Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
“Yup.” Rika’s proud face and beaming smile made me want to just hug her and tell her how proud I was of her. “We spent all of yesterday talking about it and testing my powers. And even today, after we woke up. While we were talking about what happened, we figured out that I have to have an affinity for the wind or the air. Possibly the atmosphere itself. Also, when I moved on the wind, or through the air when I was invisible and all that, I was making the wind stronger. I was making it calm when I stood still and the faster that I moved, the faster that the wind around Lyssa, Alexa, Ashle, Kaede, Sophia, and Isabella was. It was amazing, and so crazy at the time too. I didn’t know that I could do that, so it really scared me in the beginning.”
“I am sure that it did, sweetheart.” I hugged her this time.
“It’s OK though. It’s OK to be scared of new powers in the beginning. Hell, Goddess knows that your mother and I had our fair share of moments like that. You think that I didn’t freak out the first time that I burst into flames. I leapt into a snowbank, for crying out loud. That was how freaked out I was. I had wanted to put out the fire to save myself.” Rika laughed at Joaquin’s words and I just smiled as I watched the two of them together.
“I would have liked to see that.” Rika said. “It would have been funny.”
“It’s funny now, but it was scary in the moment.” Joaquin laughed.
“It was funny in the moment too, just not for you. I remember that Shawn, Shane, and I were laughing our asses off at you. It was priceless.”
“Hardy har har.” He glared playfully at me. “And I can tell her about the first time that you turned into an animal other than a wolf. You couldn’t control it and when I called you a little bunny you actually turned into one. Now, that was priceless.”
“Wait, Mom, you have other animals too?” Rika looked confused by that.
“It’s a power that I don’t use often, but yes. As the goddess of shifters, I can become any animal at will. I haven’t tested the full limits of it, but I have turned into a lot of different animals. I have flown as an eagle, I have attacked as a tiger, I have been a bear, and so many more.”
“And obviously, a bunny.” Rika laughed now.
“Yes, and a bunny.”
The laughter continued for a little while as we talked about the past and Rika’s new power. We started to understand what it was that she had done yesterday and today while she was testing out her new ability. She was no longer scared of it, and she was getting used to seeing more than she used to, but that was sometimes annoying according to her.
“I am truly amazed by this, Rika. This is an amazing new ability, and it is even something that I can’t do.” I told her and watched her eyes light up.
“Really? It’s a new ability? D..does that make me special?”
“Rika.” I pulled her closer to me and down for a hug. Darn her for being taller than me. “You were always special, and you always will be. This just makes you even more unique and powerful than you already were. I don’t ever want you to think that you aren’t special.”
“Well, it’s just that I know that I won’t really have a special future. Reagan will be the next Alpha after dad, and Talia is taking over the underworld. I don’t know what Zaley is going to do, but I know that it’s going to be amazing. Zachary, Zander and Zayden are probably going to become betas to Reagan, Talia, and maybe even Zaley. When it comes to the six of them, I don’t really stand up that much with them.” I could see that Rika was feeling inadequate right now, and I didn’t really get why.
“Rika, you’re amazing as well. You’re smart, you have a head for magic, business, and everything to do with the pack’s politics. You’re doing amazingly well.” I tried to soother her worries.
“Yeah, your mom is right, Rika. You are amazing, and I don’t ever want to hear you say that you aren’t. And nothing is settled for the future, so don’t start counting your chickens before they hatch.” Joaquin backed me up in what I was saying. “You can do anything that you want to do, you won’t need to worry about it at all. And we will be here with you to make sure that you don’t fall too far.”
“Maybe that’s the problem.” Rika whispered. It was clear that she didn’t want us to hear that, so I had to stop Joaquin from reacting to those words. I knew that he wanted to know why she said that, I did too, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. We would find out later if we had to.
“Just remember, Rika, you are smart, strong, talented and powerful. You have amazing things waiting for you in the future. And we will let you figure out that future on your own.” I reassured her. “And I want you to know how proud I am of you, and how excited I am about your new ability. I know that you are still learning about it, but perhaps Gabriel will know something about it. He has a plethora of knowledge to explore. Why don’t you work with him to master your abilities? He helped me with mine as well, so I think that he would be the person to go to with your questions.”
“Alright.” She nodded and looked up at me. “I will see if Uncle Gabriel can help me. Thanks, mom.” Rika hugged me tightly and then turned to Joaquin for a hug. “I love you guys.”
Rika left after that while Joaquin and I were left wondering what had happened there at the end. I knew that Rika was happy about her ability, that wasn’t the problem here. The problem was how she saw her future. She was, for some reason, thinking that she didn’t have much of a future.
I am not saying that she thought that she was going to be a homeless bum, but she truly thought that she didn’t have somewhere special to be in the future, that she wouldn’t be able to help the pack or our kingdom. That was ridiculous. She was going to be as important, powerful, and special as all the others. She would see soon enough.
Looking past all of those things though, today had been quite the surprise. It had started off normal enough, but it had ended up being filled with so many surprising things. Reagan’s Lycan form, Rika’s new powers from the wind or air, or whatever it was. And the questions about the future. I hadn’t thought that any of this was going to happen, but I guess that just goes to show you how quickly the world can change, and how much there was to look forward to in the future.
“Hey, Joaquin?” I called out to him as I thought about it all. “Did you notice anything?”
“What?” He asked me with his eyes all wrinkled in confusion.
“Reagan turned into a Lycan on Friday, and Rika gained her power yesterday. Is that significant to you?” I asked him with a smirk on my face.
“It was their birthdays.” He answered right away.
“Their nineteenth birthdays.” I said as I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Do you remember what else happened on a nineteenth birthday?”
“Hmm, let me see.” He pretended not to know right away. “Wasn’t that the most beautiful wolf I had ever seen in my life on someone’s nineteenth birthday?”
“Aww, I am the most beautiful?” I nuzzled my face against his chest as he spoke.
“That you are, Little Bunny. You have always been my favorite wolf, as well as the cutest bunny I ever saw.” He laughed as he added that.
“You had to ruin it.” I laughed as well.
“It’s the truth, Little Bunny. Honest.”
“I know it is.” And it really was. He wasn’t lying about any of it. “I just can’t believe that the power of the nineteenth birthday hasn’t left our family. It wasn’t their first shifts that happened on those days, but they still gained a lot of powerful magic. It’s quite amazing.”
“That it is.” Joaquin pulled me up into his arms now. “And now that we’ve experienced so much today, let’s take a break in our room.”
“Horny dog.” I rolled my eyes at him but didn’t fight him.
“You’re damn right, I am.”