Half Faced Alpha

"Get ready."

The husky voice sent chills and shivers down the spine of the Crimson moon werewolf soldiers, and they all readied themselves. The grand alpha of whispers was coming today, and this time, the target was a small village on the outlets, backing their moon. It was mostly dominated by women, so they knew it would be an easy fight.

The wolves were on all fours by the time the alpha actually appeared, their chests thrust out, ready for war.

"But.." A small omega soldier stammered.

"Speak."

He swallowed and turned to the Alpha who was towering him. He looked at him, examining him closely.

"I.."

"Why have you not shifted?"

"I do not want to go." The Omega said, whimpering.

The Alpha's blood red eyes thinned. "What did you say?"

The omega shook his head. "Why do I have to kill women that have done nothing to us?"

Everywhere grew quiet and The alpha's shielded face broke into a large smile.

He then started to laugh harder, shaking his head.

"You do not want to kill anymore, is that it?"

The omega nodded, expecting the worst. The Alpha was not known for mercy or compassion, and he knew he was making a big mistake. However, he would rather do this than go on another massacre of innocent creatures.

Before anyone could say anything, one of the older wolves turned back, running between the alpha and the omega.

He went straight to his knees, with nothing covering him except his cloak.

"I am sorry, your highness. He is just a small boy. Please forgive him."

None of the other wolves moved, even though some felt pity for the father and son.

He laughed, dragging the father to stand in front of him by the edge of his cloak.

"You are his father?" His voice was dark, evil. Like the audio adaptation of the devil himself.

The man nodded, as the omega held on to his dangling feet, crying, knowing his mouth had brought this on them.

"Well.." The Alpha said, pulling out small knife with his left hand. "Fathers are responsible for their cub's manners, am I right?"

Before the father could finish nodding, the knife had gone through his stomach, piercing every vital organ in its way till it reached the back, tore the flesh there and poked out.

The omega child only felt the sticky liquid splash on his face, and his father became immobile.

The alpha let him go after pulling the knife out, dropping him to the ground unceremoniously. He gave one indignant look at the child, before turning away.

That was the kind of man he was. One who didn't flinch no matter how warm the blood felt on his hands. One who didn't care no matter who was watching. He had power and he would use it.

"What are you going to do?" The witch, Ari stood, panting, her eyes dilated from fear. "Do we attempt to stop him?"

The Head witch, Selina smiled mildly, shaking her head. "He is not just going to invade us, that alpha. He will shed our blood and it will run like dirty streams on the floor. This ground we stand on will be wet and soaked with our very own blood."

Ari gasped, taking a step back. "Can we not do anything to stop him? A spell?" She was desperate, the shake in her hand and voice a major evidence of that.

Selina looked at her with another wistful smile. "Destiny prevails."

With that, she walked away, leaving Ari in tears.

If they reveal themselves to be witches, they will be killed nonetheless. Witches were abominations, and a threat to the more powerful werewolves. They were killed on sight. They have only managed to come this far by hiding their identities and keeping an extremely low profile.

But today..this is the very end for all of them, and there was nothing no one, not even her, as powerful as she was, could do.

She waited for the inevitable by the single candle light in her open yard.

He was here, and she could hear the sounds from their running paws. They were only helpless women. It wouldn't take long for him to get to her.

She waited, the sound of the screams, the futile attempts to run, and the weak spells the wolves teeth somehow cut through and got to the wielders of such spells. It all sounded like some tape, like it was coming from a distant place, not from the small habitat she had managed to create for herself. And everyone she has ever loved, or known.

It was all crumbling into blood, fire and death, and she was sitting here, watching it all happen.

"Is this not fancy?"

She thought she wouldn't flinch when he came, but she felt her heart drop to her stomach. He was right here, but the screams continued. Typical of Alphas to only give the order, but keep their hands clean.

He walked to her, then sat closed to her, a small smile playing on his lips. She couldn't see anything else, as his cloak had covered it.

"Why do you hide your face from me?"

He shrugged, then looked at her. "What is there to hide? I just love my secret." He laughed, like he had managed to crack himself up.

She nodded. "You will keep it on for longer than you want to."

"Why would I want to do that?"

She turned to face him, one of her eye brows raised, her left eye filled to the brim with tears.

"You have killed every one, haven't you?"

He shrugged. "My soldiers are still on it. You women know all the hiding places."

She snickered humorlessly. "The same way you'll learn to hide too, Alpha."

"Oh really? Is this one of those curses you people who are about to die manage to speak out? Because I have had countless of those and they didn't work, so you might want to save your breath."

She broke out in laughter, as he started to pull out his small knife, his thumb and index caressing the sharp edges, his eyes following the small reflection of the candlelight on the bloodstained blade.

"Actually, yes, it is. But not quite. The rest didn't have any effect on you because their spirit was weak, their need for vengeance even weaker. I.."

She broke into a laughter as he stood up. Her time was up.

"I am strong. Both in spirit and in need for vengeance."

He extended his hand to her, not minding anything she was saying.

She gave it, knowing she had literally no other option.

"You...you will carry disdain on your face, Alpha. You will hide and beg for people to see you. You will run away from people. You will hate who you are."

He gave a small one sided smile, then pulled her into a hug, the knife between them with the sharp blade pointed at her. It went right through her stomach, causing her to spurt our blood from her mouth.

She didn't stop smiling however, as she shook her head, the pain spreading.

"Till she finds you, you will never be happy. And..I...I will never let that happen."

He smiled and pulled her out of his arms, then scoffed at her.

"Very cute."

She dropped on the floor as he let go of her.

She was coughing up blood and writhing in pain.

"Living such lonely lives will never guarantee the safety of witches, woman. I hope you know you did not die for nothing."

He watched her till she went limp, completely void of life, before he turned away, putting the stained knife back where it belonged.

Alpha Axton made his way through the blood ridden village, the witch Selina's necklace dangling from the hilt of his small knife.

The other wolves walked behind him slowly, their teeth stained with blood of the fallen witches. No one dared carry remorse on their face, or in their heart, for the alpha will sniff it and remove it. However he had to do it.

"Triumph," he said, raising the small knife.

The other wolves supported with howls of their own, their nose pointing up to the sky, one that was adorned by the crimson red moon.

They continued to walk, making everywhere fall silent under their trudging feet, the darkness they carried around them causing the dark night to become even gloomier.

Just after leaving the outskirts, far away from their pack and the witches' settlement, the necklace fell off the knife, and the Alpha didn't bother stopping for it.

His shadow cast on it as he walked forward, forgetting the necklace, its owner, and her formidable curse.

The room was dark and lonely when he got in, and he went to his bed once he did. He loved the allure of war, and the dye of blood, so he wasn't quite sure why he felt like he'd lost something back then.

He turned down the lights and sat on the edge of the bed, his hood still covering his face.

He always covered his face because his face was far different from what he actually was. When he watched his face in the mirror, he sometimes hated it. It was flawless, almost always unstained, despite the rigors of war. Perfect skin that made him look like the pampered prince rather than the brutal aloha he actually was. His hair was a light brown that cascaded down his shoulders when they were not in a bunch, and he made a point to put it in a loose bun. He was manly, on the sharpness of his jaws and the tan of his skin. The broadness of his shoulders, and the sculptured perfect body. And even though not vain, he loved that part of him. Body that was so chiseled, it caused dents in whatever he wore. He loved his strength, his ability, everything that made him both Alpha male and Alpha wolf. He had everything.

He stood again, and turned the light up, then threw the hood over his shoulder. This time when he stopped in front of the mirror, he didn't see a beautiful face. He didn't see a perfect chiseled body. He saw different things, things that, for once in his life, ever, caused a chill to go down his spine.

Half of his beautiful face looked like he had been burnt by acid, the skin sagging ungracefully.

His blood red eye looked intact on the right, yet was completely white on the left side.

He lifted a hand and covered the other, and found that he could not see with the other.

He removed his clothes from the waist upward and looked again.

Half of his body was sagging, just like his face.

He didn't like so much beauty that he carried, yet he knew he wouldn't be able to live with such hideousness.

"You will carry disdain on your face.."

He closed his eyes, his chest heaving with sheets horror. Her curse..her curse had really taken effect? The part of him that he felt like he had left behind...was his perfection?

He suddenly lost grip and fell to the floor, his functioning eye wide. He couldn't stand too.

"Beta."

He sat on the floor, watching himself in the long mirror.

What has this woman done to him?

"Beta!" he called again, his voice cracking.

A knock came on the door soon, and he nodded. "Turn down the lights."

The lights turned down, and he managed to drag himself back to his bed.

"Beta, I need to ask you of something."

"Go on, Alpha."

"How do I know my mate?" he asked. "How do I know the woman that is meant for me?"

"By their smell, Alpha. There is no surefire way, but when you see them, you'll know."

He nodded, reaching his silent resolve. He wouldn't die this way. He wouldn't watch himself just fade away like this. He would find her and force her to come with him, to heal him and to stay by his side. He didn't care how he had to do it.

"I am going in search of my mate, then. You, take care of the pack while I am gone."

The beta looked up momentarily, then nodded. "I will not fail you."

He stood up and left the room, leaving the Alpha to face his pain all on his own.

By the next morning, he knew the decision to find his mate wasn't possible. He couldn't walk and was blind on the right eye. He didn't have a chance.

For months he didn't leave his room, and got used to walking on his own around it, trying to live as a handicap.

In short moments, he experienced ecstasy, an emotion he didn't know how to feel before, but now felt surging in the deepest parts of his heart when he stood by the mirror in the first hour of the first full moon, and he could see his body become the way it used to be.

But once those moments were gone, he would sink back into his shell, knowing no one would want him now, if no one wanted him then. He was still the deadly Alpha of whispers, and he would never be wanted by a sane woman.