CHAPTER 1 (XAVIER'S POV )

Three loud bangs came from the other side of my door, dragging me out of the world of sleep. I groaned loudly as I shoved the comforter away from my body. It was too fucking early for this shit.

"Alpha Xavier!" A voice called from the hallway. He continued speaking when he saw that I was not ready to respond. "Your father requests for your presence immediately, Alpha."

"Goddess. What now?" I whispered to myself, roughly rubbing the sleep away from my eyes as I stifled a yawn. I cringed hard at the rays of sunlight coming in through the open window. I could have sworn I had closed it shut the night before, how the hell was my window wide open?

Shoving the thoughts at the back of my mind, I got up from the bed and made my way to the bathroom to freshen up and get ready to go meet my father.

When I was finally done, I stepped out of the room and made my way to where I was sure the old man would be at, waiting for me. And sure enough, he was there.

My father, Raymond Dean, had been the Alpha before me. He had ruled his people and led them into wars and had come out victorious in every single one of them. It was a great privilege to be a member of the Black Fur pack, and an even bigger privilege to be of Alpha blood. Our pack was feared across the lands, even the neighboring packs knew not to mess with us.

"Father!" I called out loudly as I made my way to where he was seated in the garden. The guards there immediately bowed their heads in respect as I made my way to my aging father.

With a flick of his hand, he dismissed the men that were currently standing guard around him. When we were finally alone, he offered me one of the wooden chairs and I sat down.

We sat in silence for a few seconds before he finally broke it with a question, "You know what day today is, right?" He asked.

I gave him a quick nod of my head as an answer. Of course I knew what day it was today. It was the day that had been scheduled for the meeting of the neighboring packs around Mercury Hills.

A big problem had suddenly arose when news had gotten to us that the locals were trying to convert our lands into recreational centers. It had been bad enough that my father had almost threatened war against the humans. If it hadn't been for my interference as Alpha, I was sure the human society would have seized to exist today.

The main reason I had called for a meeting among pack leaders was to find a way to stop their plans from coming to reality before it was too late. Some of my pack members believed that bloodshed was the only way to stop the government and their plans, my father included. But I didn't, I knew there was another way to go about this that wouldn't lead to me ending the lives of innocent women and children.

"So I'm sure you know what you have to do." My father's voice brought me out of my raging thoughts. "You're my son, Xavier. I raised you well, so do what you must to protect your people."

"Yes, father." I replied, locking eyes with his own.

"In a few minutes, your guests would be arriving." My father said. "It's a shame I won't be able to attend the meeting as I am tired and would like to rest for a while, but I trust you as Alpha to handle everything well."

I had a feeling that no matter how old I got, or how well I led my people, my father would always still see me as a little kid who needed coaching. Sometimes, it got on my nerves, other times it didn't. I had gotten so used to his constant nagging and pestering whenever I didn't do this his way.

I didn't agree with some of the things my father had done, some of the actions he'd taken. But I was Alpha now, not him. And I would lead my pack the way I saw fit.

I released a loud sigh and gave him another firm nod. "Yes, father." I said through gritted teeth.

"Very well then." He said, seeming very pleased with my reply.

****

"I say we kill them all. They're weak and puny humans after all." A voice called loudly from across the room, causing a murmur of agreement to rise among the men and women currently seated down around the large table.

"I object!" A voice I recognized as my Beta's interjected loudly. "We can't just go in killing people left and right like we're barbarians. We're werewolves for the moon goddess' sake."

"That is exactly what we should do, that is what your father would have done." The voice from earlier said, addressing me.

I finally turned to the man and locked eyes with him. From across the room, I heard him gulp in fear as the room suddenly grew quiet. Nobody dared to make a single sound.

"What did you just say to me?" I growled threateningly at the man. I could already feel the red taking over my crystal blue eyes as my inner wolf threatened to burst out.

The man whimpered in fear and didn't dare say anything else. He scampered to his knees and bowed at my feet, begging for forgiveness but I ignored him.

"I am not my father." I said loudly as I addressed the rest of the room. "I will not spill the blood of innocent children over something they had no part in. Some of you want me to wage war against the human population, forgetting that some of them have no idea what we're killing them for."

I watched as everyone stared at each other for a few seconds and I said nothing. I gave them time to let what I had said sink into their empty skulls.

I couldn't believe these people were ready to go to war and spill innocent blood. Yes, we were being threatened out of our territory, but there was always a better way to win this war.

"T-then... what do y-you suggest we do, Alpha?" A female Alpha from one of the neighboring packs asked quietly. From her racing heartbeat, I could tell she was terrified to even ask the question in the first place.

I stood up from the throne I'd been seated on, and slowly started pacing around the room. "The executive." I said vaguely.

I watched them stare at each other in confusion, before I finally explained.

"If there's anyone that needs to be punished, it's the executive who took the job in the first place." I snarled, turning to the woman. "I will make an example out of them, I will show them that threatening my land and people comes with dire consequences. And after I am done with them, I will send their mangled corpse back to whoever had sent them to my forest."

By the time I was done talking, my fangs had already extended out of my canines. I hadn't even noticed them with all the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

I didn't wait to listen to whatever anyone had to say, I stormed out of the room and into the hallway, taking deep breaths to calm myself down. I heard footsteps behind me and I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Hunter, my Beta.

"Find them." I ordered before he could say any word. "I don't care who they are, I don't care how you find them. Just find me the executive that threatens to drive my people out of their territory." I spat venomously before storming off into the cool morning air.

Somebody was going to pay with their life.