Chapter 17 Chapter 17
Unknown Alpha’s POV
I felt her awaken.
The moment it happened, my entire body went still.
The wind sweeping across the mountains froze against my skin, carrying a strange scent I had not felt in years.
Ancient. Powerful. Wild.
My wolf lifted its head inside me.
'Her'.
The single word echoed through my mind like thunder.
For a moment, the world seemed to pause. Then the mountain beneath my feet trembled slightly.
Just enough to remind me that something in the balance of power had shifted.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
The moon hung high above the cliffs of my territory, bathing the endless forest below in pale silver light.
Far below, wolves moved through the trees, my wolves were patrolling the land even though no other pack dared to enter.
No Alpha challenged me here.
None were foolish enough to try. Because everyone knew what happened to those who did. I stepped closer to the edge of the cliff, staring into the darkness stretching across the horizon.
Somewhere beyond those distant mountains....
She had awakened.
My wolf stirred again.
Restless.
'Find her'.
My jaw tightened slightly.
"We will", I murmured.
Behind me, footsteps approached carefully.
No one in my pack was stupid enough to sneak up on me. Whoever was coming had to made sure I heard them while they were walking.
"Alpha".
I didn’t turn around.
"Speak".
My Beta, Rowan, stopped a few steps behind me.
"The scouts have returned".
"And?"
"They say something strange happened tonight".
Of course it did.
I could still feel the echo of that power spreading across the land like ripples in water.
Rowan continued.
"Every pack along the northern border reported the same thing".
I finally turned to face him.
His expression was tense.
"The wolves started howling".
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"All of them?"
"Yes".
His voice dropped slightly.
"Even the rogues".
Interesting.
That confirmed what my instincts had already told me. She hadn’t just awakened.
She had called them.
Every wolf within miles had felt it.
My wolf shifted again.
Excited. Hungry.
'She’s real'.
"Yes", I said quietly.
"She is".
Rowan frowned.
"Alpha?"
But before he could ask more—
A distant howl echoed across the mountains.
Long. Deep. Into the forest.
Another Alpha’s voice.
Rowan’s head snapped toward the forest.
"That came from the eastern ridge".
Another howl answered it.
Then another.
Different voices.
Different packs.
My lips curved slightly.
"So they felt it too".
Rowan looked uneasy now.
"What does this mean?"
For a moment, I said nothing.
Instead, I walked past him slowly, descending the stone steps carved into the cliffside.
The moonlight followed us.
"You remember the old stories", I said.
Rowan stiffened slightly.
"The legends?"
"Yes".
He hesitated.
"You don’t actually believe those are real, do you?"
I stopped walking.
Slowly, I turned to look at him.
"Tell me something, Rowan".
"Yes, Alpha".
"When was the last time every wolf in the north howled at the same time?"
He frowned.
"That’s never happened".
Exactly.
I resumed walking.
"Legends don’t appear without reason".
Rowan followed behind me.
"You’re saying the Omega Queen has awakened?"
The title hung in the air between us.
My wolf growled softly.
'Mine'.
I ignored him.
"For centuries", I said calmly, "the strongest Alphas searched for proof she existed".
Rowan’s voice lowered.
"Most believed it was just a myth".
"They were wrong".
Another distant howl echoed through the night.
Closer this time.
My eyes lifted toward the forest. Someone else was already moving.
Perhaps several Alphas.
Kael, most likely.
That arrogant bastard never missed an opportunity to chase power.
My wolf’s growl deepened.
'If he touches her....'
"He won’t", I murmured quietly.
Rowan blinked.
"Alpha?"
"Nothing".
We reached the clearing near the base of the mountain.
Dozens of wolves moved through the shadows.
Warriors. Hunters. Killers.
My pack.
Every single one of them turned toward me, the moment I stepped into the moonlight.
Respect. Fear. Loyalty.
They bowed their heads slightly.
Rowan looked around the clearing.
"You’re thinking about going after her".
It wasn’t a question.
I studied the restless wolves surrounding us.
Then I lifted my gaze back to the distant forest.
"I’m not the only one".
Rowan sighed.
"If the stories are true..."
"They are".
"...then every Alpha will be hunting her".
"Yes".
"And if they find her first?"
My wolf’s claws scraped against the inside of my mind.
Rage burned in my chest.
"They won’t".
Rowan looked skeptical.
"You can’t be sure of that".
I turned toward him slowly.
For a moment, silence stretched between us.
Then I smiled.
A slow, dangerous smile.
"Rowan".
"Yes, Alpha?"
"Have you ever known me to lose something I wanted?"
He didn’t answer.
Because we both knew the truth.
Never.
A sudden memory flickered through my mind.
The old seer of my pack.
Her wrinkled face illuminated by firelight as she spoke the words that had haunted me ever since.
'When the Omega Queen rises..
Three Alphas will follow her shadow'.
'One will protect her'.
'One will hunt her'.
'And one...
'Will destroy the world for her.
At the time, I hadn’t believed her.
But tonight... Tonight everything had changed.
My wolf stirred again.
'She’s calling to us'.
'Yes, she was'.
Even from this distance, I could feel it.
'The pull'.
The strange connection threading through the air like invisible chains.
'The Omega Queen'.
I stepped toward the forest.
Rowan’s voice followed behind me.
"Alpha....wait".
I stopped.
"If this really is the Omega Queen..."
He hesitated.
"...what exactly do you plan to do with her?"
For a moment, I considered the question.
The question was simple yet the answer wasn’t simple.
Protect her?
Claim her?
Control her?
Destroy anyone who touched her?
My wolf laughed darkly inside my mind.
'All of it'.
I looked back at Rowan.
"The same thing every Alpha plans to do".
"And that is?"
My smile returned.
"Find her".
I stepped into the shadow of the trees. The forest swallowed me instantly.
Behind me, my pack began to follow.
Dozens of wolves moving silently through the night.
The hunt had begun.
But as I moved deeper into the dark forest, one thought echoed clearly in my mind.
The prophecy had been wrong about one thing.
The Omega Queen wouldn’t be claimed by three Alphas instead she would be claimed by only me.
Because when I finally find her...
There wouldn’t be anyone left alive to fight me for her.