~The Answer~

LIEV

I drew my bow, anchoring it steadily as I set my aim on my prey, releasing my lethal weapon as fast as I had set it. These hunting grounds—like territory marked by a lion—were mine.

Trespassers who dared to come through would meet an untimely death, and no one had been bold enough.

Every wolf in the territories knew of the menacing power I possessed. No fucking soul was brave or barely tempted enough to venture into the domain of the Alpha of the Night Fury pack.

My domain.

“What did I get this time?” I asked my Sigma General as a servant relieved me of my bow, another appearing to present me with a different weapon—a spear.

There wasn't enough time to tell what prey I had caught, as I had fired my arrow once I saw movement, but it was easy to guess from the death cry the beast gave out.

The Sigma General, Atlas, bowed as he spoke, “A hyena, Alpha.”

“A hyena?” I questioned as I seized the spear from the servant. Swiftly extending my claws, I firmly gripped the wooden shaft and effortlessly snapped it into two, causing my Sigma General to get alarmed. “And why do you think I caught one now?” Atlas stammered, unable to say anything, but I never expected an answer from him. Not everyone was as quick-witted as I was. “A lone hyena means an endangered one. It must have had a good reason for nearing me,” I answered, freeing the Sigma General from his question as I sauntered toward the dead beast.

My multiples of sigmas and servants followed as the Sigma General stayed only a step behind me, ready to defend when needed.

'Found anything yet? My wolf’s in the mood for something raw and bloody.'

I gritted my teeth, annoyed at the intrusion. 'You’ll never stop fucking doing this, will you?'

Axel rolled his eyes, yawning, like he could care less about what I wanted. ‘How is that my fault? I thought you let your guard down because you missed me!’ Axel exclaimed, laughing maniacally.

‘I can’t have my fucking guard up every fucking time because of you.’

A new intruder barged into the discussion, and he was not happy. ‘Cross into my hunting territory again, and I’ll kill every fucking animal that lives in yours!!’ I wouldn’t put it past Devyn to do that. He had a terrible temper.

‘Look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning! Oh wait, you always fucking do!’ Axel’s fucking laughter did not fucking stop.

Devyn growled. ‘Says the asshole who always has a bitch up his dick every fucking morning.’

‘I’m so fucking done with you two,’ I stated as I put my mind guard back up, trying to remember what I had been fucking doing before the fucking interruption.

Axel and Devyn might’ve sounded like every other werewolf in the territories—with an extra bit of craziness and moodiness—but they weren't fooling anyone. They were monsters. Their parents knew that. The territories knew that, and I was no fucking different.

It was always during this time that the North Wind drifted and settled onto my hunting grounds, leaving behind the gift of gentle air. Except this time, it had brought something that would change everything. Not so far away from the dead hyena, on a bed of grass, was a wolf—a girl.

The sounds of swords rang in the air as Atlas and his sigmas pulled out their weapons, alarmed at the sight of the trespasser. I raised my hand, halting them from making any additional moves, as I approached the unmoving body and knelt in front of it, further inspecting my hunting ground's first intruder.

The young she-wolf had long strawberry blonde hair. Marks, cuts, and scars tainted her remarkably fair skin, but even with the defacement, I couldn’t help but find her attractive. And I never found anyone attractive.

I had seen my share of extraordinary beauties, but there was something about her that made it hard for me to stare away.

It was such a pity that this rare beauty would be dying at my hands today.

“Is she dead, Alpha?” Atlas asked, his sword still ready to attack and defend.

“No, just taking a nap,” I replied as I pulled out a silver hairpin from my lengthy, smokey silver hair, letting it fall free as my electric blue eyes flickered in curiosity.

I could feel the servants itch to silently gossip behind me, but I knew they wouldn’t take that risk. Their lives were far too important to them. “How dare she?! She must die for disrespecting our lands!”

I thinned my eyes as I hovered the charmed bead of my hairpin over the unconscious she-wolf’s forehead. I had forged the hairpin from charms, and with it, I could identify and collect information on wolves I was only just meeting for the first time.

I would learn everything, from their name and their pack to what they had last eaten.

But for some absurd reason, I couldn’t read her. Like a newborn pup, there was no information to gather from her. This had never happened before.

“Should we take care of her for you, Alpha?” Atlas asked as I stared at the strange girl, stroking my hairpin in my palm.

My original plan had been to kill her, but I wasn’t sure I could do that anymore. Her plain white gown was made of unearthly material. I had seen nothing like it. I was equally surprised by how her scent made my wolf rage.

The strange girl kept piquing my interest. It didn’t settle with me to simply end her life.

Ignoring my Sigma General’s question, I turned the girl over onto her back and noticed something peculiar at the rear of her neck. It was the glowing white mark of a crescent moon.

I had seen it before in the books of charm but couldn’t remember where, and now that I had caught sight of it, I couldn’t look away.

Could she be the answer I had been earnestly waiting for?

“Alpha, is something wrong?” Atlas asked, making me realize that I had been gazing at her for too long. Getting on my feet, I addressed my sigmas and servants. “Prepare a room for her in the packhouse. She’ll be accompanying us,” I ordered as they bowed in obedience.

I had barely taken five steps forward when my Sigma general questioned me. “But Alpha, she’s a..."

He sealed his mouth when I turned to look at him with my electric blue eyes of fire, a clear warning visible in my stare. “Is there a problem?"

Atlas avoided eye contact, bowing. “Of course not, Alpha, but what do we do with the kill…”

“Burn it,” I snapped, sliding my hairpin back into my hair as I headed for the exit of my hunting grounds.

I was going to be busy with the little thing I had discovered. The last wolves I wanted finding out about my new revelation were Axel and Devyn.

Entangling her with all three of us would mean a tragic end for her. We weren't called the Alphas of Doom for nothing.