Chapter 23: (The Awakening of the Alpha)
Like a spark on dry kindling, Wulfric fury ignited the battlefield.
With a roar that split the night, he lunged toward the rogue wolves, his form mid-shift—half beast, half warrior. His fangs glinted under the moonlight, his claws slicing through the wind. The others followed without hesitation. From the shadows and ridges, the Eastern Pack erupted into motion. Howls filled the air like battle drums as claws met claws, teeth clashed with snarls, and the scent of blood spilled into the soil.
The forest transformed into chaos.
Luna surged forward with surprising swiftness, her staff now glowing with a silver aura. With a cry of rage, she hurled herself toward Lucian. But the rogue Alpha was faster. He caught her strike mid-air with a sweep of his massive paw and hurled her like a rag doll into the trees.
Her body struck the earth with a sickening thud.
"No...!" Zach's voice echoed like thunder.
His eyes locked on her limp figure—his protector, his guide—the one who had pulled him from death and darkness. For a moment, the battle vanished around him. All that remained was Luna, crumpled and unmoving.
"Stay down!" Lucian sneered, stepping forward with the arrogance of one who believed himself invincible.
But before he could move again, a voice shouted across the chaos.
"Yaaaaah!"
Bri.
He sprinted toward Lucian, holding tightly to the only weapon he'd ever trained with—a long, crude arrow carved by his own hands. His steps were reckless, but his heart was resolute. Unlike the others, Bri was still in human form. No fur, no claws—just flesh, courage, and a weapon.
Lucian snarled, unthreatened.
With one brutal swing of his paw, he flung Bri aside. The boy crashed to the ground, the arrow skidding across the grass. Pain twisted across Bri's face, but he stood—defiant still.
That was the final spark.
Zach's chest heaved. A dark energy stirred inside him like a sleeping dragon roused from slumber. He could feel it rising—clawing, roaring, demanding to be unleashed.
"Nooo!" he cried.
And then it began.
His bones snapped. His spine arched. His muscles contorted as the transformation overtook him—not the half-shift of battle form, but the full, true metamorphosis of an Alpha reborn.
Dark grey and black fur erupted across his back in streaks, almost like war paint. His claws grew, elongated and sharper than ever before. His sapphire eyes blazed like wildfire under the full moon, which suddenly shone even brighter—white and immense, as if summoned by fate itself to witness this awakening.
A guttural howl escaped his throat, louder than any before it.
Zach was no longer merely a wolf.
He had become the beast foretold in visions—the strongest Alpha of the North.
He charged forward, mind lost to the storm within. One bandit fell under his jaws. Then another. And another. Bodies crumpled like paper beneath his strength, torn apart by the wrath he could no longer hold back. He didn't see faces. He didn't hear pleas. He only felt blood and fury.
Lucian faltered for the first time.
What had once been a boy, now towered as the largest werewolf on the field—uncontrolled, unstoppable. Zach's eyes locked onto him, and the rogue Alpha took a step back.
But Lucian was cunning.
He turned and raced toward the broken form of Luna. Before anyone could intercept him, he seized her in his jaws and dragged her to the center of the battlefield. There, he dropped her and placed one heavy paw on her chest, pressing just enough for her to groan in pain.
"Come closer," he growled, "and I will end your savior."
Zach halted.
His breath came in savage bursts. Even through the haze of power and rage, something deep inside him—a memory, a bond—recognized her. His soul knew Luna, even if his mind was too clouded to reason.
But the beast in him would not be caged.
With a violent snarl, Zach launched forward.
Lucian met him halfway, and the two collided like titans. The force of their clash sent shockwaves through the battlefield. Wolves were flung aside, trees shook, and the very ground beneath them cracked.
As they fought, Bri rose from the earth, his body trembling. Pain laced every movement, but he refused to be useless.
Then it happened.
A light, pure and glowing, began to pulse from within him.
He screamed, and in a flash, fur enveloped his form—bright white, almost ethereal. His transformation had come at last. He had become a wolf—a true one. His limbs grew, his bones lengthened, and power surged through him like fire.
With newfound strength, he rushed at Lucian.
But Lucian turned swiftly and caught him, sinking his fangs deep into Bri's belly. The white wolf yelped and crumpled, motionless.
"No!" Zach's eyes widened. Something inside him shattered.
The fury ignited into wildfire.
His howl now rang like a cry from the heavens. A primal sound that pierced even the rogue wolves' hearts with fear. He tore into the battlefield again—slaughtering everything in his path. The bandits retreated in panic as Zach tore through them like a storm of claws and teeth.
Lucian backed away, but it was too late.
Zach lunged and sank his jaws deep into Lucian's throat. Blood sprayed. The rogue Alpha screamed, twisted, then collapsed—lifeless.
The battlefield fell into eerie silence.
Rogue wolves scattered in terror, their leader gone, their morale broken. Bri stood weakly, eyes wide, stunned by the wolf he had become—and by the boy he once thought powerless.
But Zach didn't stop.
His rage hadn't faded.
He turned, his wild eyes scanning the field, ready to attack again.
"Zach!" Luna's voice broke through the silence.
She was barely conscious, blood running down her side, her breathing faint. But her eyes met his.
"It's me," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You must stop..."
Something in her voice, something in her gaze—soft, maternal, familiar—reached Zach.
But he couldn't hold the power inside.
He took a step toward her—then another—then lunged.
"Noooo!" Blake's voice howled in warning.
But it was too late.
Zach's jaws clamped around Luna's neck.
Time froze.
"LUNA!" Leah's scream shattered the night.
Zach recoiled. His body trembled. His eyes widened in horror as the realization struck.
"No... what have I done...?"
Luna collapsed.
The battlefield had grown still. Silent. Even the wind held its breath.
Zach stumbled backward, his limbs trembling. Then he turned and fled into the forest, his monstrous body vanishing beneath the trees. He ran blindly, guilt and pain clawing at his soul.
Behind him, the full moon began to fade.
With every step, his form began to shrink. The fur receded. His limbs returned to human form. But his eyes—those sorrowful, sapphire eyes—remained clouded with tears.
"I killed her..." he whispered, his voice cracking.
"Zach!" Bri's voice called out behind him, transformed but still wounded. He followed, limping, his paws silent on the forest floor.
The night swallowed them both.
And the forest wept beneath the dying moon.
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AUTHOR's NOTE:
For me, this was the most heartbreaking scene in the story so far. What do you think? Did it move you too?
Zach may have finally awakened his true strength as an Alpha—but I never expected that such power would come at the cost of a life.
Sometimes, even victory carries grief.
Let me know your thoughts. 💭
Let's go..!!