ALPHA

Chapter 17- The Third Factor

Chapter 17

♫And the story of us looks a lot more like a tragedy now... 

Next chapter...♫

Nolana was looking at her fingers in awe. Meanwhile, I was trying to get over the shock, literally. All the hairs on my body were standing straight up, and patches of my clothes were smoking. Nolana finally seemed to notice me, and her brows knit together with worry.

"Seth! I'm so sorry! Are you hurt? Should I get the fire extinguisher? Do you want me to call the doctor?" She reached out as if to comfort me, then pulled her hand away violently. She was afraid she would hurt me.

I grabbed her hand with confidence, trying to show her that everything was alright and that I wasn't afraid of getting hurt by her. Her smile was forced and somewhat grim. I looked down at her hand. Her nails were chipped, painted a shimmery amber that matched her eyes. I wondered if she knew that her nails matched her eye color or if she was just drawn to it. She followed my eyes and looked at our intertwined hands. Her smile quickly faded to a frown and she let go, flipping my hand over.

"What's this?" She demanded.

I looked down at the back of my hand and noticed a strange sort of new marking had sprouted up. It was light brown, like henna, extending from the middle of my hand to my elbow. It looked like roots or a bundle of neurons.

"Fractal scarring," Nolana gasped. "It happens when... when you get struck by lightning."

"It looks cool," I reassured her. "I've always wanted a tattoo."

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Nolana looked at me in a panic. I could almost read her expression. I don't want anybody to find out what I did, please. I ran to the kitchen area and pulled on a very large oven mitt. A large wolf came bounding into the living room. He had a light grey coat except for his tail, which seemed to be dipped in pure white. His eyes were so brown they almost seemed to be black. Nolana's eyes widened in recognition. I glared uneasily at the wolf, trying to assess any possible threats.

"Shift, boy," I growled, my eyes glinting at the newcomer.

He yelped, and shifted so quickly, he forgot to grab clothes. A tall muscular guy stood in the doorway. His hair was messy and swept to one side. He was mixed Asian and Caucasian, with dark black hair and dark brown eyes. He had a strong jawline and muscles typical of most teenage male wolves. I didn't recognize him as part of Nick's pack, which put me on an even higher alert.

"Who are you?"

"Joseph," Nolana's voice came out, soft as a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm in this pack sweetheart," he said in a very matter-of-fact way.

Nolana frowned, searching her brain for a memory that wasn't there. She seemed to have some suspicion but at the same time seemed to accept this new fact. I, however, stayed on high alert. This boy's scent was not familiar, and I stayed on high alert.

"So, Joseph, is it? How come I've never seen you around the pack before?"

"Oh, I was sticking around another pack, maybe you've heard of it? The Solstice Sun pack."

My skin bristled as I realized that he was in Nolana's pack. Why was he here?

"Nolana," I called, trying to keep my voice calm. "Could you go back to our room and get my phone charger? I think I left it plugged into the socket near the couch."

She looked at me for a few seconds, a thousand thoughts seemed to pass through her mind. Her eyes told me that she knew something was wrong, and wanted to stay near me in case of a fight.