ALICIAI am seated by a big gray house, wearing my sunglasses and enjoying the sunlight. I don't know how I have gotten here but that doesn't bother me. Somewhere within the compound someone is cooking a nice meal, my nostrils can tell me that. I am enjoying my life because I have finally found my mate. It's my wolf I should be celebrating really because after being absent for so long she is now active. She is the one who has led me to this mate and I am very grateful.I can sense his scent, a very intoxicating one, as he walks around the house and I am waiting patiently for him to come out so that I can meet him. I wonder why his wolf has not alerted him of my presence but I am willing to wait for as long as it takes until when he will come out. I have waited for this day for too long and I am glad that it has finally come.What makes me happy is that my mate is a person of means. His compound is so tidy. The grass has been mowed to an uniform height and watered properly to a dark gr
ALICIAIt's the first day of physical training. After classes we all troop to the pack's training grounds. It's not compulsory, but for every student who wants to train.We are all given some simple tasks to perform so that the best among us can be chosen. Exercises range from sit ups, press ups, jumping jacks and many more for girls. For men it's weight lifting and body building. Those who can lift heavy weights are given first chances, then other exercises are conducted on the others.Finally, we are told to run around the field. Those who finish first are given an opportunity to be among the best. I fail in all the categories, and so does Amos because we end up in the same category. We find some time to laugh at ourselves at some corner after the selection has been done.“Amos! I can't believe that you are so weak. You can't lift a fifty kilogram weight and you can't run?” I ask in jest, knowing only too well that I am no better.“I don't care. I may be weak in athletics and physic
ALICIAAmos cowers in fright. He doesn't know what to say to a visibly angry Alpha. He mutters a weak “excuse me” then walks away, leaving his coffee untouched. I watch as he walks towards the washrooms and feel some pity for him. Drake towers above me, waiting for me to speak.“I am here Alpha Drake. Please let me know what I can do for you.” I say, looking up to face him. I must admit that I am also scared of him too. He cuts the figure of someone worth fearing. I can feel everyone's eyes on us, the whole restaurant having come to a standstill.“In my car, right outside. Let's go now.” A command given in a low tone, but carrying huge weight. He starts walking out and I quickly follow closely behind. From the corner of my eye I see Amos, standing some distance away, in some recess in the restaurant, quietly watching what is happening.Once outside Drake opens the car door for me and once I am seated he gets in, reverses out of the parking lot and drives away at high speed. No one say
ALICIAIt's not one pursuer behind me but at least three. They are quickly catching up with me because I can hear their footsteps clearly. When my wolf was present the first thing I would have noticed was their scents. Without her I am just like any other human.I am getting exhausted because I am not used to running for long, and one of my pursuers overtakes me and stands before me, hindering my progress. I turn back and see two more approaching. There is nowhere to run to because the sides of the road are dense woods and there is no telling whether more adversaries await in there.“Who are you and what do you want?” I ask amid sweating and panting. I can't help but breathe heavily due to that small stretch of running. My wolf should come back because this is unacceptable. A normal werewolf should run long distances without getting tired.“Don't ask. We are here to teach you a very important lesson.” The one in front says. I quickly go through the events of the day to find out who it
DRAKE'S POVI take Alicia to my house. She has suffered serious injuries and it seems that she has been a victim of an assault. Someone beat her then left her for the dead. Her face is swollen and she is bleeding all over. There is a huge bruise on her chest, someone hit her with a sharp object. The rain hasn't helped much, her clothes are dripping of dirty water.I take her to the room she previously occupied and call our pack doctor to look at her. I also order my Beta, Jim to go back and comb the scene in a bid to establish who is responsible for the assault. I need also to find out the motive of the attack since she hasn't been robbed, there's money in her pockets and jewellery on her neck. If the motive had been theft, then her expensive jewelry wouldn't be with her. Maybe they were after her phone because she doesn't have it.Then something else, I'm now certain than ever before that she is my mate. My wolf is restless and he growls angrily inside my head, feeling the pain for h
DRAKE'S POV It's becoming clear each passing day that war is going to happen, it's inevitable, not a matter of if, but when.Rogues have positioned themselves, ready to attack the packs around us and since we have peace treaties with the packs, if someone attacks them we join in the war on their side. In line with this I have authorized our trainers to recruit more fighters and warriors. We have been here before, I have fought rogues before.When I became Alpha, a group of rogues led by their leader Brice tried to attack us. They were taking advantage of my being new in leadership to topple me and take over the leadership of this pack. I fought him in a very fierce battle that saw so many of his warriors dead. I drove him back to the woods, weak and humiliated.I had heard about him before, his pack and mode of operation but it was only theory, I hadn't seen him in real life.My father had told me about the exploits of Brice. According to him, Brice was once a Beta of some pack a dis
ANDREW'S POVMy family was the happiest in our pack for years until the sudden disappearance of my sister Alicia. The last time anyone saw her was during the inauguration party of Alpha Eric, the current leader of the pack. We had all attended the party and she was part of the group who had been assigned to serve drinks, then at one point someone noticed that she was missing and reported to our father.On looking further, father established that someone had seen her by the poolside talking to the Alpha but when Eric was asked about it he denied ever holding any conversation with anyone. This was proving to be complicated and sad. My father didn't give up the search, indeed, he escalated it, looking for her everywhere within the borders of our pack. He even looked for her at the morgue but to no avail.After about a month of a fruitless search he started to go slow, but then he came across some interesting information. He had gone to file an official report about a lost person, presume
ALICIAMelissa is the first one to get in, followed closely behind by a few of my classmates. I am still in my sleeping position when they all troop in.“Alicia dear!” Melissa exclaims, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief. I honestly think that letting her see me like this was not a good idea. Melissa is the emotional type who cry over very minor issues, but I can't question the Alpha because I am certain that he is the one who let them in. I try to smile.“I am fine Melissa. The doctor says that I am out of danger.” I say just to make her feel better. There's some pain in my back that wasn't there when I regained my consequences. I can't get myself out of the bed, but I can't let her find out.“How did you find out that I was here?” I ask as I pass my eyes around the room to see who she has come with. It's funny how I don't know most of the names of my classmates, but all the faces here are familiar. I try to smile at them but from their reactions I can see that they aren't buyi
DRAKE'S POV War is bad.We are here in the jungle away from our home, fighting for our friends. A treaty binds us to fight for each other should one of us face an attack. We have made several sacrifices to this end, the biggest being the abduction of my mate Alicia by Eric. I am going to deal with him at a later date but right now I am dealing with something else.Alicia thinks that our hosts Alpha Lazarus and his mate are somehow cold towards us and I tend to agree. Ever since the Gamma was killed in battle I have noticed something peculiar. The top pack members now do a lot of consultation behind my back. I have seen it severally but dismissed it as nothing but now that Alicia has mentioned it I think she has a point. Well, we will just have to wait and see.We don't talk much because Alicia falls asleep in my hands immediately after we get to my quarters and she sleeps until morning. I bet it's from what she didn't sleep during her time in prison. In the morning I try to reason wi
ALICIA Aunt Regina and I share a few moments, but I don't reveal anything about myself to her. I even decline an offer to take me to my parents. At first it looks like a good idea, where I can go and bide my time waiting for the war to end, but then I am a fighter, and I belong to the battlefield. Secondly, my mate is worried about my whereabouts and I want to end his anxiety so that he can participate in the war without worrying about me.“Listen aunt, I can't go to my parents. I want to go somewhere else right away.” I tell her when she insists on taking me home.“You never cease to amaze me my child. But where are you going?” She has already brought me some of her clothes, and when I wear them they are so tight. I bet I am bigger than her by a few inches. We have joked about my weight for a while and laughed a little. Perhaps this was what I needed, a light moment. “Aren't you afraid of what might happen to you when they find out that you let me go?” I avoid her question, opting
ANDREW'S POV The door is going to open any moment now. Someone has been fiddling with the padlocks for some time and I can hear every time he succeeds in picking through one. I have already deduced that they are Invaders, having heard earlier as they slaughtered the guards. They want me now, to slaughter me too, but I won't let it happen so easily.I already know about the existence of a death sentence on me and slaying their leader in battle must have added some salt into a fresh wound. They must be on fire.The hut doesn't have any single weapon I can defend myself with, and I get too anxious every minute a padlock is unlocked. They must be experts in this art.Then at last I hear them disengaging the bolts and I know that my time has come, to live or to die. I position myself strategically behind the door and wait, as the door slowly squeaks and finally opens. My adrenaline levels are at an all time high, and I am ready for any eventuality.What comes in first is a sword, the tip
ALICIA I am floating inside what looks like a bottomless void. I try to establish some footing but I am powerless, so weak. I look around and all I can see is an vast plain, shrouded in endless spires of mist.“Am I in heaven? Then does that mean that I died?” I mutter to myself.Then it dawns on me that I am actually dead. Maybe I am somewhere in heaven's holding chamber, being cleared to get in. This explains the lack of energy in me. I am in the spiritual realm, I am no longer on earth, my body must have died.Everything comes back to me and I remember how my body suffered on earth. The wolves bane in my blood, the bruises and the substance Eric injected into my veins. My body couldn't hold all that poison, and that's how it died. I break into tears, tears of agony, of hatred. I should not have died before exacting revenge on Eric. I had vowed to teach him a very good lesson for what he did to me when he rejected me years ago. Not to mention all the torture he subjected me to rec
DRAKE'S POVYesterday was the day the war was fought fiercely. We have never fought like this before. Some rogues took us away from the battlefield but we managed to subdue them. All in all the rogue army was beaten to a pulp and if they manage to rise again then I'll applaud their spirit. By the time we left the battleground there were about a hundred of their fighters dead and a large number wounded. Their top commanders had escaped or hidden from the Juggernaut that was our army. Whatever had motivated us should stay with us even today and into the future.However we suffered losses too and our biggest loss was the death of one of our leaders, the Gamma of Lazarus' pack. He had charged at Andrew Waters with at least four of our men. Andrew had injured the men and struck a lethal blow on the Gamma, killing him on the spot. We learned of his death very late in the evening because we came back late. His trusted men brought his body home and his family and the whole pack were inconsola
ALICIA “Find the camp where I was being held before I was brought here Valerie. I need to send a message to my brother being held there.” I whisper to Valerie.“I know where it is. The guards here don't keep secrets.” She tells me.“Please, go there and find where they have kept a man known as Andrew. He is my brother. If you manage to see him, tell me where I am.” I say.“Anything for you Alicia. I will try all I can to ensure you are released.” She says.“Well, leave now before the guards throw you out.” I say. She walks out slowly, her shoulders heavy. She's carrying so much weight on her mind. After she's gone I manage to sleep a few winks.It takes what looks like eternity for morning to come, but eventually it does come. I am in so much pain and so weak but the natural light that is slowly creeping in gives me some hope. Drake must be looking for me now, very seriously. He knows about the rogue camp and that is where he will look first, then I hope he will search deeper and fin
ALICIA Later in the night the chains that pin me to the wall are removed and I am put into hand cuffs. Two other people come in, carrying a small table that they place at a corner a short distance away from me. As they walk out I notice an assortment of weapons on top of the table. They include knives, razor blades, scalpels and some other crude weapons. I know what is going to follow.“Alicia, I bring you a visitor. Be kind to him." Abed says. The two men consult for a while but I don't hear what they say. Abed walks out immediately and I hear his footsteps as they fade into the corridor.“Alicia, as you can see, I am here to persuade you. My name is Dwayne and I am here to replace Abed who has been given some other assignments. I am a bit reasonable and if you cooperate you will find that I am a cool guy." He says. I keep quiet. He starts circling the cell. “My role here is very simple." He says from behind me. “I want you to denounce Drake as your mate, and once you do that I wil
ALICIA The door to the hut opens and I spring up from my corner. I have managed to sleep on the damp floor and the visitors have just woken me up. There is a familiar scent, that of Eric.“Bring her out, but leave her criminal brother. We'll deal with him later.” He instructs.Two females walk quickly to where I am and frogmarch me towards the door. I can sense that Andrew is watching us, so I see no need to alert him.“Wait!” He growls in the darkness. “Where are you taking my sister?” No one answers him. I see him struggling to get up, but he's handcuffed from behind.“Touch her and I'll kill you with my bare hands Eric. Do anything to her and you will regret you loser!” He shouts. Eric walks in just as we approach the door.“Shut up Andrew. You are going to die, having outlived your usefulness. You sabotaged our mission and helped your sister to kill our warriors. I'd worry about myself if I were you.” Eric taunts him before walking behind us, then locking the door. I can still he
ANDREW They have brought Alicia to the camp, a camp that has been razed to the ground and all prisoners released and evacuated. Bodies of our dead warriors litter the compound and there's no evidence of any fighting. This means that they were found unawares or even sleeping as usual and murdered in cold blood.Brice can see what his lax warriors have brought unto us, and now more than anything else we need shelter from the elements. Then there's the thorny issue of my sister Alicia. She has regained consciousness but now she is very weak and even though her eyes are open she can't talk. She still lies on the stretcher she was brought in as Alpha Eric assesses the damage or what is left in our camp. There's nothing much to see as the only remaining structure in the whole compound is the hut that has the radio equipment and also acts as an extra cell for prisoners. I decide to stay besides Alicia and wait for Eric to come back and explain to me why he has taken my sister. I understand