Captured by the Alpha King

3 Onyx

3: Onyx

My claws ripped through flesh and bone, the hot blood spraying across my face as I tore the rogue wolf's throat out. His dying whimpers were music to my ears. I stood over his lifeless body, chest heaving, eyes burning crimson as I surveyed my kingdom.

The pack cowered before me, their heads lowered in submission. They knew better than to challenge my authority. I ruled these lands, and any who opposed me would suffer the same fate as the fool at my feet. Power surged through my veins, the beast within snarling in satisfaction at the kill.

I was the Alpha, the apex predator, the king of all I surveyed. None could match my ferocity or cunning. I had slaughtered all rivals, vanquished all enemies, united the warring packs under my banner. This was my empire of blood and shadow.

Yet as I stared out at the landscape bathed in moonlight, a restless longing stirred within me. My victories tasted like ashes, my kingdom a gilded cage. There was an emptiness inside that no amount of brutality could seem to fill.

What was this yearning that clawed at my soul? This sense that something vital was missing from my existence? I had everything my savage heart could desire, but the beast was never satisfied. It craved something I could not name.

I threw back my head and howled, the sound savage and raw. The pack howled with me, our voices merging in the night. But even as the chorus rose around me, I felt utterly alone. King of all I surveyed, but a slave to the gnawing void inside.

There would be no rest for me this night. My domain called, and I would answer—in blood.

The moon hung low and heavy, a luminous pearl in an endless sea of stars. I stalked through the forest, my paws silent against the soft loam. The scents and sounds of the night enveloped me—the musk of deer, the whisper of wind through leaves, the hoot of an owl on the hunt. My pack ran at my flanks, sleek shadows rippling through the trees. We were the night come alive, creatures of fang and fury.

The thirst for violence rose in me, that restless energy that could only be quenched with hot blood. We would run down our prey until their hearts exploded from exertion and terror. I led the hunt, my body coiled power, my instincts screaming for the kill.

And yet...even as we closed in for the slaughter, I felt that nagging hollowness within. Taking lives no longer held any thrill for me. It was merely reflex, as innate as breathing. Where once I reveled in the fear in my victim's eyes, now I saw only emptiness reflecting back at me.

My pack fed eagerly, snapping bones and tearing flesh. But I turned away, strangely detached from the c*****e. Moonlight illuminated a slender figure in the distance, standing lonely and apart. A woman...or was she? Curiosity stirred, awakening senses dimmed by routine brutality.

In my world of fang and claw, she was an anomaly. I approached slowly, sniffing the air. No scent of fear or blood-lust. Just...sadness. The closer I walked, the further away she went before disappearing entirely.

Tyrone lingered at the edge of the slaughter, his powerful frame silhouetted against the moon. My oldest friend and staunchest ally, yet even he did not understand the restlessness that gnawed at me of late.

I approached and clasped his shoulder. "It's done, old friend. Another successful hunt."

He grinned, fangs slick with gore. "We haven't had such rich feeding in ages. The pack will sleep well tonight."

I nodded absently, my thoughts still dwelling on the mysterious woman who had pierced my soul with a single piercing look.

Tyrone's smile faded. "What troubles you, Onyx? This was an easy victory. The humans never stood a chance."

I hesitated. Was this the time to bare my soul? If any could understand, it would be Tyrone.

"It's just...the hunt no longer satisfies," I confessed. "Day after day, it's the same. Stalk, kill, feed. I grow weary of this endless cycle."

Tyrone's eyes widened in surprise. "But the hunt is our nature. Our sacred birthright."

"I know," I sighed. "And yet...I yearn for more. There must be a greater purpose for beasts such as us."

Tyrone pondered this silently. As my beta, he knew me better than any. This was not the bloodthirsty king he was accustomed to.

"If the old ways no longer sustain you, we shall seek new horizons," he finally replied. "I shall follow where you lead, as always."

I clasped his shoulder gratefully. My course was still unclear, but with Tyrone at my side, I could face the unknown future. For now, that would have to be enough. I nodded, taking comfort in his steadfast loyalty. Still, uncertainty gnawed at me.

"This is more than just boredom with the hunt," I said. "It's just all so repetitive. Boring."

Tyrone's expression turned grave. "You speak of dangerous yearnings, Onyx. We are beasts, not men. The humans will never accept us as their own."

"And yet is there not humanity within us still?" I countered. "We think, we feel, we dream. Are we so different from them?"

"Different enough to tear their throats if they dare cross us," Tyrone growled.

I held up a hand. "Peace, brother. I do not suggest we shed our nature. Only that there may be room for more."

Tyrone studied me warily. "This is not you, Onyx. What has come over you?"

I turned away, gazing out into the night. "I wish I knew, brother. For now, let us leave this mystery for the darkness. A new day dawns tomorrow. I'm just feeling really f*****g off lately."

With a reassuring squeeze of Tyrone's shoulder, I left him to his thoughts. The future called me, though I knew not where it led. I only hoped my loyal pack would follow.

I glanced at Tyrone loping beside me. His presence was a bulwark against the tumult in my soul. But though steadfast, my friend's vision was limited. He could not fathom the infinite possibilities that teased my restless spirit.

I froze, ears pricked. In the distance, a wolf's lonely howl echoed through the valley.

"One of ours?" Tyrone asked.

I listened intently. "No. A lone wolf."

"Should we investigate?" Tyrone tensed, prepared to give chase.

"No." I held up a hand. "Let it be."

The wolf's lonely howl haunted me as we returned to the heart of our territory. Though surrounded by the familiar trappings of power - the crude thrones carved from ancient tree stumps, the caches of bones from countless hunts, the musky dens where our kind took refuge - I felt disconnected, adrift.

Tyrone could sense my disquiet. As the others dispersed, he pulled me aside.

"What troubles you, brother?" His dark eyes searched my face.

I hesitated. How could I explain this nameless longing even to one as close as Tyrone?

"I am restless," I said finally. "My spirit strains against the brutality of this existence. I want more. Maybe this is the longing Selene spoke about."

Tyrone frowned. "You speak in riddles. This is our home. Our sacred birthright. You hate Selene. You hate her mate bond and everything it stands for so what the f**k man?"

"I know." I clasped his shoulder. "But surely you have wondered if there is more beyond these boundaries?"

He shifted uneasily. "Our place is here with the pack. We protect what is ours."

I sighed. Tyrone could not understand. He's unmated, alone. His c**k rises and crests on whatever b***h will suck him off. Sure, mine does too, but somehow I feel... discontentment.

"Get some rest," he said gruffly. "The moon rises soon, and we must be ready."

Honestly, I just want to crack some skulls open and unleash this restless, angry energy that bathes me. I'm done with it all. f**k. I think I'm going through male PMS. That's a thing right? I've never felt a need to actually be with a woman longer than a few hours and yet I'm debating my entire existence as if a woman can cure the black that's marred me. What woman would even want this?

An abandoned wolf, half given to the darkness, with a f*****g Seraphina for a mother. Such an angel, she is. Leaving me. Just letting me chill in the filth of this pack while she explores new universes and does her own thing.

Tyrone looked at me, "you good man?"

"Yep."

He left me alone with my thoughts in the fading light. The moon's call was undeniable, but so too was the dark song in my soul, urging me to venture into the unknown.

I threw back my head and unleashed a wild, defiant howl. It echoed through the valley, reverberating with my tumultuous longing.

Let them hear me, I thought fiercely. One day, I will answer destiny's call.