Alpha Maria

Meeting of Fools

The meeting was going to be held three days after her death. I moved around in a haze until then. No one had touched Maria's body, and Isaac informed me it was starting to smell. I figured her pack would decide what to do about it at the meeting, so I didn't bother to make any suggestions at the time.

I didn't bother going to school or even leaving the house. I didn't think I would be able to handle all the questions about where Maria was without having a breakdown. I barely ate, and it drove my mother mad, but she understood I just didn't feel like I could. Things moved unbearably slow. I just allowed myself to move along with what felt right.

However, nothing felt right. There was no humming in the kitchen or smell of vanilla in the air. There wasn't anything playing on the television. The house was silent for the first time since I had first gone there. There had still been people inside the house, but it was empty of all life. I hadn't seen Stephanie since she locked herself away in her room.

My mother made meals and placed them in front of her door, but they always remained untouched. My mother also tried her best to clean up the blood off the floor, but there was still a stain that haunted my memories. I visited Maria in her room every now and then, waiting for her to wake up. She didn't wake up.

The time came for the meeting, and I was led to some large building with seats filling the inside. There was a stage at the front of all the chairs which gave the place the feel of a school auditorium. I sat in one of the row seats and waited for everyone else to fill in around me. Isaac talked to someone at the front of the room, and I ignored everything going on. I had no interest in being here.

A man stood on the stage and placed a microphone in the middle, raising his hands to silence everyone before he began, "We have been summoned here on the behalf of our alpha. Isaac has a few words to say."

"Three days ago hunters broke into her home. They took Stephanie captive and Maria risked her life to protect her. The hunters opened fire, and alpha Maria didn't make it," Isaac stated with sadness in his voice.

A gasp was heard from the crowd and a few sobs were uttered. A woman made her way to the front, and Isaac nodded at her to take the stage. She stood in front of the microphone and rubbed her hands nervously before speaking, "Alpha Maria had always welcomed us into her home. She said we were family, and that we shouldn't be afraid to speak to her. Her house was open to every single one of us, she never once said a wolf couldn't enter. I never visited her, and now I won't have the chance. Most of us didn't visit."

More people piled in front of the stage to speak about her and I listened to them intently. Some said she was one of the best alpha's they had while others said they might've disagreed with how she did things, she always kept them safe. A man came to the front and spoke, "Who will become our next leader?"

"I think it should be someone the alpha wanted to succeed her," Isaac spoke.

"I have a different idea," A man from the crowd spoke, making his way to the front of the room. He stopped in front of the microphone and addressed all those in the room, "My name is alpha Alexander, and I am willing to allow you all to join my pack. I was not close with your alpha, but you all speak very highly of her, and I'd like to do her this service in her absence."

"Like hell," I said bitterly.

All eyes turned to me. I folded my arms over my chest and watched the alpha with angry eyes. He didn't seem to like my outburst, but he didn't say anything about it, and instead looked around the room searching for any takers of his proposition. Isaac looked at me with confusion overtaking his features, so I decided to continue.

"He spoke with alpha Maria and proposed to merge their packs. She said no, and he got nasty with her. He gave her Stephanie like she was property," I relayed.

"Did she really say no?" Another wolf asked me.

"Of course she did. This guy is as manipulative as they come. He also said he would take control and she could stay at home and do nothing if she agreed to his proposal," I replied.

"How dare you?" One wolf accused the alpha.

"The human lies. I came to her home to speak to her about Stephanie, that is correct, but I didn't speak of anything else," The alpha responded calmly.

"Why would he lie?" Isaac spat.

"He was in love with her," The alpha stated.

I felt eyes on me and I ignored them to the best of my ability. I wasn't ready to admit I had feelings for her to all of these people, so I just kept my mouth shut and challenged the alpha with my eyes. He seemed to lose interest in me and looked somewhere else in the room. The woman next to me asked if it was true and I ignored her.

"I think Dylan should take her place," Isaac spoke.

I looked at him with wide eyes. There was a roar of people against the idea and the alpha rolled his eyes before saying, "A human becoming alpha of a wolf pack seems ridiculous. He can barely defend himself against another human, let alone a wolf. I mean, he couldn't even protect the alpha."

I felt rage take over my body and I shouted, "She died protecting someone you didn't, show some damn respect!"

The alpha's eyes turned red and he spoke, lowering his voice, "You will die for speaking out as you have."

He was moments from lunging when the hall doors flew open. A large, black wolf bounded through the doors. The wolf was covered in thick fur as dark as night. The wolf was giant, almost taking up the aisle. The wolf ran full speed up to the stage, and with one jump, landed on the alpha. The wolf snarled and aimed for his face, and he tried to push it away, but it seemed stronger than him.

It bit his arm, and he cried out before kicking it off of him. The wolf flew to the side and landed on all fours, turning to make another attack. I looked at the wolf's eyes, which were a bright red. I wasn't aware of any other alpha that could shift fully, and I watched with horrified eyes as the wolf pulled its lips back and let out a low growl.

The alpha stood defensively and ran for the wolf, which it sidestepped, letting the alpha roll to the side. He quickly righted himself and aimed for the wolf once again. The wolf lowered it's body closer to the ground and waited for the alpha to attack once more. The alpha ran towards the wolf and the wolf ran at the alpha.

The wolf's giant paws thumped against the floor so loudly they sounded like thunder. The alpha screamed and aimed for the wolf's chest. The wolf was hit and it rolled to the side. It had been missing patches of fur on it's back, making it look almost spotted. The wolf stood once again and pinned its ears against its head.

In seconds, the alpha was on the wolf once more. He jumped over its head and it grabbed his waist in its jaws, tossing him to the side once again. I thought wolves attacked first, but this wolf was waiting for its opponent to strike. There was something about how it fought that seemed so familiar to me, but I couldn't place it.

The alpha had teeth marks littering his side. I remembered seeing a similar scar on Maria, however, the alpha wouldn't scar from the bite. The wolf bite bled through his once pristine shirt. He got to his feet and snarled at the wolf. The wolf didn't seem like it cared about him, and only wanted him gone. I stood up and found myself moving into the aisle.

I felt something take over my actions, and I moved closer to the stage, stopping ten feet from it. No one took notice of me with the fight going on in front of them. The wolf continued to snarl at the alpha and I screamed, "Stop!"

The alpha ignored me and ran towards the wolf. I jumped up on the stage and blocked his path. He tried to move around me, so I spread my arms out to block him. The wolf growled from behind me but didn't make any attempt to attack, which I took as a good sign. I turned to look down at the wolf. I knew those eyes.

I whispered, "Maria."