SCENT OF THE ENEMY'S HEIR

Alex POV We had just gotten back from the werewolf council meeting and my father was furious as always. “Alex, I am sick of you. When are you going to grow up?” Honestly I couldn't count how many times I had heard that. In all honesty, I had never meant to embarrass my father in front of the council. And yet, I hadn’t stopped myself. The meeting had been suffocating from the moment I had entered the chamber. The air had been thick with expectation, older and heavier than the smoke from the torches lining the walls. The elders had sat like statues of judgment, their eyes sharp and calculating, measuring every movement, every hesitation. They had praised strength, dominance, tradition and principles my father had built his reputation on, principles I had lived under but never truly believed. “Father, I’m really sorry I just couldn’t help it?” I mean when my father spoke of me as the future Alpha, the words had felt like a weight pressing down on my chest. The assumption that I would inherit unquestioned authority, that I would accept dominance as my birthright, had triggered something I could no longer ignore. I had felt the familiar churn of rebellion in my gut, the instinct that refused to bow. And in that moment, I had done something I had never done before: I had questioned them. I had questioned the laws that had bound generations of Alphas. I had questioned the fear that had been wielded as power. I had questioned my father himself. “Why is it necessary for the Alpha’s to hold so much authority and power? What difference are there from the regular wolves?” This was the question that set the entire Alpha council in an uproar. “Alpha Nick. What have you raised in the name of an heir?” There was so much tension and anger in the council all because of me. And worst of all I had done it calmly. Not with fire. Not with anger. But with clarity and certainty that could not be dismissed. Their faces had been unreadable, masks of discipline and patience worn thin at the edges. My father’s silence had been colder than his anger ever had been. It had cut through the air like steel. I had known, even then, that the damage had been done.This was definitely the straw that broke the camel's back. “You disgraceful imp, that is all you have to say? He looked at me furiously before walking away. I wasn’t bothered, I was used to this. I was used to his tantrums but then, I felt like maybe this time I had crossed the line a little too much. **** That night had been the longest I had ever endured. My father had not raised his voice, had not demanded answers. He had merely waited, letting the absence of his words speak louder than any punishment he could have delivered. And by morning, Alpha Nick had made his decision. There had been no shouting. No argument. Just a single statement of intent “You are going to the Ironclaw Boot camp?” I stood in the center of his court as he gave the orders coldly. I was being sent to Alpha Boot Camp, Ironclaw territory, effective immediately. The name alone had carried weight. “Just like that. I can’t even argue. Its just you’re way of getting rid of me” I spoke after I scoffed. The place had existed in legends told to frighten disobedient heirs, a crucible of control and power, where only the strongest or the cleverest survived. I did not argue. I did not beg. I had simply left. I wasn’t going to let him think I was going to beg him. The journey to the camp had been silent, the landscape shifting from familiar forests to harsher terrain, mountains rising like barriers against the sky. Even the wind had felt hostile, sharp and slicing, carrying the scent of wolves trained to dominate and destroy. By the time I had reached the gates, I had understood that nothing I had known about obedience, discipline, or survival would prepare me for what awaited. The air at the camp had been different, heavier, almost sentient. It had pressed against me, thick with dominance, control, and something ritualistic I could not yet name. Wolves had been arranged in a line that clearly represented order. They were trained in brutal formations, moving as a single organism, their bodies slamming into the dirt, muscles screaming, obedience etched into their flesh and bone. What have I gotten myself into? Orders had been barked, repeated, enforced with a precision that left no room for error. Any hesitation, any falter, had been met with immediate correction harsh, unrelenting, and designed to strip the individual of certainty. I could see the way they treated the others. I swallowed a bulge down my throat, it had hit me a little too late, that my father had not sent me here to train or learn skills. He had not sent me to grow stronger in a controlled environment. He had sent me here to survive. To endure the cruelty, the domination, the absolute enforcement of power, or to be destroyed entirely. Survival had been the only lesson, and the cost had been mine to bear. “Welcome to baby boy” A hand slapped me from behind. I turned around and saw a man or better still a wolf twice my size. His golden eyes carried a reflection of me and I was enchanted immediately with beauty and fear” “You must be new here” Then he changed back to his human form. “You’re a hybrid.” I managed to whisper. He laughed at me. I was making a spectacle of him and he liked it. The amazement was written all over my face, I was too embarrassed. “Your first day is going to be brutal.” He mocked me as he walked away. My eyes followed him keenly. Then another voice came to my ears like a hammer and instilled fear in me. “You’re on the line. Move!” I turned and he was twice the size of the wolf I just saw. I was lost and amazed at the same time I had watched everything and registered it all. I had stood at the gate, still stuck in a time loop as I watched a boy collapse under punishment. His body had gone limp, his chest rising and falling shallowly, muscles spasming as the enforcers continued. There had been no mercy, no hesitation. And in that moment, I had understood exactly where I was. Ironclaw territory had not been a place for someone like me. And I had known, but then nothing could prepare me for what would come next. I had stepped through the gates and felt the weight of it settle onto me immediately. The air had seemed to press down, heavy and almost conscious, measuring my every move, my every thought. Every wolf I passed had eyes sharp and calculating, judging me with a silent intensity that left me exposed. And as I had advanced further into the camp, I had realized one truth I could not escape: I was no longer the son of an Alpha. I was prey. I was a student. I was a challenger of the system. And the system had no tolerance for weakness. The gates had closed behind me with a sound that had echoed like judgment. I had swallowed hard, my stomach twisting, my muscles coiling instinctively. I had known that from this moment on, there would be no retreat, no compromise, no safety net. Survival was the only law here.