We got to the pack house in record time. The air in the building was fraught with tension as I was led through its echoing halls. Each step I took rhymed with the pounding of my heart and my nerves were jangled. My hands shook, my heart hammered, and every part of me wanted to make another run for it, even though I knew that I would not make it past the front doors. The weight of my actions bore down on my shoulders, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread for what lay ahead.
We stopped at a large foyer, lined with several framed pictures of past alphas. Under different circumstances, I would have been awed by the sight. Truthfully, under different circumstances, I wouldn't even be here.
The alpha turned to both guards who were holding me. "Take her to the courtroom. I will meet you there." He ordered, then turned and walked down another corridor.
Not once did he look at me.
Why was I complaining anyway? He was an alpha, I was nothing but an Omega. We existed on two extreme ends of the pack's hierarchy. To me, he was an important figurehead. To him, I was nothing but another person in his pack.
The guards roughly pushed me in the direction of the courtroom. I stumbled and hit a nearby wall, a gasp escaping my lips as my wrist connected with the wall. I'd pushed the pain from my wrist to the back of my mind, but it was back again, like an imminent virus. The wrist was throbbing now, the pain dulling all my other senses.
My mind raced with worry, not only for myself but also for my sick mother. The herbs I had stolen were meant to ease her suffering, to provide her with some hope in this world that seemed determined to crush us. If only the alpha had allowed me to go in and give her the healing herbs. If only I'd found my keys in time. A tear threatened to slip past my guard as I thought of her fragile form, lying helplessly in our house.
Finally, we reached the grand chamber where the Council of Wolves was supposed to determine my fate. The guards pushed me towards a small dais in the corner, which was meant for the condemned like me. I walked over to it and stood, waiting.
The room was empty, but soon it began to fill up with Council members. A wave of murmurs swept through the room as the members took their seats, their piercing gazes fixed upon me. They took one look at me as they walked past, then their faces contorted with equal curiosity and disgust. She's an Omega, they seemed to say with their gazes. All they do is get into trouble.
I felt like a small creature surrounded by a pack of vicious predators.
When all were seated, Alpha Noah walked in last. The entire courtroom fell silent as he walked to the table where the other members were seated and took his seat. My eyes followed his every movement, urging him to look at me, praying in my heart that he showed me mercy.
An Elder of the Council, a bald, stern, and imposing figure, spoke up. "You stand accused of stealing some healing herbs from a member of this pack. What does the accused plead?"
I took a deep breath, my voice trembling as I responded. "Guilty."
The Elder nodded. "Before we proceed, we must know why you did it."
"I um..." I cleared my throat and started again. "I stole the herbs to help my sick mother. She severely fell ill some days ago, and those herbs were her only hope."
The Council exchanged glances full of speculation. One of the members spoke up, his voice laced with accusation. "Why did you not buy the herbs or seek help from others? The herbs in question are native to this pack. Surely, there were other options available to you."
I lowered my gaze, feeling the weight of my insufficiency. "I am an Omega, an insignificant part of the pack. We live on the fringes, always struggling to survive. I barely have enough to feed myself and my mother, let alone purchase these herbs. And those I asked for help turned me down because..." The words clung to my throat, refusing to come out. I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked away.
The Elder's response was quick and unforgiving. "Stealing is wrong, no matter the circumstances. It is a breach of trust and an act of defiance against the pack. It doesn't matter your status in the society. Stealing will come with its punishments."
I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it. What was the point? Their minds had been made up the moment they walked into the room and saw me. I was kidding myself if I expected mercy in this courtroom.
The Elders conversed amongst themselves, then Alpha Noah stood to his feet. His burning grey eyes locked into mine, his lips were tight and unforgiving. "For your actions," he declared. "We sentence you to two weeks in the dungeons."
I felt a lump forming in my throat as I heard my verdict. Two guards approached me, hands outstretched to pull me down the dais and towards the dungeons. I ignored them and turned to the Council instead.
"Can I ask one favor from the Council before I go?" I asked.
Alpha Noah frowned. "Go on..."
"Can I be allowed to give my mother the herbs, before....before I'm taken away? She is going to—"
My words were cut short by a raucous laughter that swept around the courtroom. The rest of my plea died in my throat as I became the object of ridicule. Aloha Noah was still looking at me, unsmiling, his expression unreadable.
"There is no such thing as partial justice, girl!" One of the Elders snapped at me as the laughter died down. "You stole those herbs, so you cannot be allowed to use them. Take her away!"
I succumbed to the beckoning hands of the guards and stepped down from the dais. As I crossed the courtroom, my eyes met the gaze of an Elder Wolf, whose expression held a mix of curiosity and fear. He stepped forward, his voice trembling with urgency. "Wait!"
I stopped in my tracks. His finger was pointed at me, his face a mask of horror. The entire courtroom seemed to hold its breath, waiting for what would happen next.
"What is it, Elder?" Alpha Noah asked brows furrowed as his eyes darted between me and the Elder.
"That's...that thing on her is an omen." The Elder said, his finger hovering around my face. "It's the omen of death!"
The entire courtroom gave a collective gasp at his declaration."An omen of...what do you mean?" Colin, the Beta of the pack asked in confusion.The Elder stepped forward again and gestured towards my neck, his voice filled with a mixture of awe and dread. "Do you see that mark on her neck? That...that vile thing."I felt the weight of several eyes bearing down on me. I could feel the mark burning into my skin like a freshly made tattoo."It is in the shape of a crescent." The Elder continued. "Those who bear that mark are said to be a dangerous wolf specie."A murmur swept through the courtroom at his words. He turned around swiftly, eyes bulging in horror. "I know what I'm saying!" He snapped. "That mark...that mark..."Alpha Noah stood to his feet again. "Elder Jacob, could you please explain what you mean, or do I need to call off this court session already?"The Elder gave me a look full of contempt, then spat venomously. "Where did you get that mark, girl?"Confusion washed over
Alpha Noah's POVImmediately the condemned Omega was led out of the courtroom, I turned to the other Elder Wolves in the Council. The Elder who had pointed out the mark on her neck, Elder Jacob, had returned to his seat. He was muttering furiously to the other Elder Wolves around him, stirring up trouble like he always did.Anger bloomed in my chest as I remembered the ultimatum he had created for me. I was the alpha, the supreme ruler of the pack, and yet my choices and decisions were subject to sadistic men like Elder Jacob. It made me grit my teeth in rage sometimes.I silently stood to my feet and walked out of the courtroom. I walked briskly to my study, my mind filled with conflicting thoughts. The weight of the decision I had to make was pressing heavily upon my shoulders. It was constantly ringing in my head like a time bomb that I needed to diffuse. Should I adhere to the old folklore and the words of the Elder, sentencing the Omega to death? Or should I heed the counsel of m
The clock on the distant wall struck 8:15pm, and I turned in my bed, restless. I found it harder to sleep than usual, and as I forced my eyes to close their curtains, they only increased my insomnia.My mind held contradicting thoughts, and thoughts that held mallets of headaches, each striking harder at every mental consideration. I knew I couldn't kill the Omega.Yet I couldn't risk the efficacy of my throne and leadership. And for some agonizing twist of fate, this Omega was also my mate.But this was still so uncertain.The Moon goddess might have made a mistake, or perhaps it was lust that was speaking, but there was no way to tell. The goddess never told a lie, and during my brief spell of being caught in the Omega's spell, I felt nothing more than potent admiration for her.There was no sexual longing, no erotic desire, no insatiable urge to mate with her. I wasn't hungry, I was satisfied.“Aargh…” I groaned and shot out of bed. “Why?!”In all my years of being the Alpha, nev
“Noah!” a voice yelled I didn't answer“Noah!” it came againI still didn't answer“Noah!”The voice reached my ears in a haze, yet it was still clear, and each time it came, it came louder than before. It was so increasingly loud, it forced my eyes to open, even though slowly, in a movement similar to a manual pulley system.And it gradually pulled my eyelids open, until…“Noah!!!”I jolted up.My hands immediately went to my head, as a confused pain shot through it like a silver bullet. My own name yelled at me one too many times now rang in my ears in a circle, as my vision swirled up, down, and around the room. My feet were numb, and it felt like I was paralysed, but as a hand tapped my leg, I knew I could still walk.“Wake up Noah!”“It's happening!”I heard the last statement, and my brain shot back again in pain, trying to remember whatever “it” was, that was going to happen. I struggled with myself, and my foggy memory, trying to remember what I had already forgotten.My eyes
And the thought made me shiver.I held back my vomit as I tried to wriggle my way through the crowd, squeezing through a great wall of bodies, taking a step here, two there three light taps on my toes, then a small jump over a crumpled juice box, careful incase there was still liquid inside, so the owner wouldn't turn the crowd's attention to me. I kept moving, bending, squatting, and looking for actual ground to walk on, treading through a sea of people, with no lone island in sight. I moved swiftly yet slowly, with my hands tight beside me, and gaining minute energy, as my fears reduced slightly knowing they hadn't killed her yet. I was happy she was still alive, and as I kept moving through the crowd, I felt a sense of hope; that it was not too late, and that all was not yet lost.I felt a relief, and I gingerly moved to go down a flight of stairs to the lower section, when a hand grabbed me from behind.“Psst…” came a voice I flipped around.“Slow down friend…” It was Colin, a
Elder Jacob came out from a doorway the height of three men, decorated at the sides with wood carvings of previous Alphas, and two guards in human form.He wore his usual pure white robe, that was accompanied by a purple sash around his abdomen, and he moved like a ghost on wheels as he made his way up a short raised platform leading to where Vrax stood.He held a long sceptre, and I stood, watching him use it as a walking stick. I squinted hard, trying to make out the color of it, as it held a smoke-like tinge, yet it was shiny, reflecting ever slightly in the sun. I thought it was coated ash; but with the Elders general title and his personal hubris, I doubted it.I moved down the steps cautiously, as these were the last flight that led to the center, and if I moved too fast, I would be noticed. As everyone else was standing still, chiming a loud, and disturbingly vainglorious song.I moved lightly, but hearing Colin's steps still behind me, my peace fell.My mind began racing with
“What?” I asked, even more confused than before“I don't understand either, Alpha.” Colin replied with a snort “I was going to ask you, because I know that's impossible. No wolf can be in both worlds at the same time…”My eyes remained on him, and his did the same. “So you, tell me Alpha…” he said slowly. “What did happen?”I froze at the question, suddenly trying to remember an event I hadn't even the vaguest idea took place. My face went to the floor, squinting, thinking, trying to recollect.But I couldn't.All I could see in my head were bright flashes of light and myself passing out on seeing it. There was nothing else asides pitch black. “I don't know Colin…” I groaned, in frustration at myself and my foggy memory.“I really don't know…”As Colin moved to speak again, a sharp sound cut through the air like a bullet.We both turned and saw Vrax’s axe now wedged between a log of wood, and him letting go of it, before standing back, and folding his hands with a smile. He then wen
The clouds in the sky floated like dead leaves on the ground, moving slowly, as though in fatigue, while the sun stood motionless, bathing the arena with hot, unforgiving light.I had my hand to my face, and they buried my expression, as I tried to piece together what Colin had poured out of the abundance of his heart with utmost heartlesssness. I sat, wearisome, picking at my thoughts anxiously.“What?” I asked, almost for the hundredth time.“He wants to be Alpha!” Colin repeated, and without hesitation. “He's wanted it ever since he was younger, I would wager."And I stayed frozen, defining immobile, with hands still clasped together on my face. “But he wasn't part of the Alpha bloodline, and he knew he could never be what he desired…”Colin continued, unrelenting. “He didn't relent however. He knew he wasn't of royal blood, like you, and yet he is willing to get the throne through other means, be it rebellion in the pack or taking the life of an innocent girl. And I'm sure he has