The Alpha Project

Chapter 1

I scratched down a quick guess, right as the usual ring of the bell let us all out for the day. I let out a deep sigh of relief, knowing that I wouldn't have to put up with any more midterms for the rest of the week. Friday was always good. No, it was better than good; it was god's gift to the world. I threw my books roughly into my bag, and made a bee-line to the door, grateful that the day was over. I walked into the packed hallway, and waited for my best friend, Nathan, to show up.

He gave me a brief nod when he caught my eye, and we walked down towards the door to the school. 

"What's the plan for the weekend?" He asked, eyeing a group of girls that had caught his attention.

"I don't know yet. My parents might have plans, but they never tell me until the last minute. Why? You got plans?"

"Duh," he said, nodding to one of his soccer buddies as we exited the school. "When do I not?"

"I might as well ask. You might surprise me with not trying to flirt with the usual chicks."

"Where's the fun in not doing so?" He whined. "If you don't, people will start to question your... preference..."

I rolled my eyes. "There is always a fine line between bravery and stupidity. You cross it every time when you walk over to you-know-who."

He put his hand over his heart in mock offense. "I do not! Besides, Brit isn't that bad..."

I gave a snort, then walked ahead, trying to get off of the school grounds as fast as possible. I didn't need another run-in with one of his many ex-girlfriends. It was bad enough that he had them, but was even worse when they attempted to go out with me to get back at him. There was absolutely no loyalty in some of them. It was bad enough as it was when some used me to get to him. He was completely oblivious, but it had yet to bite him back. The sun was still relatively high in the sky, regardless of it being close fo fall time. The wind, however, seemed to whisper the closeness of the colder seasons with a cooler breeze. I was looking forward to the cooler temperatures, as I was tired of always being too hot. 

"You swinging by my place?" Nathan asked me. I shrugged but nodded all the same. One of the things that I don't like about Nathan is that he likes cats. I've never been a big fan of them. And by that, I mean not at all. He has a brown tabby named Mud-ball, and four others that I can't remember, and Scratch. I hate that one. It's that plain and simple. Imagine one of those snooty British people, who nobody that I know likes, and put it into a gray cat with a temper problem, and there you go, you have your cat from hell. Mud-ball however is the only cat I think that I will ever like. He's more of a dog than a cat and is usually pretty cool. He's got a double white streak, going down his back, and his fur has faded dull stripes. The other reason I like him, he doesn't hiss and scratch at me as most other cats might. The first time I went over to Nathan's house, all the cats went for cover and started hissing as if I were a dog. Even Nathan was surprised. He told me that they were usually very calm, and liked visitors. I always guessed I was a special case. Personally, I'm a wolf lover at heart. I know everything there is to know about them, and I've even got a wolf-dog at home named Shadow. 

 We came up to his front door, which he unlocked since his parents weren't home yet, and hear all of his cats go crazy. Mud-ball walked up to me and looked at me curiously. I picked him up and started scratching him behind his ears the same way I did to Shadow when he was a pup. Letting the tom-cat go, I walked into Nathan's room, which is a mess, as usual, found an empty spot that wasn't covered in something and sat down.

"So, you and Laura, how's it going?" Nathan asked curiously Laura is -- okay, was -- my somewhat girlfriend. Nathan liked to hook people up with each other, and see how it goes. He told me he was on a winning streak until he tried to get me a date in Freshman year for Homecoming. It didn't go so well. Ever since he's been trying to get me a girlfriend, but to no prevail. Laura and I were okay, but she just seemed more like a friend; which we were until Nathan had to come along and get things complicated. I didn't tell him yet that we broke up today and decided to just be friends. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Oh, she played the 'let's just be friends' card," but it wasn't like that. This time, we both agreed whole-heartedly. 

Snapping back to the real world, I looked him in the eye, shrugged, and gave him the 'sorry, bro' look as I said, "We broke up before gym today,"

"Damn, dude, what is with you?"

"We just don't feel that way towards each other."

Nathan sighed and looked down at his feet, "Damn, dude," he said yet again, "I give up. I'm sorry, bro, but you just seem to be a lost cause for me."

"I never asked you to try," I pointed out. 

"Yeah, I know, but you know me, I never say no to a challenge,"

"A feat that will probably get you in more trouble than you'll be able to handle some day," I agreed. But my thoughts went to something else. My thoughts went to another world. You see, I've made up a world in my head, and now I'm living in two places. I wish that I could go to this world in my sleep, as well as when I'm wide awake, but I haven't been able to do so yet. First off, I'm not human. I'm a wolf, and I'm part of a pack. We live in a circular ring of dens, which is up a mountain that has a river running through the land below it. We all hunt together, talk together, laugh together, it's perfect. Well, almost perfect; we're still dealing with the harshness of the wild. 

 My pack Alpha is Shadow-claw. He got his name because his claws are jet-black. I know him very well and would trust him with my life. He's always been that mentor figure to me, which is odd considering this world was made up. Shadowclaw is not too much younger than the previous leaders. But sometimes it seems that he's older than the eldest wolf in our pack. He seems to have so much wisdom you might think that he lived for about eight other centuries. Typically, if most would make up their own pack, they would be the Alpha to it, but I'm just not like that. He's an Alpha I like, and I've never been much of a leader anyway. 

Nighteye is the pack's Beta. He is the second in command and shares the responsibilities with Shadowclaw. At the moment, If Shadowclaw were to die, he would take his place, unless something else were to happen. I don't know much about Nighteye, but I know that at least I can trust him. Normally we would have a third in command, but we have been a smaller pack than most, leaving us with not needing one. First, there's me; even though my name in this world is Daniel, I'm known as Wolf-heart in my other world. Second, is my best friend Fang; he would have been called Satunas, which came from some ancient warrior, but he got stuck with Fang because his top fangs are about an inch longer than normal. He's got a jet-gray colored pelt and a lighter underbelly. Sylv, a wolf with pale white fur and a black-tipped tail, is like a sister to me, but without all the complaining that a sister might have. She is older than me, so I guess that she's just more mature than me. Sylv's sister is Silverfur. A bit odd for the two to both have that 'Silv' sounding beginning in their names, but they are quite different in every other way. 

Next to Fang, Silverfur is my other best friend, and maybe a little more than that. She got her name because her gray fur almost looks silver. I know that we've been good friends for a long time, but recently, I think that I actually like her. I don't know how she feels, but I'm almost sure that she feels the same. Almost. Silver-fur has electric-blue eyes and is a great hunter. There is also our medicine wolf, Fidawn. Younger than most other medicine wolves, Fidawn is the kind of wolf that always makes you feel welcome. She acts like a second mother to most and has the same kind of temper if you get on her bad side. I speak from experience on that last part. 

My thoughts were interrupted when Nathan got a call. He usually gets them from colleges because he's quite good at soccer, so he could easily get a scholarship if he would keep his grades high, and steady. Nathan picked up his cell and answers it. Not wanting to disturb him, I motion towards my watch and started to leave. He said nothing but nodded to show that he heard me. 

The walk back to my house was quiet. I reached my house and walked in the door, Shadow walking over to me in greeting. Bending over, I scratched him behind his ears, watching in amusement as his tail thumped the floor in enjoyment. Heading up to my room, which is always a mess, I passed by an upstairs window and saw something out on the street. I glanced out the window to see a man standing in a dark raincoat, with a hat pulled down over his eyes. I swear he was watching me, but before I can react, he walked into one of the alleyways and disappeared from sight. Ignoring the strange feeling I got, I walked into my room and closed the door.