Elena

Michael 1985

I shouldn't be here. I know it's crazy, but I have to see it.

"Mike, let's go," Matt growls, looking at the building hurricane. "It isn't safe here."

"Go if you want," I snap, glaring at my little brother. "I'm not."

"This is crazy," Matt shouts at me. "Mom and dad will kill us if that thing doesn't!"

I couldn't leave. I had to be here. Every fiber in my being told me I was supposed to stand right here, that Elena would show me the answers.

"I'm not leaving," I repeat, turning to the hurricane. 

The wind was violently blowing, picking everything up in its wake. I could feel the power that went beyond nature in that violence, and it called for me.

"Mike," Matt begs again. "You don't have anything to prove."

If that were true, then why was I here? Why had I dreamed of this for six months?

The rain was coming down hard, soaking both of us to the bone, my hair stuck to my forehead, and the weight of the water made my jacket feel heavy. 

Even with my werewolf eyes, it was hard to see much. Even Matt was blurry in the storm. 

The waves crashed against the shoreline, and it was getting closer, a little more, and they'd hit us.

Just like in my dreams. What if I was still dreaming? It was possible. Sometimes I thought it was real, but I woke up safe in my bed, but no, this was the real thing.

My wolf, Luthando, was focused and ready for this. We both needed to face it. We couldn't run away now.

"Mike, you're going to be alpha," my brother growls. "What will this prove?"

"I need to know, Matt," I feel calm, unafraid of the risk. "I think she made a mistake."

"No," he shakes his head. For a fifteen-year-old, my brother was wiser than anyone I knew. That's why I asked him to come with me. It's a test for him too. "The moon goddess doesn't make mistakes like that!"

"I can't be alpha, Matt," I yell over the screaming storm. "I'm not meant to be the leader! You are!"

"You were born an alpha!" Matt screams, his eyes darkening. "It's in your blood!"

"It's in yours too, little brother," I smile. "I was just born first. That doesn't mean I'm supposed to lead."

"You've trained your whole life!" 

"And it's never felt right," I shake my head, focusing back on the storm. 

"That isn't a reason to come here and face a hurricane!" He waves his arms in the rain. "What are you trying to do? Get yourself killed?"

"I can't explain it, Matt," It was the truth. How did I tell my little brother when I turned seventeen? I started dreaming of this place and what the storm would show me? 

The storm grows as we stand there, and I feel my brother's fear, but he doesn't run away. Matt stands at my side like he always has since we were little, and the gratitude and pride I have is something I'll never be able to show him.

"Matt," I turned to him. "You can go. I know you don't want to be here."

Giving me a dirty look, Matt turns to the storm. 

"Yeah," He scoffs. "You couldn't have mentioned that back home?"

"I needed a wingman," I laugh, and it feels so out of place in the situation.

"You're crazy. You know that, right?" Matt yells with a stupid grin. 

"Yeah, but so are you, so I guess it's a family thing," I smile back before the worst of the winds picks up. 

In my dreams, Matt wasn't with me. I was always on my own, afraid, shunned, and the threat in front of me felt menacing and unthinkable to face, but with Matt at my side like this, I wasn't scared. I could do this, and I would be stronger for it. We both would.

The waves are monsters, reminding me of clawed hands reaching out to snatch us. The smell of the ocean raiding my nose and eyes, so they sting.

"What are we supposed to look for?" Matt yells. "What is it going to tell you?"

"I don't know!" I admit. "I guess I'll know when it happens."

"You didn't plan this out well, did you?" He demands, and I shrug.

"Not really."

"Fantastic," He growls, the black of his eyes showing. "Are you scared?"

"No," I turned to face him. "You're here with me."

I'm always with you. Matt mind-links me now that the storm was too loud. Even against dad.

'You can't do that!' I find myself saying. 'He's your alpha too.'

'And you're my brother.' Matt insists. 'That's more important.'

My father was the alpha of our pack, but he and I didn't see eye to eye on many things. Alpha Raymond Branker was a good man, but he wasn't a wolf who accepted his oldest son's choices.

To my father, the pack came first. There was no negotiating or leeway.

The storm was on top of us now. It took all my werewolf strength to stay grounded. It fought to lift us off the ground and devour us in its power, but I refused to allow Elena to take either of us.

The sand, rocks, and even trees lost the fight against Elena's might. She took it all without mercy, but not Matt and me.

I don't know how long we stood there, pushing against the wind and rain, maybe seconds or hours. It all felt the same. 

Was I crazy? I was here because of a dream! I feel doubt creep into my chest and spread through my heart and mind.

What was I thinking? My little brother would get hurt because of me. 

Taking a step back, I get ready to drag him away from the beach, but Matt grabs my arm, a strange, determined expression on his face.

'We're here, Mike. You can't run now.' There was something different in his thoughts, the tone he used. It was almost as powerful as my father's alpha tone.

Matt doesn't let me go, and I hold onto his arm, supporting each other. 

Not many people I know can claim their brother is their best friend. We were unbreakable because we had each other's back, no matter what. Matt knew he could count on me for anything, and I knew he accepted me for who I was.

When it feels like we can't resist the force of nature we're in, I feel a sudden calm flood both Luthano and me. 

A feeling of perfect clarity as the storm roars around us, but not touching the spot where we stand.

The calm eye of the hurricane was touching us, even though it was still out in the water. 

It's a humbling moment for a guy my age.

It shows me everything I am, ancient magic I doubt many people are brave enough to witness. 

I see my flaws, all of them, even things I didn't think I was capable of being, but I also see my strengths. The parts of me I could be proud of, and it's enough to force me to shift.

My jeans tear to pieces, along with my bomber jacket and t-shirt. Besides me, Matt does the same, so instead of two idiot boys staring at a hurricane, there are two black and gray wolves howling at Elena.

Matt feels it too. I can sense that through the connection we share as pack members. He sees what I've always known about him. He was a born leader, brave, wise, and meant to be more than just a mere warrior.

It wouldn't be easy for either of us. What had to happen next would change things for the future for both of us, and the risk would be the biggest gamble of my life.

I was not the alpha of my pack.