His weakness

Chapter 5. Alpha

Chapter Five — Andrew

I walked into the pack house after returning from a meeting with the other Alphas. The meeting had lasted longer than expected, and I was already tired of hearing the same arguments over and over again. Everyone wanted something different, but in the end, they all looked at me because I was the Alpha. They expected me to have the answers, even when I didn’t.

I walked through the hallway, ignoring the wolves who bowed their heads as I passed. My mind was still on the meeting and the problems we had discussed. The humans were becoming more restless, and some of the other Alphas believed we needed to tighten our control over them.

I agreed.

Humans had always been a problem.

I never trusted them, and I never would.

My hatred for humans didn’t come from stories or things someone had told me. I had lived through it. I had watched them destroy everything I loved.

I still remembered that night.

The smell of smoke was the first thing I remembered. Then came the gunshots, followed by the screams of my pack.

I was young, but I understood what was happening.

Hunters had found our territory.

They didn’t come to talk.

They came to kill.

I ran out of my room and saw flames spreading through the trees. Wolves were fighting everywhere, trying to protect their families. The hunters carried silver weapons, and they knew exactly how to use them.

My father was fighting near the entrance of the pack house when he saw me.

“Andrew, run!”

I didn’t want to leave him.

I wanted to help.

But before I could move, another hunter shot him.

I watched my father fall to the ground.

I can still remember the way my heart felt that night. Like someone had ripped it out of my chest.

My mother grabbed my hand.

“Andrew, we have to go!”

We ran into the forest, but the hunters followed us.

My mother tried to protect me.

She failed.

A silver bullet went straight through her.

I held her in my arms as she took her last breath.

I lost my parents that night.

I lost my younger sister too.

I lost friends, cousins, and members of my pack.

By morning, the place I once called home was destroyed.

The hunters had killed almost everyone.

The few survivors scattered into the forest.

For years, I carried that night with me.

I hated humans for what they had done. I hated their weapons. I hated their cruelty. But most of all, I hated the way they looked at us like we weren’t worth anything.

When I eventually became Alpha, I made one promise.

I would never allow humans to destroy my pack again.

For a while, things were peaceful.

We rebuilt our pack and found new territory. More wolves joined us, and slowly, we became strong again.

But humans kept coming.

They built their homes closer to our land. They cut down our trees. They hunted our wolves.

I tried to keep the peace.

I really did.

But humans didn’t want peace.

They wanted our land.

And eventually, they attacked again.

That was when we decided to fight back.

I remember standing with the other wolves as we watched the human settlement from the forest.

“They’ll keep coming,” my Beta said.

“I know.”

“So what do we do?”

I looked at the lights in the distance.

“We take their land.”

He looked at me.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

That night, we attacked.

The humans weren’t prepared for us. We moved through their streets before they could organize themselves. By the time the sun came up, we had taken control of their territory.

That territory became ours.

And eventually, it became Mador.

The humans who survived were allowed to remain, but they no longer had control.

They feared us.

That was the point.

After everything they had done to us, I wasn’t going to feel sorry for them.

We created rules to keep the city under control. Humans were not allowed to hunt wolves. They weren’t allowed to carry weapons without permission. They couldn’t enter certain territories, and they had to follow our laws.

Some called us cruel.

I didn’t care.

We had lost too much to be weak.

I reached my room and removed my jacket, throwing it onto the chair.

The meeting came back to my mind.

The other Alphas wanted to know what I planned to do about the humans who were becoming more rebellious.

“They are getting brave,” one of them had said.

I had looked at him.

“Then remind them why they’re afraid.”

Fear worked.

It had kept Mador under control for years.

A knock came at my door.

“Come in.”

My Beta entered.

“Alpha.”

I looked at him.

“What is it?”

“The humans from the house we raided last night have been dealt with.”

I nodded.

“And the girl?”

“She was taken to the prison.”

“Good.”

My Beta remained standing.

“We also found out that she gave herself up to protect her younger sister.”

I looked at him without any emotion.

“That changes nothing.”

He nodded.

“She is still being held with the other humans.”

“Keep her there.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

He turned to leave.

“Wait.”

He stopped.

“The city?”

“Quiet.”

“And the borders?”

“Secure.”

I nodded.

“Good. Make sure they stay that way.”

My Beta left the room.

I walked toward the window and looked out at Mador.

The city was quiet.

Humans were inside their homes, hiding from the creatures they feared.

Wolves controlled the streets.

This was exactly how it needed to be.

I knew what humans were capable of when they were given power.

I had seen it with my own eyes.

They had taken my family from me.

They had destroyed my pack.

They had burned my home.

They had left me with nothing.

I would never forget that.

That was why I would never allow humans to control us again.

They could hate me.

They could call me a monster.

It didn’t matter.

I had already lost everything once.

I wasn’t going to let history repeat itself.

Not while I was Alpha.

Not while I was alive.

And if humans wanted another war, then I would give them one.

This time, I would make sure my pack was the one left standing.