14th July 2019.
Alpha's quarters, Glengariff, Cork.
" Ah… Sunset. I love the sunset, it's like a woman, very charming and slowly seducing its way into the cloud" The elder mused aloud as he sat on his seat, gazing wistfully at the sun.
He smiled down at the little lad down at his feet. It feels so good to be in charge, the boy is so weak and timid which makes it even easier for him to control the boy. He can't let him, (he's all grown up now but..) control him or use his powers on him.
He watched as the boy continued massaging his feet and grumbled " What are you doing? I asked you to massage my feet not romance it" he said, kicking the lad's hands away from his feet, grinning inwardly at the pleasure it gives him whenever he bullies him because he knows the poor lad has no other option than to suck up to him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ryan hurriedly knelt, pleading to the elder, afraid of punishment from him. " I'm so sorry, Alpha" he let out quickly through gritted teeth, and fisted his hands into a ball, wishing he could change his fate. The ill-fated life that he had been given since the death of his parents. He wished to stand up to this man one day but he still couldn't find any courage to do so. No, he was just too weak to do so.
Still, on his knees, he placed his hands back on the elder's feet and continued massaging them.
He hated himself so much for being timid, knowing if his parents were still alive, he would have been a little bit strong enough to face the elder.
When his parents were alive, especially his father, the former Alpha, things were orderly. There was no discrimination between the Omega's, Beta's, and Alphas. His father treated everyone equally and was the perfect leader for the pack. The elder couldn't even stand up to his father back then. Now, look at him, Ryan Makarios, the son of Lassiaian Makarios, the true Alpha, massaging the foot of a mere elder who couldn't even stand near his father!
" The other leg, you moron!" The elder growled at him, raising his leg close to his face, " Is it only one leg that deserves a massage, you dimwit??"
" Oh. I'm sorry Alpha" he muttered, the words biting at his heart as they came out. ' Sorry, yeah that's a great word to describe how he's feeling. He is sorry, sorry that his parents are dead, sorry that he was weak and timid, and also sorry for everything! A slave, that's what he is, a slave to the elder and his darned fate.
As he walked back home, Ryan thought of his father's great courage and strength and wondered if he'll ever be able to lead the people as his father did.
Sighting Elan, the pack priest, he quickly comported himself. The crazy priest always looked at him as though he could read everything going on in his mind. He has suffered enough humiliation for a day, he wasn't ready for the pack priest to blab away at his weakness.
" Good evening, Elan", he said, forcing a smile on his face.
" What's the craic, Alan?", the priest asked, giving him that "I know what you were thinking " look that he hated so much.
" I'm good", he quickly answered. Not wanting to be scrutinized anymore, he nodded his head and turned to leave.
" Hoy lad!" The priest called to him," What's tomorrow?"
" I don't know, don't put dates in mind" he answered, eager to leave his presence.
" Oh, you muppet. Tomorrow is your birthday" The priest replied, tsking.
" Oh, yes it is ", he replied, wishing he could leave faster as the priest's eyes kept boring into his.
" Your mate will be revealed to you tomorrow, lad. Are you excited? You better be. " he added and walked.
Oh, that! he forgot that his mate was going to be revealed to him but why does it feel like the priest knows something?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ryan lay down on his bed. It was morning, D-day. He was going to be twenty-two but he doesn't feel as eager or as happy as he should be. Perhaps because he knows that being twenty-two doesn't change the fact that he was going to continue being the elder's lackey.
Since his parent's death, he has always felt indifferent whenever his birthday comes because it always reminds him not only of his job( job? More like slavery) as the elder's lackey but also of how long he has been without his parents and how much he missed them.
The only thing that excites him about his birthday, this particular one, is the fact that his mate was going to be revealed to him which he forgot about until Elan, the priest reminded him. He wondered who she was going to be.
' Not Jade please' he groaned in his bed as he thought of the puppy-like girl who always follows him everywhere. Not that she wasn't pretty, but in his current situation, he needs a strong-headed and smart mate.
The ritual that was to be performed required him to stay indoors until he heard the howls of every wolf gathered in the alpha's quarters before he steps out. Feeling bored at the long wait, he closed his eyes and daydreamed about his mate.
Jolted awake by the sound of the first howl, he jumped to his feet, excitement filling his body. " It is time" he muttered and paced around the room, listening to each howl as they continued until he heard the loudest one, the one of the current Alpha, the elder. He went close to his window, opened it, and howled back and waited patiently for the reply.
Hearing it, he hurried out of his room, his heart racing, unable to conceal the grin on his face. Arriving at the Alpha's quarters, he moved to the center of the circle formed by all the wolves and knelt in front of the priest.
The priest grabbed his hair and poured something red( was it blood?)on it. He pushed his hair back and let out a loud howl, then went towards the Alpha who branded him with a hot seal.
As soon as the Alpha was done, the sounds of wolves howling filled the air, from the lowest which is that of the Omegas to the loudest, the one of the Alpha. The howling stopped when the Alpha raised his hands and everyone looked at the priest in anticipation.
" The time has arrived, the revealing of your mate, Ryan Makarios, is now." The priest said, looking him straight in the eye.
" Your mate…" The priest continued, looking around at everyone, then back to him, " Is the young lady you murdered seven years ago".