dad walked towards us, “Babydoll your hair is so beautiful, I know that’s not what you wanna hear,” Mom gave me a tighter hug and said, "Not now, Malcolm, but he is right—your hair looks so regal and it has this distinct smell of jasmine and lavender.” 

"But thought be an issue, how do we explain your sudden distinct hair change?" dad pondered. "I might have a solution to that, I have this hairspray your dad absolutely despises," mom said, tracing her lips with a wistful smile.

Dad rolled his eyes at Mom’s retreating form as she went to get the spray, she returned a few minutes later with a medium-sized can of hairspray. "You are supposed to spray this on your hair, and maybe just put it in a bun or puff and you are good to go," she said gently, "Okay babydoll, we would leave you to get dressed so we can meet the Alpha.”

Still reeling from the shock caused by my hair color and eye change, I quickly brushed my teeth and observed my morning duties. 

After drying myself off with my towel wrapped around my torso, I removed the towel attached to my hair, observing my purple streaks, and chose the spray mom had given me earlier to use on my hair.

I felt my energy dwindle as I applied the spray to my hair, which was unusual because I had never experienced this before. I quickly put my hair up in a bun to extend the life of the hairspray.

I quickly changed into a crop top, sneakers, and a pair of baggy jeans pants after spraying. I quickly ran down the stairs to meet my parents, "Good morning, Dad and Mom," I said cheerfully.“Good morning babydoll, how was your night? “ Dad asked, glancing up from the report he was reading. “It was good, I got my wolf,” I cheerily replied as Dad wolf-whistled, “Well alright, that’s good. I am so happy for you baby. What is her name?” 

“Her name is Amethyst, Amy for short, she explained why I have powers,” I said as I turned to Mom and asked, “Mom, is the hair spray meant to make me feel weak? ” Mom stared at me incredulously, “No it’s not, why did you ask?” “I felt my strength deplete a bit as I sprayed my hair. It was very strange. I thought that was normal.” I explained to Mom as I plated some pancakes and poured chocolate syrup. 

“That’s strange, it’s not supposed to have any adverse effects, I have used it and nothing of the sort happened,” Mom explained, “Hmm! I guess my hair color is linked to my powers. Who would have thought,” I mused while eating my heavenly pancakes. 

“Hurry up sweetie, we have to get to the alpha’s office as soon as possible,” Mom said while cleaning the kitchen counter, “Why…do..you..think he summoned us?” I questioned as I swallowed a mouthful of pancakes just as Mom looked at me sternly, “Chew and swallow properly before you talk, you're not a barbarian.” 

I flashed my teeth in a grin, “Sorry ma, did you notice that I wasn’t assigned a role yesterday?” Dad hummed and said, “I would love to give you an answer babydoll but I have no idea. Maybe it’s about your eye color and duty,” Mom sighed, “I hope that won’t be a problem, but knowing Alpha Henry I bet his pride won’t allow it.”

Our walk to the pack house was solemn, lost in thought wondering what the outcome of this meeting with the alpha would be, I noticed that the auras surrounding people weren’t as bright as before. 

At the pack house, we were greeted by Beta Steven who hurried out of the alpha’s office. I noticed the orange aura surrounding him which made my heart skip as I wondered what the alpha must have done to make him scared and apprehensive. 

Dad knocked on the door twice before we heard a brooding voice call out, “Come in.” We filled into the office quietly, as I glanced at the alpha, his auras left me feeling anxious because they were red and black swirls. This had me standing straighter, tugging on my crop top pulling it down a bit. I guess I should have worn something else. I felt the Alpha’s eyes on me as I did this. 

“Good morning alpha,” we all chorused, bearing our necks to him in respect. “You may all sit,”

“This meeting is an important one. Come stand in front of me pup,” I slowly walked to where the Alpha was seated wondering what would happen. Even though I was standing, the aloha still towered over me in his seat, I guess we could blame my short frame. 

I made sure my eyes weren’t on the alpha as I felt him staring at me intensely. “Your eyes are that of an alpha but you have the strength of a sigma wolf,” The alpha said after observing me for a few minutes, “You are hereby assigned the role of a sigma, you will train and perform your tasks accordingly,” I let out a breath of relief, “Yes Alpha,” 

“You’re all dismissed,” Aloha Henry said after a beat, my parents stood up and bowed to the alpha in respect. I shuffled after them, and just as I was about to close the door, I heard his thoughts, ‘I will be watching that wolf. She seems strong enough for my collection.’