The Alpha Is Dead

Jessica's POV

I had seen the house from a distance, everyone at Camblok had but standing at the front door was different. It wasn’t just rich it was oppressive. The pillars looked like giant white teeth ready to snap shut, and the security guards didn’t even look human. They stood there, unblinking, their chests as broad as refrigerators.

One of them grunted and gestured for me to follow. I clutched my bag, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs, 130 beats per minute, easy.

The interior was worse. It smelled like expensive wood, rain, and something... wild. Like a zoo, but cleaner. Maids in crisp uniforms moved like shadows, not even glancing at the shaking mess of a girl being led into the living room.

Then I saw him.

Conner was sitting on a massive leather sofa, looking like a king on a throne he was bored with. He had a black hoodie pulled up, shadows masking those terrifying eyes. Beside him stood the tall blonde guy from the party.

"Sit," Conner said. It wasn't a request.

I sank into an armchair that probably cost more than my mom’s entire cafeteria. My knees were knocking together so hard it was embarrassing. I tried to focus on the blonde guy.

"I am Derek," he said, his voice smooth but lacking any real warmth. "Derek Camblok."

Camblok? My mind raced. Same last name. Brother? Cousin? Part of the same... whatever they are? I adjusted my jacket, feeling the hard rectangular weight of my phone taped to my inner arm.

Please still be recording, I prayed. Please let this be the ticket out of this new hell I signed up for.

Suddenly, Derek started to chuckle. It was a low, dry sound. Then Conner joined in, a dark, jagged laugh that made the hair on my neck stand up.

I looked between them, my glasses sliding down my nose.

"W-what’s funny?" I stammered, my voice sounding like a mouse being stepped on.

Conner didn’t answer. In a blur of motion, too fast for a normal human he was off the couch and standing over me. Before I could even gasp, his hand shot out. He didn’t grab my hand, he ripped the sleeve of my jacket upward, the tape tearing skin and hair with a brutal rip.

"Ah!" I cried out, the sting making my eyes water.

He held my phone up like it was a piece of trash. With a single, casual squeeze of his fist, the screen shattered. Then he dropped it and ground his heel into it, twisting until the motherboard snapped.

"You really thought you were clever, didn't you, med girl?" he growled. The sound wasn't just in his throat, I felt it in my own chest.

"I... I was just...."

"Liar!" He reached down, his fingers circling my throat. He didn't squeeze hard enough to kill me, but I could feel the heat radiating from his skin. It was like being touched by a furnace.

"How dare you try to record me? What did you do to me last night?"

"Nothing! I didn't do anything!" I sobbed, tears finally spilling over my lenses. "I was just there! I don't know anything!"

He shook me, his face inches from mine.

"I don't transform for humans, Jessica. Especially not on a random Tuesday with no moon. And your scent... it’s all over my head. It’s driving me insane." He sniffed the air near my neck, his lip curling back.

"What are you? A Wolf? A Fox? One of those Japanese Kitsunes playing a game?"

"I am a medical student!" I screamed, my voice breaking. "I am just a girl from the city! I don't know what any of that is!"

He pushed me back into the couch, his chest heaving. Derek stepped forward, putting a hand on Conner’s shoulder.

"Careful, man.I think she's really human beside she is just a gir."

"She’s more than that!" Conner barked, shaking Derek off.

He turned back to me, and I saw his face begin to ripple. It was the most horrific thing I had ever seen, like his bones were melting and reforming under his skin.

"If you don't tell me what you did to trigger my shift, I will gouge those pretty eyes out of your head.

I collapsed to my knees on the expensive rug, my forehead touching the floor.

"Please," I begged, the words muffled by my own sobs. "Please let me go. I will leave the school. I will never tell anyone. Just... please don't kill me."

"Liar," he hissed. "Look at me!"

"N...no..."

"Open your eyes and look at what I am!" he roared.

I slowly lifted my head, squinting through the tears. He was halfway there. His ears were pointed and tufted with dark fur, his jaw was elongated, and his teeth... they were long, ivory daggers. But it was the eyes that killed me.

They weren't blue anymore. They were a vivid, glowing crimson, like pools of fresh blood.

I wanted to faint. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. I was staring at a monster, a literal nightmare, and I was just a girl who knew nothing about any of this.

"Conner!" Derek’s voice was sharp now. He grabbed Conner’s shoulder again, harder this time.

"What?!" Conner spun around, a low growl vibrating through the room. "I am dealing with this creature!"

"We have to go. Now," Derek said, his face dead-white.

"I am not finished!"

"Your father is dead, Conner!" Derek yelled, his voice cracking. "The Alpha... he's gone."

The room went deathly silent.

Conner froze. The terrifying ripples in his skin slowed, then stopped. He looked at Derek, his red eyes wide with a sudden, devastating hollow. The monster seemed to drain out of him, leaving behind a boy who looked like his entire universe had just been set on fire.

"What?" Conner whispered. The growl was gone.