20 YEARS AGO

"Alpha Mason!" I quivered in horror as I watched from behind my mother a 6’2” perfectly built man bark at my father. But he wasn't just any man. He was the Lycan King. Alpha of Alphas. Lycan Isaac Perkins.

His blue irises were sharp, ferocious, and overly threatening as he huffed to my father who courteously remained in his stance. His messy dark hair danced in the air, his breaths escaped brisk and short.

"All evidence points to you!" he growled as he sauntered away from my father, walking amidst pack members that encircled us. His legendary silver sword was affixed to his hip, swallowed by its black metallic sheath.

"And for the crime of this treason you've committed, your only punishment," the Lycan pursed his lips as he neared my father once again.

I noticed my mother sobbing in silence. Beta Walker's countenance wasn't indifferent. There was also this unexplainable tension brewing amongst my pack members. Fear started to bloom in my heart. I couldn't comprehend what the Lycan was saying, but from these things I noticed, I knew my father was in danger.

"Is death!" the Lycan declared and almost everyone gasped. My mother covered her mouth with her palm while tears streamed down her cheeks. I clutched her leg, feeling another pang of pain surge within me. The Lycan was going to kill my father. Right before me, right in front of his pack members.

For what offense? And why couldn't anybody say something? Above all, why did my father simply bow his head like he had accepted his fate? Why?

"Have you any last words to say, you traitor?" The Lycan growled with his terrifying gaze solely on my father. My lips parted but no air escaped. I could feel my heart beating uncontrollably.

"I am innocent, Lycan, but I accept your judgement wholeheartedly," he solemnly avowed, and in an unprecedented moment, my eyes witnessed horror. The Lycan's shiny blade had pierced through my Father's heart.

"Father!" I screamed as I inadvertently trotted to the center, approaching my dying father as he collapsed to the ground while The Lycan returned his blade to its sheath.

"Father!" Warm tears soaked my eyes as my father wore his accustomed soothing smile. Except this time, it hurt.

"K-Kevin—" my father stuttered as his left palm reached for my cheek while blood soaked his grey shirt.

"Dad, you can't leave me! Stay with me!" I screeched regardless of the eyes on us. A tear trickled from his perfect hazel eyes before they slowly closed. His warm palm gradually dropped from my cheek to the ground.

My entirety quivered. I started to hyperventilate as my eyes twitched from horrific awe. My father was dead! The kindest man I had ever known had fallen to the blade of a Lycan!

"Father!" I yelled as I grasped onto him, wailing like a crazy being while the others simply froze.

That was the day my world died. Darkness, emptiness, pain, and anger began its hold on me. It was at that moment, I felt my insides burn outrageously, claws protruded from my tiny fingers, and my bones started to crack in the most painful way. Breaking and mending back into hind legs, shiny black fur started to extend from my skin as I felt canines extend and a growl escape.

This was my first transformation into my wolf. At the age of six.

PRESENT TIME

My eyes faintly awoke with the usual dark empty feeling looming my insides. My senses were quick to be welcomed by my small room which reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. I lazily arose from my rickety bed which creaked, rubbing through my long brown hair frantically. As I progressed into my bathroom, I was immediately welcomed by my full-length mirror opposite me, revealing my pathetic status.

My hair was overly messy; my hazel eyes retained its accustomed threatening glare, and my full brown beard worsened it all. Making me look more like a hopeless miserable person.

But it's true. My life alone is a mess. My father was tagged a traitor, and I was the son of a traitor who had a premature transformation. The once respected Manchester family was now a stain on the Greenville Pack.

My hands curled into a fist at that thought. At the same time, my eyes went to the mirror again, reflecting a black wolf face tattoo on the right side of my chest and my black royal family tattoo inscribed on my forearms. Roses.

They were a perfect reminder of my father, a perfect reminder for vengeance.

I took a quick bath and slipped on my usual baggy brown shirt and trousers. Leaving my hair tousled, I slipped a pack of cigarettes into my pockets.

I emerged into our parlor decorated with old furniture, a small dining table and rickety couches.

"Morning, Mom," I solemnly greeted in my silky voice as I joined her in the small kitchen where she busied herself with the dishes. Her brown hair was in a loose ponytail. Her face displayed signs of weariness, and her browneyes told just how much she had cried during the night. She must have slipped into depression again.

She beamed a smile at me, one I deemed superficial. I slipped out my lighter and a cigarette. Immediately, she snatched it from my lips, glaring at me.

"Breakfast is ready," she stated as she gestured toward the wooden dining table laden with pancakes. I don't know why, but it brought back memories of my father. Times when we used to eat as a family.

"Are you going to keep standing here or have some food." My mother's voice broke my thoughts as she progressed to the dining table. I cleared my throat briefly before relaxing on a chair opposite my mom's.

The wooden door suddenly creaked open, and a brown-skinned man quietly ushered himself in.

It was Uncle Walker, who was wearing a joyful smile that only ruined my appetite more.

Walker was my Father's Beta, and ever since his removal, he's been the only one who stood by us. He's also been my secret trainer, preparing me for the Alpha position forcefully taken from us ever since my Father's gruesome death.

"Good morning, Luna Serene," he chirped as he joined us. My mother heaved a heavy sigh.

"I'm no longer Luna, Walker. It's been twenty years," my mother said. Her words so heavy and heightened the pain in my heart.

"I only recognize you as my Luna; besides, we haven’t had one for two decades now," Walker answered as he took a slice.

"The earlier you stop calling me that, the better for all of us. We don't wanna get under Alpha Jason's skin," my mother replied, and my palms immediately curled into a fist.

None of my pack members, not even my mother, could fight for my father. They all just watched in despair as the Lycan King installed my step-uncle, Jason, as the new Alpha. Not only does it disgust me, but it also hurts.

My father was innocent, though there was no evidence to prove it. I believed him. He was the kindest, sweetest, and warmest man I had ever known. There was no way he could have committed treason, and I wished my mother could have thought this way too. In the end, she was just like the others, resigning herself to cruel fate.

A fate I've vowed to change! Vengeance for my father.

I arose sharply from the dining table, almost startling them. And then I progressed outside, greeted by the beautiful sun. Birds chirped in their nest as I toured amidst tall trees with the wind gently greeting my skin with warmth.

I slipped out a cigarette and lighter, impatiently lighting the cigarette before letting out a smoky puff.

"And there goes the son of a traitor!" said an overly familiar feminine voice. My legs came to an abrupt halt in front of Greenville square. It was a large area, the same place my father was killed and the same place an Inter Pack competition would be held today where several packs would engage in nonsensical athletic shit just for medals.

My ferocious glare found Imogen alongside Jerry and his two idiots he calls friends.

Imogen has been at war with me ever since I outrightly refused her. Jerry was the Alpha's son who was just as sinister and cunning as his father, committing different atrocities as they wished.

"What are you gonna do?" Jerry scoffed as he curled his arm around her shoulders. "Hit her?"

My breathing became heavy, and my eyes lit with rage as my palms curled into a fist. Seconds were passing, and my anger only bloomed. The hairs on my skin arose. I was thinking of ways to murder these idiots.

"Say one more word, and I promise you'll lose that tongue of yours," I bellowed through gritted teeth as I let out a huff. Their mocking countenances morphed into anger, and it took grace for me not to snap. I briskly stormed away from the scene to my secret training room.

I inched towards a punching bag with werewolf speed. Throwing several furious punches at the bag, I imagined it to be Alpha Jason, but deep inside, I wanted it to be him. I was tired of waiting, tired of being humiliated, tired of being despised, tired of watching the famous, peaceful, and beautiful Greenville slowly crumbling under Alpha Jason's reign. I'm supposed to be the Alpha! I’m the legitimate one,not some half-bastard abusing my father's position.

"I heard of your antics with Jerry and Imogen," Uncle Walker said beside me. I stopped hitting the bag, wondering how he had gotten beside me without my notice. His expression displayed worry, but I huffed.

"They should count themselves lucky I didn't hit them!" I growled while sweat broke on my forehead.

"And I've told you countless times to ignore them. You should focus on the goal."

"I've had enough!" I barked with quick and short breaths. I don't know why, but his words only drowned me further in the ocean of frustration and anger.

"Kevin, I need you to calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" I huffed to his face. "You're not the one being insulted daily nor are you the one who lost an innocent father," I stated in a growl.

"I am! My mother and I!" I yelled. "Did you even see her face this morning? How depressed and broken she was?"

Uncle Walker let out a heavy breath.

"Today marks the end of this all. I'm going to challenge Alpha Jason and end him and his minions for good!" I avowed with a powerful bellow. "Right in front of everyone just like they ended my father!"

I couldn't properly comprehend the words that came out of my mouth. But one thing I knew was I was crazily angry and my wolf, Lupus, was in support.

"Kevin, stop taking rash decisions!" Uncle Walker raised his voice as he inched closer, holding my gaze so both of us found it impossible to waver.

"We're talking about Alpha Jason here. You can't just wake up one morning and say you want to face him! He's an Alpha!" Uncle Walker yelled. "And you're just not ready yet." He ended on a relatively calm note, but it irked me.

I jerked his collar with both hands, giving him the iciest glare as I almost raised him above the ground.

"I'm not ready?" I growled while his calm status remained unmoved. "For twenty years—" My voice encompassed the room's entirety.

"For twenty years I've been training, fighting, just to get my family's position back. And you tell me I'm not ready?" My grip on his collar tightened as I inched my face closer to his.

"Now listen to me, old man. I'm going to Kill Alpha Jason, take back my Alpha position, and then end the Lycan King the same way he killed my father!" I bellowed as I released him from my grasp.

Uncle Walker breathed heavily as he adjusted his collar.

"You're making a mistake, Kevin. I won't allow it!" He raised his voice yet again.

"Try and stop me," I threatened and furiously stomped to the exit, cigarette and a lighter in my hands.

"Kevin! Kevin—" Uncle Walker chased behind me, but I sped off with my werewolf speed.

#############

"Before the games begin…" I heard the irritating voice of Alpha Jason as I progressed towards Greenville square, the only place where every pack member gathers to hear the Alpha's nonsensical speeches.

"I warmly welcome every pack and Alpha gracing us with their presence for this year's Inter-Pack competition."

My palms curled, and I once again trotted with werewolf speed towards the podium.

"Alpha Jason!" I barked as the crowds parted for me as I made my way towards the podium. My voice easily commanded silence, and all attention was on me. My gaze was fixed firmly on the hateful face of the old man, Alpha Jason.

I climbed onto the podium, both of us exchanging icy glares at each other while murmurs brewed in the crowd.

"Isn't that the son of the traitor?"

"What is he thinking being here?"

"He is definitely going to stir up trouble just like his father!"

"Of all occasions, must it be now?"

But I couldn’t care less. My aim was to watch this man crumble.

We stood meters apart from each other as the wind made my baggy shirt and messy hair dance gently.

"I, Kevin Manchester, hereby invoke the Alpha Duel law. I challenge you, bastard, to a fight to the death!" I provocatively announced. My werewolf hearing could pick the surprise murmurs from the crowd.

Alpha Jason's palm curled into a fist, and the smile he had once worn shrunk into disgust.

"Son of a traitor!" he bellowed. "How dare you?" he ferociously spat out.

My teeth gritted as another wave of anger coursed through my veins. Lupus already felt like ripping him apart.

"You can't deny the law, you bastard!" I growled, still maintaining our gaze on each other.

"Kevin!" Uncle Walker yelled agitatedly from the crowd. "Stop this nonsense now!" he ordered, but I didn't budge one bit. "Kevin!"

"He's right, Alpha Jason. It's the law," an Alpha asserted from one of the special seats.

"I accept your challenge, son of a traitor!" Alpha Jason announced and another round of murmurs began again.

"Took you long enough," I remarked as I peeled my shirt off, revealing my perfectly built body under the glory of the sun.

"You're just like your father," Alpha Jason stated. "Power hungry, cunning, and devilish. You should have been killed alongside that traitor."

"My father is not a traitor!" I roared, and in that split second, all my pain and aggression transformed into my strength. I rushed towards him with werewolf speed, aiming to deliver a blow that will break his head off.

But he dodged them off easily. I was getting desperate by every second, making me lose my sanity even more. Soon, he caught my right arm with ease. He dislocated my bone with one mighty hit from his knee. While I writhed in bone wrenching pain, a powerful blow hit my stomach, taking the air out of my lungs. With his werewolf speed, I felt another blow hit against my left ear. My ear went deaf immediately with ringing in my head.

All this happened in a second, and we hadn't even changed to our wolf forms yet.

I now began to understand what Uncle Walker meant by me not being ready yet.

Alpha Jason curled his hairy arm around my neck as he stood behind me, choking me. Any moment now, I was certain my neck would be broken.

"Alpha Jason!" I heard a familiar voice cry. I knew that voice. It was my mother!

"Please have mercy! He's my only child. Forgive him, please," my mother wailed as she climbed to the podium on her knees, crying helplessly.

Seeing those tears alone weakened my resolve. It hurt more than the pain I had incurred. It made me regret ever succumbing to my anger.

"Only because of respect!" Alpha Jason blared as he let me go. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"But your husband was a traitor, and your son seems to be following that path."

My teeth gnashed.

"The both of you don't deserve this pack. Hence, I hereby banish you and your pathetic son from Greenville Pack!"