The Rise of the Alpha

03

Amos William Cambridge, the blood-related brother and beta of Alpha Mark, was quite the opposite of his older, composed, and grounded brother. Though not c.ompletely antisocial by any means, Amos was not fond of large gatherings unless he was able to sip on something strong, and it wasn't a stretch to say that he's always been a smidgen less than thrilled about the fact that he's the younger sibling of the two. His and Mark's ages meant that Mark would get to be River Falls' alpha when the time came 'round, and Amos would be their beta; that was simply the natural order of things around the land.

Alone, he stalked the forest in his wolf form, Cain, reflecting on the past few days and life in general, and scouring the area in search of some poor, unsuspecting creature that he could paw around. Whilst terrorizing a mole, his sharp sniffer picked up the tantalizing aroma of a couple of small rabbits nearby, perfect for a swift hunt and even quicker k.ill. Locked directly onto the mouthwatering scent, he tracked the oblivious critters until pouncing at last. One of the cotton-tailed little things got lucky, as it was able to escape Cain's damaging paws and scurry from the scene altogether. The other rabbit wasn't quite so lucky...not for a few moments, anyway, for as Cain was about to sink his teeth into it, he was halted up by a rather unwelcome interruption.

"Didn't Mother teach us not to play with our prey, dude?" Mark asked from several yards away, taking deliberately-slow steps toward his brother as he spoke.

Humor me, alpha, Cain bit out via mindlink, in turn making his brother chuckle. Whatever do you want?

"Well, first of all ... shift back," commanded Mark with his arms folded across his chest. "I wanna talk to you, not to your wolf."

Of course you don't, grumbled Cain, then he shifted back into Amos and stood tall and proud, utterly lacking the decency to conceal his manhood. "What's up? I'm busy."

Like a flame does a wax candle, Mark's jovialness began to slowly melt away. "Look ... I won't beat around the bush or anything," he stated plainly, his features rather neutral after being so upbeat mere moments ago. "Cyrus mentioned that he saw you in the crowd at the presentation today, but you were ... well ... quite on the hammered side. Someone else mentioned that you dipped out early-"

"HA!" Amos practically barked. "Well, pardon me, your Alpha-ness, but I've been babysitting our pack for the past few days while you and Lavinia have been gone. Now surely you thought me worthy of a drink or two as a reward for my services! And now, here you go interrupting my celebratory hunt. Hmph!"

"You know that thing attached to your neck is awfully swollen, dear brother," Mark joked in return, glancing from Amos's eyes up to the beads of sweat that dotted his brow. "Wisecrackery isn't your color."

Unmoved, a smirking Amos barked out another scoffing laugh. "Yeah, I suppose it isn't … in much the same manner as red is not yours," he quipped back, then denying his brother any further comments, he turned about and shifted back into Cain then took off through the trees in search of a different area to resume his hunt, thus ending the conversation before it could truly take off.

*****

~ten years later~

(Leila's POV)

"Catch me if you can, loser!" I yelled from over my shoulder at my best friend, Jory, who'd been lagging behind me since pretty much the beginning of our sprint. I was leading the way for the second time today, much to my satisfaction! I'm not sure if it's the alpha or luna – or both or whatever – in my blood that makes me a hair faster than most kids my age, but it sure has its advantages every once in a while…like right now, for example!

"Ugh! No fair! Wait up, Leila! Jeez!" Jory complained, practically wheezing and pushing herself to keep up the pace with me.

"Nope! I'm gonna beat you again!" I bragged as I barreled toward our makeshift home base in the Commonplace, but since my head was turned so that I could see what she was doing behind me, I wasn't exactly paying attention to what was going on in front of me…and before I knew it, I slammed into a broad, familiar chest, sending myself flying backward and landing on my butt with a hard THUD on the even harder ground. Oh, great. I'll be getting a lecture for this, I'm sure, I griped to myself, already dreading the 'talking to' that was sure to come from the not-so-happy interceptor.

"Love, how many times have the two of you two been told NOT to race in the Commonplace? Huh?" huffed my dad with his arms folded across his chest, mouthing apologies to the onlooking pack members as they passed us by. At least they were smiling at us instead of glowering like he was!

Taking advantage of the situation, Jory breezed right by me to the finish line, clapping and boasting of finally being able to beat me at my own little game. Frowning, I crossed my own arms over my own chest in clear, childish mockery of my dad's stance. "Aw, great! Now, I've lost!" I pouted, looking around his legs and casting a playful scowl at my visibly-triumphant friend.

"Playtime can wait, young lady. Right now, it's time to come in for lunch," Dad replied straightaway, not even the least bit bothered that he'd made me lose for the first time in ages. He then pulled me to my feet and helped me dust my dress off. "Your mother would have a cow if she knew you were running around in your new dress," he muttered in addition, and had it not been for the fact that being a werewolf means your hearing is heightened above that of your typical human, I'd have probably missed it altogether.

Hand in hand, we trekked across the Commonplace, smiling at the chattering, lunch-bound folks as we strolled past their cheery faces. Onward we went until we reached the packhouse, or what I jokingly refer to as our anything-but-humble abode. Even at my young age, I understand that not everyone in the land of Nerovia lives in the lap of luxury like my pack and I do…not that we're, like, brazillionaires or anything like that! The Moon Goddess has simply blessed us like the loving goddess she is!

"Alpha," Cyrus greeted with a proper yet thoroughly-unnecessary bow when we crossed the threshold, and as we made our way inside, he locked gazes with me and added in jest, "Your...rather-filthy Highness." He didn't usually call me Your Highness; in fact, most of the time, it was Pipsqueak or just Leila. I didn't mind any of the names, to be honest, and saw them as terms of endearment from an older brother more than anything else.

"Twinkles," I f.ired back with lighthearted intention, dodging a gentle chuck to my shoulder from him directly thereafter. 'Twinkles' is what I full-on affectionately call him when our playful banter gets roused up, and he's always been cool about it! I've never intentionally insulted him and can say the same of him in regards to me.

Dismissing Cyrus to the dining area, Dad led our way up the stairs, and when we reached our floor (the top one of three), he instructed me to change into some clean clothes then meet him at the bell. Curiosity ate at me! Numerous times, I'd seen him and my mom enter that bell tower's door to climb those stairs, but I had never been up there myself and could only wonder what business he wanted to tend to with me up there.

***

Ready at last, I bolted from my room then dashed down the wing directly to the bell tower's door and let myself, and from there, I cautiously ascended the winding staircase, emerging on high within a minute or so. Taking in the magnificent, panoramic view, my ten-year-old self felt on top of the world! "Wow! You never told me you can see for miles up here!" I remarked of the beauty of it all, marveling as I scanned the landscape slowly from right to left. I then caught sight of my dad motioning for me to j.oin him where he stood, so I promptly obeyed.

"You see all of that, Leila?" he asked, looking out upon our territory clear to its darkened border. "All of that is ours." The pride etched plainly across his features spoke volumes of his sentiments in regards to our beloved land, and I couldn't help but smile about it in return.

"Yeah ... and I'm gonna be alpha over it one of these days ... right, Dad?" I remarked, reading his expression for reassurance. "I'll be able to do whatever I wanna do, and-"

"Whoa, now ... just a minute, there, my girl," he interrupted me, a hand held up in reiteration of his command. Then, his eyes raked over the hustle and bustle below and he added, "Being alpha to those good people means more than just getting everything you want all the time. As their leader, it's your responsibility to them to be a kind and wise, loyal and fair, trustworthy and strong one. You must guide them with your head more so than with your heart..."

Truthfully, I ignored the rest of it. I already knew all of the speech he was pouring out, anyway, for it had been ingrained in me ever since I'd learned to talk! "Gotcha, Dad. I promise," I vowed when he'd finally gotten the lot of it out, offering him my pinky so that I could seal that promise in proper ten-year-old fashion. He obliged me, of course, and after telling me he would take me out in the morning to explore the woods a little and do a bit of training, we departed together to j.oin my mother and the others for another scrumptious lunch on yet another laid-back afternoon in River Falls. Yep…this is definitely the life, and I love every stinkin' bit of it!