Chapter 2 : The Alpha King

Onyx

I was having difficulty sleeping again, so I had gotten up early and gone into my office to deal with some correspondence that I had been procrastinating on.

Being the Alpha King was a job with many facets, but I doubt that anyone knew exactly how much paperwork it entailed. Sitting behind a desk all morning responding to letters and pouring over maps and reports from my men had never been my favorite thing to do, but it was necessary in order to run the pack.

It was dull, but not my least favorite part of my job. There was plenty that was worse than spending a morning writing.

The lives of every member of the pack depended on me. We had been steeped in war for all of my life. Half the pack couldn’t remember a time when we weren’t fighting the magical forces of our greatest enemies, and those who could remember life before the war didn’t like to talk about it.

It was painful to think about how good life once was when you were sure that you would never see that kind of peace again.

I hoped that I would be able to attain something like that for the pack one day, but at times, it seemed impossible.

I wasn’t focused on the letters that I was writing. The alpha’s of our most distant packs expected to hear from me on a regular basis to assure them that there were no imminent threats that I was aware of. Other than that, these letters weren’t anything special. They were formulaic and honestly, probably said the same thing every month.

It seemed to me that much of my life was repetitive. I fought the same war every day, and I had for as long as I could remember. I felt the same dread in the pit of my stomach every day, because I didn’t know when the next tragedy was going to strike. It was exhausting to carry the weight of life and death decisions every day.

I had been in my office since before the sun began to rise, and I could see through the window that it was beginning to peak over the horizon. The rest of the pack would be stirring soon and I would have to begin the real work for the day. I wasn’t looking forward to it.

I could hear the familiar footsteps of my beta as he approached my office door. I sat aside the letter I had just opened and rubbed my heavy eyes.

Rydel entered the room and my mood darkened immediately. Lately, it seemed like he only ever brought me bad news. I pretended for a moment that I didn’t know he was there.

Rydel was a loyal and level-headed beta, which I appreciated, but he could be a little too methodical for my liking. He always insisted on the direct approach and had no patience when it came to matters that he believed could negatively impact the pack. He wanted threats eliminated in the most immediate and thorough way possible.

I usually agreed with him, but I had a feeling I knew what he was here to talk about and I just wasn’t in the mood to hear it today.

“What is it?” I said after a few seconds of tense silence. I turned in my chair to face him and, just as I thought, he had a stern expression on his face.

“I have the report on the most recent coven operation,” he said. “It was, broadly speaking, a success. This was a midsize coven and–”

“Of course, it’s about witches,” I muttered. It seemed like my entire life revolved around witches these days.

He frowned deeply at me and continued. “And, our forces were successful in destroying the settlement and taking out the threats present.”

“Threats,” I scoffed. The way he talked about them made it seem so simple. It was like he’d forgotten what we were up against. “This is pointless,” I said under my breath.

“We have to deal with it,” he said in a scolding tone. I glared at him, but he didn’t back down. Rydel was the only man who dared to speak to me like this. Normally, I would count that as a good thing. It was good to have someone that could speak to me as an equal and not be afraid of my reaction, but right now, it was pissing me off.

“I know that,” I snapped back.

“Do you?” he demanded. “If we don’t deal with the witches, our entire species is at risk of extinction. Our numbers have plummeted since this conflict began. Do you think that’s a coincidence?”

“Don’t talk down to me,” I said in a warning tone.

“We can’t underestimate their magic,” he replied with a sigh. “Countless shifters have been lost for making just that mistake.” His expression remained set, but I could see the sadness that entered his eyes. “You’re the Alpha King,” he said. “It’s your job to keep the others in line and put an end to all of this.”

His words weighed heavily on me.

My father had never tired of reminding me of my duty to the pack. The thought of him set me on edge. I stood suddenly and walked briskly toward the door.

Rydel started to ask me a question, but I cut him off.

“I need air,” I said.

He knew better than to try to stop me.

I stormed down the hallway and out of the building. It was early in the morning and there weren’t too many people around yet. It was for the best. I didn’t need anyone approaching me with some question or concern right now.

Thinking of my parents always brought back the anger that I felt the day they vanished. Now, after so many years without any answers about what happened to them, the anger was accompanied by grief and a sense of failure. Despite my power and influence, I had failed to find a single sign of them.

I had punished those responsible, but I wasn’t able to put them to rest and because of that, I had never quite been able to move on from their loss.

It haunted me.

I entered the forest at the back of the property and began to run.

The early morning air was brisk and refreshing, and I hoped that it would help to clear my mind.

Rydel was right. I had to address this latest operation and debrief with my men. After that, I would need to examine the maps and intel that we had about the covens and make a decision about our next move.

All of that would require me to keep my cool, and right now, I couldn’t do that.

I ran through the familiar forest with my mind racing.

The witches were a constant thorn in my side. Sometimes I wasn’t sure why we were still doing this. It seemed hopeless. Their magic made them incredibly resilient and each time we made progress in the war, another coven settlement would pop up.

They took us out just as fast as we hunted them. It was a stalemate.

Of course, I couldn’t acknowledge that openly. It was bad for morale for me to sound so defeated. The men looked to me for inspiration and the pack looked to me for assurance that they were safe. I couldn’t disappoint them.

I had long sought a solution to this problem, but nothing had panned out. I had consulted everyone that could be consulted on the issues, and nothing had been helpful. In a way, the priestesses had been the most helpful. They had assured me that the goddess was on our side and that she would guide us through this time of hardship. That was enough to keep me optimistic most of the time.

We were strong, and we had endured a lot of hardship. We had recovered from terrible losses and protected our home.

We would keep fighting until we were victorious, even if it took my lifetime to get there.

The familiar paths of the forest were comforting to me. So was the motion of running. The anger that had threatened to overwhelm me back in my office was starting to fade. My heart was thundering with effort as I increased the speed of my run. Instinct took over as I moved though the forest.

It was a silent morning, with the occasional call of birds as the only sound. I found it peaceful. I was able to trust my wolf to lead and allow my own mind to rest for a short time.

The peace that I felt right now was what I was fighting for. This was the goal.

A strange sensation flashed through me and I stopped where I was. There was a warm, tingling in the center of my chest that I had never felt before.

My wolf reacted to the sensation eagerly and, at his urging, I began to move again. This time, I was headed in a definite direction. I was running towards the source of this feeling.

Something in the forest was calling to me and I wanted to find it.

I knew I was headed in the right direction as the tingling sensation strengthened into a pull. My heart was racing in excitement. I had a feeling that I knew what this was, and my wolf's eagerness to run this feeling down reinforced my theory.

I don’t know how far I ran before I stopped to gather myself for a moment. The sensation was becoming so powerful that I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I had to calm myself before I got any closer or I might do something foolish.

I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly. The feeling was so strong that I knew I had to be close, but I couldn’t detect any scent. It didn’t make sense.

From nearby, a soft, breathy sound rang out in the silence.

I turned toward it quickly, but stopped the second my eyes landed on the source. It was a woman—no, a witch.

She was standing next to a huge oak tree and her hand went to her chest in what seemed to be an unconscious movement. She was staring at me wide eyed with her lips parted slightly as if she meant to speak, but couldn’t.

I was struck by her beauty before I could process anything else.

She was a threat, but my mind refused to recognize her as such. I knew that witches weren’t to be underestimated. Often the frailest looking old woman in a coven was the most powerful, and I had learned to never drop my guard around a magic user. Still, all I could manage to do at the moment was stare at this woman in silence.

She was willowy, with dark eyes and wavy hair that glowed orange in the early morning sun. Her clothes were dirty and tattered, making it clear that she had been traveling for some time, but that didn’t detract from the grace that exuded from her. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she recognized me. It would be absurd if she didn’t. I was sure that all witches had been warned about me by now. The war had been raging for so long…

The pull in my chest became impossibly stronger as my eyes locked with hers. The depth of her dark gaze drew me in and for a second, I felt like I was falling. That’s when I knew.

She was my mate.