Taken by the Alpha Spin-off: An Alpha's Thorne

Artemis Thorne

I moved quickly down the corridors lined with empty cells as if pulled toward something. I felt propelled by some deep desire within me, while fighting against a troubling anger, a real sense of urgency present in my body.

The pang in my stomach was both familiar and foreign as I finally came to an abrupt halt at the end of the long hall. To my right, was a large room. In the room, a man lay facing the wall, muscular arms outstretched as if exhausted from a long fight, or perhaps a recent shift from his wolf. His clothes were torn, exposing his torso.

I wanted to rip open the gate and enter the cell, to touch him, or perhaps fight him, but he was still turned away. I called to him with no reply.

“Look at me!” I demanded again, becoming angry that he seemed to be ignoring me.

Eventually, he managed to pull himself upward, turning his face. The small amount of sunlight pouring through the tiny window in his cell gleamed on his dark, silky hair. Despite this eerie location, he looked quite angelic.

His sapphire gaze met mine. My heart swelled, then erupted inside my chest. I knew, in my heart of hearts, who he was.

My mate.

***

I awoke, groaning, after having dreamt this in my tent in our military camp. Though I barely had time to ruminate on the dream I’d just woken from, or the man I’d seen in the cell there, my mind wandered.

I had long since convinced myself I would not find my mate— or maybe I was just born without one. In the dream, I had felt such a whirlwind of emotions that, in my awakened state, did not make much sense to me.

I’d felt angry, yet quite concerned. Is that what having a mate was like? I felt the familiar pang again and focused on trying to ground myself— there was no time for thinking about this, and no use, anyway.

The sun was not up yet, and I must have been the first to wake. The remaining crickets of the night chirped and I let the smell of dew momentarily calm me. I breathed deeply.

I sat up in bed and stretched my arms. Today, a decisive battle in this never-ending war would take place, and I was still determined for peace.

Decades ago, a plan was created to end the centuries-long bloodshed once and for all, and to unite all wolf packs under my Royal Pack.

But some refused to join, still fighting for dominance, rebelling against my rule.

The murderous Alpha Slade of the Borderlands Pack had decided that rebelling against me, Alpha Artemis Thorne of the Royal Pack, and all of our allies, was a better idea than uniting for the sake of peace. But it was no surprise— he was full of idiotic ideas.

The relentless Borderlands had always refused my right, and Alpha Slade Brute was sure to try to challenge every damn thing I did. But that meant forcing him and his Pack into submission; so there we were, preparing to storm their capital.

I was ready for peace. We all were. And I wasn’t going to let some inferior wolf stand in my way. He had two choices: to bend his knee or to die there with his failed attempt at keeping the division among our kind.

If every other pack could come to agreement, then so would he. I’d be sure of it. My inner wolf stirred at the thought. The only thing I hated more than fighting wars were the people that caused them, and Alpha Slade was number one on that list.

Dragging me from my thinking, my attention was brought to a voice just outside my tent. I could tell it was my Beta Maximillian by his large silhouette which was backlit by the beginnings of our morning campfires.

“Alpha Thorne, with your permission, I will start to rally the pack.”

“Yes, Beta Maximillian, please do so. I’ll be out in a moment,” I replied, steadying my voice while donning my armor.

“Yes, my Queen,” he replied, and I watched his shadow walk away.

After a moment, I emerged from my tent, my men gathered in a sea before me. Trezor, my advisor, signaled to me that it was time to address everyone, as we would soon storm the Borderlands territory.

I took a step forward, making eye contact with as many individual soldiers as I could, hoping to convey to them that our loyalties were mutual.

“Today, there will be bloodshed. I would and could never underestimate your sacrifices. Hopefully, we will emerge victorious, and I have complete faith that we will. But it is said that the best men sometimes plant the seeds of trees from which they will never eat the fruit,” I declared as my men nodded.

“Our people must know peace, our pups must know peace, and it is our responsibility to create a world where that is possible. At any cost.”

My men raised their arms in the air, yelling, snarling, nodding.

“At any cost!” they bellowed in unison.

“Alpha Slade Brute is the last standing obstacle in our path to achieving peace. In fact, he wishes harm to all of us, to all of our families. He wishes to dominate by way of violence, fear, and subjection!”

Everyone fell quiet once more.

“I will not stop until The Borderlands has saluted our Royal Pack. And neither will any of you.”

***

Flanked by my soldiers, both in man and wolf form, we poured over the hillside. I could see the Borderlands Pack Capital in the distance, and it was clear they were expecting us. Guards lined the borders of their territory.

I had great faith in my men and I truly felt I had the best army in the world. But one could never be certain of the outcomes of war. I wanted peace— yet I knew this would cost lives.

My veins throbbed as I charged forward. My inner wolf yearned to break free; thoughts of the rebellious, audacious Alpha Slade had me teetering on what felt like the edge.

It was clear that Alpha Slade had sent the first wave of soldiers to buy himself some time.

We came upon the first three guards, who stood no match against us. Just one of my Royal Guards was able to demolish two of them at a time. The sound of their screams as we tore their heads from their bodies signaled to the rest of the Borderlands that we had arrived. The men came pouring out from every building.

“Trezor and I will find Alpha Slade. Beta Max, lead the rest of the army until I call for you. Be on alert.” Both Trezor and Alpha Slade gave a final nod. I trusted Trezor more than anyone; she had formerly served as the head of my Royal Guard. And I wanted her beside me when we took Alpha Slade down.

We barreled toward the sizable army hurtling toward us, though we slightly outnumbered them. I heard both my men and theirs screaming, teeth clashing and limbs being torn apart.

A brave soldier came straight for me, a knife lifted toward my throat, and I grabbed him, shattering his skull over my knee.

Sweeping through the foothills, I tried my best to come to the rescue of my men, but the next massive wave of soldiers proved persevering and tenacious. I witnessed horror after horror as we pressed closer to the capital, letting the harsh reality of death sublimate into the driving force of pure rage.

Blazing through them, Trezor and I moved through a crowd of people who knelt, last minute, to avoid the warfare. These people would be captured to swear their loyalty at a later date; I was not keen on killing anyone but the active perpetrators themselves.

I could see the capital coming clearer and clearer into view in the distance. We were getting closer. A burst of motivation and determination surged throughout my body as I clung to the hope that we could make it there in time, before too many lives were lost.

We encountered what I had hoped was the final wave before making it to Alpha Slade. Narrowly escaping several deadly advances, I tried my best to gauge the numbers. I kept plowing through and steadily reminded myself that capturing Slade and defeating him once and for all would make this treachery worth it.

Several feet away, one Borderlander in particular wielded a knife and was swiftly plucking off my men. We were now within a mile of the castle, and I knew I would need to break free from the sparring happening in my immediate vicinity to get over to this son of a bitch. I’d take care of him myself before he killed any more Royalers.

“Trezor, I’m migrating to the left,” I whisper-yelled through gritted teeth, and swiftly she darted behind me, then rose up to my right, hurling her knife into the throat of an oncoming Borderlander. I landed immediately next to the man who was effortlessly slaughtering my men.

I threw my weight into my core and pitched my elbow into his jaw, delighting in the nice, loud crack it offered. He attempted to stab me, but I dodged it, cleanly using his own hand to tear into his opposing bicep from top to bottom. He collapsed to the ground.

The frontlines of our defense sprinted onward, finally having made it to the lawn of the capital. Trezor was still close in tow, and we soared off, prepared for our next stop: Slade Brute.

We threw the doors of the Pack Capital off its hinges, the sound of our boots on the floor echoing throughout the empty halls.

I looked down the left and right corridors and found a straggling guard, who quickly bent a trembling knee in our presence.

“Rise!” I hurled at him, and he did.

“Where is your Alpha?!” I demanded.

He hesitated, and I grabbed him by the throat, threatening to sink my claw into it. The guard pointed a shaky finger toward a large, wooden door, immediately giving in.

He was captured and brought away.

Treasonous coward, I muttered under heavy breaths.

“Do not kill him!” I called back to my soldiers. I wasn’t here to kill off Alpha Slade’s pack… I was here to acquire it. I had to remember that.

Before Trezor and I could reach the door, it was thrown open, and there he stood. My ears filled with the sound of white noise, effectively tuning out the shrieks and screams of the horror happening all around me.

Coming face to face with the defiant man who dared deny my rightful rule made it hard to keep my wolf at bay. I was practically salivating at the thought of ripping him limb from limb.

But I had to think calmly and rationally so that we could achieve peace. Killing Alpha Slade would not achieve that, and I would greatly benefit from the strength of his pack.

I did not want his pack to fear me once we emerged victorious: I wanted them to respect me.

He advanced toward me, canines exposed, but I quickly grasped at his neck and lifted him off the ground.

“Bad idea.” I looked into his eyes. He spat at me.

I hurled him to the ground, hearing his nose break against the floor, which was now slightly concave from the impact of his large body. Picking him back up, I threw him into a wall.

He remained motionless for a moment, then turned to face me, propping himself up on his forearms.

“What’s it going to take, Brute?” I asked, my claws elongating, dripping with the blood from his nose.

“You’ll never be the true Alpha. You’re a woman,” he snarled, “A false Queen.”

I approached him, grabbing him by the throat again, this time letting one of my claws draw a little bit of blood from his neck. I hoped it would scar him, so that every day, he would be reminded of the threat of my existence.

“You’ll never conquer me. It’s high time you accepted it,” I seethed.

With that, I dragged him back through the door frame we’d destroyed, howling at both sides of this war to halt. I was going to display my dominance in front of the entirety of his army.

My soldiers ceased immediately, and at the sight of their Alpha’s bloody body dangling in the air, the Borderlands Pack did, too.

I dropped him, dead weight, and he weakly climbed to his feet. His chest heaved with anger, and his eyes wished for revenge.

“Kneel to your Queen!” Beta Maximillian, standing proudly in front of the mostly-conquered crowd, ordered him.

Slade refused. My blood began to boil, and had I not had my honor to uphold in front of hundreds of men, I might have continued to brutalize him, just to teach him a lesson. My glare bore into his, and I deeply inhaled. His eyes, dark and full of resentment, did not blink.

“He’s eight years old, no?” I asked Slade, a smirk creeping up on my lip. I was referring to his son, his only pup, who I knew had been sent to the mountains with his mother like so many others to avoid the violence of the war.

It was not my normal method to engage in psychological warfare, but that seemed to be his first language.

“And your mate… she’s protecting him right now?” I asked coolly. “We were thinking of paying them a visit, actually.”

Slade gave a low growl, squaring his shoulders at the vulnerable spot I’d put him in.

“You wouldn’t,” he groaned.

Everyone in the crowd was completely silent. They dared not make a sound. Even his own men tensed at their Alpha’s blatant defiance against me, knowing the punishment would be very harsh, if not death or imprisonment.

“It’s clear you have no idea what I would or wouldn’t do. And I can tell from your continued defiance,” I chuckled.

Silence remained, and Alpha Slade had no choice but to endure me.

“Let me tell you, then. It’s not would, it’s ~will~. I ~will~ go to the Eastern treeline, where I know your mate is guarding your pup. I ~will~ rip them both from their beds, and I ~will~ slaughter them. And I will keep you alive to remember it forever.”

Alpha Slade let out a guttural scream and fell to his knees, his head bent low.

His men stared on in horror.

After a moment, he placed one knee on the ground and reluctantly raised his arm in a salute, his lip curled up in a scowl. His eyes met mine, searing with anger and resentment. Vengeful.

“I swear my loyalty,” he spat through gritted teeth.

“To whom?” I asked; I wanted to break him.

His unceasing glare bore into mine.

“To you, Artemis Thorne.”

After a painful moment of silent eye contact, I motioned for him to stand, and Trezor stepped forward.

“Bend the knee to your Queen, Artemis Thorne, Alpha of all Wolfborn!” she commanded, a triumphant look spread across her face.

The hundreds of those present bent the knee to signal their loyalty to me in unison.

“Let peace ring throughout our territories. No longer do we live in conflict and fear, but as a unified force under the Royal Pack.”

Some were silent, most cheered. But all had bent the knee.

I let out a decades-long exhale and walked off with Trezor by my side as my guards ushered everyone from the battlegrounds.