The Alpha's Battle

"Mmm, so sweet," Macie whispered to herself, as the single drop of dew fell from a golden leave and landed right on the tip of her tongue.  Macie smiled in delight as the freshwater slide down her throat. The water always tastes better after a storm, and today was no exception. No one knew Macie was here. She visited here often to hide from society and the constant need to run away from her life. Macie loved to listen to the birds singing in the trees, the wind whispering back and forth between the thick branches, but most of all, she came here because she felt safe and finally accepted, not judged or shunned from the people in her village. The villagers differed from most. They called themselves the Valquerian, Val for short. The Valquerian did not want to adapt to the surrounding ways around them. They preferred to remain secluded from the new methods.  Tradition. The Valquerians lived it. Ate it. And breathed it. Even if it meant murdering their own to keep the traditional ways in order. Macie never followed their ways. When the Valquerian would knock on doors to gather those unfit for the village, she would run away to her favorite place. There was a narrow path she discovered in the forest when she was only sixteen years old. ******* One dreary day, Macie couldn't seem to get far enough away from the Valquerians. They took her best friend just because he didn't show up for the town meeting. The problem wasn't the town meeting. They caught her best friend having s*x with the mayor's daughter. Of course, there was never any proof of the mayor's mad reasoning, until nine months later, he had to take a leave of vacation to gather some sources for the village. No one saw his daughter after that. When they killed Macie's best friend, Phillip, she was so pissed off that she ran to the forest, never once looking back. Macie ran and ran until her legs could barely carry her. She stopped as she approached a broken oak log lying in the center of the path to catch her breath. She held her chest, listening to her heart pounding through her ears. A single salty tear slid from her flushed cheeks. Macie could have turned around and gone back, but she climbed over the log. She would do anything to get away from the murderous townsfolk. Macie kept trudging forward. Her muscles ached in protest, but she couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to kill the mayor and townsfolk herself. So she kept going. Macie discovered not too much further away was a rickety bridge. It was terrifying. Surely no one was brave enough to cross it. No one except for Macie. The bridge swayed back and forth with the wind. A few pieces were missing, the third and second to last step, to be exact. The bridge had to be a hundred years old at the least. Macie gripped the sides and carefully stepped over the missing pieces. A few times, Macie questioned her bravery, thinking perhaps she was downright stupid. Macie was over halfway across when she decided there was no going back. With bravery and determination, she made it to the other side. She sighed in relief and tried her best to make her wobbly legs from buckling beneath her. Macie heard several twigs snap behind her, causing her tail moving once more. She scurried down the hilltop until she saw the top of a roof peaking in the distance. She could not believe it. Past the bridge and down a steep hill, she discovered another village. Curiosity spread through her veins like a vicious disease. She stepped closer and closer until she saw them. Quickly, she hid behind a huge pine tree, not caring how rough the branches felt upon her ivory skin. There were people aimlessly roaming the streets one after the other. Not one was talking or playing. Their heads were pointing to the sky, almost as if their necks were permanently stuck that way. Their clothing, Macie, could tell were made of the most beautiful silks and cotton. One woman had what looked like a dead fox fur around her neck and a beehive in her hair. Macie glanced down at her tattered brown dress and felt envious. Each chance she got, she came back to learn more about the village her family never mentioned. After some time passed, Macie discovered a lot about the town. They didn't live like the Valquerians at all. The villagers prospered and thrived on new and inventive ways to make life easier. The modern gadgets always fascinated the villagers, in hopes of one day controlling the world with just a touch from their ever exploring fingertips. They were filthy rich too and spent their money carelessly. They called themselves the Langlands. Macie was very observant. She learned both villagers were as bad as the other. One village gave people very little to thrive on. This way of living made the villagers insane. The other town, they gave them too much, and it made the people greedy and unmanageable. Macie didn't have to live there to tell they were cold and secluded from one another. Macie sat on a stump and shook her head, "People f*****g suck." Another year has passed. Macie's father caught wind that she would attempt to run away before her eighteenth birthday. He was livid. Being eighteen, without a mate, and a virgin is unheard of no matter what part of the lands she dwells in, but Macie doesn't see the point in settling for some pompous ass fool just because the town says so.  Once again, Macie ran away, listening to the screams of her father and a few of his servant's heads being threatened. Slick on her feet, Macie weaved in and out of the trees, across the rickety bridge, and right to the small corner of the creek where no one could track her footprints. Macie sighed, "Thank God, that's over with."  She squatted to take a sip of water and stayed there for a few minutes before drying her mouth off and walking along the familiar path. The soil was soggy from the storm that had just passed. There were a few spots on the ground that was slippery, but she was cautious until she fell flat on her face. Macie felt the pain pierced through her palm from catching the fall.  What the f**k! The sound of another human gasping for air bought Macie quickly to a stand. Several feet in front of her was a broken log laying across a pathway and two werewolves holding the man in the air with drool dripping from their fangs. She covered her mouth and gasped in shock. Not caring about the mud, she did her best to pull herself up and step back one step at a time, being sure not to turn away from them.  Macie thought they were giants compared to her. One stood eight-foot-tall the other just under seven. Both have wire, brown fur, and cherry-red eyes. Back and forth, they paced, snarling at a helpless human they dropped to the ground. Macie thought they were werewolves at first because there was over one, but the more she looked at them, she saw the mark of the rogue on the center of their foreheads. The man cried and begged for his life. Macie felt helpless. Once again, another human's life was at stake, and there was nothing she could do about it. She fussed beneath her breath. "Dammit! I should have looked away or stayed hidden! I am such a fool!" A deep voice, one she never heard before hissed inside her head. "You're right. You are a fool." Macie silently moved to the left and right. There was no one else around her that she could see. "Who was that?" She whispered nervously, "Who is there?" The rogues blinked several times. They tilted their heads like humans do when they are confused. "Are you going to answer me or be a coward?" She asked bravely. A growl echoed through her ears. She squeezed them tight, but blocking the sound was useless. "Why couldn't I have just kept her mouth shut?" Macie moaned through the loud noise. The rogues sniffed the air, pleased at her scent, and dropped the helpless man. He attempted to crawl away., but the seven-foot rogue whipped his body around towards the man and pinned him to the ground with his razor-sharp claws. Macie watched in horror as the eight-foot rogue ripper the head right off the man in one bite. "No!"  Macie shook her head back and forth at the gruesome sight. Tears flooded her face. The man's head laid there, staring at her. Both of the rogues growled, their teeth spread past their lips, and their eyes darkened. The eight-foot rouge ran forward and grabbed her before she could get away. She screamed for dear life. "No! Please, no," but he didn't listen. He growled and lathered his lips with his grey tongue. The eight-foot rouge opened his mouth to take a chunk out of her trembling skin, but he stopped and smelled the air. Next to him, the seven-foot werewolf lowered his head and backed away. The rogue showed fear in his eyes as he looked to the ground. Ever so slowly, Macie turned around to face her fate. A wolf as white as snow, with amber yellow eyes, stepped out from the tree and released a single warm breath down her exposed skin.  "Dear God," Macie whispered. He didn't look like the rogues she thought to herself. His chest was broader, his paws twice as tremendous, and the way he stood there spoke nothing but power. The part that shook Macie the most was the single s***h across his long black nose. He glared at them, but spoke to her inside once more, "You should have remained hidden." "You said that before." I snap. "And I meant, every word."  The sound of his words lingers in the air. Mila had recognized them anywhere. "Oh, my God! It's you!"