Malreux Wolf Pack had existed for over four hundred years.
They had a very strong bond as a pack, and they had made their defenses impenetrable to rival packs and opposition groups. Everyone knew each other; there was no strange face that didn't go unquestioned.
At the beginning, they consisted of over eighty wolves and their families—the head Alpha family, thirty beta families, and fifty gamma families.
The Beta families consisted mostly of warriors, and these fought for the cause of the pack.
The Gamma families were sort of like the minorities. They were weaker than the others and did the smaller jobs in the pack.
Everyone knew their place and accorded each the respect they deserved. The royal families’ coats were always the color of their hair, while the coats of the Beta wolves were mostly black and grey. The Gamma wolves, on the other hand, never fully shifted and were always both man and wolf in their transition, so they hardly stood a chance in a fight against the others.
They hardly had issues with each other, but if there were any, it was brought before the Alpha to judge.
The pack was highly peaceful, and no one had any cases against each other that were not sorted out quietly.
When the vampires penetrated their pack, they kept coming in several other times and killing some of their pack members.
Typically, as wolves, they made camp in a remote forest far away from civilization.
They had everything they needed, and it was easier to hunt animals for food.
On the day of the attack against the previous Alpha, the wolves were going about their normal business and lives. Like a thief in the night, the vigilante wolves that moved about the forest guarding began to disappear one after another. The rest of the vigilante wolves, not knowing what was happening, decided to go tell the rest of the pack.
On their way, they were attacked, and the vampires fastened their teeth on them, drinking their blood. Some, not able to shift in time, died because all their blood was drained. Some of them, having shifted, tried to fight, but the vampires were simply too fast for their reach, and like the speed of lightning, they began to fall one by one, shifting into their human forms.
The vampires were fast in their movement, even in draining blood from their bodies.
It was at night, and most of the wolves in the pack were getting ready for bed.
The vampires, having conquered the security, had free course to enter the pack. Meanwhile, one of the guards had escaped and managed to tell the royal court about the intrusion. The Alpha then, Alpha Elias Aragorn’s father, decided to go out on the field against them, much to the protest of his pack. At the time, Aragorn was only 12. Luna Salman, not wanting to let her husband go alone on this dangerous fight against these vicious vampires, followed him. They went along with some of the strongest Beta wolves in the pack. They were not prepared for war, but they were prepared to stand by their Alpha, no matter the time.
It was not much of a fight. The vampires were way too fast and in a bloodthirsty haze. They couldn't think properly. All they needed was the blood.
At the time, the leader of the clan, Emmett Whitlock, was in charge of the raid.
They came face to face with each other: the Draven Vampire Clan leader and the Malreux Wolf Pack Alpha.
“I can hear your heartbeat,” Emmett said.
“You’re scared,” he continued. Blood was dripping from his mouth, and his golden-brown eyes were dark as the night. He smiled, his fangs stained with blood on display. Elias frowned. He and his wife shifted to their wolf forms.
Alpha Elias had a yellow coat, thanks to his blonde hair. His wife, who was once a beta, had a thick black coat, and they dragged their paws on the ground, sneering their teeth, ready to fight. But it was too late. It took them half a minute to shift, but it was a lot of time for the vampires, and all the other wolves behind the Alpha and Luna were down, some already dead, while some were writhing in pain.
The angry Alpha then launched at the leader of the rival clan, Emmett, much to the amusement of the other vampires. They laughed as Emmett played the speed game with the Alpha. After running after the vampires in circles, the Alpha stopped, feeling exhausted, not able to beat their speed.
Emmett, licking his lips and showing his canine teeth, launched for the throat of the Alpha and bit deeply. The Luna wolf, enraged, jumped on the vampire that bit her mate, scratching and biting him.
The Alpha, shifting to his human form, dropped down. Seeing what his wife had done, he screamed,
“NO!”
The other vampires, in revenge for what she did to their leader, pounced on her and fed on her until she died.
The Alpha, who was yet to die but was already losing so much blood and in his dying phase, reached out with all his energy to touch his wife. She was not just his wife but his mate. He couldn't live without her. He broke down in tears.
By this time, the Draven Vampire Clan leader fled into the bush with the others before any other wolf came by.
They had had their fill and more for their clan. More wolves came to the scene, seeing the killings of their kind. Their Alpha had by this time passed out. He still had a faint pulse. They rushed him to the infirmary, and all manner of things were done to keep him alive. But the wolf was already set to die, as his mate was no longer alive, and he did not want to live anymore. Soon enough, he passed away. The pack was in a state of chaos. Aragorn was but a child. He was yet to find his mate either. He couldn't take over as Alpha yet. The top Beta wolves had been killed during the attack too.
The Betas decided to form a team that headed the pack until it was time to hand over to the young Alpha.
In all this, Aragorn wept and mourned his parents bitterly. He swore to take revenge against the people who took them away from him.
Aragorn spent every waking moment training and getting prepared in case of war. He would run into the woods at night in his wolf form, killing anything in sight. He was training himself mostly in speed. His training to be Alpha became more intense, and he tried his hardest to always be fit and strong.
He grew up to be hard and disciplined. When he met his mate Maia, she at first had a hard time coping with his ruthless behavior. He didn't take things lightly from anyone else except her. She was like his calm and peace. She decided to love him without reserve, as his attitude was because of the wound left open in his heart over his parents’ murder. She knew she couldn't fill that void, but she tried her hardest to make sure he didn't feel it as much.
After a while, he calmed down a bit and began relating with the wolves in the pack better.
He decided to find people he could trust in the pack and keep them close. His best friend since he was two, who had been ever loyal and submissive to him, Beta Ross, was one of the few people who had fit perfectly into that role.
As winter began to approach, one morning, Alpha Aragorn had asked Ross to go on a run with him in the woods. Not as wolves, but in their human form. The Alpha had only assumed position six months ago. Ross, of course, agreed and went off with Aragorn, racing each other.
Aragorn was super-fast, and Ross tried to catch him as much as he could. After over a hundred miles, they came to a stop by a little stream to wash their faces and rest a bit. The water was bitingly cold, and they shivered at the impact of the water on their faces.
They sat by the bank of the stream and chatted about what had been happening in the pack.
Ross was telling him things he observed and which family was suffering the most for lack of food that season.
“I think we should go into town and purchase food.”
“No. It would rouse suspicion. Having to carry out heavy luggage out of the town. We will survive until this time passes,” Aragorn replied to Ross. “We absolutely will.”
He made a mental note to do a little distribution to the gamma families.
He knew the Beta wolf, Ross, was always concerned about the Gammas because his mate was a Gamma wolf, and he worried anytime she worried.
“I want to go after the vampire clan now. I believe I am ready,” Alpha Aragorn announced.
Stunned, the Beta looked at the Alpha and shook his head.
“Sir, I don't think that is a good idea.”
“Why not?” Aragorn frowned.
“You may be ready as you have trained for years, but we may not be as ready as you, and you are definitely not going alone.”
“That's not a problem. We don't have to go now, maybe next year. We can train them now.”
“You realize we lost over twenty families in the last raid. They are stronger and much older.”
“What has age got to do with anything?” Aragorn replied.
“They probably have seen our likes before and know what we will do before we will do it,” Beta Ross said.
“It's best to be strategic about these things. I will personally conduct my research on what the vampires fear or what can harm them and give you feedback at the right time. I believe the opportunity to take vengeance on them will present itself. You just got in as Alpha. You should take some time.” Alpha Aragorn saw his point and agreed to this.
Beta Ross had thought for a moment that the Alpha was ready to let this revenge idea go, as his mate, Luna Maia, after coming into his life, had made him more levelheaded but it seemed not. But Ross was ready to help out in any way he could, as he had sworn allegiance to him.
Aragorn shape-shifted and started walking back home steadily. He actually preferred being in his skin, as he didn't get to talk and had more time to think.
Amareux was born a year after the ruling wolves married. He was a beautiful baby boy. Aragorn was proud to have an heir, and he couldn't wait to teach the boy all he knew.
Amareux started being told stories of the wolf pack and their history way before he could even understand what all that meant. The Alpha had wanted to implant the knowledge deep into the young boy’s soul.
Luna Maia became concerned and started pushing the Alpha away from the child, who was barely a year old. She felt like he wasn't allowed the freedom to be a baby and was being bombarded with so much knowledge at that tender age.
Once she saw that Amareux was trying to play with his father, with excitement, giggling, clapping, and crawling around as a child should. But Aragorn instead stopped him from crawling and shouted, “Listen to what I am saying!” to the child.
Amareux, who was only 18 months old, burst into tears.
Maia ran into the room, took her child in her arms, calming him down. She looked at her husband sternly and said,
“What is wrong with you? Do you think he understands what you are saying? He is only but a child! You can play with a child, but you can't reason with a child. You can't bring such knowledge to him and expect him to understand.”
From that day, she never let him hold or be near the child until he was three years old.
Luna Maia was a very gentle woman. She was a princess from another pack (the Nepal Wolf Pack). She had very strong and distinct abilities that were peculiar to her pack. She could read minds, and she was incredibly smart. This was how she was able to deal with her husband. She knew what went on in his mind and knew how to handle him better than anyone could.
She was the second of five siblings. Her elder brother led their pack after the death of their father. She hardly went to visit her people, as Aragorn was extremely possessive and wouldn't let her out of his sight. Seeing also that he needed her, she always made sure to stay close to him at all times.
She was not the slightest bit happy about how much pressure he put on their son. Even as the little wolf began to come of age, she saw how Amareux struggled to relate with his father and she had heard him say how much he hated his father in his head several times.
She didn't like the energy between the two. But in her defense, Aragorn had changed considerably from when they first met. He was now more relatable than before.
She loved Aragorn and their only child and would do anything for Aragorn to treat Amareux better, with the love and care that he deserved.