The Red Wolf

Prologue

Aiden

I woke up in the middle of the night to the shouting of my parents. They were probably heard all over the house, even though by the sound of it they came from downstairs.

It was really unusual.

I don't think I have ever heard them fight.
Something was really off.

"I don't like it," my wolf Phantom said to me in my mind.
Phantom and I got to know each other when I had my first shift a few months ago. He lives in my mind and we share the same body.
Well, two bodies actually.

I heard footsteps and smelled my mom's scent coming near my room. I covered myself in my blankets and pretended to be asleep.

"I know you are awake", she said in a tired sweet voice.

I got out of the covers to see her smiling a little smile at me and coming over to sit next to me on my bed.

At least by the look on her face, I am not in trouble for being awake after bedtime.

"What did you and dad fight about?", I asked, hoping to not get in trouble for eavesdropping as well.

"Grownup stuff honey," she said while stroking my head.

"Hey! I'm twelve, I will start training to be Alpha in a few months, I am a grownup!" I pouted.

She giggled. "Your dad and I love each other and that's all you need to know".

"Is there any way I can help? One of the Alpha's responsibiliteis is to make sure there is peace among all his pack members." I said, hoping my mom would notice I started reading my training textbooks in advance.

I learned so much already! Like, how uncle Ben is actually the Beta of the pack which means he is second in command and that the Gamma is the third and Delta is the fourth. There are regular pack members, warriors, and omegas - the weakest in the pack.
I also learned that as I will grow up Phantom would be bigger than the size of a horse! How cool is that!?

Mom only laughed and said, "Honey, there is nothing to help with, we are fine." She petted my hair and laid back a little. Like she was tired and wanted to rest. Her words didn't convince me but I decided to let this go.

"Now come I want to tell you a bedtime story", she opened her arms expecting I will come into her embrace. I looked at her annoyed.

"Fine, fine. I want to tell you an ancient tail that is relevant to your Alpha training, oh all mighty grownup Alpha!" she laughed.

"Now are talking". I layed on her chest, she wrapped her arms around me.

"A few thousands of years ago, after the first packs were created, pack culture was really problematic. Alphas were more like tyrants than respectable rulers, and being in a pack was as dangerous as being a rouge without a pack. The life of a pack member's sole purpose was to please his Alpha. For example, The Alpha would decide who to pair with whom romantically. The decisions were always based on selfish purposes to gain personal pleasure or on political purposes to gain power. Almost never Alphas allowed a couple that wants to be together to do so, and if a couple was discovered to be together without the Alpha's permission, the two were sentenced to death.

The story begins with two rival packs that had a joined border between their territories in those times."

"Like we have with Full Moon pack?" I asked. Again, wanting to impress her I started the politics chapter in my textbook.

"That's right now listen until the end ok?". I nodded impatiently.

"The Alpha's daughter in one pack and the Alpha's son in the other met by accident and fell in love. They were both promised to others but still kept meeting in secret. The Alphas discovered this and started a war. The girl was killed and left the boy alone and heartbroken.
Selene the moon goddess witnessed the story and decided to end the misery and unnecessary death of her children. She then created mates. The one true love she gifts her children, a bond so special and true that nothing compares to it. Every werewolf in the world would find his other half with another soul. That way an Alpha wouldn't be able to trade pairings. Most importantly, the Alpha would have a mate for himself, the mate bond will ensure aspiration to be and do good by the people for the other half to also be happy."

"But I know this already! They taught us in history class all about it." I was impatient and tired and I really didn't want to hear about people kissing.
"If you will be patient I'll get to my point." I nodded.

"What they don't teach you is that this story was the beginning of The Red Wolf as well."

I jumped out of my mother's embrace. "The one that kills people?" I said urgently, my interest started growing.

"Well not really, just listen and I'll explain."

"The heartbroken Alpha's son was given a greater gift. Selene decided to give him the powers to stop the war between the packs. She gave him a stronger wolf with dark blood red fur, it was larger, stronger, and faster than any other wolf there is. The boy was able to commend every wolf and win every battle. He meddled in the war and caused the packs to come to peace with each other. The boy was given the task to spend the rest of his life creating peace among the werewolf's communities by the moon goddess and became the first Red Wolf.
Unfortunately, there is only one mate to each wolf, your other half. The boy and the girl were the first mates in history, so he was left alone for the rest of his life.
Now every generation a different Red Wolf is born with the same duty, to represent peace.

The Red Wolfe's identity was kept secret so he and his family will stay safe from those who want to use the Red wolf's powers for evil. No record of the line of Red Wolfes was ever kept and it was never inherited. The Red Wolf had to die so another could be born."

Mom paused for a moment and suddenly became really sad. I waited for her to continue. I looked at her with sadness as her eyes started tearing, and as she started to talk with difficulty.

"As we speak, and as you know, there is a great war right now in Europe and the current Red Wolf sided with a great tyrant who wants to occupy the world with violence and blood... Thousands are dead... including your mother's... Your mother's family in her old pack". She started to cry. I went to hold her, but she stopped me.

"So mommy is flighting over there to help her old pack in the fight."

I was shocked "Mom no! You will die!", tears now started to fall from my eyes too. "Maybe honey, but mommy needs to go and help. When you will start your training you will understand duty, it is mine to go save as many of my people as I can".

By this point I cried heavily, fearing my mom's fate "I won't allow this, you can't!" I screamed.

"Hush, you will wake your sister too. Now go to bed honey and we will talk about this in the morning ok?" she pleaded as she wiped my tears and covered me in blankets. I nodded and she gave me a long kiss on my forehead.

"You resemble your father so much" she sighed with a small smile. "Your heart is your greatest strength honey, don't ever forget that." She kissed my forehead again and walked out of the room closing the door behind her.

My single and biggest regret in life was not stopping her at that second. Not when she got up from the bed and walked out my bedroom door and not when I smelled her scent leaving the packhouse entirely, thinking she would talk to me in the morning as promised and that it wouldn't be the last conversation I will ever have with her.

My father became an emotional mess after she left. He became less happy and more distant by the day. After a year we heard shouting and roars of agony from his office and discovered it was completely ruined and there was no sign of him.

By the second day he was missing, we all figured he felt the mate bond die.

By the third day, rouges attacked our pack because they had a tip we were vulnerable. We barely survived with our Alpha gone and had many casualties.

After five days he came back, and we had a body-less funeral for my mom and funerals for everyone that died in the attack.

No one blamed my father for what happened. I blamed one thing for the misery we endured.

The mate bond.

Mates weren't a gift they were a curse.

That day I vowed to reject mine on sight, to never be this weak.

My pack needed a strong Alpha,

A mateless Alpha.