The Alpha within Her

Myla's POV

“Myla, you’re wasting your life!”

I slammed the door shut on my mom and dad as the words sunk right into me.

I hate this, I hate the way they think I'm the problem when they just can't understand me.

No one does!

I didn’t stop walking. I couldn’t.

My feet carried me down the street quickly, shaking as I struggled to keep any balance.

My whole body felt like if I slowed down, even for a split second, I would fall apart completely.

The air was cold, biting against my skin, but I barely paid it any attention.

“I don’t belong here…” I muttered under my breath. “I don’t belong here, I don’t belong here, I didn’t belong here…”

The words repeated over and over till they started to lose meaning to me.

I turned corners without thinking, letting my feet lead me anywhere but back there.

The streets grew quieter the more I went, darker too as I strayed where light couldn't reach.

But that was perfect for me, I didn’t want people. I didn’t want voices, I didn’t want—

My foot slammed into something hard, nearly tripping me over.

Pain shot up my leg and skipped a bit before shaking it off.

“Stupid—!” I yelled and kicked it again, harder this time.

The metal stuff rattled loudly, as it flew against a trash can.

“I hate this!” I snapped with my voice echoing faintly in the narrow alley.

I couldn't even tell when I had walked in here.

My eyes spotted another can on the floor and I kicked it wildly again.

“I hate this stupid life—!”

Then kicked another.

“I hate feeling like this!”

And another.

“I hate not knowing what is wrong with me!” I finally yelled and leaned towards a wall.

My chest rose and fell rapidly as everything spilled out at once.

“They don’t understand me,” I said with my voice cracking. “Nobody does, Nobody even tries to—”

I stopped all of a sudden as cause everything immediately felt off.

The air shifted and a chill ran down my spine.

And then, a voice whispered from right behind me.

“Maybe you weren’t meant to be understood by them.”

My entire body went still, and I jumped, turning to its direction.

“Who said that?” I asked, looking around.

The end of the alley was darker than it should have been. The end where it came from.

My heart started pounding faster and nothing happened. “Who’s there?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.

A figure moved slightly but remained hidden.

“No one,” the voice replied calmly, then paused for a second before adding, “Just someone who could help you.”

I pulled my brows together as I replayed his words, feeling my body tingle at the sound of it.

“Help me?” I repeated. “How?”

A faint chuckle followed from him.

“You said it yourself,” he murmured. “You don’t belong. You feel it, don’t you? That something about your life… doesn’t fit.”

My throat tightened, cause that was exactly what I had said.

“What if I tell you,” he continued, his voice smooth, almost too smooth, “that there's a place where people like you exist?”

My heart skipped. “A place?” I echoed.

“Yes.” He said, stepping closer, but still behind the shadows. “A place where being different isn’t a flaw… it’s expected.”

For the first time tonight, something inside me doesn’t feel suffocated.

It feels curious. “What place?” I asked before I could stop myself.

The figure tilted his head slightly, then reached into the darkness and pulled out a card.

He then held it out towards me.

“You said you want to escape,” he started softly, then paused.

“Consider this your way out.”

I hesitated for just a second before stepping forward and taking it.

The moment my fingers touched the surface, a strange feeling spread through my body.

“What’s this?” I whispered.

And the figure stepped back, retreating into the shadows.

“An invitation,” he said, and just as I flipped the card around, he added;

“To the place you were always meant to be.”

The card felt heavier than it should be all of a sudden.

I stood there, staring at it like it might suddenly explain itself if I looked long enough.

My fingers turned it over and over, flipping it back and forth, like the answer was hidden between its edges instead of on it.

An academy?

For special people?

The words echoed in my head, louder than they should have been.

Especially one word… special.

I almost laughed, but the sound never came out. Cause something about it didn’t feel like a joke.

It felt like it had a target, like it had found me, not the other way around.

My grip tightened around the card.

Special how?

My throat went dry as I lifted my eyes back to where he stood in the shadows.

“How?” I finally asked with my voice coming out quieter than I intended, but it carried enough weight.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he simply watched me.

That silence stretched for a while, pressing against my chest, till I had to speak again.

“How do I get there?”

This time, he moved slightly. Not forward, not backward. Just enough to remind me he was really there.

“Follow the instructions on the card,” he said in a calm voice, like this was normal.

Like handing a stranger a mysterious invitation to somewhere unknown was an everyday thing.

“And when I get there?” I pressed.

“Show them the card,” he replied. “They’ll tell you what to do.”

That sounded simple. Too simple.

I frowned, dropping my eyes back to the card as I examined it again. The instructions weren’t… normal.

They weren’t direct. No addresses, no names. Just vague directions, fragments, and movements.

Turn here. Stop there. Look for this. Wait for that.

It felt less like directions and more like a test.

“I don’t even know who you are,” I muttered, half to myself, half to him. “And you expect me to just—”

“One more thing.”

His voice cut through mine and I looked up again.

“When you get there,” he said slowly, “flip your card.”

I blinked. “What?”

“It’s only the light that will show you the way.”

A chill slid down my spine. “What does that even—”

I stopped, cause something felt different all of a sudden.

Everything suddenly felt too quiet, too empty.

My brows pulled together as I looked fully up at where he had been standing.

Nothing, the space was empty, completely empty, like he was never there.

My breath caught in my throat and I turned slightly, scanning the area as my heart began to pound harder with each passing second.

He was gone. I didn't see him walking away, didn't catch him vanishing off, he just… left.

A shiver ran through me as I stepped forward with my eyes locking onto the exact spot he had occupied just seconds ago.

“Hello?” I called, but got no answer this time around.

I swallowed hard, stepping back this time as my fingers tightened around the card again.

Did he even exist? The thought hit me harder than I expected.

Cause the way he had vanished… it wasn’t normal. It wasn’t possible.

My gaze dropped slowly to the card in my hand as memories pushed their way forward.

The times I had sat in a room full of people and still felt invisible.

The conversations where I nodded along, pretending I understood, pretending I heard a word when I wasn't even listening.

The friendships that I never quite fit in.

The moments I zoned out, staring at nothing, feeling like something inside me was… off. Different.

Wrong. Or maybe not wrong. Just… not understood.

My chest tightened.

Nobody understood me. Nobody even tried.

I pushed out a breath slowly, shaking my head like I could push the thoughts away, but they remained, refusing to leave.

But, what if… what if this was the answer?

My eyes dropped back to the card again.

An academy for special people.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Special.

I didn’t feel special, I felt out of place. Disconnected, if you'd say. Lost won't be too bad.

But maybe… that was the same thing.

My heart pounded harder.

This could be nothing.

Maybe a trap, or a joke, or a mistake.

Or… It could be my only way out.

The only way that wasn’t the same dull, confusing, suffocating routine I had been living in.

I let out a long breath, closing my eyes for a moment.

Then opened them again as I felt the words already forming.

“I have to go.”