A/N: rewriting some of the chapters due to changes in my writing style
"And then the True Alpha rose from the fire... his paws shaking the floor we walk on, the flames stepping aside to let the beast walk. His fur was black as the night sky above, in it your eyes could get lost for days. His eyes red as the blood that runs through our veins, yet, his only mimic the colour he so happily spreads when he arrives in town. His fangs sharper than the knifes, shined brightly under the moonlight, making even the bravest of us cower in fear. The fire under his feet did not bother him, instead, he used it as carpet, as a path to lead him out of the pit. His claws long and huge, scratched the ground as he walked, preparing to slowly sink them inside a body of his choice. Surrounding the fire, a crowd of people trembled in fear, clutching onto their family and friends for dear life. They understood that this was not a common of wolves. No, they knew that whatever laid ahead of them, whatever that wolf was going to cause on them, it would destroy their whole being to the bones. The wolf seemed to smirk, tauntingly showing his fangs to the terrified people, anxiously waiting to be fed. As his eyes scanned the area, he spotted a little child clinging to his mother's legs. Not even then, could the moon goddess save the child from the wrath of the predator. A silence echoed in the forest during a quiet night, one like this... With no breeze, no sound, no life... Engulfed in their quiet and numb fear, they waited for the True Alpha to jump. They waited for death to clash against them, rip them of all of their senses. Like death, the True Alpha did not move, just stared"
She stopped talking and looked around, scanning the attentive listeners of her story. Her eyes fixated on each of the kids sitting around the bonfire, each holding on to the friend sitting next to them for protection, others hiding their face in their hands, as if the True Alpha was right there in front of them. They all knew how the story ended.
"The wolf jumped, for moments, his figure blending with the one of the full moon above – unable to distinguish which one was which. He fell from the sky like a comet, shaking the ground, trembling the trees, cracking the center of the Universe in two. His claws, in a flash, a blink of an eye, stole the kid from his mother's arms. He kicked and screamed, tears falling from his eyes as he reached his arms, wanting to go back to the safety of his mother's warmth. The mother fell on the ground, defeated, fat desperate tears rolled down her cheeks; her voice a mixture of sobs and whines and screams of agony. She begged at the Moon Goddess with a broken soul: Kill this beast, don't let him take my son. It was all in vain. Worthless. Useless. The moon goddess could not stop the death that her creation caused, she had no control over him – no one had. In the next second, the True Alpha opened his mouth as wide as he could, and laughing softly, he swallowed the kid whole. The poor boy was lost in his stomach, devoured of all his senses. Nothing of him was left for her mother to cry to, to hold on to, to remember him. All that was left was pain. A big toothy smile grew on the beast's face, filled with glee and satisfaction. He licked his lips, a content sigh falling from his lips. But he was not done. His hunger was endless, and no matter how much he killed.... he'd never be satisfied enough to leave. He walked closer to the crowd, already tasting his next meal in his mouth. At the speed of light, his arm reached out to grab another kid and his voice, deep as the pits of hell, resonated in the air – making the once tall trees cower in fea-"
"YOU! I'M GOING TO EAT YOU!
The kids jumped from their seats, screaming and crying for their mothers as they held onto each other. A male was standing behind them, clutching onto his belly as he laughed. When they turned around and saw who was the "monster", they all rolled their eyes and whined at him for the thousand time that week. The girl watched this all from afar, a small twinkle of joy in her eyes as the children actively played with each other.
"C'mon kids. Let's end here tonight" Her voice was covered in honey, calming the nature and everything that existed around her. Even the wild seas fell in love with her presence. "Let's all say goodnight to Alec and to each other and head home. It's getting late, already"
They all nodded their heads obediently. One by one, they grabbed their toys and their blankets and left the bonfire – promising to come back to listen to the girl's story the next day. Alec and the girl started cleaning the place up, putting out the fire for the night.
"I can't believe you still tell them this story" Alec chuckled as his spoke, his feet walking at the same rhythm as hers. "It's been years since people started telling it. Not to mention that the way you tell it, makes that True Alpha look like some sort of fictional character."
"The kids like it." The girl's voice was short and simple, her eyes gazed at the night sky above covered in stars and planets. "I'd rather be the one telling them than their mother's or father's. They will scare them too much if they tell the story exactly as it went. Perhaps, I'm sheltering them by making him look like a villain from a fairy tale. But living life in fear is not the way to live"
"Sometimes I think you only tell it because of mom" Alec's reply made the girl turn her head to look at him, her eyes wide open. "She used to tell it to you. She liked how you always questioned it and invented your own versions. You don't have to do this, our mother warned us just like their mothers will warn them. If you are doing this still Hani, then it's because something much deeper is forcing you to"
No one knows when it started or when it happened – that True Alpha Tale. Everyone would eventually hear it; it came to everyone's door scaring them for eternity. Hani was around 6 years old when she first heard it, around the same time the rebellion had started. She was in her room, staring at the new books her dad had gotten her, trying to figure out which one to see first, when her mother walked in. Apparently, the other Lunas were telling the story to their kids and despite her mother not believing such a thing was true, she told it to the small little Hani. The girl didn't cower in fear. She just started asking all these questions, not understand how someone so "bad" and "mean" could exist. From then on, the True Alpha was the Big Bad wolf in the community. Just like how humans had Little Red Riding Hood, so did the werewolves have the True Alpha. Their little tool to prevent kids from wandering into the woods deep at night.
Hani always wondered if the True Alpha was real. If he had killed and slaughtered like they said he would. She couldn't ask. As soon as the name was mentioned everyone ran to hide in their houses, locked all doors and windows. They believed he'd come if you said his name. It was only when she was older that the truth finally reached her heart. Hesitantly, her father told her that he existed, that he lived amongst them. That he had a pack of his own at the southern part of the land.
Little did she know that fate liked playing games with strings, entangling them in the most beautiful of shapes. The moon goddess smiled from above at the enter whined strings, thanking them for their services. For with fate and luck, two lovers meet.
Hani learned that not all stories are what they seem to be.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾
Life in the pack was rather easy and boring, especially for an Alpha's daughter. There was not much expected of her, only to behave and bring honour to the pack. Unlike her, her older brother Alec, who followed her dad like a little puppy around the pack, had a lot to learn. All these things about leadership, finances and warfare. Hani's life was simple, cozy, yet, an annoyingly persistent desire for adventure and curiosity hovered her head.
Currently, she was sitting in the small living room of her brother's cabin. Lilith, Alec's mate was sitting in front of her, focused on a magazine in her hands. Hani and Lilith had known each other for a really long time and had grown close quickly. They spent most of the time together, not really hanging out with anyone else in the pack.
"God, I really don't know which one to choose"
The exhausted sigh that left Lilith's lips awakened Hani from her thoughts, causing the girl to smile softly at her friend. Lilith's hands supported her head as she lazily flipped the magazine's pages. Her brown hair was tied up in a messy knot, the baby hairs springing to all different directions. After 5 years of "dating" Hani's brother, they were finally expecting their first child together. They had decided to keep the gender of the baby a secret, Lilith wanted to be surprised. She clearly hadn't thought it through, because not knowing the gender of the baby made preparing the room a lot harder than it originally was. The past few weeks she had been stressing over the colour of the baby's room, every day deciding a new one only to regret it and make Alec paint it over with another one.
"Just pick a colour you like Lily, one that is not immediately associated with gender."
Hani suggested, reaching out to grab one of the multiple magazines that were spread all over the table. Lily raised her eyebrow at her friend and crossed her arms over her bump.
"Like... purple?"
"That's a bit too much"
Throwing a fit, Lily puffed her cheeks and threw the magazine she had been previously holding. She pinched the bridge of her nose frustratedly, already regretting not just picking some random colour. Hani rolled her eyes playfully and scanned the magazine and all its different suggestions.
"Beige?" Hani suggested, raising the magazine so that Lily could see the tone she was talking about. "It's a simple yet warm colour".
The suggestion seemed to spark a wave of happiness in Lily. A big smile blossomed on her face and she chuckled softly at Hani.
"Honestly, what would I do without you"
"Probably, paint your baby's room purple"
Her laughter mixed with Hani's echoed around the small cabin, warming up the chilly atmosphere. Lily got up from the chair, her bump making it harder for her to move around the house. Hani got up too, silently trailing behind her towards the kitchen. Lily moved from one side to the other of the kitchen preparing dinner while Hani sat on top of the counter, her eyes staring at the scenery in the window. It was getting darker those days, letting Hani and everyone else know that Auttumn was coming to an end and that, soon, colder times would become a part of their days.
"You should go home" Lily said softly, stirring the pot calmly as she glanced at Hani. "Alec is almost arriving, anyway, you don't need to stay and babysit me. Also, your father and Alec talked today. I overheard them talking about some sort of visitor coming over tonight. It's best if you head home."
Hani nodded her head, a wave of disappointment and dread washing over her. For the past few months, her father had been inviting all sorts of pack leaders to have dinner with them. Hani would just eat her food quietly as they discussed all sort of pack affairs and business – all of it uninteresting to her. Her father wanted to grow the pack, make it stronger. That meant that he had to pick the right allies, the right people to trust. Hani knew that her father had underlying motives, selfish motives. It was because of this one Alpha called Ulric, in charge of the pack up north, the biggest in the land. He led a rebellion against all the other packs, a few years ago. He killed, slaughtered and stole everything he could get his hands on for power. Now, Hani's father wished to be closer to him or closer to his money – she didn't know what the difference was. Ulric took over the whole land, pretending to be the saviour to all their problems, the leader destined to rule all of them. There was an additional thing Hani's father had to do, in order to grab the attention of a man so powerful and who had everything he needed – he needed to offer something that he couldn't possibly refuse. So, it was not money or land, or wolves – a mate. A way to continue his lineage and his years of rule for the future to come. Hani was the thing he couldn't refuse.
Coming back home every day was, therefore, painful to Hani. She never knew when it would be the last time, she would see her pack, her family, her friends. The last time she would have her freedom. When her father first told her about it, she aggressively refused. All sorts of painful words and threats came out of her mouth. His father had talked to her, explained that it was for the pack, that this was what they needed to do to be safe. She didn't care about what she needed to do – neither would she care in the future.
Her brother didn't live too far from their old cabin, so the walk back was short. When she entered the warm familiar cabin, her father was in the kitchen cooking. Steam clouded the air and her father stirred the big pot. His face was scrunched in complete focus, his once black hair now covered in small grey dots due to his age. Slowly, Hani walked in, not wanting to catch her father's attention. However, her father could sense her presence better than anyone. Without turning around, he told her what to do.
"Make yourself look presentable" His voice was groggy and low, the same way it had always been. "We have guests arriving soon"
"Who's coming?"
Hani asked, one foot on the stairs ready to climb up to her room. There was a side of her that didn't want to know who it was. She was fearful it might be Ulric again. But she had to be polite and nice, she couldn't let her sour attitude contaminate the cabin. An eerie silence followed the question, making the girl's heartbeat fasten in anticipation. When the name resonated in the cabin, Hani felt her body grow weak in shock. Her mouth hanged open, her eyes wide open, her hands shaking. That day would never leave her mind, it would mark her for eternity if not for all time.
That day, the True Alpha came into her life.