I was fourteen when I first understood what it meant to be Alpha of a pack. My father had been preparing me pretty much my whole life and I had goofed off most of the time, more worried with having fun then being a leader.

There had been rumors of a man capturing our kind. Most of the time you never saw the poor souls again and if you did they weren't the same. It's like they forgot about the human part of them and was just full wolf. Full beast with no control or consciousness over what they were doing. It was forcing the remainder packs to fight against our own brothers and sisters.

The man went by the name of Donovan Scout and as far as anyone knew, he was human. It wasn't clear on how he became aware of us, but he clearly had decided he would be the one to exterminate us. I still remember the night we were attacked. Nobody was expecting anything, nobody had heard a sound in the night except the screams of my mother.

Two wolves had came in and I remember waking up in my bed when hearing the sounds of snarling fighting dogs. I was scared, but hearing my mother's screams made me swallow my fear and when I made my way downstairs I could see my father taking on both of them.

His giant black wolf was bigger then both, but they were wild and foaming at the mouth. I remember screaming in my head through the mind link for help. I wasn't sure how long I sat and watched the madness, but it felt like forever. I was a coward and an ignorant boy who put all his faith in believing that those two wolves wouldn't leave here alive because my father was an Alpha.

I'm my mind Alpha meant invincible, can't be touched. Just something bigger, something more powerful then two regular sized wolves. I watched from the top of the stairs as one wolf came from behind and jumped on my fathers back and the other quickly came down over his neck and began thrashing his head around frantically while holding on tight to my father's throat.

It was like I was frozen. I couldn't move and I couldn't scream. I couldn't do anything except watch. My fathers large black wolf laid stiff on the floor and I kept my eyes on his dark fur as the wolves moved on to my mother. I refused to watch and kept my eyes focused on the black fur. When her screams finally stopped it's like I was released from my trance and slowly made my way down the stairs.

I decided that I was going to die with my family instead of being left behind. I didn't want to go one day without my father's guidance or lessons. I couldn't go on without my mothers cooking and sweet nature. We would die together as a family as it should be. I cleared my throat to make myself known to the two wolves and one growled loudly as it made its way to me.

I kept my chest puffed out and my arms to my side. I wasn't going to cry or cower away like I had been on the stairs. What's done is done and I was ready to be done too. I stayed looking into the large yellow eyed beast and my eyes moved down to see something was tied around the wolf's neck. It was blinking a green light and I watched as one giant paw went up and back down over my view. I hit the floor and my hands went to my face as I screamed feeling my flesh burst open.

The sound of howling from outside was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

When I woke up I was no longer in my home. I was in the infirmary and my face was bandaged up, but it stung and hurt anytime I tried to blink or move.

"August, try not to move so much. You will heal in a few days."

It was Johnson, my fathers Beta. He was practically my uncle and was my father's right hand on any decision.

"Are they dead?" I asked through my busted lips.

I couldn't see, but I could feel him set his large hand on my leg.

"Yes."

I wasn't sure if he knew I was asking about my parents or the wolves, but assumed the answer was the same for both. I still had a pack and of course they are my family, but in this moment I felt like I was an orphan now. Alone.

"August, I can't imagine what you're feeling right now. We will avenge your parents, I promise you that." Johnson said through gritted teeth.

"Who will be Alpha?" I asked.

My voice didn't sound like my own. It sounded gruff and raspy. My throat was dry and so was my mouth, but I didn't want water. I wanted blood. His blood for what he had done.

"You will be. I will continue your training with you It would be my honor to be your Beta, I think your Dad would've wanted it that way."

Alpha wasn't about being the strongest or the best or the biggest. You could be all those things and more and still wind up dead. If my father hadn't fought alone he would still be here. If I had been strong enough to fight with him, he would still be here. Being Alpha is about being a leader of a pack, so what's the point of leading a pack if you're not going to use your full strength against your enemies?

In my mind that's the mistake my dad made.

Fighting alone when he could've been fighting with help instead. I would make sure my pack is strong and that we fight together. I would make sure to unite us through my parents death and bring us closer together. I would make sure our pack grows bigger and when the time is right, we will all avenge my parents death.

The way we all should've been there to protect them.