The Lycan's Curse

Rash Decisions

    The silence was palpable. You could hear the drips of the melting snow falling off of the trees and onto the stones below them. Nobody spoke and even though I knew that voice, I continued, “My uncle has been on assignment and we welcome his return and expertise. I will hand over the reigns to him and your trainers to supervise your training. If you-”

            One of the guards pushed his way forward, I recognized him. He was my dad’s Beta’s son. I knew him growing up but, we weren’t really friends. He’d been mad at me ever since I refused to date him. Nothing against him because he was cute, but he was kind of an entitled pompous ass. His dad got it in his head that the Alpha’s daughter would eventually be given to the Beta’s son. Sucked for him that my dad didn’t let things like that fly. I sighed, “What do you want now, Brent?”

“I want you and your pack!”

“We’ve discussed the me thing and look, I know you and your dad are still disappointed with my dad’s choice to give me the pack but,-”

“NO!”, he roared. Everyone took a step back. His inherited Beta blood was making his rage that much stronger. His dad was a strong wolf and his son was surely to be the same; I braced myself and forced a smile on my face. I was determined to talk this boy down and have my first non-confrontational morning. “Brent, please, be reasonable. You still have sway in this pack. Just because you aren’t going to be inheriting the Beta title for sure doesn’t mean-”

“I AM the Beta! You are supposed to be mine, making me the Alpha! I don’t give a damn what my dad says anymore. I’m taking what’s mine!” Brent pushed the rest of the men out of the crowd. My poor men, sucked into this uncomfortable drama. I was thinking about how I was going to make things up to them when Brent grabbed my arm and pulled me to him.

“I WILL make you mine and show you your place, she-wolf!”

    The blood rushed to my head and my body responded before my brain could stop it. My fist connected with Brent’s face and he went flying back into one of the trees. The cracks of bone and wood echoed through the silent grounds and then, the wails of agony. My head was pounding, my vision had reddened, and I roared in my Alpha tone, “EVERY WOLF WHO’S GOT A PROBLEM WITH ME RUNNING THIS PACK, COME FACE ME NOW!” My uncle shook me with a horrified look on his face, “Ashari, no!” I didn’t need to touch my uncle to pry his arms from my shoulders. His eyes shone with fear as I had never used my ability on my family nor on my pack. My voice came out sharp and deep, “No. No more. I didn’t ask for any of this and I sure as s**t won’t be taking anyone’s crap anymore. I am the Alpha and I demand RESPECT!” I roared the last word. The floor shook as men and a few women came out of their houses in the deeper woods and even from the packhouse, which hurt my heart. Even amongst closest family, the disapproval of the female Alpha ran deep. My dad was rushing out of the house in the slight flood of people heading towards the training grounds. He looked frantic, “Ashari, what have you done?” His face paled as he heard the screams coming from Brent as he was being lifted onto a stretcher. “Ashari, calm down… You don’t want to hurt anyone else…”

     My temper flared and I could’ve sworn I towered over my father, “No Dad, I DO want to hurt someone else. I want to hurt all the people who keep talking behind my back because I’m the freak who wasn’t supposed to be Alpha!” I roared the last line and the ground rumbled with my power. I could feel the strength coursing through my veins; I’d never felt like this before. Finally, the marching of footsteps stopped and about a third of the pack stood before me. Mostly men, a scattering of women and no children. That brought my rage down a little; children were raised to hate, not born for it. The field was silent save for the man who was being pulled to the hospital. I stopped the medical personnel in their tracks, “Wait, you bring him here for all of them to see.”

The nurses looked up at me and swallowed their protest at the furious look at my face. A collective gasp went up at the sight of the Beta’s son’s broken and bruised body. The nurses had given him painkillers but, he continued to sob. I looked down at him and then at my unruly pack members, “Either you leave, or you stay. If I catch any of you being disloyal or anymore s**t talking, the same will happen to you.”