"Son, tell me, what makes an alpha?" The man asked, crouched in front of his six-year-old son, the little boy's wrists in his grasp. The boy blinked a couple of times before shyly responding to his father's question.
"His strength and ability to step up when needed, his power and his ruthlessness. To be strong enough to mercilessly crush one's enemy, to show no fear."
"Very good, son. And what are you?"
"An alpha."
"And what would you do if any challenges you?"
"Slaughter."
_____
I swayed my chair from side to side, my leg crossed over the other and my mind was occupied with thoughts I couldn't pinpoint. I knew I was thinking, but what exactly I was pondering on is what I couldn't pinpoint, or even remember, though I was still thinking about it. It was a normal thing for me. It helped me think and at the same time, don't think. And spared my mind the agony of overthinking. With so much to do and barely enough time and energy to do it, not thinking and thinking was my best way to solve it.
The recent pack members gave me a new workload. The settlement of each new member: their new jobs, living arrangements, and the previous work I was yet to complete were too much to handle. If I had a mate, then she would have handled the new pack members, but I didn't, and never would. The pack issues were what I had to deal with all by myself. Working is stressful.
A gentle knock on my door had my brows furrowing with confusion and pausing my swaying. Since when did he knock? It meant he needed something from me. He pushed the door open, revealing his dishevelled medium ash blond hair and pouting face, definitely something.
"Alpha," I rolled my eyes, already knowing I would hate whatever he needed. "I…or… The Alpha of Shtylla e forcës sent an email, another peace loyalty nonsense,"
I chuckled, resuming my swaying. Just like Father said, fear is a powerful weapon to control kings. Over the years, I'd lived almost according to his lessons and rules, following similar procedures in the way he ran the pack and the neighbouring packs that had sworn their loyalty to him and then me. I never went looking for trouble like he did, that was something I considered ridiculous and a waste of energy. Instead, I went after those that challenged me and slaughtered those who angered me.
The two alphas went far with their arrogance, claiming the lives of five valuable pack members, one more valuable than the rest. In my anger, I did what I knew how to do best, I rained chaos on them and let their downfall act as a reminder to those who had forgotten how cruel I could be. The result of the fear was having alphas dump their responsibility on me, leaving their pack members for me to cater for or suffer, as long as they were promised safety from me. It was ridiculous, yet, I could never turn them down. Father repeatedly hammered it into my head that rejecting an alpha's token of defeat is a sign of weakness for me.
I am no weakling.
"How many pack members did this one offer this time?"
"His is quite different actually, better if I must say," he spoke, running his eyes around my office.
"Oh?"
"He offered the free passage of our men to search for their mates in his pack. Now, you know that is an offer one won't easily turn down." Which was true. Every alpha would agree. An alpha is also stronger by the number of its pack, so any chance to get more members and produce offspring was a good offer. It was safer, as they wouldn't need to fight for entrance, resulting in casualties like death and severe injuries. However, in this case, the offer was for him.
I groaned, sinking into the chair. "Oh, come on! This might be my only opportunity to find my mate!"
"You say that every time, Cooper, no."
"Oh, please, Drixy, I need to find her. You know how much I've been hoping to find her," which was precisely the problem. Cooper had always been the most hopeful I've met when it came to mates. No matter how many times we visited other packs and still didn't find her, he still hoped, and his zeal was still as strong as the day he first learnt what a mate meant.
"Everett already found his, and he keeps rubbing it in our faces—"
"I don't care—"
"Of course, you care! A mate is everything!"
"And what if you don't find her? Cooper, I can't stand you returning with your face mopping the ground over again. I don't have that kind of heart to comfort you. Why can't you see that I'm only looking out for you?"
"And why can't you see that I need my mate? Like you once told me, I'll never know if I will find her unless I try."
"I never told you that." I deadpanned.
"Please, Drixy, I have hope that I will find her this time. I really will. I know I say this every time but what other choice do I have but to hope?" His hope would be the death of him. Every time, he would leave with such enthusiasm, but after not finding her, we'd have to deal with consoling him and dragging his motionless body back to the pack where he would grieve for weeks before returning to his hopeful safe and repeating the process all over again. How he was able to still carry such enthusiasm was something no one could figure out.
"Please, do this for me. Okay, I should get Everett and Brie to help me—" I whimpered, not them, anything but them. This is what my father subjected me to. He insisted I be friends with the Beta's son and the next chosen warrior captain, resulting in the punishment I call life. I love them, but tolerating them was a heavenly gift. Now add Cooper's older sister to my misery, life was beyond sunshine and songs.
"Please, don't bring Everett into this, I beg you," I pleaded.
"Then accept it. I'll give you my firstborn child, I promise. If you can't do this for me as your Beta, then do this for me as your best friend—"
"You and Everett locked me up in a coffin because I forgot to give you both Christmas presents," I said blatantly.
"We were kids! We didn't know any better!" I cocked a brow at him.
"You both locked me up in a basement filled with venomous and hungry vipers, that was yesterday."
"To err is human and to forgive is divine." He replied sharply. He poured every ounce of cuteness he could muster into his eyes. There was no need of refusing, I would eventually agree. Why? Everett would join to plead and both kids begging for something would lead to my funeral. Sighing out loud, I gave him a nod.
"Thank you, thank you! I'll email him right now. There's also an extra offer, but I'll tell you that later, bye!" And that's how useless he would be until we are back from the pack, his hope mopping the floor. He ran out of my office screaming, "I'm going to find my mate!" It's sad to watch, knowing how that smile will turn upside-down in a couple of days.
‘I wish you had his enthusiasm,’ my wolf chimed. I ignored him, like I'd always done when it came to matters of mates. It was easier to ignore him than try to talk him out of it. Eventually, he would realise that we are never getting one.
_____
An hour later, I had to stand up for the new soul warriors' welcoming. A ‘must’ occasion for every new soul warrior to commence their training. What I didn't like about the situation was that I would end up with Everett and that one is worse than Cooper. They are like two peas in a pod, one more frustrating than the other. As predicted, the meeting with him didn't end well.
"For the umpteenth time, I said no!!!" I roared, turning around abruptly to startle him into submission. He flinched, then blinked thrice before resuming. Nothing scares him that much because he never takes no for an answer. I could have used my alpha command on him, but my wolf would rather kill me than let me use that for such common matters. And I sort of loved them too much to do that.
"So, I can take your car then?" I facepalmed so hard I saw stars. The impact of the smack made me stagger back a few feet back with a groan, blinking to get rid of the dizziness. But, he still continued. "Can I get the keys?"
"Everett, I'm not letting you take my car!"
"Okay, can I take your motorbike?"
"None, Everett. The last three times I let you, my cars never returned the same. You always drive into a pole or trees! And last year, you drove my car off a bridge!"
"Well, sorry, sir, I'm not the one who forbade me from driving vehicles. If it bothers you that much, then buy me a car or revoke my ban. Ooh! Can I drive your Maserati!"
"And get you killed? No. Heck, Everett, you found a way to make driving a bicycle more terrifying than a death race!" I screamed. Everett and any moving inanimate transportation is his own death certificate. I don't know why he can't just not try to kill himself. "Ever, I love you, but I am not giving you my car, not again," I said irrevocably. He scoffed.
"It's not my fault roads and I have mutual hate. Those things are evil, they always try to kill me. I mean, we hate each other, I get it. Why set out to end me…" I sped off while he was distracted, which I probably shouldn't have because a few minutes into running, I ran into the queen of violence. I turned to run the other way before she noticed me, but a rock collided with my head, sending my face flat on the ground.
This is what happens when you make a lunatic your older sister.
I moaned in pain, the rock rolling off my head. "And where do you think you are running to, you imp? Walk with me." She strolled past me, her hands on her waist to support her weight. For a pregnant woman, she had the strength of a thousand elephants.
I stood up hurriedly, rubbing the back of my head and following her. I would have helped by carrying her, but the last time I tried to assist her, she smashed my head with a hammer.
Brie led me to her flat. The living room was a mess of carbon boxes and irons. I looked at her questioningly. "Today is the day Nolan and I agreed to decorate the baby's room," her sadness took over her violent aura, forcing it on me.
Nolan was her mate, the important one killed by the other pack. After years, she finally found her mate, only to lose him shortly after conceiving. Brie was strong though, she didn't let his death break her but remained as strong as she always was, only more violent than usual. With her, violence is the answer.
"Do you want me to get Cooper?"
"No, he's in his mode again. I prefer not to see his happiness and later cry over his disappointment. You'll do just fine. Now, help me decorate your godson's room."
"Just me?"
"Do you expect me to work? I'm pregnant!" She snapped. Yet, she chased Cooper with a log the other day. Deciding to keep that statement to myself, I walked towards the box but then remembered I didn't know how to do anything concerning kids. I never let myself learn because I didn't have a reason to.
"Um, maybe we should get Cooper, I don't know how to set this. If he was here, he would know how to do it because he has been practising for his future pups. But again, he'll end up doing something stupid and then you'll throw your TV at his head, again, for the twelfth time. I've always told you, Brie, violence is not a virtue."
"Say it again, my fist is ready this time!" She screamed. I chuckled, keeping every other remark to myself. Eventually, she showed me how to set up the room, and with some smacks and kicks here, I finally finished with the decoration. I hurried to the door to escape before she came up with another reason to actually use her hammer on me, but I was too late. "Alpha, stop right there!"
‘Alpha? This can't be good, run away!’ My wolf, Alaric, panicked. However, when she got to me, instead of what I expected, she wrapped her hands around my torso and hugged me from the side. ‘Huh?’
"I know you are pretending to be okay, acting as if the issue of a mate doesn't bother you, but I know it does. I don't care what you believe, I don't need to believe what others believe. I believe that soon, you will bring the Luna of Lúa infinita home." A hopeful waste of time.
______
"Daddy, why do the other kids say I would never get a mate like their parents?" His father looked at him over his shoulder and through his hair, tearing his gaze from the window where he stood. He looked down at the tearful boy, memories of how he reacted when he was first informed of the same thing replaying in his head. He turned his attention back to the window, staring into the horizon with lips pressed into a thin line.
"Because monsters like us don't deserve one."
She danced around with the ribbons, spinning and flying, as her mother hummed to the song. The aroma of her mother's food covered the kitchen and could be smelt from miles away. If there was one thing her mother knew how to do like a pro, it was cooking. Too bad she decided against being a chef. The little girl was positive her father had quite a good time when he was alive. Twirling on her feet, she shot her arms out, using the ribbons to grab a cup and a salad knife. Adjusting her body, she spun the ribbon, slicing the knife through the air with a smile on her face. She was getting better at this. "Mother, I have a question to ask," she spoke, bending her body backwards as she spun the ribbon spirally above her. Her mother hummed. "How do I identify my mate?" "It's easy," her mother smiled, "when you perceive the most intoxicating and pleasant scent, when the wind blows against you in a way you can't understand when you can't think of anything but that scent, just know that the ow
Along the streaming river, across a log of wood, one boy hopped on along the log, practising his balance. Another jumped from one rock pad to the other, while the third walked in the river, unperturbed by the current of the cold water or the fact that the river covered half his ten-year-old body. Among the boys, he moved without a smile, his eyes dull of every passion and emotion, the opposite of the boys in his company. The boy on the log waved his hands frantically, pretending to catch his balance. The one in the rock did the same thing, causing both of them to giggle. "Oh, stop being so stiff, Drix, have some fun," "We are late for training, again. I'm starting to think letting you two pull me away for lunch isn't much of a good idea. You both keep getting me in trouble," The boy in the water spoke blankly. "So what? It's not like the trainer is ever early. Loosen up, grouchy. If you keep going on like this, you'll scare your mate away when you meet her," "There's no need to wor
"Sapphire, my darling, there's something I want to tell you," the woman spoke softly, running her nails into her daughter's hair. The girl hummed, though she was drowsy and her mind fogged with sleep. "You shifted quite early, dear, but your wolf will never be able to identify your mate until you turn eighteen. If you find your mate before then, you will still feel the pull, you will still see him as the most attractive specimen in creation, that is if he is older and his wolf recognises you first. Please, dear, when you do feel like that, run away as far as you can." "Why, Mummy?" "Because if you don't identify the sign before you turn eighteen, he would have already imprinted himself in your heart, making it impossible for you to ever escape him and thereby triggering the curse. So please, never forget this valuable information, okay?" "Yes, Mother." The child murmured, every bit of her mother's warning going away with her thoughts as she fell into a blissful evening sleep. _____
She stared up at the stars, the fading twinkling stars in the night sky. Her head lay on her mother's lap, her mother's fingers raking through the soft threads of her hair and crooning. Just like every other day, she was in thought, thinking of her future and how it would play out; in every possible way. "Mother," the woman looked down at the small child. "Do you think we will ever leave this pack? I don't like it here," "If our destiny is to leave, then we will leave. However, I would prefer not to," the girl tilted her head back, blinking her curious eyes at her mother, "this pack is as ignorant as a blind fish. They don't care about anything else but themselves, which makes it easier to hide your identity and secret. I'm afraid that if we were to move to another pack, they might not be as oblivious to reality as this one. Some would be able to smell your lies, and if the alpha is strong enough, your wolf," "So if the opportunity presents itself, I shouldn't leave?" She asked sadl
"Monsters? What do you mean by monsters?" The boy asked his father in confusion. His father sighed, turning away fully from the window. He took slow steps towards his crying son and lowered himself to the boy's height. Reaching forward, he daintily wiped off his tears, forcing a smile on his sad face. "We are monsters by heart, for we kill with no remorse, slaughter with no soul and wield powers different from every other generation of werewolves, especially you. We are monsters because it's our path, and like every monster, we cannot love." "B…b…but Mum is your mate, you love her!" The boy cried distraughtly. "No, I chose her, but never loved her enough, or at all. If I were her mate, why then did she leave when her original mate appeared? Where is your mother if she is my mate?" He knew what he was doing, it was done to him and the alphas before him. It was a culture, their way of life; their tradition. However, unlike the rest, he wanted his son to hope, even if it would be tarni
Humming to herself, she swayed herself to and fro on the swing, using her legs as a powerful momentum to push herself forward. The other kids stayed away from the swing, just because the quiet belligerent girl was there. She didn't mind, it was better that way. The less company she has, the fewer people know about her… “condition”. Maybe one day, just one day, she'll be able to have a friend that will understand her and love her for who she is. "Darling!" The shrill voice of her mother echoed in the playground. Turning her head, she located her mother standing at the entrance/exit of the playground, waving her hand vigorously. A basket of green apples was in her other hand, swinging and hitting the side of her leg due to her energetic movement. The girl smiled, admiring the beautiful yellow flare dress on her mother's body. She made that dress for her mother. Jumping down from the swing, she smoothened her little pleated red skirt with a little dust and ran over to her mother. "Hello
She lay on the bed, kicking her legs in the air as she coloured her drawing. It didn't come out as planned, but it did look similar to what she pictured in her head. Her short hair was messed up and unnecessarily filled with pins. She hummed, tapping her chin thoughtfully with her head tilted to the side to observe her work. It was still missing something. Sunshine. She picked her yellow coloured pencil and drew a big bright sun. Once she was done, she sat up, sitting on her knees and holding the drawing book up. The little girl in a sunflower dress and bright red heels, playing under the big bright sun, was happy. She had nothing to worry about, she had no fear and felt no pain. The girl was surrounded by friends, all three skipping along with her in their floral dresses and their different shoe colours. They were skipping to her mother, who sat under the only tree in the drawing, smiling with her head tilted upward to the sun. The people in the picture were happy, free, and surround
Do you know that feeling when you are not used to something? How do you feel when something you are used to doesn't happen as expected? Well, that is how I felt. I was bothered beyond reasoning. Why was he being so nice? People aren't that nice. I was a hundred percent sure he didn't know I could shift, Zinnia was sure too. Then what? I wasn't feeling any amorous intent from him. Trust me, I would know. My mind flooded with thoughts as I arranged my clothes, and then I showered. I mean, I had my own modern en suite with a large tub and everything was good. I wasn't used to such luxury, not even when my mother was alive. After washing up, I dressed up and lay on the bed to rest my head. But then, the soft bouncy bed was just too comfortable, so I slept off with my legs hanging from the edge. When I woke up laying properly in the bed, the sheet over my body, I was stunned by how I felt. No one can ever get close to me when I sleep, let alone, touch me. I was always jumpy, always on ale