Chapter 4

Alpha Jack POV

I saw my opportunity and took it. I threw the peanut butter at one of the men who stood in my path and while he ducked out of the way to avoid being smacked in the face I bumped into him with all my might and took to my heels. They chased after me but I was too fast, way too fast for them.

I got to the foster home before dark and tried to catch my breath. I was almost kidnapped but who was I going to tell? My foster parents had about 10 other foster kids entrusted to their care. They barely had time for themselves let alone someone like me who was always quiet and withdrawn from the rest.

I could have been kidnapped and they would be thankful because there would be one less mouth to feed. As I climbed into my bunk bed that night, all I could think about was what transpired on my way home. It replayed in my mind like a movie.

Who were they? And how did they know my name? And why would they want to kidnap someone like me? I was so afraid that I would bump into them again but I doubt they knew where I lived. This was driving me insane but I somehow managed to get some sleep.

I opened my eyes just in time to get ready for school, I jumped off the top of my bunk bed while the rest of my foster siblings were still sleeping and went to the bathroom to clean up.

“That was some intense sports you did yesterday.” A voice said. I looked around sharply to find who had said that. There was no one. I was alone so who spoke to me just now? I questioned myself, but the voice seemed to have come from within me.

“It’s me, Trace, I’m your wolf.” The voice replied.

“Wolf?” I repeated but it was more of a question than a repetition. I looked at my face in the mirror. I was human so why was some wolf talking to me and from within? I wasn’t losing my mind, was I?

“No, you’re not. This is all real. Look at yourself in the mirror. You can shapeshift now.” The voice within told me.

I looked at myself in the mirror and for some strange reason, I could change the color of my eyes, from brown to golden yellow then silver. I got so scared that I switched back immediately as a growl escaped my lips in fear.

It was the growl of a wolf, what was happening to me? I cried as I covered my mouth with my palms.

“You’re a shifter now! You received your wolf right in time for your 18th birthday.” My wolf purred.

“Birthday?” I had no idea when my birthday was. I was found in the rubble of a fire accident when I was a baby. I was told that my mother died, trapped in the building as it collapsed on her. She protected me with her life but couldn’t protect hers. Nobody knew who she was or how to find her family and that was how I ended up in the orphanage. They said I was the son of an immigrant.

Nobody told me I was a wolf, I doubt anyone even knew. I had never heard of anything like that, it sounded like a dream to me.

Maybe I was losing my mind, maybe I had eaten something I wasn’t supposed to. I’m human, I look human, there was no way I was a wolf. I tried to convince myself.

“Your eyes aren’t the only thing that can shift, your whole body can.” My wolf tried to explain but I ignored it and took my bath. I ignored it because I felt like it would go away if I ignored it.

At recess, Marie walked up to me with a smile, and that was when I remembered the peanut butter. “Oh no,” I whimpered.

“Where’s what I asked you for?” She muttered when she closed the gap between us.

I began to fumble, “You won’t believe what happened yesterday.”

She rolled her eyes, probably she thought I was going to give her excuses but this was a real situation I was going through.

“I almost got kidnapped on my way back from the store.” I started to narrate but Marie shook her head again.

“Who will kidnap you? Are you the child of the president or something?” She laughed then suddenly stopped as if she had become self-aware.

“Sorry, but why did you say that?” She asked. “You could have just told me that you didn’t buy it then I will do it myself. I need to teach Kenny a lesson.” She said,

“But it’s true, about 4 muscular men tried to kidnap me. They called me Alpha Jack. They said they had been looking for me.” I tried to make her believe me when I couldn’t even believe it myself.

She creased her eyebrows as if she suspected me of theft and sniffed my shirt, then looked up at me. “You do have a wolf’s smell, why have I not noticed that?”

I staggered backward, who was this girl? What did she know about werewolves? She must have heard what I was thinking and sighed,

“I’ve dated a wolf before. I know a lot about your kind.” She explained.

“So… so they do exist?” I stuttered. I couldn’t believe this girl, I had never seen a werewolf before and this girl had dated one? How?

“Yes, a number of them secretly blend into our society and act like humans. I should have known you were one when I saw your physique. At 18 you’re so gigantic.” She remarked.

I was bewildered by her remark, if I didn’t believe those men from yesterday and my wolf this morning then I definitely believed it now. What was I supposed to do now?

“So what am I supposed to do now?” I asked her as if she would know.

“I think the men from yesterday came to return you to your pack.” She answered.

“Pack? What the hell is a pack?” I exclaimed but before I could get an answer Kenny walked up to me and shoved and shoved a note in my face.

As he walked away, I opened the note and it read, “Fight, today in the field."