The lost alpha

Chapter 3

The golden orange sun shone its rays above the heads of the high-rise buildings that surrounded the city center. The inhabitants of the city moved around going about their usual day. None of them had any idea of the threat that faced them. None of them except Tristan and Mackenzie.

The thought weighed heavy on their minds as they both drove in silence, the buildings around them coming and going as they got closer to their destination.

Finally, they arrived at their destination. They were in a more quiet area of the city, there were a few convenience stores around, business centers and restaurants filled the majority of the spots on the streets as they made their way towards the library.

It was a one-story building covered in red brick, with white accents all around the building. Despite it being over a hundred years old, one could appreciate how well it has been maintained.

Mackenzie opened the doors to the library while they both took in the familiar sight. Brown wooden tables and chairs occupied most of the free spaces with rows upon rows of books filling the rest.

The stained glass window at the top left side of the wall illuminated a sort of rainbow color that was reflected on every surface of the library, with specks of little particles dancing in the light.

Tristan and Mackenzie made their way through the library to the end of the room where a table stood higher than the rest. Behind that table stood an old lady. Her silver gray hair betrayed her age, as she looked fairly young for someone her age.

The woman was so engrossed in the book she was reading that she didn’t notice the pair coming to stand in front of her.

“Hey Nana” Mackenzie said, trying to get the elderly woman’s attention. She looked up through her round glasses, about to speak to her before catching Tristan in the corner of her eye.

“Oh Tristan my dear, how have you been,” she said with genuine joy. “I’ve been good, Nana” he replied, with the name he had been calling her since their families became close.

“What brings both of you here? It’s been ages since I last saw you.” Tristan and Mackenzie’s expressions quickly became sober, as they remembered the real reason they went to see the elderly woman.

After giving themselves looks that could only confuse the old woman even more, Tristan spoke in a voice so low it was almost a whisper. “I saw another wolf in the woods, Nana, he was looking for my dad and he said he was coming back.”

Nana's eyes widened in shock and she quickly got out from behind the table and took them to a secluded corner of the library. She pushed forward on a seemingly regular patch of the wall when it opened towards them, revealing a door handle which she opened.

Behind the door lay a staircase leading down into another room. Tristan and Mackenzie stepped forward with Nana following suit and closing the door behind them.

Heading down the stairs, they eventually found themselves in an underground library, but unlike the one upstairs, the books here seemed much older and out of place. Cryptic writings and almost cavelike art on the pages with most of them being covered in dust and cobwebs.

Nana led both of them to the center of the room where lay a table and chairs made of solid stone. “Have a seat my dears” she said while gesturing to the other seats.

Tristan and Mackenzie obey her and soon all three of them are seated. “Now Tristan, tell me in detail what happened yesterday”.

Tristan begins sharing his experience from the last night, making sure not to leave out anything, from the raw strength of the man to his statements about his father.

After the story, Nana's face had gotten cold somewhat. At a glance one could tell that she was deep in thought. After a few minutes she looked at Tristan, pursing her lips before asking him “Tristan, do you have any idea where your father could have gone?”.

“I’m sorry Nana, he only told me he would be leaving to take care of some business a few towns away.”

Under regular circumstances, a person missing for several months would be a huge cause for concern for normal people, but Tristan’s father wasn’t a “normal” person in any sense.

He was able to single-handedly fight a pack of 12 wolves by himself and, although he was badly injured, he won. His strength was well known throughout their territory and other territories as well. So him being gone for the first few months wasn’t something new as it had happened severely as Tristan grew up.

This time, however, was different, as Tristan hadn’t had any contact with his father. Not so much as a call or text and he hadn’t replied to any of Tristan’s messages either.

“I don’t think much needs to be said, Tristan, we need to find your father. You and he are the only wolves to protect this territory and, from what you told me, you’re not strong enough to protect this territory on your own yet.”

Tristan scowled at those words, or rather he scowled at himself, Nana wasn’t wrong. He was so onesidely beaten by a single wolf, how would he only be able to protect his territory against a whole pack?

Nana quickly noticed what her words had done and tried to salvage Tristan’s bruised ego. “I know you’re going to be a powerful alpha someday Tristan, you’re much stronger than your father was when he was your age. You just need more time to grow.”

Tristan nodded somberly, Mackenzie putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “So about my dad” Tristan started, as if trying to change the topic. “You said I need to find him, but if I leave the territory then how are we sure there won’t be an attack while I’m away?”

Tristan’s words made a lot of sense and there was a deep silence in the room for a while until the sound of Nana clearing her throat broke it. “Well…… there is another way. In the event that an alpha goes missing, other packs aren’t to invade the territory until he’s confirmed dead or hasn’t returned after 10 months.”

Tristan looked surprised. Not only was this the first time he had heard this, but he was unsure of what Nana was implying. Call it instinct, but he knew for a fact that his father wasn’t dead.

While thinking about that, another thought crossed his mind.

“But if that's the case, why did that wolf attack me?” Tristan asked, obviously curious.

“You being here is living proof of the amount of respect werewolves have for their rules. He found a loophole, he simply didn’t kill you.

As if to bring Tristan back to reality, Nana began by saying “Tristan, we both know your father isn’t dead, but we have to do something about his absence.”

“Now that we know we have more time, I can go look for-“

“No you won’t”, Nana quickly cut Tristan off. “There isn’t enough time for that. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to find your father in that time.”

“But if I do, then all of this won’t be an issue anymore” Tristan shot back.

“And if you don’t, it’ll be disastrous for everyone involved in the supernatural activities of this space, Mackenzie included.”

Mackenzie’s name struck Tristan like lightning, he was so engrossed in the conversation with Nana he had forgotten she was there from the start. The thought of something happening to her made his heart ache for some reason.

After a brief sigh to remind himself to be levelheaded, Tristan began “so what do we need to do?”

Nana smiled softly at Tristan, the way a mother would smile at her son. Leaning forward over the table and grabbing both of Tristan’s hands in hers before uttering words that Tristan didn’t think he would hear for at least another decade.” You have to start your own pack Tristan”

Both Tristan and Mackenzie’s faces were a mix of surprise, horror and disbelief. Nana simply laughed at the childishness of them both and said it again, as if to let them know they didn’t hear wrong “that’s right, you need to start a pack of your own, Tristan.”