The sign

    

    “Sire! Sire!”, a servant barged into their dining room at lunch, sweating profusely as he fell face down at his father’s feet. He didn’t look like any of their own, and recognizing him was difficult as he laid facing the ground. 

    

    Coming into the presence of the alpha uninvited was a great crime. And no one else dared to ask you to rise but the alpha himself. On most days, he did, and on the others, well, you just had to lay there until he decides what to make of you. Often times, defaulters were punished. And the punishment meant cutting off one of their fingers. With this in mind, whoever decided to barge in on the alpha was either of two things: either brave or stupid. And this servant really did look stupid laying there that way. His only luck was the regalia he wore. He belonged to The Watsons.

    

    The alpha knew today was their daughter’s eighteenth birthday, and he’d received a letter of invitation. He’d been at a few of her birthdays, but this one was important. It was her turning ceremony. She was to transform into a full wolf on the night of her eighteenth birthday, and he’d promised to be there. He’d heard the rumors, too, but he didn’t give it so much as a thought. Seeing this servant here was something he hadn’t expected. He had a lot on his plate already and he hadn’t even begun eating. 

    

    He felt like crushing the servant’s skull, but on seeing the regalia he wore, he halted. 

    

    “Rise, messenger. You look like you crossed deserts to be here.” 

    

    “Get him some water!”, he bellowed to no one in particular.

    

    “Thank you. . . my Lord and master. Thank you. . . great ruler. . . and. . . al. . .pha, and. . . And. . . Alpha.”, the servant stammered, trying to catch his breath. 

    

    “Forgive my blind audacity. . . to. . . to, to. . . to come to you. . . un. . unin. . .vited.”, he managed to say through his sparse breathing. 

    

    “I come bearing grave news.”

    

    “Oh! Spit it out already, I don’t have all day.”, the alpha said. 

    

    “It’s my master, great alpha. He’s been murdered. Him and his wife.”, he said and bent his head, crying.

    

    Eric almost choked on his food on hearing what the servant had to say. 

    

    “What?!”, he shouted, getting up almost immediately.

    

    “Quiet, boy!”, his father cautioned. And proceeded to talk to the servant. “Are you certain about what you’re saying? Because if I find out you aren’t, and this is some sort of foul game to rue me, I would have your head on a stake before your next blink!”

    

    “I sweaaar on my life, i’m telling no lies. . .”, the servant replied, still between tears. 

    

    “We were out to get flowers for Emily, and we came upon their bodies. Their throats had been ripped out and the killer was long gone. They also had deep cuts on their bodies. . . I swear i’m not lying. Please believe me. . . I was asked to run down here to inform you.”, he cried. 

    

    “Leave us! All of you, leave us! Except you, Eric! The rest of you, leave! Now!”

    

    Everyone present scrambled out the door and the last person shut the door behind him. When Eric checked, the servant was gone, too. 

    

    “What do we do now, father?”, he asked. “They were my mate’s parents. . .”, he dragged. 

    

    “I need to think, boy. I need to think.”, his father retorted, fuming angrily. 

    

    “I know you have heard the rumors, boy. . . And I believe you know that no one who commits murder can be allowed to live!”

    

    “. . . but father, what rumor? If it’s about Emily plotting to kill her parents, I don’t believe Emily is capable of murder. Besides, it isn’t true. The rumours say she spoke to me about it, and standing here, I can not remember ever having a conversation of that nature with her.”, Eric concluded. He could feel the tension in his voice and he fought to keep his breathing steady. 

    

    “Don’t be a fool, boy!”, his father barked. “Do not let matters of the heart blind your eyes to the truth that lies in front of your eyes, boy! Do not!”, he said, increasing the tempo of his voice, doing a better job than his son at controlling his breath. 

    

    “Father, please, at least, hear her out. Give her a fair trail. People start rumors all the time. I’ve also started a few rumours and none of them were true. Please don’t do this. She’s my mate and I can’t just leave her alone right now. She needs me. I should be with her now.”, he said and stood to leave. 

    

    “Sit!”, his father barked. Visibly angry and irritated at his son for questioning his judgement. “Do you challenge me, boy?!”, he asked, staring right into the eyes of his son, Eric, who was already breathing uncomfortably with fear as his father’s eyes had begun glowing red. 

    

    “. . . but she’s my betrothed, father! Everyone would expect me to come to her rescue! Everyone believes i’m supposed to be her guardian. Especially now that her parents are dead. It wouldn’t be fair to her. . . not even to me. I mean, she’s the prettiest girl i’ve ever laid my eyes on. Please, father, please. Don’t make me do this, please..”, Eric begged. 

    

    As was the custom of the werewolves, the demise of one’s parents, meant that the surviving children were in total custody and care of their mate’s family. This had been the tradition for long. Long before Emily’s parents were gruesomely murdered by unknown attackers, whom the entire pack thought was orchestrated by their daughter, Emily. 

    

    Prior to this time, they’d been a rumour going on amongst the wolf clan of how she had connived with her mate to kill her parents, for them to get together and claim their properties. This rumour was pedaled by the obvious fact that the death of her parents would make her the most wealthy and influential young werewolf. Her father had a lot of gold, mansions and lands. He’d been living there long before other werewolf families joined the pack. His ancestral lineage had it’s roots in the land as deep down as the oldest tree in the forest did. 

    

    No one knew where the rumours began, but one thing was certain. It was spreading and no one could do anything about it. Everyone knew where they heard it from, but no one knew where it began, as is always the case of rumours. Especially false ones. They spread like wild fire ravaging dead, dry leaves with so huge an appetite. Rumours of this nature were uncommon amongst the members of the pack. The clan was big, yet they all loved and looked out for themselves. Or they thought they did. They’d never really had any reason to be at loggerheads with one another since they began living together. 

    

    Rumours like this had no firm roots. They just flew overhead like a bird with with uncontrollable diarrhea, dishing out the unwanted contents of its bowels to people who seemingly don’t care and who never asked. It’s quite similar to how a bird’s droppings would fall on your shirt while you take a carefree nap under a tree, without much care in the world, only to wake up to the dump site on your shoulder which never goes away no matter how hard you wash. The smell always lingered. Rumours like this also had this self same lingering effect. 

    

    It moved round in the shadows, under the moon, through the valleys and hills, and it cut across every single member of the pack, except, of course, the Watsons. Emily’s parents and main subject of the plot. 

    

    Emily herself also had no knowledge of this foul talk. It crept under her ever so sensitive nose and she could not pick a trail of its scent. Part of the contents of the message being spread also said that her betrothed, Eric, had outrightly shunned her. It was said that he refused to be a part of her so called ‘plot’ to kill her parents, for them to be rich. Of course, there was no need to believe this well spread rumour, but when the people have been without so much activity, it’s only normal for them to believe whatever they hear. To them, it would seem like the Moon goddess was about to unravel a perpetrator of evil from amongst their midst, and this time, it seemed she was fully out for Emily. 

    

    “Can you not hear the rumours, boy?!”, Eric’s father and the alpha thundered, causing the room to shake with the full effect of his voice. Every wolf close enough to hear the heated argument between father and son shivered whenever he spoke. Being an alpha meant no other wolf could withstand his authority, and it took the bravest of them all to come up against him, just as Eric had done.

    

    Eric was finally silenced after his father’s outburst. Making his father angry wasn’t his favorite thing to do. He’d rather drink and get drunk. The only reason he put himself up to this was because he had already done that a few hours earlier. Plus, he cared about Emily and wanted her safe. He didn’t believe the rumours because he couldn’t remember any of it happening. Emily had never mentioned or suggested to him whatever the rumours said, and he didn’t know how wealthy her parents were. Hell! He even had his own wealth, so why would he crave someone else’s? He was surprised his father believed the rumours.

    

    “I want you doing nothing with that girl, boy! Do you hear me! Nothing! She is pure evil. And I would not have evil living under my roof. . .”, he continued, as he cornered Eric into the corner of the room. “Nothing! Do not tempt me. I will crush you and your balls before you sire any heir! Go out there and carry out your duty! The people believe she’s a witch and you are a voice for the people. Have you ever heard the voice differently from what it believes?”

    

    “Yes, father. I will.”, Eric cried under the intimidating figure of his father, the alpha. 

    

    “I’ll do just as you’ve asked me to. I’ll make sure she gets what she deserves, father. I’d never let you down.”, he ended and kissed his father’s feet. 

    

    Eric had some affection for Emily Watson. Her beautiful hair always made her the prettiest girl in the room. He had his concubines, of course, but his mate was in an altogether different league. One none of his concubines could ever reach. Not in this life, or the next. She bathed with milk, and nicely scented cream. Despite his feelings for her, he couldn’t disappoint his father. Being an only child, he felt he owed his father every single ounce of loyalty. He liked the girl, yes, but to him, the idea of a mate was stupid. It was just about having sex and furthering their lineages and he could do so with just anyone. 

    

    He’d grown particularly fond of her, though, but none of that mattered now. He was going to be the next leader of the pack and not even his ill fated lover could stop him. Not with grief for the mourning of her dead parents or anything. He had a fact to prove to his father and he was determined to. He resolved to deliver his father’s judgment of her and he rose from the ground after his father had gone. 

    *

    

    Eric left after his father and made for the Watsons’ place, cussing under his breath, growling and so full of hate for Emily and everyone else who crossed his mind, for wanting to ruin his lifelong dream of being leader of the pack by setting him up against his father. A stunt that might have made him lose his father’s trust in him, as well as his rights of leadership. All he felt now was hate and pure, undiluted anger.