Alpha Rising

Chapter 1

"Sophie Simpatia"

I nodded and the enforcer in front of me crossed my name off the list. It had been embarrassing to be captured so quickly, our meager supplies not even lasting us a night in no man's land. Our group of ragtag smugglers had been caught quickly in this territory, it just remained to be seen what the presiding alpha of the land would do.

"Next!" She barked.

I trudged along my hands in chains and suppressed a sigh. This was not boding well for my future. I walked with my little group of fellow prisoners to the open field, my stomach curdling with each step. We were quickly coming to the hanging stage.

In all honesty, I felt pretty resigned about it. 26 was young but I'd known the risks of disobeying pack law. I'd chosen to fly in the faces of the wolves that ruled us and now I was in the beast's belly. I quickly peered around to see if Jensen had made it.

He wasn't my one true love, but he was the safe harbor I'd chosen in the middle of this chaos. He snuck me extra supplies and kept me warm on frosty night. At this point that was all I was looking for.

The man I loved was long gone. We were young when we met but I just knew I wanted to be with him. I couldn't explain it he just felt right in my bones. There was something about him that I never got enough of, but I guess that's how love goes. Doesn't everyone want to marry their best friend? I had been married with him for 2 years and I had loved him fiercely. 

The day it all happened, I knew Tommy had wanted me to stay in the house and stay safe but I couldn't resist. I had ducked out when he had left for over a day and I heard the screaming and fighting outside. The phone lines were cut and I was going crazy stuck inside with no way of knowing what was happening around me or what I could do next. I never want to be that helpless again.

I knew if I stuck around they would come into the house and take all of our beautiful things. The house I had worked so hard to make a home--our home--was going to be torn apart and I was going to be killed. I packed the necessities and an album of our memories and left quickly. I hadn't seen him since eventually being rounded up with other humans, I assumed the worst--there wasn't much hope for miracles around here.  

I had made terms with myself to await a solitary quick death, life after the supernatural made themselves known was treacherous. The monsters under your bed all came crawling out one day in a coup I had never seen anything like before. I remember the day clearly, I could never forget the feeling of the the blood draining from my face as I watched the breakdown of society on CNN. 

It was sick. Strategic attacks across the country, fierce crackdowns on any backlash from humans, the unraveling of life as we knew it. I felt helpless, it was like Darwinism sped up in front of us, the beasts targeting defenseless humans.

A structure was quickly set in place, most people hadn't made it far from their neighborhoods in all the struggle and were directed back to where they came from. Most creatures were more solitary or tended to live in isolated areas, werewolves were communal and intended to make humans part of their lifestyle. The pack lines around us that had gone unnoticed to the human eye became set in place by enforcers from the pack itself.  Food was rationed, school was reformed to teach supernatural propaganda, curfews were set in place for humans to follow. 

Most importantly came the rise of "Mates" a phenomenon where werewolves found their so-called soulmates and bonded with them forever. Occasionally this happened to be a human and I wasn't interested in any of it. Being stuck with someone I didn't choose, who intended to bite me to mark me as theirs, and to be trapped by this sham of a relationship just wasn't something I was interested in at all.

The wind blew over me and I shivered, my windbreaker wasn't up to handling this weather. I had banked on the early fall being warm enough to keep me comfortable and carried a light pack for my journey. Now I guess it didn't matter, my clothes would be burned after I was gone. 

I closed my eyes to try and find some last-minute religious inclinations and failed. My faith hadn't stayed with me through this mess and I doubted I could call on it now. I could feel the enforcers shifting around me, their pacing uneasy. I quickly opened my eyes and looked around, the wolves seemed to be arranging themselves into groups waiting for something.

My hands shook, I wasn't sure whether it was fear or some sort of anticipation. I felt electrified, my brain raced to understand the feeling. I couldn't remember the last time I felt so on edge, so prickly? I wasn't sure how to classify it. 

I scanned the area as far as I could see, my neck straining from the stretch. I could see a glimpse of some dark hair, it looked oddly familiar. Before I could inspect the face, the enforcer behind me smacked my head.

"Face forward" He snapped at me. 

A growl came from behind me and the wolf holding me whimpered at the reprimand. I kept my head down trying to stay out of further trouble. 

"Sophie?"

My head instantly went up. It was Tommy. 

Thanks for reading :) This is kind of my first time writing anything like this so let me know if it's any good!

Luv, KAS