The Alpha's Favorite

Chapter 6

The sun had long been up in the sky, shining down on my back, but it was neither hot nor cold, the temperature almost an anomaly. I was beginning to realize that this place made no sense except the choke hold of fear in my lungs. It crept into my lungs... my heart, urging me to leave this cursed place.

I’ve lost count of how long it’s been, my phone battery having died after about ten hours into my journey, but I’ve finally made it to the mountain. And if there was a designated entrance, I couldn’t find it.

Said to have taken more lives than anywhere else in the world, I've never been near the infamous mountain before today and there really isn't much to see except for the thick woodlands as far as the eyes can see, and an even thicker mist that makes it extremely more frightening.

The forest, it didn't just feel like it was watching me. It felt like it was whispering directly into my ears.

Overhead, tall, spine-like trees twisted together, weeping black sap as their jagged branches clawed in every direction— like they were pleading for release, begging to escape. The air hung thick with silence, not peaceful but heavy and suffocating. It's as if the woods were holding their breath, waiting for me to make a mistake... waiting to see if I would die like the others.

It truly is a cursed land, abandoned by the Gods, a place where monsters lingered in the shadows, hungry and impatient and restless with rage.

The pressure of danger had only gotten increasingly worse, making it hard to breathe and think and move as I walked through the eerie quiet woods. No bird sang in these parts, nor were there other sounds of life.

It feels like death was all around me or, better yet, coming for me.

Despite all that, there was only one way and that’s up.

So that’s what I did.

I climbed the mountain until I couldn’t breathe anymore and my leg— my injury, started to ache in a way that forced me to sit down and catch my breath.

The terrain is nearly impossible to trek through with an incline that makes it hard to get proper balance and the ground is so rocky and uneven that whatever balance I do have is easily lost with each step taken.

It also felt never ending.

Just when I think I’ve made it, it makes me feel like I made no progress at all.

Looking up at the sky for some semblance of how long it’s been, I notice that the sun has already set, draping me in utter darkness once more.

Around me, the mist was so thick, and it only seemed to grow thicker the higher I went up the mountain. And the air felt thin and heavy at the same time, tiring me more quickly.

Just when dread, fear and horror made me want to turn back, I shook my head. I have the stamina. And I’ve been in worse pain in the past.

I can do this.

Nothing will stop me.

As I say this, my stomach grumbles and my throat tightens from dehydration.

Almost blindly, I reached into my gym bag, grabbing for the last of my water. As for food, I was down to half of the loaf of bread and crumbs from my granola bar.

I have to be there soon.

My supplies were running out, and I was still hiking back down after— if I survived, that is.

“Are you looking to get a werewolf too?” A voice from behind me spoke.

I nearly jumped out of my skin and whirled around in panic. After so long, this was the first time I encountered any living being, much less a talking one, and it showed by how loudly I gasped and sputtered.

A man in his mid thirties stood in front of me with his hands up. He had a whole trekking bag strapped to his back that was bigger than him and was wearing gear that only professionals would have. He was a big guy, nearly as unnaturally big as the werewolves in their human forms, and he was clearly physically fit. Between the two of us, he looked like he was meant to be here.

“I’m sorry.” He bowed his head forward, an apologetic but kind smile on his face. “I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

My heart was still pounding like crazy as I gripped my gym back and pressed my back painfully into the nearest tree. I mentally prepared myself for werewolves... but not another human.

“I mean you no harm, I was just passing by and saw you.” He continued when he saw my reaction. “I’m Theodore.”

I licked my dry, dehydrated lips. “I’m Lily.”

“Hello, Lily.” The man nodded his head again and reached over a water jug strapped to his bag. “Here. Have some water. I have plenty.”

Despite how my throat cried for me to take it, I hesitated, only staring at him.

I didn’t know how it worked when meeting another human in the cursed land.

For all I know, it could be a fight to death of some sort, and he’s here to kill his competition.

It might just be paranoia, but I simply don’t know enough about this place to feel comfortable near him.

The man continued to observe me, looking at my muddy white sneakers that obviously weren’t made for hiking and my torn up leggings and shirt. And then his gaze settled on my gym bag, which was pink and was made for yoga. It also looked much too light for the most dangerous mountain in the world. “You’re not prepared for this, are you?”

“What makes you say that?” I asked, but the answer was quite obvious as I looked between us.

It wasn’t even just the equipment, or the chunky boots that looked slip proof, but the body as well.

He’s packed with muscles whereas I… I was built the way my ballet teachers wanted me to be.

“You’re neither in the proper gear nor the proper… build? Everyone that graduates from the schools or private preparations usually has a look, military-esque if you will, and you just don’t have that.” He raised his hands up again and offered yet another apologetic smile. “Pardon. I’m not trying to belittle you. I just find it brave.”

I wasn’t sure if I should thank him.

Bravery for something like this just didn’t feel right to be complimented.

This was just foolishness.

Theodore gave me a friendly thumbs up. “Here’s hoping we’re part of the fifteen percent that survive this!”

I offered him a thumbs up as well, albeit less enthusiastically. “Yes. Here’s to that.”

He laughs and urges me along with a wave of his hand. “Come. I can show you the way. I’ve memorized the map for at least a year. I know my way around, and we’re close to the top. Not too far away now.”

Again, I hesitated. This man is a stranger and, truthfully, after Silas, I was kind of done with men at the moment, but the fact is, I didn’t know where I was, so I stood and walked a few paces behind him, making sure there’s space between us. “Uhm, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure. I’ve been alone for twenty hours. It would be good to get my mind out of this fright I’m feeling.” He slammed his fist into his chest and shook his head.

It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one losing my mind and having this feeling of dread in my lungs. “In your school do they tell you how long the hike takes?”

Theodore didn’t even need time to think. He knew the answer instantly, like he was reciting it from memory. “Three to four days for the untrained and one full day for those that at least prepared three years for the hike.”

“Well, f u c k.” I whispered under my breath while squinting ahead. There were no signs we were getting closer.

“F u c k indeed.” He agreed with a chuckle. “I trained for three years in school and was even in the military for the majority of my life, but I doubt I’ll do the hike in a day.”

I glanced at him before looking ahead of us. “Why are you doing this? Why climb this mountain of death?”

Theodore didn’t miss a beat. “For wealth.”

“Wealth?” I repeated mostly to myself.

“The rich and famous who don’t want to risk this deadly hike and encounter the werewolves like to hire people that do.” He patiently explains to me. “If I get a werewolf, my wife and newborn daughter, we will be set for life. We will never have to worry about money ever again.”

I didn’t even think of that. The rich and famous love to hire those that have werewolves and the price isn’t cheap. Silas even hires werewolves as his private henchmen. The humans bound to them are showered with money. “That sounds nice.”

For the first time, Theodore’s smile wavers. “But that’s if I’m part of the fifteen percent.”

“The odds aren’t exactly with us,” I tell him truthfully, because though I haven’t seen dead bodies yet, I can still smell them in the air.

“It never is for something this rewarding.” He wisely answers back. “But why are you risking it all? A young girl like you? With a long future ahead?”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard to tell a complete stranger my reason. Death was close. Secrets suddenly didn't matter anymore. “Protection and for my family as well.”

“There’s no shame in that. We all do what we can to survive.” The understanding in his words makes my heart ache.

I’ve been so ashamed.

I’ve been so scared.

Hearing this, it didn’t erase everything, but it did make it lighter.

“Do you know how werewolves choose?” He asks, turning around to face me when I suddenly fell silent.

I shake my head and don’t bother thinking up a lie. “No. Not really. I’m just winging it and hoping for the best.”

“I admire that. Not a lot of people do.” He points ahead of us where the air seems to get thicker and thicker. “Even the smoke, the mist around us, it's enough to have a grown man run away. I almost did. The schools say werewolves can smell our scents and through that they are able to identify why we’re there. They can tell what we want, what we need and from there, if we’re worthy of them, they’ll choose. If you’re too weak, with nothing to offer them, they have the right to kill you. Only the strong, only the brave and the powerful can face and bind with a wolf.”

My eyes flicker to my hands, bruised from holding on to trees and rocks. I just felt so broken, and it wasn’t even the superficial cuts I got from today. “How can we be worthy?”

Theodore shakes his head. “That… has never been proven. No werewolf has ever told us how someone is worthy and how they choose. They’ve chosen criminals, law abiding citizens. But I think werewolves choose from the heart and soul and, of course, strength. Whatever matches them.”

A sigh leaves my lips. “I’ll either get a really old werewolf or a newborn one. If I’m found worthy.”

“Still a werewolf,” He countered, grinning. “A werewolf is still a werewolf. People pay good money for them and a child or an elderly wolf is as strong as ten humans. No one will mess with you.”

Again, my heart quakes a little because he is right. No one would think to harm my family with a werewolf guarding us, or at least they would think twice before doing so. Eager to learn more, I quickened my pace, walking side by side with Theodore. “I heard there are ranks.”

Like a wise teacher, Theodore happily obliges. “Yes. From Alphas to Omegas. They can be classified through color and size. From normal sized wolves to utter beasts taller than trees.”

“Can you tell me about them?” I asked, confused about how there is so much about werewolves that I don’t know, yet I’m about to bind with one.

“Of course. The Omegas, the white or sand furred wolves, are the weaker ones but are incredibly attractive. The Omegas are usually used for more unsavory tasks,” He says with a frown before shaking his head. “There are also Gammas, the warriors. They have brown or red fur. Next are the Betas, who are at least five times more powerful than any other werewolf, but they’re rare. Very rare. Those wolves have grey fur. And then finally, the one and only Alpha that no one has ever seen before, with black as night fur.”

The Alpha.

Even someone as uneducated as I was with werewolves knew about him.

His story is legendary and horrifying.

He is the reason no one wants to walk outside at night. Or near the woods.

Often, he’s used as a horror story to keep everyone indoors.

“They say he’s been completely consumed by the animal inside him and has long died since no one has seen him for over fifty years, but history books show how absolutely terrifying he is.” Theodore, the mammoth of a man that he is, actually shudders. “He once destroyed an entire country all by himself, killing everyone and laying waste to any that try to come near him. He’s known to even kill his own kind. And he’s the reason why they have the curse in the first place.”

I had nothing to say about that.

For I also felt afraid.

Thankfully, Theodore had more to say. “This place is cursed. You can feel it in the air, the smell of death and a constant warning to turn back. It is not only hard on the body but on the mind as well. This mountain is where they were cursed and forever banished. There is nothing but horror in these woods. That’s where that feeling is coming from.”

I wrapped my arms around myself. “I feel it. Like it’s entering my pores and making my bones brittle.”

“Do not put your guard down,” He warned seriously. “This is a lawless land. There are werewolves everywhere, even if you don’t see them and if they feel you’re unworthy or if they just want to— they’ll kill you and no one will stop them.”

As if his words summoned my awareness of our surroundings, or maybe we were simply nearing the top, I started to see the claw marks on the trees. I see the way the ground is so uneven because of the large paws that have scraped them and the smears of something dark on my sneakers that felt sticky and putrid.

It wasn’t mud after all.

The fright I felt before only triples until I feel like I can’t breathe. The feeling is so overwhelming that I think I might cry, but I grit my teeth and fisted my hands.

No way but up.

I was either going to die on this mountain or I was going home with a werewolf.

There were no other options.

Not for me.

Theodore wrapped his arms around himself as well, the conversation dying out as the wind blew hard against us, yet we didn’t stop hiking up the nearly fifty degree incline, grasping trees and rocks and whatever our hands and feet could reach. I was so hungry and thirsty and the bursts of pain from my entire body didn’t help my situation.

“Lily,” Theodore calls from ahead of me.

I blinked up towards him. The gust of wind was increasing, pushing us back aggressively. I kept slipping and the only thing holding me up was a branch that dug painfully into my arms. “What?”

He turns back to me, his lips parted in a shout and I stare at him… waiting, blinking and struggling until a powerful howl that echos through the mountain sends a chill down my spine and the next thing I know, something hot and thick and wet sprays all over my face.

Stunned, the strong smell of copper made me force my eyes to open, but I shouldn’t have, for when I looked up and saw Theodore— there was nothing left of him except his hands that still held on to the rock and the blood that gushed out onto me.

Just like that, he was dead.

Gone.

Eaten.

His hopes.

His dreams.

His wife and newborn daughter.

It was all gone.