Master Alpha

Rhea sighed and ran a hand through her auburn hair. She had changed into a black t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts with black tennis shoes. She closed her eyes briefly, trying to expel the guilt from her mind. She hated keeping secrets from Lincoln, he was her best friend; but first and foremost, he was Master Alpha, and her duties as his guard trumped her obligations as his friend. She kept reassuring herself that she was correct in not mentioning Lillian just yet. She knew that a Nanta being sick for two days worthy of the Master Alpha being informed, but she also needed to examine the child herself first. She exhaled slowly as she opened her eyes. Examination aside, Lillian’s mother was one of Rhea’s oldest friends. Rhea felt personal attachment to the situation, which further fueled her worry of not telling Lincoln sooner. He could see it as a weakness, but I have to know how bad she is first, she thought.

Rhea knocked on the door in front of her and shook her head to clear her thoughts. A soft smile formed on her lips as Lillian’s mother, Diana, opened the door. Diana had brown hair that fell to her collarbone, her brown eyes dull with exhaustion and worry. Diana was wearing a green sweater with a pair of grey sweatpants, her arms wrapped around her body tightly. The weather itself was rather warm and sunny outside. She’s suffering from a psychological cold, Rhea thought. Diana’s worry and exhaustion was affecting her body physically, manifesting as a constant chill on her skin. Rhea instantly embraced her friend in her arms, hugging her tightly. Diana did not return the gesture, just nodded slightly. Rhea released her and noticed Levi, Lillian’s father, come up beside Diana. Levi’s short blonde hair was messed harshly, as if he could not stop himself from running his hands through it in frustration. His green eyes mirrored the dullness in Diana’s, his face hard. He was wearing a red t-shirt with a pair of jeans.

“Thank you for coming, Rhea,” Levi said softly.

“Of course,” Rhea nodded. “How is she?”

“No change,” Diana said and motioned for Rhea to enter their house. Rhea smiled and nodded as she walked into the living room.

The living room had a couch directly in the middle of it. A bin of toys was pressed against the wall near the hallway, an assortment of toys splashed against the floor as they overflowed from the bin. The kitchen was on the other side of the hallway, dirty dishes littered the sink. They can barely function, and I do not blame them, Rhea thought. A sick child would render human parents immobile unless it was to tend to their child, but a sick Nanta child is much worse. For humans, medications had been created for just about any sickness that the race had encountered. For Nantas and Decants, their bodies had no reaction to medicine. Their immune systems and metabolisms were so strong that they would more than likely just burn medication off.

“She still doesn’t know what happened?” Rhea asked as she faced the couple.

“No,” Diana said as she shook her head.

“She didn’t eat anything weird or hurt herself? Nothing?”

“If so, she isn’t telling us,” Levi sighed.

“Can you take me to her?” Rhea asked.

“Of course,” Diana said. Levi sat down on the couch as Diana led Rhea down the short hallway. There was one door on the left, one door on the right, and one door at the very end of the hall. The door at the end of the hall was open and revealed the bathroom within. Diana knocked on the door to the left softly. “Lillian,” she said as she opened the door. “Rhea is here to see you.”

Rhea entered the room and offered a small smile to the child. Lillian’s blonde hair was disheveled as she snuggled beneath the pink blanket around her. Her blonde bangs were matted to her forehead with sweat, her white skin paler than a normal Nanta. Rhea fought to keep her face neutral as she observed the child. Lillian’s brown eyes were nonexistent, pale red eyes in their place. Her fangs were drawn, her body well on alert. Her eyes and fangs would not return until she was healed. Exhaustion enhanced the paleness of Lillian’s face, her eyes mere slits as they struggled to remain open to look at Rhea. The poor child has been trapped in her defensive reaction for the last two days, Rhea thought bitterly. Being kept on full alert in Nanta form is tiring after an hour or two, but for days? That mixed with whatever sickness she has, Rhea was actually impressed that Lillian was even conscious.

“Hey, pretty girl,” Rhea whispered as she sat beside Lillian on the bed.

“Hi,” Lillian’s soft voice replied quietly. Rhea gently brushed Lillian’s bangs off her forehead, her skin hot to the touch. Her body is fighting hard, Rhea thought. “Are you going to help me feel better?”

“I’m going to try, but I need to ask you some questions first, okay?” Rhea said. She noticed Lillian fidget ever-so slightly, a nervous tick. So there is something, Rhea thought. She placed her palm against Lillian’s left cheek, then shifted her gaze to Diana. “Could you please grab a cold washcloth and a glass of chilled blood?”

“She won’t keep blood down,” Diana whispered.

“Really?” Rhea asked in surprise. She had not been told that Lillian was not eating. “Water then.”

Diana simply nodded and exited the room. Rhea’s eyes settled back on Lillian. “Sweetheart, you need to be honest with me,” Rhea said softly.

“I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“I know, honey, but you’re not eating now. We can only go so long without blood before we turn feral.”

“I’m hungry,” Lillian said softly. She quickly closed her mouth as Diana returned. She placed the glass of water on the bedside table and handed the washcloth to Rhea. Rhea nodded and gently pressed the cool fabric against Lillian’s forehead. The girl shuddered briefly at the temperature change, and Rhea used her free hand to tuck the blanket tighter around the child’s body. “I’ll be out in a bit, D,” Rhea said, her eyes locked on Lillian’s. Whatever happened, she will not confess to it around her parents, Rhea thought. She heard Diana sigh, followed by the door closing and footsteps retreating down the hallway. “All right, little one,” Rhea said softly. “Where were we?”

“I don’t want to get in trouble,” Lillian repeated.

“Sweetheart, you’re sick and you’re starving. All that your parents care about is you getting better,” Rhea said.

“Not just with them, but with Master and Luna, too.”

“Why?”

“ ’Cause I did something that I wasn’t supposed to.”

“Honey, I understand that, but you need to tell me. Whatever happened, it is not worth how bad you are feeling right now,” Rhea whispered. She gently pat the washcloth against Lillian’s cheeks, then laid it across her forehead again. “Besides, I’m not just one of the Master Alpha’s guards, I’m one of his friends. Let me worry about dealing with him and Master and Luna, okay?”

“Okay,” Lillian nodded, then took a deep breath. “I ate a coyote near a farm.”

“A farm? Lilly, the closest one is almost a day away. Are you sure?”

“Yeah. A few other kids wanted to go explore it, said that there were such fat cows and pigs to feed on. We left super early, like right after sunrise. Mom and Dad know that I explore and I’m gone for a while, so it’s nothing new. We made it back after dark. That was new and I got in trouble. I said that I lost track of time.”

“Lilly, you know that you aren’t supposed to be around humans without your parents,” Rhea said slowly. While Lillian was old enough to defend herself, she was still a child to her Nanta vampire. Children were not strong enough to fight off their bloodlust until their teenage years. They were not denied being around humans entirely, but they were required to have their parents with them in case their bloodlust struck.

“It’s not like we went inside the barn, just wanted the animals!” Lillian piped up. “But they were all behind this tall, pointy fencing, so we could not get to them.”

“Did the other kids eat with you?” Rhea asked, but she knew the answer; the other kids would be sick as well if they had.

“No, they just ran home super fast to eat. But I was so hungry. Coyote didn’t taste right, though, but I was starving. I didn’t eat before the trip, I had to eat something to make the trip home,” Lillian said. Children accessing their Nanta speed was such an exhausting process that she had to eat to replenish her strength and calm her hunger, Rhea thought. Most Nantas know better than to use their speed for such a travel, but these are children; they know that it is bad for the, which gives them a thrill when they do it.

Rhea sighed. The coyote had been poisoned. Rhea had heard talk in town the last time that she had visited that there had been coyote attacks on cattle. While some farmers had fencing, some allowed free range cattle. The farmers had tinkered around with some sort of poison that their animals were repulsed by simply by smell, but coyotes were drawn to it. And bears, too, I think, Rhea thought. Master and Luna were aware of the situation and had expanded the electrical fence boundaries around the village but had told Rhea that Decants’ noses would be sharp enough to distinguish between poison and food. Aside from that, Luna had enforced feeding before the full moon harshly amongst the Decants. They were rather far from the humans, but an attack on humans was always in the back of Luna’s mind. Unfortunately, the electric fence was only live during the full moon, allowing everyone to come and go as they please during the rest of the month, which was how Lillian was able to wander as far as she did.

“Are you mad at me?” Lillian whispered.

“Lilly,” Rhea sighed. “Of course, I am. You know that being around humans is reckless. What if it hadn’t been a coyote, but a human? You have to wait until you’re old enough to be alone around them, you know this.”

“But we weren’t. We were outside—”

“On human property,” Rhea interjected sternly. “Humans present or not, had your parents been with you, they would have known to not feed on the coyotes. Humans do things to critters to keep them away.”

“Am I dying?” Lillian asked as her eyes bugged out of her head. It was the most of her eyes that Rhea had seen so far.

“Not if I can help it,” Rhea said as she heard shuffled footsteps in the house. Someone else is here, she thought. She sighed and removed the washcloth from Lillian’s forehead. She switched the washcloth with the glass of water and motioned for Lillian to sit up. Rhea handed the glass to Lillian and ran a hand through her hair. She had an idea of what could cure the child but obtaining it would be next to impossible. Lillian took a gulp of water and handed the glass back to Rhea. “For now, you rest,” Rhea said as she placed the glass back on the bedside table. Lillian curled back up beneath the blanket. Rhea bent down and kissed the child’s forehead, the water not assisting in cooling her skin. “You will need your strength for treatment, so get a lot of sleep. Please, try to keep some blood down. At least try to drink it.”

“I will do my best.”

“I know that you will, you are so strong,” Rhea smiled. She stood up and exited the room. As soon as she closed the door, a voice spoke up.

“Treatment?” Lincoln asked quietly. Rhea signed and ran a hand through her hair again as she faced him. He had his large arms crossed over his chest, curiosity etched into his face. He was leaning against the door directly opposite from Lillian’s. She walked over to him and motioned for him to move his arms. He dropped his arms to his sides as she pressed her body into his. She wanted to keep their conversation as quiet as possible, which means she needed to be as close to him as possible. “Yes,” she whispered as she looked up at him. “Linc, I was going to talk to you about this after her exam.”

“I know, Ray, but this is serious. You should have come to me sooner. What is the verdict?”

“I need you to bring your parents here. I would rather debrief everyone together. Plus, you and I will need their help with this.”

“Give me twenty minutes,” Lincoln nodded.