TWO

Two things were clear to Alexandra when she heard the news:

1. She was now the sole caretaker of the house.

2. She had no idea what to do.

It was two in the night when someone knocked on the door. Alexandra, highly alert quickly pulled a scarf over her head and opened the wooden door. A werewolf stood with his hands folded in front. Alexandra knew he was a werewolf, because she could see the eyes, glowing like torches. His hair were neatly parted to one side, and he wore rich, smooth, velvet palace clothes. He was the Alpha's messenger.

"Your father- The bodyguard to the Alpha, has passed. You are called to verify. You must come to the palace immediately."

"I- What?"

The werewolf cleared his throat, it was clear that he was getting irritated. But with the same neutral tone, he repeated,

"Your father who served as the bodyguard to the Alpha is no more. You are to come to the palace and verify."

Alexandra heard faint movement behind her, she knew it was her mother.

"Alex, who is it?"

Alexandra still processing the information, turned immediately "Nothing important mom, just a friend. I need to help him, I'll be back. Don't wait up!"

She then turned back to the man, who was standing outside her door like a statue. "Can you give me a few minutes? I need to grab my shoes."

The man nodded and walked away from the door.

Alexandra ran to her room. There were only two rooms in the house. One was shared by Alex and her sisters the other, was her parents'. She quitely tiptoed, pulled her boots out, washed her face, straightened her hair, wrapped them in the scarf, put on her jacket, and a few knives. She refused to believe the news. It had to be some mistake. There was no way her father was-

No.

She gulped water from the pitcher and with a last look in the mirror, she quickly followed the messenger.

It was barely a five minute walk to the palace. Naturally, homes of the bodyguards were kept closer, to call them incase of any emergency. Now one may ask, that why would a werewolf- a magical, mystical, powerful, beautiful beast have humans as their bodyguards?

The answer was in fact the only thing where you would find these beasts praising humans. Humans seem trust-worthy to them, they think they will never reveal any pack secrets. Humans are also praised for their combat skills, one werewolves don't really acquire because well... naturally they are much stronger than humans, and also they turn into wolves, so fighting is not really their forte. And lastly, as to why humans are preferred, is because humans do not go through a reproductive process called- The Binding. It's a phase which occurs almost every month, and can vary from five to six days. It's basically a phase where these creatures go into heat. Male and female werewolves get high on hormones that make them want to mate. Usually, for females it is less- Barely a day. But for males, its higher and its more. Unfortunately here is where the female humans are utilised.

So all in all, these beasts, need humans to function. Without us, they are nothing.

Alexandra clenched her fists as she followed the messenger. She was on the verge of crying, and she knew she couldn't show any emotion in front of them.

Soon the palace came into view, and at night, it looked even more haunting. It was a big palace, with triangular and dome shaped buildings, and huge ground, and a bigger garden. Partying was also something these beasts enjoyed. 

There were guards all around the perimeter of the palace walls, humans no doubt. All covered in black except for their eyes. Alexandra could see their swords strapped to their waists, ready to strike at any given moment.

"This way," the messenger uttered as he led alexandra to a very small entrance door, probably meant for servants and messengers, because Alexandra had seen the entrance of the palace, and it was grand, and probably on the opposite side from where they entered.

The wooden door creaked slightly as Alexandra closed it behind her, she walked up the stone steps, the path dimly lit with lamps. The path reeked of damp and decay. After walking up the heaven knows how many steps, since Alexandra lost count after sixty-five, they arrived inside the palace, but she knew this was not the main building. The interior was fancy, brown carpets, well lit room, huge couches, a large kitchen, and a big staircase leading to many rooms. 

From her father's descriptions, this has to be the guest building. She knew the ins and outs of the palace. The palace had three buildings- The Alpha's Hall- Place where only the Alpha and his family were allowed to stay. All servants and guards would come from the second building- where the guests and servant quarters were, and third was where they partied, held their weird rituals. This is also where female humans who were taken as concubines were kept.

The messenger suddenly stopped in his tracks and then signalled a woman standing near the staircase in white dress, probably a maid, and she quickly ran to them.

The messenger then turned towards Alexandra and said in the same tone, "Go with her, she will take you to your father." 

Before Alexandra even had the chance to respond, he walked away. The maid in the white dress stood there, faintly smiling at Alexandra, she then gestured her hand towards the staircase and led her to a room, where she saw a man lying on the bed.

Alexandra's heart almost jumped out of her chest as she walked closer to the bed. There he was; eyes closed, no frown lines from stressing too much, no smile lines from when Alexandra would try to make him laugh, no movement in his hands from when he taught her how to fight, no ache in his legs from when he would come tired from work. He was just lying there... still like a stone. Unmoving, not breathing.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to acknowledge them. She took a deep breath and walked slowly towards him. She grabbed his hand — it was as cold as snow. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, the wooden floor thudding beneath her.

"Dad..." her voice croaked. Her real voice. Even as she looked at her father's still body, there was this fear inside of her identity getting revealed.

She took a deep breath, and without turning, managed to say, "Can I please get a minute alone?"

There was no response, only shuffling of feet, and the click of the door being closed.

Alexandra then took time to cry, and beg her father to wake up. She knew she didn't have the liberty to cry and wail and scream, so she did her best to calm down, and try to look composed. 

After a few minutes, the door clicked open, and the maid spoke quietly, not looking at her. "The Alpha is coming to visit, please make yourself presentable, and... do not speak unless spoken to."

Alexandra just blinked at her, and looked at her reflection in the mirror beside the bed. Her face was swollen and red. Her eyelashes still wet, her lips dried, and her green eyes almost looked emerald. She was afraid that the light was permanently gone from her eyes, after seeing her father like this. More than sad, she was angry. Furious. 

So she took a deep breath, ran a hand down over her hidden knives and waited. 

In a few minutes, she could hear murmuring outside the door, and then the knob turned revealing an old man with long white hair, and the kindest face one could have. Alexandra was almost taken aback. This man did not look like a werewolf. Sure he had the eyes, and the face one would have, the clothes, and the hair; but there was no sinister look in his eyes, nor did he judge her when he saw her. There is no way this man was the Alpha.

Alexandra looked straight into his blue eyes, and even though she was not supposed to, she looked at him with all the anger she had left inside of her.

"I truly am sorry, for what happened to your father." 

Alexandra just stared at this man. She wanted to scream, and shout, and ask him what had happened to him, but all that came out from her was a pathetic, miserable sob. 

The Alpha's eyes softened, and he slowly stepped towards Alexandra. 

"Whatever help you need, I will provide it for you and your family, Alex."

Alexandra's eyes shot up to meet his kind blue ones. He knew her name? 

Even though he was kind, his presence was intimidating. Alexandra gulped her fear down and spoke, 

"W-what happened?"

The Alpha frowned, and straightened as he clasped his hands behind his back, "There was an attack. We were not prepared. Your father bravely stepped in. He saved my youngest daughter- Mina."

He then gestured towards the door, a young girl about fourteen walked inside wearing a lavender frock. Her jet black hair neatly tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were exactly the same like her father's- striking blue. She looked nervous as she approached Alexandra. She then clasped her hands in front of her, and said in the sweetest voice imaginable, "I am sorry for your loss sir, and I am grateful to your father for saving my life."

Alexandra just nodded in her direction, hands still in fists. At this point, the fists were to control her emotions.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. 

"Alex... your father did us a favour. Let me return that favour. You need not join us as a bodyguard. Your family will be taken care of, by me. You can stay in your home, and everything else will be provided to you. You need not worry about a job."

Alexandra took a deep breath. It took a lot in her to not just rip everyone's throats here. Her eyes were glued to her father as she spoke the following words, "Thank you sir, but all I require is food and safety for my family. And I am capable of doing that."

The Alpha cleared his throat, "Of course Alex, I know you are a hard-working young man just like your father,  but you are under the protection of the Alpha. If you require anything, we are here to help."

Alexandra nodded. Her eyes welled up with tears again. This time, it was not just sadness, but anger. Her father lost his life to protect these undeserving creatures. The creatures who were mistreating her father since years, the creatures who thought giving her family the bare minimum was god's work, these creatures who thought that they deserved how they were being treated. This Alpha was only grateful to her because her father saved his beastly daughter, otherwise, numerous bodyguards had lost their lives before, but no one was even acknowledged, let alone be informed that they were no more.

Had it not been his daughter that her father saved, Alexandra and her family would have never known. 

This Alpha was just faking his kindness. He didn't care. Of course he didn't. They were all the same. 

Wicked, unreliable, evil, selfish, and hungry for control.

Suddenly Alexandra's vision was clear: I will finish this rule. I will end the line of Alphas.