9 The New Alpha

"I pledge my allegiance," another group of wolves came forward to say as they lowered their heads in respect.

It's a little uncomfortable to have people I know bow to me, but Ralphie didn't seem to share the same thoughts. In fact, he looked so domineering that even I might lower my head though I'm sitting next to him.

"Alvena, hold your head up high. An Alpha is only as strong as his Luna is," he stated calmly, not breaking composure.

I bring my head back up and see Diane and Bryant walk up this time, both wearing gorgeous smiles.

"Our allegiance is yours," they said in sync. Seeing them definitely made me happy.

"Why are some coming to pledge while others wait by the side?" I ask Ralphie while the next batch forms.

"Even though Five Alphas rule the combined packs, each individual member has the liberty to choose who to follow. Families usually stick together under one Alpha though," my counterpart explained while accepting people under his wing.

I produce a smile at the younglings coming forth.

"Each time there's an inauguration, there is a shift in power between the Alphas. During this time, we can choose which faction to leave and join. Ultimately, they're deciding who's orders to follow if the Alphas don't agree."

"So the ones bowing to us are choosing you to lead them?" I ask, seeing this all in a new light.

"Choosing us to guide them," Ralphie corrected.

When the inauguration finished, each Alpha held their own gathering.

"Woah...there's more of you than I originally anticipated..." Ralphie said, looking at his pack. "Hope you made the right decision cuz I'm gonna work all ya hard."

Howls and claps went around and the after-party started.

Technically, we were supposed to hold a traditional quiet ritual to thank the Moon Goddess for her blessing us with so many warriors, but Ralphie was hungry so opted for a feast celebration to honor her in its place.

Alphas can make up new rules, I've been told. Diane just rolled her eyes and said boys would always be boys.

We had a loud crowd, not surprising considering that most of the new recruits were of the younger generations. Some wanted to follow Ralphie since younger Alphas were usually more easygoing and engaged in more interesting activities like hunting or wrestling. There were of course those who came for the goddess Diane who was practically a package with Ralphie. And others thought it would be cool to be in the same pack as two of the handful of Lycans in the community.

"Luna Alvena," a deep voice addressed to me. "I am at your service."

Turning around, I recognized Bryant. This guy is Ralphie's best friend despite possessing an entirely different personality. He is calm and collected, thinks before he acts, and doesn't let his emotions get the best of him.

The only things he had in common with Ralphie are their large builds and devotion to their pack.

Looking over at where a circle formed, I could see my wolf wrestling around the snow with a few others. Though this was meant to be a respectful ritual honoring the inauguration, he seems to be taking this way too casually. Still, as long as he's enjoying himself, I don't see why there's a need to worry about anything else. If he actually took this more seriously, I would be the one worried.

"Ralphie and I will be counting on you, Bryant."

......

Since then, Ralphie had been more busy and I as well. Life pretty much worked the same except now, whenever there were problems or disputes, the pack would come looking for either me or their Alpha if they couldn't solve it themselves. Thus, we were pretty much the most informed individuals of everything going on.

Bryant volunteered to take the brunt work, running occasional reports and sightings. Ralphie would also join in on the field work, making sure their territory was safe and guarded.

In addition to the changes, there was still the rising concern of a war with the Bloodsuckers. They were already training the capable pack of wolves to fight, hunt, and counter the enemy, but they need time to become real soldiers. However, no one knows when the war will be and how much time they have to prepare.

When the Alphas aside from Ralphie finally decided to heed my words, they realized the urgency a bit late. I didn't tell them about my son, but I did tell them of the existent plans to weaponize a Pureblood and was just waiting for him to grow his powers, of which he should have discovered by now.

With a Luna requesting a council, the Five Alphas met and formed an elite group of their best hunters and fighters as their insurance plan. They would help secure the line of defense and be the special group to counter the Pureblood, making them the Wolves' ultimate weapon. As ironic as it sounds, you can say I've had a hand in the creation of both sides' greatest offense and defense.

Another advantage for the wolves was the fact that there are still a handful of survivors from the last war who could pass on their knowledge and serve as mentors and advisers for the special group of recruits.

Of course the suggestion of recruiting all the wolves who could shift into Lycans came up. That would make Ralphie, Bryant, Rowan, and Abram all qualified. The problem was that two of them were Alphas and the other two were their right hands. If they shifted their attention, then another problem may arise.

So after much thinking, it was decided that they would hold a competition to determine the best candidates to be in the special group.

It was a mandatory event for all able wolves and humans between ages fifteen to one hundred ninety-nine to attend and participate. Alphas, Lunas, pregnant mothers, were exempt.

The event filtered out many capable soldiers and even discovered a new Lycan among them—a female one at that.

If I remember correctly, Sheila was one of the first ones to pledge her loyalty to Ralphie because she was a fan of Diane. She aspired to become a strong warrior huntress like her idol and she held the potential to become one. Soon after joining Ralphie's direct pack, Sheila got into an argument with a few boys from the pack about who should get to run the rounds with the Alpha. They said girls couldn't run as fast and they got into a fight and before anyone could guess, she shifted into a Lycan, towering above all of them while snarling her wickedly sharp teeth and freezing them with her alpha-like stare.

Since then, she advanced to become one of the core keepers of the Shadow Watch, the special-trained elite group under the direct command of Ralphie.

Yes. Ralphie ended up being chosen as leader since his popularity only skyrocketed with three Lycans on his side and as the newest Alpha joining the group, he showed promising leadership. I honestly much rather him not be so eager to agree to accept another new position. He honestly hasn't even been Alpha for half a year and now he is leading the special forces!

But mainly, the special forces were expected to be the patrols, keeping the Border monitored at all times. If you think about it, they are basically the first line of defense. And though every army needs one, it can be agreed that it isn't the best position to be in a war.

However, the young wolves being trained are excited. Unfortunately, not all for the same righteous reasons, but either way, it's good they prepare.

I originally intended to simply aid Ralphie from the side or tend to matters that I can effectively contribute to, but the older folks have strangely taken an interest in me and my knowledge of their ancient adversaries. Being born and living among them for the first twenty-threes of my life, I apparently collected intel that proved useful.

They asked me questions about what they fed off of. I answered blood. Any type really. Even that of fellow vampires if they so wish though their favorite would still definitely come from humans. "Bloodsucking cannibals" the Wolves criticized them before showing more disgust towards them.

How long can they survive without blood? That depends of which race and rank they were. If they were nobles or come from prestigious families, they probably won't even need blood altogether. On the other hand, there were the halflings—the half breed of vampires and half human—who constantly needed blood to sustain. Even a day without it could cause them to rot faster than a corpse.

How sharp are their fangs? Were they as big as the Wolves'? Do they really regenerate limbs? Are they undead? What happens when there are cross-bloods?

It had become a routine that during our dinner gatherings, the pack would sit around and ask questions like these. It was collecting and retrieving intel as well as broadening their understanding of what they were going up against so I would gladly share and answer. And before I knew it, it became a past time.

Ralphie would always be the one disbanding the gatherings as story time extended way past dinner. He nagged me a few times on how unfair it was that I was giving more attention to the younger wolves and less to him. Right when I thought he matured a little!

My Alpha got jealous to a point where only five questions were allowed per night. His excuse was that his pack was developing more of a fascination than genuine disgust for the bloodsucking population. And he wasn't completely wrong on that. I realized that quite a number of the younger wolves were indeed quite intrigued by the vampire civilization and even kept little logs and journals of notes regarding the mythical creatures.

Misguided obsession some of the folks called it. Studious scribes is how I see them.

Every night, I find the group around me increasing so quickly in numbers that we have configured the seating arrangements quite a few times to accommodate. Bryant was drilling the younger wolves who he felt were slacking or lacking in progress so we have a smaller group tonight. Ralphie retired for the night as he has a shift on Shadow Watch in those quiet midnight hours.

Although he doesn't openly say it, he likes me to accompany him. He already hinted to me a few times, and I too am feeling that we haven't had much alone time together in a while.

After stuffing the last piece of fruit in my mouth, I get up from the log in which I was sitting, ready to bid good night.

"Alvena, you haven't answered five questions yet," Sheila tugged at my coat, urging me to sit down.

"Ralphie's on watch tonight. It's been awhile since I accompanied him so I want to get at least three hours of sleep before I go," I say as I pat her head.

"Pretty please Alvena?" she asked with her childish pout. Despite being able to shift into Lycan form, Sheila is only a child, perhaps only a little older if not the same age as him. Seeing her reminds me of him more often these days. Perhaps that's why you can say I have a soft spot for her.

So I sit back down, earning a wide and sharp smile from the girl and those around her.

"If there are no Alphas, who is the strongest vampire?" a young one asked with shared interest.

I smile. "Of course, abilities-wise it would be the Purebloods who are born with powers that can intimidate even other vampires."

"Like what kind of powers?" a few voices that I couldn't pinpoint echoed in the crowd.

My eyes were focused on the bonfire and the embers flying around.

"Like...compelling others to do things against their will, wiping their memories, killing with just eye contact."

I knew the last one would scare them. But alas, there was a Pureblood in history that actually possessed that skill.

"Have you ever met a Pureblood?" Sheila asked with her big bright eyes on me.

Silence flooded my stage as everyone grew quiet at the sight of me nodding. I know two, precisely speaking. To be completely honest, I'm more well-acquainted with them than even some of the noblest vampires will ever be.

"What powers did he have?" a baby wolf asked with such curiosity that if I didn't answer I felt I would crush his dreams.

"Memory manipulation," I answer as he jumped on my lap blinking his eyes and prompting me to elaborate. "That is, he can take your memory and distort it to whatever he wants you to think and remember. He can even make you believe you are a vampire!"

The little wolf looked at me in inconceivable horror.

"Give this little guy a break," the one and only Ralphie's voice boomed from behind as he lifted the little bundle of joy by the arm and threw him over his shoulders. My Alpha shot me a playful glare of accusation for scaring the baby pup.

"He'll think you too boring if you dote on him too much," I lecture while giving the baby wolf a pinch on the cheek. Ralphie tried pulling him away, saving the poor child from the cruel Luna.

"At least I know he'll still sleep well."

"Speaking of which, shouldn't you be sleeping right now?" I ask, tilting my head up towards my restless wolf. "Long night ahead of you."

"You know I can't sleep well without you beside me," he replied with that smart mouth of his before putting down the wolf child back on the bench.

Some of our pack mates whistled while others rolled their eyes. They have already gotten use to their leader's open attitude towards me which is, compared to the other Alphas, much more expressive and shameless. And I, who once was unaccustomed to how he chooses to blatantly display his affection for me and our relationship, truly love him for that.

"Then what are you waiting for," I say as more of a statement than a question while lifting my hand for him to take.

Ralphie readily grabbed it and pulled me to his side as he wrapped his stronghold around my shoulders. He was about to walk us back, when Sheila stopped the Alpha in his tracks, arguing that they still had one question before their session officially expired. Ralphie sent his commander a passive expression before prompting the group to hurry and ask the final question, impatience looming over him.

"Have you ever loved a Bloodsucker?"