LIGHT AND SHADOW: The Tale of the True Blood Female Alpha

Jason’s POV

Click! Flash! Something about this characteristic sound always makes dopamine gush through my veins. So, while my classmates stay busy practising moves and strategies, I sneak around the campus with a professional camera, capturing moments and freezing them in time.

I am Jason Wilmar, the future alpha of Crescent Moon Pack. You got that right! No need to read again. I am indeed the future Alpha of a powerful and rich pack.

What? I should be focusing on my studies and training? I know that. I should be more hardworking and ambitious? I know that too. Groans inwardly. My father and teachers already nag me enough. Hope you won’t judge me the way they do. I wish you can understand me and my dreams better than them.

Clicking pictures to me is like breathing is to you. I don’t want to spend my time doing anything else. I don’t want to be caught in the midst of crossfires between power hungry, ambitious and crazed packs.

***

“Jason,” a sweet, hesitant voice sounded to my right. Turning my head, I found a cute girl staring at me intently. She wrung her hands and blinked, hesitating to speak further.

“Yes?” My lips curved into an inadvertent smile. “What can I do for you?”

“I… I… Jason…” she stuttered. Her face flushed, and she lowered her gaze. “I want…” She swallowed hard, squirming under the undivided attention I was giving her. “I was wondering…”

Taking a step towards her, I lifted her chin with my forefingers. “Why are you stuttering so much?” I lowered my voice to a whisper, “Don’t tell me that you want me to kiss you…”

“NO!” she squeaked as her eyes widened in horror. Shaking her head vehemently, she continued in a flustered voice, “I.. I just wanted you to click a picture for me. I…umm… My article is being featured in a school magazine. I don’t have a decent photo. So, I thought…”

“So, you thought you could just come up to me and ask me to click pictures for you?” I completed her sentence, taking another step towards her, my expression hardening. I did like clicking pictures, but if I went around taking photos at every request, my passion would turn into an exhausting chore

Tears brimmed in her eyes and she bit her lower lip, “I am sorry, Senior. I shouldn’t have bothered you.”

My eyebrows knit together, a tinge of pity taking root in my heart. I rubbed the back of my neck, thinking. The girl had a perfect heart-shaped face and a sharp nose. She could be the perfect model to try the bokeh effect.

“Stand sideways next to that pillar and place your palm against the surface at the level of your chin.”

“What?”

“Don’t you want to take a photo?” I said, slight annoyance seeping into my tone. “Stand there like I said.”

“Yes, sure, thank you Jason…” she chirped happily, hurrying to follow my instruction. Pressing her palm against the tiled surface, she looked at me with a dreamy expression. Arrgh! Did she have to make it so obvious that she was smitten?

Letting out an exhausted sigh, I adjusted the angle of my camera, applied the required effect, and pressed the button. My lips curved into an excited smile, seeing the effect. This girl was really photogenic.

“Senior?” she spoke up in a hesitant voice. “Can I see the picture?” She leaned over my shoulder, but before she could look, I tapped the power button, turning it off. “Not so easily, Love.” Patting her shoulder, I added, “If you want a copy of this photo, go on a date with me.”

The color drained from her face and she gaped at me like she had seen a ghost. I chuckled. She was quite adorable. It wouldn’t be that annoying to get her to pose in some of the locations I had wanted to try.

“If you don’t want to go on a date with me, it’s fine.” I shrugged. “I will just delete the photo.”

“NO!” she blurted quickly. “I mean yes…” Her face flushed, and she lowered her gaze. “I would like to go on a date with you.”

“Cool then…” I waved at her. “I will text you the location and time when I am free.”

Her gaze lingered on me for a long moment before she finally turned and walked away, turning once to look at me. She seemed perfect to take a hair flip photo, too. A contented sigh left my lips. Seems like I had found the perfect model to try all the variations I had always wanted to.

“Jason!” A familiar voice sounded at a distance, followed by the restless noise of hurried footsteps. Startled, I spun around to see my best friend, Arnold, running towards me.

“Run! Hide!” He mouthed, waving frantically. “Lucifer is looking for you.”

His words hit me like a punch in the gut. I froze, my hand wrapping around my camera in a protective gesture.

“Jason!” He howled, closing the distance between us. “Why are you still standing like a statue?” Shaking his head, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me behind him.

Together, we sprinted to our favourite hiding place; a small cabin like store room located at the rear end of the High School. It was an old, dilapidated room that was barely used.

“One day, you are going to get all of us killed,” Denver grumbled, opening the creaky wooden door. He had hurried over with the keys while Arnold came to get me. Jared stood beside him like a statue, watching us sprint towards the room with a bemused expression.

His eyes lit up all of a sudden. “Are you two racing against Lucifer again?” A small smile formed on his lips. “He has just turned the corner; he won’t…” The rest of his words trailed as Denver grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him inside. Arnold and I rushed after him, closing the door a split second before Lucifer, the dean of our campus, spotted us.

“That was a close call,” Denver gasped in a breathless voice as he leaned against the pile of boxes. “That was Jason’s Nine hundred and ninety-ninth attempt to get us killed!”

“It’s not my fault that you guys always come to my rescue.” I said, my voice mingled with heavy breaths from all the running. “You can always choose to ignore me.”

“Hey!” A heavy clap landed on my back. “You know we would never do that. Isn’t it Jared?”

Jared didn’t reply. He was staring at me with a complicated expression. “Denver said that you are going to get us killed. How are you getting us killed?” he asked, his blank gaze drifting from Denver to me. “Did you hire a sharpshooter, the ones that they show in movies?”

“Jared, my love,” Arnold clamped his mouth shut with his palm and gritted out. “I don’t have the energy to answer that right now. So, please keep quiet.”

“But…” He mumbled against Jared’s palm. “Denver said that__”

“Here Jared.” Denver handed him his phone. “Look at this video. It is so funny.”

That distracted him at least for a few moments. But his intent expression soon turned into a scowl. “This is not funny.” He shrugged. “Those pups are just yapping at each other and rubbing their eyes.”

My chest rumbled with a mixture of muffled laughter and pants. “Jared? Can you do me a favour? Please count the total number of flowers on the tiles.” Pausing for a moment, I added, “Quietly.”

His eyes lit up immediately, and he bobbed his head as if he were given the greatest honour in the world. His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at the floor with deep concentration.

The corner of my lips tugged and my hand clasped around my camera in an automatic gesture. Focus… zoom… click… flash!

“Wow, Jason….” Arnold looked over my shoulder. “The lighting, angle, effect, everything is so perfect…”

“Agreed…” Denver’s face lit up with admiration. “You are the only one who can make a place like this look attractive.”

The smile on my lips widened, deepening the dimple on my left cheek. “Every ugly object, place or even person has a beautiful angle. You just need the eyes for it.”

“Jason Wilmar!” The dean’s booming voice shook the walls of the storeroom, making my heart skip a beat. “If you don’t step in front of me within two minutes, I am calling your father!”

“Hey, Denver…” Arnold whispered. “Why does he always threaten us with Jason’s father? Can’t he be a bit more creative?”

Arnold hadn’t even finished speaking when another voice sounded; a deep, gruff but magnetic voice; one that made my heart sink and legs go weak.

“Jason Wilmar.” He called out but a single name. His tone was low and mellow, yet all of us, even Jared, turned pale with fear. When Lucifer said that he would call my father, he wasn’t referring to a phone call.

A deep frown settled on my forehead, and I pressed my fist to my mouth. What was my father doing in the campus? There was no escaping now. After all, he was the Alpha of our pack. Nobody could disobey his direct command.

Drawing in a deep breath, I unlatched the door. My gaze lingered on my friends, who had scurried behind the large box for a moment. Then, I stepped out.

“Alpha,” I greeted, keeping my gaze fixed on the ground. He didn’t reply, but I could sense his fury. He was radiating such intense anger that I could feel it in my bones. He was probably going to insult me in front of everyone; maybe even hit me.

A streak of rebellion dispelled the fear that had gripped me. He could do whatever he wanted. I would never give up on my passion. Closing my eyes, I braced myself for what was to come.

“Why are you loitering around the campus instead of training?” His voice took on an icy edge. “It is that stupid photography again, isn’t it?”

Slap! A forceful strike landed on my right cheek, making me splutter a mouthful of blood. Slap! Another strike landed on my other cheek with equal intensity. This time, I staggered a few steps backward.

“Kneel!” his words made my knees go weak, and I dropped to the ground with a thud. That is how it works in packs. One command from your Alpha and your body betrays you, turning you into a puppet that dances to his wish. Your will means nothing unless you are born with a bloodline more powerful than the Alpha. A sigh of resignation left my lips, and I hung my head in defeat.

“Give me your camera.” His next command made my heart go numb. Raising my head to look at him, I gasped, “Alpha, please…”

His expression hardened, and his eyes locked on mine. “Give me the camera now. Today, I will eradicate the root cause of evil.”

My fingers curled into tight fists and my teeth clenched down. I tried to fight against his command, but I was just too weak. My hands moved of their own accord. Taking off the camera, I handed it to my father.

KRRR! Crack! Smash! That was the sound of my camera being broken under the brute strength of his muscles, the sound of my dreams being stomped under his feet.

I had worked secretly for months to buy the camera. When my father found out about it, I toiled under his command for another two months before I was finally allowed to keep it. All that was in vain now.

My chest congested painfully, squeezing the air out of my lungs. My lungs were burning with the lack of oxygen, but the air refused to gush in. Why did he have to put so many restrictions on me? Why was it so important for me to train and learn? Why couldn’t I spend my life doing what I loved?

The millions of questions swirling in my head made me dizzy. My sight grew bleary and my father’s voice turned into a distant buzz.

The broken remains of the device smacked against my face, making me gasp. The air gushed into my lungs again, clearing my vision. I blinked my eyes, still a bit disoriented.

The aura surrounding my father had darkened to a point that it made me shudder. It made me realise that I had probably crossed his limit of tolerance. I should have been more careful.

“You better get your act together, Jason. The next time, it won’t just be your stupid camera.” His gaze drifted over my shoulder, peering into the storeroom.

A sense of intense dread gripped my heart. This was the first time he had used my friends to threaten me and honestly, I didn’t know how to deal with it.

“You know what to do.” He spat, before spinning around and walking away with long, calculated strides. The students that had gathered around us scrambled backward, making way for my father and Lucifer.

What followed was a heavy spell of oppressive silence. For the next two minutes, all I could hear was the mingled sound of erratic heartbeats and heavy breaths.

“Jason,” a sweet voice dripping with panic pulled me out of my trance. Diana ran over to me and cupped my face, her eyes brimming with tears. “H… how did this happen? Why are you bleeding?”

“Here, press this to his lips.” Another feminine voice sounded to my right and someone handed a handkerchief. Someone handed her a bottle of water. Diana soaked the handkerchief with water and wiped off all the dirt and blood carefully.

Soon a bevy of girls formed a tight circle around me; mumbling, consoling, and Goddess knows doing what. My brain was too buzzed to pay attention to them.

Amidst the chaos, a few phrases kept repeating.

“How could his father hit him in the face?”

“What if it leaves a scar?”

“It would be such a shame if his handsome face gets ruined because of this incident.”

What was wrong with these girls? Did they always leave their brains at home? Being from the Alpha Bloodline, I healed pretty fast. There would be no trace left by the next morning.

“Hey, look at that….” A delighted squeal sounded. “That cut is already healing… See, it’s smaller than before.”

“That is a relief. I was worried that he would become like that Ugly Orc.”

“What!? Are you mad, Lily? How can you even think of making such a comparison? Even if Jason’s face is battered completely, he would never look as ugly as that fudge.”

“That would be enough, girls,” Arnold’s firm voice pierced through the humdrum as he made his way towards me. “Let us take him to the infirmary now.”

Diana and the other girls stepped aside, making way for Denver and Arnold to reach me. It had always been foes before hoes for me, and the girls usually respected that.

“Are you okay?” Arnold asked softly, his concerned eyes boring into me. “Sorry, we got a bit late. We had to take Jared to the dorm.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he continued, “He started panicking when he saw your father__”

“How is he now?”

“We gave him meds. He is sleeping__”

“What are you two doing?” Denver interrupted, his restless gaze drifting over the girls who were listening to us intently. He bent over and picked up the broken pieces of my camera. “We can talk about that once we are alone.”

Mouthing an apology, I followed them out of the stilt area. “Thanks buddy,” I said, once we were in the empty corridor. “As much as I enjoy their attention, that was a bit OTT.” Letting out a sigh of relief, I added, “If I had stayed there a bit longer, I would have died of suffocation.”

“That is what you get for being handsome,” Arnold teased, elbowing me. “You should have looked at their expressions when they were fawning all over you.” He burst into a peal of hearty chuckles. “I swear I almost died of amusement.”

Groaning in frustration, I ran my fingers through my hair, “By the way, do you know who has the nickname ‘Ugly Orc’ on our campus?”

“Not really, but I can find out.” His eyes lit up, and he wiggled his eyebrows. “Why do you want to know about her?”

“Curiosity.” I lifted my shoulders. “Someone made an offhanded comment.” Pausing for a moment, I added, “You know what, just let it go… I am not interested… Don’t waste your time.”

If only I had chosen to investigate her that day, I could have prevented my world from turning upside down.

Asini’s POV

“She is here…”

“Who?”

“The Ugly Orc…”

“What! I thought she would drop out after what happened yesterday.”

“I know, right… If they had teased me like that, I would have died of humiliation.”

“Her skin is as thick as her face is ugly.”

“Do you know how her face got burnt?”

“Who cares, Laura? I just want her gone. The mere thought of having her in my class revolts me.”

“You are right, girl. I can’t concentrate with such filth littering our class.”

Groans, grumbles, mocking jeers; that is how my classmates welcome me whenever I enter the class. Every once in a while, when they are bored, they resort to other means; throwing books or papers at me, pushing me around, pulling my hair, tripping me. It is usually bearable.

The only time I really got scared was when Caleb poured a bottle of cold water over my head. I don’t know what I would have done if Edna hadn’t arrived on time and blocked me fro