Her Alpha's Greatest Secret

The cold stung my skin as I padded through the frozen woods. Shimmering snow blanketed the frozen ground muffling the hum of life and the frost crystallized the pines dappling the path in pieces of rainbows. The only sound was the quiet crush of snow beneath my bare feet and the occasional creak of burdened branches. The bareness of my feet secured my suspicion that this must be a dream. Although werewolves were not very affected by the cold I would never dare to venture out in the snow without boots. Further evidence was my quarry- I followed a slender woman dressed in a white dress. Her hair was a silver blanket down her back and her skin was so pale she was scarcely visible against the pallid landscape. Her feet whispered along the forest floor so smoothly she could have been floating, but for the slight impressions left by her feet. I followed clumsily in her wake; certain she led me somewhere important. I had tried to ask her questions, but they had scattered in the still air and fallen unanswered around my feet. I hurried to keep up- fearful of losing sight of her, but she cut through some prickly bushes, and I lost her. I swore under my breath and threw myself through the copes of sharp leaves and scarlet berries ignoring the scratches they traced into my exposed legs. I broke into a clearing and the woman was gone. I spun in a frantic circle but was alone. A small movement in my peripheral startled me and whipped my head around to meet the golden eyed gaze of a massive white wolf. He was staring at me steadily- his head hovered over a half-frozen pond as if he had been leaning down to drink from it. I froze- my body locked with surprise and anxiety as I waited for him to move. He simply continued to meet my gaze- communicating something vital with his shimmering golden eyes. I don’t understand! I wanted to exclaim, but surprise still locked my throat. I took an automatic step towards him, intrigued- my eyes snapped open as the incessant beeping of my alarm intruded. I groaned, “Vampire spit!” I hissed- swatting at my phone to shut it up. I loved dreams and this one had been especially intriguing and vivid. I shivered, remembering the cold and the fascinating golden gaze. I sat up reluctantly and threw my legs over the side of the bed. The setting for my dream likely alluded to my return to my northern home today. My mother was being treated for cancer and my father had asked me to return so I could help her when he was busy. Of course, I was more than willing, but I was not excited to return home. I paced to the bathroom of the apartment I shared with my friend Zoe intent on taking a hot shower to banish the memory of the bitter dream. I shuddered in the hot water as it beat calmingly against my golden skin. It was almost chocolate brown from all of the sun I had seen in the past year I had spent in this southernmost pack. I was going to miss the pleasantly smothering embrace of warm air. I scrubbed with Zoe’s body wash- mine was already packed along with almost all my belongings for the drive north today. I worked my way down with the suds and stopped short at my calves. They were peppered with prick marks and delicate scratches. The memory of pressing through the sharp green bushes in my dream rushed back with a dizzying intensity. I barked a laugh as I carried on with my routine. There must be a rational cause I was forgetting about in the moment. I studiously ignored the marks as I toweled off and ran my brush through my dark, tight curls. Taming them was a lost cause and I tied them back in a ribbon as usual. Once I was in the outfit I had left out for today- khaki box shorts and a periwinkle blouse, I paced the apartment gathering the last of my belongings, it was a mournful action. I hated to leave this little motherland of my personal independence. I loved every inch of stained carpet and beige walls for being my home when I started life in a new land fresh out of college. I hated leaving my job as a tutor, as well. I was well established here, especially since word got out that the Alphas had personally hired me to tutor the Luna for a time. Business was booming and I was going to have to start over. My thoughts returned to my mother, and I swallowed my selfish sorrows. I shared her large brown eyes, and golden skin as well as her zest for life though it balanced precariously with the analytical side I got from my father. I was determined to perform my duties as their daughter without letting them see how much heartache it gave me. I practiced a wide smile as I locked the door and left my key under the rug for Zoe. “Nothing but the first step,” I reminded myself. The first step is always the hardest, but it’s also the most thrilling- it begins the adventure.