The Alpha's Redemption: Between Vengeance, Bond and Power

The snow fell heavily around the ancient pine forest, cloaking it in a blanket of white.

Inside the pack home, the Alpha sat, his piercing gaze fixed on the swirling storm outside. A sense of unease lingered in the air as he received news of a trespasser crossing into their territory.

"Alpha, a wolf has just crossed the border into the east," reported one of the loyal pack members.

"Keep up with him," the Alpha commanded with a stern voice, the authority palpable.

"Border patrol agents are already looking into it," the second in command assured.

"Good.”

"Do you want them to kill him?"

The Alpha glared out the window at the whirling snow drifts that dropped onto the pine forest just outside the pack home and muttered, "No, bring him here," before adding, "I'll kill him myself."

"Yes, Alpha," after stating these words, the guards prostrated themselves and exited the chamber to fulfill the commands. They never disobeyed the Alpha in any situation.

…..

Even though he raced quickly, dodging and weaving through the trees, the guards were able to catch up to him.

They were highly trained and shrewd, clustering together and then breaking apart to drive him into a corner, exactly as he had predicted.

When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw them growling and snapping their jaws, and he almost smiled at how predictable they were.

The sound came out as a low, guttural growl that echoed and bounced back from the woods, which only served to enrage the other wolves even more.

They quickly came up to him and pounced on him, taking him down on the ground and covering him with chilly leaves. They fell to their knees in the mucky earth, and then two large wolves held him down. As his nose dug further into the muck, he exhaled a scalding breath into the cold air around him.

"Shift!" one of the guards commanded. And to his surprise, it was female.

She had long, jet-black hair and a ferocious expression on her face as she stood tall and erect with her knees spread apart and her arms crossed over her chest.

He was reminded of a skunk by the hair that was attached to the collar of her black leather jacket.

He only hissed at her, and she moved closer to him as the two guards continued to push down on his back. When the guards loosened their grip on him, he rolled his eyes and then changed his position before rising to his feet.

The lady pushed him in the direction she believed to be the pack house and said, "Come one, move faster, you filthy mongrel!"

"Lady, do not address me in such a manner." He pushed himself away from her hard grasp on his shoulder and asked, "Don't you know who I am?"

She first looked at him with her eyes constricted, but then she opened them wider.

Naturally, it would be more difficult to recognize him if he had unkempt hair and a scraggly beard like that. However, he had high hopes of making a clean break in the near future.

Her pout quickly transformed into a smile, and she shot a quick glance at the other security personnel who were around her.

"Oh, I am truly sorry, Alpha. I really am. Did I cause you any pain?" After making fun of him, she pushed him violently once more. The others followed and burst out laughing.

"Take me to your Alpha!" he said, ignoring her jab and spoke with his teeth locked together.

"You have some good fortune. We are almost there already. Under normal circumstances, I would have broken your neck by now,” the woman responded with a smirk.

He snarled at the guys who were holding his arms constrained, sneered at them and asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Why should we bother being? Our Alpha has absolutely no fear of anybody,” they answered confidently.

"He must be, he should be!" he exclaimed.

Another knowing gaze was exchanged between the lady warrior and her men, and the woman's normally stunning and powerful face displayed a grin.

At this moment, all he wanted to do was rub it on the ground. ‘It will all work out in due time,’ he told himself.

…..

They quickly cut down the trees, which resulted in a greater accumulation of snow while the forest was being cleared. Despite the snowflakes that fell on his skin, he did not feel the cold. He had survived far more difficult situations.

As they traveled down a dirt path that was shortly paved over, the lady advised him, "Pretty boy, this will be your last opportunity to see the countryside, so make the most of it. Enjoy the view now."

One of the males glared at her accusingly and told her to "Tyra, stop it now, will you?"

"Oh, why? Was it wrong that I want to let loose and have some fun?"

Someone else made light of the situation by joking, "Fun? Oh right! We all know what happened the last time you had 'fun'."

"Admit it, you all have been thanking me for what seems like weeks now,” the lady boasted smirking at the men.

"You mean after we were released from jail," another of the men stated.

"If I didn't come up with my cunning ideas, what tales would you folks have to tell around the crazy nights?"

"Insane would be a better word for it." This remark resulted in the speaker receiving a smack on the back of the head, while the others just laughed knowing that Tyra would be the winner.

The trespasser, who couldn't wait to go inside and see what was going on, inquired, "How long until we're there?"

It was supposed to be a simple mission. He just needed to infiltrate the compound, eliminate the Alpha, and then assert dominion over the area.

He should avoid being entangled with these morons. He could still be able to--

"We're here," a guard muttered. When he heard these words, he snapped out of his reverie and pulled his head up.

A grey stone structure appeared out of the icy mist, giving the impression that it was a castle rather than a pack house.

Gargoyles glared down at him from each of the building's corners and gutters as he climbed the flight of stairs leading up to the main door.

The staircase was bordered with a winding banister. As the building's four story’s rose above him, he came dangerously close to falling as he was forced upward and inside.

As they made their way down the main hall, the sound of their footfalls reverberated off the stone floor, and the man's heart began to race and pound against his chest.

To regain his composure, he took a few slow, deep breaths, yet there was something unsettling about this location...

They forced their way through a door and entered a spacious room that had a series of windows running down each side and a raised platform on the far wall.

As his pulse raced and perspiration broke out on his hands, he came to the conclusion that the whole location had the atmosphere of a throne chamber.

Why was he behaving in such a manner? Have they tried to give him or inject some wrong medicine or anything else in secret?

A lady could be seen gazing out the windows while standing off to the side. When he was pushed down on his knees, the lady turned around.

Tyra, the lady warrior, greeted the woman and said, "Here he is, Alpha."

After which, she took her place alongside him and strutting her stuff as if he were her prize catch.

"Great job, Tyra."

He moved his head from side to side, attempting to get a better look at the Alpha.

Instead, the lady approached, her long platinum blonde hair cascading over her shoulders as she drew closer, her black cloak brushing against the polished floor as she did so.

"Stop this nonsense! I will only speak to the Alpha!" he grumbled angrily.

"You are already talking to the Alpha," she said as she came to a halt in front of him, drawing his attention upward.

Their eyes met, and in that little moment, something was communicated between the two of them.

He had fleeting thoughts of enveloping her in his arms and planting passionate kisses all over her delicate neck. He had never felt his heart beat so quickly before.

After that, he gave a head shake. He yelled out in a rage, "No way! Impossible! It can’t be!"

Her ice-cold stare wavered momentarily, but it was quickly replaced by a cunning quirk of her lips, and she put up a wall against displaying any sign of emotion.

"And what accounts for that? Why? Do you feel threatened by a strong, independent woman as an Alpha?"

"No, n-no. I… I," he sputtered, as she continued to stare directly into his eyes, the chilly tones of her irises penetrating him. He was startled by this.

As he descended further into their abyss, his mind kept repeating a single phrase over and over again. And the more he tried, he couldn't bring himself to accept it.

‘No, it can’t be!’