The Scorn Of The Alpha Queen

Selena's pov

"A woman can never be the next Alpha!"

"My daughter has proven herself time and time again. She is more than capable."

I spied on the council meeting through the slightly open door.

My father, Alpha Gideon usually kept me up to date on the pack politics. But lately he had been more withdrawn.

I kept asking him questions about what had happened, but he dismissed me with claims that it was nothing serious.

But I knew.

Alpha Gideon coughed into his hands before continuing.

"My mate and I have been trying to have more children for years. But Selena was the only child we could bear. Yet I am not ashamed of her and neither do I regret that she is a girl and not a boy. She is precious to me and she has talent." Alpha Gideon said.

A fist slammed into the large table.

"What sort of nonsense are you spouting!?" Darth shouted.

He was a very tall man with an intimidating visage. Blood red eyes shone from his head. And his hair was jet black with streaks of white. His sunken cheeks and angular face made him look like a hell spawn.

I glared at him from my hidden spot.

I had never liked Darth.

He was a senior council member, but he never showed my father the respect he deserved as an Alpha of the Silver Claw pack. I wanted nothing more than to teach him respect. But my father had always preached patience. I was too weak.

"Lord Darth is correct, even though his method of sharing that is inelegant." Lord Yuriel said in a calm voice.

He was a much shorter man with a slender frame. His hazel eyes reminded me of a snake.

"A woman can never become Alpha. Another way must be found. If you truly love your daughter so much Alpha Gideon then you can mate her to the next Alpha who will undoubtedly be a man." Lord Yuriel said in his calm low voice.

"Why is this even a negotiation?" Lord Varick asked next. He sounded sincerely baffled.

He was even taller than Darth and he had almost as much influence. His steel gray eyes, bald head and long beard made him look like a mad wall of carved stone. His broad face, coupled with the scar that ran over his left eye completed up the image. I had never trusted him. He reeked of an unstable mind to me.

I had confided in my father, but he had told me to wait. He didn't have enough power, even as Alpha to control the council. He was very restricted and he had to find some sort of compromise to work with them.

"A woman can never be the next Alpha. The idea is completely foolish. Women are meant to be our docile and submissive mates!" Lord Varick said.

"I am the Alpha and my decision is final. You will all stop this discussion now. Selena is suitable and that is all." My father said. But instead of his voice to be loud and commanding. It sounded weak. And he coughed immediately after his short speech.

I cringed from my hiding spot. I

hated seeing my father like this. But he had gotten sick lately. I knew that was why the council had become so bold so suddenly. They had always been rebellious, but it had never been so outright, plain and obvious.

I wanted to go out and help him, but I remembered what he had said to me.

Lord Darth shot up from his seat.

"Since you have decided to choose this path of madness, I challenge you to a duel Alpha Gideon!" Lord Darth proclaimed.

The entire hall fell silent. It was an ancient tradition that could not be refused. An Alpha must defend his position without doubt.

Alpha Gideon stared straight into Darth's blood red eyes.

"If that must be. Then I accept."

I turned away from the door. My breathing was heavy. I feared for my father.

...

I watched as the two wolves circled each other.

The duel was a public event. Hundreds of wolves sat on the rising circular stadium seats that surrounded the arena.

Tensions in the pack had been constantly rising for months now. That happened when there was conflict between its leaders.

Usually an Alpha had total control of his pack. But this had happened because my father didn't kill Darth earlier. I prayed now that he would do just that. Then everything could go back to normal.

I watched from the royal stand with my mother beside me. She was visibly afraid and she clutched my hand tightly.

I gritted my teeth as Darth's wolf attacked first.

My father showed why he was the alpha.

He took Darth's attack full on. I watched the two wolves roll on the sand, scratching and biting each other with deadly fangs and claws.

Blood sprayed, but I couldn't make out the source.

There was a roar from the crowd, as if they couldn't get enough. Chants rose, unintelligible in the cacophony. But I knew it was their blood lust.

My mother went hysterical as the fight continued. I gripped her hand for support.

Darth and my father separated. They move back to get ready for the second round.

My heart lightened as I saw that Darth carried the brunt of the injuries. His wolf was huge, as huge as he was, but my father was Alpha.

My body relaxed. Why was I so worried? There was no way my father would actually lose.

They circled each other again and Darth growled, showing his teeth.

My father's wolf remained silent, watching. I saw his calmness in a new light suddenly. He wasn't a weak Alpha because he was not first to attack. His patience was his strength.

"Mother, it's okay. Have faith in him." I said as I squeezed my mother's hand.

Darth tensed for the next charge. He was injured but not slowed.

I turned to my father and felt a spike of alarm when his paw slipped on the sand. He regained his balance quickly but not quick enough.

It was his sickness.

Darth attacked in that instant when he saw the opening.

"No!" My mother screamed.

They rolled together but Darth's wolf had the upper hand.

He went for the killing blow.

Darth ripped out my father's throat in a bright spray of blood right in front of the entire pack.

I felt a feeling of heaviness descend on me.

My father, Alpha Gideon, was dead.

SELENA'S POV

There was total silence in the arena.

My father's wolf pulled back from the grip of Darth's jaws, but the damage was already done.

If he was in full condition then the outcome would have been different.

Alpha Gideon gave a last show of defiance and strength, even in the face of death.

He remained upright as if nothing had happened, even as the blood sprayed out from his missing throat.

I thought I could see a glare from his yellow gold eyes. Then he fell.

Darth moved forward in his wolf form. He had sustained deep injuries and they affected his movement now. He prodded my father's body with a paw. Then he raised his head to the sky and howled.

That was enough to break the spell that had covered the arena. Suddenly it was enveloped in chants. I had no idea if they were jeers or cheers. None of it mattered.

My mother fell from her chair and on to her knees. "Gideon?" She asked in a low voice. Tears flowed down her eyes.

My eyes were on my father's body.

I felt... empty.

Was he really dead? Just like that?

I remembered the father I had played with as a child. He was always so supportive of me. Even when I expressed interest in fighting more than playing with dolls. Even when I got into many fights with other male wolves. He was patient with me.

And he had supported me when I told him I was going to be Alpha.

I promised I would make him proud.

I wanted to see him smile as I became more than he could have ever hoped for.

Now, he laid in a pool of his own blood. His body stiffening in the sand.

Darth shifted back.

There were deep gashes across his arms and chest, but it didn't weaken him.

His voice was booming and loud enough to be heard over the noise.

"Alpha Gideon is dead!" He announced.

That seemed to tip my mother over the edge.

She fell fully to the floor and curled up in a fetal position. Then she screamed.

Her mate was dead. The pain she would go through was unimaginable.

I stood up from my seat. I reached for her.

Darth voice called out again as I knelt to hold my mother. Tears streaked down my eyes but I took no notice.

"He was a weak Alpha! He conspired with his mate to make a woman the next Alpha! His actions were to bring the ruin of our pack!"

The crowd cheered. Darth's supporters were emboldened.

He pointed a finger to the royal stand.

I stared at him and met his eyes.

I could see the smile in them as he said his next words.

"Arrest those traitors!"

I stood up immediately to protest. My mother remained curled on the ground. But suddenly the warriors who had been standing close by, watching the Alpha's family stepped forward.

"Don't touch me!" I hissed at them.

The three of them hesitated. But moved forward.

Traitors.

I punched the first one in the face, he fell down.

The others grabbed me from behind before I could shift.

One held my neck in a choke-hold. I tried to pry his hand open but I wasn't strong enough.

Even as I screamed and cried. I wasn't strong enough.

...

I looked up from the dungeon cell that my I had been locked in for the past week. The shackle around my neck and arms restricted my movements.

My clothes were already in tatters from all my struggling. My mother had been locked in here with me for three days, then she was taken. She had refused to speak through out. She only had an empty look in her eyes.

I screamed and threatened but they wouldn't tell me what they did to her. In my alone time, I cried. I kept imagining her lifeless body buried beside my father.

Darth was standing outside the cell, partially obstructed by the bars.

His eyes glinted. "Your mother has been a good concubine to me lately." He said.

"What!?" I was rabid as I tired to charge forward. The chains held tightly and yanked me back.

Darth chuckled. "I promised her that I will let you leave the pack if she complied."

I glared at him even as I felt my heart break further. She was sacrificing herself for me?

Darth's men took me out of the cell. I didn't fight them. I wanted to see my mother. "Bring my concubine." He commanded as we reached the throne room.

A few minutes later, my mother was escorted out. Her eyes widened as she saw me.

"Selena." She whispered.

I felt happy to see her alive and talking. I had feared the worst during my many dark nights.

"It's good that you are reunited, although for a short time." Darth said.

My mother turned to him. "You promised you'd let her go." She said.

Darth smiled. "She is going out of the pack yes. She is going to be a concubine for one of our new partners. He is old but she can manage." He said.

"What! No! That's not what you said." My mother screamed.

The slap resonated through the entire throne room. "Shut up you stupid bitch." Darth said.

My mother held her face tightly but didn't stand down. "Please! I have been willing to be your concubine, but please keep my only daughter away from this!" She pleaded.

I felt rage boil from within my soul at the scene.

How dare he touch my mother!?

Suddenly all the bruises on her body became visible to me. He had been hitting her a lot.

I wanted to rip off his head!

I tried to step forward, but the wolf holding the chain around my neck pulled me back. It choked me, but my rage made me ignore the pain.

"Darth! I will kill you for everything you did!" I screamed the promise. It was as true as a blood oath to me.

Darth laughed. "Tell that to the old Alpha who you will be concubine to. You should be happy that you are still of use to me as a political device. That means I might keep your wench of a mother around for longer." He said.

I tried attacking but the four wolves holding my chains dragged me off. I was to be sold to an old Alpha of a different pack.

We entered a carriage. The journey would take us through the wilderness before we reached the other pack. No wolf who had gotten lost in the wilderness had ever been found. It was a land of no return.

But I felt no fear. Only rage.

I was never going to tie myself down to serve a man.

I waited for the wolf warriors to get distracted.

Then I hit the one closest to me in the crotch and jumped out of the carriage.

They couldn't stop quickly enough. So I shifted with the chains still around my neck. Then I escaped into the wilderness with my promise fresh in my mind.

I passed through the gates into the Silver Claw pack in my tattered robes.

It had been ten years. Ten hard and bloody years.

The Silver Claw pack was different than I remembered it. The pack looked like a man who had fallen sick.

Where the lush garden and streets were tended to before, they were now left dirty, dusty and dying. I saw many more half starving wolves on the streets and I knew that my precious pack had also been through hard times these past ten years.

As I walked through the pack, every head turned in my direction.

I was like a ghost as I passed through. My face was covered with a hooded cloak.

Every wolf in my way, parted in a hurry as I passed through. They murmured around me, but none dared approach me.

I knew that it was what they saw in my silver blue eyes that made them wisely stay away.

They saw death in them.

It wasn't their death, but it could easily be the death of whoever stood in my way.

One name resonated through my mind.

Darth.

I arrived at the Alpha's manor. I immediately noticed that unlike the rest of the pack, the manor seemed to have flourished.

The buildings were painted freshly and many more buildings had risen from the ground. The trees were fresh, green and full of life. Unfortunately for them, it was death that I brought with me this day.

"Who are you!? Stop there!" The first warrior guard at the manor gate asked. His voice trembled slightly.

The second one stood away, his spear held tightly in his hands. Their wolves were sensing me. And they warned the warriors. If only they were smart enough to listen.

The first guard charged me with his spear when I ignored them. The movement was slow to me. I side stepped it easily and he fell to the ground.

"Stay down. I'm not here for you." I warned.

The second warrior guard seemed to take his fallen comrade as a cue to attack me. I was less lenient with him. I dodged his spear thrust and snapped it with a single blow from my open palm. Then I hit his stomach with my elbow. He coughed up a small amount of blood and fell to the ground.

"Stay down." I warned, allowing them to feel the full force of my will. Their wolves trembled and whined within them. They obeyed.

I passed through the open gate and walked into the manor. Alpha Darth met me outside before I entered into the building.

"Who dares to walk into my manor!?" He asked.

I saw that the years had been kind to him. His sunken cheeks had filled out and he carried a new pot belly. He stared down at me with visible disdain. I dropped the hood from my face and looked up to him.

I held his gaze easily. "Alpha Darth. I am here to take my rightful place as heir to the Silver Claw pack!" I declared.

By now many more warriors and Darth's vassals had come out of the manor at the spectacle. They surrounded me.

The murmuring began as soon as they saw my face. 'It's a woman.'

"What nonsense!?" Alpha Darth shouted.

They could all clearly see my waist length black hair. My silver blue eyes. Sharp cheekbones, full lips and button nose.

It showed them that I was a woman.

"You are a woman!" Alpha Darth shouted as if that settled the matter.

"I am Selena! Daughter of Alpha Gideon! And I challenge you, Alpha Darth to a duel before the Moongoddess!" I declared.

The crowd around me murmured.

'What! Selena? Wasn't she eaten by rogues in the forest?'

'She has been missing for ten years! How is she still alive!'

'Can a woman really challenge the Alpha like that?'

I ignored all the noise they made around me. My eyes were on one thing.

That was Lord Darth. Or the so called Alpha Darth.

He couldn't reject the duel. It would make him look in front of all his vassals. The last thing he wanted was to look weak like how my father had looked weak in his last days. If not he would be dethroned quickly by the snakes he surrounded himself with.

"Fine! I will kill this ghost of the past before the entire pack!" He declared.

I smiled. He had just signed his death warrant.

He had no idea what I had gone through in the wilderness.

"We will sign a pact before the High Priestess. The winner of the duel is the next Alpha of the pack." I said. I knew that he and the other council members were snakes.

"Fine." He waved his hand. His belly jiggled as he turned back into his manor.

I followed and ignored all the murmurings around me.

Darth went to the throne and sat down on my father's throne. My throne.

"Call for the High Priestess." He said. Then be smiled. "Call for my first concubine too. I want to be fed."

I stiffened. He wouldn't dare.

My mother was so thin that she was almost bare bones. Chains dangled around her neck, arms and legs. She had been locked in the dungeons. Her hands shook as she fed Darth grapes.

My wolf surged in rage. I crushed the hand of my chair and it flew into splintered wood.

When she turned to see me, she fainted.

"What is wrong with this stupid bitch!?" Darth kicked her.

I stood up. "Enough! We sign the pact now and then I spill your blood!"

Darth smiled. He thought that he had ruffled me enough. He was confident that be would win.

We signed the pact.

...

The crowd cheered as Darth's wolf circled mine. I stayed still and tracked his movement.

He tried to attack from behind me. But he was just as slow as the guards.

I hit him and pinned him to the ground. It was easy even though his wolf was larger.

He struggled but I glared at him and expressed my will.

He whimpered.

I let him go and he shifted back. He had a look of horror on his face.

"I'll give you all the treasures you want. There's need for..." I pounced on him. Then I ripped off his head.

The crowed cheered for their new Alpha.