Perigee

Chapter 1

He has haunted me for nearly my entire life. The strange man with tattoos that cover his body and the thick, long red robe he wears. At first, he only appeared in my dreams. He would talk to me, giving me advice, listening to my complaints. He started appearing in the day time when I was 6. My parents thought I had an imaginary friend. But he's real. I've always known he’s real. Even now at the age of 20, I can still look over and see him. Sometimes I think I might be crazy… and given what I’ve been through, maybe I am. All I know is that I have five years to figure out who he is and what his connection to me might be, or I lose him forever and might just condemn my pack in the process.

He first began appearing in my dreams the night of my fourth birthday. He was always far away and no matter how hard I ran toward him, he was shrouded in mist. He seemed to want to get to me, too, but there was a barrier. Each night, the dream was the same. I would run and run, but he was so far away until one night, he wasn’t. I remember this dream vividly. He smiled at me and I felt exhausted. I’d been dreaming about him and trying to get to him for three months. “You did it!” he exclaimed proudly.

“What’d I do?” I asked, puzzled.

“You passed the first test,” he told me.

“What test?” I asked.

He laughed. “You’re going to become a great Alpha one day… but you have to pass these tests to do it. You never gave up in trying to find me. So you passed your first one.”

“But you’re in my dreams every night!” I exclaimed. “There’s nothing else for me to dream about!”

He sat down next to me in the blank whiteness of my dream. “That’s the cool thing about this… you can make anything you want happen here!” he told me. “Where’s your favorite place to be?”

“Uncle Peter takes me to the park a lot! I really like that!” I yelled, getting excited.

“Then think about the park. Concentrate on it!”

I scrunched my eyes tightly shut. “There’s lots of grass! And a jungle gym!”

“You don’t need to tell me,” he said. “I’ll see it.”

When I opened my eyes, we were in the park. But there wasn’t a line to use the slide, and the swings rocked themselves. “Cool!” I shouted and darted off. For the rest of the night, I dreamt of playing in the park with the strange man watching me.

The man let me explore my dreams and taught me how to create a world of my own. Together, he and I had adventures every night. It was fun. Before I woke up, he would always tell me: “You are destined to become a great Alpha.”

***********************

Breakfast and dinner were sacred in my house. My mom and dad always cooked together while Uncle Peter rounded up me and my sisters, getting us all to wash up for the meal my parents had prepared. My uncle lifted me up so I could reach the sink. My oldesr sister, Laura, set the table and Uncle Peter fought Cora into her high chair which was set up next to mom’s seat. Mom prepared a plate for me and Uncle Peter passed it down. Once everyone had food, my dad started to say grace. I was so hungry that as soon as he said “amen” I started digging into my meal.

“Did anyone have anything cool happen to them?” Dad asked. Dinner was family sharing time. Usually, I recounted my year old adventures of bugs I caught and the one time I accidentally shifted after falling out of my favorite tree. But today, I had another story I wanted to share. My hand shot into the air so fast my arm cramped. Dad chuckled, “Alright, Derek… you first.”

“I had a dream last night and the guy in my dream told me that one day I’m going to become a great Alpha just like you, Dad!” I boasted, proud of myself. Dad’s eyes lit up.

“Is that so?” Dad humored me. “Maybe I need to start giving you Alpha lessons!”

Laura scoffed. “I’m the oldest. I’ll become Alpha next. You’re never going to be an Alpha!”

I took that news worse than when I found out Santa wasn’t real. My bravado deflated like a popped balloon and tears immediately welled up into my eyes. I ran out of the dining room as Mom and Dad scolded Laura.

In my despair, I ran to my favorite tree. Using my claws, I shimmied up to the highest branch I could sit on. My werewolf hearing hadn’t quite developed yet so I couldn’t hear the lecture Mom and Dad gave to Laura, but I saw Uncle Peter stroll out. His claws stabbed into the bark and he climbed up. “Hey buddy,” he cooed.

“Is it true?” I sobbed. “Am I never going to be an Alpha?” Uncle Peter shrugged. “It’s not fair! Just because Laura is the oldest… I’m strong! I’m brave! I can roar! I can be a good Alpha, can’t I?”

He sighed. “Come down. I want to tell you a story.”

I followed him down. He picked me up and let me ride on his shoulders, something I enjoyed doing. “I knew a little boy whose dad was the Alpha. He was the older son and he knew he was going to be the next in line for Alpha, but his dad wasn’t so sure. Do you know why, Derek?”

“No,” I replied. “Why?”

He picked me up off his shoulders and set me down, bending over so our faces were inches apart. “Because Alpha will go to the wolf who is the strongest, bravest, and has the best roar. Let me hear it!” I mustered up my best roar, which at 6 sounded more like throaty yelp, but I was damn proud of it. Uncle Peter clapped, standing up. “That’s an Alpha roar,” he told me.

***********************

That night, the man told me his name: Stiles. He told me he was magic and when I told him what Laura said, he promised me he would help me become an Alpha, but I had to complete the rest of the tests and I only had 19 years to do it. At the time, that seemed like an eternity.

I asked him what my next test was. “I wish I could tell you, buddy. But you have to complete it before you know. It’s the rule.”

I crossed my arms disdainfully, pouting my lips out. “I hate rules!”

He smiled, ruffling my hair. “I do too. But you’ll figure it out. You’re a smart kid.”

“I’m not a kid!” I protested. “Uncle Peter says I’m an Alpha-in-training!”

He threw his hands up in the air. “My apologies. You’re a smart Alpha-in-training!”

I wasn’t fooled. “You’re making fun of me! Stop it!”

“I’m not making fun of you, buddy,” he said, kneeling so he was more my height.

“You promise?”

“I promise,” he held out his pinky and I hooked mine.

“What kind of name is ‘Stiles’?” I asked after the pinky swear was over.

He chuckled. “What kind of name is Derek?”

“My name is normal! Yours is weird,” I told him.

“I’m magic. Where I come from, mine is a very normal name… it’s just as normal as ‘Steve’ or ‘Bob’,” he explained.

“Then why didn’t your parents just name you ‘Steve’ or ‘Bob’?” I asked, as though that were the most obvious thing in the world.

“See?” he laughed. “I told you that you’re a smart kid!”

I clenched my fists and growled, “I’m not a kid!”

He winced. “Sorry… forgot… Alpha-in-training.”