The Alpha Ch. 02

As I stepped out of the car, all four seamlessly fell in behind me without thought as we walked through the parking lot. By the time we reached the quad, people were starting to notice that a relative nobody had turned into something seemingly over night. I had to chuckle as Davis, my vaguely geeky best friend who had been out of town since everything started, jogged up to approach me only to have Dante stop him with a firm hand on his chest.

Davis, clearly puzzled by the severe change in social structure as soon as he saw Will give me a questioning look. I responded with a barely perceptible nod and Dante somehow knew to step aside and permit my less than popular friend. Dante and Will must've had a damn strong connection for one to be so in tune with other and it made me vaguely sick to think of the treatment they endured from their previous Alpha. A man who had no right to call himself such.

"Hey buddy,"

"What's with the Secret Service?" Davis quipped.

"It's a long story. How's your sister?" I replied, changing the subject.

"Cranky. Other than that, pretty much the same."

"Is she still hot as hell?" I prodded with a grin.

"You're hilarious. She looks the same for all I could tell."

"So, your saying your sister is still hot?"

Dante and Courtney tried to hide their chuckles while Jessica's eyes roamed around analyzing out surrounding of habit and Will continued to be his brooding handsome self. Objectively, my pack and I looked more like cast members on an MTV teen drama than actual 18 year old high school seniors, though our school was much wealthier and better looking than the average American high school.

"I'm going to tell her you said she's hot," Davis threatened.

"Please do, that's a doe I'd love to play buck to." I teased.

Courtney cleared her throat and Jennifer swatted my arm, though obviously trying to suppress a smile. With her gesture, Courtney had caused Davis to truly look at her for the first time. With obvious attraction, he tried to hide the fact that he quickly becoming hopelessly enchanted. Unfortunately for any hope of looking suave, he was surrounded by brings with supernatural senses and his heart beat loud enough to be annoying.

"I'll catch you guys later, Davis and I have first period together up here," I called to my pack as my friend and I veered off on a different path.

"What is going on? You're like, mister popular now," Davis wondered.

"Honestly, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you. We don't have time now anyway. Just don't worry, your still my buddy and I'm not going to forget about you or be embarrassed by our friendship. I promise. Good enough?"

"Yeah... Yeah that's good enough. I'll eventually want to hear that story but for now it's enough to know you won't leave me behind in your grand social ascent,"

I laughed, "Oh, buddy. We've got to work on that vocabulary of yours if your going to start nailing popular chicks."

"A sacrifice I would willingly make. I hadn't considered that advantage to your new popularity."

"Bullshit. I saw how you looked at Courtney. It's just like you to drool over a leggy blonde. She's great though, very skilled and enthusiastic."

"You mean you've... You know?"

"You know it's not my style to kiss and tell but I know that Courtney couldn't care less about our association becoming common knowledge. So, yes, we've been together."

I could see a little disappointment in his eyes despite the fact that he had never really expected to get anywhere with someone as hot and popular as Courtney. How about I talk to her for you? I know she's not looking for a boyfriend or anything but she's a sexual girl, she could always use a good swordsman to help her scratch an itch."

"I'm hardly that. But you'd actually do that? Talk to her?" Davis asked.

"Of course. I got your back."

:..:

"Absolutely not."

I looked at Courtney with puppy eyes, a particularly effective approach when dealing with a she-wolf.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, you're trying to pimp me out. To a nerd no less!" Courtney replied.

"You know it's not like that. I was only asking if you might consider helping boost the confidence of someone who's a good friend of mine. But you're right, I have been acting like too much of a pimp. I'm sorry, I promise I'll stop sleeping with women until I find a good long term girlfriend."

"What!? No, that's not what I..."

"No. Your right. No more womanizing for me until I settle down with one girl." I insisted.

"Your a bastard, you know that right?" She growled before her face took on a thoughtful expression. After a short delay, her eyes took on a mischievous look and she smiled. "Alright. I'll pull him aside for a little fun. Under one condition."

"Ok. What's your condition?"

"I want you to watch," Courtney smiled.

Biting off an automatic denial, I looked at her before simply nodding.

Right after the lunch bell, I found myself sitting incognito in the dark rear of the concert hall. It was only a minute before the doors open and Courtney dragged Davis in impatiently. She wore a ridiculously short pair of jean shorts and a lavender spaghetti strap with no bra and almost certainly the most minimal of underwear. Quickly positioning him in a spot where she knew that I would have an unobstructed view from behind and to the side of Davis, she said, "do what I say and you'll enjoy yourself. Now, let's see what your working with."

Courtney swiftly yanked down a stammering Davis' shorts before he could object. Kneeling down in front of his bulging boxers, she commented. "hm. Not bad."

"What... Ah, I mean..."

"Shut up. Unless you want me to stop?"

Davis immediately sealed his lips as he saw Courtney reach down and peel of her top, exposing perky breasts sat atop of flat stomach with a complete lack of tan lines. Using a band around her wrist, she reached up and secured her hair in a ponytail, her perky breasts shifting with her movements. Once her blonde hair was up, she reached up and yanked down Davis' boxers and exposed his not unimpressive endowment. Reaching out with her hands, one wrapped around his shaft and started expertly stroking while the other cradled his balls.

The recent changes in my life had come about so quickly that I often felt like I was going to get whiplash and this was certainly one of those instances. Further consideration into my existence was interrupted by soft footsteps approaching behind me. Instinctively I spun around and grabbed the individual before I realized what I was doing but the only reaction was a soft gasp as wonderfully soft breasts pressed up against my abdomen. Ms. Blake's perpetually stern face melted into a shy smile as her eyes lowered in instinctive submission. I was severely out of my element in our new dynamic but I'd be damned if I let her figure that out. After all, during our first sexual encounter I was in the grips of my Awakening and my mind was nearly as much instinctual beast as intelligent man. Still, I had no intention of losing my new toy.

I always was a spoiled boy but surely you would understand if you knew my mother, a woman I held on a pedestal as a goddess despite the fact that at the time I had no idea that it was literally true. However the fact that I was thinking about my mother as I stood upright with Ms. Blake's legs wrapped around my head as I easily hefted her weight on my shoulders as I softly suckled on her click was lost on me. As I dined with her pencil skirt over my head, the thought of my mother caused a voice to sound in my head.

'When the hunter's moon and the morning star became one, the beast of the earth will rise to conquer all lands and the beast of the sea will return to lay claim to the oceans. In time, they will face off in battle for the soul and fate of man. Should the beast of sea prevail, all the earth will be swallowed by risings tides and love shall cease to exist as it's master returns the universe to darkness. If the beast of the earth wins the conflict, he shall usher in a new era of enlightenment and love built on a foundation of the blood and bones of the wicked.'

'If you are inside my mind, you already know that those words mean nothing to me,' I responded sarcastically to my shadowy spirit animal as I jammed my tongue through her lips and let it shift to my longer wolf tongue before using the enhanced appendages to attack the roof of her core.

They are your future, dumbass. Words spoken to Alexander the Great by the Oracle of Delphi when the great conquerer asked who would ever be greater than he.

'I hope you'll forgive my skepticism. Alexander was a greater leader than I could ever hope to be. He conquered fucking Persia and took his army into the unknown and mythical wilds of India. What am I going to do? Conquer California?' I complained in my head, unreasonably irritated by the expectation.

You'd think that one might be eager to believe they are destined for greatness but few people consider the responsibilities, and life expectancies, of great men. I had just become popular, not to mention superhumanly strong and fast, and was swimming in beautiful women. I simply wished to enjoy my new status. Unfortunately, destiny was not so kind.

By all means. But there will come a time when pleasures of the flesh will seem unimportant in the face of what is coming.

I highly doubt that, I thought as Ms. Blake came on my tongue and I heard Davis' gasp below preceding Courtney's gulp.

Life was good.

:..:

I ran through the forest in my full wolf form, trying to run the insomnia and excited thought from my mind. I could hardly be blamed for being stimulated by recent events but I felt that I had dealt with the sudden and missive changes quite well. Most importantly, I hadn't let anyone know that inside I still felt like an average teenager thrust into a ridiculous situation. But people were depending on me and I was determined not to let those people down. Running through the forest at night, in any form, was an amazing outlet and a welcome distraction. My new senses granted me a view and understanding of the forest that no human could ever comprehend and instinctually focusing on my surroundings served a purpose similar to meditation.

The clean night air, at least relative to the suburbs outside of Los Angeles, was suddenly interrupted by an acrid burning smell that my beast found offensive in every way. Without conscious thought I was off and running to investigate the source, my four paws pounding the leaf covered earth as I flew over the ground. A nagging worry bloomed in my chest and the bad feeling grew as I realized that the scent was pulling me straight towards the high school. The institute of the foul stench increased as my dusty paws crossed the hard packed dirt of the cross country trails that ran through the surrounding tree covered hills. Picking up the pace, I hurried towards the school as the urgency inside my grew. Thundering out of the trees and onto the cheerleading team's practice field at the rear of the school grounds, I nearly collided with a standing feminine figure.

"Woah, easy Jimmy!" Jennifer giggled as I trotted up to her and she took my lupine head in her hands. I had been far too caught up in my inquiry and if she had been someone who meant me harm I could've been in trouble.

I'd have to be much more careful.

Shifting back to my human form, I said, " Jen, what are you doing here? It's like 2AM."

"I felt you," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "and you seemed troubled."

"I couldn't stay asleep."

"Yeah, us wolves don't need more than a couple hours per night."

"I figured it was just the excitement of everything that has been going on lately," I said. "Do you smell that?"

"Something burning?"

"I think so," I replied. "C'mon."

"Uh..." Jen hesitated.

"What?" I asked, impatient.

"You're naked."

"Oh, right. Well if anyone asks, I'm your dog." I joked before shifting back to my wolf form, as if someone would believe a black wolf the size of a pony was an average house pet. It was better than having the cops called on me by someone who thought I was a pervert.

The scent seemed to be coming from the area of the baseball fields and as soon as we neared I noticed that huge black footprints were charred into the pristine green grass. However that was by far the least startling thing; in the center of the baseball diamond a large wooden cross had been erected and a horribly charred figure was nailed to it. The worst part was that I recognized the corrupted scent of the burnt body.

It was that of Ms. Blake.

"Oh, no." Jennifer said a second later as she reached the same realization, her sense of smell catching up with mine.

:..:

The next day, school was a circus of media and law enforcement as a large amount of attention was drawn to the murder of a teacher at a wealthy high school that educated the children of many rich and famous parents. My pack came over to my house when it was announced that school had been cancelled for the day to allow students time to grieve and law enforcement time to collect forensic evidence.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I chastised myself. "I should've cleaned up the scene and arranged to have her body found somewhere else."

"What, why?" Dante asked

"Because my footprints and DNA are at the scene and maybe even signs of Jen as well. Not to mention the fact that my DNA is inside Ms. Blake's corpse?"

"Damn, homie. Nice work!" Dante teased.

"You... You and Ms. Blake?" Jennifer asked, clearly not liking the idea.

"It doesn't matter now. Something isn't right with this whole situation."

"You mean a teacher getting burned alive on a cross planted on the baseball diamond at a high school?" Courtney asked sarcastically.

"I mean the fact that my instincts are screaming that something isn't right. And of course the fact that the FBI are getting ready to search my house right now, mere hours after the body was found."

"What?!" Jennifer asked.

"Look down the hill, those black SUV's heading this way are Bureau issue," I explained. "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe I am being framed."

"We need to get you out of here now!" Courtney urged.

"I have no interest in turning you four into accomplices."

"We don't care! We need to go!" Jen agreed.

The whole situation puzzled me, despite all of the unusual and unbelievable things that had recently come to the surface in my life. These four people that I had only known for weeks were willing to sacrifice so much for me yet I didn't feel that I had earned their loyalty at all.

"Not yet. I won't run until I know what's going on. If I am taken into custody, call my attorney. Her number is in my desk. So, prepare to welcome our guests."

It was obvious that none of them were happy about my decision but they moved anyway, though Will seemed curious about what I was going to do. A knock on the front door proved to be Buffy coming to check on me after hearing the news and not a SWAT team-but it was only a moment before I heard the government issue SUV pull up in front of the house.

"What is going on?" Buffy asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I replied as I sent Jen to let them in before they attempted to breach my very expensive front door. As soon as the door opened, the agents pushed their way in over Jen's protests and began spreading out while demanding my location. It only took a few seconds for them to exit onto the veranda where I was quietly staring at the morning sun and drinking my coffee. I heard them approach however everything seemed to stop before they reached me, as if time simply stopped. I turned around the see the agents frozen in mid stride a few meters away.

"What the hell?" I murmured.

"Is that any way to greet your mother?"

I spun around to see my mother standing with a wry smile on her face. She looked as stunning as ever as the rays of sunlight leant her ivory skin a silvery glow while her black hair shined with health. She wore a modern designer's version of a Classical Greek gown that left her shoulders bare and teased only the slightest glimpse of her considerable cleavage, though the clinging green material was tight enough against her body to leave little of her perfect proportions to the imagination.

"You haven't even been a werewolf for a month and you're already a fugitive..." She said playfully.

"How...?"

"How did I know? Who do you think turned you?"

"But... you aren't a werewolf, are you?" I asked, referring to the agents frozen in time in our house as well as a lack of lupine scent. Something started nagging me deep down in my chest.

"Werewolf?!" Buffy gawked.

My mother simply shook her head.

"It's true then...? You're the woman from dream... the goddess? I persisted.

She nodded.

"Goddess?" Buffy squawked in disbelief and confusion.

My pack stepped out onto the veranda as they took in the situation in awe and Jen asked, "what happened to them?"

"My mother froze them in time." I responded without looking away from my mom.

"That's... That's not possible." Buffy stated.

"It is if you are a goddess." I replied, shaking my head at the craziness of it all.

"What..." Courtney started to respond before my mom snapped her fingers and the agents simply disappeared without a trace.

"Holy shit!" Will and Dante exclaimed simultaneously as they jumped back in surprise while Buffy gasped in shock.

My mom walked over to Buffy and delicately touched her forehead with two fingertips. The contact immediately calmed her down and I could practically see the knowledge flowing into her mind from my mother's aura. After a second Buffy sighed in fascination as she looked at me and turned her head to say, "thank you, Diana. I think I understand now."

"Who are you?" Jen asked, her mind already beginning to adapt.

"I have gone by many names over many eons. You would know me as Artemis, Huntress of Olympus, daughter of Zeus and creator of the werewolf race." Mom said.

"Great Goddess!" My pack all said and kneeled down, showing immediate reverence for the matron goddess of werewolves that they had all heard tales of.

"There is no time for that now," she said, beckoning them to rise. "My son is in great peril and there is nowhere that he will be safe now that the word is out. Furthermore, those agents were under the Levaithan's control so he knows where James is."

"Where can we take him?" Jen asked.

"Who's the Leviathan?" Will asked.

"How much time do we have?" Asked Courtney.

"There isn't time..." My mom started before I cut her off.

"Tell me what the hell is going on, Mom." I said deadpan.

"There isn't time for the whole story but suffice to say that in the beginning, the Creator brought light to the universe. He then created the Angels, the Second Born and finally the humans, or rather the organisms that would later evolve into all life-including humans. However even before creation, there were beings of darkness that lived and thrived in the primordial ooze of the universe. These beings evolved with the changes to their environment and the passing of millennia to become the Leviathan race, some of the only beings NOT of God's design," she explained. "Before his Fall from Grace, Lucifer led the Archangels and Heaven's army against the destructive and insatiable Leviathans in the first war ever. Obviously the Angels were victorious, however the leader of the Leviathans escaped after absorbing the power of his entire fallen race and was soon lost to the shadows of time."

"And now he's back." I stated.

"Why?" Jen asked.

"He's back for me." I said, unsure of how I even knew that.

My mom nodded sadly.

"You're a goddess! Why don't you just smite him from existence with a wave of your hand?" Courtney asked.