Chapter 1: The New Alpha

Anastasia's POV

It had been raining since morning in Lupo Continent. It seemed that the universe had shown its sympathy for me and my pack, the Lykos Pack. After all, we were grieving. 

My father, Nicholas Galanis, had passed away. My dear father was now lying peacefully inside the glass coffin. His bright blue eyes would be closed forever from now on. The curly black hair he had would never move beautifully ever again. The firm stature he had would never be seen again. The kind smile he used to show me would never be there for me again.

"I'll miss you, Father," I quietly said as I was looking at him in the glass coffin, feeling my tears fall from my cheeks for the Goddess knows who.

I, Anastasia Galanis, still couldn't believe it. The council and my father had decided to choose me as the heiress over my half-brother, Constantine Galanis, from my stepmother, Sophia Galanis. It was because I had awakened my wolf since I was 12 years old. 

That event was a very rare thing to happen. Usually, we werewolves would be able to awaken our wolves the moment we reached our 18th birthday. Hence, they believed that I was destined to be the heiress. 

Suddenly, there was a voice that interrupted my train of thought.

"Anna! Please come to the hall."

It was my maid, Ophelia. She was my best friend in this pack. My best friend was the only other person who called me Anna other than my father and my wolf. In turn, I called her Oppie. 

Oppie was a rogue. But I could see that there was something great in her. I saved her by making a plea to my father to make her my maid. From then on, she had become extremely loyal to me. 

"Thanks, Oppie. I'll go down to the hall right now," I told her as I was looking at the mirror. 

I looked awful because I had cried nonstop. Nevertheless, I had to look strong for my pack's sake. Besides, I couldn’t let the Beta, Damon Chronos, mock me. That cunning man was Sophia's brother. That was why I needed to look calm and strong.

My best friend quickly helped me to tie my hair as she said sadly, "I know you’re sad. But you must stay strong for our pack, okay?"

I nodded my head weakly. After that, Oppie put on some makeup to make me look a bit fresh. Then, Oppie looked at me as if she was trying to give me some encouragement. 

She commented, "There. Looking way better. Now, let’s go to the hall."

"Thanks again, Oppie," I responded to her. 

She then bowed respectfully before she said as she smiled, "No problem, Alpha."

For a while, I was stunned. It still felt weird being called an Alpha. However, I realized that I had to get used to it. I was the Lykos Pack's Alpha now. There was no turning back. 

In an instant, I got out of my room to walk to the hall with Oppie. There was no time for being scared anymore. What would the pack think of if they saw me scared? That wouldn't be a good look.

'Strong. I must be strong for the pack,' I told myself in my head.

As I was walking in the hall, everyone was already there. They were waiting for me. Once I entered the hall, everyone quickly bowed to me. Including the Beta, my stepmother, and my half-brother.  

Still, I could feel that they refused to acknowledge me as an Alpha. Especially from my half-brother, Constantine Galanis. I guessed he was still angered over the fact that our father chose me over him. 

As I was passing him, I could hear my half-brother whispering, "You're not worthy of being an Alpha!"

Reflexively, I responded to him in a whisper, "Well, perhaps, you should've awakened your wolf earlier, Tino."

Tino was my little nickname for Constantine. Both my brother and I used to be very close. My little brother used to follow me around like a kitten followed its mother. Unfortunately, Sophia had said some terrible things to my half-brother. Ever since the moment my father chose me as his heiress, Constantine saw me as an enemy. 

The realization really hurt me. He would act arrogant and cold when he was around me these days. It saddened me to no end. Thus, Constantine really hated being called Tino because it felt childish. 

My brother thought that I was mocking him. It wasn't true. Sadly, our relationship seemed to be way too broken to be mended. It didn’t help when Sophia also hated me with passion. She was the one who spouted terrible things to Constantine with her brother the Beta. 

Both Sophia and Damon believed that I didn't deserve to be the next Alpha. After all, I was a girl while Constantine was a boy. So, Constantine was the one who was supposed to inherit the Alpha position. Not me.

Both my father and stepmother often fought about it to no end. Sophia would then put the blame on me. After that, my father would angrily tell her to focus more on her duties as the pack's Luna.

Seeing that I responded back, Constantine just cowered as some pack members were laughing to see how meek my brother was. They knew very well how weak my brother was. My stepmother was looking at me angrily. 

It seemed that she was about to yell at me, but she was quickly stopped by her brother. It was Damon. The Beta. That man was walking at me quickly with hints of arrogance in his eyes.

'If only I could punch him in the face,' I told myself.

He was still looking at me from head to toe as if I made a mistake. Luckily, that cunning man couldn’t point out anything from me. But I realized that he was trying to scare me into submission. There was no way I could let that slide.  

"Is there something wrong, Beta Damon?" I asked him.

That man seemed to be shocked to hear me speak back. 

"Nothing," he replied.

"Careful. I'm the Alpha now, Beta," I calmly reminded him that I was the new Alpha.

Sophia's older brother just gritted his teeth before he walked to the two elders in our pack. They were standing close to my seat. George Drakos and Thalia Pantazis. 

"Elder George and Elder Thalia," I greeted the elders.

Both of them were looking at me before they bowed again. I couldn't help but notice that George didn't approve of me being the next Alpha. That old man always boasted that only men deserve to be the Alpha. 

On the other hand, Thalia supported me as a fellow she-wolf. She could tell that I was a better fit compared to my ill-prepared brother. Not to mention, she was also more of a grandmother to me. This old woman was the one who supervised my lessons. Thus, she knew very well about my progress.

"Alpha Anastasia," Thalia greeted me respectfully as she bowed again.

George seemed unwilling to follow her, prompting Thalia to make a sarcastic remark, "Goodness, Elder George. You’ve been in this world for more than half a century. Are young going senile because you forgot to greet your new Alpha?"

The male elder finally responded to my greeting as he bowed with a scowl, "Alpha Anastasia."

From my perspective, George seemed to bow because he really despised Thalia. As far as I knew, they were often at each other’s throats although I had a feeling that it was more because of whether me or my brother was the one who should inherit our father's position.

After that, George and Thalia were leading me to the throne seat. The seat that used to be my father's seat. It was now my seat. The moment I sat on my father’s seat made my stomach tingle. Did my father feel like this too the first time he was announced as the Alpha? I wished that he could answer me. Thinking of my father makes me sad again. 

'You need to be strong,'

Hearing that voice almost made me chuckle. That voice belonged to Daphne, my wolf. Both she and I shared the deepest secrets that I couldn’t tell anyone, even with Oppie. I was lucky to be able to have my wolf. Otherwise, I didn’t think I could bear it all alone. 

'Thanks, Daphne,' I told her.

Both George and Thalia bowed again twice. They were then followed by Damon. Not long after that, everyone followed them too. I had to admit that it really amazed me.

"May Alpha Anastasia Galanis reign peacefully. May the Lykos Pack stay glorious forever!" Thalia shouted.

"May Alpha Anastasia Galanis reign peacefully. May the Lykos Pack stay glorious forever!" George shouted, albeit hesitantly.

Then, Damon also shouted, "May Alpha Anastasia Galanis reign peacefully. May the Lykos Pack stay glorious forever!"

I could tell that he forcibly did that because it would look bad on him as the Beta if he didn’t do that. Not long after him, everyone followed. Including my stepmother and half-brother. 

Nevertheless, they were looking at me with eyes full of hatred so intense that it made me slightly shudder. Immediately, I realized that Damon, Sophia, and Constantine might have something to do with my father's death.

I always had a feeling that his death was unusual. After my father's big fight with my stepmother to protest his decision to choose me as his heiress last month, my father's health then slowly deteriorated. It was very unusual. My usually fit father had become very frail. 

Thus, I had made up my mind to bring the issue to the elders as soon as my enthronement ceremony was finished. After all, I couldn't help but feel suspicious about them. Not to mention, Damon seemed to be power-hungry for a Beta. I didn't wish to see him trying to control me during my times of rule. That was why I had to be careful. 

"Is there any first order, Alpha?" Damon asked. 

Realizing that he wished to downplay my position, I quickly shut him down by answering, "Yes, there is an order, Beta."

Again, he asked me with a condescending tone, "What is that, Alpha?"

While I was looking at his eyes, I was uttering my command, "I wish to investigate the death of the former Alpha Nicholas Galanis. The investigation will be done as soon as I’m enthroned before everyone." 

Everyone quickly murmured. They also thought the same as me. My father's death was unnatural. As for my Beta, I could see Damon's face became slightly pale. To me, it was a sign that he had something to do with my father's death. While Constantine seemed to agree with what I said, Sophia also looked pale. 

'So, Sophia also had something to do with my father's death! How could she do that?' I angrily said it inside my head.

After that, I was looking back at Damon. The Beta nodded grimly before he looked at the elders for approval. Thalia instantly agreed, followed by George who quickly nodded angrily as if he knew that he would get berated by Thalia.

"Yes, Alpha. We'll do an investigation for the late Alpha Nicholas' death as you wish," Damon hesitantly said.

"Good. I want a thorough investigation, Beta," I told him.

'Just wait. Justice will prevail,' I told myself.

Not long after that, I was doing my first howl as an Alpha. The first howl had the power to make every member of my pack follow me. Soon, everyone followed me. Everyone then howled loudly. 

"Long live Alpha Anastasia Galanis!"

"Long live the Lykos Pack!"

Still, I would never forget how Constantine, Sophia, and Damon were looking at me as they were howling. My gut tells me that something would go very wrong. Unfortunately, I still had no idea. 

I told myself in my head, 'I hope everything will go well.'

But Daphne didn't say anything.