Curse of an Alpha

Ashira's POV.

Werewolves do exist. Humans believe they're just a myth. A way to scare the children or to keep the teens from going out at night.

But it is real. Werewolves are real.

I know this because I am one of them. A living proof of the myth.

I'm a She-Wolf.

But humans don't know about us. We live in a world made just for us.

"Ashira!" A cheery, sweet voice took my attention from dozing off.

My friend, Lucianna, came running in my direction. Like me, she wore a thin white satin dress just above the knees. Both of us wore wood-made sandals.

If you were going to compare the way we were dressed, we might look weird despite the age and year today.

We had no underwear inside the thin white dresses. The wood sandals were even made by the elders of the pack.

But this was different from the way we usually dress. We just had to.

A sacred ceremony was to be held, and we must dress like so.

It was a pack tradition.

Werewolves like us needed to stick together.

We had our pack. My friend Lucy and I belonged to the Regal pack under the reign of Alpha David together with his Beta, Eric. Eric was the one who took me in and acted as my guardian.

I was once a Rogue. A lone wolf. I was still determining who my parents were and whether I had ever belonged to another pack or not.

I had almost no memories of my childhood.

All I remembered was walking in the middle of the forest and being found by Eric.

Eric's mate, Ophelia, accepted me as their orphan child. They also had a son named Cruz; he was a couple years older than me.

I got along well with Eric and his family. Cruz was even overprotective like I were a real sister to him. Overall, I settled into this pack even though I was practically an outsider.

"You looked excited, Luce," I told her when she stopped before me. We walked sideways towards the line where the other She-Wolves were. They wore the same kind of clothes.

"And you're not? We're talking about the Mapping here! Of course, I'll be hell-bent!"

Mapping was a pack tradition. This tradition was held annually every last month of the year, a sacred ceremony and one of every pack's most meaningful events.

The continent had the East, West, South, and North. And every one of these regions had packs domineering it. I was from Regal Pack of the North.

It was not just our pack that held the Mapping. Every pack all over the continent did.

We'd be able to know from which pack our mate lives. This was the primary concern of the Mapping, to know which pack the females would be sent to.

Each wolf had their mates. If a wolf was not able to meet its mate, it wouldn't have the chance to produce a pup. Even if a male or female wolf had sex with every wolf, they would not be able to produce a child unless it was with their mate.

So finding a mate was a must, especially for the pack's Alpha, even for the Beta and third-in-command, Gamma.

They would need their mate to have a pup that would continue their legacy.

It took work to pick a Beta or Gamma. Those high-rank positions were mostly inherited. Unless that bloodline betrayed the Alpha, they would be banished from having any part in the high rank.

I just shrugged the thought of finally locating my mate.

I was not interested. Really.

"I'm just waiting for this moment since I was born." Lucy's eyes were even sparkling as she said that.

That reaction was widespread. Most of the She-Wolves were waiting for this moment of their life.

Not me.

I didn't have any butterflies flying in my stomach whenever the word mate was involved.

"How does this work again?" I asked. I knew most of the pack laws and its system, but I never dug deep into anything about Mapping or mates.

"You're so uninterested, Ashira. Aren't you excited to meet your mate?"

I shrugged only to answer her question. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Whatever. So here" —Luce pointed to the house of the Enchantress— "there's a sacred knife inside, and you'll cut your palm with it. You'll let the blood drop on the map, and it will do its magic," she explained with excitement.

"How?"

She slumped her shoulders and looked at me like I was unbelievably annoying. "This thing is taught to the toddlers, and you don't know?" she scoffed.

I scowled at her.

"Whatever. So after the Enchantress is done with the chant, a part of the map where your mate lives will glow," she said, having sparkles in her eyes once again.

"Technically, we still don't know who our mate is," I stated. That sounded like a job.

"Exactly! Isn't it exciting!" Her voice almost made me cover my ears.

I scowled. "Exciting how?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at me. "We'll go to them and will be surprised, duh! First, we'll be able to visit another pack—"

"Only if the mate is not from our pack," I cut her off and shrugged.

"Whatever, Ash!" She rolled her eyes. "Oh! Then, we'll be accommodated by the other pack. That's like having a free vacation with a place to stay and food to eat!" She screamed the last word.

"You sound like they don't feed you here," I cut in again, having fun annoying my friend more.

Luce pretended she didn’t hear me this time.

"Third, we'll finally have the chance to attend the annual Mapping party!"

Every year, every pack celebrated the annual mapping party, on the exact dates that the Alphas agreed on.

This year, the Mapping Ball would be held the night before Christmas so that the She-Wolves will have time to travel to the packs where the Mapping led them. And to prepare themselves or something.

She-Wolves from other packs came here at every annual Mapping party. And they would meet their mates at the party.

The same would happen to us soon.

Every year, the Regal pack lost its She-Wolves. And every year, new She-Wolves from other packs were added.

It was like exchanging the women of packs. But for a reason. The men could not leave the pack. Only females could. Male wolves couldn’t transfer to another pack. That was the law of every pack.

The loyalty of the male wolf was essential.

Also, it was a pack law. Even if males were asked to switch packs, they couldn’t. Well, unless they went Rogue. But only few packs accepted Rogue as one of them. They tended to have a traitor's blood. That was how packs saw Rogues.

"Any worst-case scenario?" I asked Lucy again. The long line was cut short. I guess the process of Mapping was easy. We were almost next.

Many girls came out of the Enchantress's house with wide-ear smiles. Knowing where their mate resides was causing a rampage on their system. Ugh, I couldn't relate.

Lucy tilted her head while thinking of an answer to my question. "Hmm, as far as I heard, there's a wolf before that lost her consciousness. Maybe from blood loss. She cut way too deep on her palm. But that's the worst I know."

Okay. I didn't think I'd be stupid enough to cut myself deep, and I thought I healed fast.

"Oh, my God! I'm next!" Lucy screamed.

I just smiled and gave her a light push, not feeling any excitement.

Lucy went inside, and I was next in line. I looked around and noticed that there was only one girl left behind me.

I took note of her excitement gushing through her aura. She looked like she’d pass out any second, from being thrilled to know her mate.

"You wanna go first?" I asked. I knew she’d love to.

The girl's eyes widened and sparkled with hope. "I can?!" she screamed, making my ears ring for a bit.

I smiled and gave way for her to make a curtsies.

"Thank you! Thank you!" she jump-walked past me.

A few minutes and Lucy came out of the house. There was a red cloth wrapped in her left hand, just like the others before her. Maybe it helped to stop the bleeding, but that was weird since we could heal fast.

Lucy was grinning like crazy. She sure was in high spirits. "Ashiraaaaa!" She jumped on me and hugged me tightly. The girl I made a favor already ran inside the Enchantress. "My god! I know where my mate is!" Lucy screamed once again, which made a whizzing noise in my ears.

"I'm happy for you. Yay," I said, trying to sound cheerful while I rubbed my ears without her seeing.

"Won't you ask me more?"

I was confused at first. Hell, this girl just wanted to be even more thrilled. I just laughed as I saw her eyes glittering and her lips pouting. "Okay. Where!?"

"Shadow pack!" she screamed again. Damn, my friend!

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

Shadow pack was the second strongest wolf pack in the North. Most wolves in that pack were fighters. They also outran the other packs in numbers.

Our pack, the Regal, was fourth in line in the strongest pack. We also had a lot of wolves which made us earn fourth place. We were mostly women, but we made that an advantage. Our She-Wolves were also fighters. Some even were the best.

I was about to talk more and congratulate her when I saw the girl leave the house. Her eyes mirrored the same sparkle every girl did.

"I guess I'm next," I said to Lucy. She nodded nonstop with excitement; I just sighed.

I walked through the door of the house of the Enchantress. Once inside, I was welcomed by the dark, and only the dimmed lights from the candles were lighting the place. A circular wooden table was in the middle of the living room. There was a massive map on the table, a box on the side, and five candles formed into circles shaped like a Star.

Behind the table was where the Enchantress was seated. I could barely see her because of the dark.

When my eyes adjusted, I saw her face more clearly.

The Enchantress was almost in her fifties. "Come closer, Wolf," the Enchantress said, almost in a whisper.

I did.

I was not nervous or afraid, but my feelings were uncanny.

This place felt so heavy, and I wondered why. Should I feel this way? I felt so different from the way the other females reacted. The ambience gave me a light fear. Not enough to make my knees tremble, though.

It was like my Wolf was saying something. Somehow telling me of danger. At least, that was how I felt.

"You know what to do," the Enchantress said. She sounded tired and bored. She has been doing this thing all her life, and she was not into it anymore.

I eyed the table in front of me. I looked at the box beside the map. Inside, I saw the sacred knife lying flat, almost waiting for me to take it.

Two wolves were hugging each other, carved on the knife's handle.

I picked it up and put its edge on my palm. I inhaled deeply as I started cutting through my palm, and I realized that the metal used in the knife was silver. Silver makes our healing slow, and the blood loss finally made sense.

It stung a bit. My forehead was in a knot as I let my blood drip on the map. Once my blood dropped on the map, it was quickly absorbed by the piece of paper. That explained why there was no blood stain on the map after all those girls before me.

I placed the knife inside the box carefully, then growled when the Enchantress hastily took my hand. Damn! That scared me.

Her move was fast, it also made me think she was weird. She wrapped my hand with a red cloth like others, and I felt that the wound in my palm healed faster.

Hmm.

After, she looked at the map, waiting for the result, and I did the same.

Frowning, I continued looking at the map. There was no light showing yet. Lucy said it would glow or something.

A few seconds and a little round glow was visible in a part of the map. I gasped. Wow. It sure was magical. I looked up at the woman in front, and she quickly broke my growing enthusiasm.

The Enchantress's eyes looked even more bored. "Prime pack," she announced; no emotion could be detected in her voice.

Okay, I was done here, huh?

Once informed of where my mate lived, I turned around, ready to step away from the table since everything seemed to be done. I was about to take a step when another light showed on the map. What the hell? There were two. And then another glowed, two, three, and another.

Almost every part of the map was glowing!

The map took my full attention. I was not sure what was happening, and confusion was displayed on my face. "What—" I was about to ask, but stopped before I could.

I didn't understand any of it; I was scared to speak!

The map and its glowing lights were too distracting. My wolf bombarded me with a lot of questions in my head!

Confusion and fear slowly crawled on me.

The Enchantress's expression didn't help at all. She looked more shocked than I was! And if I was not mistaken, there was fear in her face. The heck?!

"W-What's happening..." I managed to ask. Was this supposed to happen? Maybe I should be glad after knowing the results of the Mapping? Oh, hell, why was I trying to blame myself?

"You're a stealer!" the Enchantress exclaimed.

Her voice sounded hysterical, and I knew there was something wrong with the sound of her voice and her expression.

Stealer? I was not a freakin' thief!

But what does that mean?

I slowly walked backward, away from the table, away from the map, away from the Enchantress.

'Ashira. Go home. Now!'

That was Eric talking to me through our mind link. I was trembling with an unknown fear, but I did not think twice when I heard him. I ran fast, heading outside of the house.

Lucy was about to come near me, but I immediately shape-shifted into my white wolf.

My wolf and I were so confused. I could hear my wolf whining. And somehow, she sounded angry. I heard Lucy call my name, but I did not looked back.

I ran towards home. All I wanted now was a talk with Eric.

He must know something about this stealer thing or else… I'd go insane!

Cruz's POV.

"Ashi's on her way," I told my Dad, Eric. "I don't understand what's happening, Dad."

I was with my Dad in a pack meeting when he received a message from the Enchantress through the mind link.

He was the Beta. Every concern came to him.

Today was the Mapping where the She-Wolves who reached the age of eighteen would know where their mate was from.

Something went wrong with Ashira's Mapping process. That's what I was sure of, and we immediately drove home once Dad received the news.

"Let's wait for Ashira. She must be looking for answers, as well. Once she's home, we'll talk," my Dad said and he entered the door to his study. My mom, Ophelia, followed right after.

I was the only child of Regal Pack’s Beta. Alpha David's son, Victor, would take over the pack in a few weeks. He would have the Alpha title once his 21st birthday came. The same went for me to be entitled to the Beta position.

I heard a loud thud of paws coming near. My sense of smell told me it was Ashira in her wolf form.

I ran towards the back door. She must be frustrated to know something that she'd shifted! I took a robe hanging on my way out.

Ashira's white wolf stopped in front of me. Her emerald eyes looked at me and I almost forgot that we needed to talk to Dad about something. Her wolf was really beautiful; though she was not my blood sister but I treated her like one most of the time when she was not irritating, I guess.

I prepare the robe and held it wide with both hands. I made sure that the robe would conceal Ashira's naked body from my eyes once she shifted back.

'Close your eyes' her wolf said to me through our mind link. I rolled my eyes before following her bossy command.

Like hell, I'd like to see that, I thought.

I felt her grabbing the robe from my hands. A few seconds later, I opened my eyes, and Ashira was completely wrapped in the robe.

"What happened?" I asked.

Ashira walked past me, her breathing was uneven from running. She walked inside the house, heading towards Dad’s office. "I don't know. Something went wrong with my mapping. I'm not yet aware of what that means."

I followed her as we walked inside our Dad's study room.

Eric was already seated on his chair, holding an old book. My mother stood beside him. My Dad looked at us and my mother rushed to Ash and held my sister in her arms.

"Everything will be alright," Ophelia assured Ashira. Ash just nodded and looked at my Dad again.

"The Enchantress called me a 'stealer'," she said to my father. I could hear her voice shaking, but she sounded more confused than scared.

"She can't be wrong. You might be," my dad said as he took a deep breath.

"What does that mean? The way she said that to me sounds like I'm a danger."

We took a seat in front of Father. I was just listening to the conversation, trying to understand every bit of it.

"It's not like that. You're not dangerous, Ash. Being a stealer means." Eric paused for a second as he waited for my mom to get near him. Once she wrapped her arms around Dad, he continued, "You're able to produce a pup with anyone, mate or not."

My eyes widened by surprise. That was rare! No, that was new!

I hadn't even learned about something like that. A wolf was destined with one mate. Only one. We could only have a child with that fated person, so hearing this made me confused as hell!

I decided to speak when Ash was stunned and unable to utter any words. "Does that mean she can have more than one mate?"

Ashira was eighteen years old and the main reason why she could participate in the Mapping ceremony.

With her age, she was able to feel the mate bond once she met the one but as per my dad's words, did that mean that Ashira could feel the mate bond with every male?

Whoa.

"No. Of course not! Her mate is only one, just like the others. That is too special to share." Eric held Ophelia's hand as he said that.

"I heard a 'but,'" Ashira stated, sounding a little more calm than earlier.

Maybe the thought that everyone won't fight over her because of her failure-mate bond was making her less worried.

"They will smell it on you." Eric told her. "Those wolves who've lost their mates will recognize you as a 'stealer'. Once they do, they'll bend everything to get you."

“Only those males who lost their mate?” I asked and he nodded.

My mom's hand moved to rub my father's back. I just noticed how my father was shaking. His wolf was getting angry at the thought.

"B-But why? I-I'm confused.." Ashira asked.

"They may not feel the mate bond with you but since they lost their mates, they'll be able to know you're a stealer. And even though you are not theirs, they will settle with you because their wolf will be pleasured. Like they are truly with their mate when they are with you. It's like a second chance to have a mate for those who already lost theirs."

I saw Ashira's body tremble. She must have been scared. I did feel the same for her, but my wolf also knew we'd do everything to keep her safe.

"Ashira, listen to me. All you have to do is find your mate and complete the mating process," Dad encouraged.

The mating process would start with the guy taking his claim over the She-Wolf. It was done by biting on the middle of the neck and shoulder, not too deep but enough to leave a mark. After the claim, both should mate. Or have sex in the simplest form.

Some did the claim and had sex right after. Some did the claim first and waited for more time to get to know each other before mating.

"Will that fix what I am now?" Ashira was breathing unevenly. Every part of her was not liking the situation.

Eric shook his head. I sighed.

"Unfortunately, no. But.. someone will own your wolf. By then, your wolf will know who its mate is. The wolf won't be confused once someone tries and take you. But you'll be able to resist those who want to steal you."

"She's called a stealer because she can be stolen?" I asked, not sure if I said the right words.

"Yes. But also, she can steal other mates, son," Eric said.

"What? I thought she was just in danger for those who lost their mate."

"That was the danger because she'll be in a lot of trouble once more than one wolf will want her. Since we all know that wolves without mates are a lot. But, she can also steal other males. Ashira's wolf can trick a wolf into believing she is their fated mate. That happened decades ago and it's tragic."

"Tragic?"

"A stealer fell in love with an Alpha. The Alpha was mate-less yet, at that time. The stealer wants to be the Alpha's Luna, and her greed for power and affection towards the Alpha pushed her to do it. So she seduced him. She tempted his wolf and made it believe she is the one mated to the Alpha. But the Alpha met his true mate. The Alpha was confused. Both females held a deep bond with his wolf."

"What happened then?" Ashira asked, looking attentive.

"As I said, it was tragic. The Alpha decided to let both of his mates have sex with other wolves."

"Wolves? Not just one? Why?" I exclaimed.

"It's to know which one was a stealer." my Dad simply explained. I noticed the silence Ashira was giving while spacing out.

"That's absurd," I commented, looking sideways at Eric and Ashira.

"Then what happened?" Ashira spoke again.

"The story said that the Alpha had his true Luna. And the stealer, well, she got pregnant by some wolf. Some say she was executed with the baby unborn. Some said she escaped. It is an old story so the ending has lost its consistency."

I watched how Ashira react to the story. She kept moving her knuckles, probably getting nervous about what she was.

I didn't see her differently even after knowing all this. she was my sister. I knew her. She wouldn't have the heart to do something like steal another's mate.

"Ashira, don't be scared. It's gonna be okay." Ophelia said to her. She glanced up at her and dad, then me. She let a small smile before speaking.

"I... I don't know what to do." That was all she said.

I could feel her frustrations and fear. The Beta blood in me was starting to kick in.

"I'll find more information that might help your case. This is rare and none from the Regal pack had encountered this," Dad said.

I nodded and smiled at Ashi. "Everything is gonna be fine," I tried to assure her but deep inside, my wolf and I were not sure.

"For now, avoid being with the crowd. Just have Lucy with you at all times. The worst thing to happen is for you to be found by a mateless wolf," Dad warned.

"Do you remember the first pack that showed on the map today?" Ophelia asked.

We all glanced her way. Confusion was present in our eyes, both Dad and I not being sure what she meant.

"What? Don't you know? The first one to glow up is where your mate is. The mate bond is too strong that even a stealer can never be an exception from the mapping." my mother answered our question.

We looked at Ashira who looked to be reminiscing what happened at the Enchantress’ house.

"It was.. the Prime pack."

Prime pack? That was the strongest pack of the North. Their members were over 500 wolves and one-fourth of them were not fighters. The rest were the best at it.

"Having a mate from such a strong pack says you're on the luck's side," Dad said.

"Right," Ophelia seconded. "For now, stay away from the crowd as your father said. When the annual mapping party comes, you'll attend the ball. And you need to find your mate. You MUST find him."

Though her words put a huge pressure, it was the only way to do it for now.