Chapter 165: The Alpha That Ought Not Be

Across dunes and rock on the horizon stood the village of the Desert Wolves. A gust of wind carried the scent of firewood and roasting meat, but beneath it was something more—a watchful presence. 'They know we're here," Viktor murmured. I nodded. 'Stay alert." As we rode toward the gates, a band of warriors stepped out of the darkness, bony scarred bodies as worn as the years they had spent braving the wastes. Sand-colored wool cloaks billowed behind them, and they were dressed in bone and steel limbs. Amber eyes flashed back and forth, measuring every flutter, every breath. He stepped forward, one of them, a warrior with bristling hair. A scar-faced warrior with arms full of scars that spoke of the hot battles he had fought. "Who are you?" he snarled. I stepped into the clearing ahead of him and said, "I am Alpha Lleus." Darkness clouded over my words. Warriors shifted stance, bitter look flashing to another. I saw more than one hand move toward a sword. The leader's eyes narrowed. "You lie." Viktor and Alfonso stood behind me. Daisy, her face furrowed with enthusiasm, clutched the bottom of my cloak in a bunched fist. "I do not lie," I told her. "I am Alpha of my pack, and I've come to beg for your help against Ariadne." The chief hacked a raw, humourless cough. "Alpha Lleus died." Those are hammer blow words. That's not possible," I said to her. "I'm here." He summoned his fighters, and I hadn't had time to even blink before we were surrounded. Spears jabbed us and blades in our mouths. "Get them," the chief bellowed. We outnumbered them and had the disadvantage of retreating our next step before it could begin. My mind reeled—this was not going to be how this conference turned out. "Wait—" Alfonso attempted to step back, but a cruel slap on the back of his head quieted him. Daisy softly groaned in her throat as two of the fighters lifted her up, cuffing off her wrists. I struggled, attempting to struggle, but five fighters who grasped me made it impossible. As they dragged us further into their town, muttering began among the townspeople in outrage. Women, men, and children looked out from behind the borders of their houses, their faces shifting from shock to outrage. "He has the temerity to call himself Alpha Lleus." "Blasphemy!" "The dead do not walk again." Their muttering gets under my skin. We were shoved into a round stone room deep beneath the earth. The walls were cold and dripping wet, but overhead the desert raged. Chains clinked on our wrists, pinning us to the wall. The commander moved forward, his amber eyes glowing with the light of the torches. "You have one opportunity to speak the truth before I sentence you." I breathed rapidly. "I've spoken the truth." He took a breath. "Then do so." I glared. "Do what?" "Shift," he ordered. My muscles knotted. I'd never done anything other than normal in years. Something inside me had been. wrong since. I'd lied and lied again, and now the truth was catching up with me. I balled my fists. "Fine." I closed my eyes, reaching deep within myself for the raw energy that was inside me, calling upon the wolf's vision. My body should have twisted with the transformation, bones broken and reformed. But nothing. I remained human. A wave of disappointment swept over me. Viktor and Alfonso glanced at each other apprehensively. Daisy's eyes went wide. The leader folded his arms. "You can't shift, can you?" I clenched my teeth, and I tried yet again, everything I possibly could. But the wolf in me was silent. Growling of hunger in my stomach. Growling at one another by the warriors. "He's an imposter." "He's no Alpha." "Look at his eyes?" swore one of the warriors. We stood staring at one another once more. My heart wedged in comprehension. My mouth contorted on battered, burned metal of a warrior sword so richly decorated—early earliest ones reddened eye colors now blueing. What sort of devil has done this to me? The head nodded low, distrustful eyes on me. "Alpha Lleus had red eyes, that of a true alpha. You? You're an imposter." I shook my head. "I don't know what is going on, but I am Lleus!" The leader snorted. "Then why did you come back from the dead?" "I wasn't dead!" "Lies." Steel voice. I glared at Viktor and Alfonso. "Make them believe!" Viktor swallowed hard and said, "This is our Alpha. I've fought alongside him for years. I've seen him lead armies." Alfonso nodded. "He saved us." Their captain jeered at them. "Loyal hounds guarding their master, even from overwhelming reality." Startled but not afraid, Daisy had moved forward. "He saved me, too. And whatever you try to do, I think he is being truthful." Their captain had glared at her for a second, then at me. "If you are indeed Lleus, something is abominably, horribly wrong with you." I could not dispute it. He breathed deeply. "You will remain here until we determine what to do with you." He left, slamming the door against the room. We remained for the supposedly interminable length an eternity devours. Torsion shadows danced about walls from the dance of torch light. Viktor shifted position, "Lleus. what is wrong with you?" I leaned against stone. "I do not know." Daisy moved a bit further ahead. "What of your wolf. is it removed?" I shook my head once. "Not taken away. Quiet." Alfonso frowned. "And your eyes?" I gritted my teeth. "I don't know, damn it." Viktor breathed heavily. "If we do not tell them that you are someone, they will kill us." I glared at him dirty. "They will not kill me." He was firm. "No, but perhaps they will burn you." My heart stilled. Daisy put a little hand on my wrist. "We'll make it work." I nodded, but there was hellish chaos inside me. And something stirred out there. A remembered, ancient power that throbbed in the earth below, speaking to me in the soft hiss of remembrance. And for the first time since I'd come out of my coma, something stirred inside. Something old. Something. different. And I realized—that maybe I wasn't the same Alpha Lleus they had once known. Maybe I would be something different.