The Forbidden Alpha

Trigger Warning: Death of a child. Asher Our pack was nothing like I remembered. It wasn't the boisterous pack anymore with pups running through the pack house. Or groups of teenagers beginning their training in one of the large outdoor arenas. Instead, it had become broken. Smaller splinter packs of The Pure, the only pure-blooded Lycan Pack in the country, were now scattered and hidden among the shadows of both the human world and the supernatural. The Pure had been attacked relentlessly by both hunters and rival werewolf packs for years. They picked the pack apart one member at a time until, one night, they led a full attack on the few remaining pack members that were left. Less than half had arrived and those that did were forced to abandon their homes and go into hiding. Hiding was no easy task either, since our scent was easily distinguishable from werewolves. We may all look similar in our wolf forms, but a Lycan's scent was much stronger than wolves. So the few remaining Lycan's chose to hide out in the farthest reaches of the country. In places where no human or werewolf has ever lived. Smaller groups were ment to keep us less conspicuous, but that seemed to fail after a while. One by one, each splinter group had been tracked down, its members were tortured and killed in front of one another. They were looking for something, though at the time I had no idea just what that was. The Nightmare: We were lucky to not have been found yet, but I could tell that my father was worried that what had been our sanctuary for a year now would soon evaporate into thin air. He had been correct. We just did not realize that it was going to be as soon as it was. “Asher, sweetie, bring your sister inside and you both go wash your hands. Dinner should be ready any minute.” My mother's voice called from the back door of the house. I don't remember much about the pack house we had originally called home. Those memories were fading away more and more each day. We had no pictures of our lives before abandoning our homes as they had all been turned to ash when the hunters set them on fire that final night. Adelynn and I were playing outside all afternoon in the falling snow after we had finished school. It was the first snowfall of the year and my sister and I were so excited and had been itching to get outside to play in the powdery snow that had fallen last night. This was always our favorite time of the year and seeing the ground covered in snow and the lakes frozen over made everything look so magical to a seven-year-old. We ran around the small front yard of the little farm house screaming and giggling, trying to catch snowflakes on our tongues and making snowballs to throw at one another. My sister and I were fraternal twins and connected at the hip pretty much. Where one was, the other was not very far behind. I was also very protective of my sister. I have already fought a couple of older pups in our small pack who thought it was okay to pick on her because of her size and because she had to wear glasses to see. It was a sore spot for her and I knew that anytime someone brought up her lack of eyesight or how small she was compared to the rest of the pups our age it would really bother her. It was unheard of for Lycans or werewolves to have health problems of any kind, since we typically have better immune systems than humans do, plus the rapid healing helps a lot too. But Addy had not been as fortunate as the rest of us. The doctors in our home pack did not have any real answers about why Addy was as small as she was or why her sight was so poorly. They chalked it up to the fact that since we were twins I had taken most of the nutrients during our mother's pregnancy, therefore causing her to not develop at the same rate. “Coming mother.” I yelled out across the yard. My throat was burning from the cold air with every breath. “Come on Addy, it's time to go in.” I said, holding out my hand for her, but she just shook her head and continued playing in the snow. “Please Asher just five more minutes.” She said as she rolled a snow ball along the ground, collecting what snow was there before trying to pick it up and place it on top of the two larger snow balls that she had already stacked on top of each other. “I have to finish my snowman.” She pouted as she struggled to lift the heavy ball of snow over her head. I stepped forward, taking it from her and placing it on top. “Fine, we can finish the snowman, but you have to go get the hat and scarf and a carrot from inside. I’ll go find him some arms and pebbles to make a face.” I said, and Addy squealed with joy and quickly ran inside to get the items. Addy would have to be very quiet once inside the house because if our mother saw her she wouldn’t be allowed to come back outside. Everything that was out in the open had now been covered in a layer of snow, so I went to the edge of the yard where the trees still provided a bit of cover. There was still snow covering everything, but it was a much thinner layer, making it easier to find what I was searching for. I dug around the bottom of several trees until I found two sticks that were long enough to make good arms for Addy’s snowman and found some stones near the creek that ran along the back of the house for the eyes and mouth. When I returned to the almost snowman, Addy had not returned yet. I stuck the sticks on either side of the middle ball before working on the face. By the time I finished, Addy still had not returned. Mother must have seen her and made her go get ready for dinner, so I made my way back up the little hill that the house sat on and walked inside the back door. The smell of mother pot roast filled the air and my stomach growled. It was quiet as I walked into the kitchen, too quiet, actually. “Addy, Mother?” I called out, expecting one of them to answer, but they didn’t. I placed my gloves and jacket on the mud bench before removing my snow-covered shoes. As I entered the kitchen, I noticed that there were still pots on the stove simmering and it looked like mother had been in the middle of preparing a salad from the lettuce and tomatoes that were still on the cutting board. Something wasn't right. I couldn't explain it, but I just had a feeling that something bad had happened. A loud thump came from the other side of the house. Fear crept up the back of my neck, causing the tiny hairs to rise as I slowly and carefully made my way towards my father’s office, making sure to make as little noise as possible. The sliding wooden doors were closed, but I was just barely able to make out the sound of voices and whimpering coming from the other side. I carefully eased the door open just enough to get a look inside the office. There I saw three men standing in front of my father's desk. They were all wearing dark-colored clothing and I was unable to pick up on any scent coming from them. That was instantly strange to me. It didn't matter whether someone was a human or a supernatural, everyone had a scent that told others supernaturals what they were. Witches typically smell like damp earth. Vampires reek of death, smelling like rotten flesh. While werewolves and Lycan's both smell like dogs with a separate scent mixed in to recognize which pack they belong to. The difference between them is that a Lycan's scent is stronger and more pungent, making it apparent that they are the superior being of the two. A human's scent is more along the lines of salt, like the smell of the ocean breeze. None of the three men standing in my father's office smelled like any of those. One of two men standing with their backs towards the doors moved slightly and I was able to see my parents and sister kneeling in front of them. I sucked in a breath at the sight of them. My mother had blood dripping down the side of her head while Addy was wrapped in her arms, clinging to her for dear life. My father looked to be slightly in front of them like he was attempting to shield them from the men in the room. “Fu*cking as**hole.” One of the men said as he wiped his face and I noticed the tint of blood on his hand as it fell to his side. “They weren’t supposed to be as strong as they are anymore without being on their pack lands.” The glint of a knife handle in the other guy's hand caught my attention. The blade was also coated in a thin layer of bright red blood. Looking back at my family, I realized my father was clutching his side with his other hand and blood was seeping out from between his fingers and onto the rug. “It doesn’t matter. The potion will do the job well enough until we get what we want." The one holding the knife said, and even though I was unable to see his face, I could tell that he was smiling as he spoke. "And what is it that you want? I will give you whatever you want. Just let them go." My father pleaded. His breathing was labored, coming in short pants as he tried to stop the bleeding. "Where is it?” The same guy said as he knelt down in front of my father and I could hear the amusement in his voice as he ran the sharp point of the knife blade down my mother's arm. The point left a thin red line of blood all the way down her tan skin. “It isn’t here. You really think I am stupid enough to keep it in my house.” My father growled, baring his teeth. The man stood up and took a couple of steps back.“Well, in that case, I guess you all won’t be of any more use to us now.” The man said as the other two grabbed my mother and sister and pulled them to where they were now facing my father. Addy’s scream when they grabbed her ripped my soul in two. There was nothing that I could do. “No, no please don’t.” My father yelled, his voice shaking now as silver knives were pressed into their sides and they both let out blood-curdling screams. “No!!” My father screamed and tried to rush forward towards them, but he was forced back onto his knees by the other man that had been standing behind him. “Should have told us what we need to know. Then maybe you would have been able to save them.” The man said as my father struggled to get to his mate and pup again. “Times, ticking Alpha what’s it going to be? The gun or your mate and pup? What's more important to you?” I sat shocked and unable to move as my mother and sister slowly bled out on the floor of the office. “I told you it was not here." My father growled loudly as he fought the man's hold on him. "Then where is it?" The clocked man asked once again. "It’s buried in the old Catholic Church on Westfield, near the massive oak tree in the back.” My father said, his breathing growing heavier now too. “Please let me save them?” He pleaded. “Now, see that wasn’t so hard, now was it?” the clocked figure said as he walked around to stand behind my father. His hood kept his features shrouded in shadow all except his mouth and the sinister smile that was on his face now as he watched my mother and sister fight for their lives while my father fought to get to them and save them was sickening. There was nothing that my father would be able to do to help them now. They were already gone. Their bodies now completely still. “I changed my mind.” He said and plunged his own silver knife into my father’s neck and twisted the blade. Blood dripped from around the knife and out of my father's mouth as his gaze locked on to me through the tiny crack in the door and I could see the worry in his eyes even as the light began to fade from them. White-hot pain seared through my chest at the loss of my entire family all in one night. My vision became hazy and I must have let out a sob or something because I faintly heard one say “What was that?” The voices inside the room were no longer distinguishable as my ears began to ring louder and louder. “You two go see what is out there.” I barely heard one of them say. Everything was now going dark as my vision tunneled into darkness. “Holy f*ck.” two voices said in unison. Even though I was not able to see through the darkness, I felt my lips curl at the sound of their fear in their voices.“You should be scared because you just woke up a monster.”