Loyalty

Zander 7 years ago...

Knock, knock, knock.

"Zander, open the door. We are about to head out."

Great, just what I needed. 

"Piss off John, I'm not in the mood."

That's John, the beta, my father's best friend, confidant, and the guy who does me father's dirty work. 

I hear John sigh, then receding footsteps. John knows I don't like the idea of this mission. I mean, how can I, when what they want me to do is help them take out another pack?

I'm 14 years old, and they want me to help them. I get that being a part of a pack means everyone is involved some sort of way to help the rest of the pack. 

But this I will not do. This I can't do. There are so many people that make up a pack, I can't bring myself to slaughter them. 

We have already slaughtered 4 other packs. Not a single one left. There were 17 packs that made up the werewolf community all over the world. Some of us died from old age, others died because of hunters, and some of us just went to war with each other.

There weren't many of us to begin with, but now including the 4 we slaughtered, my pack, Lunar Rise, and the pack we are about to slaughter, Lunar Peak, were the only ones left. 

Now it's just us and Lunar Peak. They is it as "conquering our kind to become the rulers", they want to be on top, the ring leaders of our kind. One alpha, one luna, one beta, one gamma, only our warriors, only our scouts, and their families. 

Then we have our farmers, our chefs, our planners, our children and our builders. My father and mother won't let up. Alpha and luna is not enough. They want the title of king and queen. And who won't join us and our cause, is murdered. 

Some people have joined but most would rather die. I don't blame them. I mean my life has been ok. Pretty strict rules, and pack members are scared of my father so they mostly leave me alone. 

But they are scared of him not because of who he is, but because of what he can do. Being alpha gives you certain privileges. 

With that title you can make any one of us do what he wants, just by using his alpha command. He can't use his command for just anything, no, it has to be used only for business. 

So he can't command a chef to make him a toastie. But he can command us to fight, deliver messages to neighbouring packs, he can even go as far as to command any of us to spy on someone even if the other person lives with us, so long as its in the name of bettering our pack. 

My mother on the other hand, well, she just couldn't care less, all she wants is power. And apparently luna isn't enough. 

While she can't command any of us at all, she can however, use her experience of manipulation to get what she wants. I haven't met anybody that was able to tell her no and not do it. She always has something up her sleeve. 

No matter who you are, you will bow down to her manipulation. 

I steer clear of her. She hates me anyway. She fell pregnant at an early age with me, and so apparently im the reason her reputation was ruined. 

She said to me "I may have been 18, but that still doesn't stop the judgemental eyes out there. After all, who would like to follow a luna if she pregnant all the time? If it wasn't for my title because of your dad, I would have been shunned and exiled."

Yeah, she has 4 kids. I'm the eldest and the one that ruined her. If it wasn't for me she would still be loved by everyone. She doesn't see that it's actually because of her ways of manipulation, but I'm ok with taking the blame. It's been that way for as long as i can remember. 

Bang, bang, bang. 

"Zander, get your ass out here. We move in 10. You need to get out here and be briefed on our course of action and your position. Dont make me command you son. Remember the last time?"

Yeah another thing about an alphas command, he may noy be able to command you to make a sandwich, but he can manipulate his command to include not letting anyone out alive. 

So instead of just commanding us to "fight in this war" he could say "fight in this war, and make sure you kill every last one of them." Or he coukd be an arsewhole and just say "fight with me, and slaughter the offspring."

Yeah no thanks. And besides, its also very painful. It's like you have tunnel vision. Only that command, until you have fulfilled it. You don't go of course, you don't go around it, its just you, the command and whatever the command is. 

So I get up and open the door my dad nearly pounded down and say,

"Dad, this is something I don't want any part in. There's us, the 50 that joined us from the last couple slaughters and Lunar Peak. We make up 2,500 werewolves, Lunar Peak make up 1,750 give or take a few on both our sides. But that's it. That is the last of our kind. While we out number them, they could still do severe damage on our end. We know they have that rediculous ceremony event thing tonight, thanks to the scouts, but they are the only other pack that hasn't been beaten in history. We were their allies, are we really just gunna go in there and slaughter them in the name of king and queen? It's rediculous. There is no logic in ruining the last of us in the name of power. There will be no one left to have power over dad. Come on, just think this through does in have to be a slaughter? Can't you all just come to some sort of agreement? Something that ensures our survival?"

Why can't he see it. We're going extinct at this rate. We have enough to worry about with the hunters, let alone adding to the stress and demise of ourselves with war between us all.

"Zander, I'm warning you. Walk out this door with me now or I'll command you to and force you out. Either come willingly or I'll make it even more miserable then what your already going to experience. We need this. There are things you don't know, things you don't understand yet. But you will with time. This is a fight we need to win. We just have to. Now lets go."

I shove past him as I leave my room and out to the car. I let him no I'm not happy about this but I'd rather not go through the extent of his command. I don't trust him to keep it at "fight with us" no, he'd command me to do things within that fight that would make me never want to refuse him again.

Lunar Peak is only about an hours drive away. So as I watch the trees fly by, I'm forced to listen to my father brief me on where I'll be and what I'll do. 

"You will be in second line of attack from the south. So you will be with John who is leading the warriors between 14 and 18. Your mother is leading our women warriors from the east, they are third line. I'll be first line with the male warriors from the north. We already have 20 warriors including 3 scouts waiting on the west side. They are the back up in case anyone does get past us, the scouts will also be the only ones going to our groups to inform us when the ceremony starts. The west side is the clearing they use for the ceremony. It's the largest and it's the furthest from their homes. When the scouts Give word we attack, any questions?"

I turn my head and look at my father. 

"Can I sit this one out?"

I know it's no use, but he did ask if I have any questions. 

"Don't be stupid boy. This happening and you will be apart of it, am I clear?"

"Mmm" is all I say. 

The moon is almost at its peak. Not long now and the slaughter will begin.

I can see the border of lunar peak coming into view, if s big sign isn't what tells you that we are here then itll definantly be the noise. 

We pull over not too far past the border, look like it's now or never. 

I open the car door and make my way to the group I'll be apart of. 

"Listen up and listen clear. Fast precise and with motivation. We do it now and we do it quick. This is not anything to be happy about but as you are aware it needs to be done. Follow me"

John, the ever so enforcer. 

So we all head to our posts. Not a person in sight. Courtesy of the ceremony, and not a single noise comes from any of us. 

We've been waiting at our post for a little while when someone comes and tells us the alpha and luna are both at the forefront of the ceremony. 

And that's when I hear it. Gun shots. My father's signal. He's already started. Now or never I suppose.

We all start on our way, some in wolf form and some in human form with guns. We make it in time to see the chaos starting. Everyone is running everywhere. So much for a coordinated attack. 

Kids screaming not knowing what to do. I run in and take out my gun and shoot a wolf in the head that has john pinned. 

John looks over and nods in thanks and pushes the wolf off him. 

I shoot a few more wolves I don't recognise and every one of them drop. Wolfsbane laced bullets. A werewolves kryptonite. 

As I'm going around shooting when I need, I turn around just in time to see my mother's head being torn from her body.

And just as I'm about to run to her, I see my father. He leaps into the air and lands on all fours. A smooth and successful mid air transformation. 

He leaps on the back of the wolf that killed my mother, and claws and bites at the wolf underneath him. 

I take a look around and there's not many people left standing. Bodies lay every where. Body parts are thrown across the place. Bullet casings glimmer under the moonlight all over the ground.  

I can see fighting everywhere. I'm about to go to my dad's brother when out of no where I'm knocked to the ground. A wolf snarling above me.

This is it. I'm about to die, and at the cause of my father and his strive for power. 

I close my eyes willing death to come from a battle that should never have happened, when the wolf is thrown off me and my dad gives me his hand. I take it and he pulls me to my feet. That's when I see it. A gash taken out of his side. At the rate of this war, he won't survive. There's to much chaos and no one to help. 

"Son, I'm sorry, but this was all for you. You will be alpha now, I don't know who will be left after this but I didn't think this fight would turn out like this. You have to know. The hunters, they have been getting closer and gaining numbers. The other packs we took out wanted to flee. Didn't even give their people a chance to choose to fight. So we took them out and the ones who wanted to come, came with us. Lunar peak was the last pack other than us, as you know, but they didnt see the danger we were in. But they were the reason the hunters were coming. You have to save our people zander. Theres something coming. And your going to need whoever you can get so our kind can survive. I love you son. Im proud of you. Promise me youll do everything you can to save our people."

This isn't what I wanted. I knew this was going to be bad. 

"I promise you dad. I'll do everything in my power for our kind to survive. I love you too."

And with that, he closes his eyes and his breathing stops. 

My father just died. 

My mother just died. 

Our people are dying. 

I take a look around at the mess we created, there's a few of them left and a few of us. This didn't need to happen. None of it did. But I'll make damn sure Lunar Peak pay. My father says they are the reason for the hunters, I don't know what they did. But I'll find out. 

I gather the rest of our men and tell them to gather the rest of the people who have surrendered. 

30 people surrendered. the rest dead. Not many more of our pack have survived either. So i make a decision. 

"Those of you surrendering, ill let you leave. You have lost alot today, as have we. By the looks of all this, theres not much of a pack for either of us left, but since we are all thats left of our kind, i will not send you to your deaths. You can live. But not here. And not with us. Your leaders have fallen, so what you do from here is up to you. But I will tell you now, your pack is the reason for all this. You leaders were warned about what was to come. But they didn't heed the warning. And we both now pay the consequences. I was told your pack was the reason for the hunters. So I show you mercy today, but tomorrow i wont be so kind."

And with that, I turn on my heel and leave. 

I look to the moon for comfort. We lost a alot today moon goddess. Please give me strength to help me keep my promise. I don't know what lay ahead for us but I'll do my best. 

In return for your strength, I give you, 

My undying loyalty.