Chapter One

December, 1954, Norway

My name is Arctic Fenrir, and my bloodline descends from the notorious Fenrir wolf. We are vicious, strong, and fearless: meant to rule and stay on top. We never back down from a fight and have never lost any battles.

Our reputation becomes us, and we haven't been at war for thirty years.

Growing up, being a descendant of Fenrir was warfare, as every Alpha had to be hard on their heirs. Making us fight harder than anyone else.

We are well known to be undefeated; many packs have tried to take us down even so. We always had to be one step ahead, and our tribe members started training from a very young age. They joined the tribe formally after their first shift, typically at sixteen. 

However, certain circumstances can force you to shift earlier, such as trauma or a threat to the tribe.

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"Again!" My father, Ulv, roared as he watched me re-take my position in the arena.

"How many times do I have to beat him up for you to be pleased, father?" I shouted angrily, and my opponent, Erik, got up on unsteady feet.

"You're done when only one man is still standing on his feet!" Ulv replied aggressively.

I snapped my neck, and the adrenaline pumped through my veins. 

The thought of letting my wolf come out and finish Erik was tempting, but I knew better than to piss off my father.

"Fight!" My father commanded, and Erik didn't hesitate before approaching me at full speed. Idiot. 

Like, I wasn't expecting him to do that.

With one fast movement, I had him by the neck and swung him over the arena.

He landed with a loud thud against the railing.

Aouch. I left him no time to think of his next move, crossed the arena, and pushed him to the ground with my knee against his head.

Defeated. Easy. Childplay.

It took him one more round until he wasn't getting up anymore, and two guys carried him to the nurse. We heal fast, but bones need to be snapped back before we do. Erik would be okay in a day or two.

An eye for an eye was something everyone in our tribe had to conquer.

Mastering your human abilities and pushing through your limit is needed before you can fight wolf on the wolf.

"You're getting slow, playing too nice," Father said as he opened the gate to the arena.

"Do you want us to have any tribe members left, father? You know I could easily have killed him during the first round, right?" I snarled back and started walking towards our house.

"You need your opponent to fear you!" Father roared at my back, "I thought this was a training session? Not a fucking assination?" I answered and turned to face him.

"I'm not asking you to kill, son, but you need to up a gear next time, and don't let anyone off too easy. Fear is a great motivation for these pups. Are we clear?" My father pinned me down with his gaze.

"Yes, Alpha," I replied without breaking the eye contact. 

"Good. Now go and clean yourself up before dinner." Father demanded and then slammed his shoulder into mine as he passed. 

I felt my blood race with rage, and I had to compose myself for a minute before I followed him into the house.

I loved my father, but the older I got, the more pressure he would put on me. I was the alpha son and firstborn, and with that came responsibilities and those fucking expectations.

I had been training all my life to take over after my father. I can't count how many hours, days, and years he had beaten me up only to make me learn how to defend myself in combat.

He was never easy on me, but I never gave up. 

I took all the pain, and I turned it into my motivation.

I went upstairs and showered before joining my parents for dinner. 

It had been a long day in the arena, and I was anxious to let my wolf, Conri, out for a run.

All the adrenaline from fighting members had gotten me riled up. 

I needed to restrain myself in the arena. Because if I let myself slip for just one second, I could kill my opponent without any second thought.

"There you are," my mother Saga said when I entered the dining hall. 

"We have been waiting for you," she continued as she served us the table. "Here I am," I replied and sat beside my sister, Anya.

"What's up with you?" Anya asked and elbowed me to the side, "Nothing, I just need to let Conri out for a run after dinner," I answered, and Anya smiled at me, "Cool, can I come?" 

"No, not tonight," I mumbled, taking the plate my mother held before me.

"Thanks, Mom, it looks delicious," I continued and dived into her famous stew. "Why not?" Anya said irritatedly, "Because I said so," I answered between the bites. 

"But that's not a valid reason," Anya continues, "Anya, leave your brother alone," My mother said and gave her a stern look. "Fine!" Anya poked around her plate, and I saw her rolling her eyes.

My mom was a beautiful woman with white, curly hair and blue eyes. 

She had soft features, a narrowed nose, and a heart-shaped face.

She came from an alpha line of white wolves; her descendants even had magical powers. She met my father at eighteen, and she got pregnant with me right away. 

They barely had time to get married before I was born.

My father was twenty years old when he met my mother, and she described him as tall, dark, and mysterious back then.

He has dark hair, almost black, with brown eyes. He had a broad jawline and rough features with several scars across his face and his muscular body. Every scar had a story, fighting off rogues or wars with different tribes.

I am a mix of my parents, with charcoal, curly hair, black eyes, a narrow nose, and a broad jawline. Tall and muscular, just like my father.

My sister, however, is a splitting image of our mother. Her white hair and blue eyes have really made her a reputation of being the most beautiful, desired mate amongst the tribes around the world. Why? 

It's a rare gene, almost instinct. She got the white wolf gene, and I got the Fenrir gene.

"Thanks for dinner, Mom. I'm heading out for a run: don't wait up!" I left the table and ran into the night. We live in Norway, and it's currently summer, so the sun won't go down completely, surrounding us with a dimmed golden light. Our tribe lives high up, near the mountains, and our land stretches far in all directions without any nearby neighbors.

Humans know of our existence, and the smart ones know to keep their distance from our land.

We don't bother them, and they don't bother us. 

But there is always that one curious human that tries to get near us, so we protect our borders, and no one has ever made it far if they dared to pass it. I got undressed and let Conri take over, and we were soon out on the running track that passed next by the border around our land.

I liked running there, and the terrain was a good challenge, with many jumps and tight turns. The scenery surrounding us was mesmerizing, and a small river passing through our land provided us with fresh water all year around. 

"Wait up!" Conri stopped and turned around. My best friend Saga came running in her wolf form: Ruby. 

"I thought we were running together tonight? I have barely caught up with you!" Saga said with an annoying tone through the mind-link.

"Sorry, I had a lot on my mind!" I replied, and we started jogging side by side. 

"Your father again? What did he do now?"

"It's not what he does; I'm just fed up with this life. Same thing, day after day. It's boring. I need something new!"

"You need your mate, Arc! That's what's missing. When I found mine, my whole life changed."

"I have been around the whole world, Saga. She's nowhere to be found. I searched the entire northern parts of Europe, year after year, and met every tribe. It's impossible. I turn twenty-two soon, and I can feel the pressure from my family. My father was twenty when he took over, and he expected that from me, too." I replied.

"Hey! Calm down. You will find her. She's out there somewhere, waiting for you. And your father got lucky with your mom's magic. She located him before he found her. That's cheating!" Saga laughed through the mind link, and Ruby gave Conri a playful buff on the side.

"I'm just so over it. I want to find her and take over the tribe. My father needs his retirement. And I can't wait to make you my beta."

"Yeah, my father is getting too old for that position, right?"

Saga's father, Raoul, was my father's beta: the second in command. His family had held that position for five generations, and Saga and I had been best friends since birth.

They come from the red wolf gene, which makes them strong and scarcely crazy. The smart ones knew to avoid messing with the red wolves because they never played honestly.

Raoul and Saga were redheads with green eyes, and their wolves looked the same with deep, red fur.

That's the thing with us werewolves: our appearance mirrors our wolves.

"Hey, Arctic, where are you?" I heard Titan contacting me through the mind link, "I'm out on the tracks with Saga; what's going on?" 

"We have spotted a rogue passing our borders near the mountains; you two might be closer than we are,"

"On it! Saga, let's go!"