Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
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Joaquin
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I sensed something that was coming closer to me. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. Something was throwing my senses into overdrive, but all I could smell was me and absolutely nothing else. Not even the ash from that monster that had died right above me.
“Is someone there?” I called out like an idiot. If someone was there, they couldn’t be a friendly being. Not with them sneaking up on me like this.
“Hello, Joaquin.” I heard a deep rumbling voice coming from behind me. Nervously, I spun around to look through the darkness toward the voice. That was when the flames erupted.
Standing in front of me was a large black wolf that was covered in flames. It was me. Well, my wolf form.
…..
“Wh..what is going on here?” I asked him. “Who are you?”
“I am you, Joaquin. Can’t you see that?” He didn’t smile, not really, but I felt the smile in the words.
“Am I dead?” I knew that I had to be.
“Not yet. You are hanging in the 鈥榠n between’.”
“So, what happens now?” I asked him, confused about this whole situation.
“You need to choose to hold on and fight, or to move on and watch.” His words were calm, but the meaning behind them sent me into a panic.
“S..so I can decide if I stay or go?” I asked him, my heart racing faster than a bullet train.
“You can. The fight might be painful and long though. That is your decision to make.”
“I choose to stay!” I screamed at him. “I don’t care how long or painful it is, I don’t want to leave my family. They need me. And I need them.” The vehemence in my voice was intense, but my wolf looked unfazed by it.
“Good. Now you must get to them.” My wolf looked up then, and that was when I saw that there was a sheer rock face in front of me. It had to be at least three miles high, at the very least. “You need to drag yourself away from death and return to them. The underworld already has its claws in you, Joaquin. You need to drag yourself out of here.”
“Fine. I’ll do it. I will get back to them.” I tried to shift into my Lycan form then. Than I would have no problem climbing up the wall. But it didn’t work. I stayed myself.
“You need to do it yourself, Joaquin. No other form but that one.”
“Fine.” I snapped at the wolf. “I will still get to them.” There was a small light at the top of the wall that had to be home. I just knew it.
I ran and leapt at the wall, digging my claws in and sinking my fingers into the solid rock. It was hard, but my will was stronger than it was. And I wasn’t going to give up. Not yet.
I climbed and climbed, sometimes sliding backwards just a little. I clawed my way up five hundred feet and then slipped back by about fifty or so. Then I continued some more. Up, up, up, slip, slide down, and repeat.
If I was so close to death, then I didn’t think that my hands should hurt so much. Why was the rock hurting me? Was I closer to life now that I was climbing? I had to be, since the rest of my body was on fire again. And that was when the climbing got harder. That aching in my body was so much worse that I felt like I could barely move, but I still refused to give up. I was going to get back to them. I just knew that I was.
Just then, I heard the sound of someone whispering to me. At first, I could barely hear them, but I strained my ears and finally made out who it was. It was my mate, my wife, the only woman that I would ever love. And she was begging me not to leave her.
“Joaquin? I love you, Joaquin. I love you more than life itself. And if it wasn’t for the kids, I would die to save you. Plus, I don’t think you would like it if I died all that much. So, come on, Joaquin, you need to live. You need to fight this.” She was right. I didn’t want her to die for me. Not like that. I was the one that needed to protect her.
Another sound came soon after that. More tear filled voices that threatened to tear me apart.
“Daddy, please don’t leave us. We love you so much. I love you so much. And I need you, Daddy. Who else is going to protect me when the others say something mean about my hair? Who is going to put me on his shoulders and carry me around? I need you, Daddy. Don’t leave me.”
“I need you too, Daddy. I need to learn how to be a man from you Daddy, no one else will do. I need you, Daddy, more than anyone will ever know. A..and I am scared, Daddy. I don’t know how to be me without you.”
“Please don’t leave us, Daddy. You’re our dad, and no one else will ever be able to replace you. We need you.”
“Daddy please, stay with us. You can’t go. You just can’t. We can’t be a family if you’re not here with us, Daddy.”
“Please, Daddy. I am sorry that I was a brat recently. I am sorry that I insisted on being there for the battle. If it wasn’t for me, you might not be hurt. Please, Daddy, you need to come back to us.”
“Come on, Dad. We need you. Remember, Dad, you’re the strongest man in the world. If you can’t survive this, what does that say for the rest of us? We can’t survive without you, Dad. We need you.”
“Please, Daddy. You can’t leave me, Daddy, please. I don’t want to lose anyone else in my life, especially you. We need you, Daddy. You’re so strong, so brave, and so smart, I know that you can make it through this.”
Those were the voices of my kids. All of them were begging me to stay with them and not leave them. They were telling me what I already knew, but I still needed to hear it. They needed me. They wanted their daddy, and I didn’t want to leave them.
They weren’t the only ones that were speaking to me. I heard Riley, Landon, and Trevor. They were my friends, but they were also like my brothers. They have been a part of my life since I was a kid. They were the only family that I really had for a long time. And they didn’t want me to leave either.
Then to break my heart even more, more people were speaking to me, begging me not to leave. I heard Eve, Riviana’s mom, and then Wesley, her dad. I heard Samuel, my stepfather, that was also Riviana’s grandfather. My little sister Ivy who had been born after the quadruplets had been born. Then I heard Mom come over and tell me that she still needed me. I didn’t want to hurt my mom by dying like this. She had lost Dad and I never thought that she was going to be able to move on. I can’t hurt her with another loss like this.
“I’m coming. I swear to you all, I am coming back to you. I am not leaving you. None of you. I swear that I am on my way back. Just hold on a little longer, OK. I swear, I will be there soon.”