The King of Wolves

Chapter 1

POV - Morana

I wake to a loud bang. I rub my eyes and roll over to look at the clock on my nightstand in a sleepy fog.

4:14 AM

Those glowing green numbers have become my enemy. I groan in frustration and slam my fists to my sides, rolling onto my back.

This is the third night in a row I have been woken up by what I can only assume is my mother's antics. She has been in a downward spiral ever since my father died earlier this year in a rouge attack.

The first in years.

As werewolves, we don’t live by the same rules as everyone else.

We have own our villages, cities, schools, rules, and laws. Everything.

It’s not uncommon for wolves to fight among themselves. We’re fierce and protective. Even still, we don’t go around murdering people without cause.

And my father’s death was out of the blue, hitting the pack where it hurts most.

No one could explain what happened.

Where the patrol went wrong.

Not even who was behind the attack.

They barely said anything at all.

And that hurt just as much as my father not being here.

He was a great man and an even better pack member. He and Alpha Maddox grew up together. He should have been Beta, but things got a little complicated after I came into the picture.

I'm an omega, the lowest rank you can possibly get in a pack. It's almost unheard of for a family like ours to have such a weakling born into it.

But here I am, yippee.

I’m a thorn in everyone’s side they just can’t get rid of.

A constant reminder that my weakness has caused my family so much misery.

My family doesn’t treat me differently, however. But the older I’ve gotten, the more the pack shuts me out.

I throw my pillow over my face to shut out all the memories rushing to the surface as I hear my mother make her way up the stairs to her room.

Since dad died, mom has all but lost her will to live. The mate bond was strong, and as it fades away, it seems like it's trying to take her with it.

It's like a piece of your soul is ripped out of your chest when they leave this earth.

Or so I hear. I guess I wouldn’t know.

Trying to fill the void with random men, mom has ended many nights looking at the bottom of a bottle, fooling herself that my father is still here, and this one seems no different.

It makes me sad to watch my mother fall apart from a distance, knowing there’s nothing my brother or I can do to help her through this.

It wouldn't be the first time a mate died after the other was killed.

She rarely makes an appearance, everyone letting her be, knowing it is likely just a matter of time.

Lost in thought, I don't even hear the footsteps outside my room and get snapped out of it when my bedroom door creaks.

"Ana, you up?" Someone calls into the darkness.

I roll my eyes and answer, "Unfortunately, yes." A groan is pulled from my mouth. It’s my brother.

"You can't sleep either?" He asks, pushing the door open and stepping inside, shutting it behind him. He makes his way to the edge of my bed and sits down.

I pull the pillow away from my face and sit up on my elbows, sighing, "Nope, what's new," My voice full of sarcasm.

Alex knows I have trouble sleeping, it’s only gotten worse since our dad passed.

I get these crazy dreams. I have a hard time understanding them. But they scare me nonetheless.

They are so vivid that it wouldn’t be hard to convince me they’re real.

I glance at the clock again, and my jaw drops.

5:17 AM

Sh**! "Alex, we gotta go if we wanna take a run before you have practice at seven!

"Why do you think I'm in here, Ana?" He snorts. "Hurry up and get dressed. Meet on the back porch in 5." As Alex gets up to leave, I finally notice he's dressed in basketball shorts and a dry-fit workout shirt, ready for our regular morning workout.

He grabs the door handle to step out but turns back to me. "You better get ready to bring it today, Ana. I’m not gonna go easy on you."

His face is playful as he shoots me a wink.

A smirk spreads across my face. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I always bring it."

I stick my tongue out at him, making him chuckle before leaving me to change.

I throw the blanket off and jump out of bed to sprint into the bathroom. I grab my brush to tackle the rat's nest out of my thick, full black hair.

Ugh. The tossing and turning all night is not a good look.

After taming my hair into a tight, high ponytail, I splash water on my face and give myself a once-over in the mirror. The circles under my eyes are dark and puffy, but I don't look too bad overall.

Not like anyone is going to notice me anyway.

I grab my sports bra off the dresser and find a pair of leggings. I throw them on and run to the door, holding my shoes as I go.

Thanks to my wolf genes, I bound for the stairs, making little to no sound as I head to the back of the house.

As an omega, I have some decent senses, even if people pretend that I'm pretty much useless.

Alex is standing outside the backdoor, leaning against the post and drumming his finger against his muscly arms. "Oh, relax," I huff at him, "It only took two extra minutes."

"Hey, it's your loss. I'm not the one who needs the extra practice in the morning," Alex says innocently. I playfully hit his shoulder. He grabs his arm, rubbing it while faking a face of pain. "Hey, that hurts," he pouts and pokes me in the side.

I roll my eyes, "As if."

"No, really, Ana, I actually felt that. Maybe all this early morning training is working out." He winks at me again and leaps off the porch making a break for the tree line.

"Hey, no fair!!" I call after him. "I knew you were making fun of me, jackass," I mutter. I take off after him, hoping to catch up.

******

"Hmmph," I grunt as Alex slams me to the ground again, pinning my arm behind my back and pushing my face against the dirt with both my legs locked beneath his knees.

"Come on, Ana, we've been over this," my brother pleads. "You can't let me break your stance."

He crawls off my back, and I roll over to face the sky, frustration taking over.

We’ve been practicing my take-downs for weeks, but no matter how hard I try, Alex always finds my weak spot.

"I promise you'll get the hang of it," he pats my arm, "plus, your energy has gotten a lot better!"

After a long run, Alex decided we should practice some sparring before he has to head to the pack house to meet with the rest of the warriors for training.

I tried to fight it, knowing that I would get tossed around, but I knew he was right in the end.

I need practice.

I blow out a long breath while brushing the dirt off my face and scowl at him.

I know I've gotten faster and stronger since I started training with my brother and, occasionally, my father over the last three years. I still hate my omeganess for making it so hard.

Since my dad died, Alex has been pushing me even harder. Probably trying to make sure I don’t get my ass kicked if someone tries to start a fight.

As he extends a hand to me to help me stand up, his eyes gloss over as someone mink-links him.

"Who is it?" I hiss, poking his arm.

"Gamma Will," he responds, his eyes still unfocused.

My eyes widened with surprise. Wow, does the head of the warriors usually reach out like this?

It’s still pretty early in the morning. Gamma Will respects my brother and usually calls on him to help with training. But he usually doesn’t call on him this early in the morning.

I dust myself off as I wait for him to finish, looking expectantly at him.

My head c****d to the side, impatiently wanting to know what was happening.

I wave my hand in front of me for him to continue as he turns to look at me. "And?" The wait is killing me.

"He said to meet at The Alpha's office before practice starts," he responds coolly. His face is giving me nothing.

"About what?" I ask, my eyebrows lacing together.

Alex shrugs a shoulder, and his mouth turns down. "No idea, but I'm gonna find out, I guess."

He turns to leave the clearing we've been conditioning in behind our house.

"I'll find you after training, yeah?" He says over his shoulder. He waves a hand at me before jogging to the edge of the clearing.

"Sure, sounds good. I have to be at work in a couple of hours, so I might be in town," I call, giving him a small wave goodbye.

I turn and head back to the house to take a much-needed shower.

I also need to see what state mom left the house in after her long night.

As I make my way down the small, worn-down path, a strange tinging erupts in my gut, making me stop dead in my tracks.

It feels familiar in a way but still creeps me out.

Tiny waves crawl down my arms to my fingertips.

I shiver, my hair standing on end. That’s weird?

Then it hits me.

Is someone watching me?