Heart of the Alpha

by Mia Rose

  “Get the pack together. I’ll speak to them now,” Gabriel said. “I’ll get dressed.”

  Gabriel stepped into the bedroom and started to pull on his clothes as Tanya stepped from the motel room and began to tell the others they would have their first pack meeting in the motel diner. She reached back to her room and saw Gabriel pacing back and forth.

  He looks nervous. Where the hell has all his confidence gone?

  “You okay Gab?” Tanya asked.

  “I’m not okay. I’m shitting bricks for what to say.”

  “Just be honest and tell the truth. They might not accept it, but you’ll never know until you stand up to your fear and your nerves.”

  “Tanya, I don’t deserve you, you do know that, don’t you?” Gabriel said.

  Tanya nodded and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah! Of course —I know it, and make sure you don’t ever forget it!” She gave him a smile and a wink.

  “Right, let’s get it over with, and then we can go for a drink.”

  “I’m up for that. It’s been a while since I’ve been out,” she said. “Where you gonna take me?”

  “Right into the middle of a den of wolves. The old biker bar a few blocks from here. I chatted with the barmaid, and I guessed it was a wolf den,” Gabriel said. “I was sure when she bared her fangs at me.”

  “You think it’s safe for you there?” Tanya asked.

  “Yeah, what’s the worst that can happen? I get bit by the one wolf who can turn me back into a werewolf. That I’d relish,” Gabriel added.

  “I know that, but if it was any old wolf who bit you, you’re not even gonna be human. You’re gonna be dead!”

  “I’ll be fine. You're there with me, and if they see you're a wolf, it might divert attention away from me. I do still have a wolf mentality, so it’s not as if it’s totally alien to me.”

  Gabriel closed the motel room door behind him. He turned, and he could see that a few pack members had already made their way to the diner. Expectant faces stared at him through the window. The pack was looking for a leader, and in his current form, Gabriel wasn’t it. Tanya had more of a chance to take over the pack, and that was a thought that Gabriel had kept in the back of his mind.

  He pushed the door open and held it for Tanya. The diner looked like standard diner fare. It was like they mass-produced the interiors and shipped them out to each diner that opened. Black and white tiled floors with red and white vinyl bench seats looked inviting. The tables were white, with a chrome edging strip and a bunch of containers on them. Ketchup, mustard, straws, and napkins. All pretty standard, and all set up neatly.

  The pack had squeezed themselves into two of the tables, so Gabriel didn’t have to holler for them to hear. He stood as the waitress stood her ground by the counter with a handful of menus. Gabriel turned to her and smiled. “I just gotta talk to these guys, and then we’ll order,” he said.

  The waitress slipped her order pad back into her apron and her pen behind her ear. Her elbow rested on the counter as she waited. She chewed gum and seemed unphased. Gabriel turned back to his small pack. They looked at him for strength. He looked deep inside of himself for the same thing.

  “It’s been a few days since I was ousted as Alpha at the Towers. Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing, because now we have the chance to build something better in a place of our choosing,” he said.

  “We don’t have much cash Gab, you stopped us from working don’t forget,” one guy said. “How you gonna sort that problem, huh?”

  Gabriel looked at his feet as he placed one foot in each square. He’d always been told it was bad luck to stand on a crack. It had served him well so far, and he’d made sure he'd stuck to it over the years.

  “Don’t worry about cash until we are settled. I can stump up for the motel and meals here. When we find a place, then you can get a job,” he answered. “That’s not what I want to talk to you about though, there is something that’s more pressing, and I’m not sure of the best way to tell you.”

  “Gab, you’ve never been one for holding back, so lay your crap on the table and be done with it,” said Scott.

  Gabriel cricked his neck and readied himself for the outburst. He cast a smile to the waitress. He turned back to his pack. “I’m human.”

  Gabriel hadn’t expected the fits of laughter that fell across the diner tables. He’d expected a fuck you man, and I’m outta here, but not laughter.

  “You're winding us up. We saw you with Declan, you gave as well as you got. ALMOST,” Scott said, just to make a point.

  “That was then. Yesterday morning it all went belly up. I made a huge —huge mistake. I ate some of the meat from the freezers. It had been laced with elixir by that prick Edmund,” Gabriel explained.

  “Get him to change you back,” Scott replied.

  “I wish I could, but I killed him.”

  “Well, Gab. Speaking on behalf of everyone, we’d like to understand your situation, but we can’t. We aren’t human,” he scoffed, followed by an uproar from the pack.

  “It isn’t funny Scott, I’ve lost half my life.”

  “And you think paying for room and board is gonna make us feel better?” one of the other guys commented from the furthest table.

  “Call it a token gesture. If you wanna walk, there’s not much I can do about that.”

  “Fuckin A. There's nothing you can do about it. And I’m not gonna be told what to do by a human,” he said. He shoved some of the other pack members from their seats. “I’m off. I was thinking about it a while ago, and you’ve made up my mind.”

  The guy stood away from Gabriel. He faced the pack. “Any of you gonna come with me?” he asked, as two couples stood and walked to his side.

  Gabriel faced the rest of the pack members that remained. He knew deep in his heart some would walk out later on. “You better get going. You gotta find somewhere to stay,” Gabriel said, as the ones who were leaving sauntered toward the diner door.

  Gabriel pushed next to Tanya on the bench seat. The vinyl squeaked as he rested his weight on it. Gabriel signaled to the waitress. “We’re ready to order now.”

  Tanya slipped her hand onto Gabriel's thigh and squeezed it to give him some moral support. “It’s okay, I’m sure we can work this out,” she said, in a soft, kind tone.

  “I hope to God you're right. I’m not sure if I can face being a full human again.”

  Tanya dug her fingers hard into his thigh. Gabriel winced as he felt the tips of Tanya's claws. “Don’t talk like that. That’s a coward’s way of thinking,” she said.

  “Yeah, but —you know,” he replied.

  “Gab. You might be human, but you aren't a coward.”

  “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon,” Judy said. Her words were clear as they came through the speaker on the phone.

  Declan walked to the gazebo that sat proudly in the large garden of Noelle's parents’ house. He heard the babbling of the water in the fountain as it slowly cascaded down the custom, rock formation. It went into the end of the swimming pool.

  “Yeah! It is a bit quick, but I’m glad to say I'm better than ever. I was lucky, and Dustin was still alive, but it took a lot out of him to change and turn me back into a werewolf,” Declan replied, now with a smile on his face.

  “You’re not only calling to tell me you're back as Alpha, there’s something else. I can sense it,” Judy pressed. “You need help with something, am I right?”

  “I’m not sure if you're in a position to help or not, but Noelle's parents. Well, Edmund wiped their memories of Noelle, and now they’re like a pair of gibbering idiots. They have a memory as short as a goldfish,” he remarked.

  “Ah, I see. Is it only Noelle they are unable to remember?” Judy asked.

  Declan could hear the sound of the hospital in the background. The intercom was calling for doctors to rush to the ICU. “Do you have to respond to that call?” Declan asked.

  “No, it’s fine. I’m doing my rounds on the top flo
ors,” she said.

  “Her parents vaguely remember me, but as soon as they say they do, they go off on a tangent and talk about something else,” Declan said. “Is there anything Marina can do to help?”

  “Are you asking me to make another trip to the glades to see her?”

  “Judy, I sensed you knew her. I know we only had to go because of me. Is there a way you can speak to her?” he asked.

  “You sensed all that while you were here? You were smart as a human as well as a wolf?” Judy replied, with a giggle. “When did you realize I was related to Martha and Marina, Declan?”

  Declan pulled the middle of his brow together in a frown. He looked up and watched Noelle as she aimlessly walked around the garden kicking stones on the gravel path. She glanced over at him and smiled like a lost sheep.

  “I didn’t realize. I had a hunch. It was the way you acted with Martha. I know doctors are caring for patients and all, but you seemed more than a little familiar with her, as she did with you,” he answered.

  “To fill in the blanks, they are both my grandmothers. The family has long links in that field, so to speak, but Marina is the most powerful —as you would have guessed from her appearance.”

  “So, you can contact her on our behalf?” he asked.

  “Declan, I can do better than that. I can tell you what to do,” Judy explained. “Like I said, we come from a long family of gifted people.”

  “You're a witch as well?”

  “Declan, I’m not a witch. I know a few things though, it’s half the reason I became a doctor. And being a sort of witch, a wolf, and a doctor, well, let’s just say that I have the best of three worlds at my disposal.”

  “Just tell me what to do. I might not like the results when they get their memory back, but at least Noelle will have her parents,” Declan said.

  “You must truly love her to put yourself in that much danger.”

  “Excuse me? I thought you said I must love her,” Declan said in a quiet voice, so Noelle wouldn’t hear him. “I’m doing what’s right, that’s all.”

  “It all amounts to the same thing, Declan, it always does.”

  “Come on then. Let me have it. What impossible task do I have to do?”

  Judy paused on the other end of the line. Declan listened to the sounds of the hospital in the background. His mind flashed back to his trip —and how he was escorted by the cop, and then how he finally found Martha, just in the nick of time.

  “Right,” Judy’s voice crackled over the phone, “do you have a pen and paper with you?”

  “No, I’m in the middle of a garden,” he replied. “Hang on, I’ll ask Noelle to get one.”

  Declan stood up from the large slate table and called Noelle. She looked in his direction as he called and made the sign he needed a pen and paper. He watched her dive into the kitchen door and emerge a minute or so later. She dashed down the gravel path as Declan listened to her boots crunching on the fine gravel, like popping candy, under her feet.

  “Here you go!” Noelle panted as she dragged one of the heavy chairs and sat down.

  “Okay, pen and paper at the ready.”

  “Right. Now; you have to be careful. These plants can be dangerous, so don’t touch them with bare skin,” Judy explained. “You have to make them into a tea and get her parents to drink it.”

  “And this will work?”

  “Of course, you can’t wipe a person’s memory, well, not from an elixir. Edmund has only poisoned her parents, so their minds are blocked —not lost,” Judy explained. “That’s why they can remember you, and then they talk about something else.

  “Ah, I see. And what does this tea do?” Declan asked. Judy laughed, and Declan heard her giggles as they crackled out from the speaker.

  “It will expel the toxins that Edmund slipped into their body. Call them super-strength antioxidants,” she explained. “Make sure they drink it, and they have access to a bathroom, and plenty of water.”

  “That sounds bad,” Noelle added.

  Judy’s voice came from the speaker. “They’ll be fine by morning if you can give it to them tonight, but they are gonna poo, pee, and vomit like you’ve never seen,” she explained.

  “I’m not sure I want to see it,” Declan replied. “So, what are the plants called?”

  “Right, you need two full plants of Western Water Hemlock. You have to squeeze this and get two tablespoons of the oily liquid from them. Next, you need to find Larkspur, this has blue flowers, and you should find it where there are cattle, they love the taste, but it can kill them. From this, you need ten flowers,” she said. “You got that, so far?”

  Yeah. Two tablespoons of oil and ten flowers,” Declan said. “Next one?”

  “The last one is Locoweed and is common in dryish foothills. Again, with this, you need ten flowers which are a purple color. This is the one that really gets into the mind. The other two will blend with this and make the effects weaker,” she explained. “And don’t worry, they are all poisonous, yet together some weird stuff happens, and they have the desired effect you are seeking.”

  “I got it. Ten flowers for the two and the oil from the first one. How long do we have to boil it for?” Declan asked.

  “About thirty minutes. It might stink, but it’s supposed to taste nice.”

  “What do you mean ‘supposed to taste nice?’” Declan asked. “Have you made it before?”

  “There isn’t much call for memory recall potions in this day and age,” Judy said, “perhaps you should trust me.” She giggled.

  “I trust you,” he replied. “One last thing. Um, have you heard anything about the hunters down there?”

  “There are a few pockets of them roaming the glades, but I think these are doing it for sport more than anything. What about up there?”

  “They’ve gone quiet and are rebuilding. I’m sure the shit’s gonna hit the fan when Noelle's parents get their memory back,” Declan said. Noelle glared at him.

  “I better go. Duty calls and all that. Keep in touch, it was good to hear from you,” Judy said.

  “Judy; one last thing. Gabriel who used to be my beta ate some meat that was laced with the elixir, and he’s human now. Is there a way to reverse this, or would it be the same poultice I used?”

  “I’ll have to speak to Marina on that one. It’s different if it was ingested through meat than if it was drunk, or injected.”

  “You better get going, and we have some flower hunting to do,” Declan said. “And don’t forget to send some chocolate cookies to Marina from me.”

  “Will do, over and out,” Judy said as she cut the call.

  “Are we set? And do you know exactly what we have to do?” Noelle asked.

  “Yeah, I’ve got the list. Now, all we need is rubber gloves, a bag, and some transport,” Declan commented. “And a book that has wildflowers in it.”

  “We have everything. Dad’s got shitloads of books like that. Mom’s got rubber gloves. And, in the garage, we have transport. Is a quad bike any good?” Noelle asked.

  “Hell yeah! That’s more than ideal,” he said.

  “Let’s get this show on the road then,” Noelle said. She kicked her chair away from the table.

  “Lead me to the garage. I want to see this quad bike,” Declan said.

  “Oh, so you want to drive? I thought I was gonna drive,” Noelle replied.

  Declan grinned as he wrapped his arm around Noelle’s shoulders. “And why would you want to drive?”

  Noelle looked up. “Well, it is my quad!”

  “If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger.”

  Chapter 9

  Is There a Doctor Here?

  “The older you get, the better you get —unless you're a banana.”

  Gabriel and Tanya were the first into the bar. Half of the other pack members had gone back to their rooms, and the rest walked closely behind Gabriel. He knew it might only be the offer of a free drink that tempted them to the bar, yet he would try
to do all he could to keep them on his side. After all, it’s not every day your alpha tells you that he is, in fact, a human.

  Gabriel looked for the barmaid that had served him prior, but he could see no sign of her. It was a young guy who approached and asked for their orders. Gabriel scanned the room from the old, faded mirror. The number of jackets he could see was a lot less, and the drinkers appeared older than when he'd leaned up against the very same bar, only a day before.

  “You wanna grab a table mister, and I’ll bring the drinks over,” the young guy said.

  “Sure, we’ll be over by the window,” Gabriel replied as he stepped away from the bar and made his way through the half-empty tables. Tanya slid herself next to the window, and Gabriel squeezed himself next to her. The other four pack members took up the next table.

  Oliver (who had supported Gabriel from the start), and who everyone called “Ollie” for short, now turned his head. “How’d you find this place Gab?”

  “I’ve seen it a few times, yet never paid much attention to it. It was the other day I crossed the parking lot and stepped inside for the first time,” he replied. “We’re safe here, it’s a wolf den.”

  “I don’t wanna state the obvio—” Ollie started to say.

  Gabriel held his hand up and halted him, mid-sentence. “Yeah, I know, but that doesn’t mean everyone else has to miss out.”

  “Sorry, Gab.”

  The bartender walked to the tables and handed the bottles to everyone. Gabriel wiped the condensation from his and asked the bartender the curious question he’d been wondering about. “Where is everyone?”

  “They’ve all gone for an afternoon drive to the forest. They like to do it on a Monday when there are fewer walkers around. A little more peace to ride and roam where they want.”

  “You mean, they’ve gone hunting?”

  The bartender smirked and nodded a little. “Yeah. They can’t drink on an empty stomach,” he replied.

  “They do know it’s not safe at the moment, don’t they? There are hunters around who are gearing up for a war. It won’t be long before they start to show their faces again,” Gabriel explained.