Surrender to the Dominant Alpha

Rafael

The meeting room was almost empty when I slapped my hand on the dark wooden table. The dry sound reverberated, imposing silence.

"The Mark will be postponed," I announced, facing the few who still dared to look at me. "My decision. And it will not be discussed."

An uncomfortable murmur ran through those present, as if the air had grown heavier. I could feel the swirl of thoughts floating in the room - distrust, frustration, a touch of betrayal. And, deep down, a bitter taste of curiosity.

Caio, my Beta, was the only one to speak up.

"The Council will question it, Rafael. They were already preparing the event for the next moon."

"Let them question," I replied, cold. "I will not expose Maia to their dirty games."

It was true. Alliances between packs were never about bonds, but about power. The public Mark didn't represent union; it was a political showcase. And Maia, with that look of someone who sees beyond masks, was the kind of female who aroused dangerous instincts in other Alphas - desire, rivalry, or worse, a desire for control.

Caio sighed, uncrossing his arms.

"This will cost you influence."

"Better to lose influence than to lose her," I murmured, too low to be heard.

But Caio heard. He always heard. It was one of the advantages - and curses - of having a Beta who grew up by my side.

I ordered a technological sweep of the perimeter before sunset.

The specialists scoured the corridors, the walls, even the old depot where the smell of iron and gunpowder still lingered since last week's attack.

"Clean everything," I said. "No blind spots, no devices."

The night wind brought the metallic sound of tools, the rustling of leaves, and the clicking of detectors. I felt the weight of distrust eating away at me from within - someone was watching us, studying our movements, and every time we got close to discovering something, the evidence vanished.

Caio appeared beside me, holding one of the devices.

"Boss... all the cameras we tracked disappeared before the final check."

"All of them?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"All of them. Including the internal ones."

I closed my eyes for an instant. The buzzing of voices and thoughts around me formed a chaotic mass. Fear. Hidden guilt. Doubts.

But one mind stood out, clean and serene - Maia.

Even from a distance, I could feel her. Her focus was on something simple, human... perhaps tending to the plants on the rooftop, the rituals she had invented to keep herself whole. She was trying to survive in the midst of the war I brought around her. And that tore me apart in a way I wouldn't admit even under torture.

Hours later, I retreated to the office. The faint light of the lamp cast long shadows over the scattered maps and reports. The walls seemed to breathe.

I picked up my cell phone, hesitating for seconds before typing.

"Stay within the perimeter today. No rooftop."

I sent it.

It took a while to receive a reply, but it came:

"Not everything out here is a threat, Rafael."

I closed my eyes. It was the kind of sentence that dismantled the defenses I had spent years building. She didn't understand that the danger didn't just come from outside. Sometimes it came from within, and I was starting to suspect that the enemy had already crossed the gates.

"We have a problem, Alpha." Murilo's voice, the Councilor, pulled me back to reality. He entered without knocking, carrying a voluminous folder.

"Spit it out."

"We received confirmation from the weapons supplier's bank. There was a transfer signed in your name."

"I didn't authorize anything."

Murilo opened the folder. The contract was there - pack letterhead, perfect signature, even my digital seal. I felt the heat rise through my body, a growl building in my throat.

"That is forgery."

Caio approached, examining the documents.

"They did it well. Even the security stamp is in place."

The rage took physical form. My claws tore the tabletop, and the smell of broken wood mingled with my accelerated pulse.

"Find out who had access to the official seals. Now."

Murilo stepped back, but maintained a firm tone.

"If it really is internal sabotage, we are dealing with someone who knows your routine, your passwords, your codes... and perhaps," he hesitated, "someone who knows how you think."

I stared at him, and let my gift flow. The Councilor's mind opened for a second, showing fear, but not guilt. Only apprehension about what my fury could cause.

The problem was, the more I searched, the more the feeling grew: there was an intruder among us - a silent, invisible predator.

That night, the wind brought the smell of rain before it fell. I was on the balcony, watching the courtyard below, the patrols rotating under the moonlight. The entire pack-house seemed trapped in held breath.

I picked up my cell phone again. No new message from Maia. Part of me wanted to call her, have her close, just to ensure she was safe. The other part knew she deserved distance from all this mess.

Still, instinct spoke louder:

"If you feel anything strange, call me. Even if it seems like nothing."

She replied, minutes later:

"You always seem to know when danger is near."

"I feel it."

"And what do you feel now?"

"That something big is about to explode."

And, as if the universe heard my intuition, the sound came seconds later - a bang that made the ground tremble and the balcony glass vibrate. The explosion came from the new depot, recently built on the east side.

Screams. Alarms. Flashing lights.

I ran to the courtyard, the smell of smoke and blood invading the air. The wolves stirred, disoriented, and I had to release power to contain the panic - a mental wave of command swept across the grounds, forcing them to focus.

"All groups in formation! Beta, close the perimeter! Don't let anyone out or in!"

Caio was already by my side, shouting orders. The flames reflected in his eyes.

"This was sabotage, Rafael!"

"I know. And now we'll find out who had the courage to attack inside our own house."

As I watched the fire consume part of the depot, one persistent thought haunted me, cold and precise: If someone managed to forge my signature, perhaps they can also use me as a weapon against her.

The smoke rose to the sky like a premonition, and I understood - the war had not even begun.

Amidst the flames, Caio found something on the ground - a scorched piece of paper, with the pack seal and a blurred inscription. But one sentence could be read:

"The next explosion won't be in a depot."