Chapter Text
It is the sound of the wind in the trees that wakes El. The rustling of leaves as if they are whispering to each other stirs her. Normally the forest is quiet at night with only the occasional animal noise but tonight it is as if it is alive whispering that something is coming.
Something is coming. El can feel it moving in her chest, a promise bubbling up inside her that tomorrow will be the start of something different.
She shifts out of bed tucking the sheets up by her pillow to keep the heat in while she investigates outside. She moves silently through the small cottage, her feet brushing across the ground silently. She expertly avoids the loud floorboards and makes her way to the large wooden door unclicking the deadbolt and pushing it open. The gust of wind hits her nightgown lifting it slightly as she stares out into the darkness.
From her spot on the small porch she can’t see anything but she feels it. Something watching from the darkness. She moves off the porch down the two steps and towards the edge of the forest.
The trees rustle again.
“Closer. Closer” They whisper, pulling her towards them with every rustle of leaves. “Closer.” Her feet rest on the fallen branches and leaves they poke at the soles of her bare feet but she is numb to it, focusing on the voice calling for her to come closer. El can’t tell if it is the trees calling her now or if maybe it’s an actual voice luring her deeper.
She takes another step and another flinching slightly as a stick pierces her heel but she keeps moving forward. She's past the first line of trees now her body hidden behind the large trunks but he saw her before she had a chance to get further.
“El!”
The spell breaks and El whips around staring back towards the clutch of wooden shacks. She spots him then. Steve Harrington. The night guard. How had she not seen him? Surly she had passed right by him to get into the woods.
“El! What are you doing? Get back here it’s not safe!” Steve paces, agitated, his eyes trained on the forest as if something is going to fly out and grab her. El moves back towards him for no other reason then to calm him and prevent an aneurysm which is where he’s heading at this rate. She reaches his side and immediately Steve has hands on her shoulders as he looks her over from top to bottom.
“Are you hurt?” He asks, taking her chin in his hand and turning her head from side to side checking for scratches or cuts.
“No. I’m fine.” El whispers letting him look her over again more for his benefit than her own. Satisfied that she is in fact unhurt he goes to step away before zeroing on her bare feet.
“El! Where are your shoes?” He was back to panicking as he pushed her onto a nearby log to check her feet. While Steve was known to be protective of the pack, tonight seemed to be more intense than usual. Nonetheless El allowed him to brush away the dirt on her feet trying not to flinch away at the ticklish feeling.
“I am okay Steve” she assured him patting at his hair which he was quick to shake her hand off of.
“Your foot is bleeding. Come on, I'll take you to get cleaned up.” He rises holding out his hand to her waiting for her to take it and once she does he walks back to his cabin pulling her inside and leading her over to a dining room chair. He gets her situated on it before running off to the sink grabbing a cloth and sponge. El looks over the shack while she waits for him to come back. She takes in the discarded comic books covering the floor and the half finished science experiment on the counter. Dustin must have been here and Will too she thinks, noting the pencil crayons spread out on the table and sheets of drawings. Something in her twinges at being left out again.
El knows it’s not Steve’s fault that she isn’t allowed over as often as the other pups, especially considering that Max lives here with Steve, Billy and Eddie. If El could she would move in with the odd family in a heartbeat but as it stands, Papa doesn't like his prized pup out of sight and at risk for injury. As the Head Alpha, Papa’s word is final even if El didn’t like it, even if she wasn’t an Omega, she still doesnt think she would be strong enough to fight Papa. Their pack has a few other Alphas but the only one that would give Papa a real challenge was El’s brother Two and he is firmly planted at Papa’s side as the angelic one, the one who will take over as the “Head” when Papa can no longer do it. Billy, Hopper, Erica and Mike, the other Alphas in their pack aren’t strong enough to fight him despite this, Hopper would push back occasionally but it never got physical beyond a few shoves and posturing.
El wants Hopper to be the Head Alpha and even though she loves Papa (Does she though?) she can’t help but cheer in her mind yelling out happily when it appears Hopper has Papa on his back and submitting but it doesn’t last long. Papa is always back on his feet and rather than fight back anymore when Papa has him against the wall, Hopper submits, raising his hands and showing his neck.
Both Mike and Erica were too young to even think about challenging him, though Mike did have his rebellious moments. Even Erica was sharp with her words but her parents were quick to reel her back in for fear of her banishment. Papa wasn’t above throwing a kid out of his pack especially if it meant less challenge for him in the future. El wondered if Erica was banished if her family would leave with her. El assumed so as the Sinclairs were a close knit group and with Erica’s status there was the opportunity for the three Betas to start a pack of their own.
That had left Billy. The rogue Alpha who came rolling in like a tornado one day his stepsister Max kept firmly at his side. He had been respectful in asking for a place among the pack, deciding to play it safe and not fight for head position. El had seen Billy moving wood, building things, and hauling supplies back to their home; she had noted his muscles as well as the scars that were half healed and rough from being reopened repeatedly. In El’s opinion Billy could beat Papa.
Billy had tried once. Papa had slapped Max across the face after she mouthed back to him.El knew Billy could be hot headed but she had never seen him be so angry before. Blind rage Steve had called it. Billy went for Papa’s throat, throwing the man to the ground and landing a punch across the man’s face. A crack echoed through the room as Billy broke his nose. Papa let Billy hit him again before throwing him off and back onto the ground. He placed the heel of his boot against Billy’s neck.
“Son. One thing you would do well to learn is that I call the shots here. If a pack member disagrees with punishment that is up to them to take up with me. Maxine is capable of fighting her own battles. Aren’t you Maxine?” He looked over to where the redhead stood Steve’s arms wrapped around her keeping her back from the fight. Max lowered her eyes to Billy who met her gaze and gave her a nod telling her to answer.
“Yes sir.” She mumbled. That was the end of it. Steve took Max and Billy back to his house to get them both cleaned up and taken care of. They never moved out. Billy never challenged Papa again.
When El had asked Max why Billy didn’t try and fight Papa anymore she gets a sad smile on her face and explains that her and Billy left a mean Alpha before finding Papa’s pack and as mean as Papa could be, apparently their old Alpha was worse. When El learns that Billy’s dad was the old Alpha that Max had talked about, El had been upset. She asked Max why Billy’s dad had hurt him when dads are supposed to protect their pups and Max got a funny look on her face.
“But El.” She said “Papa hurts you.”
El didn’t talk to anyone for a few days after that. She had a lot to think about because surly Papa isn’t like Billy’s dad? Right?
Papa isn’t a monster. He couldn’t be.
He just couldn’t be because that would make her a monster.
El was’t a monster. She couldn’t be.
Right?