Rejecting the Alpha

Corni knew that when the skies cleared in five hours or so, there would be a full moon. He knew because his blood called out to the freedom it gave, and the madness that accompanied it.

It was the same way he knew that if he unclenched his fists, there would be spots of blood where his fingers dug into his palm.

In order to avoid his Beta going on and on about taking anger management class and itherapy, he willed his claws to go back in and turned to face the man standing in front of him. If he wanted to, he could have the man on his knees and bleeding in a matter of seconds. It would satiate the part of his anger directed at him- the part that could not wait to be unleashed under the light of the full moon.

But, he would not beg. The man would rather take his own life than beg for it to be spared. Corni had witnessed it, not once or twice- scenarios where Fridolf stumbled back to the camp almost dead.

He’d refused to give up secrets, and the members of the rival pack had grown tired of torturing him. Of course, Corni led a group of his best wolves and made them pay, but Fridolf earned his respect even more.

“You knew my father too well, more than most people would assume an ordinary pack member would know their alpha. But you forget your place, wolf. You forget that you stand before your new alpha,” Corni said.

The man said nothing, his eyes trained on Corni. Unflinching.

“You may speak.”

“I never wanted, or asked to be anything more than a member of your father’s pack- Corni noted that the man did not acknowledge him as the new leader.

He chose to let it slide for the time being. There were other things at stake. “Even when your father tried persuading me to be his right hand. I served as your father’s lawyer for thirty years and was his friend for twice as much. And in that time, he came to trust me with everything.”

The emphasis on the last word was not lost on Corni.

“If you claim to have known my father for that long, you should know that your words, the ones which you read out, would never have come from his mouth,” Corni stated, glaring at the man, challenging him to say otherwise.

“I cannot say I know your father’s mind. The things he tells me, are the things I believe. Why should I doubt? As his friend, were it that he was still alive,” Fridolf shifted on his feet and Corni remembered his bad leg.

The old wolf had suffered an injury from the humans not too long ago. It was a concern among the pack members, that the injury wasn’t showing signs of rapid healing. Perhaps the man was becoming one of them. Corni had heard tales of things like that happening, but had never witnessed any in his years.

“And you believe my father would have wanted me to get married to a human?” He spat the word out in a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.

A little bit of disgust too. It made no sense at all.

“Like I said,” Fridolf shrugged, “I do not claim to know what was going through your father’s mind when he wrote his will. I can only carry out his wishes as his lawyer.”

“My father must have been senile during his last days.”

An audible gasp came from behind and Corni spun around to see a woman standing at the door with her eyes wide open and her mouth agape.

“Yes, Freya?” His displeasure at her obvious disrespect for privacy was clear in his tone.

“Nothing.” She shook her head and hurried away. Corni sighed.

The wrong person decided to show up at the worst time. In no time, he knew that everyone would be aware of the statement he uttered about his father.

Freya was a tattle tale and his father’s side piece. He had no idea what his father saw in a woman who could not keep her mouth, destroyed almost everything she touched and had no respect for authority.

Many times, she’d barged into meetings, clinging to his father and making childish requests. If it was up to him, he would have found her another pack years ago. He couldn’t do it now, not when there were some who thought the coldhearted son of Magnus Vigolfr should not be their leader.

He had to teach a rogue wolf a lesson that ended in bloodshed. But if fear was the only way to make them see, he would not hesitate to use it as a tool.

“You still speak in present. My father is dead.”

Fridolf held his tongue and said nothing.

Corni stared at him and said nothing too. He was waiting for an explanation even when he knew there was none to be given. He was an alpha that had to get married to a human if he was going to take control of the empire his father inherited from his father. How more selfish could that get?

He finally sighed.

“When do I meet the human?” “Whenever you wish,” Fridolf replied. “Your father did not specify when you are to be wed. Although, you are not to step in as Chairman until you are wed to her.”

Corni was about to say something when someone rushed into the room, panting. It was the new wolf that just joined the pack. Having reprimanded another a few minutes ago, he held his breath and waited for him to speak.

“There is a fight outside,” he said, in-between fistful of air sucked in through his mouth.

“Tell them to quit it,” Corni answered dismissively.

“No, you don’t understand. They are in their wolf form, snarling at each other.”

Corni sighed.

He would have to teach them a lesson- immature wolves thinking their true forms served as a form of dominance.

“I’ll speak to you later,” he said to Fridolf and walked out of the room, claws bared.