Behind The Alpha Book 2 WES

THEA

I feel light. I feel my hair blow in the wind. My eyes slowly open and I see the world is far below me. Above me is a very large feathered body. Its large, powerful wings beat at the air currents and we soar through a star filled sky. My vision is blurry. The voices that constantly run through my mind are fading. The songs of the forest are falling silent. My connection to the trees is being cut as the poison fills me.

As I hang from Jesse’s large talons, I can barely see the earth below.

‘Jesse.’ I weakly link.

‘Hold on, Thea. Hold on.’ He grits.

He flies over mountains and tall city structures. His eagle screeching across the sky.

The black enters my mind and my world dies. I no longer have the power of my element. The part of me that loved the trees is hanging by a thread.

Jesse dives down fast. My vision barely sees the rock walls that surround us. He flies fast between them in the long deep ravine.

It feels like forever. He twists and turns. The massive red rock whips by. Jesse banks and glides along this wall and that one as he make the turns. He screeches again and I open an eye.

I get a glimpse of a shining pool of water at the bottom. He dives deep toward the ground and as we get over the water, he lets me go.

The fall feels slow as he large toes open and I tumble to the pool below. My body falls limply. My hair blowing up above me. I hit the surface and the water surrounds me.

The water feels cool on my burning skin. I float slowly to the bottom. I can’t hear anything. I can’t see anything. I can’t feel anything. In the dark of the bottom, I’m struck by a gold light then another and another. I arch back as my body is coated in electrifying light and the water boils around me.

I feel the connections rebuild. I hear the song of the trees rejoice as I gain their hearts again. I see Wes in my mind and feel his happiness and pain. I feel my heart and the whispers of the wind in my mind return. I feel the connections to my sisters again.

The light penetrates my wound and enters my body. It fights the black out of my veins.

I begin to feel whole again.

The light frees me and I swim to the surface. I breach the waterline and gasp for air.

Treading water, I look around. I’m at the end of a deep crevasse that goes on for miles away from where I am. The pool I’m in is encased in stone brick. I look up and the edge of the ravine is hundreds of feet up.

There’s a gold staircase that traverses up the wall. I swim to the edge and climb out.

I use my power to lift me off the ground and up to the top. I land on the dirt floor of a desert.

I look through the massive break in the mountain. Phoenix City.

Jesse’s eagle dives to me. He shifts in the air a few feet off the ground and lands on his feet.

“You gone done it now, little girl.” His stern eyes look me over. He runs his hands through his medium length light brown hair. His hardened face looks at me like a disappointed parent. His voice is harsh in his old time cowboy accent.

“Jesse...” I swallow. “I know what I’ve done. I didn’t mean to…” My eyes start to sting.

He walks up to me. “I know you didn’t. Why do you think I told you to stay in the forest? Thea, this world…It isn’t built for you, darlin’. There’s a lot you don’t understand. When you try to understand it, you git yourself hurt. You need to make this right.”

He rubs my arms and looks into my eyes.

I suck in my top lip and nod. “I know.” I say quietly as my chin quivers.

“Now, that boy of yours. He’s seen ya. He’s gonna have a lot of questions. Do you want me to take you back to him?” He leans down and talks to me like the brother I’ve wanted for a long time.

I nod again and throw my arms around his waist. “Jesse, I’m sorry.” I cry into his chest.

He holds my chest. “I know, darlin', I know. Now, we need to fix it. Do you have the medicine?”

I nod yes as I push back. I wave my hand and the jar of green water appears in my hand.

“Good. It should help with the wolf fighting, but we have to hurry. Get on.” He stands back and shifts back to the eagle. I hold the jar and jump on Jesse’s back.

He screeches and takes off into the air. As much as I’m dreading Wes' questions, my heart wants to see him. Face him. Tell him I’m sorry for everything I’ve done. I want him to know none of this was to hurt him or his friends.

I look at the jar and hug it as Jesse glides through the air. “Please work.” I pray.

****

WES

I want to sleep, but I can’t. Thea is consuming my mind. Not just her dying in my arms, but is this what she’s been hiding from me? What else had she been hiding? I’m afraid to find out because if I search my head, I want to question everything, but if I search my heart, I love her. I don’t want this to be ruined. Do I want to care what she is? Do I want to find out what she’s about? I don’t know how to handle this.

I waited throughout the night and day. My injuries from Artemis have healed now and I wandered through the trees, trying to ground my emotions and think of things rationally.

When I enter a small clearing, I stumble upon a huge oak tree. Just standing alone with all the other trees surrounding the grassy edge of the space. It was huge. I’m surprised you can’t see it when you fly above the trees. It’s so…prominent.

I tilt my head and walk to it. I chew my lip as I look up at it. It seems different to me.

‘People miss a lot when they don’t listen…’

Theas words ran through my mind as I side eyed the trunk. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but ok.

I raise my hand and place it on the rough bark of the tree. I feel my toes in the grass at its roots. I take a deep breath and listen. I close my eyes.

My body shivers as a growing sound comes out of the darkness of my mind. It's…voices.

I tilt my head to get a better understanding. The song was airy, soft and magical. There were many of them all singing at once. I felt warm. Safe. Connected.

A smile pulled at my lips as the song got louder and more beautiful. The nature had a music I never knew was there. They spend their time in our world silent, yet just past the veil is a whole voice. A feeling. A love. Wanting to be heard, but we are too consumed by our own thoughts, it’s missed. I don’t know why I’m afforded to listen, but I’m honored for the feeling of it. This is something I could never give anyone. It took someone like Thea to make me want to receive it.

I bite my lip as the notes fill me, they present a thousands images in my head, of the trees all singing. Expressing their happiness, their fears, their sadness and pain. All of it is felt as it travels across my arm to my heart.

As it fades back into the black of my mind, my ears hear the loud push of feathers across the sky. The eagles call spreads from the orange and red sky to my ears.

I step out from the large canopy and look up to see Jesse’s eagle soar past. He circles the entire clearing above the trees and rights himself for a landing. The wind from his wings bends the tall grass. His large feet spread out for impact. He holds his regal, white head high and his powerful eyes look me over as his gigantic wings tuck to his sides.

I step to him and he lowers his head to the ground.

I watch as Thea slides down to the grass.

My face softens. My mouth goes small and my brows stitch up. All the confusion I felt before the tree, came flooding back.

She’s carrying a large jar with green liquid.

My heart is relieved she’s OK, but my brain is suffering with what she is.

Her long strips of varying hue fabrics blow gently around her long legs. Her hair blows with them.

She blinks at me with her child like face. She presses her lips together. She looks extremely nervous. I furrow my brow as she seems to glow in the falling sun.

I don’t know how to feel right now. My dream girl is gone?

She walks up to me and holds the jar in front of her thighs. I can hear her heart beat faster.

I take in her beauty as the air shines around her. “Please make me understand this.” I feel heated and scared what this may mean.

“I can try.” She barely looks at me. “Before I do. I want to tell you, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

I turn my head slightly. “What do you mean? Hurt me?”

She looks back at the Eagle who nods. She turns back at me. She sucks in a pained breath and I can see tears build in her eyes. She hitches. “I’m a Dryad. A wood nymph. I take care of the trees and animals in this forest.”

“Okay. A wood nymph.” I hesitantly nod. “You’re like what a God or something?”

She shakes her head. “A deity. Part…deity.” She finishes quietly.

“What’s that mean, part?” I grow more curious in my stare.

“I’m part shape shifter.” She breathes in a shaky breath.

I suck in my top lip. “You’re a shifter.” I look down at the grass.

“Wes, I’m sorry. I meant for none of this happen. I only wanted to make you happy, but I kept making mistake after mistake and you looked so sad…I thought if you were with me, you’d be happier, so I took solid form and…”

“Wait…” I hold up my hand and stop her as I realize what’s she’s saying. “How long have you been here?”

I see pain cross her face and her tears get bigger. “Just over sixteen years.” She hitches.

My eyes widen. “You’re my stalker. You’re the one that’s been following me around everywhere?”

Her chin quivers as she nods.

I try to keep calm, but to know how I felt and what I went through, I can’t…I just can’t.

“You lied to me.” My chest hurts and my stomach feels sick.

“Wes, please. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know…” She steps closer.

“Didn’t know?! You made me feel like I was insane and you could have revealed yourself at any time, Thea!’ I threw my arm out to the side.

“I know now, before you were so new, Wes. All I wanted was to know you, but I was too scared to talk to you.” A small tear runs down her cheek.

“All the things that happened to me. All the people who thought I was insane. You watched while I suffered thinking I was losing my mind. You just watched!!” I pointed at her.

“I'm sorry!” She cries.

“Then what?! Get in my head! Read my thoughts! Pretend to be a girl you think I’d like! You tricked me, Thea! You played with my head!!” I tap my temple in anger.

She cries a little more. “Wes, please. I made a mistake.”

“Yeah, well, your mistakes, almost ruined my damn life!” I feel more betrayed than angry, but I’m confused on how to feel. I watch her shrink into herself and I don’t think I care right now.

“What else have you done, Thea? Tell me.” I demand.

I see the eagle shift to Jesse. He stands off to the side.

“Thea!”

She flinched a little at the sharpness of her name.

“I used magic to keep you safe in the unit. I only wanted you safe from Artemis…”

I point into the trees and lean to her. “You mean to tell me, my friends are killing each other because of you?”

“I didn’t know of this red moon. I had no idea what it meant. I swear, Wes. When I performed my persuasion charm, I didn’t know this would happen. Please. You have to believe me.” She sobs.

“Oh, I believe you. I believe you’re selfish and inconsiderate. I believe your malicious and dangerous.” I grit at her.

“Hey, now. Why don’t you ease up, there. The poor girl didn’t know what she was doing.” Jesse walks up beside Thea.

“Not at the beginning, but you did know. You found out what you were doing was wrong, but you continued. You continued to manipulate me. Trick me.” I glare at both of them.

“I promise. I didn’t do it on purpose.” She slowly shakes her head at me.

I look at the trees and back at her. “I can’t deal with this right now. I have friends to save…from you.” I sneer. I shift and run into the woods towards Falcon Ridge.

I hear Jesse’s eagle fly above my head.

I don’t want to be mad. I don’t think what I feel is anger in any way. It’s just more so that I wanted Thea to be so perfect and she’s not. She lied to me. Pretended to be someone she wasn’t and for what? To get at me. To mess with my head and my feelings. She played me and it fucking hurts like a bitch.

Just when I thought we had something. I knew it was too good to be true.

She claims she didn’t know. In my job, ignorance isn’t an excuse. So why do I want it to be? Does that apply here?

I can’t think of that right now. I need to save my friends and find River. I don’t think he’s dead. I don’t feel like he is. We have to find him and stop Artemis from getting what he wants.

Only then will I be able to find out why I still want to love Thea.