Chapter 5: The Whisperer

Alpha Oswald

I rubbed a weary hand over my eyes, the scent of damp earth and frustration clinging to me like a second skin. The polished mahogany of my office desk offered little comfort, its pristine surface a stark contrast to the maelstrom churning within me. Across from me, my beta, Ethan, sat ramrod straight, his face an impassive mask, but the tremor in his hand, as he reached for his coffee mug, betrayed his disquiet.

“So", I rasped, my voice rough from countless hours spent strategizing with the pack's elders, "we're at an impasse. These bloody rogues keep appearing from nowhere, they just survey the borders like they're planning and preparing for something or someone, the council is clueless, councilman Otto is getting on my last nerves with his ludicrous suggestion, and our patrols are stretched thinner than a starving spider's web yet we haven't been able to uncover a single thing about these darn rogues."

Dropping his mug, “I’m still surprised that Otto is still in the council. Shouldn’t he have retired by now?” His nose wrinkled in disgust, “That man is a pest.” I let out a chuckle at this, Ethan has always hated Councilman Otto.  

“You know what keeps bugging me about these rouges, is the fact that they never break in but they destroy our subordinate packs,” I rasped running a tired hand through my hair, “It’s unsettling that they just observe the borders without doing anything,” Ethan said. 

“Where are the reports from the five alpha’s of the west?” I asked while shuffling through the papers on my desk, Ethan walked to my cabinet and produced the folders. “Here they are, these are the ones that have been attacked consistently,” I observed the reports, tired of seeing the same thing constantly. 

Looking up, I said to Ethan, “Organize some of our gamma’s; only the best, send them to each of these packs, they're going to train their warriors and protect these packs,” nodding his head in agreement, “Okay, I’d go do that,” he stood up bowed his head in mock salute before exiting my office. 

Appreciating the little moment of quiet and solitude, I reclined on my chair deep in thought, my back facing away from the door, when suddenly my door was unexpectedly barged into. The noise of the door slamming shut with a loud bang made me whip my head around, and I was irked.

I looked up to see Councilman Otto’s face in a scowl. I raised an eyebrow at his boldness, barging into my office as if he owned it, “Some nerve you have Otto, barging in here like you own it,” his lips pulled into a flat line, “Forgive my impertinence Alpha but I must talk to you about the rogues.”

I sat back as I offered him a seat, I observed his countenance, “Well go on then, what was so important that you had to barge in here like that,” he looked at me with a look of determination, “I discovered something we've not been able to get before on these new set of rogues at the borders,” I raised my eyebrows at this, “And what is it ?” I searched the borders personally, and I didn't find anything, so hearing him say that intrigued me. 

He produced a blue lapel from his pocket, “I saw this by the blue oak tree right outside,” my lips tightened and curled with anger as I observed the lapel. This same type of lapel was found next to the dead body of my father, the previous alpha. It belongs to the Jared rogues, a notorious set of rogues associated with the Bear kingdom.

Councilman Otto observed my face, I guess he got the required reaction from me because his face pulled back into a smirk which happened so fast I didn’t notice. “Alpha, we must do something about this immediately,” I stood up and began pacing the length of my large office, my mind focused on the Jared rogues’ presence at the border and the implication of this. 

“If I may suggest Alpha, I believe we have been lenient with them. When they appear next we need to strike with full force,” I regarded the words councilman Otto spoke, there was some truth attached to them, we’ve been very lenient. 

Regarding him I said, “Thank you for bringing this to me, it’s most helpful,” the corners of his mouth pulled upwards, “It’s my duty Alpha,” I mind linked Ethan immediately, ‘Ethan, there has been some new development with the rogues, come to my office immediately,’ I heard a sigh before he replied, ‘Okay, I was on my way already,’ I cut of the mindlink. 

Just then a tired Ethan entered my office, he scrunched his face when his eyes fell on councilman Otto, he looked at me with a disdainful eyebrow raised rolling my eyes, “Thank you Otto, you may leave,” his eyebrows raised in surprise, “But Alpha…,” his voice trailed off as I raised my hands to stop him, “Ethan and I would take it from here, besides I have something I’d need your help with which I would communicate with you later,” he stood up, bowed his head to me in submission before he exited my office.

“Kiss ass,” Ethan said, I chuckled. 

Immediately I showed him the blue lapel, his face clenched with all seriousness, “Where did you get that?” 

“Councilman Otto found it outside the borders,” I said, “They were here,” he mused solemnly, “What I don’t understand is how I didn’t notice this when I checked the borders,” I ran a weary hand over my eyes and rested my hands on the table. 

“If they were here, then something big is about to happen,” Ethan said with a jagged look on his face, I stared at him and said, “We need to increase our trainings, everyone must be trained now, everyone,” he gave me a quizzical look before asking, “Including the omegas?” 

“Especially the omegas, we can’t have weak wolves in the pack at this point.” I said sternly, “Anyone who refutes this would have me to contend with.”

Ethan nodded, his silence heavy with the weight of unspoken anxieties. The recent surge in rogue activity was unprecedented, brazen incursions into their territory that defied understanding. 

“Are we going to share this with the council members?” He asked, “Not yet, maybe in the next meeting I would bring it up,” he nodded his head in understanding. 

“The council would want to deliberate on the issue, and we do not have time for deliberation,” I said firmly.

"They want patience," Ethan finally said, his voice low, "time to observe, gather intel. But patience is a luxury we can ill afford. Every day these rogues linger is a day closer to bloodshed."

I slammed my fist on the desk, the force of the blow rattling the silver chalice on his desk. "Patience be damned! Do they think this is some leisurely stroll through the woods? This is our home, Ethan, our blood and bone! We can't just sit back and wait for their next move."

I paced the room, a caged wolf in my own office, the frustration simmering over into anger. The burden of leadership,the constant weight of responsibility, pressed down on him like a physical force. I was the alpha, protector of my pack,and yet, in this critical moment, I felt adrift, the solutions as elusive as wisps of smoke.

"There has to be more," I growled, pacing back to Ethan. "We need eyes and ears beyond the border patrols, someone who can infiltrate, understand their motives, their movements. Someone who can..." my voice trailed off, a sudden thought sparking in his mind, its edges still flickering into existence.

Ethan lifted his head, a flicker of recognition passing through his eyes. "Someone who moves unseen, unheard," he finished, the words heavy with unspoken implications.

A slow smile spread across my face, a spark of hope pushing back the encroaching darkness. "Yes," I said, my voice firming with resolve. "A scout, a wraith, a ghost in the shadows. We need a Whisperer."

Ethan raised an eyebrow, "A Whisperer, Oswald? That's a title reserved for…"

"Legends, yes," I cut him off, my grin widening. "But legends have a habit of being born from necessity. And right now, necessity screams louder than tradition."

I knew the risks, the whispers of old warnings about the burden of the Whisperer's mantle. But in the face of this unknown threat, caution felt like a flimsy shield against a raging storm. I needed someone who could slip through the cracks, someone who could become the wind, the invisible thread that stitched together the fabric of their intelligence.

And I knew just who to call upon. A young pup, Anya, ostracized for her uncanny ability to move unheard, unseen, a talent once deemed unsettling, now a desperate hope.

The meeting with the council might have yielded no answers, but in this quiet corner of my office, a plan, fragile but alive,took shape. I, the alpha, battered but unbowed, was ready to unleash the Whisperer, a weapon honed by shadows and desperation, a gamble against the encroaching darkness. The hunt for answers, for survival, had just begun.

The night deepened, and in the heart of the pack, a new melody rose, a song spun from whispers and shadows, a dirge for complacency and a hymn for survival. The alpha, the beta, and the future Whisperer, united in their defiance, were ready to face the storm, one rogue heartbeat at a time.