Alaric

Alaric is a hybrid Alpha- A Lycan wolf, born from a Pack that rejected him for being different. It wasnt his fault that He was a wolf with mixed genetics from different subspecies of wolves ,yet his father had falsely accused his mother of infidelity, and when Alaric's wolf presented as a Lycan, he was cast out of the Pack immediately. He found solace among the local rogue wolves, who had chosen to reject Pack rules and live outside of the Pack’s conventions that mostly shunned anything different especially Lycans. 

Despite the scorn of his father and the wider wolf community, Alaric worked hard to make a name for himself. He rallied the rogues that he had fought with countless times as he tried to survive alone. Luck was on his side since his hybrid nature came in handy whenever he had to fight for whatever he wanted. At first, he felt lost and angry at just 21 he had no one to rely on. The first few months were brutal and when winter rolled in, he knew the streets were not for the weak. 

Fueled by a desire for vengeance and survival instincts, he vowed to prove himself to his father and take revenge for his banishment and his mother's death. He became resilient, determined, and hardworking, despite the prejudice and discrimination he faced from literally every wolf that could smell the streets on him. But it did not wear him down, he needed to be someone his father and the Pack wouldn't discriminate against. 

“Why don't we just leave, it's clear they have it out for us.”His closest friend had suggested one day when his garage had been vandalized. 

“Only weak wolves run away, we both know I am not weak. Round up the boys, we have Scrubbing to do. ”Alaric had replied, his eyes twitching with anger. The vandalism wasnt because of his rogue nature, this was done by his competitors. At first, he thought the vandalism would stop if he chose to be the bigger person and ignore them, but that was just a far cry from the truth. 

Over the years, they attacked his boys, framed them for shit they dint do and he had spent more money bailing his brothers out and rebuilding the auto shops that he almost, the key word being almost, gave it all up and moved as far as he could. Instead, he decided to serve them the same treatment he got, pushing down the guilt he felt. He repaid tenfold what they did to him and soon no one messed with the ‘Free Wolves’ as he called his gang. 

Alaric Thorne indeed made a name for himself and now at thirty, he had transformed into a force to be reckoned with. His boys did everything they could that brought them food to the table. The Free Wolves tried their best to mingle with the Pack as far as they could, some got accepted back into the Pack but most chose to remain untethered. His crew was occasionally hired for security and other odd jobs that the Pack members found ‘Sketchy’ but as long as the money was involved, there was nothing they wouldn't do. To some extent, the rouges, especially Alaric’s crew were just ‘well-mannered thugs’ as many decided to put it but to Alaric, they were his new brothers and sisters -his family, that's all he needed, that was all he was allowed to need if wanted to see his father on his knees. 

His number one goal in life was to avenge his mother's death, that was the only reason he woke up every day. His mom had been a second Mate after Euthychus’ mother died of illness. The Pack had spread rumours that Alaric's mother had been responsible but still his father, had stuck by her and Alaric had believed his parents were in love. He was wrong, the man was horrible and he had a feeling he was hiding things. 

Alaric thanked the moon goddess that he took his dead mother's last name instead of Brown, he couldn't imagine sharing more than DNA with the man that killed his mother. What puzzled him the most was how Eutychus suddenly changed and they stopped being best friends after his wolf presented. He tried to live past the fact that he had been the one that packed Alaric’s clothes for him. He had watched with teary eyes as Eutychus looked at him with pure hatred. He had tried his best to erase the ugly memories from his mind and heart, but there were days they just didn't go away. 

“Have you heard… that two-faced chameleon might actually get married. ” Kieran broke his chain of thought. He did not need to ask who it was. Kieran lived to bring Eutychus down whatever chance he got. Unlike Alaric, Kieran was very vocal with his thoughts, even the ones that should never leave his head. Kieran stood tall and bulky, the perfect definition of a “Big bad wolf”. His only flaw was that he mostly spoke without thinking. 

“Who is so unlucky to be paired with the chameleon?” Alaric asked totally uninterested. 

“One of those wealthy heiresses. Maybe if I had the money I would have a Mate too,” Kieran said, changing the subject. He had always been like this. 

“Key, we all know money isn't the problem here. You need a heart, and maybe a new brain and a filter for that mouth,” Alaric said and Kieran just scowled. 

“Nahhh, then I’d be too basic. Anyways we have a meeting with some wolf that just came back from heavens knows where. He wants security ….” Kieran said but Alaric tuned him out and his mind began working overtime again. Mate … a Mate … marriage… a future. The words danced around in his head. It's not as he had never thought about them but if a two-faced character like his half-brother could get a Mate, then perhaps he too could….

‘No… love is for… losers. ’ the ever-steady voice in his head said and absent-mindedly nodded in agreement. 

“Great, so we can have the Hawaiian pizza with a strawberry milkshake. ” Kieran’s voice brought him back. 

“Wha- what? ” Alaric asked in surprise, he hated pineapples with a passion and strawberries creeped him out. 

“You zoned out again…” Kieran said. 

“No, I didn't, I was just keenly listening to you.No to the fruit pizza and devil's fruit. 

”Alaric replied, scrunching his nose at the thought of Hawaiian pizza.

Alaric shut off the part of his brain that was struggling with his inner demons and emotions, all while trying to find his place in the world and understand the true meaning of family, loyalty, and love. He switched to his character which was a wolf who did not conform to the Pack rules and society's conventions. He preferred being a complex character, that was the only way he could achieve his main goal. 

Together with Kieran, they looked over all their books, fixing what they had to so they could stay under the authorities' radar. He assigned his boys tasks that needed to be done and all that leadership stuff. He tried his best not to think of anything irrelevant such as a Mate, that was wishful thinking that only fools thought of. 

“Is the guy needing protection, Darian? ” Alaric asked when he suddenly remembered the name from Kieran’s ranting. 

“Yes, he is holding some sort of party at the casino. He probably doesn't know you own the building. How I wish I could bring him down a few pegs. That pompous wolf. So what if we haven't really been ‘out to see the world’? ” Kieran said ance again rambling.

Darian Taylor was the one resilient Beta. Everyone, even the rogues knew he was obsessed with perfection and associated himself with wolves he found perfect. 

“What does he really want from ‘Trash’ like us? Isn't that what he always called us whenever we crossed paths? ” Alaric asked, remembering how he hated Eutychus when they were kids. Word had it that he had even refused a Mate he'd been paired with because she wasnt ‘All that’. 

“We will know once we reach the meeting place, our casino,” Kieran said and they walked out of his office. Not many people knew he owned the casino, they just saw him as a manager who provides security for the elite. 

As they walked out to their huge car, Alaric couldn't help but think of just how many times he had said and thought about the word Mate. Was loneliness catching up to him? He thought to himself and physically slapped the thought away making Kieran look at him weirdly. 

“What? ” he asked, pretending like he hadn't just slapped himself. 

“Nothing, just… nahhh never mind…” Kieran said opening the passenger side of the car for Alaric. 

“I always drive…” Aaric said but he was already being pushed into the car seat. 

“Yeah yeah just get in. ”Kieran said and slid over the hood to the other side. One never knew what to expect with Kieran. 

Alaric on the other hand just chanted ‘Strawberries are evil’ over and over hoping to replace the abominable word that wouldn’t stop echoing in his mind, but how long was it going to last before he gave in?