Meet the Alpha

Ryan

I strolled out of the gym in my tank top and shorts, a bottle of water in hand. My muscles felt deliciously sore from the intense workout.

"Alpha," the men and women in the hallway stopped in their tracks and bowed in submission when they saw me. I nodded my head, noticing a few she-wolves battering their eyelashes hopefully at me, but as usual, I walked past them with a blank face.

"I'm coming over," my Beta James mind-linked me.

"What for?" I linked back, making sure he heard my annoyance. It was Saturday. I wanted some alone time instead of spending the weekend with my Beta who was a chattering box. He could be extremely annoying when it was not related to work.

James and I grew up together. We had been best friends since we were in our mothers' wombs. His father was my father's Beta.

"I'm bored," he said through the link.

"Go hang out in a bar and hit on a she-wolf," I suggested. James, with his good looks and well-built body, was a playboy, extremely popular among she-wolves. He probably had slept with half of the she-wolves in our pack Blood Moon. That was the benefit of not finding one's mate, he said once to me.

"It is still early, man," he whined, "Let's watch a movie together."

"No," I rejected him firmly. I planned to go over some papers regarding the sighting of rogues.

"You know, not being able to find my mate is taking a toll on me. I feel empty." Here came the sympathy card again.

I sighed. From the outside, James looked happy with his single life. But as his friend I knew deep down the uncertainty whether there was a mate for him was eating at him. He was of the same age as me, 26.

Not all werewolves were lucky enough to find their mate when they turned 21. Some waited for years for their mate to come, while some I heard were doomed to be alone for the rest of their lives. Guess the Moon Goddess wasn't fair at all in the love department.

"Not the White Wolf again," I said. I had watched this goddamn movie with him over 20 times. I could memorize all the lines in it. Who would think that my playboy Beta liked watching indie movies? I preferred movies with actions and adventures.

"Why not? It is the best movie of the century. And Hayden Ramirez is a breathtaking genius actress!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"There is not even a goddamn wolf in the movie!" I groaned. When would his obsession with this actress be over?

"See ya." He cut off the link.

James didn't reside in the packhouse. I made sure the wolves in our pack were sheltered with their own houses and had their own privacy. The packhouse was only for pack meetings, emergencies, training, and those who didn't want to stay at their home. I moved into the packhouse three years ago after my mate was killed in a rogue attack.

It usually took James 10 minutes from his home to the packhouse. I hopped in the bathroom in my room and took a quick shower.

When I stepped into the media room after my shower, James was already sitting in the lounge eating a slice of pizza and holding a beer in hand. My sister Chloe was also in the room. She returned to the pack a few days ago after graduating from the Warrior Academy with honors. She was the best warrior in our pack, and I was very proud of her.

"Look at you, smelling good and looking fresh," James flashed me his white teeth, "right on time for the beginning of the movie."

I ignored him and went to the fridge to grab beers, tossing a can to Chloe.

"Can't we just watch an action movie?" I glared at him. Chloe giggled at my frustration.

"No, nope, only this film could fill my void," he said. "Come and sit," he patted the lounge on his left side.

I sat down reluctantly and watched the familiar beginning scene where the actress Hayden Ramirez stared at the camera and started her character's monolog.

"She delivers the soliloquy so beautifully," James commented. I rolled my eyes.

"Do you think I have a chance with her?" James turned his head and asked sincerely.

"She will be scared shitless when she sees you turn into a wolf." I snuffed his daydreaming without hesitation. Most humans had no knowledge of the existence of our kind.

"Yeah, I think so, too," he said in a disappointed tone and turned to the big screen. I ignored his moping and focused on the movie.

"She is so beautiful. I wish she was my girlfriend." James continued his whining.

She did look beautiful with her sparkling amber eyes and silky chestnut hair. Even without any makeup on in this scene, her skin looked flawless. But I didn't feel a thing about her just like I had zero interest in other she-wolves. My heart would always be for my mate Melanie.

"Why would you want a human? They are weak. They can't defend themselves when there is danger." Chloe questioned. I was with Chloe on this point.

"Do you think she could be my mate?" James asked hopefully.

"That is ridiculous. I never heard weres could be mated to humans." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"You are clearly bad at werewolf history. There were historical records where the Moon Goddess paired weres with humans." James sneered.

"Just ignore him. He is always pining for Hayden Ramirez when he watches the movie. It is just an unhealthy obsession." I said to Chloe.

"You know, James, I know some dirt about her," Chloe smirked.

"What dirt? She is impeccable." But he obviously was curious.

Chloe took out her phone and placed it on the table in front of us to play a video. I watched the five-minute video in disgust. Seducing another woman's husband with nude pictures? That was low.

"I don't believe it. The video is fabricated," James huffed, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

"Then you should read the man's narration about how your idol seduced him to get roles in movies and how she planned to wreck his marriage. The guy posted the details on his own Instagram account," Chloe sneered, tapping her phone to show us.

I read the text with a frown on my face. What was wrong with her? How could she sell her body just to get a role? Maybe this piece of information would end James's obsession and I could be released from the ordeal of watching her movies. But the guy called Kyle was obviously an asshole for shifting all the blames on a woman. Only two could play a game.

"I'm a man myself. Men lie most of the time," James said deadpan.

"Admit it, James. She is just another spoiled, shallow Hollywood actress without morals." Chloe said with a mischievous smile plastering on her face.

"Nah, I watched her interviews before. She is no such person. The video and the man's account are all just lies to smear her." James said matter-of-factly.

"You can tell what a person she is just by watching her interviews? She is an actress. She survives on acting! You are a fool." Chloe exclaimed.

"Yeah, I have talent in seeing through people. And I can tell that you are just jealous that I like her," James wriggled his eyebrow, his lips curled up into a smug smile.

"Stop flattering yourself," Chloe blushed, shrugging her shoulders.

Their banter continued back and forth for a few rounds until it came to a stop. There were times that I believed that Chloe had a crush on James. Maybe I will talk to her later. She was about 21 in a few months and would probably find her mate on her birthday.

I stood up from the lounge and stretched my legs after the movie finally ended. My wolf Maddox was itching to get out and run free in the forest.

"I'm gonna go running," I announced.

"I'll run with you," James said. "Do you want to join us?" He asked Chloe.

"You boys have fun. I promised Mom I'll help her with the garden today," Chloe waved us goodbye.

We walked out of the packhouse and headed toward the entrance of the forest which was just a five-minute walk from my house. Most packs lived in close proximity to woods and forests so that our wolves could roam freely whenever they wanted.

James and I stripped our clothes and hid them behind a tree. We shifted into our wolves midair. Mine was a black one and James's wolf Alexander was a brown one. Being the descendant of the strongest Alpha bloodline, Maddox was huge in size but agile when maneuvering his intimidating body.

I let Maddox take full control of us. His paws hit the soft green lichen coating the floor of the forest. The wind brushed against his silky black fur. He inhaled the fresh air into his lungs and exhaled contentedly.

Slowing his speed a little bit so that Alexander could catch up, Maddox scanned the quiet forest. A few omegas were patrolling the area.

"Alpha," they mind-linked me.

"Ask people to get the watch house renovated. We must prepare for a tough winter. " I commanded, referring to the one we just passed by. The roof could use a little renovation.

"Will do, Alpha," they said in unison.

"Are we going to the southern border?" James asked in a mind-link. His wolf had caught up with me.

"Yeah, I want to check the place where the rogues were spotted," I said.

Together we run in an unproclaimed race towards an abandoned cabin where the sighting of rogues was reported a week ago.

After about two hours, we reached our destination. The smell of the rogues was still lingering in the cabin. They must have revisited the place not long ago.

"Have you noticed any abnormalities?" I mind-linked the warriors patrolling the border.

"Not since the last sighting of rouges, Alpha," the warriors replied.

"Reinforce the south border. We had another visit from them after the last one," my voice boomed through the link.

"Yes, Alpha."

We found two sets of fresh prints of paws near the cabin. My wolf Maddox changed glances with James's.

"Want to follow the prints?" James asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Alpha, do you need help?" The warriors mind-linked me.

"No, James and I could handle it."

We followed the paw prints carefully. It hadn't rained this week so the prints were still visible. There were two rogues who had trespassed our pack land based on the prints.

The smell of rotten flesh became stronger as we ventured into the area that was unclaimed by any pack.

As we neared the smell, two brawny gray wolves came into view.

"Let's get them," James's wolf became very excited. Maddox was the same, too. It had been a while since he hunted anything.

We leaped over the stream separating us from the rogues and landed on the other side of the bank. Startled by our sudden presence, the two rogues run for their dear lives.

"The bigger one is mine," I proclaimed.

The two wolves run in different directions. "I will meet you in the cabin," James shouted.

The gray wolf I was hunting was not bad at speed. He ran very fast. But not as fast as Maddox. I decided to let Maddox play with him for a little while. I would let him run as far as he could until he was exhausted. Then I would let Maddox have his fun. A smirk played on Maddox's lips. He liked the idea.

We were very far away from our pack now and very deep into the forest unclaimed by any packs in Maine. A clearing appeared ahead. I decided it was time to end this game. Sharing the same mind with me, Maddox quickened his speed and narrowed our distance with the rogue.

Letting out a menacing growl, Maddox sank his teeth at the wolf's flank. He yelped and howled pathetically. A few different howls echoed in the distance.

Five large wolves leaped into the clearing. Quickly ending the gray wolf's life, Maddox bared his canines to the wolves that were closing in on him.

"This is a trap," Maddox spat angrily.

"They are looking for death. Let's give them what they want," I said and Maddox nodded in agreement.

Charging toward the biggest red wolf directly, Maddox thrashed his claws deep in the wolf's underbelly. The wolf struggled to kick Maddox away. The other wolves attacked us from different directions, but Maddox managed to fend them off.

Sinking his teeth at the red wolf's neck, Maddox killed his life effortlessly. The red wolf died instantly with a whimper. Maddox let out a loud howl, showing his dominance and power.

The rest of the wolves retreated a few steps back, intimidated by Maddox's power and wanting to run. But Maddox lunged at them with force, killing three wolves easily. Now only one left–a tiny gray wolf. The mood of playing came over Maddox once again. I laid back and let him have fun.

He started to torture the wolf with painful-yet-not-deadly bites. The tiny wolf whimpered for mercy and gave out angry yet weak growls from time to time, but he was no competitor to Maddox.

Maddox cornered him near a huge boulder. Suddenly, the wolf shifted into his naked human form. Both Maddox and I were shocked by the shift. Shifting during the fight was never a clever strategy. Our human bodies were not as strong as our wolf forms. Any sane wolf wouldn't do so. It would only speed up death.

While we were dazed, the human quickly snatched a dagger from behind the boulder and stabbed at our underbelly.

Wolfsbane. The dagger had wolfsbane on it.

The pain started to reverberate through our bodies. My chest was about to burst open. Sweat began to form on Maddox's head.

Howling angrily, Maddox used all the strength that was left in him and snapped the human's neck, ending his miserable life.

Exhausted, we fell to the ground, unable to move. I could feel the blood oozing from the wound.

I needed to shift to my human form. But I couldn't do it.

I tried to mind-link James, but it didn't come through.

I struggled to crawl in my wolf form inch by inch with pain throbbing in every part of my body. I needed to get out of here in case more rogues found me. I needed to find a safe place to heal as soon as possible.

Without knowing how long I crawled with great difficulty, I lost all my strength and lay on the ground weak and lifeless, feeling consciousness slipping from me. I watched the bright moon shining above the forest through Maddox's golden eyes.

The world was enveloped by darkness.