Alphas *TO BE RE-WRITTEN*

Chapter 12: Michael's Story

I woke up feeling strange. All of the pain I had felt yesterday was gone, but not just the pain, any emotion. I felt like I had been given something to numb my whole body. I didn't feel anything at all.

I rolled over and saw that I was the only one in the bed, and was slightly happy for that. I didn't want to face Michael yet. I felt embarassed for crying in his arms, for allowing myself to hurt. It didn't matter if I wanted to stop being strong, I had to be strong. Alphas didn't let their worries and pains get to them. They had to be strong leaders, not cry-babies.

I lay in the bed for a few more minutes before I finally got up and walked downstairs. I was hungry, and nervous. Will Michael think that I was still the same? Wanting him to be the strong one?

I reached the bottom of the stairs to find Michael sitting on the couch, head in his hands. I hesitated, feeling my heart lurch at the sight of him. I bit my lip and then slowly walked over to him, trying to keep some distance between us. "Michael?" I asked.

At first he didn't respond, and then after a few moments he looked up at me. "I'm sorry..." he said.

I knew what he meant. He knew that I wouldn't be the same. "Me too," I replied.

I saw sadness creep into his eyes once before the hardened and blocked all emotions. He stood up and stepped toward me, standing only a foot away from me. I could smell his cologne and it made me just want to fall into his arms again, but I didn't. "I am especially sorry for how I went about things last night. I didn't make to make you..." his words trailed off and he looked away from me.

I gave a nod. "I'm alright."

He nodded too and then looked at me, giving a slight smile. "I know you are. You're strong, and it's something I wish I was," he said sadly.

My brow knit together. "What do you mean?" I asked. "You're the strongest person I know."

His smile turned sad and so did his eyes as he slowly shook his head. "I'm not strong, Renae. I just put on a tough face for the pack," he said with a sigh.

We stood in silence and I watched his eyes. There were memories swirling around in them, painful ones, and then something clicked. "You weren't born a Dahlia... were you?" I asked slowly.

He met my eyes, and by the amount of pain and sorrow I could see, I knew I was right. He shook his head and sat back down on the couch. "No, I wasn't born a Dahlia," he said. "I was born into a different pack."

I sat down beside him. "What pack?"

He store ahead at nothing in particular and seemed to fall into memories. "I was born into a pack known as the Angel Pack. It was a small pack, and we lived in Alaska. It was nice there, not very many people. We could hunt freely and nobody shot at us. When we hunted, we hunted like regular wolves, taking down the weak, injured, and sick. We had no rival packs, and no problems. We all just lived happily, with the mate of our choosing," he explained, smiling a little. "I had a wonderful mate. Her name was Leah, and she had the prettiest blue eyes and hair that was black as night. She was a wonderful person, enjoying life every second of the day. She always saw the silver lining, and refused to give up on anything. She was strong, yet weak at the same time. She was strong when I was weak, and weak when I was strong. I loved her, with all of my heart."

"What happened?" I asked hesitantly. Hearing about his mate made my heart ache, but I wanted to know what happened to his mate and pack.

His smile faded. "A new pack moved in. The alpha came one day when we were all hanging out at the local bar. He told us that we either left that night, or he would force us out. Leah went over to him and told him that this was our home, not his. She told him that there was no way he was going to force us out of the place we'd lived in for centuries," he said.

"How did the alpha take that?"

"Not very well. He turned and walked out of the bar and we thought it was over... until I smelled smoke. Then there were flames everywhere and the pack was panicking and trying to escape. The front door had been barricaded shut and we were all trapped inside. The back door was open, though, and I tried to get everyone through, but some were left behind by the bar falling apart. When the rest of us got outside, we were ambushed by the other pack. Before we had a chance to shift we were attacked. I grabbed Leah and we ran to my truck, trying to escape. When we got inside the truck, I waited for anybody else who had managed to fight back and escape... but nobody else came." I hated seeing the pain in his eyes, and I knew it was only going to get worse. I braced myself. "We left, speeding down the road. I told Leah we would leave Alaska and go to Washington or something, and she agreed. There was nothing left for us anymore. Anyway, we were going down the road out of town when the alpha stepped out into the road. I hit the brakes, but the road was covered in ice and we slid. I veered to the right and we flew off the road and into the snow. I was knocked out, but Leah's screams brought me back."

I flinched.

I could see tears beginning to form in his eyes and my chest pinched. He continued though. "It was the alpha. He was pullig her out of the truck and she fought him, but he was stronger. I tried to get out, but I was dizzy and my head hurt and I couldn't get out of my seatbelt in time. He..." he paused and tears began to fall from his eyes. "He... ripped her throat out... right in front of me..."

His head fell into his hands and he started to sob, his shoulders shaking violently. I rested my hand on his shoulder and started to trace slow circles on his shoulder blade. I wasn't sure what to do in this situation; I had never seen anybody cry. Everybody I had known never showed their tears, but now here Michael was, sobbing as if the events he had just described happened only yesterday. "Michael..." I said slowly, scooting closer to him.

He didn't look at me, and I could tell he was struggling to stop crying.

I moved my hand from his shoulder and grabbed his hand, pulling it from his tear-soaked face, and laced my fingers with his. He glanced up at me, eyes red. "I don't know what it feels like to lose everything..." I began. "But I do know that in every loss there is gain."

He smiled sadly and took in a shuddering breath, gently squeezing my hand. "I did lose everything... but I also gained something," he said.

I hesitated. "What did you gain?" I asked slowly.

He gave me a long look, his blue eyes gentle and loving. The corners of his mouth twitched up into a real smile. "You," he said.

I couldn't help but smile a little at that. A warm feeling trickled through me and my heart fluttered a little. It was a weird feeling I hadn't felt before, but I knew what it was. It was true happiness. Then darkness settled back with the realization of the fact that we still had some problems to deal with. "My father won't be happy at losing his daughter to a rival pack," I said.

His smile faded and his eyes harded once more. "I know," he began. "But he's going to have to deal with it. I won't let you go back there."

"What about my mom, though? And Alice and Lilly? I can't leave them to deal with his wrath," I said.

He nodded, eyes churning in contemplation. "When the time comes, you'll call your dad and tell him that you no longer want to be part of the Winter Pack. He won't take it well, I know that for sure, and he'll try and take you back by force. What we'll do is we'll make sure that the others are around to see him do that. If they see what he's truly like, they won't want to be part of it. They'll leave, and we'll protect them from him," he explained.

I hesitated. It was a good plan, and it wouldn't go into effect until it was time for me to go back home. "How would we get the whole Winter Pack to see it, though?" I asked.

He smiled. "I have my ways," he said.

I smield too, but it was an unsure smile. I hoped it would work, and that my father wouldn't go too crazy at his pack leaving him.