The Alpha's Prize

I laid there in the soft grass, staring up at the sky, watching as the clouds swirled around and the birds soared with the wind. I groaned internally at my wounded pride.

"That was a bitch move, you know!" I said to my brother Gunnar.

My brother and I are currently having a one-on-one training session, as I want to up my game, but man, he can be challenging at times.

He looked down at me with a stern appearance and a tone to match his expression. "Yes, it was, but remember Freja, your opponents won't always fight fair. They will fight dirty and use whatever tactic they can in order to take you out. So you need to be prepared for such moves, whether it's a bitch move or not!"

I growled at him and rolled my eyes, even though as much as I hate to admit it, he was right. The Rogues are dirty fighters, and they don't care whether you are male or female; they will do whatever it takes to win the battle.

My brother stood there looming over me, with a cheeky smile plastered on his stupid face. He kicked my boot with him, "Now get your ass up and let's try this again."

I snarled at him. "Fine!"

I rose to my feet, eyeing my brother as he took his position. I studied his form and remembered his previous movements, but knowing Gunnar; he will probably change up his plan of attack, so he can surprise me once again and kick my ass once again.

He looked at me with that playful look, a grin stretched across his face, as he raised his hands and motioned them for me to come at him.

I took my position and let out a battle cry. I then charged towards him at full speed, Gunnar dodged my move, and with a swipe of his leg, he took me out, causing me to fall smacked down on my back once again. Ugh!

I groaned loudly and craned my neck to look up at him. "You know, this isn't fair. Your name represents army! I don't stand a chance against you!" I whined.

He let out a chuckle, and as he was distracted, I took advantage of it for that split second. Then, rising to my feet, I barreled towards him. I put all my weight into it and knocked him to the ground.

I threw my hands in the air and screamed at the top of my lungs, "VICTORY!" But my internal victory dance was short-lived as he grabbed my leg, causing me to fall to the ground beside him.

We laid there for a short while, chuckling and discussing other tactics before mother called us for dinner, and our faces fell.

Dinner with the family used to be exciting, something we all looked forward to after a long day. It was something we cherished as a family, where we would all gather together, smiles on our faces, and we would share the events that occurred throughout our day.

But now, it only meant we had a short time left before the sun went down and the rogues would return to battle us once again, just as they had been for the past week.

My name is Freja Forrester; I am the second-born child of Alpha Val Forrester and Luna Revna Forrester of the Harvest moon pack. My parents had three children, the oldest being my brother Gunnar, who is 6'6 and built like a shit brick house. I swear he works out more than he sleeps! He and I resemble our father, Gunnar, more so than I, inheriting dad’s golden eyes, short dark brown hair, sleek jaw line and intimidating stature. I am 5'7 long dark brown hair, medium build, lean and hazelnut eyes, with flecks of sapphire blue, my eyes being the one thing that set me apart from them. My sister, Adela, is the smallest of us and resembles our mother. She is 5'5, skinny, has short golden-brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

Our family has always been close with each other. However, my relationship with dad and Gunnar has always been stronger than with mom or Adela.

My sister enjoyed the same things as our mother and had always been a quiet person, making things difficult when trying to find common ground. We were different in our own ways, which put a wall between us at times and made it difficult to get close to her. On the other hand, Gunnar and I have always had a good sibling relationship. He was more than just a big brother to me, he was my friend, and I would do anything for him.

As Gunnar and I entered the house, my internal thoughts began to consume me. All I could think of is "Would this be our last supper? Would I lose my family tonight? Would I make it home?" I pondered over these thoughts every night at dinner time since the war was declared.

My pack had been facing an impasse with the Dead Pack for some time now. We all thought that things might take a turn for the better during negotiations between my father and the Alpha. However, we were so wrong; it felt like it wasn't enough for Alpha Cain, no matter my father's proposition. Just saying his name made my blood boil with anger.

We had all been dreading war being declared between the packs because we knew we wouldn't win, we knew his resources were far more vast than ours, his warriors were ruthless and mad, his pack was also twice the size of ours, but even with all that in mind, we refused to back down and bury our heads in the dirt.

But we also expected this outcome, as it felt like Alpha Cain was just playing with us and giving us false hope, something he was known for doing. So, we have been training all day in skin and fur, we recruited anyone capable of fighting in our pack in hopes of having a better chance, but we knew that we were still royally fucked!

Even in our wolf forms, it still didn't give us much of an upper hand. My brother's wolf, next to my father's, was the biggest in the pack. Both were black wolves, vast and ferocious, but my dad's wolf had grey patches within his fur. That was the only thing that set them apart.

My wolf was one of the few things that I loved about myself. She was beautiful in my mind, large, muscular, snow-white fur with hints of grey all over and silver eyes. She was my prized possession!

Dinner had been quiet, we were all depleted, mentally and physically, and there wasn't much else to say to each other. So, as dusk approached, we gathered our gear, said our goodbyes to mom and Adela, and made our way to the edge of the forest.

We began to gear up and prepare ourselves for the fight ahead. I dreaded what was to come but didn't let my fear show. I grabbed out my trusty bow and wolfsbane-filled arrows and began to climb a tree.

My father and brother were against my request to fight, but I ensured them that I could do this and wanted to fight for my family and fellow pack members. So they reluctantly agreed when I suggested perching myself in a tree, kind of like a sniper and taking rogues out with my bow. I told them about the wolfsbane arrow tips that Erik and I had designed; it took us a long time to finally perfect them, but we did it. These arrow tips can kill most wolves; it depends on the size and rank; the bigger they are, the harder they are to take out.

As I ascended the tree, I peered down at my father, who gave me a reassuring nod and then sauntered off to take his place.

I found the perfect spot to sit and took my position. Then, looking out at my surroundings, I began to prepare myself mentally for the fight ahead.

It was well past dusk now, and there was no sign of the Dead pack. We knew it was a possible distraction to confuse us so that we would let our guards down, but we knew better.

I sat there, taking in my surroundings, when I saw a rogue slowly creeping towards one of our warriors out of the corner of my eye. I let out the signal, and that's when it began.

The rogues rushed around us with full force; I began taking them out one by one, our pack fought with as much strength and courage as they could conjure up. The copper smell of blood filled the air and pooled on the ground beneath me; blood-curdling screams flooded my ears from every direction.

As I readied myself to fire another arrow, I noticed multiple rogues were ambushing Gunnar. I know he is a ruthless, strong fighter, especially when he was in his wolf form, but he was slowly becoming outnumbered at that moment.

Without further hesitation, I leapt down from the tree, firing arrows left, right, and center at the numerous rogues surrounding him. As I came closer to him, I dropped my bow, began to discard my clothes and shifted into my wolf, lunging at the rival wolves, shredding them to pieces and fighting alongside my brother.

As the odds began to turn in our favour, the rogues started to retreat. Gunnar then mind linked with me, and he was furious!

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING, FREJA!" He boomed at me.

My wolf snarled at him, "SAVING YOUR ASS." I yelled back at him.

He huffed. "I didn't need your help! I had it under control. Now get your ass back up that tree, where you are supposed to be."

I reluctantly shifted back into my human form with a loud chuff, threw on my clothes, and grabbed my bow.

I began to jog back to the tree when I heard a noise come from my left. I stopped dead in my tracks and listened to everything that surrounded me.

I continued to listen and scan the area when I heard a male voice. "Well, well, what do we have here."

I looked around, searching for who the voice belonged to, but couldn't see anyone.

I aimed my bow, ready to fire, and my eyes roamed the trees around me. Then, behind me, I heard a faint chuckle. "What do you think you are going to do with that?" They questioned with amusement.

I remained silent, listening for footsteps and looking for a figure in the shadows, but there was nothing and no one. Then, as I stood there, my heart began to beat out of my chest. I tried to slow it down by taking slow breaths, but it felt like my heart rate only picked up in speed.

Behind me, I heard another noise and then the same deep, gruff voice "I can hear your heart beating erratically, love, are you afraid? Because you should be." He said in a calm yet eerie tone.

I turned around, looking for the man that belonged to the voice, but again he wasn't there. Moments passed by, and things were silent now. I almost thought he was gone for a second, but I was wrong!

I was taken by surprise when my bow was ripped from my hands, and I was slammed into a tree. A large, rough hand wrapped firmly around my throat while the other held my hands together and pinned them above my head against the rough bark.

At first, the impact from my head colliding with the tree made everything blurry, but I blinked rapidly, and the face that was mere inches from mine came into view. He was a tall man who stood at least a foot taller than I.

He had the most vivid and intriguing green eyes, short, wavy black hair, with hints of gold in it, that shined from the moonlight. He had high cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and plump lips. This man was so handsome and intimidating; he made my core tingle.

As he held me against the tree, my heart rate peaked immensely, but I did everything I could to remain calm and not show any emotions, as I knew he would use that against me. I scanned the man's face, looking for any visible emotions, and the only ones I picked up were confusion, then surprise, but he quickly masked those emotions, hiding them under that dark façade. But why was he surprised? The man's features turned cold and angry now.

He looked deep into my eyes, and a grin spread across his features, “Aren’t you a brave little wolf out here fighting with the big leagues. Shouldn’t you be at home, like a good little bitch.”

Even though that comment made me want to tear his face off, I maintained a blank look and didn’t answer him.

He raised a brow. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” The man said with a mischievous smile.

He continued to observe me with those hypnotizing green eyes, searching for emotion. His eyes began roaming all over my face, then slowly wandered down my body, which only intensified the tingling sensation between my legs.

His grin became impossibly wider, “Let me introduce myself, love. I am Alpha Cain of the Dead pack.” At that, my eyes widened in surprise and also in fear.

My father and our elders told tales of Alpha Cain, how ruthless he was, that he killed his father and mother just to gain power, that his heart was not made of flesh and blood but made from the fiery pits of hell itself.

Fear began to creep up my spine, my breathing became erratic, and my heart pounded within my chest.

His eyes bore into mine. “There’s the fear I was looking for.” He then let out a hair-raising chuckle.

I mustered up what courage I had left and asked, “What do you want?” He bent down a little, bringing his face even closer to my own and cocked his head to the side. Cain’s soft lips brushed against my ear, sending a shiver up my spine and whispered, “To instill fear within you and to make you squirm beneath my hold.” I squeezed my eyes, fearing what his words truly meant, and all I could think was, I am going to die.

An ear-splitting howl sounded, catching both our attention. Cain whipped his head in the direction of the roar and remained still, staring into the woods for a second, before turning his attention back to me.

His eyes sparkled, and he grinned. “Until we meet again, love.” He then let me go, backed away from me and shifted into his wolf. A massive yet beautiful black wolf, his fur glistened under the light of the moon, it looked so silky smooth, with hints of silver in it, his eyes were a bright and deadly yellow.

His wolf turned towards me and snarled, which caused me to back myself into the tree even further. I closed my eyes, and after a few seconds, I opened them, only to realize I was alone and he was gone.

I let out a shuddering breath and collapsed onto the mossy forest floor. As I sat there, I tried to think of what in the hell had just happened. From the stories I was told as a child, Alpha Cain never let anyone go, and he sure as shit had never let anyone survive his wrath during a war. So why me? Why did I feel slightly attracted to him? The proximity of his face to mine made me want to ravish him, his lips were so close to mine, and for a second, I prayed he would close that distance and dominate me. So what the hell is wrong with me? Especially when he was threatening me.