the alpha

Part 1

The Alpha
Darren Stephens

In loving memory of Our Darling Mama
"I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations"
Dulcie Rasamany Stephens - Ong,
November 25th, 1938 – April 12th, 2020

Prologue

January 18th, 2018
04:30 am
Central Park,
Linden Ave NE
Atlanta, Georgia

With the moonlit sky above and the heavy falling snow, Central Park and its surrounding streets seemed to glisten like silvery blood veins converging into a proverbial heart of darkness towards the city center of Atlanta, Georgia.

The Alpha, all clad in a custom-fit Werewolf costume, harbored a secret—a primal vigilante alter ego that emerged when the moon hung low and the city slept. As werewolf costumes go, this was a very impressive looking body hugging stretchable Kevlar lightweight suit. It had a very life-like canine head mask that had an animal-like tapetum lucidum on its amber-colored eye goggles. The goggles would give him superb night vision and whenever anybody looked at him, it would appear to look as though his eyes reflect light at will. The custom-made sleek and black colored werewolf costume was all covered with hair and pelt from the tips of it's ears to the tip of it's tail. The Alpha's look was menacing and it became even more terrifying when it's jaws yawned wide, revealing razor-sharp teeth.

Central Park was a dark and ghostly realm at this hour, the snow-shrouded trees looming like sentinels. The world was muffled, the only sounds were the soft fall of snowflakes. A few miles ahead on the other side of the Park, running on the edge of the street, there was a desperate man moving through the shadows of the snow-covered pine trees.

It was Perry Mathers, a young man in his late twenties, wearing a beige coat which looked like it had not been ironed for months. He seemed tormented now by the look of his face, well, he did intentionally kill innocent victims, these victims were random and unconnected to him.  This was when he created a make-shift chemical reaction bomb, with toxic gases, released from a duffel bag that he had left behind, in a locked theater. His crime was all over the news a few months ago, a scar on the city's soul.

The snow swirled around the Alpha, a maddening vortex of white that obscured his vision. But his other senses compensated, his ears picking out the soft crunch of Perry's feet in the fresh powder, his nose tracking the faint scent of fear and sweat. The Alpha's paws left deep impressions in the snow, his strides long and effortless as he pursued Perry through the park. The cold air burned his lungs, but his heightened metabolism fueled his endurance. Elms and oaks, sentinels of Central Park, stood watch amidst the falling snow, as the Alpha prowled the moonlit grounds, his paws whispering against the snow-kissed grass.

The Alpha's ears, attuned to the symphony of the city, picked out the distant hum of traffic and the forest's verdant canopy of melting snow above seemed to blur and fade, becoming a distant memory as the Alpha's focus narrowed to vibrations that were from his moving prey. With each stride, the Alpha's powerful limbs propelled him through the park.

The Alpha climbed with ease on to the roof of an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the park. The Alpha's claws dug into the snowy roof, his eyes scanning the landscape in front. His breath misted in the chill air and there was a scent of pine mingled with the distant hum of traffic.

With a fluid motion, the Alpha stood up, his fur ruffled by the wind. He surveyed his kingdom, the snow-covered rooftops stretching out before him like a vast, white expanse. Perry's footsteps echoed through the alleys below, a desperate bid for escape. The Alpha's ears perked up, tracking the sound with ease. The Alpha could see the faint outline of Perry's figure, a small, fleeing shape in the distance. As the Alpha's gaze locked onto Perry's distant figure, a low, rumbling growl began to build in his chest. It started as a vibration, a tremor that shook his very frame, before erupting into a majestic, soul-shattering howl.