The Alpha's Run Away Mate

Going Through Changes

If only Lucas knew how lonely it feels to be alone at the top once everybody else gets tired of staying with him and pretending it is delightful to be above everyone else...

He swore he would never choose the same life again— would have never chosen to be an Alpha. It would be much better to get reborn as a regular pack member, away from the responsibilities and expectations. Where he can live a normal and happy life for as long as the pack stays intact.

He only had one person to go to after Emily ran away, unwanted to be chased. But even that person has become hard to reach.

In more than twenty years of their amazing friendship, Lucas and Alexander were inseparable. Other kids tried to get in the circle, only to incredibly fail. Nobody else got in between their bond.

Even though the arguments and fights were proven to be inevitable, as the two mature through time, those circumstances only made their bond stronger than it already was.

All the problems they faced, they got through together. The pack's elders used to call them a special Alpha and Beta tandem, a dynamic duo.

The two of them, even at a young age, were already well known even in other pack territories. Werewolves fear to encounter them, especially when together, outside of Howling Tribe.

They conquered it all. Made deals and accomplices with other packs that used to be stronger than Howling Tribe just because them, as a duo, were feared.

Although subtly, the news about their victories against attackers was spread across territories, too.

Not long after, Howling Tribe has thrived to reach the peak, now becoming one of the most feared packs around— even after Lucas's father, Lucian Sullivan, passed away.

However, now, Alexander has grown apart. Slowly, but steadily. He has strayed to a far away land, somewhere out of Lucas's reach, and the Alpha could do nothing but watch his best friend as he steps towards an unknown path he himself established.

It has apparently been made clear to Lucas. Their ideologies has become different over time. Their morals are not at the same direction. To whom is in the right way, Lucas did not know.

If Alexander chose to be that kind of person, then Lucas could not do much. He swore he will just be glad for wherever that path takes his best friend— his former best friend.

~

Though, maybe it was Lucas. Who has strayed far away for Alexander to reach. Who has changed for the worse instead of becoming a better Alpha for the pack.

Maybe, after all, he was the actual problem and he was just trying to blame it all on somebody else in order to make himself feel better.

Maybe he was actually the one who was walking to a strange path, one that makes him a miserable man, a terrible Alpha, and an overall mess of a werewolf.

Maybe. Just maybe.

And it is all because of one girl. A woman named Emily, whom he met less than a year ago.

It also sparked a raging fire in his chest. The way some of the pack members favored Alexander more than they wanted to hear things from him, that is. Lucas could see everything. Could tell what was happening, how they were starting to trust his Beta more than they trust him.

The idea of being abandoned, even if he was the Alpha, is so humiliating, it pisses him off. Even if he already had it all— the strength to protect, the ability to lead and judge a situation to pick the best decision, and the intellect and connections to bring the pack to nourishment.

It seemed to him like nothing will ever be enough. Despite possessing all those traits, Emily still decided to leave him. The pack still decided to act as if he was not the best Alpha Howling Tribe could ever have.

Maybe it was not Alexander who changed, after all, and it was actually him.

The effect of a heartbreak was more than he thought it would affect his vulnerability. Emily's rejection has messed up his brain's chemistry, and he was starting to self sabotage, unbeknownst to even himself.

And what is worse was, he also lost his only best friend. The only man he was sure would listen to all his rants and make him calm down. The only boy he knew he could trust with everything he has and would have. The only one he had after losing Emily, one he instantly pushes away just too.

If only...

If only his father was still alive to guide him through it, it would have been at least a tad better. He must have been able to give him a few words to straighten his mind.

Lucian Sullivan was a great man, the best father Lucas swore he could ever have. He was an amazing Alpha, too.

From the near downfall of Howling Tribe due to an event they did not see coming when Lucas was a kid, Lucian did his best to rebuild the pack and the territory, even after just losing his Luna in the attack.

Lucas looked up to him. Alexander did, too, and all the kids in the pack. They all idolized Lucian and his principles as Howling Tribe's honorable Alpha.

What would his father do if he was in his situation?

If Lucian was alive, he would probably tell him to get his sh*t together and start acting like he used to be. His father would probably just let him cry for a whole night and then urge him to be a better version of himself after a terrible breakdown.

His father would have prevented the way his friendship with Alex ended. He might smack his head and scold him for being this affected, when he literally has a huge responsibility as the Alpha.

Just like how he did when they lost Luna Cecilia, when his mother passed away. Just like how Alpha Lucian chose to act tough for Lucas and for Howling Tribe's sake. Just like how Alpha Lucian did...

~

“Alpha Lucas, we all think you should give things a try,” an elder spoke, “there are gorgeous girls in the pack, who will make a great Luna. And they will willingly submit to you, if you desire. Some other interested daughters of our acquaintances from other packs are also up to the challenge, to please you with everything they have for a chance to be Howling Tribe's Luna. It is time for you to pick someone, we beg.”

“I already said no, did I not?” Lucas replied, as he slouched back to his seat, resting his chin above one closed fist. He yawned, finding the whole ordeal just boring. They have been nagging him about it for as long as he can remember. It is just getting redundant at this point, “Get this meeting done. If all you will talk about is whatever the sh*t is about picking my Luna as soon as I can, just get the f*ck off.”

“But Alpha—” they tried to insist.

“I am done with this sh*t. D*mn it, Lucas, how stubborn can you f*cking be?!”

The loud growl sounded across the hall from Alexander's mouth. He was frustrated, more than annoyed at Lucas's disinterest.

Lucas kept his mouth shut, while harboring a cold expression in his face all over. After an awkward minute of silence on the table, he opened his mouth and finally said, “I will let this disrespect pass, Alexander. If you give me one good reason to attempt it, then, and I will even reconsider,” he did not like Alexander's tone at all, but he would willingly listen to him if he provided one valid reason for him to agree and do it.

After all, Alexander was the best adviser he has and ever had. Not event the other Elders in the circle has understood him better than his best friend. Only Alexander could calm his senses down for a better decision to occur.

“Unloving someone is impossible,” Alex replied, stating the obvious. But the words that came after those were sentences Lucas never expected him to mutter. “But finding somebody else to love more than you loved before is a cure only the strong willed to ease the pain speaks of. You are the Alpha? Be the Alpha in this situation, too, and stop being a stupid f*cking heartbroken man who self sabotages and brings destruction to others!”

Even if Lucas did not want to admit it, Alexander's words struck something in him. Gritting his teeth, he hissed.

By then, before he could realize the weight of his words as the Alpha, he had already agreed with the pack's Advisers, announcing a promise he could not take back anymore...