Phantom Wolf

Being the Alpha of one of the biggest packs in North America is hard work. Being a female Alpha doesn't make my work any easier - an unspeakable amount of wolves and people have underestimated my abilities. To top it all off, not having a mate is seen as an added weakness.

Most of my friends, the ones I grew up with, have found their mates, some even have children. All except me.

It all started that night.

Eight years ago.

On my tenth birthday.

It started out as any other day. My father woke me, excited that his eldest was turning ten. Although I had younger siblings, a brother and sister, Kai and Kia, or "The Twins" as their known throughout the pack. Kai was one minute younger than Kai, and she was never allowed to forget, thanks to her twin who believed it to be hilarious.

My father seemed restless - although I paid no attention to this. I was excited for my birthday, and put all my father's stressing down to the fact that he was the Alpha.

Boy, I wish I paid more attention.

Our territory was surrounded by other wolfpacks and even some "No Man's" lands where packs or other supernatural beings would hold meetings to sort out any conflicts or differences. I had no idea who, and what, would be lurking beyond these safety barriers. Then again, when I was just a kid, nothing mattered - I was a child and like all children, I was oblivious.

Oblivious to the dangers in my world - the other packs that hated my family and our pack. I was oblivious to the dangers posed by other "mythical beings," even the threats posed to my kind by humans. I was oblivious to it all.

Until it was too late.

Flashback to that night.

The family had just gotten home from celebrating Mia's tenth birthday and after the cub's parents put The Twins to bed, they were immediately at the birthday girl's bedside.

"We're so proud of you, baby," Mia's mother and Luna to the pack Elizabeth spoke, leaning down to leave a gentle but loving goodnights kiss on Mia's forehead.

"You're silly mom, everyone turns ten, you can't be proud of time or progession," little Mia insisted, sounding wiser than her short ten years would imply but also showing her naivety through her own assumptions.

"My beautiful Mia," the Alpha of the pack, Frank began, "You speak with wisdom beyond your years."

Mia seen something flicker in her father's eyes - pride, but also something she had never seen before in the honest eyes of her father -- fear.

Mia's parents said their goodnights to their daughter and proceeded to their own bedroom. Or so Mia assumed.

In fact, since it was the little girl's birthday the pack worked harder to please their Alpha and Luna. This meant increased boarder patrols and more guards. Frank and Elizabeth weren't the typical tyrannical leaders of a pack as so many have assumed. They loved, cared for and nurtured every single member of their pack as though they were all couple's children.

This night was no different. Why all immediate family celebrated, pack warriors worked overtime to secure the safety of everyone, like they do every day and night. This night Frank, and Elizabeth, decided to relieve Mia's Uncle, brother to Elizabeth, Tomas and his newfound mate Clarissa, of duty so that the new couple could spend some well-deserved alone time together.

For a while everything was peaceful and quiet. Mia and The Twins slept soundly in their respective bedrooms. Until a sharp pain in Mia's heart woke her. Her body shooting up from her the comforts of her bed. All remnants of her slumber now gone.

This was the first time Mia had ever heard her wolf, and she was whimpering.

Before the young wolf could react, her bedroom door burst open and in rushed a panicked Connor, Frank's Beta and second in command. Mia didn't have to ask for she already knew. The ten year old could hear the rest of the pack outside, howling in pain, yet none of it could compare to the pain in her chest.

"Where?!" The young wolf screamed at the Beta. He didn't immediately answer. Instead he walked to the girl's closet and threw some gymwear at her.

"Get dressed - I'll show you." Connor answered. It was obvious from his body language and tone of voice that he didn't want to take the young girl anywhere, but he was Frank's Beta, he knew as well as anyone that she would simply ignore him.

After the girl changed in her bathroom, she followed Connor through the hallways of the lavish building. The same hallways that were teeming with life are now silent, carpeted footsteps echo in the spacious interior. The Beta led Mia downstairs and out the backdoor, wordlessly leading Mia through the woods which were right on her doorstep.

Just as Mia had begun to wonder why Connor didn't shift to make the journey shorter, the powerful scent of blood and death hit her senses. She stopped dead in her tracks.

'So that's why he didn't shift,' Mia thought to herself, 'because he didn't have to.'

Mia walked by Connor, following the dreadful scent. The closer she got, the more wolves she noticed. All in their four-legged form, she had never seen anything like it in her ten years of life. However that's not what made her heart sink, it wasn't all the four-legged predators staring at her, or the howling from the pack members in pain, or even the members that were growling out in anger at the scene in front of them. No, what crushed Mia was what she seen on the ground in a small clearing in the woods.

Her mother, the one woman she looked up to, lying slumped against a tall oak, she was still in her human form, her hands at her sides. Elizabeth's eyes were wide open in complete terror, as though she had made eye contact with the creature that ripped her throat out. She was still in the silver dress that Mia admired mere hours ago, only now it was stained a dark red, the blood constant but not yet dry.

Mia walked over to Elizabeth and closed her eyes, feeling content that if her eyes were closed then her mother would truly be at peace but in reality Mia couldn't stand to see her mother like that —so scared.

Mia slowly rose from her mother's side, and looked to her right. She hadn't noticed at first, but now couldn't take her eyes off of the fallen body of the big black wolf.

She knew who it was, she could see he wasn't breathing. She knew her father was dead when she felt the bone crushing pain in her heart that had awoken her in the first place.

Mia subconsciously took a deep but shaky breath. As she slowly began to walk to the corpse of her father, she couldn't help but look at the wolves around her. She knew they all loved and cared for her parents as if they were their own but the last thing young Mia had expected when she reached her father's side was for all the howling of pain and growling of anger to subside to a peaceful silence.

Connor and the pack members present watched in silence as Mia knelt next to Frank. The young girl didn't shed a tear as she gentle petted the coat of jet black fur, wishing he would wake, but she was suddenly no longer just a kid anymore, she had to worry about The Twins, about what would come next and most importantly, worry about how the enemy could walk into their territory, kill their Alpha and Luna, and disappear without a trace.

But for now Mia focused on The Twins. Her little brother and sister who needed her now more than ever.

As Mia rose to her feet she noticed more wolves from the pack had appeared. She didn't know why, but she felt empowered, and walked passed all the members with her head held high. Everyone but young Mia understood what was happening and so to her surprise, and no one else's, wolf after wolf that she passed began to bow their heads until each and every single wolf was bowing.

Bowing to their new Alpha.