Page 64 of Alpha's Claim

I need someone to speak to the bear and calm him down. He doesn’t trust me. Who would he trust?

All at once, I’m back in my body in the guest bedroom.

I open my eyes and sit straight up, startling the others in the room. Matthias, Lana, and Teddy all peer at me.

“Are you all right?” Matthias leans in to check my vitals, and I hold up a hand. I don’t want him to touch me. I’m about to try something I’ve never done.

If it works, it could change everything. But if I fail, I could lose my sister.

It has to work.

I turn to Teddy. “I need your help.”

Darius

There are murmurs all around me. I strain to hear, but my ears fill with the bear’s roaring.

And then it all fades, and I hear Teddy calling my name. “Darius.”

I see him clearly, striding out of the darkness towards me.

“Brother? What’s happening?” The darkness dissipates. We’re both standing in a forest clearing. I recognize every rock and tree. “This is where we grew up.”

Am I dying? Is this what people mean when they say their life flashes before their eyes?

“We need to talk,” Teddy says. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“I don’t have time for this. I have to get back to Paloma. She needs me.” I can feel the pain in the distance. Terrible things are happening while I’m asleep.

“She needs you.” He takes a step forward. “But you need your bear.”

“What?”

“Brother, listen.” He stares into my eyes. It’s like looking in a mirror, or would be if he shaved his bushy beard. “Embrace your bear.”

“I can’t.” I shake my head, retreating. “I can’t let him out.”

“You can. You must.”

“No. He’s too wild.” I turn around, and there it is, the trailer where we lived. The one that I destroyed. Its side is dented in. “He’ll ruin everything.”

“He can help. He can save you.”

“No. He can only cause destruction.” I can feel the hair growing on my chin, sprouting into a beard like Teddy’s. Maybe that’s why I shaved, to keep from looking too much like my twin. To keep from looking wild.

All for nothing. My bear is trying to break out.

“Look at this.” I wave a hand at our ruined trailer. “Look at what he did.”

“You have to embrace that side of yourself. You have to be who you were meant to be.”

“And Paloma? What if he hurts her? What if he scares her?”

“She’s strong, She won’t scare easily.”

“She’ll leave,” I shout.

He comes closer, and I push him away. “Like Winnie. Like mom.”