What's an Alpha?

Short Story - What’s an Alpha?

The mall fountain was doing that loud splashy thing it always does, and Hannah and I were sitting on the grass nearby, talking about literally everything — homework, music, TV shows, boys who were cute but probably terrible. Normal Saturday stuff.

Hannah was half‑listening, half‑glued to her phone, giggling at whatever meme she found. Typical.

That’s when I heard it.

A growl.

Like… an actual growl.

I paused mid‑sentence and looked around. Nothing. Just people walking by kids running around, someone dropping their smoothie. No wolves. No dogs. No reason for growling.

I leaned toward Hannah. “Did you hear someone growling?”

She didn’t even look up. “Uh, no? Why?”

“I swear I heard a growl,” I said. “Unless I’m just hungry.”

My stomach growled right then, which honestly didn’t help my case.

“Okay, yeah, I’m hungry,” I said, standing up. “I’m gonna get food. Want anything?”

Hannah finally looked up, smiling at her screen. “Can you get me a pretzel? Extra butter.”

“Sure. Be right back.”

I started walking toward the mall entrance — and then I heard it again.

The growl. Closer this time.

I stopped and looked around like I was trying to catch someone making animal noises. “Who keeps growling?” I said out loud, because apparently, I am talk to the air now.

And then I saw him.

This tall guy — like 6′2", which is basically skyscraper height compared to me — walking straight toward me. Short white hair, hazel eyes, fair skin. Looked about eighteen. Looked normal.

Until he opened his mouth.

“You are mine,” he said.

I blinked at him. “Huh? Wait… were you the one growling at me?”

“Yes,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I choose you to be mine.”

He stepped closer, growling quietly like he thought it was intimidating or something.

I stepped back. “What do you mean I’m yours? I don’t even know you.”

I glanced over my shoulder — Hannah was still on the grass, now flirting with some guy who might’ve been from our school. Great. Zero backup.

The stranger crossed his arms. “I choose you to be my mate. There is nothing you can do about it.”

He growled again.

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, for one — like I said, I don’t know you. You literally just appeared out of nowhere. And two — I don’t have time for whatever this is. I’m getting food.”

He scoffed. “You should know who I am.”

I laughed. “You’re ridiculous. I don’t know who you are.”

Then I opened the mall door and walked inside, because I was not dealing with that.

The second I stepped inside the mall, it felt like I’d entered some kind of escalator‑stair‑elevator labyrinth. Everything was shiny and loud and confusing, and all I wanted was a pretzel. Just one. Warm. Extra butter. That’s it.

So of course, my brain decided to distract me by singing the wrong lyrics to a childhood song.

“Twinkle twinkle little bar, how I wonder what’s a cat,” I hummed under my breath.

I snorted. Great. Now I was hungry and losing it.

Anything to get my mind off that weirdo outside.

I even imitated him under my breath: “You are mine and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Then in my normal voice: “Pfft… yeah right. You’re not even my type.”

A minute later, I heard it again.

A growl.

In a mall full of people talking, laughing, yelling, and being loud in general… I still heard it.

I ignored it. Nope. Not doing this again.

I finally spotted an escalator going up and stepped onto it. My stomach was basically yelling at me at this point. Hangry Ivy is not someone anyone wants to deal with.

Halfway up, I felt a presence behind me. You know that feeling when someone’s staring at you? Yeah. That.

I turned my head.

It was him.

White‑haired dude. Again.

“You followed me?” I blurted, then immediately turned back around because I did NOT want to have this conversation on a moving staircase.

He stepped onto the escalator behind me. “I did. I need to talk to you about how this mating works.”

He wasn’t growling for once.

Until he was.

There it was again. Quiet, but still a growl.

“I’m not interested,” I said, stepping off the escalator and speed‑walking like my life depended on it. “I’m hungry. I’m trying to get food for myself and my friend who’s outside talking to one of our classmates.”

He kept pace with me like this was normal. Like following a girl through a mall while growling was just a regular Saturday activity.

We walked in circles for what felt like forever. I swear this mall was designed by someone who hated people.

Then I saw it.

The pretzel stand.

Hiding in the corner like it was ashamed of itself.

“It was right there and I missed it?” I said out loud. “Sheesh, I’m stupid.”

I headed straight for it.

Of course, he followed.

My phone buzzed. Hannah.

Hannah: What is taking so long? let me know when you’re heading back

I knew she’d ask.

Me: sorry for taking so long! I had trouble finding it until now. I didn’t notice when I got off the escalator to the second floor. grabbing us pretzels rn and be out shortly

Send.

I shoved my phone back in my pocket and stepped up to the counter.

The employee looked tired. Like “I’ve been here since 8 AM and I regret everything” tired.

“Hello, what can I get you?” He asked, glancing between me and the tall guy beside me.

“Can I get two plain pretzels with extra butter, please?”

“Is that everything?”

“Yeah, that’s all.”

He rang it up, I paid, he handed me my card back, and I stepped aside to wait.

A few minutes later, he handed me the pretzels.

“Thank you,” I said.

“No problem. Have a good day.”

I walked away, pulled out my phone again, and texted Hannah:

Me: I got our pretzels! heading back now

Send.

I headed toward the down escalator. Of course he followed. Again.

“So,” he said, looking down at me like he was about to give a lecture, “as I was saying, let me explain how mating works.”

“Sure,” I said. “Hit me with your best shot. Not literally. Figure of speech.”

He nodded seriously. “Once you turn eighteen, you become an alpha and are ready to pick your mate. Then you create a family, which becomes a family pack.”

I stared at him. “That’s… weird. Honestly. Also, what’s an alpha?”

We stepped onto the escalator.

“Alpha is when you hit a certain age, like eighteen,” he said. “It means you’re mature enough to find the perfect mate.”

I stepped off the escalator and headed toward the exit.

He paused by the fountain and bent down to drink from it.

Like a dog.

Like an actual dog.

I blinked. “He’s like a dog who got loose from the leash,” I muttered to myself.

Nope. Not waiting for him.

I walked straight to the exit.

A few minutes later, I pushed open the doors and stepped back outside.

I finally made it out alive from that giant maze of hallways and escalators, and when I looked back, he was still in there somewhere. Good. Let him get lost for once.

After a few minutes of walking, I reached the big water fountain. Hannah was still talking to some guy, so I walked over like I hadn’t just survived a whole side quest.

“Here you go, Hannah,” I said, handing her the pretzel.

“Thanks! But what took you so long?”

I sighed. “Long story. But I finally found the pretzel stand and got us our pretzels.”

She laughed. “Slowpoke.”

“Okay, whatever you say, Mrs. Flirter,” I teased, giving her a light punch on the arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” She said, rubbing her arm like I’d hit her with a metal bat.

“Oh, come on. I didn’t hit you that hard. It was playful.”

“Right…” she said, rolling her eyes.

I turned to the guy she was talking to. “Hey Garrett! I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Been here for a little while. Came with some friends. We skated over.”

He set his skateboard down by his feet while Hannah munched on her pretzel.

Then I heard it.

A growl.

I turned around, and—of course—it was him.

Hannah blinked. “Who is that?”

I pointed at him. “That guy. The one who’s been following me.”

She frowned. “Wait… he’s the one who growled earlier?”

“Yeah,” I said. “At first, I thought it was my stomach because I was starving, but nope. It was him. He came up to me before I even went inside for the pretzels, said weird stuff, and then followed me all through the mall. In and out.”

Hannah’s eyes widened. “Oh. So, it was him.”

“Yep,” I said. “He’s that guy.”

Apollo stepped closer like he was proud of this. “I used my strong sense of smell to track you.”

Hannah snorted. “You’ve got a huge fan. You’re a celebrity now, Ivy.”

“Apparently so, without trying,” I said.

Then he dropped the bomb.

“I’m the alpha of my pack, and I’m looking for a mate. Which can be your friend Ivy here.”

I stared at him. Then at Hannah. Then at Garrett. Then back at the skyscraper boy.

He growled at Garrett.

“Can you stop that?” I spoke. “Garrett is a friend of mine. And hers.”

I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my pretzel before it got cold.

Apollo straightened like he was about to give a lecture. “An alpha is someone who turns eighteen and has matured enough to be prepared to find their mate, have a baby, and create a pack.”

Hannah’s jaw dropped. “Um… we’re sixteen. We’re in high school. We’re worried about homework, not—whatever that is.”

I blinked at him. “Yeah, that’s… a lot. And also? No.”

Garrett just held his skateboard like he wasn’t sure if he should defend us with it or ride away.

I crossed my arms. “By the way, you never introduced yourself to me or my friends.”

“You’re right,” he said. “Where are my manners? My name is Apollo. And I believe your name is Ivy?”

“Nice to meet you, Apollo. And yes, Ivy is my name… took you long enough to ask.”

I sat down on the grass. Garrett sat on his skateboard next to me, and Hannah sat on my left. It was sunny with a breeze, and honestly, I felt like I was going to end up with a tan.

Apollo stood there like he was about to deliver a prophecy.

“This is my destiny, Ivy. I choose you to be my mate.”

I put my hand on my hip. “This isn’t a fantasy movie, Apollo. And I didn’t agree to be yours.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “You’re mine.”

“That’s a controlling thing to say to someone,” I said, not even flinching.

He stepped closer—too close—trying to corner me like he was reenacting some dramatic alpha scene. I stepped back immediately.

“Personal space,” I said sharply.

He tried to block me again.

“STOP,” I said loudly on purpose.

Garrett caught my eye. I mouthed, go get help.

He read my lips, leaned toward Hannah, and whispered, “I’m going to go get help. Stay here with her. I’ll be right back.”

She gave him a thumbs‑up, and he got up and walked off to find his friends and a security guard.

Apollo tried stepping toward me again, and I held my ground. “Back up,” I said firmly.

“No,” he said.

“NOW.”

And right on cue, a firm voice cut through the air.

“Young man, step back from her.”

A security guard strode toward us, Garrett right behind him.

Apollo froze, then stepped away.

“If you don’t leave right now,” the guard said, “I will escort you out.”

Apollo growled but decided it wasn’t worth arguing. “Fine… I’ll leave.”

He started walking away, but before he got far, he looked back at me.

“This isn’t over, Ivy.”

Then he ran off—literally ran—like a dog sprinting across a field.

The next day at school, things were actually normal for once. Midday, lunch break, sun out, breeze perfect — the kind of day where you think, Wow, maybe the universe is finally giving me a break.

Spoiler: it wasn’t.

The three of us were sitting at our usual spot. Hannah stood up to go to the soda vending machine, brushing crumbs off her jeans like she was in a commercial.

She took a few steps, slowed down, squinted into the distance… and froze.

Which is never a good sign.

She grabbed her drink but kept staring like she’d just seen a ghost. Then she walked back toward us, twirling a piece of her hair in that “I have tea” way.

“You won’t believe who I saw…” she said.

I didn’t even look up. “Wait… don’t tell me it’s Apollo.”

Her eyes went huge. “How did you know?”

I shrugged. “He’s obsessed with me and keeps saying I’m his ‘mate.’”

Garrett nodded like he was confirming a crime report. “He’s a bad dude. After what happened yesterday outside the mall? Yeah, no. That was messed up.”

“Yeah,” I said. “He has some issues for sure.”

I turned toward Hannah to keep talking, and that’s when I heard it.

“Hello, Ivy,” he said behind me. With that deep growl he thinks is intimidating but honestly sounds like he swallowed gravel.

I didn’t even turn around. I just put my hand up like a stop sign.

He sounded offended. “Why do you have your hand up like that?”

“Because it means don’t talk to me,” I said, still facing Hannah.

“That’s rude,” he said, like he was the victim here.

I turned around, slapped him across the face, and said, “Rude? Oh, I’m sorry if I’m being rude because yesterday you decided to forcefully grab me and hold me like a hostage until mall security saved me.”

His head snapped to the side, but he didn’t fight back. He just blinked like he was buffering.

“Ivy…” he said slowly. “I apologize for my bad behavior yesterday. But it is my duty to find a mate, and I chose you because you’re beautiful and attractive.”

I stared at him. No blush. No swoon. Just pure, exhausted annoyance.

He frowned. “Why didn’t you blush?”

“Because I’m annoyed with you,” I said. “And I’m not attracted to you in the ‘chosen one’ sense. If your leader finds out you don’t have a mate, that’s on you. Not my problem.”

He looked genuinely confused. “Any girl would blush at those compliments and fall for a guy like me instantly.”

“Well, thanks for the information, Mr. Hotshot,” I said. “And I do appreciate the compliment. But let’s say we did date. If someone finds out you’re eighteen and I’m sixteen, that means jail time. This isn’t a fantasy book or movie, Apollo.”

Before he could respond, the bell rang.

Lunch over. Saved by the bell — literally.

We all stood up. I grabbed my backpack, and as I started walking away, he called out:

“I’ll be here waiting for you.”

“Okay, whatever you say,” I said over my shoulder. “Good luck, though. We have policemen doing walkthroughs Monday through Friday.”

Then I walked off with Hannah and Garrett, leaving him standing there like he’d just been hit with a plot twist he didn’t see coming.

The rest of the school day dragged on like a bad Monday. Every time a door opened, I half‑expected Apollo to pop out like some kind of wolf‑themed Jack‑in‑the‑box.

He didn’t.

Which honestly made it worse, because now I knew he was somewhere on campus, lurking like a rejected extra from a paranormal romance movie.

When the final bell rang, I grabbed my backpack and met up with Hannah and Garrett by the front steps.

“Okay,” I said, “let’s make it to the parking lot without running into—”

“Hello, Ivy.”

Of course.

He stepped out from behind a tree. A tree. Like he’d been waiting there the whole time, practicing his dramatic entrance.

Hannah whispered, “Does he sleep? Or does he just… stand places?”

Garrett muttered, “He’s like a glitching NPC.”

I sighed and walked forward. “Apollo, what are you doing here? Again?”

He straightened like he was about to give a speech. “I told you I would wait for you.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you meant literally wait outside like a statue.”

He blinked, confused. “Statue?”

“Never mind.”

He took a step closer, but this time I held up my hand before he could say anything.

“Nope. Stop. Whatever dramatic alpha speech you’re about to give? Save it.”

He looked wounded. “Ivy… I only want to protect you.”

“From what?” I said. “Geometry homework?”

He hesitated, clearly not expecting that answer.

“I am your destined—”

“Nope,” I cut in. “We’re not doing the ‘destined mate’ thing again. I’m not your mate. I’m not your Luna. I’m not joining your pack. I’m not moving into the woods. I’m not doing wolf yoga or whatever you guys do.”

Garrett snorted. Hannah covered her mouth to hide her laugh.

Apollo looked genuinely confused. “Wolf… yoga?”

“Exactly,” I said. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

He opened his mouth again, but I stepped forward and lowered my voice.

“Apollo, listen. You need to go home. Find someone from your pack. Find your leader. Find literally anyone who isn’t me. Because I’m not the girl you think I am.”

He stared at me, eyes softening like he was finally processing the words.

“Ivy…” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well, you did,” I said. “And you can’t keep showing up at my school. You’re eighteen. This is a high school. You’re going to get in trouble.”

He looked down, shoulders slumping a little. “I… understand.”

For the first time, he actually sounded sincere.

He took a step back.

“I will leave,” he said. “But… thank you for speaking honestly with me.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Honesty is kind of my thing.”

He nodded once, then turned and walked away across the field, disappearing behind the same tree he’d been hiding behind earlier.

Hannah exhaled. “Well… that was dramatic.”

Garrett shook his head. “Dude needs therapy.”

“Yeah,” I said, adjusting my backpack. “But at least he’s gone.”

We started walking toward the parking lot, and for the first time in two days, I felt like I could breathe again.

“Do you think he’ll come back?” Hannah asked.

I shrugged. “Who knows? But if he does, I’ll be ready.”

Garrett grinned. “With another slap?”

“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe I’ll just carry a spray bottle like he’s a misbehaving cat.”

They both laughed, and we headed home, leaving the whole alpha‑werewolf chaos behind us.

At least... for now

Epilogue

A week has passed.

A whole week without dramatic growling, tree‑lurking, or surprise declarations of destiny. Honestly, it felt like a vacation.

School was normal again. Lunch was normal again. My life was normal again.

And I didn’t realize how much I missed “normal” until I finally got it back.

Hannah and I were sitting on my porch after school, sipping iced tea and scrolling through our phones. Garrett was on the steps below us, sketching something in his notebook like he always did.

“Do you ever think about him?” Hannah asked suddenly.

I blinked. “Who? Apollo?”

She nodded.

I shrugged. “Not really. I mean… I hope he’s okay. But I’m not losing sleep over it.”

Garrett snorted. “He’s probably back with his pack doing wolf push‑ups or whatever.”

“Wolf push‑ups?” I spoke.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re wolves. They probably do weird workouts.”

We all laughed, and it felt good — the kind of laugh that comes from relief, not nerves.

My phone buzzed with a notification. A message from an unknown number.

For a second, my stomach dropped.

But when I opened it, it wasn’t a dramatic paragraph or a growl or a “you are my destiny.”

It was just one line:

“Thank you for being honest. I won’t bother you again.” — A

I stared at it for a moment, then locked my phone and set it aside.

“Everything okay?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “Actually… yeah.”

And I meant it.

The sun started setting, painting the sky orange and pink. The air was warm, the breeze soft, and for the first time in a long time, I felt completely at peace.

No alpha drama. No mate claims. No supernatural nonsense.

Just me, my friends, and a quiet evening.

“Do you think that’s the last we’ll see of him?” Garrett asked.

I leaned back in my chair, stretching my legs out.

“Honestly?” I spoke. “I hope so. But if not… I’ll deal with it.”

Hannah raised her drink. “To dealing with it.”

We clinked our cups together.

And that was that.