Cursed

Rogue Alpha

Cole

I paced around my office as my wolf prowled around my head. Usually, he spoke to me constantly. It was hard to keep him quiet. He always had something to discuss, whether that was an issue in the pack, a suggestion for the growing rogue issue or simply that he didn't like my socks. But he hadn't spoken since we'd been back. Instead, he has been stalking around my mind, muttering the odd word.

I sank into my desk chair, rubbing my temples aggressively. My anger was starting to bubble up as my patience had vanished. I turned all my focus onto my wolf. He stilled, his presence turning its attention to me. I could feel his dark eyes watching me.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked him, waiting for a response. He growled at me, stalking further forward in my mind.

You would reject our mate because she can't shift? His question was a shock. It hadn't occurred to me that such a thing would upset him. Wolves needed to shift, it is what made us powerful. A wolf who couldn't shift was no better than a human.

"She would be too weak to be our Luna." My wolf growled again, snarling and baring his teeth at me. I sighed, not wanting to argue with him over this matter.

I did not want to reject my mate. If I were any other wolf, the idea wouldn't have crossed my mind, but I am not. I am the alpha of this pack. My wolves rely on me for support and protection. I cannot provide that if my mate is too weak to protect herself. It would not be fair to the pack to ask them to risk their lives for her if she couldn't do the same.

My wolf listened to my thoughts, refusing to respond. I tried to explain myself to him further, to make him understand, but he just continued his prowling and ignored me. It was no use arguing with such a stubborn beast. He snarled, not enjoying being called stubborn.

A knock echoed through the large oak door, dragging me from my arguments. My wolf had stopped pacing at the interruption, looking at the door through my eyes. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was unusual for someone to disturb me so late. I straightened in my seat, stiffening my back as I called the person in.

It was Justin who walked through the door. His dark hair curled across his forehead, tied back in a knot at the nape of his neck. He didn't smile as he walked in, closing the door behind him.

I looked over his muscular frame, my eyes latching onto the three long scars running across his neck. Justin was a survivor of the attack that claimed the lives of my parents and many pack wolves. He had almost died, his throat partially ripped out. But his wolf is strong, and they healed over time. It was one of the reasons he was offered the position as my third.

"Alpha," he bowed his head, "I have some bad news." His voice was cool. I watched as he sat in the chair across my desk. He placed a bloodied piece of paper on the desk. I quirked a brow at him.

"There was an attack on the border of our territory. Two members stepped outside the borders to scare off the group of rogues. They reckon there were four of them. Our wolves were injured, but they will recover." I nodded, my wolf pushing to the edge. It was the nature of my wolf to be protective of the pack. They came first, always.

I grasped the bloodied paper, and it was dry, but the metallic smell was very strong. My wolf growled, recognising the scent of the blood as a member of my pack.

"This was grasped in the hands of one of the men," Justin said nothing more. My wolf simmered just below the surface as the paper stiffly unfolded. I cleared my throat before reading the scribbled words allowed.

"It is time we met again, Alpha." That was all it said. I flipped the note over a few times, scouring it for more. The note didn't have a name, but I didn't need one to know who wrote it.

When the last rogue war happened, when my parents died, we killed the majority of the rogues attacking us. Yet we managed to let the 'rogue alpha', that's what he called himself, get away. We spent months tracing their tracks. We hunted day and night for those rogues that lived and their 'alpha', but found nothing. Eventually, we gave up and hoped they would too. This note tells me that the time of peace is over. With silence that long, they had likely grown their forces, which meant I would need to increase pack training. 

I crushed the paper into a tight ball and launched it across the room. Justin didn't move as my eyes turned pitch black and my wolf snarled. Instead, he dipped his head before clearing his throat. My eyes snapped to him.

"Alpha, what are your orders?" He kept his voice level, not angering my wolf, who was in full control. 

"We increase border security. Pack training is now mandatory for everyone who can fight. Our healers must also be prepared, so equip them with everything they need. We don't know when they are coming. But I can assure you they are." My voice was gritty as my wolf bellowed orders in Justin's direction. The only acknowledgement he had understood them was a slight nod before he scurried from the office. 

I watched his back disappear through the door before it clicked shut. After a few minutes of staring at the crumpled paper, which lay in the corner of the room, my wolf relinquished control. I didn't move, my mind racing with images of the last war. I could see children screaming, their breath fogging as the night settled over the pack grounds. Women ran to safety. It was against my father's beliefs for women to train, and because of his beliefs, we lost more pack members than we should've.

There was one image that was burned into my mind. It was of my father, cradling my mother's body to his chest as he roared. The whole pack froze at the noise, the pain of losing their luna evident on all their faces. Rogues surrounded my father, their teeth bared, and they snapped at him. Only he didn't move; his large hand stroked my mother's hair as he whispered to her. I ran forward, only for a pack healer to hold me back. I fought in their arms, screaming for my father to do something. He glanced at me, his face blank. Then the rogues attacked. My father never fought back. He let them rip him to shreds whilst I watched. It was then that I became the alpha. And only then did I fight for my pack.