CHAPTER ONE: A Rejected Alpha

“Let me let you go Russe, it’s for the best.” Adelia whispered in his ears.

Her statement resounded like a thunder clap in his ears. He couldn’t wrap his head around it at all, was she rejecting him? On their wedding day?

Russe searched her eyes as if she would deny ever saying that, but to his horror, she nodded affirmatively.

“Why?... I don’t understand... did.. did I do something wrong? I will make it up to you.... I promise.... just don’t... don’t leave me Adel!” Russe begged her desperately.

He watched as Adelia let go of his hand and then walked away... from the altar... from his life. Not caring about the stares and murmurs from the pack members, Russe ran after her.

Running across the hallways, Russe’s mind raced back and forth, thinking of what to say to make her stay with him. On getting to her house, Russe forced his way in directly without knocking.

“Adel! Adel!” He searched for her frantically around the house. Russe freezes for a moment as he sees her beautiful figure right before him.

“Adel, I...” He was interrupted by her.

“Look Russe, honesty has always been the best policy in our relationship, so I want to show you the respect of keeping that going. I admire you and I care about you a lot, but I don’t feel like our relationship can go on anymore.” Adelia said to him calmly.

“But why? Am I not good enough? Is... is it a mistake from my side?” Russe asked with a pain-filled voice. He still couldn’t understand where and when he went wrong.

“It isn’t either of our faults, I just think we have grown beyond what we can offer each other. I think it’s best to end things here Russe.” Adelia closed her eyes that seemed to be tearing up already. Regardless, he was still her mate. She could feel his pain and agony, and she is the cause of it.

“No, Adelia!” Russe roared. Although he was viewed by the pack members as a ruthless Alpha, he had quite an emphatic side to his strong personality. But then only her could bring out this side of him, only her could see him this way.

“Look, you... you’re all I want, all I ever wanted and... and it hurts so much to see that dream fall apart each second of this hour. I love Adel, you know I do.” He confessed his true feelings.

Adelia heaved a sigh at his heartfelt confession. She turned her back to him and signalled him to leave, she couldn’t bear another string of words from him.

Russe watched her beautiful back with a longing gaze,

“Before you go..” He said, causing her to stop in her tracks.

“Was there something I could have done, to make your heart long for me? To make you see me as your dream the way I see you as mine?” He asked grimly.

“Nothing is better than to both say our goodbyes, so let’s just let it go Russe. Goodbye.” Adelia vanished into the eerie night with her bag.

Russe continued staring at the spot she vanished from, and with tears welling up in his eyes he fell to his knees. “I love you Adel!” he whispered.

A dark day it was for Russe, the Alpha of the Teros Pack, with the pack members murmuring and whispering twisted rumours around town about him. At the training ground, all the young werewolves gathered for their first training after weeks of postponement due to the Alpha’s ‘now ruined’ wedding to his mate Adelia.

“Pssttt!! Hey, have you guys heard the recent news?!” A redheaded youngster gossiped. Her little question piqued the other werewolves curiosity and they all shuffled closer to her, leaning down with much enthusiasm.

“Spit it out Aiel!” They all pestered her, eager to hear some juicy gossip.

“Alright, calm down everyone! So here is the thing, do you all remember Reina of the Xenakis tribe?” She started while looking at their chubby faces contort in confusion.

“Oh, I know! Isn’t she our instructor for today?” A fat youngster piqued.

“Uhh, our instructor? But what does it have to do with her?” A cute voice asked.

“Because she is the only female warrior of the Xenakis tribe, she’s the leader’s daughter!” The redheaded girl explained.

“Woah!!!” They all exclaimed at the revelation. Apparently, most of them had neither seen nor heard of her before.

The redheaded girl nodded in affirmation. “So I heard that Alpha Russe’s charm had made her infatuated with him.” She whispered again.

“Eishh! Doesn’t she have her own mate? Or is she the legendary mate-less warrior from our history classes?” The fat boy commented with clear sarcasm in his voice.

Everyone burst into laughter at his sarcastic comment except for the redheaded girl.

“Well full disclosure, she is indeed the legendary mate-less warrior.” Everyone gasped at her statement.

“That’s ridiculous! We were never told that the mate-less one existed and I can assure you that I’m a straight A student in history!” The fat boy bragged otherwise.

“Yeah, how could that be?” The cute voice spoke up again and everyone did the same. They had never been told about the existence of the mate-less one, not even their parents.

“Now that you all know, will you keep quiet and let me continue?!” The redheaded girl shushed looking annoyed. The youngsters stopped arguing amongst themselves to listen to the full gist of the story.

“So as I was saying, Reina was caught by Adelia trying to seduce our Alpha in his office the night before the wedding. And it turns out that Reina and Adelia are best of friends, Reina tried to seduce her best friends mate!” She said hurriedly and they all exclaimed at the new twist.

“So, that means Adelia broke up with our Alpha on the wedding day because she couldn’t take betrayal?” The fat boy asked with an enlightened voice.

“That must have been the case, because.....”

“Because what?” The redheaded girl was interrupted by a frigid female voice. The youngsters all turned their heads around only to find a beautiful but stony-faced lady looking at them with a dark smile. They all gasped at her bold aura, making her look like a warrior queen. ‘Who is she exactly?’ They wondered.

“Uhmm..In....Ins...Instructor, you...yo...you are here!” The redheaded girl stuttered with a forced smile. ‘What! Instructor?! We are so dead if she heard our discussion!’ She freaked out in her head.

“Instructor?!” The youngsters exclaimed at the same time. Realising the situation, they all scurried back to their formation lines.

Reina scanned their chubby, immature faces with her eagle-like eyes as they went back to their lines. “So tell me, That must have been the case, because?....” She asked them again, fixing her cold gaze on the redheaded girl.

The youngsters all glanced at each other, nobody was ready to say a word. The redheaded girl stood out of the line hesitantly, her head bowed in shame.

“Aiel, what do you have to say about this?” Reina asked the Redheaded girl in a nonchalant manner

“Ma, I mean Miss....Instructor....I....didn’t....mean...” Aiel said incoherently, her long lashes fluttering on the verge of tears. She couldn’t stand the heavy pressure their instructor had put on her.

“Enough, Aiel. Don’t make excuses for your behaviour. Gossiping is not only a waste of time, but it is also destructive.” Reina spoke in a voice that was stern yet calm.

The youngsters all stood still, afraid to even breathe. Reina’s presence was intimidating, her aura was powerful and they could sense her strength.

“You all are young wolves, but you have to understand that your actions carry consequences. Words are powerful and they can hurt people. The Alpha’s personal life is none of your business, and spreading rumours and gossiping about it only shows your immaturity.” Reina lectured them with a voice that was firm and unyielding.

The youngsters all hung their heads in shame, feeling guilty for their actions. Reina continued, “As warriors, you all have to learn to respect others, their privacy and their personal lives. You are not just wolves, you are part of a pack, and as such, you have to learn not just skills, but also values. Don’t be a bunch of crackheads.

“I....I’m so... sorry Instructor, I didn’t mean to spread rumours that could tarnish the reputation of the Teros Pack.” Aiel pleaded nervously with a flushed face.

Ignoring her earnest pleas, Reina stepped closer to Aiel, towering over her smaller figure. “Say I expel you for disrespecting your Alpha and Instructor?”

Aiel shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face. Reina continued to glare at her, causing the other youngsters to cower in fear.

“Be grateful that I am not reporting this to your Alpha. But let this serve as a lesson to all of you, the importance of respect and integrity in our pack,” Reina lectured, her voice strong and assertive. “Now, let us begin our training. I expect nothing less than your best performance today.”

The youngsters all nodded, relief washing over them as Reina turned to lead them in their training. But as Aiel stepped back into line, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of shame and guilt for her actions. She had never felt so small and insignificant before, especially in the presence of this powerful warrior queen that was her instructor.

As they started their training, Aiel couldn’t help but feel distracted. She kept replaying the conversation with Reina in her head and wondered if she had truly learned her lesson. It was clear to her now that gossiping was not only childish, but it also had serious consequences.

As the day went on, Aiel worked her hardest in training, determined to prove to herself and her instructor that she was capable of being a true warrior. And by the end of the day, she had made significant progress and felt a sense of accomplishment.

As they were dismissed for the day, Aiel made her way towards Reina, hoping to apologize once again. But as she approached, Reina turned to her with a smile.

“Well done, Aiel,” Reina said, with a hint of pride in her voice. “You’ve shown great improvement today. You have the potential to become a great warrior.”

Aiel beamed with pride at the compliment. “Thank you, Reina. I’ve learned my lesson and I promise I’ll never gossip again.”

Reina nodded, her expression softening. “I believe you, Aiel. But remember, being a warrior means more than just physical strength. It also means being honourable and honest. You must always uphold the values of our people.”

Aiel nodded, taking in Reina’s words. She knew that being a true warrior meant more than just physical strength, and she was determined to live up to those ideals.

As she turned to leave, Reina called out to her. “Aiel, one more thing. I know that you’re feeling guilty about what happened. But remember, the true measure of a person is not in their mistakes, but in their thinking, their heart and their ability to see life in the perspectives of others. Things are not always what it seems to be on the surface.”

Aiel nodded thoughtfully as she turned to leave, taking Reina’s words to heart. She knew that her mistake could never be undone, but she could learn from it and strive to be a better person.