Episode 4

My name is Damian Norton, I am twenty-two years old and I am the youngest alpha in the history of the North. I was chosen at sixteen to lead my pack.

"How did I become alpha?" Well, it wasn't by force. I am the only son of the Beta who served the former Alpha King Louis. I am also the only wolf to be born on the blood moon after a very long time. As the elders used to say, I was destined for great things, and they were right. As a teenager, I had already killed more deserters and enemies than any existing Alpha. The kingdom had never been better, we had the best food, drink, and of course, the most beautiful "women." Well, business was good and my people were safe, and that's what mattered most to me.

I was five years old when Princess Selena was taken, a night I would never forget even at such a young age. It was the longest night of all our lives. I was in the hall with my father when the King summoned Morgana, the oldest witch in Garden. She tried to locate the princess, but whoever took her was using forbidden magic. They tried for a long time, but they couldn't find her.

The King was devastated, and the Mage Ellis was putting more wood on the fire.

"The only ones who could do anything against you would be the wolves of the South, since Your Majesty cut ties with them. This is their way of causing you pain," the mage said as he approached, never failing to deliver his venom.

The King took a deep breath, and Ellis continued. "The South has the greatest magic, followed by the beings of Garden. We know it wasn't Morgana, so who else would be capable of harming you?" Ellis spoke as he walked around the hall.

With every word that came out of Mage Ellis's mouth, the King's gaze became darker and emptier. After all, his allies would not go against him, there was no reason. What Ellis was saying made perfect sense.

After that night, war was declared on the South, and we would continue to attack until they returned what they had stolen from us.

The years went by. At fifteen, I was already the strongest of the pack. The King could no longer have children; our Luna Siena isolated herself in the highest tower of the castle, waiting for her daughter's return. King Louis lost his strength and could no longer make decisions. That's where I came in.

It was another training day. I excelled as always. At the end of class, the King sent for me. He was with our mage Ellis, the witch Morgana, and my father, Dennis.

"You summoned me, Alpha?" I asked.

"Yes," the King confirmed.

"What is your name?" Morgana spoke, facing me.

I looked at my father, then at her. "I'm sure you already know my name, ma'am," I said without taking my eyes off her.

"I want to hear it from you," she retorted.

"Damian Norton," I answered impatiently.

"Your birthday is in two days, Damian?" Morgana sat down, looking at me. She seemed to be analyzing me.

"Yes, what's going on? Why did you call me here?" I asked.

"Son, be patient," my father spoke before Morgana interrupted him.

"You will be the new Alpha," she said, and my eyes immediately went to her.

"I can't be Alpha; I come from a lineage of Betas," I said, straightening my posture.

"Sit down," she said, pointing to the chair next to her.

We settled down and waited for her to speak. Everyone here already knew what she was going to say, except me, of course.

"Do you remember the night the princess disappeared?" she asked, already knowing the answer. No one would ever forget that night.

"As if it were yesterday," I replied.

"Well, that same night, when I returned to Garden, a new prophecy appeared in my book." She seemed to have finished speaking.

"What prophecy?" I asked, my eyes begging for an explanation. All of this seemed very confusing to me. Would I become Alpha because of a prophecy?

And as if by magic, a book appeared on the table. She flipped through it, placed her long fingernail at the beginning of the line, and looked at me before she began to read.

"It says here," she started, "the cycle will be broken, a new alpha will reign, the first of his lineage to be chosen, and not only for that reason do I warn you, the princess will return and all will be clarified. Open your eyes to the truth before you..."

"Don't tell me it will be me," I muttered.

"Let me finish," she said and turned her attention back to the book. "On his sixteenth birthday, to the strongest of the wolves, the Moon Goddess will give him... his lineage of betas will end, for another to begin. However, he must only be with the chosen princess."

"What do you mean by 'he must only be with the chosen princess'?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You must wait for Princess Selena, even if your second chance mate appears, you will reject her. If you fall in love with someone, you cannot mark her," Morgana spoke cautiously. A mate would make the Alpha even stronger, even if she were a second chance mate or anyone he chose, only his own choice could bring consequences, like what happened to Louis.

"You know it's not that easy, we have a bond, if my second chance mate appears, I will feel her, I will want to be with her," I said, knowing that everyone here knew that.

"Not as strong as the one who is destined for you. Reject her, anyone who appears," Morgana said as she closed the book.

"And if she never comes back?" I asked and saw the King straighten up in his chair. I knew my question bothered him, but we had to think about all the possibilities.

"The prophecy is clear, she will return, we just don't know when," Morgana finished and took a sip of her drink.

I took a deep breath, still not believing what I had just heard. I was ready to say that this was all crazy, but the King finally opened his mouth.

"You have no choice, you will become the Alpha in two days, and you will follow what the prophecy says. If you mark any wolf other than the princess, I myself will kill her. If I know you have a second chance mate and you have not rejected her, I will tear her apart before she can do anything," Louis said without taking his eyes off me. He wanted to make his threat clear.

"If I am Alpha, you cannot do that," I said in the same threatening tone.

"Son, what is this?" my father finally spoke.

"Father, I always wanted to be a soldier, and of course, who wouldn't want to be alpha, but you know that a mate makes us stronger, and if the princess never comes back?" I said, getting up and running my hands through my hair. A lot was coming, and I knew it.

"The prophecy says," Morgana tried to speak, but I interrupted her.

"They failed once, Morgana, and you know it." I turned my attention back to her.

Silence reigned at that moment.

"What was the prophecy again? You must remember, you read it so happily on the day of the celebration. Come on, tell me." It sounded like an order, no one could deny it. I was right in a way, but everyone here was hopeful.

"I don't remember," Morgana said, looking at the floor.

"Liar, it was as clear as day. You said at one point that no harm would come to the princess, and look, evil took her. We trusted the prophecy, and it failed," I said without flinching.

"She may have been taken by evil, but the prophecy said that no harm would come to her. If she is to return, the prophecy of that night did not lie, she is alive somewhere," Morgana tried to convince me.

"And who can guarantee us that? You? The Moon Goddess? Why would she finally give the King a daughter and then take her away? And why did the South take her? This doesn't make sense; no one has ever explained to us why the South was excluded." I had doubts, and I didn't want to have any more.

"I know you're confused, Damian," Mage Ellis said, but the last thing I wanted was to hear from him.

"I'm not confused, I just want to know what happened between us and the South, why would they take the princess?" I asked, and silence reigned once more, so I continued, "This is what we're going to do: I'll wait until the princess's eighteenth birthday; the gates will remain open, since the prophecy says she will return."

I had barely closed my mouth when Louis got up from his chair, slamming his hands on the table. "You cannot leave the gates wide open for the enemy to enter. Don't forget that the South is still our enemy," he said, almost shouting.

"We will double the guards, we have enough wolves for that. If the princess returns, she must have easy access to enter. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go," I said and left there as quickly as I could.

It may even have seemed immature of me in the way I acted, but I didn't want to show the fear that I felt when I heard all that, all the responsibility I would have, but I would make it work. My wolf would appear in two days, and if the prophecy was right, I would command all this.

I called my best friend Vincent, and we went to the lake. There, I told him everything that had happened. He, as always, thought it was great. We were boys, but fate had made us men before our time, I as Alpha, and he would follow me as my Beta. I would choose no one but him.

As soon as Damian left the room, the King made clear his unhappiness with the one chosen to be Alpha. That boy could not be the new King. He paced impatiently until a single sentence from Morgana silenced him.

"If you had not disobeyed the Goddess, none of this would be happening. Do not go against her again, or there will be even worse consequences."

Everyone in the room knew what she was referring to, and so the King left, followed by his Beta. Deep down, he knew she was right.

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