32. I Could be Your Chosen
thirty-two
I Could be Your Chosen
*ALANA*
S omething doesn’t feel right. It’s a constant chill I feel, like a cold hand that grips my heart. All the way to the neighbor pack, through our talk with the Alpha and his chosen mate, I couldn’t shake it off.
I don’t know what it is… this is just a normal research mission. There is no danger lingering around. Werebears might be involved, but just like Ita, I am starting to believe that they are part of something bigger… the bears are easy victims. Most shifters hate them because they are rough and violent, but not all of them are bad. Someone might be using them, manipulating them maybe.
But this is not why I feel off. It’s something else, like a foreboding feeling of something bad approaching. I try to stay focused and shake the feeling off, but I’m beyond relieved when we reach the pack and can take a break.
The young Alpha Blaine and Luna Caitlin invite us to have dinner. After seeing them together, I have no doubts anymore that what they share is real. It might not be a mate bond, but the way he gently holds her hand and how she looks at him is proof enough. They help each other heal, and I’m sure my father will happily approve of this new alliance.
Dinner is pleasant enough, but I’m glad when we can finally retreat to our rooms. Alpha Blaine has prepared guestrooms for us and while they are small, they are comfortable. I feel a bit more at ease once I’m inside and can freshen up. I try to tame my locks slightly. While I carry my hair rather short, it’s shoulder length now, its structure is hard to tame.
“Alana?” a knock and a well-known voice pull me out of my thoughts.
“Come in.”
Ita steps in. “Not asleep yet?”
I put my brush aside and shake my head.
Ita smiles. “Firehair,” she says.
“Sorry?”
“You have hair like fire. I always found it fascinating.”
I feel a bit flustered at her words. Flinn and I have our mother’s hair color, and we are both proud of it. But to have Ita comment on it and praise me for it is different.
She closes the door behind her and sits down on my bed. “You were quiet the whole day.”
“I had a lot on my mind,” I admit.
“Like what?”
I sit down next to her with a sigh. “It’s just… a feeling.”
Ita brushes some strands of hair from my face and tucks it behind my ear. “You said you felt you’ve already been here.”
“Yes, but not only that… there is more to it,” I rest my hand on my chest. “Something feels terribly off.”
“How about,” Ita angles for something in her pocket and brings out two little bottles of rum. “A little drink to distract you.”
I laugh. “You are the best!”
Being with Ita indeed raises my spirits, as usual. She has been my best friend for so many years and we share so much. She is my safety net, my comfort. We grab a few blankets and decide to sit on the balcony, snuggling up to each other to protect us from the cold. The rum helps to further warm us up, and soon we giggle as we talk about everything going on around us.
“Who thought Tynan would be finding his mate so soon?” Ita says. “And a male human on top of that.”
“But, he is so cute with him,” I say. “I’m so proud of Tynan for being so nice and patient.”
“Yes, he is really proving himself.” Ita agrees. “What about the beautiful desert princess?”
“Aza,” I chuckle. “I first thought that she would be Caelan’s cup of tea.”
“Not Flinn’s?”
“No, Flinn really prefers men,” I remind her.
“Right…” she smiles. “He is always so flirty with everyone, I forget.”
“So, I thought Caelan, he has these huge protective instincts, but then…” I pause and smile.
“The beautiful Prince Endellion struck,” Ita finished my sentence.
“He is smitten with her,” I say, hoping to the bottom of my heart that Azadeh reciprocates his feelings. I’ve never seen Endellion like this… so in love.
“He is a great person,” Ita says. “Patient, kind, strong, smart while being able to be calculating.”
“It almost sounds like you have a crush on him,” I tease.
Ita smiles at me. “You know that’s not true.” Her gaze turns more earnest. “You know it.”
“I hope I do,” I say quietly. I can hear the voice of my wolf in the distance. She feels torn, but she isn’t stopping me. I lean forward, my heart skipping a beat when Ita claims my lips. Her hand rests on the back of my head, gently guiding me into this kiss. I don’t have much experience as very soon into my teen years I realized that I couldn’t do one-night stands; something kept blocking me from it. I needed to feel deeply for a person to allow my body to be close to theirs. However, there was one boy who I went to school with and, later, a fellow warrior trainee I experimented with.
Ita deepens our kiss, pushing me on my back and gently unbuttoning my top. She normally wears her long brown hair in a tie, but now it’s open, tickling me slightly in the best way possible. Ita pushes my shirt to the side, revealing my chest to the cold air. My nipples harden instantly, but I don’t even feel the cold. I should feel embarrassed by being bare like that, but I am not. “You are so beautiful, Alana,” Ita whispers, bending down to move her tongue over my breast, circling one of my hard nipples.
Her touch makes my head spin and my core tighten. “Ita…” I whisper, brushing my fingers through her hair.
Ita smiles at me, about to bend down again, when we hear a roar ripping through the area. Both of us jump at the sound, pulled out of our haze instantly.
“Alana,” Ita draws back and wraps my shirt around my body again. “You heard it too!”
“Loud and clear!” I exclaim. We both hurry back to my room. I grab the first sweater I can find and put it on, not bothering to switch into different pants. I will probably shift anyway. Ita has already hurried out the door. I slip into my shoes and follow her swiftly. Outside, I almost bump into Tynan and Alpha Blaine.
“Not again,” Blaine says, sounding drained and horrified.
“This time we are here,” Ita tells him. “And some of the royal guards! Follow my lead everyone!” She doesn’t wait for anyone’s approval, slipping right into her warrior mode, which I admire her so much for. She heads outside and shifts into her beautiful wolf. The rest of us follow swiftly, then she leads us towards the border of the pack.
Alpha Blaine is right behind her, apparently her determination sparked his own again, and made him push through his own desperation and grief.
Another earth-shaking growl can be heard. Is this really a werebear? I ask Ros. It doesn’t sound like a hoard of them.
She frowns. Something feels off; you’re right.
We follow the growl, all of us coming to a halt when we see a whirlwind of snow in front of us, circling around a creature in the middle. It oddly reminds me of what was chasing my brothers when they saved that pack a few weeks ago.
Another growl can be heard and then, as fast as it happened, the storm suddenly stops, the snow falling back down, revealing nothing.
Ita shifts back to her human form and carefully steps closer, a frown gracing her face. She looks around, but there is no sign of anything having been there.
“What just happened?” Tynan mutters after he has shifted back.
“I don’t know.” Ita sounds worried. “Alana, lead the warriors back to the pack, make sure it’s protected. Tynan, stay here with our best trackers and help me search the area.”
We all nod, following her orders. I wish I could stay with her, but this isn’t the time for selfish wishes. I lead the warriors back to the pack, making sure that the borders are protected. Luna Caitlin is already awaiting us, worry written all over her beautiful face. These people have already lost so much, I don’t want to imagine how horrifying this has to be for them. Like a never-ending nightmare.
Caitlin hurries into Blaine's arms, who hugs her back in a gentle, protective manner. Blaine has everything covered, so I make myself useful and begin some investigating. Ita and I had planned it for the next day, but the whole pack is on alert and up, it’s much more useful to act now.
Ita is the leader of this mission, though, so I make sure to update her beforehand. Everything is settled. The whole pack seems to be up. I’ll start to investigate. That is, if it’s alright with you.
Great idea , Ita encourages me. Everyone is scared now, so, even those who think they imagined something, might talk to you. She pauses. Alana?
Yes? I ask hopefully.
Another pause. Nothing, sorry , Ita says. Just be careful .
I will wait for you before going to sleep, I tell her.
No , she says immediately. The tone of her voice makes my heart ache. I know I might be reading too much into this, but it sounds like a rejection. I meant to say, I don’t know how long I will be out. Don’t wait.
Alright , I say, because I don’t know what else to tell her. I don’t mind how long she is going to be out. She can always come to my room and just lay next to me.
Maybe it’s better that way , Ros says carefully.
Are you serious? I huff.
It’s just… I don’t know, I don’t know what to think.
If you were against it, why didn’t you stop me when Ita approached us? I ask. We would have gone all the way if it weren’t for the attack.
I feel the bond to a mate , she tells me quietly. But it’s very weak, so I was weak too, and gave in to Ita and her strong wolf. She pauses. I feel like I failed you as your guidance.
My confusion is growing more and more. What does Ros even want to tell me? And what’s with Ita now? This is all so confusing. I’ve never been good at dealing with wishy-washy comments and innuendo. I sigh, deciding to ignore my wolf for now and focus on the task ahead of me.
Blaine’s gamma, a nice young man, accompanies me, and I make sure to talk to as many people as possible. Most of them are willing to share what they know. It’s the same story from all of them though. The same Blaine told me, how bears attacked and how they were strong and couldn’t be defeated.
I sigh, feeling like I failed my task when I catch a group of children playing in the snow. Caitlin’s younger sister, a 10-year-old girl, is with them. I saw her during dinner. No one ever asks the children, I realize. No one takes them seriously, because they are children, just like no one took me seriously when I was small and collapsed out in the cold.
No one believed me, and no one bothered to look into what I said. I love my parents, they are wonderful people, but I do think that they failed me back then.
“Hello Dalene,” I approach the group of kids and greet Caitlin’s sister directly. “You are still up?”
“Yes,” Dalene giggles. “The adults are busy.”
I laugh. “I would also always sneak outside and play when my parents were busy,” I say. “What are you playing?”
“We are building a snowman,” they say.
“Do you want to join?” a boy asks.
“I’d love to.” I join the little group, helping them with building a whole snow family.
“Say,” I start after a while. “Have you seen the werebears too?” I ask them.
One of the young boys shrugs. “I did, but…” His voice trails off.
“But?” I urge him softly.
He pouts a bit. “My papa got angry and said I shouldn’t spout so much nonsense. He thought I was just trying to prank him and the alpha family. I didn’t want him to punish me, so…”
“What did you see?” I ask. “I’d be interested.”
“You will tell my father,” he says.
“No, and even if I do, I will make sure he believes you,” I say firmly, reaching out my hand. “Something like this happened to me, too. Pinky promise.”
He frowns, before wrapping his little finger around mine and shaking it. “I saw the bears,” he whispers. “And I remember how the warriors were screaming how strong they were. I saw something around them… a blue light.”
I stare at him. “A blue light?”
“Yes, and there were strings attached to that light.” He says quietly. “All the strings led to somewhere in the distance.”
I gasp. They are enchanted! The fucking werebears are under a spell. I don’t know if they are willingly or not, but I know the blue light the kid is talking about. Aylin and my mother taught us kids about it, and said if our wolves ever saw such a light, to tread carefully. “Thank you for telling me,” I tell the boy. “You helped me a lot.”
“You believe me!?” he gasps.
“I absolutely do,” I say grimly. “I know this kind of light.”
“And the huge bear?” one girl asks curiously. “I saw one in the distance when they attacked!”
“I did too,” a girl backs her up. “But, mommy said I was probably just dreaming.”
I can’t believe it, a whole group of witnesses and they were dismissed. I know kids can make things up, and their imagination is broad, but this was a moment of trauma for them, too. Even if their imagination added something to what they saw, it would still be worth investigating.
“Can you describe the big bear? Was it white like the others?”
“No, it was dark brown, and big, like three times our house,” she tells excitedly.
“And it was wearing armor!” the other girl adds.
“The blue light was around it too!”
“The bear…” the girl looks flustered. “I know it sounds silly, but I think there were little branches coming out of its head with leaves attached to them like a tree growing from it.”
I stare at them. It sounds like a wild fantasy, but something rings a bell. This is something that might fall into Eibhlin’s knowledge. The kids keep chatting a bit longer about what they saw, but I think they have told me what they knew. So, I help them some more with their snow family, before retreating. Before I can leave, though, Dalene takes my hand and pulls me to the side.
“Don’t tell anyone,” she pleads, her voice low. “My sister and Blaine are really nice, but… I think they won’t believe me. I think no one will, not even-” She looks at the other kids. “Them.”
“Tell me,” I urge her softly.
“A few days ago…” she pauses. “I saw a dragon.”