Alphess: An Angel of Death

The Beginning

It was a rainy afternoon, the storm clouds relentless in their downpour. I was out on a run, relishing the feeling of the rain against my fur, the sloshing of the mud beneath my paws. I was just coming back in across the training grounds of the pack estate when voices heard over the din of the storm caught my attention.

“Come on, Ajax! You’ll never be able to beat me!” The voice was loud, taunting and highly aggravating. I knew exactly who it was from – Titan Barnes, the biggest wolf of his age (coincidentally my age) and also the meanest. He was constantly picking on younger or weaker wolves, pushing them around in his stupid school-yard bully ways. I usually stayed out of his line of fire, being a Highborn and all, but occasionally he ruffled my feathers by tripping me in the hallways or attempting to pull my chair out from beneath me. I also knew who he was talking about. Ajax Kinkle, a year or two younger than me, and scrawny. I could almost smell the fight brewing and I didn’t like it. I crested the hill that looked over the training grounds, crouching low so as not to bring attention to myself. I wanted a good idea of what was going on before I intervened.

I saw Ajax trembling under the piercing gaze of Titan, not looking directly at him. “I-I was-wasn-wasn’t trying to, Ti-Titan,” he whimpered. “I w-wa-was just trying to get stronger.”

Titan scoffed. “An Omega like you could never be strong.”

My fur bristled. Who was Titan to tell Ajax what he could or couldn’t be, lowborn or not? I considered for a brief moment going to get Titan’s father to reprimand him, but I knew his father wouldn’t be much help. Gregory Barnes, the pack’s Beta, was a skilled warrior but he was just as brutish as his son. He looked down on those that were weak and found little value in anything they could contribute. I didn’t like it. But the idea of getting help quickly dissipated. There wasn’t time, and I didn’t need back-up to go up against Titan. I wasn’t a coward. And when Titan made to lunge at Ajax, I knew I had to act fast.

Luckily for Ajax, he was fast. Years of metaphorically (and literally) getting his heels nipped at meant he was good at dodging attacks. He stumbled backward just in time to send Titan crashing into the mud. Titan growled, his face distorting as he began to shift. I could just make out the bone-popping noises of an untrained shifter. I rolled my eyes. Every wolf our age could do it so much smoother than that by now. But, his clumsy shift allowed me the time I needed to jump in. I leapt down the hill, shifting on my way down. I shoved Ajax out of the way with my head, giving him an apologetic look as he was sent flying on his butt into the mud. He quickly got to his feet, thinking he was about to get jumped. I didn’t see anything else because I turned to face Titan.

He was just getting up, shaking himself out to adjust himself. If he wanted to be a good warrior, he really needed to work on that shift. It was going to get him killed – he left himself too open. I had a hundred chances to finish him off before even starting. Titan snarled at me, clearly not happy I was in the way. He hesitated, but I didn’t. He needed a lesson taught to him and if it was going to have to be me that dished it out….so be it. I didn’t quite know what I was doing, but I launched myself at him anyway. I only had a handful of self-defense lessons from the General, but something inside of me snapped and flooded my body with power. I landed on Titan and knocked him off his feet. I used the surprise to turn and bite him, teeth sinking into his shoulder. He howled and kicked me off of him with his back feet. I flew through the air, my body twisting on its own accord so that I landed on my feet. He got to his own feet and I saw with satisfaction that his shoulder had blood dripping down it. I got him good! He came barreling at me and I lifted up onto my tiptoes like a fox and deftly danced out of his way at the last minute. With him behind me, I turned around and sank my teeth into his back leg, yanking back to pull him flat into the dirt again. I gave it a good shake before letting go and launching myself onto his back. I pressed my claws deep into the skin of his shoulders, so I couldn’t be flung off, curving myself around and posing my opened jaw over his throat. He whimpered, and I nearly closed my jaws around him to really finish him off. My wolf was snarling in the forefront of my mind. Kill the enemy. Kill the enemy. Kill the enemy. I could see it in my mind. It would be easy. I could just clamp my jaws onto the soft flesh of his neck over his jugular, and yank. It’d give way and leave him a bloody mess. The idea that I could kill him so easily was what shocked me back to myself. I wasn’t a killer...right?