The Villian I Never Was

Alpha Barak sat on a chair in his office, and he summoned his first son, Menelik. 

Menelik burst into the Alpha’s office, and he yelped, “Father, you called me.” 

“Menelik, I want you to lead the warriors, to capture Zora. Since he’s escaped from us, we’ve gone all out in search of him, but he has always slipped from us.” Alpha Barak stated.

“Oh, Zora the werelion.” Menelik heaved a sigh, took a deep breath, and sat on a chair afterward.

“Yes. Zora. I thought he’ll be a piece of cake for our warriors, that’s why I had the Gamma, Mangol, and a small group of warriors go after him, but they were unsuccessful. We even lost some warriors in the process, but I am trusting you to capture him, either dead or alive. Bring an end to his life, and that of his seeds, before he takes over our world with his seeds.” Alpha Barak stated with authority. “I will hold the fort, back here at home. I would have led the warriors myself, but I have important business to attend to.”

“I’m at your service, Alpha, and I will make sure I surpass your expectations.” Menelik bowed his head.

“That’s my boy.” Alpha Barak grinned. “I trained you, specifically for moments like these. So, make sure you do not disappoint me.”

“Yes, I won’t.” Menelik chimed in. “but I would like to go with Calista, the slave.”.

“You have my permission.” Alpha Barak muttered,

“Father, I want to join in,” Malik interjected. He overheard their conversation, and he walked into the Alpha’s office, hoping to talk his father into letting him in on hunting the werelion. “I also want to join Menelik and the warriors, in the hunt for the werelions.”

“You can’t, you’re blind.” Alpha Barak blurted.

“But I’m one of the best fighters, in all of Lakewood pack.” Malik countered.

“I need warriors, who can see!” Alpha Barak yelled. “Do you think the werelions are a joke, or what?”

*** ONE MONTH EARLIER ***

Calista’s POV

I was the daughter of Alpha Alex Maximoff—the Alpha of the Ridgewood pack, and I mistakenly killed my Father, the Alpha. 

On a gloomy afternoon, I was training with my bow and silver-tipped arrows in my bedroom. I was trying to sharpen my aim from close range while concentrating on my target, but my father suddenly burst into the room, and I was startled. I reflexively released my grip on the arrow I was holding, and to my horror, the arrow struck my father in the heart, as it flew directly at him. 

It all happened in a split second, and I couldn’t make sense of what was going on. I couldn’t believe that I had injured the All-mighty Alpha, my Father.

As soon as he fell to the ground, I instinctively closed the door of my room, and I jumped over to my Father’s side. He was on the ground, gasping for air. I was still in shock about what I had done. My eyes were heavy, and tears were running down my cheeks. I was afraid to sound an alarm, or even request assistance. 

So, I attempted to make the save all by myself. My hands began to tremble, as I attempted to remove the arrow, but the arrow was stuck too deeply, and I could hear my father groan in pain, as I struggled to remove the arrow. 

In a few seconds, he had lost a lot of blood, and he was beginning to phase out. I tried to stop the blood that was gushing out of his body, by pressing my hands hard against his chest, but he looked at me with pain, and with anguish in his eyes, he took my hands off his body. He managed to stand up, and he landed a heavy smack across my face. 

“You bitch!” He grimaced, staring daggers at me, even in his dire pain. He tried to walk out of the room, but he fell down again, and this time with a loud thud. 

I went to examine him again, and his heart had stopped beating, he had stopped breathing, and his body was now pale, giving me signs of the dreadful news that I never in a thousand years, dreamt to witness firsthand, that my father had finally given up the ghost. 

My father hated me since birth, and by so doing. he inadvertently put anxiety inside of me, but I never had the thought of killing him, for once.

The whole pack was alerted by the loud thud, and the first person that came to check out what was happening in my room was my younger brother, Zack.

He caught me in the act, and he called the warriors on me, instantly.

I wanted to run for dear life because I knew in my pack, death was only punishable by death, and no amount of plea, could save my life, but the warriors overpowered me, and I was taken down to the dungeon. I was placed behind bars, among other prisoners.

My best friend, Ubuntu understood that I was innocent; that I didn’t intend to kill the Alpha, and in the middle of the night, she used her dark powers to manipulate the warriors that were guarding the dungeon. She wielded powers of witchcraft; a thing that was forbidden in our pack, as every proven witch was to be condemned to the bonfire, but Ubuntu has found ways to always conceal the gift, that was passed down to her by her grandmother.

Ubuntu slipped in like a serpent, and she got me out of the dungeon. Then, she took me into the woods, wrapping me in an invisible aura, and giving me all the things, I’ll seemingly need on my journey away from the Ridgewood pack.

I was so young and feeble; I was barely a day above 15 years of age, and I was so scared to begin a journey into the unknown, and yet Ubuntu didn’t want to go with me. Well, I was ready to choose my own fate; it all happened in a flash, and I didn’t even have the time to think, I just didn’t want to lose my head to the vengeful Ridgewood pack’s blade.

 

Ubuntu kissed me goodbye, and I was eventually set for my long journey. 

I moved past the warriors that guarded our pack, and I was completely invisible to them. The night turned into days, and the protective invisible aura slowly faded away, I was soon captured by a group of slavers.

A bunch of other helpless wolves like me, and myself, were dumped by the slavers at the Lakewood pack. 

At the Lakewood pack, I was made to serve as a slave in the chambers of Alpha Barak Brooks. 

When I first arrived at the Lakewood pack, my soul was heavy with guilt and regret. The memory of that tragic afternoon, when I unintentionally killed my father will always stay with me. I regretted touching my bow and arrow that very afternoon, I regretted ever being interested in becoming a warrior, and I regretted putting the arrow through my dad’s heart. 

It was hard for me, to come to the realization that I was now a murderer, and now my life was irreversibly changed for the worse, in that one short-lived moment of sloppiness.  

I was aware that I had committed a grave error and that I would have to live with the consequences for the rest of my life. My father was gone forever, and the bare thought of him being gone was almost unbearable.

I never had mercy on myself. I fought to find a way to deal with my grief and guilt as the days passed. I was aware that I needed to find a way to go on with my normal life, but it was so difficult.

I was accustomed to leading a privileged life in the pack as the Alpha's daughter. I enjoyed the perks that came with being at the top of the social scale. I had a cozy place to sleep, an abundance of food, and the respect and admiration of the other members of my pack, but now I had to mop floors and clean bathrooms, and my present reality was the direct opposite of what my life used to be.

It was a difficult pill to swallow, in fact, I now had no control over anything. For my captors, I was merely a tool or a means to an end. My humiliation was horrible. In the flash of an eye, I went from being the equivalent of a princess to a pauper. I was treated like a commoner, humiliated, and degraded.

I was simply another slave; I was no longer the Alpha's daughter.

My fall from grace was tragic, and from that moment onwards, everyone in the pack spearheaded by Menelik, the Alpha's first son began to maltreat me. He treated me with great disdain, punishing me for every slight wrongdoing, and Menelik even turned me into his official punching bag. I was mistreated and constantly abused while being made to perform menial duties. My once-fantastic life at the Ridgewood pack has been diminished to a mere shell of what it had been.

Whenever Menelik is addressing me, he would often tout that I’m accursed and, I deserve to suffer, and he always made true to his words; he dealt with me at every given opportunity. 

Thank goodness, that no one in the Lakewood pack, knew a thing of my dreadful past, if not the humiliation would have been worse, or I might even be dead by now. 

I was astonished that the news of my evil deed, did not spread like wildfire. I was guessing that they decided to bury the matter and resort to a covert underground search for me, because how on earth would they explain that a fifteen-year-old disappeared from their stronghold, after taking the life of their Alpha, without looking weak to the other packs?

I made sure; I concealed my identity by completely shaving my long and beautiful hair. I changed my name to Calista, and I kept a low profile. I made sure I was scarcely seen by the members of the pack.

Menelik labeled me a villain, just because I was a slave. Well, I don’t think I was ever a villain. Unintentionally murdering my father, shouldn’t make me a villain, and if it did, I surely never intended to be somewhat one.

All my sufferings since I left Ridgewood pack, might just be the punishment for the villain I never was, but I just couldn't comprehend, how being a slave, made me a villain in Menelik’s eyes, maybe he could smell the mischief of my past.

I know, if Menelik had his way, he would have just killed me outrightly, and I'm damn sure that Menelik's brutality towards me, doesn't sit well with Menelik's blind junior brother, Malik. Even though he's as strong as his elder brother, he won't do anything to save me from his elder brother's cruel hands. At times, he could even act mean to me, to avoid being seen as a weakling by his elder brother. 

Several times, I contemplated suicide, but I would still find myself mumbling that “the better days are coming”, and I resigned to my fate as a slave, and chose to endure my misery, because I wanted to carefully conceal myself from the world out there, from the vengeful Ridgewood pack, who would be looking to avenge their slain Alpha.

Living as a slave was not any easy, but over time, I started to adjust. I picked up the skills of doing as I was told, obeying commands, and lowering my head. Even though the tasks were beneath me and frivolous, I got a little amount of satisfaction in finishing them.

I also discovered how to appreciate the little things. a hearty dinner with my family, the freedom to do whatever I liked, and some quiet time. These may seem like unimportant things to some, but when you are a slave, they can make all the difference

I missed my mother, the Luna, and the rest of my pack more than anything. I longed for the day when I would be able to return home and rebuild our fallen pack, but that day seemed far off.

It has been about three years now since I scurried away from my home to Lakewood pack, and I was standing by at the dining table when these thoughts roamed through my mind. My eyes were getting heavy, and water began to form around my eyes, but I tried to control myself. I didn’t want to cry in the presence of Alpha Barak and his family.