Chapter One

* Alpha Archer *

The wind is blowing freely, and the weather is fine. I stay seated while the council announces the reason everyone is gathered in the huge hall of the Western Pack dome.

"Everyone, may I have your attention please?"

The voice of the oldest council member, Hagar echoed all around. The warriors were silent. I glance at my mother who is seated on my right, her face glowing as she meets my gaze.

"I am so proud of you son, you deserve this ceremony."

Her emerald eyes were shining, but I am not sure what the ceremony was all about. I have questions inside my head but instead I stay silent and nodded at my mother, Alpha Zeina. As my father stay silent on my left side I listened to the old council member.

"Today is a great day, our pack leader Alpha Zeina has a very important announcement to make. We thank her and Cerberus together with their son for keeping us all safe. Against the enemies and against the trials that we have overcome. Please stay seated and listen."

The warriors were silent as my mother stands, they bow their heads to her. In the front Donna, Beta Aldin and Beta Kael the strongest wolves that I have known in the pack stood up.

"Please stay seated everyone. And thank you Hagar."

My mother's commanding voice is always a pleasant one to hear. I glance at my father as he looks at her proudly, ready to battle and conquer the world in order to keep her safe. They are bonded mates, and all these years I have witness their love for each other. I could only hope to find a good she-wolf like her. Like my mother who's strong, sweet, and beautiful.

"Today marks the sixteenth birthday of my beloved son, Archer."

She gently glances at me, I was a bit surprised. I know that my birthday would be tonight after midnight in the full moon but it's too early to make the announcement.

"Mother."

I murmured but she just winked at me. My father put his arm over my shoulder and give me a pat.

"Just listen son, let your mother give the announcement."

The dome was too still, after that. The kind of stillness before a storm, though instead of thunder, the weight of hundreds of eyes pressed down on me. Warriors. Elders. Omegas. Pups. My pack, our pack, every breath they took seemed to wait on my mother's next word.

Alpha Zeina's emerald gaze swept across the hall, steady and unshakable. Her aura rolled out like a tide, demanding respect without effort. I had seen it since I was a boy, how the strongest alphas would bow their heads under her voice. But tonight felt different.

"Sixteen years ago," she began, her voice carrying like steel wrapped in silk, "a child was born beneath the blessing of the moon and the fire of our ancestors. He was destined for more than ordinary blood could bear. Many of you saw it when he shifted before his time, when the mark of the wolf king made itself known in him."

A murmur rippled through the dome, hushed as quickly as it came.

My chest tightened. I had never wanted ceremony. I had never wanted eyes that shows obvious expectation. Yet here I was, my hands balled into fists on my knees, forcing myself not to shift under the weight of their stares.

"Today," my mother's voice rang, "I give you your new Alpha of the Western Pack."

The words struck like lightning. My breath faltered.

For a heartbeat, I thought I misheard her. Then, like rolling thunder, the sound of bodies shifted, hundreds dropping to their knees, heads bowed low. My name is being whispered like a chant, swelling into a roar.

"Alpha Archer."

The hall shook with the sound.

I didn't rise at first. My throat was tight, my wolf pacing beneath my skin, snarling with pride, clawing to be seen. But my mind, my human self, was stunned. Sixteen. I had thought this moment belonged to another lifetime.

My father leaned closer, his voice rough but steady. "Stand, son. They are yours now."

I let out a deep breath. My legs carried me upward, heavy and yet light, as though the entire dome tilted with the movement. When I stood, the chanting grew louder, fiercer, as if the walls themselves would split.

I looked at them, warriors who had fought at my side, elders who had judged me too young, pups who looked at me with wide, glowing eyes. They weren't just my pack. They were mine to protect.

And I, theirs. My wolf surged, pressing against my skin, golden eyes flickering through my silver one as if to tell them all. I am here. I am your Alpha.

I lifted my chin, voice breaking free, deeper and stronger than I remembered it ever sounding.

"I accept."

The dome exploded with howls, a chorus that rattled the beams overhead. My father's hand gripped my shoulder in silent pride, my mother's emerald gaze gleamed with triumph and love as she look at me.

And for the first time, I felt it fully. I just become an Alpha.

The howls had barely faded when silence crept back into the dome, heavier than before. The sound of their loyalty still rang in my ears, but now a different weight pressed against me, expectation.

I glanced at my mother. Her smile was proud, radiant, but her eyes, sharp, like she was measuring how I would carry this moment. My father's grip stayed strong on my shoulder, his presence a wall behind me.

"Mother," I said at last, my voice lower but carrying into the hush. "Why now? I thought.” I trailed off, unwilling to sound like a child in front of the pack.

Her emerald eyes softened, but she gave me no room to retreat. "Because, Archer, the pack does not wait on time. It waits on strength. And your strength as an Alpha is ready."

The murmurs swelled again. Some voices approving, while others are doubtful.

Beta Kael stepped forward from the front row, his dark eyes burning as always. He was loyalty bound into muscle and steel, and yet his words were blunt.

"Alpha Zeina, with respect, he is sixteen. The youngest Alpha the West has ever had. Will the East, will the North respect this claim?"

My wolf bristled at the challenge. I lifted my head higher, meeting his gaze. "They'll respect it," I said, steady and strong. "Or they'll learn to."

Donna, ever the loyal shadow to my mother, bowed her head before raising it proudly. "The boy shifted before any of us expected. He carries Cerberus's fire and your blood, my Alpha. If the other packs doubt him. They'll find their answer on the battlefield."

The warriors howled at that, pounding fists against their chests.

Still, Beta Aldin, the older and wiser one, lifted a hand to quiet them. His voice was steady, the kind that carried a command without shouting.

“Strength we do not doubt. But wisdom must match it. Tell us, young Alpha.” He looked directly at me. "What is the first command you will give your pack?"

The question dropped like a stone into water, ripples spreading through every ear. I froze. My first command? My throat tightened. What if I said something foolish? What if I failed them before I even began?

My father's voice brushed against me, low enough only I could hear. "Don't think of what they want to hear. Think of what you believe, son.”

I drew a breath. Looked at them, at Beta Kael's challenge, at Donna's faith, at Beta Aldin's steady testing. At my mother's unshakable gaze.

"My first command is this, no wolf of the West bows their head in fear of another pack. We bow only to the Moon Goddess. We fight only to protect our own. And we rise, always, to stand as one."

The words left me like fire, unplanned, raw.

A howl rose, then another. Then the entire hall erupted in a storm of voices, the kind that shook the earth itself. They didn't just cheer, they accepted me.

My wolf pressed harder at the surface, golden eyes flashing, eager to tear free and join the chorus.

Mother was smiling, her lips curved in pride. Father's hand clenched my shoulder once more. "Spoken like an Alpha," he rumbled, voice thick with pride.

Beta Kael gave a sharp nod, bowing his head finally. "Then I stand with you, Alpha Archer."

Donna knelt, her voice fierce. "As do I."

Beta Aldin studied me longer, his eyes narrowing like he could see the boy still beneath the mantle of Alpha. But at last, he too lowered his head. "Then so be it. The West has new Alpha."

The dome thundered again with chants of my name, echoing until it felt carved into the walls themselves.

Alpha Archer.