The Alpha Within Her

Born beneath a veiled star, the masked one will wake the dormant storm.

Three carved from truth and terror;

One forgotten, one forsaken, one foreshadowed.

When the bloodline awakes, kings will fall,

And the lost shall rise,

To deliver or doom.

IVY

"Don't you ever say that again.", something shattered downstairs.

I jolted awake, heart slamming against my ribs. For a split second, I thought I'd dreamed it. 

My parents didn't argue.

Ever.

I lay still, listening. The house held its breath.

Then my mother spoke again, her voice lower this time. "She's not ready."

"She has to be," my father snapped.

I didn't understand the words, but they sank into me anyway, heavy and cold. I swung my legs out of bed before I could talk myself out of it.

The hallway was dim, the early morning light barely slipping through the windows. I had just reached the top of the stairs when a sound ripped through the house.

"Ivy."

My mother was there instantly, faster than I'd ever seen her move. Her hands settled around my shoulders, warm and comforting, turning me back toward my room before I could even look down the stairs.

"What's the matter?" I asked. They looked tense.

"Everything's fine," she said, smiling too broadly.  "Go back upstairs."

Behind her, my father stood at the foot of the stairs, his broad shoulders blocking my entire view of the living room.  He wouldn't meet my eyes.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing, my dear," he said. His voice was calm, but his jaw was set the way it only ever was when something drastic was happening.

My mother smoothed a hand over my hair. "We're leaving earlier than planned," she said gently. 

They didn't say where they were going. They never did. They didn't have to.

Today was the first red moon in the last six months, and wolves never took superstitions lightly. Mum and Dad would be out leading the others through the Ceremony of Lights, and as their tradition demanded they were to be away the entire weekend. Everyone was. 

Well, except me.

I tried not to let the emptiness seep in again. I should be used to it by now, but it never gets better.

I nodded my head stiffly, and my mum gave me a sad smile. 

"Stay safe, Ivy. Have fun on your trip, we'll call you," Dad said.

I watched them leave through the front door and go out into the street.  

Turning my back to the door, I knew that once I checked again, they would have vanished.