AN: If you don't get it then it's not for you to understand (;
Ignore the table in the corner of the picture, imagine a log there instead.

I've officially posted definitions/world situation in the "Welcome" Chapter. If you have questions that aren't answered in the chapter then feel free to PM/DM me.

I shoot up from my sleeping bag looking​ for the threat. I can feel it creeping along my skin, lurking in the remaining darkness of dawn. My eyes stay locked on them until the shadows are obliterated as the sun finally makes itself known.   

I nearly have a panic attack when I don't see Micheal sleeping beside me. My first thought is that they took him while I was distracted. I have to clamp down on the rising emotions of grief, anger, guilt, and sadness so that I can focus.

The first thing I do is search his spot for signs of a struggle. His sleeping bag is neatly rolled up so I know that he didn't leave under duress. The tightness in my chest and eyes lightens but I can't help think that he was coerced out of the tent somehow.

Using my heightened hearing, I listen to the surrounding forest. None of the woodland creatures have stopped in their daily activities on account that I've woken up panicked, which is a good thing. It means that they don't sense anything dangerous enough to flee.

Of course they're wary of our wolves but we aren't a big enough threat to send them into flight mode, at most they'll seek refuge high up in the trees. So if they're calm then the danger has passed and it's long gone.

Micheal's safe, if he was snatched then the woodland creatures wouldn't have come back until the next day. I feel a pang in my chest because it was my dad who taught me these things. We used to camp together and just listen. I push the memories away- they're still painful.

Instead I quickly grab my notebook and write down what I remember before my sleep filled mind clears, forgetting everything.

Even as I write, more and more details become blurry. I know that I was somewhere dark, there was no moon outside which didn't bother me at first.

It was when the shadows started randomly popping up that I began to crave the light the moon provides.

I can't really remember but I recognized some of those shadows. I felt blazing anger, crippling sadness, and confusion which is an odd combination. I should've felt betrayal because....

then they attacked me without the slightest hesitation.

Each shadow took a bite out of me and I kept trying to fight but it never made a dent in their attack strategy. The pain I felt was all too real so I ran to reach a place in the distance but I couldn't really make it out of there.

It was just too far away. 

The shadows toyed with me until I couldn't even stand, blood spilled from everywhere and in places I could even see through the muscle to startling white bone. I screamed and screamed but they didn't care.

Their intention was clear- I was to die in this place where the moon can't watch.

I felt claws stripping away my skin, teeth ripping away my flesh but even as I went to swing, I hit nothing but air. The last thing I remember is forcing myself to get up on a mangled leg to fight them head on.

A shudder rushes through my body and suddenly I can't remember a thing from my dream. My memory fades to fog, a glance at my watch tells me that it's mid morning and I'm not at all surprised. Normally I get so lost in writing and reminiscing over nightmares, time passes me by.

My notebook goes back to it's place and I begin to do some light stretching on top of my sleeping bag. I may be a hopeless fighter in my sleep but I'm a force of nature when awake, and since it's the honest truth I need to loosen up my tense muscles and relax.

It was just a stupid nightmare. I'll analyze it at a later date, right now I need to feel alive.

I step out of the tent in my neon sports bra, a pair sweat pants, and my favorite neon running shoes. For some reason I hate running with any type of sleeves touching my arms.

I look around and notice that my brother isn't near our camping spot. I shrug off my minor concern and start on my serious stretches.

Not even ten minutes later, Micheal appears. He has some cut up wood in one hand and freshly killed rabbits in the other. I glance in his general direction but then my focus goes back to making sure that I get each muscle group.

I teach every wolf that their body is a well oiled machine. Each part has to be taken care of in order for the machine to work properly. As soon as you skip something, even the tiniest of the parts, I can almost bet that that's the one that will cause you problems later on.

Micheal knows that I take my stretches seriously so he doesn't bother me.

Instead he drops the wood he's collected, sits on a log, and starts skinning the rabbits. We don't have to worry about Jenni eating, her wolf probably took care of their hunger last night. 

There's a ruffle in the bushes to our far right and then her blonde wolf saunters in. She looks quite content with herself but the she slowly tenses as she approaches us. It's time.

"Ah don't worry little wolf, it's not as scary as you're making it out to be." Micheal says as he stands up stretching.

She snaps her teeth at him and doesn't make a move towards us. I can see why she'd be irritated, it's not like he has to worry about not being accepted into the pack.

Jenni's wolf is nearly the exact opposite of her. Jenni has always been the ultimate diplomat, she wouldn't snap in irritation, instead she'd calmly defuse the situation. Her wolf gives no fucks about politeness and I can respect that.

Micheal of course, doesn't appreciate her insult and growls with his eyes darkening in response. The wolf doesn't seem to notice or care because her eyes are trained on me. Almost like she's waiting for-

'Dammit.'  I nearly shout out loud. I finally connect the dots, admittedly slower than needed, but I didn't expect this. Good l thing I've already stretched.

I slowly get up and make my way over to Micheal, all the while keeping my eyes on the she wolf. He's glaring at her but she's only concentrating my deliberate movements.

"Micheal." I say calmly to get his attention.

"Yeah?" He asks. Our eyes meet and hold, it's almost like looking into a mirror of our dad with a couple of features from mom. Both comforting and painful.

"Her wolf sees me as the Alpha, not you. Her fight is with me." I explain while turning to look at Jenni's wolf. She nods her head in conformation and huffs a bit like it should've been obvious.

"What? You don't have your wolf Bex." Micheal says confused. He doesn't look offended in the slightest at not being considered the family Alpha.

It's moments like these that make me extremely proud of this male. I even smile a bit.

Instead of being offended like many of other Alpha males or males in general, our brother takes the information that he isn't considered the strongest of us females in stride. I can't blame him for being confused though. I'm confused too.

We both thought that in situations like these both participants have to be in wolf form. But then again I am a special case since I'm not insane and I still have a pack.

Micheal and I give each other quick nods of mutual understanding.

I feel a nudge on my metal barriers and I know that Micheal is trying to mind link with me. I let him into my mind while simultaneously bending over to untie my running shoes. All of my movements are slow so that the Jenni's wolf doesn't attack prematurely. She's eager to get this over with so any sudden movements on my part will set her off.

You have to get her to submit. Micheal tells me.

What? I ask confused.

You have to get her to submit, Jenni has to accept that there are some wolves that she cannot and will not fight. Her wolf has to learn the chain of command and that starts with family to then translate to the entire pack. Micheal says. He sounds a lot older and more mature than the little boy I grew up with, but then again he is a grown man running a pack.

Shit. I respond and take off my sweatpants. Her claws are sharp and I don't want her shredding them.

Don't stress it. Her wolf chose you as the Alpha of this family. She feels the need to prove her worth but she's a young wolf, if you don't make her yield then she'll go into the pack fighting everyone just because she'll feel the urge to do so. Micheal sounds so knowledgeable. I feel bad for not talking to him as much after everything happened, neither of us knew what to say so we stayed silent. There's so much I don't know about him now, I won't make the same mistake with Jenni.

How in the hell do I make a wolf kneel? I ask. It's a rhetorical question but there's still a spark of hope I have that he might know the answer.

Micheal laughs but doesn't say anything else to me, he just shrugs his shoulders and soon I feel him leave the mind link completely. The useless oaf.

I sigh deeply and analyze the wolf before me. Her head's around three or four feet off the ground with paws the size of small desert plates. I can almost bet that her sharp claws are about 2 inches long, enough to seriously tear into my hide. The more I look, the more I don't see there being anyway I can escape without serious damage to her or to myself. I've fought people in wolf form before but they weren't my baby sister so I've never had such a dilemma. 

The blonde wolf starts to pace and I know that her patience with me is growing thin, soon she'll attack whether I'm ready or not.

"Go over there." I command, pointing to the free space next to the tent. We don't need to be tearing up our little shelter over this.

While rolling my shoulders back and forth, I follow her. The leaves crunch under my bare feet and I even feel the sharpness of a rock or two. My walk may be quiet but Jenni's is damn near untraceable. Her wolf moves with a sureness that can't be anything but natural prowess.

When I get a good several yards away, Jenni's wolf starts a slow circle which I follow. I know that she's trying to find a weakness in my stance but it won't work. Her wolf doesn't understand a skins way of fighting and even then, Jenni knows only enough to protect herself. She's never cared about becoming a Gamma or about learning the different styles of fighting. Which means her wolf is shit out of luck.

So that means her wolf doesn't know that my hands being by my sides is potentially dangerous because it leaves my torso open to her fangs/claws. She also doesn't know that my posture is a little straighter than needed for facing an opponent that's lower to the ground. Micheal can see my flaws but he doesn't point them out from his spot on the log. He's silent, both he and his wolf are watching.

Jenni's wolf snaps her teeth a couple of times but I don't flinch, as a matter of fact I give her no reaction. Soon she'll have to attack but her wolf doesn't want to do that.

Yes, she wants to prove herself but instinctively she knows that skin form is the weaker of the two and that it's all I have right now. And yet I'm still the Alpha of the family in her eyes. It's a catch twenty-two. She doesn't want to hurt me but us fighting is the only way to end this.
I guess it's up to me to start this thing.

"Bring it." I challenge while lowering my body slowly in preparation. When her wolf looks into my eyes, she sees nothing but a daring smugness. 

Jenni's wolf then proceeds to lunge for my throat.

AN: Sorry for stopping it here! This chapter was getting too long.