Alpha Kowen
His eyes easily adjusted to the darkness as he strode into the dimly lit hallway, down the narrow stone steps, until he reached the bottom.
The pungent smell of blood, mold, piss, alcohol, and whatever was rotting down there wafted in the air, but he hardly noticed as he continued to follow the straight path that led to a room that had two passageways.
Dead calm.
Nothing seemed to be moving in the empty dusky space.
Except for the soles hitting the muddy gravel floor, everything else was eerily quiet.
Choosing the left entry, he followed the dark route until he reached a dead end, a cramped room.
"Who's there?" A weak, raspy voice echoed in the stone walls. "What do you want from me?" Fear, anger, and confusion laced the man's tone, followed by the rattling of metals against the stone floor.
Chink, chink, chink!
Snapping his finger, suddenly a single light bulb illuminated the middle portion of the floor.
In the corner, metallic bars caged a small corner of the room. It was empty.
On the other side, whips, cuffs, paddles, knives, axes, and other Medieval weapons lined up on the wall.
In the center of the spotlight, a man sat on the floor. Both hands and feet were secured with cuffs, connected to a short chain.
Tattered clothes draped his body. Bruises and dried blood covered most of his skin.
"Why are you doing this to me?" The man shouted, his face contorted in pain as he pulled and stretched his body as if he was trying to break free from his chain.
But it was a futile effort as the man dropped to the floor, spent, aching, and gasping for air.
"Who are you?" Again, the man made an effort to look up, directly looking at him.
Slowly, he stepped forward until the light touched the lower half of his face. Then, he looked down at the piteous man.
But instead of feeling sorry for the man, his anger only brewed.
Although the man was heavily injured, he was still far from dying. As far as he could tell, the man still had a lot of gas left in his tank.
"Alpha Kowen..." Recognition flashed before his widened eyes. Fear etched in his face. His body shook, knowing what was to come.
Judgment.
"So, you still know me." He finally spoke, his voice void of any emotion. His body barely moved. His hands rested on his sides.
"Of course, my Alpha." The man answered, lips trembling, hands shaking. "I'm your most loyal omega." The lie oozed easily from his lips.
It was what he had expected from this man. He was an alcoholic, a compulsive liar, a gambler with a long list of petty crimes.
"I've given you several chances to change, but you never failed to disappoint me." He stepped forward, grabbed the man by the chin, and tilted his head until the man's eyes met his.
"Now, I heard that you've upped your game." The calmness in his voice was a far contrast to what he truly felt inside. "You stole information from our pack and sold it to our enemies."
He could forgive small misdeeds and minor offences against the pack laws, but he could never forget betrayal.
The man abruptly lowered his gaze— guilt and shame clouded his eyes.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Although the evidence against the man was overwhelming, he still wanted to give the man one last chance to redeem himself.
Although it would not save him from the ultimate punishment, he would at least retain his family's status in the pack.
"I'm sorry, Alpha. I admit I made a mistake." The man lost his fight in him as he knelt and bowed his head low on the floor.
"I owed the casino a lot of money. They forced me to speak in exchange for my debts. But if I don't tell them anything, they would kill me."
His eyes turned red upon hearing his betrayal. But he still kept his fist on his side, maintaining his rage under control.
"Tell me everything." He ordered, exerting his authority.
The man didn't need to squeal like a pig, as he readily told him everything he wanted to hear.
"I'm sorry. Alpha Kowen." He closed his eyes and lowered his head, resigning to his fate.
"Don't apologize to me..." He shook his head. "Apologize to the pack...to the victims of your betrayal." This time, he genuinely pitied him.
"I don't think I deserve their forgiveness, but I hope that my confession could at least fix my mistakes." The man raised his arms, clasping his hands together. "I'm now ready to atone and receive my punishment."
The man lifted his head, closed his eyes, and prayed to the Moon Goddess.
It was time.
"Grrrl! Grrr! Grrrl!"
With glaring eyes, a swift swing of his arms, everything stood still.
One last look.
One last gasp.
Then, deafening silence.
"Give his family time to grieve. Then, you know what to do." He turned around and never looked back.
Their laws were different.
To humans, it might sound barbaric.
But in the werewolf's eyes, it was justice.
"Alpha Kowen," Leo walked alongside him as he strode back into the pack house to conduct some business.
"Have you found her?" He asked when he finally reached the privacy of his office.
Leo followed him closely and shut the door behind him. Then, he stood before his desk, shoulders square, eyes forward, and hands firmly resting on both sides.
"Yes, Alpha." Leo immediately handed him a folder.
Inside, he found a resume with detailed data written about her, along with attached pictures.
"She's starting today," Leo added.
His eyes skimmed the file, memorizing the details.
"Elyana Pryce." He let the name roll off his tongue, liking how it sounded from his lips.
Interesting!
"Should I do something about her, Alpha?" Leo asked, always ready to do as he was bidden.
He scanned the file one last time before closing the folder and pushing it inside his drawer.
"Nothing for now." He turned around and faced the view outside his window.
Compared to his office, he only saw fruit-bearing trees lining up in his orchard. Thick, white, fluffy clouds hovered on the mountain tops. Heard birds chirping outside the clear blue sky.
It was peaceful.
Nothing compared to what he felt inside.
The burden of being an Alpha weighed heavily on his shoulders.
"You knew you had no choice." Kael finally spoke after his long silence.
His wolf knew when his presence was needed, but his opinion was not.
"I know." But it was still hard to take a life.
"Anyway, look at the bright side, we finally found her," Kael said excitedly, attempting to lighten the mood.
He guessed it was the only silver lining in today's events as the image of her smiling face formed in his mind.
"Keep an eye on her. I want you to report to me all her activities." He said, without turning around. Then, he dismissed Leo to attend to his tasks.
At the moment, he could not deal with her.
He had more important things to do. Obligations that needed his full attention.
But at least, he knew now where to find her.
"Elyana." Again, he could not help but whisper her name.
"Admit it, Kowen. You like her." Kael suddenly interrupted his thoughts, reminding him that his wolf was listening.
"Shut up, Kael." He finally turned to face his desk, ready to tackle the day's schedules. "We have more important matters to discuss."
"Nash, report to me at once."