AN ALPHA'S BANE

-Alpha Aiden.

Crescent Pack, Greenville. 

Alpha Theo brought a good deal of misery to the Crescent Pack the day he died. 

The whole Pack had experienced true grief with the news of his death but I was most pained- because he was my father. 

This moment, I would be calmly accepting the news of his demise, and the next moment, an unnerving mixture of fright, rage, and grief would arrest me, until my emotions were shredded into unrecognizable pieces. 

At some point, I had even believed that I’d found peace, only for some tragic event to trigger another and send me back into excruciating pain. 

I’d not been able to drift along like my fellow shifters sadly because I am bombarded with many tasks ahead, tasks which I am not even prepared for.  

Janet's death seemed so strange to me that I calmly denied the knowledge itself and here I was, crying my eyes out for the second time today. 

The pain was unbearable and inevitable, so I had no other choice than to embrace the anger and grief that it brought. I was directing this anger to no other person other than the moon goddess.

I continue to gaze at my reflection in the floor-length mirror, I was the consummate picture of an Alpha, good-looking in every way possible, giving a vivid account of the moon goddess in glorifying the male body. I was over six feet, with broad shoulders and a rippling physique that accentuated my formidability. I should be excited and happy, right? Up to this point I haven’t found my mate, and I have been threatened on several occasions that I would lose the throne to the neighbouring Packs if I hadn’t found my mate by the next Carmella. 

Here in the Crescent Pack, you don’t just get the Alpha title handed over to you. Because we were the biggest pack in the Southern Coast, it was not surprising therefore that we receive great challenges by smaller neighbouring Packs who had incredibly strong shifters as well, and if their turnover rate for Alphas was any sign of their brusqueness, then they would be very bad leaders also. 

That is why I was not going to let them snatch the title away from us. But the more I tried to remain focused, the more depressed I felt. I wonder what the Luna must be playing at. 

Or perhaps, I was part of that unfortunate set of shifters whose mates had been marked or those whose mates had died a long time ago. 

I slightly turn when I hear movements behind me, It was my sister, Annabelle.  

‘Are you leaving already?’ the bed dipped where she sat. She was under the illusion that I’d been dating, whereas I took the time to unwind. She stood before me, six feet plus of ripped and gorgeous woman… or more accurately, beauty goddess. Her dark curls were a little tousled but the dishevelled look only made her sexier. 

‘Not yet. I’m heading there in an hour. Why? Wanna come?’ 

‘No. so…’ A smile tilted on one corner of her lips ‘Who is it gonna be tonight?’ 

‘You don’t wanna guess. Do you?’ 

‘Of course, I would not.’ she began heatedly, stood, and began to speak with unusual coolness and restraint

‘Look Aiden, women, and wine won’t solve the problem. It's not bravery when an Alpha seeks his satisfaction in the pleasures of the flesh. Sit back and think, there must surely be a way out of this mess. Remember you have a reputation to protect’  

I was slightly stunned. How could she have known? She knew my every movement,  fuck! 

‘That’s very brave of you Annabelle.’ I returned, noting with the corner of my eyes that she was leaving already. 

‘You’re welcome. As always’ 

My mother and she were the only ones I had left. They could complain bitterly about what I did but neither of them dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative. I wasn’t going to change my mind after all. I needed to unwind. She’d taken a bold step by spying on me but that wasn’t going to restrain me today. 

The Luna (Moon goddess) was betraying me in the most gruesome way—her silence had gotten my girlfriend, Janet killed. Or even worse, she was directly involved in her death. 

The Luna was not only annoying me with her endless silence, she’d made my life a living hell yet made sure I regretted every rash action I took against her.  She’d kept me busy with fighting off rogues. 

 She made them much stronger and therefore delayed me from returning to my pack when I’d known Janet was in trouble. 

Janet had been more of a mate and mother to me than my mother in the nineteen years of my life. She was like a mother to me in such a way that she seemingly had the answers to my quailing soul. She soothed me when life went stale and crazy. 

I’d discerned her death that night when I felt our connection and bond snap. It was the saddest and most painful moment of my entire life. 

The Luna had killed her because of me. Because of the future, she said. Both of us

really, and she had been our responsibility to save.

I gently walked into the club and was surprised at first, to find out that the number of women had doubled, judging from when last I’d come. But I remembered almost immediately that it was Heat. The club was creeping with unmated Omegas, their sexual desire grew more intense when the Carmella was around the corner. 

The beat of fast music vibrated off the walls, everyone was abroad and ready to party.  I walked through the tightly-packed club and let myself relax a little. Two steps inside and I was in a whole new world of disco lights, laser beams, and the irreplaceable glow of black lights shining on the people. 

 I took my time and gazed at the half-naked bodies of unmated Omegas who wove through the room, carrying their adorable aura with them, hoping they would get laid. 

They gave you such a coquettish look which was nearly irresistible. Some of them strut around in tank tops and tight dance pants or skirts. But I would be careful not to let my guard down, I had a reputation to protect. I would be held responsible for any misconduct that would disgrace the royal family because it only took two to tango. 

My kind usually ended up in the middle of a shit storm around the rustic ones. Too many women and wine, just as Anabelle had counselled, was very dangerous. 

I moved through the tightly packed throng, making sure no one recognized me until I got to the bar. I watched the bartender deftly pull out drinks for a few seconds.

And what a beauty she was, petite melanin with a shaggy mass of long, dark hair. She was a Beta. 

Each glass she filled was absolutely precise- just a bit below the brim and never gave any more or less than was necessary. 

 She was in a heated argument with a tall hot Beta who stood at the other end. Both were shaped like hourglasses, with voluptuous busts in the company. They both looked gorgeous in their revealing, tight-fitting dresses. It was hard. 

Betas and Omegas were that way-perfectly gorgeous. What they lacked in controlling their sexual urge was made up for in their shapely body. It showed Luna's luscious talent in glorifying the female body. 

'Hey Alpha, care for a dance' a sweet voice found my ears as she temptingly swayed her curvaceous body towards me. 

I turned to see the way she looked at me, the way her mascara made her lashes so thick. Her green eyes stood out beautifully and her full lips were amiable in the dark shade that was thrown over us. 

She stood there in a black cocktail dress, skintight and backless with five-inch heels that made her height more compatible with mine. Her supple chest was exposed, my wolf reeled with wild excitement. 

I held her around the waist from behind, until she felt my sex pressed against her ass. Her arousal smelled so good. I couldn't keep it in my pants any longer, I wanted to have her so badly. 

My hands cupped her ass, and I brought her close to my chest as her face hovered over mine. She moaned out a suppressed pleasure. I took a moment to look at her, to stare at this perfect woman. She pressed more against my body, and I lost my senses. 

‘That was all I wanted. I pressed her down when I'd gone home. This time there was no difficulty. The rising and falling of her breasts slowed to a normal speed, and in a sort of pleasant helplessness, we fell apart. The moon's beam then was cast on the sky. We were both sleepy. We both fell asleep and slept for half an hour. But I realised I had made a terrible mistake-I had mated and marked an Omega!!’ that was my thought in action as I stared vacantly at the beautiful woman before me. 

Despite being a very shameful thing among we shifters, I not only slept with Janet in secret, but I had also marked her inadvertently. 

During heat, it is usually established that the Alpha male and Luna belonged to each other. But I had no Luna. It wasn't a shameful thing that I mated the other she-wolves of the Pack, it was more shameful when it was an Omega. 

Janet was the most beautiful shifter in my Pack, the Crescent Pack. And that gave me a sense of pride. She was a trophy I owned, but it never lasted. It all ended the day she was killed. 

The thought made me hang limp, subconsciously calculating and charting what the future had in store for me. I would be heavily punished if I ever had this woman. Omegas were seen as whores. And it would be an insult to my pride if I ever mated her

…………………………….. 

“ I’m so sorry girl. You’ve always been the one watching, so I thought you were watching.” the young Beta yelled at her other kind. 

 She turned to me and flashed me an adorable smile, completely concealing the outburst “What do you need Alpha?” 

“Highball.” 

The girl looked down and her hand went fumbling under the bar, then her face froze. She suddenly disappeared as she crouched down to get a closer look. 

“Bitch!” she swore. She re-appeared, her smile was gone. “Please give me a sec.” She headed to a door behind her, yelling over at the Beta, “Scarlet. ” 

“There she is.” The Beta turned and roved her eyes across the dance floor to a group of tables and barstools filled with people. I followed her line of sight and immediately saw what she was looking at. 

A female Luna stood there, obviously pissed with wine. She was blonde. Her hair was left unbound to cascade down her shoulders. I confirmed her drunk state when she turned her face towards us, there was a scar etched on the back of her shoulder. I took my time to regard it. She was a royal shifter! Poor girl, who knows what must have put her in this state. 

It was dangerous that she was here, rogues could be around the corner waiting patiently. Any attack on her would be very easy, considering the state she was in. Two hefty men stood around her, but she was unaware. 

She looked very bored. I couldn’t quite grasp why her friends were less worried. I returned her stare until I felt something tap my arm. 

“Hey! here.” I looked down at the shot of highball. “And here is your balance.” 

I waved it away and took the shot without even looking, something drew my attention towards the girl who was about the same age as me. “You can have it.” 

“Thank you.” She quickly strode to the other side to speak to her friend. 

“Well, we’ve got to do something about this.” She was saying. My wolf’s hearing was perfect, so I could vividly make out her words over the music and even the words she was speaking directly to the one called Lisa who stood, her shapely behind facing me. “She’s wrecked.” 

“Hope you can remember what happened the previous night? If not for the intervention of fate in the nick of time, we should have been graveside mates. And you know how bad she becomes when you try to…' 

  

“What’s with her tonight anyway?” 

“The mate thing. It's been sucking the life out of her. You know how bad the whole thing usually gets. Seems she’s been threatened again. Too bad for such a sweet pea, poor girl” 

“Of course, you know how being a late bloomer sucks the life out of you. What makes this new?”

“It’s getting worse. And If care is not taken, anything might happen. She is worried sick about what it might mean. You know what I mean, being without a wolf for the rest of your life. If she is unable to shift and find her mate before the Carmella, she would be banished or married off to churn up hybrids for some Western beast” 

“It doesn’t mean shit. She only reads too much into things. She should wait. I know how it feels, I felt the same way while waiting for that beast of a man. Remember?’’  

  

Lisa leaned back against the wall and smiled while staring at her friend, “Yup. Look who’s talking. Kettle calling pot black”

“Look! She's going away again” 

I turned back to the drunk girl. She slipped off the stool she had been sitting on while some guy was talking to her… it was more like she staggered away. I had heard she had not yet found her mate. 

We were the same in almost every aspect, only that she’d allowed depression to take the better of her.

I wouldn’t have bothered myself brooding about the whole thing save for the two men who leaned against a far wall. 

They didn’t fit in, although they were desperately trying to. 

They were in black leather jackets which shone under the soft heat of the light. They were in vogue. It was the same with the rest of the things they wore. Their shoes were those things I wouldn’t put on even if it involved being forced on gunpoint. 

And as soon as she made her way out, they all went after her. I dropped the shot which I was holding and rapidly went after them. 

I tore through the crowd to the back of the club where I could see them. One of them grabbed the girl while another forced her mouth close with his hands. 

They followed the back door and were soon in the outside, heading to the woods. It had happened so fast that no one had noticed. 

  

It woke my wolf who howled wildly and sans warning, fought to emerge. Fearing the worst, I immediately went after them knocking people out of his way, terrified It would be too late before I helped her out. Janet’s death filtered back to my mind, making me angrier. I slammed the back exit close and slipped into the alley.  

Walking outside the breeze made me shiver a bit. The sound of the girl’s voice sent rage racing through my already-heated anger. She thrashed around forcefully as the man tried to pull down her pants. 

It would have looked to everyone else that he was going to rape her. But I knew that a single stroke from that hand would leave her sex permanently damaged. My wolf went mad with the want to kill. 

The urge was unbearable, as the want for a woman. I bared out my canines in a snarl, one of them snarled back but sense who I was the light died out of his face. He turned and ran for dear life.  

‘Get off me’ the girl clawed at the man, but clawing wasn’t enough. 

But before I could rip his head as planned, the girl pulled a short, broad piece of metal out of her boot and stabbed into the man’s groin  

He yelped and fell, this time in anger. He stood up and tried to seize her again but I yanked him back and began to pummel his face with my claws. His face was badly battered to the extent that there was little skin left, little skin which had been covered by the blood. 

I went over to the girl who made a feeble attempt to stand but kept falling. I grabbed her by the arm and easily helped her up. ‘Are you hurt’ 

“Hey! Thanks” She beat off the dust from her clothe and turned to look at me, a foolish grin spread across her lips. Perhaps I had unfairly judged how beautiful she was. 

She looked adorable. She had green eyes that seemingly ogled at me. She was white. The mark of her royalty had spread to the front of her shoulders. 

Her eyes were so sexy. ‘Hi handsome’ She belched out a horrible smell. But I’d barely noticed it as I watched how mesmerizing she was. Her grin retracted as she neared me. She was so drunk. 

  

“You’re so beautiful.” I was charmed. Without preliminaries, she slammed her thick frame against me and took my lips with hers. 

She intermittently acted strangely but what mattered was how soft and tender her lips were. A strange strong connection between us wouldn't just snap. It made me want more. 

My whole strength seemed to have left me, my wolf pleasantly disappointed. A crazy urge to lay her down on the cold floor and have her suddenly came into my head. I grabbed her butt cheeks and pulled her towards me. And I knew she had consented to it the moment she tried to draw down or rip off her skirt. 

  

Her hand travelled down my chest and an I shuddered as though I would wither. She grabbed the monster between my legs and I silently declared there and then that nothing would stop me from having this woman. A meteorite could strike the earth, nothing was going to stop me. 

My disappointment knew no bounds when I felt her body pulled away from mine. I had been so charmed not to have noticed that my Beta bodyguard( he’d come after me when he sensed the panic in my mind), and the two bartenders were also after the rogues. They dragged her away from me. My wolf wailed. 

Their canines were all bared, ready to rip off the living daylight out of their victim.  

‘Hey! What was that?’ Kylian, my bodyguard asked. His brows were tensed. 

‘You’re supposed to guard me right?’ 

‘What if your mother finds out?’ he ignored my question 

‘Don’t make me think you’re doing your job. I can have you fired, and you know what that entails’

I left him stunned. I went towards the girls who were dragging their friend towards a cab.  

“Ava can you just shut the fuck up and get in!” Lisa tried forcing her in but she struggled, wanting to come back to me.  

Her gaze was fixed on me shortly before Lisa threw her inside. I motioned to help but she slammed the door close and turned to face me. I guessed she must have been very angry at me.  

  

“I’m so sorry for whatever happened. She’s pissed” 

I managed to force out a smile, miming that I had no qualms about what had happened. I kept wondering.

Who was this strange beauty? Would I ever get to see her again