Viraai: (Book 1) Awakenings

M A C K E N Z I E Imagine this. Having to take care of all the responsibilities your Father drops on you after passing away… together with your Mom. Yeah, I lost them both. Having to control a Pack with over 500 members and be expected to make decisions an 18-year-old isn’t supposed to make… Packs? You’re probably thinking. A pack of what? You might ask… To satisfy your suspicions, let me answer your question, plain and simple. Wolf Packs, or specifically, Werewolf Packs. Werewolves, Vampires, Witches… it’s all real. We have lived here for centuries and have kept our existence a secret for our own protection. But we weren’t always called Werewolves. Our name has been changed over the centuries, but our true name, what we really are… is something called Viraai… Legend says that we came into creation when the goddess of the moon, Selene created beings in her likeness, with the ability to transform into a Wolf… Aside from that, the power of a Viraai came with immense speed, agility, strength, a healing factor and some believe, magic as well… Each descendant of the moon goddess hails from a country located in Eastern Europe… a country called Viraania, the birthplace of the Viraai… otherwise known as the Werewolf capital of the world, ruled by the Alpha King and Luna Queen. I however, live quite far from Viraania… in a town called Crescent Peak, population 750. I don’t know how many times I’ve been challenged ever since I was handed the title. Honestly? It was hard to keep count after 47. Beating my opponents always came easy, all thanks to my training in various martial arts, training that was led by my Father himself. The goddess rest his soul… I hope to find my Mate one day and protect my Pack against Rogue Wolves, Hunters, Vampires and anyone who might be a threat to our survival. I’m more than ready. Oh, and did I happen to mention I’m a girl? Well if not... Hey, the name’s Mackenzie Xavier. Alpha Mackenzie Xavier. I still remember the doleful day my parents died, just before I was about to turn 18. It’s still a vivid and painful memory that I’m forced to remember every time I think of them. I remember my Dad lying on his hospital bed clenching my hand and my mother’s in his... 9 months ago… “Dad, ple-please don’t leave me...” I sob onto my Dad’s hand. Damn Rogues. I curse them to the depths of hell for torturing my Father like this. Wolfsbane and silver are toxic and very harmful to Werewolves, but it wasn’t just that, they injected him with something else, something the doctors had never seen before. All they knew is that it was killing him slowly and from the inside out, turning his blood black… some sort of poison. The Rogues took him from right under our noses and captured him, tortured him... He barely got away and that’s what brought him to his death bed... but not just him, my Mother as well. Because of their Matebond, whatever seems to be happening to him, is happening to my Mother as well… as his life force begins to fade, so does hers, and there is nothing she can do to stop it… This is one of the downsides of the Matebond. Most of the things your Mate feels, you feel them too depending on the intensity... Usually, people die along with their Mates if they’re not strong enough to let go of their bond… and unfortunately, my Mom isn’t… “Listen here, Mackenzie...” He squeezes my hand with his large one. “I need you to mentally and emotionally prepare yourself for what I’m about to tell you.” His hoarse voice croaks out, taking in a large gulp. “I’m passing my title of Alpha down to you.” He finally says and my heart jumps at the sound of his words, sending a cold shiver down my spine. “But Dad, I-I can’t,” I reply, surprised at what he had just told me, tears still making their way down my face. “Wh-what about Beta Danvers?” “No... I want you to take over from me... you’re my only heir...” He insists. I’m going to be an Alpha. I mean, being an Alpha would be really cool. You’d earn tons of respect from everyone and you’d be able to tell people what to do and they’d have no choice but to do it. I have to admit, that sounds awesome. But at the same time, it’s a huge responsibility. My Pack, The Blue Light Crescent Pack is the 3rd largest Pack in the country, where the Werewolf population is split into 2 main parts, the North and the South, which is again divided into different territories, each being owned by a single Pack. My Pack, which happens to be in the South, has over 500 members, with those of higher rankings and importance living in the Packhouse and the rest scattered across our territory, living in their own homes. As an Alpha, it is your responsibility to make sure people are living comfortably, rules are being followed, training sessions are held regularly to keep everyone fit and healthy and of course; be prepared to face any threats to your Pack. Aside from all this, there is also one slight issue. I’m a girl. Female Alphas are called Luna as in the Alpha’s Mate but I’m going to become an Alpha so what does that make me? Confused. The reason female Alphas are looked down upon is because in some parts of the Werewolf community, women are still considered weak, fragile, emotional, second to men and all the bullshit stereotypes you can think of. But this isn’t the 1700s anymore and times are definitely changing. “I trust that you’ll be a great Alpha, my dear.” He smiles at me before sighing deeply and looking at my Mom, who is crouched down beside me. “I love you both so much... my loves...” He says and kisses my Mom’s hand and mine before his eyes slowly flutter shut, leaving his heart rate monitor going on a steady... Beeeeeeep. “Honey…?” My Mom looks at me, her hand trembling as it holds onto mine tightly; she knows she is going to die as well. “Mu-mom, I love you,” I tell her and wrap my arms around her tightly. “I love you too...” She trails off, her grip on me becoming loose as I hear her take her final breath, her body becoming limp on my shoulders. I’ve lost them... and I can’t do anything about it... they’re gone... Tears fall from my eyes as I sob loudly, rocking her body back and forth in the hopes that that would somehow wake her up. But no. She is cold. “Dad...” I mumble, lifting my head to look at my Father, reaching for his hand and squeezing it. No, he is cold as well, they are both gone... T H E P R E S E N T. It wasn’t long before the Pack Doctors came in and pried me away from my parents’ corpses. I was hysterical after that, in complete shock. They had to sedate me because I went on a rampage and did a lot of damage. When I shift into my Wolf and my head is clouded with negative emotions, I sometimes blackout and so I don’t remember what happened after that. Honestly, I hate that memory and I wish I can forget it. I never want to go through that kind of pain ever again, I never want to feel that fragile again. After they died, my Dad’s younger sister, Annabelle, moved into the Packhouse and took care of me during the rough grieving period. She treated me like I was her own and made life bearable for me again, not just her, but my friends as well. About one week after my parents’ funeral, I was officially handed the Alpha title. There was a whole ceremony where the Elders had to bestow the power of an Alpha onto me and after that, people finally began showing me the respect I deserved. At first, no one took me seriously, mostly because I didn't have the ‘look’ of an Alpha and also because I'm a girl. I have bright blue eyes and waist-length jet black hair, but it's the blue highlights at the tips of hair that they thought were inappropriate. Everyone just thought I dyed my hair that colour, even my parents, but the truth is the ends of my hair just started to transform into that colour when I had my first shift at 12. Anyways, my Pack Members had no choice but to respect me. The power an Alpha has over their people is one that can never be ignored. I knew I had to step up, be a leader to them, what my father wanted me to be. I wasn’t going to let the fact that I was still grieving affect my duties as an Alpha. My parents are gone. And I can’t bring them back. So, after a few days of being an Alpha, I noticed people becoming more respectful towards me and to be honest, I kind of liked it. The Elders of the Pack told me that I had to choose a Beta, a second in command and once more, there were ceremonies for those as well, ones that took place in front of the whole Pack. My dad already had a Beta, Beta Danvers, but Danvers insisted that I should choose a new one and it was time for him to retire and become one of the Elders. I decided to choose Ethan as my Beta, one of my oldest and closest friends. At first, he was speechless but he eventually agreed to do it. Ethan is funny, charismatic and a bowl of energy. Most of the time he’s pretty insane but he’s one of my best friends so I love him anyway. I also had to choose a Gamma, a third in command, who was none other than Alexander. Unlike Ethan, Alex is calm and laid back, always avoiding trouble. He’s good at decision making, a Strategist, and so I thought he’ll be good at my side. Before my parents died we trained non-stop and continue to do so. Rogue Wolves and Hunters attack randomly so we have to be alert, plus a War is approaching fast and we need to be prepared. A War, between the Rogues, Hunters and the Packs of the South... Rogues are Wolves that have been casted out or shunned by a Pack and belong to no Pack at all. They’re misfits, criminals and the most dangerous of our species… But a few years ago, someone thought it would be a good idea to form a Pack that would include no one but excommunicated Wolves… that person being someone named Duncan Odaire, the self-proclaimed Rogue King that would one day be overthrown by someone even more powerful, smarter and ruthless than he is… Nathan Maddox, the current Alpha of Rogues, and one of the most dangerous people in this region. As for Hunters, these are Humans possessing no supernatural abilities and whose sole purpose is to wipe out all members of the supernatural community. They have tried countless times, but they will never truly get rid of us… Anyways, enough with the history lesson for now. It’s Monday, meaning today’s training session is with Ethan. We stand together alone in the gym located in the basement of the Packhouse which thankfully has windows to let the fresh forest air in as well as a good amount of sunlight. Ethan carefully grips onto a leather punching bag, one that I attack mercilessly with my fists, over and over again as I imagine the enemy right in front of me, or specifically, the person responsible for my parents’ deaths, even though up till this point, I have no clue who it was… “Hey... Are you okay?” I hear Ethan ask me, his dark hair coming into my line of vision just as I glance over at him, finding him staring back at me with concern, just as I huff and pause to catch my breath a bit. “Yeah, I’m fine, why?” I reply to him, punching the bag a few more times before pouncing from left to right on each foot as I regulate my breathing so I can get back to it. But back to his question… am I really fine? Obviously not, but there’s no use in telling him that and making him worry. In a few days, there’s going to be a meeting of the Alphas and Betas of the South East, a meeting where I am going be the only female Alpha, and I can already smell the sexism amongst all the other male Pack Heads and so, I’m going to settle on taking out all my frustration on a punching bag. “I know right? It must be hard being a female Alpha… I wish people would just get over it already.” Ethan interrupts my thoughts as he holds the punching bag tighter. “You’re right, but stay out of my head.” I pout and continue hitting the bag. Punch, Kick, Left hook, repeat. You see, we Werewolves can communicate through something called a Mindlink and it only works if you are in the same Pack, or if you are Mates, but in different Packs. It’s basically when you can speak telepathically and you don’t have to say anything out loud. You can also choose to block out anyone, if you don’t want them to invade your thoughts, which is what I forgot to do, causing Ethan to pry around in my head. “...If they happen to be misogynistic pricks, what’re you going to do if they don’t take you seriously?-,” Before he can finish his sentence, a sensation of rage overwhelms my entire body and I growl deeply to myself before swinging my leg towards the punching bag and deliver a swift roundhouse kick to the bag… and Ethan… I send Ethan flying across the room with the punching bag, ripping it out from the ceiling together with a small chunk of the roof, resulting in him colliding with the gym wall and creating a large c***k in it. Ugh, 4th time this week, and we just got it fixed… I gasp once I realise what I’ve done and quickly sprint over to him in a panic to check if he’s hurt… “Ethan? Are you okay? I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to hit so hard… again...” I rush out and crouch down to examine him just as he hisses slightly and rubs the back of his neck, but despite that, he gives me a light chuckle in response. “It’s alright. You’re getting better and better every time we practice.” He smiles his brown eyes looking back into my blue ones. I scoff lightly before I offer my hand to help him up as he gladly accepts my help, grasping onto my hand as he gets back to his feet. “Oh and that… that’s exactly what I’ll do to them,” I smirk at him. He laughs in response and raises his hands in a defensive manner. Almost on cue, I feel my stomach growl loudly. “I’m hungry...” I mumble, holding onto my stomach as I imagine all the glorious food I could be stuffing myself with when I get to the kitchen. “You literally ate a truckload before we started training.” He shakes his head at me, and I raise an eyebrow at him as we both make our way out of the gym. “Your point?" I question him as we walk side by side. "You Alphas and your weird ass metabolisms…” He shakes his head and chuckles softly before stepping in front of me and walking backwards. "Maybe if you take over from me one day, you’ll get it..." I say and Ethan scoffs at me with a smile just as we head up the stairs that lead to the ground floor. We leave the gym and go upstairs to the kitchen, being hit with different aromas of breakfast foods but above all else, I catch the alluring smell of pancakes with chocolate chips, my favourite food, and ultimate weakness. Walking into the kitchen we encounter Anna, who seems to be tending to more pancakes on the stove as she hums a soft tune to herself. “Ooh! Pancakes!” Ethan cheers and stretches out his hand, being seconds away from snatching a large piece off the plate, but Anna quickly swats his hand away with her own hand before he can pick it up, making him quickly pull his hand away and rub it lightly… “Hey...” He mumbles sadly. “You guys smell horrible, so I’m not letting you touch anything here unless you go take a decent shower.” She scolds and continues to tend to the remaining pancakes on the stove, picking up a silver spatula off the counter and flipping over another pancake on the frying pan. “Fine.” Ethan groans, emphasizing the ‘ne’. He leaves the kitchen in disappointment, his head hanging lowly as a small pout forms on his lips and I can’t help but think of how cute he looks! “No, I don’t.” He pouts even more, crossing his arms over his chest, obviously overhearing my thoughts. He scowls at me as he walks out of the kitchen and I form a heart with my fingers and grin at him up until the point where he leaves me alone with Anna. Once he’s gone, I drop my arms and look over to my Aunt, a smirk slowly forming on my face before I lunge onto her and hug her, purposely rubbing all my sweat on her just as she screeches in horror. “I love you, Auntie!” I grin maniacally and rub my face against hers. “Dude, get off me! You reek!” She exclaims, wiggling out of my hold and scrambling away from me to the other side of the kitchen at super-speed just as she begins wiping my sweat off her face in disgust. Seeing that she’s distracted, I take this opportunity to snatch a pancake from the plate and run out of the kitchen before she can even think of running after me. She could try but I’m way faster than she is. “You’ll pay for that later!” She yells, once I am out of the kitchen and partially up the stairs. I chuckle to myself and walk into my bedroom, closing the door, finishing off my pancake, which tasted phenomenal by the way. As I mentioned before, Anna is my Dad’s younger and only sister, being only 24. She and Dad possess the same features and similar characteristics. Pitch black hair, bright blue eyes and a badass don’t-mess-with-me-or-I’ll-gouge-out-your-eyeballs personality which I also inherited. She always looked up to him and she wanted to be just like him, he just had that effect on people. I’m pretty sure if my Dad wasn’t older than her, then it would’ve been her that was next in line to become the Alpha of our Pack instead of him. My Mom… well she was more calm and mellow than Dad was. She was also a caring and loving Mom who always saw the best in people and wanted to bring out the better in everyone, just as he was. That’s why everyone loved her. She was an amazing Luna, and the best mother I could ever ask for. I brush away the thoughts of my parents despite it being hard to do at times, and drag myself over to the bathroom, getting in and locking the door behind me. I turn the shower on and take off my clothes, running a hand through my hair, just before hopping in the shower after making sure the water is warm enough. Once I’m done, I dry myself thoroughly with a white towel and come out of the bathroom, walking over to my wardrobe and picking out some black underwear, a simple white t-shirt, black shorts, and black converse. After slapping on some lotion and throwing my clothes on, I head into my office, which is an en-suite connected to my room, to get some Pack work done.