The Fallen Alpha

2 | The Female Like No Other

KIERA

“I can’t tell you how amazing it feels,” my baby sister murmured, closing her eyes as she breathed a lungful of air. 

The earthy aroma of the soil permeated around us after the heavy rainfall drenched the woods, and it smelt of freedom. The forest was my light and air, and the soil beneath my feet was my haven. So, standing there, on one of the highest cliffs in the dark woods, I breathed the air of relief. 

“I know. We are shifters,” I reasoned. “Who the hell thought a house party would suffice for my baby sister’s sixteenth birthday?”

Ellora laughed beside me. Her sixteenth birthday celebration started from the stroke of midnight with all the other pack members and lasted the entire night. And being the daughter of the alpha, it was no less than a grand celebration. There was food, music and the party was in full swing.  

“Well, you know the rules, big sister.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you know me. I don’t do well with rules. It kills my mojo.” 

“Yeah, try explaining that to our dad,” said Ellora as she playfully nudged my ribs. “His head would spin if he finds out his daughters are alone, unchaperoned, and out in the dark woods beyond the pack lands.”

Our pack - The Crimson Moon - was one of the ancient packs alive, with the line of our ancestors dating back to the ninth century. According to the legends, we have originated from the Lycans, a variety of giant human-wolf with extraordinary powers. Once the Lycans were under the threat of extinction due to varied reasons, the Moon Goddess bestowed her divine blessings and created the pack of werewolves. All the more reasons that we should abide by the rules of the pack, no matter how inconvenient, and bow to our alpha. 

“It’s just not dad alone; your beloved mate will freak out too,” I reminded Ellora. “Shawn is quite protective of you.” 

“How long do we have, by the way?” she inquired.

I shrugged. “It depends. When Shawn finds out that you are missing from the pack lands and his wolf sniffs the trail you have left behind, give or take, thirty minutes.” 

“Thirty minutes,” Ellora whispered and looked up at the sky blanketed by countless stars and closed her eyes. “Thirty minutes of peace and quiet and moonlight.”

My baby sister was one of the lucky she-wolves who found her mate when she attained puberty at the age of fourteen. Shawn was next in line to be the alpha of his pack, the Storm Riders, and already one of the strongest wolves of his age. He was everything a female would want for, and yet Ellora was partly relieved to sneak out with me in the dark woods. But, somehow, it did not sit well with me. 

“Ellora, you love him, right?” I asked with a strain of concern in my voice. 

Her eyes snapped open, and she turned to me. “Of course I do; he is my mate. He is the Goddess’s chosen one, Kiera.” She took a small pause, averting her eyes at the distant cliffs covered in mists. “But there are times I wish he would give me some space and not expect me to follow him around obediently.”

This I understood. Both Ellora and I were the daughters of the alpha. And while women were not allowed to functions as the head of the pack, other than being a Luna, the genes we carried craved more freedom. We wanted to be opinionated, heard, and regarded. Sadly, the orthodox fiber of our pack did not allow such sanctions. 

Women in our pack were loved, protected, and cared for. And in return, we bowed to the alpha and remained obedient to our mates. 

“The thing is, he is just not your mate. He is also the future alpha of his pack, and all the more reason, he needs to look stronger and controlled. I guess it’s in the alpha genes of the male wolves. You will be fine, Ellora.” 

“I know.” I watched her smile briefly as she pushed the curtain of copper brown locks behind her ears. “Apart from his over-possessive traits, he truly treats me like a queen. He respects and cares for me in a myriad of ways, and as such, I have nothing to complain about.” 

“It’s truly a blessing to have your mate love and cherish you until the Moon Goddess claims our souls.” I couldn’t hide the subtle hint of pain in my voice. At least not in front of my sister, who was always the closest one to me, one who was bound to me in blood. 

“I am sure the Moon Goddess has chosen someone for you - someone far special and accommodating.” 

A laugh tore out of my throat. “Accommodating? What does that mean?” 

“It means my sister deserves the best,” she said with a bit of pride in her voice. “Dad is right about one thing, Kiera—that you are special. That the wolf who would have your heart would be the fiercest of them all.” 

Despite being the alpha wolf of our pack, dad loved both of us in his own right. 

While I soaked in her comforting words, I couldn’t help but shiver at the prospect of being mateless. She-wolves are generally mated between the fourteenth and eighteenth years, right after hitting puberty. Once we master the art of voluntary shifting of our wolf form, our mating senses are heightened. But if a she-wolf was found mateless, the pack assumed that the Moon Goddess had cursed her. And with every year of her life passes, her sanity grows in her and ultimately kills her spirit animal. 

So, more than the absence of a mate, it was the prospect of being insane, and rogue chilled me. But there was a question of my freedom as well.

“I wonder what would be expected of me as a mate.”

“Do you think you can be obedient to him?” She counter-questioned. 

And I did not have a solid answer for that. The alpha blood was so thick in my veins that I could never fully love someone who was going to be my mate on completely equal terms in all circumstances of life. So while I wanted to abide by the laws of my pack and always took pride in being a part of it, the sheer orthodox structure did not bore well with me. 

I wanted to be as free and wild as the spirit animal I was destined to be. After all, a wolf was meant to be tamed. 

I stared up at the dark sanguine sky with the tinge of vibrance as the sun prepares itself for a bright new day, but the moonlight was still prevalent. There was still time for the first ray of sunshine to touch the surface of the earth. 

“I truly do not know of the parameters of my heart, but my wolf would agree that I am exactly not the female who surrenders without reason.”

“I wouldn’t want anything less for my beloved sister.” 

That was the end of our abrupt conversation as we sat there, absorbed in complete silence, and took in the sight of the magnificent scenery of the earth with the sky stretched out beyond the horizon.

Females in our pack weren’t allowed to stroll further than the pack territory, especially beyond the border, but this was an entirely unclaimed region. And Ellora and I have been meaning to sneak out to explore this region for a long time. We just happened to be lucky on my baby sister’s sixteenth.

Suddenly, Ellora turned around, causing me to be on alert. “What’s wrong?”  

“I think I heard footsteps,” she muttered, a little unconvincingly.

The thirty minutes of our unencumbered freedom was up? Did Ellora’s mate, Shawn, and other pack members have already found us?  

My eyes quickly scanned the site, and my olfactory nerves were already on high alert. “Strange, I am not picking up any smell. Are you absolutely certain?” 

Ellora shook her head and sighed deeply. “I might be wrong. Maybe it’s just those ugly jungle cats.” 

“Right.” I wasn’t very sure about it, though. “Let’s walk back to the packhouse. I don’t want anyone seeing us out here.”