*18 Sexual/Violence Content Warning - Read At Own Discretion*
A vicious smile touches his lips as he seems to read my intentions.
"I knew it was you. I knew you belonged to me."
***
For centuries an ancient treaty has kept werewolves out of A...
The familiar weight of the Moon Goddess' presence weighs down on me, reminding me that my nightmare wasn't my mind stirring, but her hand over me.
She's send me another message...or this time, a warning.
She's displeased. Able's actions have cost me her favour, and now she is restless. She wants more from me — more werewolves, more territory, more power.
I need to prove myself.
The house is slumbering as I stalk through it, Alvera asleep upstairs. She doesn't know how to feel about us being mates, and I can't blame her.
And that's only half the truth that I owe her.
It takes a drive through the town and beyond to reach my destination. It's an abandoned underground prison from back before the humans claimed this land. It used to be a prison for dangerous werewolves.
Now, I've converted it into a holding facility for my test subjects. My task to impress the Moon Goddess is turning humans into werewolves, and more now than ever I'm desperate for her approval.
I descend downward, leaving behind the surface for the dingy cells. I try to keep this place in as good order as I can, but there is only so much I can do when everything is underground.
The main corridor extends before me. There's the faint sound of chatter coming from the cells, and at the end, my second in command looking down at his clipboard.
While I run my pack, he deals with the test subjects most days.
Although I always make sure to check in every morning, before everyone else wakes.
"You're here early," Zen exclaims without looking up, the clinical light above him giving him a strange halo.
"I didn't sleep well," I admit, rubbing my face tiredly.
Every time I'm graced with a dream from the Moon Goddess, I wake with all my energy dragged out of me. This time is no different.
Zen's brows press together. "Something wrong?"
"The Moon Goddess is displeased," I grit out, looking into one of the cells where Tom, one of the subjects sleep. "Able wasn't supposed do what he did."
"You couldn't have seen it coming," Zen reminds me, scribbling something on the pages in front of him.
I sigh through my nose. I should have killed my brother when the urge arose, and now I'm at his mercy due to his bond with Alvera.
As easy as it would be off him, there is universe where I would ever want to put Alvera in danger.
"Of course I should have," I mutter. "I always knew he had ulterior motives, I just never thought he would do something this...permanent."
Chances are he is lying about knowing a way to reverse the bond, but even if he doesn't know, it must exist. Nature wouldn't allow something like this to occur without a way out.
"It's not permanent. You said yourself that he knows of a way to break the bond," Zen brings up.
"I doubt he's telling the truth," I say. "But I already have mobilised a team to find a way to break it before he expects me to respect his demands."
The thought of my brother's mark on my mates skin makes me murderous. He forced this on her, and now she has to live with this until I can do something about it. She's been put through enough as a human, and I'm worried she's going to pull away even more.
If she does, I wouldn't blame her.
"That is important, but this is more so," Zen states firmly, pulling me out of my head. "There can be no bond to break if there is no Alvera."
He's gestures down the corridor, at the several test subjects starting to wake up for the day. Soon it will be time for them to be escorted outside, but not before general testing is done.
We want these people to survive. They have agreed to become werewolves, to undergo this rigorous testing, and although they know the risks, I don't want any more of them to die.
This takes enough of a toll on me as it is.
"It's not what you want to hear, I get that. But she is in serious danger if we don't figure this out," Zen adds, reading my expression.
I turn to the cell on my left. It's a closed off room, only a small window seated in the solid door. Inside is a woman sweeping her legs out of bed, stifling her yawn before grimacing.
"How is Rose going?" I ask softly.
"Subject C is making progress, but she is still suffering from migraines," Zen explains solemnly, flipping through the pages on his clipboard, pulling her profile to the front.
"Can I see her?"
"Go right ahead."
The door is heavy as I push it open, startling Rose as I step inside. She looks up at me, he face gaunt, her eyes empty and cold.
We are going against nature by doing this. It's not been easy trying to make it work.
"Alpha..." She breathes, offering a weak smile.
She was one of the first volunteers, and the most eager. She hasn't taken well to be locked away for most of the day, but it's necessary to protect their weakened immune systems from the outside world. We allow them an hour or so in the sun, but they are heavily monitored.
Before she volunteered, Rose talked all about her obsession with werewolves, and how she wanted to be one. She had a terminal illness before we started, and now that we are close to success, it's vanished completely.
"How are you feeling, Rose?" I ask tentatively.
She runs her hands down her thighs, releasing a long breath. "Better, but not great yet."
She glances up at me, giving me a good look at her eyes. They have a glaze to them that seems to be a common feature amongst those turning.
"This is going to work, alright?" I assure her. "You've been drinking the tea's the healer has been making you?"
"I am," she affirms. "When will I be able to leave here?"
She asks me this almost every day, and my answer rarely changes. She wants this to be completed, so she can start the integration process into my pack.
"Once these migraines are dealt with, you'll need to complete your first transition, then we can focus on integration," I explain calmly.
She nods, her shoulders pulling inward. I watch her wring her hands together in front of herself, appearing uneasy.
"I'm nervous for transition," she admits, grinding her back teeth together.
"You'll be fine. I wouldn't let you go through with it if I wasn't entirely confident it would work." I offer a smile, knowing it won't do much to comfort her.
No one has yet to reach the transition phase as we are being especially careful about who can. It will hard on Rose's body, and if the werewolf gene hasn't taken, it will kill her.
"Is it true you've found your mate?" The corner of her mouth tilts upward, a flicker of hope in those saddened eyes.
My body warms at her question. Alvera is a happy topic in this moment of uncertainty.
"I have, and if you're lucky enough, once you've completed transition, the Moon Goddess will grant you with one," I bring up, feeling the tingle of the Moon Goddess' presence on the back of my neck.
Everything past the transition phase will be entirely uncharted territory. There is a chance Rose and others like he lose their mind, become sick or tear into the nearest civilian.
I can only hope that once they become werewolves, the Moon Goddess will keep them in check.
Rose perks up, her slight smile turning into a full grown grin, "Really?"
"I don't see why not."
She claps her hands. "That's so exciting."
In this moment, her migraines are forgotten and she seems happy. I hope tonight she will sleep, daydreaming about her life as a werewolf, about the mate she may be granted.
I want this to work. For her and many others.
But mostly for Alvera. This is all for her, to save her life. If I fail, the Moon Goddess will take her from me, and I'm not sure I can survive that.
"I'll be back tomorrow, alright? Drink those teas," I remind her sternly. Her migraines won't alleviate otherwise.
"Yes Alpha."
The door closes with a heavy clunk behind me as I step back into the corridor. Zen has slipped into his office, his desk cluttered with research materials and medical logs.
"Make sure you look after her and everyone else here while I'm gone on this tour," I say, leaning against the doorframe.
The thought of going on tour makes my stomach turn with unease. I'm not sure how Alvera will cope around other Alpha's, nor how they will act around her. She bears my brothers mark, which is going to raise questions I'm going to struggle to answer.
What matters is asserting my authority through the nearby packs. I want to establish treaties for trade and immigration while ensuring peace is sufficiently maintained.
Werewolves need to remain allied to each other, especially as humans press into our lands.
"How long will it take you?" Zen asks.
"Not long. For now I'll be targeting packs nearby," I explain. "Hopefully word will spread that I have returned, and those Alpha's far away will keep themselves in check."
My existence as Alpha King is a warning to all — act in a way that is not in favour of the werewolf race and the Moon Goddess, and you will be punished.
"Bringing Able along is going to complicate matters." Zen smirks, amused by the predicament I've been forced into.
"Indeed." I sigh roughly. "None of the Alpha's will believe she is my mate when she is bonded to my brother."
In fact, some of them will be amused that I allowed this to happen.
"Your bond to her as your Chosen is far stronger than a bond like the one they have forged. It is much more superficial, with the only real benefit coming from the mark," Zen reminds me, giving me a look that warms me not to be overcome with my rage.
It would be easy, to explode. But for Alvera's sake, I need to keep it together.
"The Alpha will be able to scent her opposing marks, which only puts her in more danger." I rub my face tiredly, wishing I could knead the stress out of my muscles.
"She will be fine. They wouldn't dare lay a hand on your Chosen."
"Let us hope I don't start a war while I'm gone."
I try to brush it off as a joke, but I worry about my control when it comes to my mate. The bond is new to me, and every ounce of my body wishes to claim Alvera is mine. More than my want is my need for her to maintain her free will.
If she wants to choose me, she will. If not, I must accept that.
"I know she is your mate, but you can't lose your head," Zen warns. "She is your weakness, and everyone knows it."
"If someone touches my mate, I can't be held responsible for what I do in retaliation," I say with a shrug, sliding my hands into my pockets.
The only person foolish enough to cross that line in front of me is my brother, who is the only person I cannot retaliate against.
All of a sudden, the violent sound of someone being sick surges down the corridor and into the office.
Zen and I exchange a brief glance before we are both up, making it to the cell where one of the test subjects is knelt over, throwing my a continuous stream of blood onto the concrete floor.
"Shit," Zen hisses.
"He's dying," I note grimly, watching him stumble back onto the bed, collapsing against the wall.
I've seen this symptom before. First they complain of weakness, shivering and fatigue. Then the throwing up occurs, followed shortly by death. This man doesn't have long left.
"I won't be sorry to see him go," Zen muses. "He's here because he has a proclivity for stalking and harassment."
"They would be killed regardless," I concede. "Why does turning work on some and not others?"
"I'm unsure. Perhaps the Moon Goddess isn't deeming them worthy enough," he guesses with a shrug.
She hasn't indicated that to me, but I wouldn't be surprised. The Moon Goddess only wants werewolves under her power that will serve her how she wants. Perhaps she doesn't want humans who have done so much wrong in their lives so far.
"It's possible. Do some investigating while I'm gone." I clap his back, grateful for him taking the reins of this operation when I cannot.
"I'm on it."
I back toward the exit. "And I'll work on not starting any wars, huh?"
He rolls his eyes, laughing under his breath.
I just hope I can keep my own promise.
🩷••🩷
If you want to read ahead at any point, you can read this story 15 chapters ahead on INKITT and 10 chapters ahead on RADISH.
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If you're interested, check out my latest story out on Wattpad now!
The Night I Met The Alpha
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