Chapter 3

"Get down! Get down!"

I ducked as a silver spear almost went through my head. Lucky man, I was. It just grazed my hair as it flew. I wish I could say the same about the pack member behind me, whose throat provided a resting place for the speedy arrow.

The rogues had grown a lot of wings over the years. A bunch of rebels who simply didn't know their place. Things could have been a lot better if only they had resorted to pleading their case in a better way. There was no need for bloodshed. They didn't need to capture women and children from the pack to set an example. They didn't need to chop anyone's head and drop them at the square to pass a message that the mouth could have passed.

Do I blame them? They were simply cowards. They must have feared what would happen to them if they challenged the alpha to his face. I was pained that they didn't even try. They just went ahead to make their grievances known in the way that they deemed fit. They went against the authority. Now, they had to pay for it.

I had to give it to them. They held their part quite well in the battle. So much so that my father considered recruiting anyone left of them after the battle must have been won. He held them in high regard for their combat skills. We all did. Yet, they had us to thank for all their arsenal; the weapons that they did steal from our armoury. Now, they fought us with our weapons. How cruel.

I paced around, looking to see someone. It was a battle against all rogues and all that stood with them but there was a man; a tall, handsome man, Theo was his name. I needed to find him. This was more than just a war. It was very personal to me. It was a war that cost me, my father. He died in the hands of Theo.

Theo was a quiet man and a man trusted by my father. He gave him the kind of access that he never afforded anyone else, even his own Beta. That proved to be his undoing as he was betrayed, stabbed by the back in battle by a man he called friend. The rogues had won him over right under our noses and we were simply blinded by the love that we had for him. That love cost me my father and gave me the title of the alpha.

I vowed to kill every rogue I came across and anyone rumoured to be a traitor. Any sense of rebellion had to be severely dealt with. I wasn't a man that loved prisoners. I preferred to send them to their maker as early as possible. That way, everyone is satisfied. No one could tell what could happen from dungeons. There was no telling which of the guards was part of the rogues. It was always better to prevent than to cure.

I had waited for this opportunity for so long. Theo had always avoided any battleground where I was going to be. Somehow, he was always informed, no matter how hard I tried to hide it. Someone close was working with him. They had crowned him alpha of the rogues; the ruler of a people who had no kingdom. Now, they sought to take ours. I'd rather die than see that happen.

I drew my sword from my sheath and marched forward, only to be blocked by two, huge-looking rogues with long spears in their hands. They gnarled at me but I wasn't one to be scared. The bigger they were, the harder they fell.

They separately, each moving in the opposite direction as they tried to attack from both sides. I just stood, watching their every move and thinking of how best to slay them. I thought about ripping their heads off with my bare hands or just driving my sword into their hearts in a quick fashion, but none of them seemed satisfactory enough.

So I let them come at me. As they charged, I stood still, giving them the sense that I was confused. They thrust their spears forward as they got close and I simply fell to the floor, as they thrust their spears deep into each other's hearts. I got up and smiled. They weren't worth my energy at all.

I quickly charged at some rogues who stood in my way, slashing through them at will. The more I killed, the more I felt the urge to take more lives.

"Alpha, they're retreating!" I heard Danny scream. Danny was my Beta and my most trusted ally. He was a black man who stood at  6"11 inches tall. He was just as brutal as I was and I loved him for that. We shared the same hatred for rogues because he too lost his mother to those cowards. She was one of the women whom they tossed their heads at the square during the start of the revolution.

"Don't let them get away!" I screamed. "Pursue!"

We marched forward in our numbers, slaying any of the retreating rogues we caught up with on our way. I saw Theo, running as fast as he could and surrounded by about eight wolves. I picked up a spear on the way and threw it at him with as much strength as I could muster, so much that I fell to the ground as it left my right hand. Near miss! It hit one of his men instead. I needed to practice more on my throws.

As we got close to a bridge, I felt something strange and I put on the brakes. "Stop! Let them go. It's a trap!" I screamed to the members of my pack who quickly stopped. It was too late for some of them who were too far in front as they fell right into the trap. The rogues had placed archers within the range of the bridge and they shot silver arrows of fire at every wolf that got there from our pack, leaving them for dead.

The rest of us walked back to the pack, slowly as ever, as we felt the effect of such a gruesome battle. It was largely a victorious battle. Although we lost many wolves, we killed three to four times more. For me, it was another case of the one that got away. I thought I had Theo this time but I didn't. There was always going to be the next time.

As we got back to the square, I climbed up the podium to make a very important announcement.

The other wolves gathered together to hear what I had to say. "Wolves of Westwood Pack!" "Aye!"

"Great wolves of Westwood Pack!"

"Aye! Aye! Aye!"

"We've indeed lost some loved ones in this battle, but we must see the bigger picture. They didn't die in vain, did they?"

"Never!"

"They died for all of us! They gave their lives for the cause; for our cause, and the moon goddess would grant them peace!"

"Aye! Aye! Aye!" They stamped their feet three times and beat their bare chests hard.

"We fought well, my people. We gave it our all. I saw you all slaying those fools with ease! Your courage is second to none! We will not stop till we get rid of all the rogues and all those who are on their side."

I bent down to cough and then brought my face back up. As I opened my mouth to speak, I saw Danny, dragging a wolf down to the square and raining curses.

"Please, my alpha. They have my family," the wolf begged. "I didn't mean to betray you. They were going to kill every member of my family if I didn't comply."

There was silence everywhere. The graveyard must have envied the square at that point. No one did as much as a whisper. All eyes were on him.

"Bring him to me," I said to Danny as he dragged him to my feet. "Where are your family now?"

"They're here," he replied, tears flowing from his eyes. "They released them as soon as I told them how we were going to attack. Alpha, I swear to you, I only told them where we were going to attack from. I didn't tell them anything else. They tried to find out if you'd be there and how large our army was but I didn't say a thing."

"That's because you didn't have that information, isn't it?" I asked. I couldn't see my eyes but I could swear that it was all red. I had been betrayed and I almost lost my life, just like my father. "Step out, if you're a member of his family. I need to be sure he's telling the truth."

A she-wolf whom I assumed to be his wife and two other younger wolves in their late teens or early twenties stepped out. Their visage was apologetic and I could feel for them. "Were you aware that this man was about to sell out our pack to save your lives?"

"Y– Yes, alpha," the woman replied as she began to sob.

"Then, it's decided," I responded. "Here is my verdict!"