Rejecting the Alpha

Corni knew that when the skies cleared in five hours or so, there would be a full moon. He knew because his blood called out to the freedom it gave, and the madness that accompanied it.

It was the same way he knew that if he unclenched his fists, there would be spots of blood where his fingers dug into his palm.

In order to avoid his Beta going on and on about taking anger management class and itherapy, he willed his claws to go back in and turned to face the man standing in front of him. If he wanted to, he could have the man on his knees and bleeding in a matter of seconds. It would satiate the part of his anger directed at him- the part that could not wait to be unleashed under the light of the full moon.

But, he would not beg. The man would rather take his own life than beg for it to be spared. Corni had witnessed it, not once or twice- scenarios where Fridolf stumbled back to the camp almost dead.

He'd refused to give up secrets, and the members of the rival pack had grown tired of torturing him. Of course, Corni led a group of his best wolves and made them pay, but Fridolf earned his respect even more.

"You knew my father too well, more than most people would assume an ordinary pack member would know their alpha. But you forget your place, wolf. You forget that you stand before your new alpha," Corni said.

The man said nothing, his eyes trained on Corni. Unflinching.

"You may speak."

"I never wanted, or asked to be anything more than a member of your father's pack- Corni noted that the man did not acknowledge him as the new leader.

He chose to let it slide for the time being. There were other things at stake. "Even when your father tried persuading me to be his right hand. I served as your father's lawyer for thirty years and was his friend for twice as much. And in that time, he came to trust me with everything."

The emphasis on the last word was not lost on Corni.

"If you claim to have known my father for that long, you should know that your words, the ones which you read out, would never have come from his mouth," Corni stated, glaring at the man, challenging him to say otherwise.

"I cannot say I know your father's mind. The things he tells me, are the things I believe. Why should I doubt? As his friend, were it that he was still alive," Fridolf shifted on his feet and Corni remembered his bad leg.

The old wolf had suffered an injury from the humans not too long ago. It was a concern among the pack members, that the injury wasn't showing signs of rapid healing. Perhaps the man was becoming one of them. Corni had heard tales of things like that happening, but had never witnessed any in his years.

"And you believe my father would have wanted me to get married to a human?" He spat the word out in a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.

A little bit of disgust too. It made no sense at all.

"Like I said," Fridolf shrugged, "I do not claim to know what was going through your father's mind when he wrote his will. I can only carry out his wishes as his lawyer."

"My father must have been senile during his last days."

An audible gasp came from behind and Corni spun around to see a woman standing at the door with her eyes wide open and her mouth agape.

"Yes, Freya?" His displeasure at her obvious disrespect for privacy was clear in his tone.

"Nothing." She shook her head and hurried away. Corni sighed.

The wrong person decided to show up at the worst time. In no time, he knew that everyone would be aware of the statement he uttered about his father.

Freya was a tattle tale and his father's side piece. He had no idea what his father saw in a woman who could not keep her mouth, destroyed almost everything she touched and had no respect for authority.

Many times, she'd barged into meetings, clinging to his father and making childish requests. If it was up to him, he would have found her another pack years ago. He couldn't do it now, not when there were some who thought the coldhearted son of Magnus Vigolfr should not be their leader.

He had to teach a rogue wolf a lesson that ended in bloodshed. But if fear was the only way to make them see, he would not hesitate to use it as a tool.

"You still speak in present. My father is dead."

Fridolf held his tongue and said nothing.

Corni stared at him and said nothing too. He was waiting for an explanation even when he knew there was none to be given. He was an alpha that had to get married to a human if he was going to take control of the empire his father inherited from his father. How more selfish could that get?

He finally sighed.

"When do I meet the human?" "Whenever you wish," Fridolf replied. "Your father did not specify when you are to be wed. Although, you are not to step in as Chairman until you are wed to her."

Corni was about to say something when someone rushed into the room, panting. It was the new wolf that just joined the pack. Having reprimanded another a few minutes ago, he held his breath and waited for him to speak.

"There is a fight outside," he said, in-between fistful of air sucked in through his mouth.

"Tell them to quit it," Corni answered dismissively.

"No, you don't understand. They are in their wolf form, snarling at each other."

Corni sighed.

He would have to teach them a lesson- immature wolves thinking their true forms served as a form of dominance.

"I'll speak to you later," he said to Fridolf and walked out of the room, claws bared.

"You will not speak to me in that tone."

When she laughed, people turned.

But, she did not mind. If her mother wanted to act like a sneaky bitch, dragging her to an open place before telling her what she just said, then she should have been prepared for her daughter who did not care what people thought about her, to make a scene.

"Oh, I will. I will speak to you whichever way I want because you do not deserve my respect, Evelyn.

All my life, I have had to put up with your excesses, telling myself that it would not be much longer until I was completely free from you. And you pull this on me?

What gives you the right to think you can control my life based on your stupid whims?"

"It is for your own good," her mother said tightly, fixing a strand of hair that had fallen out back in place.

Luna sighed in exasperation when her mother's attention was momentarily caught by a man that sat down, three tables before theirs.

"You are so shallow, it irks me. You cannot spend thirty minutes with your own daughter without checking to see if your charms have caught an unsuspecting prey," she laughed at the irony.

"And you say you did it for my good? Please don't lie to me, mother."

"I brought you up from nothing-

"And I have heard that story one too many times, that it is starting to get a lot redundant," Luna cut in, saving her mother from repeating the pity story she had in handy, ready to launch at her daughter every time they met, and herself- from gritting her teeth and wishing it never happened.

"Don't be ungrateful, Luna. The marriage will bring you a fortune," her mother cooed, patting her hair and sending side glances to the man who was now watching her with undivided interest.

How on God's earth did she survive her childhood without going insane? Luna wondered. And then the flashbacks came, and the thought disappeared. She did go crazy- as a child.

And during that time, her mother only came to see her twice, while having married three men and divorced them in a period of two years. Best parent ever.

"I am not interested in his."

"But, you are interested in mine. In everything I currently control. Also, you are aware that I will be retiring very soon, and as expected, my daughter should be the one to take over," her mother pointed out.

"The only problem is." Evelyn took a sip from the wine glass in front of her, frown at the taste while she swallowed slowly, and signaled for a waiter.

The waiter- bless his patient soul, listened to her complaints and went to bring another bottle of wine.

"As I was saying, dear," her attention was back on Luna who could think of nothing better than leaving, "I want more, even when I retire. And the only way I can get it, is if you get married to Corni Vigolfr.

You are just like me, darling. You love money and men. The only difference is, you sleep with men without class and money."

It stung. A lot. That the woman who birthed her, but refused to act like a mother- could not summon any maternal instincts right from when Luna popped out of her, could sum up her life in a few words.

Because, it was the truth. She would not give Evelyn the satisfaction of gloating.

Luna stood up.

"Fine. If that's what you want, I'll marry what's his name. I'll spend those two years hating you and I hope that after that, we never meet as mother and daughter again.

However, I require a written agreement that your company and all its subsidiaries, when you retire- which must be before the two years is over, goes to me."

"Done. I'll-

"I'm not done. And a sum, which is not subject to negotiation be sent to my account every month."

"Wait, what?"

Luna scoffed. "I know that what you stand to gain from this marriage is more than I can ever have, and I will not be forced into a union not of my making, and then cheated again."

Evelyn laughed.

"I raised you well. Alright then, send an email to my secretary and we'll discuss. I assume you are leaving now?"

"I would rather gouge out my eyes than watch you flirt with a man young enough to be your son," Luna replied, bitterly.

She started to leave, and then stopped. Turned. Cast a pity glance at her mother.

"He acts like he has money, but he doesn't. I know this because I slept with him last year."

...

Blue. The color that fed their blood and released caged spirits. It called for them when it rose high in the sky, and they answered with howls that echoed in the forest and caused weaklings to seek for cover.

The ones who dared to watch and wait- out of a sense of misplaced thrill or curiosity, did so to their own demerit. Because, they did not yield the call of the full moon to spare the ones that weren't of their kind. Even their kind danced to the madness and blood painted the trees before dawn decided she had seen enough.

Corni howled, his voice filling the forest, the air and shaking the trees in its wake. His pack members, fur and teeth- snarled and howled in unison, letting him know that as of now, in their true form, they were of one accord.

The anger he felt when the sun still teased the clouds came back in full force and dared him to feast. It dangled the cover of the night in front of him and Corni yielded, taking off in a sprint.

As dawn slowly arrived, peeking out from behind to clouds to see if the creatures of the night had gone back to acceptable social forms or not, Corni felt the forest under his bare feet, around him and inside of him.

It was his routine, to taste the air after the allure of the full moon had faded, and taste it alone. It reminded him that there was more to the world than he knew of, and he could be attacked from anywhere, at any time.

He had to stay on his toes, keep his teeth bared behind closed lips and watch from all angles. And, it had saved him on countless occasions- once, when as a young wolf hunting with his father, they were attacked just as he changed back.

His father had caught the snarling, foam-spitting rogue bastard before he got any closer to his son, and left bleeding marks from sharpened claws on Corni's back as punishment for letting down his guard.

Cornu never forgot the lesson- and when his mother after seeing the welts on his fragile skin, screamed and fainted, he still thought the bruises were well deserved.

His father was a man who was hard on his son, cheated on his wife but soft and accommodating with everyone else.

Corni loved and hated him.

"You have gotten sloppy, it seems. It would be a bad thing for the rest of the pack to find out, that their alpha is getting weak."

He did not bother turning around. Coming from somebody else, he would have the impudent wolf hanging a few feet from the ground.

But, he chuckled.

"You knew I was following you, didn't you?" the sound of footsteps that he picked up on over an hour ago, drew nearer and louder.

He shrugged. "What do you think? You have yet figured out how to mask your scent."

"I have," the other voice protested. "I followed a few wolves from the Omegas and they did not seem to notice, even though I was merely a few feet away the whole time."

Corni cast the other person a brief glance and kept walking. "Omegas? If you want to impress me, Vlad, you should not speak of the Omegas. Even the new wolf can mask his scent enough to follow their beta."

"You wound me, Corni. One would think that your choice of a second-in-command was based on a childish whim," Vlad said.

"They would not dare to say it to your face, "Corni looked in his direction and stopped walking, "or mine.

But it seems you listen to a lot of gossip. So, tell me. What is it that they say about me?"

"I don't think I want wolves who have not found where to put their foot, to die before they find out it's not meant to go into their mouths." Corni nodded.

"So, they talk about me killing the wolves?"

"Wolf." Vlad corrected. "A wolf. You killed a wolf with blunt teeth because he dared to challenge your position. They say you have no regard for the bond between wolves, as it is only a rogue, a stray or another alpha that should be killed. With the exception of mercy killing."

Corni resumed his walk, noting that the sun was still refusing to come out.

Perhaps it was because she found it too early to make an entrance, or she simply wanted to rest a little longer. He did not mind- the darkness was his and he ruled it well. The moon, even in its paleness gave them enough illumination to see at night.

Vlad increased his pace to catch up. He was a little out of breath when he fell in step and Corni smiled. That should send a message of how capable he was as the alpha. He was barely exerting any strength and the third most powerful wolf in his pack, was struggling to keep up.

"There is talk of revolting. The wolf you disposed of has a new wife in our pack, and she is not letting the matter lie. Neither is her brother," Vlad informed him.

Corni did not reply.

"You don't care, do you? That the wolves in your pack do not care for the fact that you are their leader? And any chance they get, they will raise someone to fight and take your place? You do know that a challenger can come from any pack and any country, right? They might actually find someone who can-

Corni's voice was deathly cold when he replied, "Do not underestimate me, Vlad. You are my beta and my best friend. I expect undivided loyalty from you, not a plea because you are scared of what they will or will not do."

"And you have earned it," Vlad conceded. "You have earned my respect as my leader. I only want you to be safe. I know you are aware of the rule- the only one that comes into effect when you kill a wolf that is neither an alpha, a stray or on the accounts of mercy."

Lynched, beaten and cast out by other wolves. He was painfully aware of that.

The same way he was aware that the wolf wouldn't have ceased his deadly pursuits if he did not put an end to his life.

"If I had declared him an outcast for insubordination, what do you think would have happened?"

"Captured and killed by a rival pack." He nodded at the words. "In other words, a merciless death. He would have been tortured until he begged for death, and submitted his pride to be torn to tatters.

Tell me," he paused to scan the forest as he eyes caught sight of something unfamiliar. He would deal with it later.

He looked at Vlad. "What category do you think his death falls under?"

"Merciless death." Corni nodded.

"I'm glad we are both on the same page. Now, if you can, please leave. I prefer to walk in solitude."