Rise of the Immortal

Chapter 2: Whispers of the Alpha King

The whispers started three days later, carried through the pack house like wildfire through dry grass. I first heard them when I was emptying the waste buckets from the upper cells – a task that required me to venture into the main basement level where I could sometimes catch fragments of conversation from the pack members above.

"The Alpha King," someone was saying, their voice low and reverent. "Can you believe it? Here, in our territory."

Alpha King. The title made something in my chest tighten with an emotion I couldn't identify. Every wolf in every pack knew the legends surrounding the Alpha King – Kale Thorne, the most powerful werewolf alive, ruler of the Red Moon pack and commander of a dozen allied territories. He was said to be seven feet tall, capable of killing enemies with a single glance, and so dominant that even the strongest Alphas submitted to him without question.

I'd always assumed he was more myth than man, a story told to keep lesser Alphas in line. But as the hours passed, more and more pack members were discussing his impending arrival, and their scents carried the unmistakable tang of anxiety mixed with excitement.

"When is he coming?" Beta Greg's voice drifted down from the kitchen above, though he was clearly trying to keep his volume controlled.

"Three days, maybe four," came Alpha Marcus's reply, and even through several layers of floor and stone, I could hear the tension in his voice. "He sent word that he's conducting... inspections throughout the region. Apparently, there have been concerns about how some packs are managing their territories."

Inspections. The word sent ice through my veins. I'd seen what happened when officials came to inspect the Silver Fang pack. We disappeared completely, locked away in the deepest cells while the pack put on a show of respectability above our heads.

But this was different. This was the Alpha King himself.

I finished my task quickly and made my way back to the dungeon level, where Maya and Henrik were waiting with barely concealed curiosity written across their faces.

"Well?" Maya demanded the moment I was within whispering distance. "What did you hear?"

I glanced around, ensuring we were truly alone before speaking. "The Alpha King is coming. In three or four days."

Henrik let out a low whistle that sounded more like a whimper. "Alpha King Kale? Here?"

"That's what they said." I settled onto the floor of my cell, my back against the cold stone wall. "Alpha Marcus sounded... worried."

"He should be worried," Henrik muttered. "I heard stories about Kale Thorne when I still lived above ground. They say he can smell lies from a mile away, can sense corruption in a pack's leadership just by walking through their territory."

Maya leaned closer to the bars separating our cells. "What do you think this means for us?"

I wished I had an answer. In my seventeen years of life, I'd learned that change rarely benefited those at the bottom of the hierarchy. When powerful wolves made decisions, it was the weakest who suffered the consequences.

"Nothing good," I said finally, which was the most honest response I could give.

But even as I spoke the words, that strange stirring in my chest returned – stronger this time, like something was trying to claw its way to the surface from deep within me. I pressed my hand against my sternum, frowning at the unfamiliar sensation.

Over the next two days, the entire pack house transformed into a frenzy of activity. I could hear it even through the thick stone walls – furniture being moved, floors being scrubbed, voices raised in hurried conversation. The scents filtering down to us carried notes of fear, anticipation, and the sharp tang of cleaning supplies being used in massive quantities.

Beta Greg appeared twice each day to inspect our cells, his usual casual cruelty replaced by a manic attention to detail that had him checking every corner for dust or debris. He'd even brought down a new set of clothes for each of us – rough homespun things that were nevertheless cleaner than anything I'd worn in years.

"Put these on," he'd ordered, tossing the garments through the bars. "And if any of you so much as breathes loudly while our guest is here, I'll personally ensure you never breathe again."

The threat was unnecessary. We all understood the stakes.

On the third day, I was scrubbing the corridor floors when I heard something that made my blood freeze in my veins. Alpha Marcus was speaking to someone in the stairwell, their voices carrying down to where I worked.

"The King has requested to see all members of the pack," Marcus was saying, and his tone was tight with barely controlled panic. "All members, Greg. Do you understand what that means?"

"Surely he doesn't mean..." Greg's voice trailed off.

"I don't know what he means," Marcus snapped. "But I'm not taking any chances. If he asks about the lower levels, we'll tell him it's storage. Old archives, surplus supplies, that sort of thing. Under no circumstances is he to know about our... residents down there."

"And if he insists on seeing for himself?"

There was a long pause before Marcus answered. "Then we handle it. Quietly."

The implication in those words made my hands shake so badly I had to stop scrubbing entirely. Handle it quietly. I'd heard that phrase before, usually right before someone disappeared from the dungeons permanently.

But it was Henrik who voiced what we were all thinking. "He's going to kill us," the old wolf whispered. "If the Alpha King gets too curious, Marcus will kill us all rather than let his secrets be discovered."

Maya made a soft sound that might have been a sob. "Seventeen years old," she said. "I'm seventeen years old, and I'm going to die in a basement because some powerful wolf wants to look around."

The stirring in my chest became an ache, then a burning, then something that felt almost like rage. For the first time in my life, I felt genuinely angry – not just sad or resigned, but furious at the unfairness of our situation. We hadn't chosen to be born different, hadn't asked to be thrown away like broken furniture. Yet here we were, facing death because our existence was inconvenient to wolves who held all the power.

"Maybe it won't come to that," I said, though even I didn't believe it.

"When has anything ever gone our way?" Maya asked.

I didn't have an answer for that either.

That night, as I lay on the thin mattress that served as my bed, I found myself thinking about the Alpha King for reasons I couldn't explain. What kind of wolf was he, really? Was he just another Alpha Marcus with more power and territory, or was there something different about him? The stories claimed he was a just ruler, that he protected the innocent and punished those who abused their authority.

But stories were just stories, and I'd learned long ago that fairy tales rarely came true for girls like me.

Still, as sleep finally claimed me, I dreamed of golden eyes and a voice like thunder, promising that no one would ever hurt me again. When I woke, my cheeks were wet with tears I couldn't remember shedding.

The Alpha King would arrive tomorrow, and with him, whatever fate awaited us in the darkness below ground.