CHAPTER 5

Ty’s POV

The night air seemed ever so cool and, in some way, carried the promise of a beautiful tomorrow, at least to a regular human, werewolves of the shadow rock pack however embraced a different reality, they undeniably understood that for the foreseeable future the only easy day would be yesterday.

While this outlook on life might seem cynical in nature, it was the truth.

The entire pack had just watched their Alpha fight off a group of would-be usurpers try to take his position in the pack, it was a sight that was burned into the back of their minds. The laws of the pack clearly state that if any pack member fancies himself strong enough, they are to challenge the current Alpha to a duel wherein the leadership of the pack is at stake and falls to the winner of the duel.

However, that was not the case tonight, the rest of the pack had to watch as their Alpha battled off seven werewolves. The majority of them present had never seen such a display of power from their Alpha or any other Alpha for that matter, but the memory was etched into their minds, it was a duel they would not be forgetting anytime soon.

Ty had witnessed what had to be the most intense duel he had ever seen between werewolves and he had in fact seen and fought his fair share of intense duels. He had long suspected Valentine of coveting the Alpha’s position, he had been surveilling him over the past moons searching for any incriminating evidence he could take to the Alpha and the elders to prove Valentine’s rottenness, but nothing turned up, guess he knew I was on his trail. Ty thought out loud.

Ty watched with keen interest and alertness as his Alpha’s chest rose and fell, his heightened senses picked up every sound in the surrounding area, the rhythmic beeping of the monitors and devices connected to Baldur, the footsteps and heartbeat of every approaching nurse as they walked by or came in to check in on the patient.

He was alert and ready for anything, although he was fully aware that Valentine and his goons were under watch back at the base and couldn’t escape, still he couldn’t lose the deep feeling he had in his guts that Valentine still had more schemes to take over the shadow rock pack cooking.

Only if he could find some incriminating evidence against Valentine and have him thrown out of the park, then he could rest easy. Still the sequence of what had gone down earlier that night lingered in his head, an ever-constant reminder of the kind of warrior he wanted to be, the fighting spirit of his Alpha was truly a work of art. He was absolutely certain of the fact that only a handful of werewolves could rival Baldur in battle.

As he stood watching guard over his recuperating body, he could not help but relive every moment of the duel over and over again.

“You think you have what it takes to lead the pack Valentine!” Baldur had yelled out when Valentine had challenged him out of the blue.

“You’re old and grey old man, it’s time for you to pass on the mantle to the new generation,” Valentine had responded, baring his fangs at Baldur.

“Your greed and desire for power would be the end of you and by extension our pack, and I’ll be dammed if I sit still and watch that happen boy.”

“I’m the future of our pack, I am the only one worthy enough to bear the responsibility of returning us to our former might.”

“Frankly, your hubris amuses me boy, I don’t know who keeps filling your head with those notions, but come on then, let me have the pleasure of knocking some sense into you once again.”

“Not this time old man, this time you die!”

“Alright then boy, come, let’s see whose soul we’d send to our ancestors tonight.”

Valentine had closed the gap between himself and Baldur in a single leap, he brought down his right hand adorned with claws aimed directly for Baldur’s neck, but Baldur who obviously had seen him coming, stepped out of the way in the simplest of motions, his knee had greeted valentines face and sent him flying a few feet backwards into a nearby tree.

“Is this the resolve of the man who wants to lead the pack?” Baldur had asked the onlookers around him. A loud cheer erupted as following Baldur’s question.

Valentine had emerged from the rubble of the tree in his partially transformed state. He had grown about three feet taller and body mass became more defined with muscles, his ears had grown a few inches and were covered in fur, his Pupils glowed a subtle shade of green and a black line of fur ran down his back exposing his tail, it wasn’t a full moon tonight and so the werewolves could only transform partially, nevertheless they were still as powerful as ever in this form.

“Come on then, what are you waiting for? An invitation?” Baldur had teased.

Valentine lunged at him once again, this time even faster, Ty followed every one of Baldur’s movements as he parried and evaded ever so gracefully every one of Valentine strikes. Baldur had landed a slap across Valentine’s face when he over shot a left-hand strike aimed at Baldur’s belly.

A blow or a cut would have been one thing, but getting slapped by your Alpha in the middle of a duel was an insult Valentine could not take idly. The slapped seemed to have enraged him and he kicked up his fighting to another gear, he managed to successfully tackle Baldur and they both fell to the floor, rolling around in the dirt, Valentine had the upper hand as he had Baldur pinned underneath his weight, he struggled against Baldur’s hands pushing against his as he aimed to drive his claws into his heart.

Ty had remembered panicking for a second and contemplating jumping into Baldur’s defense, but the he saw caught a sly grin on his face as his body morphed gradually into his fully transformed werewolf state, and repelled Valentines failed attempt at taking his life easily.

“You’re a few decades too early to take my life boy,” Baldur had said, in a coarse deep voice as he flung Valentine into another nearby tree, an aftereffect of full transformation.

“Makes two trees you owe the community Valentine. At this rate you’re going to owe us a forest.”

The onlookers erupted into a mixture of laughter and cheers once more as they watched their Alpha toy around with Valentine. Ty had relaxed for a minute at this point, thinking all was well and there was nothing to worry about, unfortunately he couldn’t have been more wrong. The first sign he saw and ignored was Valentine getting up and offering a devilish smile to Baldur. The Valentine he knew would throw a fit at this point, raging into battle and losing all sense of himself, and that would lead to his all but inevitable defeat as always, but not this time around. In retrospect he was foolish to think Valentine of all people would play fairly and honor the codes of the pack.

Ty grit on his teeth wishing to the gods that the elders had allowed him execute Valentine on the spot after the stunt he pulled, but he knew that was a bad idea and Baldur would frown on it upon his return to the pack, Baldur after all believed in people a little too much and always gave them the benefit of a doubt regardless of their character or personality.

Everything had gone wrong from that moment out. It was no secret that the Alpha’s health was slowly deteriorating and that he wouldn’t be with them much longer, but Valentine must have somehow timed or kept track of Baldur’s episodes. A few years back Baldur was attacked by a pack of werewolves while on way back to shadow rock when he was ambushed at a gas station a few. He had managed to repel them but he took an arrow laced with wolfsbane to the back and since then his blood had been infected with an uncurable illness.

The entire pack had searched for years for a solution or remedy, doctors and shamans from all over had also tested their skills and power against the illness but it proved to be a formidable opponent. While some members of the pack were still out searching for a cure, Baldur on the other hand had besieged them all to focus their energy on growing the strength of the shadow rock pack and accept his fate as he had. This illness came with reoccurring episodes where a surge of pain overwhelmed Baldur and his ability to function as an Alpha, the episodes usually lasted from anywhere between thirty minutes to one hour. One hour of excruciating pain and agony.

Ty had walked in once when Lily was catering to her father during one of his episodes it wasn’t a pretty sight. His veins were black and bulging as he groaned in pain, he was constantly battling with his inner wolf, trying to maintain balance between himself as the beast. His body was partially transformed in different parts as he pulled against the chains that held him firmly.

It wasn’t a sight Ty was ready to see again. He had no proof but he had long suspected Valentine as the culprit behind the Alpha’s unfortunate incident, and the duel earlier today confirmed his suspicions.

Ty was never one to believe in coincidences, there are no such things, he would always say, the universe isn’t so lazy. Valentine had forced Baldur into transforming fully knowing fully well that Baldur was going to have an episode.

Valentine had lunged once again at Baldur and this time Baldur struck back, he had ducked underneath another overextended attempt to tear his head off, Baldur had retaliated with a punch to Valentine’s gut, he then tore his back with his claws before slamming his head into the floor.

A loud growl came from the onlookers and everyone watched as one of Valentine’s goons, lunged at Baldur from his blind spot, Baldur evaded a little too late as the attacker managed to scratch his chest. When Baldur got to his feet, he found he was surrounded by six werewolves all partially transformed.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Ty had remembered yelling at them and running towards Baldur who was surrounded when his voice boomed clearly around the base.

“Everyone stays out of this, your Alpha commands you. I’ll have your heads if a single one of you moves a muscle in my defense.”

“But this is against our tradition,” one of the elders had said, trying to get Baldur to see reason.

“I understand that, but I must prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that I am worthy of being your Alpha,” Baldur had said, as he lunged at one Valentine’s goons, a breath later and one of them was sent flying through the trees.

“Get him,” Valentine had yelled.

The unfolding scene was nothing Ty could have ever imagined or dreamt, Baldur was a monster, he asked for all quarters and gave none in return, his attacks were calculated and precise, Ty was in awe of his Alpha, a strike from the southpaw position whilst dodging an attempted tackle aimed at bringing him down, a sweep of his feet and he had Valentine tumbling over one of his goons.

He took a punch head on and then returned the favor to his attacker, a flurry of strikes and slashes from another goon was met with a precise counter, Baldur bit into one of their necks and tossed her away like a rag doll. It really was a work of art. Baldur stood surrounded by seven partially transformed werewolves and none of them held a candle to him, he set his eyes on the moon and let out a loud howl declaring his authority.

Another loud cheer erupted and everyone thought it was over until they saw Baldur double over and cough out a black gooey substance, he began abruptly returning to his regular self, groaning and writhing in pain as his bones made loud cracking sounds returning to their human formation. They all proceeded to watch in horror as Valentine got to his feat slowly and kicked Baldur in the face sending him into a building.

“How dare you?” one of the elders had roared, preparing to attack Valentine who had a victorious look about his face.

“I believe my orders were loud and clear,” Baldur had said, struggling to get to his feet. “Stay out of this.”

Even beaten and held back by excruciating and unfathomable pain, Ty watched his Alpha live up to his name and title as he fought of Valentines and his remaining goons, he maintained his pious, taking every hit like a man and returning it like a beast. Lily had chosen that time to arrive at the base. He saw the moment realization dawned on her, her biggest fear turned to reality. He did manage to hold her back and keep her calm, whilst Baldur made quick work of Valentine and his goons.

After what seemed to be an eternity for the pack that night, as everyone watched with their breath stuck in their throat and hearts in their mouth. Baldur finally had Valentine and the rest of his goons on their back or passed out. He offered the pack a smile and another howl before falling to his knees and succumbing to his episode.

The pack had quickly mobilized and transported their Alpha to the hospital, Ty had never seen the pack work so effectively and efficiently towards a goal that wasn’t hunting oriented, seeing their Alpha give his all tonight must have lit a fire in them all.