-Dani-
"Do not hesitate Danielle, hesitation will-" Hannibel spoke and I rolled my eyes, interjecting myself into his sentence.
"Will kill me before my enemy does, I know Hannibel." I sighed and wiped the sweat that dripped from my nose with the back of my hand.
"Correct. Now listen about that magnificent beast of yours. I know you get irritable but you need to learn how to channel your anger into something that isn't the nearest object." He placed a hand on my shoulder as we walked back towards the pack house.
It'd been roughly two months since my trial by command, Hannibel was my caretaker and we lived in the safe house together. Members from the pack had come to our doorstep a few days after the incident with the hunters took place and brought gifts for me. I'd refused but they'd remained kind to me, something with which I had no experience.
Hannibel took it upon himself to train me in the physical aspects of being a Lycan as well as the mental capabilities, and so far he'd taught me about masking my presence, tracking other Lycans, and defense mechanisms. He'd also arranged for me to take educational lessons and etiquette classes to finesse my behavior, whatever that meant.
I ascended the stairs to the Alpha's house and entered, Hannibel and I were greeted from all sides as we opened the doors to the house. I kept my emotionless composure as we continued our walk towards the Alpha's chambers.
"Lighten up a little would you?" Hannibel nudged me with his shoulder as we entered the hallway to the Alpha's room.
The guards who stood outside the chambers nodded to us once and we entered, greeted by Alpha Jason almost immediately.
"Hannibel! Come, have a drink with me. Danielle, go ahead and take a seat." He gestured to us to take a seat near the bar.
"Jason you sure know how to pour a good glass of whiskey," Hannibel chuckled before taking a sip from his glass as I sat in the chair behind them, listening in on their conversation quietly.
"There's been word from the South, many of the packs have nothing but good news to report. There are some though, some which have been faltering lately and I grow more and more distressed over their reports." Alpha Jason spoke as he and Hannibel looked over a map that was hung on the wall.
"These vicinities specifically have been having the most trouble." He circled over an area with his finger and I stood.
"Danielle?" Hannibel pressed as I moved closer to the map.
I inspected the areas that'd reported the most disturbances, all of them surrounded the perimeter of the Lican pack.
"Have you called any of the Elders' attention to this?" I asked, Alpha Jason shook his head and took a sip of his drink.
"Unfortunately, we have no substantial evidence of what could be doing all the damage so we're forced to wait until something more serious happens."
I nodded and walked over next to the Alpha scoping the map out and placing my finger just west of the Lican perimeter.
"Place a few men twenty miles away from the Lican territory's perimeter. You'll get your evidence."
Before he could answer, the doors were opened. Takeo entered, two warriors following him closely.
"Alpha, forgive me for the delay, we were called for the announcements of the packs you found distraught while out on a mission. We came as soon as we could." He bowed and his warriors examined me from head to toe, before turning their attention to the Alpha.
"Right. Takeo, thank you for coming, Hannibel and Danielle have been talking with me about the southern packs and their alarming reports. Danielle was just about to explain what should be done about those reports before you walked in."
Takeo turned and faced Hannibel and I as we stood near the bar, his eyes widening in realization of the situation he was now in.
"Alpha...what is she doing here? In this place? This is a place for those worthy of being in your presence unaccompanied!" He narrowed his eyes for a moment before sighing and backing down out of his aggressive state.
"Well, Takeo, if you must know, our previous running commander was recently exiled which is why I've brought Danielle in." Alpha Jason responded to Takeo's questions before pouring himself a drink along with another glass, which he passed to me, nodding once before clinking glasses with me. I followed suit and took a sip, it was bitter and it burned but it wasn't the worst.
"You can't be serious, Alpha what good could possibly come out of getting rid of commander Rheese? He'd been a valuable member of the pack for years, if I may-" Takeo's rambling was cut short by the Alpha's subtle move of placing his glass down on the bar.
"Commander Rheese was weak and he was passing his weakness on to his warriors. He is gone and that is final, the last time I checked I was the Alpha of this pack, Takeo, and I do not need a second Beta. I called you in here to discuss our plan of action in terms of moving forward with the reports from the South, something we'd been doing before you and your squadron barged through the doors. I suggest you hold your tongue from this point on for your own sake, rhetogre."
Rhetogre.
I set my glass down as the room grew quiet and I watched as Takeo slowly turned and took a seat in one of the chairs sat nearest to the bar.
A Rhetogre was a Lycan who was no longer a Lycan by blood, in other words they were deemed no longer worthy of being a creation from the gods. What Takeo had done to receive such a tremendous punishment was beyond me, although I should've known something about him was different by the way everyone had looked at him at my trial after he called them his 'Lycan brethren'.
"Danielle?" Hannibel pressed as my hearing returned and I whipped my head to the right.
"You were saying about placing men around the perimeter?"
I nodded.
"Right, well, House Lican had pack runners placed ten miles from the territory but beyond that it's foreign pack territory. By placing your runners twenty miles from the border you'll be able to survey at a distance that is approachable but have them stand by until there is noticeable action. Send your most efficient climbers as they'll need to stay on high ground, members of the house Lican are notoriously good at tracking other wolves."
I traced the last of the perimeter with my finger before taking another sip of my drink and looking about the room, Takeo was refusing to look at me while his subordinates were eyeing me suspiciously.
"How do we know you won't just send those runners into a trap?" Takeo questioned as he stood.
I walked around the bar and rolled my sleeve up, after wiping away the mud that'd been caked on from training I revealed my pack marking, or rather what was left of it.
"My pack has rejected me, in the months I've been away they've all accepted my exile and as a result my marking is fading away. I have no way of reaching them or contacting them anymore...I cannot even feel my own brother and so I am officially a Rogue."
All eyes were on my forearm as I finished my statement, I rolled my sleeve back down and Hannibel spoke,
"I say we send two runners to survey and come back within two weeks time, that should be more than enough time to gather evidence to present before the Elder council."
Alpha Jason folded his arms and leaned against one of the pillars that stood on either side of the bar, his eyes surveying the room before he nodded once.
"Gather Ruben and Aleksy for me, tell them to gather their running supplies and meet me before dusk at the perimeter of our lands."
Takeo wasted no time in standing and swiftly moving towards the door, making quite a dramatic exit as the doors of the Alpha's chambers slammed shut. Takeo's subordinates hesitated for a moment, looking between the door and the Alpha before making their move and jogging towards the door to find their leader.
"Right, well, it's almost supper time and I believe Danielle needs a shower. Hannibel, thank you, my friend, for coming to advise me once again. I shall see you both soon." Alpha Jason nodded to us before shaking Hannibel's hand and escorting us out of the house.
----------
At supper I couldn't help but think about the Alpha's lack of acknowledgment towards Takeo's attitude.
"You're thinking about Adachi aren't you?" Hannibel asked as he lit his pipe with a match at the kitchen table.
I placed the washed plates to the side of the sink and sighed before turning to face him and he held his arm out, inviting me to take a seat at the table.
"I don't understand, Takeo is Alpha Jason's personal guard but he's a Rhetogre and he questions the Alpha's decisions in front of the pack. As the Alpha he shouldn't allow someone who is lower in ranking, especially a Rhetogre, talk to him like that." I spoke.
Hannibel shrugged his shoulders,
"The Alpha is a complex man, he does things his way because it's what works and as far as I'm concerned he's doing a hell of a job keeping this pack together."
I agreed with him, it wasn't easy to keep a pack running on your own with no Luna and no heirs to motivate you which brought me to my next point.
"Why does the Alpha put so much trust in me?" I asked.
Hannibel took a puff of his pipe before answering.
"His heart is soft for you. Jason has been through many losses in his life, including that of his bride and unborn child. He had to fight his father for the title of the Alpha and he was successful...but his success was bitter sweet as you should know what happens to a Lycan who refuses to step down."
The penalty of an Alpha in delusion of his superiority was death, and it was death by the Lycan who was the strongest. In this case the Alpha's father met his death at the hands of his own son. Tragic, but not unheard of.
"Something else we have been considering, Danielle... is the possibility of you taking commander Rheese's spot, this of course would be in the future when you're finally deemed honorable enough to be added a member of the pack. You've trained well, and faster than any other Lycan I have seen in my one hundred and ten years on this planet I am proud to call myself your mentor."
The last part of his statement caught me off guard and I found myself looking anywhere but at Hannibel.
"Right...well as you said that might not be for a while. It's been a day, I think we both need some rest so I think I'll say goodnight Hannibel." I got up to leave when he held a finger up to me.
"Are you forgetting something, Danielle?" He placed his pipe down on the table and exhaled.
I nodded once I realized what he was talking about and found my way to the front door, walking closer to the lake and taking my stance.
"Let me see your progress." Hannibel spoke from behind me as he leaned on his cane.
I closed my eyes and channeled my energy into my chest and felt my mind start to release, upon opening my eyes I found ribbons of black and red energy circling my body. Almost like cold flames, they encompassed my body and I felt my eyes dilating as the energy coursed through my body sending my heart into an adrenaline race.
"Good, now conjure something." He spoke again.
I focused everything into the palm of my hand and almost instantly a ball of energy was formed, I smiled slightly before speaking.
"Pluvire!" I cast the ball of energy into the sky and I watched as small clouds started to form, thunder followed and soon there were drops of liquid falling, followed by more and more until a steady downfall of rain fell consistently.
Hannibel smiled, clapping once before nodding at me and summoning me towards the house.
"You're still angry Danielle, there's a beast living within you and you release a bit of it when you channel your energy like that. There's something blocking your mind, or at least the part of it which harbors your aggression." He sighed before hanging his coat up and mumbling to himself as he walked to his room and closed the door behind him.
Hannibel had been training my physical and spiritual consciousness, I was stronger in both and as a result I'd discovered my true potential.
When I was a child, we were told of a prophet who would be sent here unbeknownst to the gods from a different realm, disguised as a different species to end the war between the beasts who ruled the forests and the humans who wanted their blood. This prophet would undergo great pain and suffering to find their way to the center of the line of Lycan lineage and their mate would be someone closest to the first born Lycan in history, the most powerful wolf.
Together they would rule over the realm of beasts within the human world and protect the blood of their ancestors, creating a new line of hybrids. These hybrids would be the only species in the human world that were closest to the gods in strength and intellect.
I was not brought into this world by Samantha and Abel Rover, I was the daugher of a Nymph who went by the name of Callista. She birthed me and sent me away so that my life would be spared harsh judgement from the gods.
My father was Ares, the God of war, and son of Zeus, he was seated at the table of the Olympians and my blood was his blood. With that my powers only grew in strength and everyday that I trained I found new heights which once seemed unattainable.
I was the Prophet of the Lycan species, I would undergo great pain and suffering if it meant securing the future of our people, I would become stronger everyday until I was ready to take my place as Prophet. Until then, I had to prove myself worthy to become a member of the pack.
I had to earn their trust and their respect before I could rule anyone, and it all started here.