Chapter 1: Alpha Wolf

Having managed to get away from his assailants, Roman fell flat on the beach sand. He was panting hard, with his chest rising and falling rapidly. He had come to the one place his pursuers wouldn't think to look for him- his very own backyard, overlooking the ocean. 

"You're injured" a voice in his head said.

Roman smiled sadly. He already knew that. He could feel the stinging pain of the stab wound on his chest. The Zealots had caught him unawares in his own home. He could only wish that things had turned out differently.

The Zealots were anti-werewolf fanatics obsessed with their objective of purging the human world of feral beings; Werewolves precisely. Their "cleansing" crusade started decades ago and the zealots had succeeded in eliminating thousands of werewolves.

The few that remained had formed a community and they now lived amongst humans, concealing their true identities, under the leadership of the Alpha, Roman. However, the Zealots had finally found Roman in his own home and they inflicted on him a fatal wound before he managed to get away.  

"Let me help you" the voice in Roman's head said again. 

"Nothing can be done now" Roman responded in frustration. With his eyes fixated on the full moon, he just wished that the moon goddess would do something. He knew that his body was dying and if he didn't do something fast, his wolf would die too. 

"You need to leave" he managed to groan out in pain.

"I'm not going anywhere" his wolf said stubbornly. "Let me help you".

"This body is dying!" Roman yelled. That effort to speak put some pressure on his injury and he winced in pain. "My body is dying. Our race needs you".

"What is a werewolf without his human side?" His wolf asked him in his head. "What is an Alpha without his human side? We are one! Without you, I am a mere wolf. A creature of the wild, not to be found among humans. How do I survive without you?"

Roman had no answer to all that question. He couldn't even bring his mind to think of a response because his life was slowly fading away. He knew that he wasn't just dying from the stab wound. The dagger used was definitely poisoned. 

As an Alpha, Roman was grieved that he had failed to protect his people but he just couldn't die, leaving his race without any hope. Since his wolf half was being stubborn, he decided to give it up by force. 

A dark mist enveloped Roman's body and his wolf was soon separated from him. The big wolf turned to look at his dying human half. 

"I am sorry" Roman apologized. Even in death, he had a twinkle in his eyes and proud smile. It was the first time he was actually seeing his wolf outside his body. The two halves are never separated. They only shift at will. Seeing how big, fierce and magnificent his wolf actually was, Roman now understood why he was Alpha. 

"You have betrayed me" the wolf said. Roman didn't respond to that. His heart ached for what he had just done, but he didn't think he wanted his wolf to die with his human body. 

Taking one last look at the beautiful full moon, he made a wish in his heart to the moon goddess. He hoped she would hear him as he took his last breath. 

The wolf instantly felt it - The death of it's human half. Roman was gone and the reality shook the wolf to it's furry core. Bereaved, the creature lifted up it's head to the moon and howled mournfully. 

Though scattered around the city, all the werewolves heard the mournful howl of their Alpha. Being wolves, they impulsively howl too. The howling is heard all over the city, even by the humans. The Pentagon, consisting of Beta wolves are able to figure that something had gone wrong so they shift into wolves and quickly head to Roman's mansion. 

The Pentagon consisted of four powerful beta wolves and the fifth wolf was the Alpha, who was always at the helm of affairs. Together, they were the Pentagon that protected the lives and interest of all werewolves.

Having no where to go, Roman's wolf sat by his lifeless body, whimpering, wishing that this was all a bad dream. The wolf knew that the beta wolves were already on their way, so all it could do was wait.

As it watched and waited, a blinding light appeared out of nowhere. It illuminated the night, making it as day. Though the wolf was naturally supposed to take a defensive stance, it didn't. It could instinctively tell that this light was not a potential danger, but it was curious to know what it was. 

Looking into the light, the wolf could make out the face of a woman. Though she looked human, her aura blazed with majesty and the wolf could just tell that this was no mere mortal. 

Without knowing why, the wolf bowed in reverence. Surprised by it's own action, it immediately realized who the strange woman was. It was Luna! The Moon Goddess herself!

******

By the time the beta wolves arrived, there was nothing out of the ordinary, except the body of Roman lying lifeless in the sand. They all shifted back to their human forms and surrounded the corpse.

"Is he...?" One of the werewolves asked another named Phiri, who was already examining the body. 

"He's dead, Lucille".

They all gasped in shock. This was something that no one would have imagined possible. Roman had been with them just hours ago. He had informed them that he was going to come up with a plan to capture the leader of the Zealots. Seeing the gaping wound in his chest, it was obvious that they got to him first. 

"Where did it go?" Phiri murmured.

"What is it?" Another werewolf, Mark asked. 

"His wolf is gone".

"Of course it's gone. It's dead", another werewolf, Rufus barked.

"No, his wolf was not in his body when he died and it's not here now" Phiri explained. 

"I don't understand" Lucille confessed her confusion. 

"He gave up his wolf" Phiri said. "The Alpha wolf lives".