A God Amongst Wolves

21

Word Count: 3361

~Venn

I should have known I was going to have to do this.

The cabin comes into view, unwavering beneath the thick sea of fog. It's ancient and unbecoming, sitting right on the border of my pack.

He shouldn't be here, but I could sense the moment he stepped over the threshold into my pack.

The stairs groan as I step up to the door, ignoring the pocked and sagging walls growing moss from its grooves. I pound loudly on the doors frail surface to the point it almost fractures.

When no one comes to open it, I test the tarnished knob. It nearly disintegrates in my hand as I press through and into the musty interior.

Sure enough, my brother lurks across the room, back pressed against the kitchen bench's staring at me with wide eyes.

I sigh through my nose. He hasn't changed in the six years since I've last seen him.

He still has the unruly head of dark brown curls. At least he trimmed the sides but he clearly relies on sweeping his hand back through them to keep them from his familiar hazel eyes.

I see our mother in him. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

"Is there any reason why I'm finding you here?" I ask, bracing my shoulder against the paint flecked doorframe.
 
"Excellent tracking skills?" His mouth breaks into a familiar, wide smile that puts me on edge. "Perhaps a physic vision."

He fits the atmosphere of this grungy cottage well. His lanky figure is framed by the foggy window behind him, being the only one to let light into this mildew infested hole.

"You need to leave."

"Can't even say hi?" He braces his arms out, even though a three-legged table between us. "After all these years."

"Can't even say thank you?" I angle my head.

He eyes me carefully. "For?"

"Not killing you straight away."

"I'm not here for any nefarious reasons, don't worry." He holds his hands up as a peace offering. "I had nowhere else to go."

"Bullshit," I hiss.

Able, my brother, hasn't done anything in life without an ulterior motive. He's always scheming, always finding ways to benefit from other people demise.

That's how I knew he was in my pack. I could feel the weight of his presence, the burden off it.

"It's true. Every other Alpha wants me dead for my connection to you, and humans sure as shit don't want me mingling with them." He taps the marking on the side of his neck that relays to outsiders our familiar ties. "Due to this obscene marking appearing randomly on my neck a year ago, there is nowhere for me to hide."

"I want you here less than they do," I remind him coldly, flexing my fingers.

His expression softens. "Come on. We're brothers."

"Not any longer," I vow. "Did you forget about the time you almost killed me?"

"I wanted different things back then. You have to admit, my luck is pretty pathetic." His hands rest back on the edge of the counter behind him, gripping it to the point his knuckles pale. "Oldest brother and yet the title of Alpha was taken from me."

"It was never yours," I mutter, reiterating a conversation we've had many times before. "I was chosen by the Moon Goddess."

The day it happened was explosive. I knew for a while she was planning to chose me. I had vivid dreams and the sensation of her presence was always near, like she was whispering straight into my ear.

The mark appeared suddenly and my brother...took it personally.

"Well fuck that petty Moon Goddess bitch. It was always mine. Father trained me for it." His foot taps relentlessly against the cracked wooden floor,

I level a look. "That was before you killed him."

"I was supposed to only kill our mother. How was I supposed to know he was going to eat from her plate?" He mutters in that casual, typically debonaire way of his. "It wasn't my fault he had no self— preservation skills."

I rub my face tensely. Able's inability to think beyond his own interests is borderline psychotic. I would suggest he see a therapist were he not inclined to manipulate them before accepting criticism.

"And you wonder why you're not Alpha."

"You don't need to be a good person to be an Alpha," he brings up. "Regardless, I've changed."

I take a long, purposeful look around his surroundings. There's a limp sleeping bag on the floor next to a half empty box of beers. He usually lives beyond his means, so seeing him in this state means he's going through it.

Not that I can find it in myself to care....

I raise my brow. "Is that so?"
 
"Yes. I don't want to be Alpha. I'm not here to take anything from you." He turns to open the fridge, the seals slurping and popping, the light flickering weakly before turning off entirely.

"Why would I believe you?"

He cracks the top off a bottle of beer, offering it to me. I shake my head, watching him drain nearly half the bottle in one gulp.

"You know why," he mumble gravelly.

I stiffen. "Enlighten me."

"I've been getting the visions." He lips pulls into a tight line. "I'm assuming our bloodline connects us."

Unfortunately I know exactly what he's referring to, because I'm experiencing the same phenomenon. However, if he's seeing what I'm seeing, then he knows more than I would like him to...
 
"What visions, exactly?" I question warily.

"I only saw a few. Enough to realise there is a prophecy the Moon Goddess requires you to fulfil." He pins with a hard stare as he takes another drink. "One you're resisting."

I still. "What's the prophecy?"

Able grimaces, which is a rare emotion for him. Even he knows how bad this situation is for me, and he's never taken much of an interest in my problems.

"Your Chosen is going to die, isn't she?" He murmurs. "The Moon Goddess is going to sever the connection brutally by taking her from you."

Hearing someone else say it brings the problem to life. Despite doing everything in my power to resist the Moon Goddess's hold on me, there is a reality I'm running from.

"It's complicated," I grit out, easing into a chair at the table, feeling lightheaded suddenly.

"It is, isn't it." Able rubs his hands together. "Well, I can safely say I don't want anything to do with it. So you can tell me why she wants this."

I eye my brother carefully, checking for cracks in his earnest expression. Divulging anything personal to Able should generally be avoided, but I haven't found it in me to tell Alvera what's going on. There doesn't seem to be much point in worrying her.

Getting this off my chest would be a relief...

"Everything I've gotten is through visions. I didn't realise what they were at first, but I've been piecing them together," I explain slowly. "There was once a single Pack containing the first ever werewolves and first Alpha King. Eventually this pack grew. The Moon Goddess never intended to have them split, but even she could not overpower their wills."

"So?"

"She created me in her name. I am merely a vessel created to complete a task." A run a hand down my face tiredly. "I am to unify the packs, and I am to take over as the ultimate Alpha King."

The burden of such a notion is immense, but I'm not afraid of the task. It is what I must sacrifice to attain this goal that frightens me the most.

Able's brows rise. "Are you serious?"

"It can be done, however, she is of the belief that I am not strong enough, that I have strayed from her," I admit tensely. "She is going to take away bride, severing our connection in a way that will cause me immense physical and mental pain. It may kill me, if I am not strong enough. However, if I am, I will have proven to her that I am enough to unify the packs."

Serving all werewolves as their leader is a position that comes with great sacrifice, and the Moon Goddess isn't going to select just anyone. She needs to know I am capable of this.

"Fuck..." He scrubs his hands through his hair. "How do humans factor into this?"
 
"They are beyond her control. She can only manipulate what is around them, so it will be my job to ensure they fall in line with my authority," I tell him.

Humans will be so desperate to stay out of werewolves way that I suspect they won't challenge me.

"So, what are you doing to stop the prophecy from being fulfilled?" Able asks.

He's looking at me differently now, as if he senses the power thrumming through my veins that has been gifted to me by the Moon Goddess. It's power he lost the chance to experience, because for whatever reason, I was chosen to continue reigning over this pack over him.
 
"What's to say I want to stop it?" I ask cryptically, trying to flesh out his perspective on what's going on.

"Be real with me, Venn. I know you better than I know anyone." He sets down his empty beer bottle, bracing his hands against the table that shudders under his weight. "You are not going to let some girl die. You are not going to let it kill her. You're going to find another way."

"It's a prophecy—"

"Crafted by the Moon Goddess. Fates can be rewritten."

I don't think I've ever seen Able be so serious. Sure, it's been years since I last saw him, but he looks genuinely engaged in what I'm going through.

Unfortunately, I worry his theory on fates being rewritten isn't true. I worry that saving Alvera isn't in the cards for me, even if I'm trying everything in my power to spare her.

Alvera is the last person on the planet who deserves to me sacrificed for my gain. She deserves so much more than that...

"It's not that simple," I mutter.

"Tell me. I am of no threat to you. I am your brother, and I am here to listen to you." Able slides into a seat on the other side of the table.

"Able..."

"Get it off your chest, because I bet your Chosen doesn't know." His eyes gleam as he sees my expression. "What are you doing to stop the prophecy from being fulfilled?"

I sit in silence for long moment, contemplating what I should say. He's right in assuming I haven't been passive about this issue. The moment I realised Alvera was my Chosen, I started working on an alternative to fulfilling the prophecy.

"I have taken on a secondary purpose to appease her. To show her my strength and eagerness to act in her stead," I admit hoarsely.

His jaw tightens. "What are you doing?"

"I'm changing them. Shifting them." I grimace. I hate saying the words, admitting it to myself. What I'm doing is unnatural, a perversion of the usual order of things.

Able is right to look as wary as he does, passing the empty bottle between his hands. "Them? Who's them?"

"Humans." I bow my head. "I'm turning them into werewolves."

The process is gruesome and disturbing. No one knows, not even my own pack members. It has always been accepted that humans and werewolves are separate, and one cannot become the other.

Proving that wrong would fracture the fabric of society, and potentially destroy everything.

"That's not possible," Able scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I found a way, and it's working. Five successes to two deaths. It's enough of a ratio for me to keep going, to keep working until that gap is bridged."

"How do you do it?"
 
"As if I'm telling you," I mutter dismissively. "I work with mostly volunteers or criminals. I've shifted thirty successfully."

Finding volunteers is more difficult than finding criminals. Volunteers come from outside of town, having read something damning on the internet. They venture into my circle, and after much discussion they engage in the process.

Were they to leak any information on what I've got going on, I would have to kill them. I wouldn't have any other choice...

He angles his head. "And what are you doing with these freshly turned werewolves, huh?"
 
"Training them. It's steep learning curve but we are seeing success with many."

"Then what?"

"I will eventually integrate them into society." That plan is for the future, when I can be certain of their success. "I am proving to the Goddess that I am making a difference, that I am loyal to werewolves and am enough to rule over them all."

I'm certain it is making a difference. I can feel her praise, feel her acceptance of my gift to her. However, I yet have confirmation that Alvera will be scared, which means I have to keep working.

Able's answering grin is crooked and amused. "You demented motherfucker."

"It's that or she dies," I hiss. "The Moon Goddess chose her, against her will. She is merely a human, completely innocent in this. The people I'm turning agreed to it, or deserve a far harsher punishment then a longer life, greater strength and magic."

Every time I see Alvera I'm overcome by guilt. There is so much I'm keeping from her, and I hate that. She deserves a normal human life with her perfectly average boyfriend who won't put her through what I'm putting her through.

Even if some primal, feral part of me like's that she's mine. I like seeing the mark on her neck and knowing there is so much more connecting us.

Able launches from his seat. "That insane Moon bitch. Inhumane, crazy—"

"Settle," I mutter tiredly. "Morality and ethics do not apply to her as they do to us. She is intangible, she exists in all of us."

"Yeah whatever." He looks up at the ceiling. "Smite me you crazy bitch."

He's lucky the Moon Goddess doesn't react to anything as simple as an insult. Otherwise my brother would be tormented with visions and nightmares that would send him walking off a cliff.

"I will do anything to save this woman, Able. Anything," I say quietly, so weakened from the constant barrage of stress that I barely care that it's someone I don't trust that I'm divulging all this to.

His eyes narrow, fleck of gold in his irises glinting against the light. "You love her or something?"

"I hardly know her," I admit, bracing my head in my hands.

Alvera would be easy to love, especially considering our connection. Some could argue it's inevitable, but she's not mine. I may have to go my entire life without getting my hands on her again.

"Unreal." Able laughs, seeing right through me. "Well, what's her name then?"

"Alvera. And you will be staying far away from her," I demand, pinning him with a look that he rightly shrinks back from an inch.

My brother and Alvera never need to meet. Nothing is serious to him, and if there is anything he is going to meddle with, it's my connection with her.

He may be here maintaining that he wants to support me, but I know there is an ulterior motive.

"Oh come on. She's my sister in law, or whatever humans say." He grabs another beer, cracking it's top off with ease.

I watch him as he circles the table, his grin grinding on my nerves. "She is none of your business."

Able already has a foot in most of business considering he's seeing the fringe of my visions. But when it comes to Alvera, he will never have anything to do with her.

"Don't be like this—"

I'm out of my seat in a second, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him up against the wall. I squeeze tightly until I feel his breath constrict, see his face flush red. We may share blood, but Able is half my strength and like any other member of my pack.

He winces clawing at my arm as he attempts to draw in air.

"I said, you will stay away from her or I rip your heart from your chest," I growl. "Do you understand?"

He nods the best he can, his voice coming out as a garbled scratch. "Got it."

I release him, stepping back. He doubles over, gasping for air desperately before he manages to straighten, shaking it off.

"Don't come near the house. You don't belong there," I warm coldly.

"Fine." He clears his throat roughly. "Just so you know, if Alvera is anything like her sister, you're a lucky man. Especially if she fucks like her sister does."

I stiffen, just as Able darts around the other side of his table, holding his hands up before I can advance on him.

"Woah, okay you said stay away from Alvera, not Belle." He grins.

My jaw tightens to the point it hurts. "How long?"

He shrugs with one shoulder. "Long enough."

I exhale slowly, trying to maintain my calm. Belle was missing for weeks, and refuses to tell her sister what happened to her. Whatever went on during those weeks involved my brother, at least at one point, which means he's been digging into my business before Alvera even became my Chosen.

Bastard. I should have known he would pull something like this.

"Come here and let me snap your neck. I don't want to chase you endlessly around this table," I mutter irritably, my patience wearing thin.

"Oh come on, I'll stay away. I promise." He says it less like he means it and more like he will say anything to get out of this alive.

I would kill him if he weren't my only blood relative left. I feel an obligation to him to let him live his life, I just prefer if he does that away from me.

"I never want to see you again," I exclaim, even if I suspect there isn't much point in expecting that from him. "Stay out of my pack."

He sighs. "That I can't promise."

I roll my eyes, but I know my warning will stay with him. If I seeing him sniffing around Belle or Alvera, I won't hesitate to make an example out of him, my brother or not.

Officially tired of this conversation, I step toward the exit, needing to put some space between us so I can think this through.

"Oh, and Venn?"

I glance over my shoulder. "What?"

"I hope Alvera is ready for the power of the mate bond." He smirks knowingly.

I draw in a sharp breath. There could be so many reasons why he knows that information, and all of them terrify me.

Either way, he knows a truth I've been too scared to face down.

"What did you just say to me?" I breathe.
 
"You told her about it right?" He tilts his head, knowing well that I haven't. "You told her you're soul mates and that boyfriend of hers is doomed. Did you tell her that only mates go through that monthly 24 hour fuck—fest thing?"

I swallow thickly. I haven't told Alvera because I don't want to come between her and Eldon. I want her to choose me, and not because of a bond she doesn't understand.

As far as I know, there hasn't been a mate bond recorded between humans and werewolves. This is a rare circumstance that is terrifying to manoeuvre, and I don't know how this is going to affect her, especially since I'm an Alpha.

I give my brother a final look before I give in to the urge to snap his neck. "This conversation does not leave these walls. Got it?"

He only smiles, watching me go.

💚••💚

If you want to read ahead at any point, you can read this story 15 chapters ahead on INKITT and 10 chapters ahead on RADISH.

Inkitt:

Radish:

~Midika 💜🐼