Born of the Moon

Chapter 3: Malyka

MALYKA:

We run through the woods, racing for the safety of the pack house. I can still feel the adrenaline rushing through me at what I had just done. I attacked the Alpha of that second-rate pack.

“You attacked our mate!” Comes the irritated voice of my wolf.

“So what! I am no one’s mate, remember!” I snap at her.

“Whatever you say, Sweetheart.” She says, and I can almost feel her rolling her eyes at me. Rage fills me at her insufferable nickname for me. She started calling me that when we were only fifteen and hasn’t stopped since, no matter how much I chide her for it.

“Shut up!” I yell at her, snapping my teeth in emphasis.

“Uh-huh.” She replies, knowing her dismissal is exactly what will send me over the edge. I let out a snarl. I can’t believe I’m stuck with such an annoying wolf.

We reach our pack house and I shift back into my human form. “Well, wasn’t that a rush.” I say with a cackle, not caring that I am still naked.

My Beta, Lila, a tall glass of water if ever there was one, shifts from her dark brown wolf into her human form. “Well, you certainly made our intentions clear.” She challenges, placing her hand on her hip, still in her birthday suit. Most of us in this pack embrace our primal instincts and being naked is part of the territory if you’re a werewolf.

“And?” I ask though clenched teeth, glaring at her.

“And they might come looking for trouble now.” She replies, holding her ground.

“Let them come. We’ve never been scared of a fight.” I say, turning to leave.

“No, we haven’t, but this gives them the upper hand.” She insists, racing after me.

“Don’t worry, that idiotic Alpha of theirs won’t last the night.” I say with a sadistic smile.

“I don’t know if that will be enough. Did you see her Beta? He’ll step right up to fill her shoes and he’ll have a reason to attack us then, especially if they’re mates.” She adds.

“They’re not mates!” I snap at her. Jealousy coursing through me at the thought of someone else’s hands on my mate. I stop myself, I am no one’s mate. She can f**k whoever she likes. Bile rises at the thought, but I force it back down. Ignoring my instincts for the first time in a very long time.

Lila raises a brow in question, unphased by my reaction. I might need to remind her why I’m Alpha. “Don’t be so sure.” She says with a sly grin.

“I’m sure.” Is all I say before continuing my march back to the pack house. 

Our pack house is a glorious mansion with rooms as big as small houses. Most pack houses are massive buildings that have been kept for generations and expanded upon by each Alpha to leave their mark. I have seen some packs who prefer to build smaller standalone units for each family, but it isn’t usually possible for larger packs like ours.

The mansion we are living in now just came with the property where we have chosen to settle. Alpha Chern, our previous Alpha, secured it for us. We traveled here from the South where our home burned down in a vicious wildfire. It came upon us in the dead of night and by the time we realized what was happening it was too late. We lost almost half our pack in that fire and Alpha Chern decided that it wouldn’t be our downfall. From the ashes of destruction our pack would rise, bigger and stronger than ever before.

As we traveled and came across weaker packs he would kill the Alpha and anyone else who tried to appose him, those packs would then become a part of us. If they resisted, they died. We've never settled anywhere though, he always insisted it was too small, that we deserved something better. 

There is one thing that always stands out when it comes to our pack. From big to small, old to young, we are all skilled fighters. Most of us have trained since childhood to be vicious and cunning in a fight. The way Alpha Chern chose the packs we invaded was clever, but difficult once it came to integrating them into our ranks. 

He always targeted packs with small groups of fighters and often we had to kill most of them since they threatened to instigate uprisings. The new wolves that joined our pack had to be trained, we don’t really bother with the older wolves, but the young ones report for training daily. I was in charge of the program before becoming Alpha and I still make sure to be in the ring every single day to make sure our new recruits can hold their own in a fight.

I was always going to be Alpha Chern’s successor. I was his Beta, he practically raised me for the position. It is complicated when the person who killed Alpha Chern is technically still alive and could come for the title of Alpha any day. That is what I thought the meeting would be about today, but there is no way of knowing if that Alpha feels a connection to the pack. I won't let her take what Alpha Chern built without a fight and by the looks of her, it won't be a very long one. Although, Alpha Chern underestimated her and look where that got him.

Our pack has grown into a hive of sorts, but there is still a separation between all the different packs that we have picked up along the way. I know it is only a matter of time before some of the stronger wolves we are training challenges me. Especially those from packs that haven't taken too well to new leadership.

When Alpha Chern saw this mansion he knew this was finally home, but I saw the madness that was creeping into him with every pack we took over... He had a glint in his eyes when he heard of the pack in the neighboring territory. They are the biggest pack he'd ever tried to take and it was his downfall. 

We watched them for weeks before invading, their scouts were lazy, their warriors only barely in shape enough to be called fighters, and their Alpha, old and run down. It should have been a straightforward takeover. The only one we were mildly concerned about was his Beta’s son, but if he is as weak a fighter as the rest of them then it would hardly have been a problem.

What we hadn’t anticipated was the Alpha’s child. Honestly, I don’t even think anyone was aware of her until that night. Her Father and Alpha must have kept her away from the action. What I haven't been able to figure out is why. Her wolf is braver than anyone else in that pack and pretty impressive for a female, much bigger than mine anyway. 

If her Father had truly wished her to be his successor he should have had her in the middle of the action where she could learn and become stronger, maybe that's just it... Maybe he knew she wouldn't last long wearing the mantel of Alpha and saw no need to train her for it. Alpha Chern was nothing like that, he made sure that I learned how to use my small physique to my advantage and thanks to his guidance I have taken down wolves twice the size of that pathetic Alpha.

"That's our mate you're referring to." My wolf's voice appears in my head and I just role my eyes at her.

I suspect she hasn’t been trained at all, she had no idea I was going for her neck and any half decent fighter would see that move coming from a mile away. Considering her size she might just survive my small bite to her carotid artery, if she gets to a medic in time. Even a wolf’s magic can't reproduce blood that quickly. I feel an ache in my chest at the thought of her dying. My mate dying… ‘I am no one’s mate.’ I remind myself, pushing the pain down.

“Trying to kill our mate. This is a new low for you, Malyka.” My wolf chides in my head.

“We don’t have a mate… Besides, it was small. She’ll probably be fine.” I insist mentally, but even in my head I can sense the shakiness of my conviction.

“We need to move on, Sweetheart. This our second chance.” My wolf says soothingly, her voice soft.

“I could never do that.” I reply, almost a whisper in my mind and I can feel my wolf’s inward sigh.

I make my way to the Alpha’s quarters and jump into the shower, washing the muck and dirt from my long golden blond hair. As I close my eyes to let the water run over me the image of my mate plays through my head on repeat.  Her face when the bond snapped into place, the confusion as my voice broke into her mind, and the absolute look of terror as I sunk my teeth into her. My stomach starts churning into knots. Why do I feel so guilty?

“Stop taunting me!” I scold my wolf, realizing she must be putting these images in my head.

“I’m just showing you the truth. The feelings are all your own, Sweetheart.” Comes her smug voice.

“Get out of my head.” I yell at her.

“Hey! You can ignore me all you want, but for better or worse I’m in here, and for better or worse she is our true mate!” My wolf rarely loses her temper with me. So, I just shrink back into myself. Needing some peace and quiet I jump into bed straight out of the shower, my hair still a tangled wet mess and I try to drift off to sleep. My wolf doesn’t allow me to rest, because all I see in the darkness behind my lids is the shocked look on my mate’s face as I sink my teeth into her.

The next morning I wake up exhausted, I didn’t get any sleep, my wolf made sure of that. I roll out of bed and rub my face trying to get some life back into it, but I can already feel the fatigue setting in. I splash my face in the sink, letting the cold water breathe some life into me. I look at myself in the mirror, my naturally straight hair is an utter mess. I fight to brush it out for half an hour before it is finally knot free.

I move to the closet to pick out some clothes for the first time after my shift last night. I decide on some skin-tight black jeggings and a grey tank top. I don’t generally wear shoes or jewelry since I need to be able to shift in a moment’s notice. I make my way down to the dining hall for breakfast. 

Our pack has never really had a dining style. Three meals are served daily, the food is left in the serving trays until the next meal. So, anyone could eat whenever they liked at whatever time their schedules allowed. This is also the only time when I sort of blend into the rest of the pack and can take off my Alpha cap for the most part.

Lila quickly finds me as I dish some bacon and eggs into a plate. “Good morning, Alpha Malyka.”

“What do you want, Lila?” I retort, annoyed that she can’t let me have this time to myself.

She clenches her jaw at my dismissal of her title, but steels herself, continuing. “I just thought you’d want to know that the Alpha you attacked yesterday survived the night.” Her words send my body flooding with relief. I try to keep it from reaching my face, but just in case I turn away from her, moving to grab some toast. “Thank you, you’re dismissed.” Is all I manage to say.