Taming The Mad Alpha

KIRA'S POV I held my bow steady, arrow drawn, focused on the deer a few yards away. The forest was quiet beneath the moonlight, with only the occasional rustling of leaves and branches breaking the silence. Finally. Dinner. Milo and I were starving. We couldn't survive on wild berries much longer, and this deer would feed us for a while. It had taken me hours to find anything while avoiding the human hunters. They were ruthless, hunting nearly every animal they could find until the forest was practically stripped of its wildlife. It was as if they wanted rogue werewolves to die. I clenched my jaw. Cruel bastards. I aimed, trying to steady my hand. "I've got you now," I whispered, my stomach already growling. "There you are!" I flinched at the volume. My body jolted, my hands slipped, and the arrow missed the deer, landing straight into a tree with a loud thud. The deer bolted into the darkness so quickly I could have sworn it left dust behind. "My bad," a familiar voice whispered. I turned slowly to see Milo. He was wearing the rags of the clothes I'd made him for his tenth birthday months ago. One of my cloaks hung off his tiny frame, far too large for him. He smiled nervously, guilt evident on his face as he took a cautious step backward. "What are you doing here?" I demanded, grabbing his ear. "Ow! Stop! That hurts!" Milo cried, swatting at my hand with his small, bony fingers. "You don't want to hurt your poor, sick brother, do you?" I frowned, releasing him with a frustrated sigh. "That was dinner, Milo. You chased it away. You were supposed to stay at the cottage. You're sick, remember?" "But I couldn't. I saw some humans there," Milo said, rubbing his ear with a pout. "Humans?" I blurted out. "They didn't see me, so no worries," he said, his eyes shining with mischief. "I was really quiet. Though I'm sure they'll love the little surprise I set for them." Before I could interrogate him about his reckless pranks, I heard the sound of horns blasting. I paled, standing straight as I drew my bow. I knew that sound. Hunters. And judging by the approaching footsteps, there were a lot of them coming our way. Figures emerged from the shadows of the trees and bushes, spreading around us as they drew their weapons. I immediately took Milo's hand and pushed him behind me, ready to fight. They had gathered around us in a circle. And there were far too many of them. "Oh, rogue werewolves," their leader said, stepping toward us as he licked his silver blade. "Lucky find today. Our lord will pay a hefty bounty." "And they have unique hair colors, sir," one of them said with a gleam in his eye. I pulled my hood over my silver hair. Milo did the same immediately. I may hate our father, but he had taught me to hide the color of our hair, to prevent any misfortune and unwanted attention toward our family. I never understood why. He had taught me that years ago. Before he vanished. Before he committed a crime so great that our family name became a curse. I guess this was one of those misfortunes. "Kira?" Milo said, hiding behind me, his body trembling as he pressed further into my back. Fuck this. We weren't dying today. I reached into my pocket. I took a small object and hurled it at the ground. It shattered on impact, and a thick white cloud spread out, obscuring the hunters' sight and even mine. The only person unaffected was Milo. Thanks to his wolf being awakened when he was a toddler, he could see clearly through the smoke. "f**k, what is this?" "I can't see!" "Don't let them get away!" Milo didn't waste time. He grabbed my wrist and ran, guiding me through the smoke as I coughed. We finally emerged from the smoke, leaving the men behind us. "That was awesome," Milo exclaimed, panting. "You used my invention! What do you think?" I didn't bother responding. I glanced back, hearing footsteps approaching. The men had recovered, coming out of the smoke. Their angry shouts followed us as they moved through the trees and branches with speed. "Focus, Milo! Just run!" I yelled. There was no way they were letting us go easily now that they saw our hair colors. I tightened my grip on Milo's hand and forced my exhausted legs to move faster. We ran, not daring to look back as their shouts and curses chased us through the dark forest. Then I noticed the footsteps behind us had stopped. I glanced back, confused, and saw the leader's smiling face. Before I could realize why they stopped, I felt myself falling with Milo down a cliff. My eyes widened as the drop swallowed us, but I snapped out of my shock and covered Milo to soften his fall. Crash. We stumbled onto the ground, rolling to a stop. "M-my hand." I opened my eyes and looked down at Milo, staring at his broken arm. Pain ripped through my body, and the smell of blood filled the air. I looked up at the cliff. It was a long fall, but we survived. Badly injured, but alive. I stood and checked on Milo. He was stifling a cry, trying his best not to scream out in pain. "Hey, hey, let me check. We can wrap it up," I said, scared. "You're bleeding, Kira," Milo said softly, biting his lip. "It's nothing." I pressed my hand to my ribs, feeling the warm blood seeping through my shirt. But then I noticed Milo's face turning pale. "What's wrong? Is something wrong?" I panicked, grabbing his shoulder, thinking he was seriously hurt. But Milo didn't speak. Instead, he pointed behind me. I turned slowly. The forest before us was silent and pitch black, and the sight of it made me alert. I glanced at my bow, but it was broken to the point of no repair. And then I saw them. Two red eyes, glowing in the darkness, staring straight at us. A wolf emerged from the shadows, its paws pounding onto the grass. Its fur was black as night, matted with blood and dirt. Strings of saliva dripped from its sharp teeth, and its body trembled with every step. It was massive. Taller than any wolf I had ever seen. It towered over us, its presence suffocating. "Don't move," I whispered, staying perfectly still. Milo paled beside me, gripping his injured arm. Tears streamed down his face, but he didn't make a sound. The wolf growled. A low, guttural sound that vibrated through my chest. Then it howled, loud and pained, and I covered my ears at the noise. It tried to lunge at us. Milo screamed. I raised my hand instinctively, yelling the first thing that came to mind. "Stop!" The wolf froze. It sat obediently on the grass, its massive body still, its red eyes fixed on me. I stared, my eyes wide. Milo's mouth hung open. "D-did it just listen to you?" he whispered. "I think." I said, my voice shaking. Then I noticed the scar on its chest. A large, ugly scar, still fresh, still bleeding. Now that it was still, I could see it clearly. "I think it's hurt," I whispered. "Maybe that's why it was aggressive." "Kira, let's just go before it makes us dinner," Milo hissed, tugging at my sleeve with his good hand. "We're in bad shape already." I sighed. He was right. The hunters could come back any second. I was sure they were expecting us to be dead at the bottom of the cliff. We needed to leave as soon as possible. I stood up to help Milo to his feet, but the wolf whimpered, howling loudly as its snout pointed at me, seeking my comfort. "Leave us alone, you mutt!" Milo yelled at it, annoyed. Mutt? Great. Now he's learning harsh words from humans. I'll scold him about that later. "Let's just help it," I said. "Come on, it's not dangerous. It's just hurt." Milo scoffed. "We don't have anything for its wound, Kira." True. But I decided to examine the wound first. I got close to the wolf and looked at the scar on its chest. It was a clean, deep cut. Not from another wolf. From a blade. My jaw tightened. "Did a human do this to you?" I said, hatred dripping from my voice. The wolf stayed still. It almost looked vulnerable, whimpering softly as it nudged my palm with its snout. The cut was deep, and I couldn't do anything about it. It seemed we had to part ways with it. Hopefully it found someone that could help it. I leaned in to at least place my hand on the scar. To comfort it one last time. But something happened. A glowing white light shone from my palm into its chest. It was so bright it extinguished the darkness around us like fire. I stared in awe, and I could hear Milo's shocked gasp behind me. The wolf hummed in relief, relaxing its muscles. Then it started shifting. Its claws receded, retracting back into human fingers. Its fur retracted, pulling back into skin. Its body shrank and reshaped, bones cracking and reforming with wet, sickening sounds. I stumbled back, my eyes wide, my heart pounding. Milo gasped behind me, his small hand gripping my sleeve so tight it hurt. And then, where the massive beast had been, a man emerged. A naked man. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair plastered to his forehead. His chest was bare, and the scar I had touched was still there, angry and red against his pale skin. "What the—" Before I could finish, his red eyes rolled back, and he collapsed. Right on top of me. I hit the ground hard, the air rushing out of my lungs as his weight crushed me into the grass. His head landed on my shoulder, his breath warm against my neck. His skin was burning hot. I lay there, frozen, staring up at the dark sky. Milo appeared above me, his face pale and panicked. "Kira! Kira, are you okay?!" "I—" I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. What just happened?!