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Chapter 44
Last Updated:
2024-10-30 23:58:40
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In Service of the Alpha Chapter 45
Johnathan I’m so very happy that I’m buzzed right now. When I left here, I locked my past away, determined to never open those doors again. I’ve never told anyone about the things that happened in that pack house. Never. I couldn't bear it. I once told Preston that my older brother liked to beat me up, but I only told him because he confided in me first. In his case, his father was the one who used his children as his punching bags. I did not feel much shame telling him that my adult brother beat me up when I was a small wolf, but I could never tell him about the things that happened later. I couldn't tell anyone. When he asked me why I ran, I told the same story I told everyone. "I found out my mother conspired with my brother to murder me. I decided it was best to get the hell out of town." That was as close to the truth as I was ever willing to get. I never spoke about the men, and most days, I don’t spare them any kind of thought, but now they are back. I can hear them, smell
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 46
Johnathan’s Story The boy, now a man, stood on the highest peak of the mountain - a mountain he used to love, a place that was his refuge in his darkest hours, and looked out at the ruin that used to be his home. Even from here, he could tell that the pack house was empty and crumbling. The town, once vibrant, now lay in ruins, the pretty little houses nothing more than shacks. But the place had not lost its magic. Johnathan still found it as beautiful and enchanting as the day he left. Still, the memories of the things that happened here haunted him, and if he had any say in the matter, he wouldn’t have come back here. He tried, over and over again, to ignore the gods’ commands, but he couldn’t do it anymore. After he stumbled upon a pack that was eradicated, the place burned to ashes, he knew that he had to come home. He sat next to the charred body of a pup and knew that he could no longer stand by and do nothing while the humans rampaged. *This place will become a refuge,*
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 47
MaraWe are back at the old pack house. On the way here, we drank the rest of the whiskey, and I’m pretty unsteady on my feet. A few times, Johnathan had to catch me before I face planted into a thornbush, or steadied me when I stumbled over tree roots.“Maybe I should just go home,” I say and hiccup loudly. "Ugh."“No,” Johnathan insists. “I want to do this while I’m drunk.”“Why?”“Because I can’t fucking face this while I'm sober.”“So, okay,” I say, thinking that I’m coming up with a brilliant plan. “What about I sober up, and tomorrow night you get drunk and we come back here.”“I’m leaving at sunrise. And I try not to come here if I can help it.”“Fine,” I say with a sigh. I'd probably get blitzed out of my skull if I was forced to go back to Red Ridge, so I kinda get it. "Let's get it over with." I automatically head for the front door that’s hanging on for dear life by one hinge. “Where are you going?” Johnathan asks.I come to a screeching halt and turn back to look at him. “
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 48
MaraJohnathan switches off the torch and turns to me. He looks like an angel with the ethereal light shining behind him. “Before we do this, I need you to know a few things.”Oh now I need to know things. I feel as if I found out way too many things already tonight. My head is spinning with all the revelations people have crammed into my skull already.“Only certain… oh, well, I guess I we can call them people, can pass through to the other side.”“Okay,” I say uncertainly. “What happens to people who are not allowed to pass… or whatever?”“Bad things. Bad, bad, bad things. It all just really depends on how the Goddess feels that day. If she’s feeling generous, maybe you’ll only get an outbreak of really itchy boils.”“And if she’s in a bad mood?”“Eh well. People have caught on fire, had their skin flayed off, you know… proper smitings.”And he’s being proper flippant about it. What if the Goddess doesn’t want me to pass and she decides to flay me? Or give me a case of itchy boils?“
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 49
** TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER: Domestic violence and rape. Please be kind to yourself and proceed with caution. **JohnathanI dread going through the entrance. Although, a better word for it might be portal. I'll fear what I'll see. As bad as my childhood was, as painful as those memories are, I know that seeing and feeling Mara's pain will hurt a hundred times worse, and I don't want to do it. I don't know if I can stand it.But there is no way around it. While wolves have sex to seal their bond, Lycans pass through the portal and learn their mates' every secret, all their dark parts, to seal their bond.The temple exists outside our space and time. I think it’s part of the star planes. The place wolves go to when they die. It’s like our heaven.I have spent days here, never getting hungry or thirsty, not noticing time passing, and when I returned to my own world, only an hour two had passed.I hate it here, and I think that’s by design. The Goddess doesn’t want us to get too
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 50
JohnathanThe moment we step inside the temple, the whole place lights up. Mara gasps loudly and does a complete three-sixty, looking at the cavernous entrance. “Wow,” she whispers.Her voice reverberates around the room, and disappears down one of the many dark corridors.There’s a blood-stained altar in the middle of the room, and currently it holds about a dozen scrolls, each of them several feet long, all of them filled with scribblings and drawings.Like me when I came here the first time, Mara is automatically drawn to the altar. She unrolls one of the scrolls, and with a small frown between her eyes looks at it. “Can you read it?” I ask.“No, but these drawings are a little… unsettling.”They are, and they look like cave paintings. They have no depth and the perception is all wrong. “It’s not as bad as you think,” I say. “It’s just the Lycans’ creation story.”“It looks like someone’s slaughtering this poor woman.”“I know. She’s just giving birth to the first Lycan though.” W
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 51
MaraThe morning alarm warbles through the house, rudely yanking me from a deep and peaceful sleep. I groan and grab my throbbing head. Johnathan and his fucking bells. I wonder if a hangover counts as being sick, and if I can get away with staying in bed a while longer.He’s not here though, I realise. He said he’ll be leaving before breakfast. I turn on my side and close my eyes to go back to sleep, but Aria is wide awake. “We are the Luna,” she chirps. “We have to set an example when the Alpha is not here.”“I am setting an example,” I answer. “No you’re not. You are breaking the rules.”“Exactly,” I say. “Johnathan’s rules are stupid, that’s the example I’m setting, and I’m going back to sleep.”But I am wide awake now, and Aria is not wrong. When the Alpha is away, the Luna has to lead the way, and make sure the pack follows the Alpha's rules. As much as I hate and disagree with Johnathan’s stupid schedule, those are the rules he made for his pack long before I came along.Whil
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 52
Johnathan My morning was insane. It went by in a blur of activity. I woke long before the morning bell, but so did Gregory. He came flying into my room like a little hurricane. “Wheh you going, Daddy?” I snatched my wild little boy up and let him sit on my forearm like I used to do when he was two. “I’m going away for a little bit.” “Can I come with you?” he asked. “No. It’s boring stuff. Just a bunch of grown-ups talking about business.” Instead of being upset, as I expected him to be, Greg saw an opportunity to get something he wanted. “Can I stay with Zach while you awe gone?” “Oh. I don’t know, buddy. I haven’t asked Zachary’s mom, and we can’t just show up there… Mara will be here to look...” He didn't wait for me to finish. He slipped off my arm, landed nimbly on the floor, and held his two, chubby little hands out in a way that reminded me way too much of myself. “Wait wight hewe, okay?” “Okay,” I agreed with a smile and continued packing, not suspecting a thing. Ten m
Last Updated : 2024-10-31
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In Service of the Alpha Chapter 94
MaraI slowly walk back to the pack house, swinging the heavy velvet bag by my side. I haven’t given Rose any thought since Johnathan took her to live with the vampires. I don’t know if she’s doing okay, if they’re mistreating her, or if she’s even learning anything.Guilt gnaws at me like a hungry caterpillar. After what happened with Ally, I should have gone and gotten my sister. What she is, and what she became, isn’t her fault. Just as it wasn’t Ally’s fault for being raised in a man eater pack. She was a child. She didn’t know any better. Rose doesn't know any better.I come up to our pack house from the back, walking across the sunny deck and past the glittering pool. The days are getting cooler, but not cold. The heat is just about bearable, but the pool still looks very inviting.Instead of jumping in, as I’m prone to do of late, I walk past the blue water and into the mansion. Everyone should be back by now, and they need to know that the Lunae is on their way.I wonder what
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 93
MaraOnce outside the town, I easily trace Preston’s scent. He doesn’t bother to hide himself, and the newer wolves are afraid of him. He smells of despair and sorrow. body odour and blood.I find him close to the foot of the mountains, staring up at the peaks he will never be able to reach. When he sees me coming he turns to run away, but I quickly hold him in place, using my new magical talents.Elemental magic can harm or heal. Earth elements heal. I’m still not sure how it all works, or what it really is, but I know how to wield it, and that’s the only thing that matters now.Preston freezes and slowly turns to look at me. He is a mess. Dirty, smelly, his unkempt beard covered in twigs and the dried blood of the animals he killed to survive.“What is that?” he asks, his voice hoarse and low.“My magic,” I answer. “It’s new.” And I'm getting really good at it too. I'm often surprised by my own abilities.“I know it’s your magic.” Preston huffs, his voice laced with anger. “I was th
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 92
JohnathanGregory sits quietly in his car seat, staring out of the window as we drive into town. The two of us haven’t had a lot of father-son time lately. Maybe he’d open up more if I gave him my undivided attention for a few hours. “Hey buddy,” I say on a whim. “How do you feel about ditching school and going to the waterfall slides instead? Just you and me.”“Really?” he asks, his eyes widening with surprise, and his face lighting up with delight.Mara spent the last several months teaching him how to say his Rs properly. I have to admit I sometimes miss the way he used to speak - it was sweat and innocent - but they grow up fast, and as much as we want to, we can’t keep them babies forever.“Yes. Let’s swing by the cafe, get some snacks and drinks, and head out. Winter is around the corner, and this could be our last chance before the rains come.”“Yes,” Gregory says and claps his hands excitedly. “No one else? Just you and me?”“Just you and me.”I just want my exuberant boy back
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 91
JohnathanThe days bleed into weeks, the weeks into months. The wheels at Haven’s Crest keep on turning, the world keeps on spinning. If it weren’t for the wolves that showed up here every day, reporting about the vicious attacks that befell their packs, I could go on in blissful ignorance, believing nothing’s wrong.Every night, the vampires search the town and surrounding forests, looking for the assassins and spies who fled when we started our interrogations. We caught two in my house. One of them was Susarah.Gregory was heartbroken when I arrested his nanny. After all the work he put in to be a good boy for her, her betrayal crushed him. I can't get over the fact that I blamed my son for mistreating Susarah, but after Kahn spent ten minutes with my boy, he declared that Gregory could see her true intentions - he just didn’t understand what he was seeing. His violence was a direct reaction to her true heart. It wasn’t an excuse for his actions, but my son fought against his inst
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 90
MaraI find Donovan at the old pack house where a crew is busy cleaning up, carrying decaying furniture and debris from the crumbling building. “What is going on?” I ask the Beta.Donovan straightens and wipes sweat from his brow with his forearm. “Well, yesterday, before everything went tits up, Beta Preston told us that Alp- King Johnathan wants to fix this place up for the Alphas. "Preston left before he could put a crew together, so I decided to do it.” He gives me an uncertain look. “I- I hope I didn’t overstep. You gave us a home. Safety. We just want to be helpful.”Much as I hate to admit it, Donovan would be a good second Beta. He has all the leadership skills and training for it. The crew consists mostly of the Gammas and Deltas from our old pack, and a handful of Omegas I’ve seen around the town and new pack house. I don't know who we can and can't trust anymore, but I doubt anyone can do much damage while they're busy cleaning up the massive pack house. The ones we need
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 89
JohnathanIt’s business as usual at sunrise. The weekend is drawing to a close and our visitors are leaving, none of them even aware of the drama that unfolded around them over the weekend.I sit on the ridge overlooking the road, watching the humans drive in and out of Haven's Crest. “We have to close the town,” I say to Kahn who decided to join me on my morning excursion.“Those humans bring the money. They're the reason your Omegas have jobs.”“They could also be spies, assassins.” I don’t care about myself, but anyone who knows just a little about me, knows how much my son means to me. How much Mara means to me. They could just as easily kill them to get to me.Kahn snorts loudly. “No human would ever be able to get close enough.”“A sniper could.”“And kill you with what?”“A silver bullet.”Again the vampire lets out a derisive little snort. “Please. Nothing so pedestrian. It will take more than a little silver to kill you, Johnathan. They need to get closer than that.”“In Mara
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 88
JohnathanThe only reason I decide to leave the mountain is because I can feel Mara waiting for me. Her emotions are carefully controlled, and she refuses to let the sadness in. She keeps it at bay, allowing it to nibble at the fringes of her mind, but all her attention is focused on me now. She's watching me. I can feel her eyes, even from a distance. Her concern is for me, not herself or the pack, or even my son.There have been moments throughout the day when I felt pangs and stabs of intense sorrow from her, and every time she purposefully pushed it all away. First so she could take care of Preston, then Gregory, the pack, and now me. She had a very busy day, doing my job, keeping everyone and everything together. And what did I do? I hid in the mountains like a proper fucking coward, wallowing in self-pity.Half an hour later, I find her at the foot of the mountain, sitting in a clearing with her legs outstretched, leaning on her hands, face turned to the moon. For now, she is
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 87
Mara It’s a long walk to Johnathan’s mountains, and I’m not as fast as he is. By the time I reach the place, I’m exhausted and it’s full dark. It’s a clear, beautiful night, with the moon lighting my way. The air is crisp and clean here, the stars beautiful and bright, the majesty of the universe laid out before me like a painting on the canvas. What a magnificent place. Here, I can’t see Haven’s Crest, or hear the sound of people partying in the brothels and nightclubs. I understand why Johnathan likes to come here. It’s peaceful. Like I’ve been wrapped in a bubble of warm quiet, calm. I stare up at the mountain’s sheer cliff. How the hell Johnathan can climb this thing is beyond my comprehension. There's no way to get to the top. Not that I can see anyway. I can feel him up there, though. His presence. But there’s no way I can reach him. He won't even answer my mind link. “Good evening, Queen,” an unknown voice says next to me. I squeal and jump to the left, away fr
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 86
MaraTime slowly ticks by. I can’t seem to distract Gregory, and more than once he has a meltdown that leads to a lot of crying, screaming, kicking, and biting. The third time it happens, I sternly stop him, and hold on to him the same way Kahn held Preston. “I know you are very scared, but you can’t hurt other people because of how you feel.”“I want my daddy!” he screams at me and tries to wiggle free of my grasp“I know, big boy,” I say. “So do I, but do you see me kicking and screaming about it?”He tries to bit and scratch his way out of my arms, but I refuse to let him go. “Stop!” I say and remarkable feel the warmth of my aura slipping out. Gregory calms down and goes almost limp in my embrace. “I know you are feeling some big things right now. Scary things. Use your words. Tell me what scares you.”“What if Daddy’s dead?”“He’s not dead, sweetie,” I say. I put my head on his brow and start to hum a lullaby I remember from my childhood while I gently rock back and forth with hi
