Rise of the Makoce Pack

Chapter 1. In the Beginning There was Destruction.

Our new Alpha, Casey Everett as I imagine her.

Chapter 1.

"Are you kidding me?!?" I pound the desk in my office as I scour the room for my missing reports. "Fletcher!! Where are you, you mangy mutt?! You were supposed to have those reports on my desk three hours ago!" I fling open what's left of the door to suddenly find myself face to face with just the man I was looking for. Fletcher Collins, beta extraordinaire. He looks at me with a sheepish grin, his ears turning red at all the names I was calling him through the pack link. "Well, Fletcher, where are those reports?!" I tap my foot impatiently, "I haven't got all day." He finally composed himself and smoothed his shirt. "Alpha, Luna, um, miss Casey Everett, I have them right here. I'm sorry for the delay, I was overseeing the rebuilding of the kitchen and I wanted to make sure that everything was going smoothly, because you know, priorities." He grinned and ran a hand through his messy black hair. I looked at him incredulously, "You stopped and hung around the kitchen 'supervising' instead of doing your job?" Fletcher laughed loudly, his tired eyes twinkling with laughter. "Well, Casey, who else was gonna make sure the was food well stocked with a place to cook it?! That's not something you take lightly, the kitchen is like the most important room in the whole house, well except maybe the bedroom..." He wiggled his eyebrows at me as he grinned. Despite his good spirits, poor Fletcher looked absolutely exhausted just like everyone else around here did. My eyes softened I really can't stay mad at this guy. Fletcher immediately came to my side after I lost my family in the raid. He knew I would need support after I suddenly found myself the Alpha of a 200 member pack. Exceptionally loyal and fierce, Fletcher stood at a decent 6'2 with messy black hair and deep blue eyes. He's your typical strongman beta, but his sense of humor and selflessness is second to none. He had been my brother's best friend since preschool, heck he was basically part of the family growing up. So it went without saying that he was a shoe in for the position.
I sighed- things were so hard and I never imagined that I would be standing where I am today. I was preparing to leave for college a few days ago, readying myself for the adventure every young woman looks forward to when striking out on her own. Self discovery, fun, boys, learning things beyond the scope of what I knew, boys..that's what I was ready for. Not this. Not all the destruction that lay just outside my front door. Those that were physically able had already helped move the deceased to the place we were preparing for burial. That was a horrible job, the sounds of sorrow and pain were so loud I wondered if I would ever hear the pack's laughter again. I closed my eyes and leaned against the broken doorframe. Fletcher frowned, his eyes full of the same concern I had for everyone else but myself. "Casey, you really need some rest. I'm only saying this because I love you and I've known you your whole life, but you look like hell reheated in the microwave worse than week old Chipotle. When was the last time you slept and I mean really slept?" He asked as he gently grabbed my shoulders and and made me look in his eyes, "Let me take care of these reports and whatever else the pack needs and you go take a shower and get some rest, I will have someone bring you dinner. Okay? Let me take over for a bit and I promise I'll wake you up if anything major happens. Scouts honor" He throws up his fingers and nods  his head at me reassuring me that he's got things under control. Ha, he probably has things under control better than I do right now. Morale is low and many of the traditional set men of the pack aren't happy that I've become alpha, their loud claims of our pack being doomed have resonated and to many amoung the pack who've listened to these men, the future has never looked so bleak for the Makoce Pack.

I looked out my front door as I let Fletcher settle into the office to do some work. The yard was torn up, grass upheaved everywhere, claw marks dug into the soft ground where most of the fighting took place. Blood stained the earth as far as you could see and the combination of blood and fresh soil gave the ground a dirty, rusty color. I looked up at the sky and prayed for a good rain storm. God, we needed the cleansing, we needed it to wash away the stink of death and the acrid smell of smoke that wafted through the air. The combination was almost suffocating. Pack members worked to put out the fires in various locations around the compound. Our school was gone, many homes were damaged or burned to the ground. Even the forest herself was suffering, parts were on fire as well since many of the houses were set back along the edge of the trees. Everything hurt, the people, the ground beneath my feet, the very forest we called home, and the homes my father helped build with his own two hands. The scene in front of me looked like something out of an apocalyptic movie. It was something I could never erase from my mind.