Rage of the Alpha (Part 2 of the Alpha Queen series)

"You’re telling me that... that,” Ferian said disbelievingly, “is my brother.” He stared at the monstrous creature with apprehension. “I… What!?” He exclaimed as a blast of ice left the beasts’ gaping mouth. “That thing is as big as a castle!” Okay, maybe not a castle, but certainly a very big house. “Dragons don’t grow that big! Dragons breathe fire, not ice! Even the coloring is all wrong. How can something be all the colors at once?”

Lamia had no answers. She just knew from the spell where to find the AWOL prince. There simply were no other signs of life on this mountain. It had to be him. That dragon was probably the reason there was no other life around for miles.

“Not to be too obvious, but we could die trying to reason with that,” Liffin pointed out with big, round eyes.

“He should still know us,” came Ferian’s quiet reply. “Our beast-forms are still us - we can still talk and reason in that state.”

“I would not want to bet my life on that. How would we even try?”

“Maybe we should just keep an eye on him for the moment. See if we might get an opening,” Lamia suggested.

They watched as Asher moved around in an agitated fashion, blasting more ice and then breaking it apart. Suddenly he roared at the heavens, the sound piercing their ears trying to shatter their eardrums.

The roar of the dragon turned into a wail so yearning, so mournful, that tears spilled freely down Lamia’s face. The scene was heartbreaking. She couldn’t look away though. Like something deep inside her needed to bear witness to this beasts’ suffering.

When the dragon’s haunting cries came to an end, he dropped down on his belly and lay there, looking defeated. Lamia couldn’t take it anymore and ran towards Asher, needing to comfort him somehow.

Ferian’s surprise at her taking off didn’t last long however, and he took off after her. The dangers in approaching any creature in pain were very real. But Lamia kept running and dodging him to get to Asher.

Finally grabbing hold of her elbow, he spun her around and boxed her in safely in his embrace. Fat drops of water were coming down on them both. The prince’s blood ran cold as he noticed it wasn’t raining. Oh gods. Not water, but the dragon’s tears.

Ferian looked up into a silver eye as big as himself. They were in big trouble now. It was mere feet above where they now stood. And Lamia was still bawling her eyes out in the crook of his neck, totally oblivious to their situation.

“Brother,” he began, “We are so sorry for what happened.” It was all he could think of to say. He tried desperately to put all his emotions into his eyes, willing Asher to accept their presence.

Lamia had finally gotten a grip and added tearfully, “I can take your pain away for a while Asher, if that is your wish.” She couldn’t bear it if he refused, knowing what agony he was going through right now.

“Asher,” Liffin’s soft voice sounded from behind them. “Let us help you,” his tone broke down at the emotion clouding his words.

The dragon eye kept staring at them so long, Ferian started to have doubts about his sanity.

“Hmpf.” The dragon looked irritated suddenly. He snorted shards of ice onto the ground next to Liffin. “Are you thinking of taking my memories?”

“No, I can take the grief by nullifying your emotions until you’re ready to have them back.” Lamia quickly explained, “You’re in anguish, please let me do that for you. Being so close to you is unbearable for a witch. You would be doing me a favor Prince Asher.”

“How selfless,” the dragon replied, looking away for a moment. “Please do it Lamia. I will end up dead if I continue like this, it feels like I’m already in hell. And I can’t die until I have Saber back. I love her.”

Stepping away from Ferian, Lamia nodded. Asher took a final deep breath and relinquished his beast-form, kneeling naked and in utter defeat at Lamia’s feet. She took a step toward him and crushed his face into her bosom, embracing the fallen prince with empathy and compassion.

Lamia muttered an incantation as she held him tight, tears streaming onto Asher’s hair. Ferian was in awe of this little witch. He met Liffin’s gaze and gripped his shoulder. Thank the gods.

SABER

Just as Sebastian predicted, everyone treated Saber like a Queen. She just didn’t know what to do with them. They kept bringing her things, kept doing things for her. At the end of each day she was accosted with people wishing her a good night when she made for her cave.

There hadn’t been any sign of ghosts, thank goodness. Although everyone had told her to be careful, because the stone ‘furniture’ liked to move on their own and sometimes, there was wailing. Saber truly loved the place, so if there were ghosts, she’d make it her mission to get along with them.

Currently everyone was occupied but Saber. In two days there would be a blue moon. A very special occasion for the wolves where they honored their Luna’s ascent to godhood. Packs from close by would also be attending the celebrations.

This was why Sebastian had insisted that she give a show of her power. To get word out that she was indeed alive and capable. Saber didn’t mind being the center of attention, but she did mind being judged. It didn’t matter that there would be other alphas, none was her equal. Not even in size.

Her wolf had grown tremendously as her power developed. All the meditating since she came here had helped with that. She now had to shift outside, lest she wanted to destroy someone's house.

The two girls who had started braiding her hair after she had taken a dip at the cave entrance seemed to be done. One held out a small mirror which Saber declined.

“I trust you did a great job girls,” she smiled confidently. Truthfully, she didn’t care what she looked like, but they’d wanted to do something nice for her.

The two of them beamed and blabbered excitedly about the festivities, one of them hoping to dance with a certain boy from another pack. The other was hoping to sneak some Fae wine away with another friend. Saber envied them.

“Oh, did you know? The Traveling Wolven Minstrel will be here. They say his music rivals the Fae’s because he has a magic flute.” One girl said.

“I’ve never seen him. I’ve only heard stories,” sulked the other.

“I know nothing about him,” Saber confessed conspiratorially to the sulking girl. “Will you two fetch me immediately when you see him?”

They were so excited by the prospect that they finally left beaming about it. Saber watched them go and stood up, finally able to get some rest from doing nothing all day. It wasn’t sitting well with her - doing nothing, being waited on… Something needed to change that soon.

Sebastian and Saber were arguing yet again about how she should be introduced and how to show her power to the packs. Sebastian wanted Saber to make a grand entrance, she didn’t see the need for that. He wanted her to charm the alphas, she felt that should be unnecessary.

He also brought her a beautiful gown to wear to impress them, which she wanted to burn. Never again would she put herself at the mercy of others. Saber could not care less if they liked her, she sure as hell didn’t give a damn what they thought.

For the first time, Saber wanted her scars back. They told the story of her survival. Without them, she needed to tell people if she wanted them to know. If she had those scars, she could just parade her naked self into their midst, and they would not think twice about aligning with her.

Sebastian was also talking about overthrowing the Fae. But it felt more like he wanted to do that for her, because of what she’d been through at the hands of their Queen.

But… A war was coming. Her own vision had shown three factions of their realm fighting it. These alliances would boost the Wolves numbers and strength. Though to say Saber wanted no part of it would be an understatement.

She looked at everyone hustling with last-minute preparations. Saber did love these people. She wanted this carefree life for all of them. Besides, she was already so damaged that it didn’t really matter if she forfeited her life. It would make more sense to sacrifice her life for theirs.

Putting on her leathers, she dismissed the idea of dolling herself up, that wasn’t who she was. What mattered was for these wolves to see her for who she was, not some frumped-up version of a queen.

Gathering her newly made weapons, Saber slid the sword into the scabbard she’d had made for her back where it would be within easy reach. Keeping the small braids the girls did the day before, she only combined them into one large braid to keep all her hair together.

Two daggers - one at each hip - followed, along with a diamond-tipped leather whip at her right side. Smaller knives were attached to her left thigh. Saber looked at herself in the tall mirror Sebastian had brought for the occasion.

She allowed herself a small smile at the statement her look would make. Badass bitch, she grinned to herself and left the security of her cave. Diving straight into the pool at the waterfall, Saber made her way to the pack-house.

Exciting the water, it took only a few moments to dry herself completely using her magic. The fire inside her was extremely useful as she discovered with each meditation session. Both fire and lightning had combined inside her, forming something new. She had yet to discover any weaknesses, so far it seemed limitless.

There were people everywhere. They were scattered and seemed to be in every crevice in sight. Saber gave each new face she encountered a small smile and nod, trying to steal into the pack-house without being deterred.

She could feel the alphas’ combined power as she entered and immediately wondered if they could feel her. Saber hadn’t thought to mask her power, since no-one had commented on it before. Too late for that now I guess. Holding her head high, she made her way toward the center of the power she felt.

Finding some seated while others were standing, all twelve alphas were deep in discussion. Nonetheless, Saber found her wolf stirring just beneath the surface in response to their combined power. Her senses were sharp as she took them in.

She remembered the Rosetta pack also supporting the Crown when she was on the run. She needed to know their reasoning behind that. Gazing around the room, their attention slowly came to her as she stepped forward at a leisurely pace.

Sebastian, who had been conversing with an older man, came around the huge couches, taking her hand in his.

“Gentlemen, I’d like for you to meet Saber, Alpha Queen of the Wolves.”

Murmuring started among them as they took her in from head to toe. The older man Sebastian had been speaking with, came closer and extended his hand in a friendly manner. Saber took his in hers, almost wincing at his sweaty palm.

A low growl slipped from her as she asked, “Why are you nervous Alpha? Have something to hide?”

“No-no my Queen. It’s just,” he sighed and met her eyes in a truth-baring way, “your father beat me senseless for looking at you when you were a child. It seems the lesson has stood the test of time.” He chuckled breathlessly.

Saber was surprised and laughed loudly, which set the rest of them at ease. “Well, I have respect for your honesty.” She let go of his hand and faced them all. “I understand our customs. I know you feel my dominance. But I want to clear something up first, if you’ll give me a moment?”

“Of course,” Sebastian said while some of the others nodded.

“Right. I may be the Alpha Queen, but we know my father was a great leader. I want your allegiance, but not for the reasons you think. It’s simple really, I want to earn my place before anyone calls me Queen. You can call me Saber, but know that disrespect will earn you death, no matter who you are.”

“I don’t care what tradition says, I will put my people first. Under no circumstance will I retreat for my sake and let another get hurt because of that. And gentleman,” she said quietly, “I will not tolerate anyone that fears me. I’m too young and my father died before I could begin proper training, so I’ll expect to be taught and corrected as any other. Are we clear?”

A few stared at her open-mouthed as others quickly accepted her words. When it looked like they all agreed, Saber dropped her bomb with luminous green eyes.

“If you will align with me, we have a war to prepare for after the festivities. If you don’t, I expect you gone by the end of tomorrow.”