The Rival Alpha

The sudden jolt of the car after it ran over a strawberry-sized stone shook Excel from a deep sleep. His vision was blurry, but he could hear his grandma, Lolita, in the front seat talking to a man with a strange, deep voice.

"Have you talked to his mother?" the man asked.

"It was her idea," Lolita said.

Excel's head felt as if it were a set of drums being banged on by the drummer of his favorite rock band. He groaned as he brushed his long fingers through his thick hair, roughly. His vision beginning to clear.

"Take this." Lolita handed him a pill and bottled water. "You drank too much last night. Your mother is worried you might have drunk yourself into a coma."

Excel had just pressed the pill to his tongue when he noticed the trees outside. They were definitely not heading in the direction of home. According to the scenery outside the window, the car wasn't going to the place he used to live every day. Traffic wasn't evident. The houses were too far from each other, and though most of the houses were stone and brick, a few were still made of wood. Of course, not a skyscraper was to be seen. The car glided between rows of tall trees that limited the sunlight on the concrete road. Excel couldn't put a finger on where they were, but he knew it was not the penthouse in the city. They were heading somewhere rural. Someplace with land as far as the eye could see.

"Grandma! Where are we?"

Lolita spun her head around to face her grandson. "Welcome to my country home, Excel. We're in Tajana!" She announced it as if she were promoting the place.

"What are you talking about?" His brows wrinkled above his wide, glaring eyes.

"Your mother believes this place will help you. Well, she just cares for you." Lolita faced the windshield again. "She doesn't want to see you being molested by different girls again in your own room. Those cheap girls-how desperate can they be?" She rolled her eyes. Disgust pinched her face. "During my time, guys have to do everything just to get a girl. When my Dad was still alive, he would chase your grandpa with a bolo knife when he knew your grandpa wanted to court me. But since your grandpa came from a kind and rich family, and because my dad saw how decent of a man he was, my dad accepted him. Can you imagine how hard it was to have a girl during my time?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I had a blast last night!"

"What?" Lolita yelled. "They are going crazy over you, and you don't seem to care if they take advantage of you. You're just lucky you have your dad's looks and charm. Too bad that charm won't work here, because most of the girls here are conservative. You won't be an Alpha male here; only wolf leaders are called Alpha here. No, not a boy with a bad taste of street-fashion style, dreamy eyes, or even side swept hair he thinks makes girls go crazy over him."

Excel rolled his eyes and lightly shook his head. "Let's see, Grandma." Excel gave her a crooked smile. "An Alpha male will always be an Alpha male. They'll run to me even without this hair fixed or even without these clothes you've been insulting. In fact, when I'm naked, that is when they lose their sanity."

She turned to face him.

"That was so gross, Excel." Lolita raised a finger and pointed it to her grandson. "You know, honestly, I don't see anything attractive about you. I entirely don't understand why you are so wanted."

Lolita rolled her eyes and faced the windshield of the car again.

"How 'bout this?" Excel asked as Lolita peeked at him in the rearview mirror. He bit his lip, raking fingers through his hair. "Does this help me convince you that I'm attractive?"

Her eyes practically bulged. "Can you please stop doing that! I might threw up."

A teasing smile played across Excel's lips. "The girls can't really resist my charm."

"Excel Mariano! I'm not getting younger. It was awful, okay?" The wrinkles on her face became more obvious. She was in her late sixties, but her black dyed hair concealed her silver strands. Her tomato-red lipstick masked her lips' natural thinness.

Excel's attention shifted to the man driving the car. "Who is he?" He whispered as he bent forward to overcome his grandma's poor hearing.

Excel noticed the man had tan skin with dark brown eyes. His plaid shirt was neatly pressed along with his denim jeans that stretched his large stature. Excel thought he must have stood about six feet tall, judging from the length.

"This is Roi, your cousin." Lolita motioned to the driver.

"Good day, Excel!" Roi smiled. "You might not recognize me now, but we used to steal hens' eggs when we were five."

Excel sat back and could see his cousin's face in the rearview mirror peeking at him. He thought his cousin was a weirdo.

"I used to have a bad memory," Excel said blandly. "I guess nothing has changed."

Roi parked in front of a country-style house with a front porch. The roof was painted with gray and the rest were white, and it expanded approximately 2000 square foot, but Excel remembered it looking rustic and its porch almost falling apart. It could have been renovated.

A bella chicken coop was to be seen from a distance. Excel studied it but it really couldn't revive any memory. He was thinking it could also be renovated for it was painted the same colors with the house.

"We're here." Lolita pulled herself from the red Toyota pickup truck, struggling to get her feet stable on the ground. Excel imitated her motions, though he was much quicker. As he straightened his shirt, Excel noticed out of the corner of his eye Roi's large stature, confirming his assumption of his cousin's height.

Excel smelled the fresh green scent of a just mowed lawn as they headed toward the porch, where a white-bearded man was lying in a handwoven hammock by the window. As Excel walked closer, he saw a man who appeared to be close to Lolita's age. Next to him stood a wooden table with an antique radio playing a classical love song.

"Lucho, your grandson is here," Lolita shouted.

The old man stood up carefully as he studied Excel, trying to recognize him. After all, it had been thirteen years since they last saw each other. Lolita, on the other hand, had visited Excel more frequently leaving a special place in their awful memory.

"Excel!" Lucho walked over to Excel, pulling him into a one-armed hug. There was no excitement on Excel's face, although he hugged his grandpa back. "I assure you that you'll enjoy this place. You'll feel more connected to nature here. Infrastructures and internet are manmade. This is made by God, so this is true paradise."

Excel knew from the start that this was not his thing. His life revolves around the city. He even wanted to get out of the place already, and he knew he couldn't last there much longer especially with his boring grandparents as what he would describe them.

Excel looked at Roi, hoping he could help him. But Excel realized that even if he left that place, his mom would just send him back. His plan would never work. He knew he'd be imprisoned there for at least a few months and it would be smart of him to accept his fate.