Freeing Starr
Chapter 12 ~ Locked

In our world, werewolves were broken down into four categories. Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega. Each of these categories were then broken down into two segments. Recessive and Dominant. Recessive were the wolves who had a weaker bloodline compared to the strong bloodlines we call dominant. It was however, rare for a recessive to evolve into a dominant but it wasn’t impossible. Given the right conditions, it was even possible for an omega to grow into a gamma or a gamma into a beta. However, Alphas were a different case. They were born, never made. To become an Alpha, you must have Alpha DNA in your immediate family. If your bloodline was strong, you’d be termed a dominant Alpha but if it was weak, you’d be termed a recessive Alpha. That was how the power structure within the werewolf world worked.

I asked Niah curiously, “then why did Zion decide to become an Alpha of a pack? Was Deacon one?”

Niah nodded, “Yeah, Deacon was an Alpha whose pack got destroyed by another pack. He lost his family and everyone he ever knew and so he wandered around aimlessly until he found a few rogues that needed a little guidance. I was a part of that group. After Zion joined, we were doing well on our own. We tried our best to avoid any pack territories and moved around at night to avoid other rogues. But one day, one of our youths accidentally stepped onto pack territory and so we went out to look for him and got attacked by the pack for trespassing. It was a large pack and only a few of us so we were outnumbered. Even with Deacon and Zion, two Alphas with us, we were overpowered. In the end, Deacon was forced to sacrifice himself in order for us to leave alive. That was when Zion realized how important being in a pack was and he was the only one with the bloodline to create one. So he did. For us, he created a pack of rogues with the hopes of one day being powerful enough to avoid getting trampled on by others. His Alpha bloodline was strong so it wasn’t hard for him to gain recognition. Years later and here we are. Currently, we’re the sixth largest pack on the continent.”

“You’re the sixth? I thought you were the third?”

Niah shook her head, “No. This continent is large. There are many packs scattered out there, some with over two hundred thousand members. People just speculate but they aren’t sure.”

“Is that why you guys are still expanding?”

Niah pursed her lips in thought, “not exactly. I admit, our pack is quite large and it’s only getting larger, however, our pack is filled with rogues and not the high ranking ones. We’re not confident that we can contend with the other bigger packs that have an older foundation. We only have two Alphas, nine thousand betas, fifteen thousand gammas and the rest of us are omegas. We’re too weak. The elders, women and children can’t fight wars. Our warrior count is too low. All we have are the numbers but we don’t have the strength. We’re simply wild animals struggling to survive. We’re relying completely on instinct and eventually, that won’t be enough. I know Zion is already aware of it which is why he’s trying so desperately to solidify his position as Alpha before he tries to establish more rules.”

“So why did he choose me as a mate?” I asked.

She hesitated slightly before answering, “You were the only Alpha female worth mating with. All the other female Alphas that were offered had a recessive bloodline, however yours is dominant. If your father was more ambitious and less cowardly, your pack would actually be worth something and wouldn’t have had to rely on a pack of rogues to gain recognition.”

I frowned at that. She may be right. Although our pack was small, we had a strong foundation. We defended our territory for years and had never had an issue with rogue invasions. We were thriving. However, when my mother died, my father fell into a slum and it affected the entire pack. A piece of him left that day and I believed that his sanity left with it.

I hesitated as a question formed in my mind, “this Deacon guy defeated Zion, who is a dominant Alpha... so that means that he himself was dominant right?”

“Yeah, Deacon was a dominant Alpha.”

“If he was that strong, how did he get defeated?”

“The pack that we ran into was one of those strong Alpha packs that resided on the edge of the Divine Alpha Kingdom. He was already a wanted man so him going there was like suicide.”

“What was he wanted for?”

Niah frowned, “he never told us.”

I pursed my lips as I processed all the information that I’ve just gained. I was glad that I managed to gain a little background knowledge of this pack but being aware of the big responsibility ahead of me made me uneasy. Everything wasn’t as simple as it seemed. There were a lot of unknowns as well. I actually somewhat sympathized with Zion as he had to bare all of this on his own. I needed to help him. It was my duty as his Luna. I needed to share these burdens. Maybe this was my fault for focusing too much on my emotions. This wasn’t about me. This was about this pack and giving everyone in it a chance to settle down and enjoy their lives without worrying about being overtaken by other packs.

I picked up the folder and began flipping through it, determined to memorize everything I needed to know so I could start helping Zion with the pack management.

“So is all of this information documented on a computer as well? I think it’d be easier than keeping them in folders.” I asked.

“Yes, the computer system is in the pack house in the middle of our pack. All our files are located there, however, Zion is very old fashioned. He likes to keep written files as well so the house only have those folders. I think you can find some information documented on the laptop as well but this is all we can manage for now. Zion doesn’t want you mingling with the pack as yet.”

Niah stood up and dusted her hands off on her jeans, “I have to go take care of something, but you’ll be fine right?”

I nodded, “Yes. I was practically the Luna in my father’s pack so I should know all the important details by the end of the day. It’s not too hard.”

Niah smiled, “You’ll do great. If you need anything just use Zion’s office. He rarely uses it but it should have everything you need.”

“Alright,” I watched her until she disappeared out the front door before turning back to the piles of papers before me.

I glanced at the little note papers Niah left for me and read through them.

“So basically she wants me to understand her terrible writing?” I mused, trying to figure out a word Niah failed to write properly.

I sighed as I peeked at all the papers before me.

“This is going to be a long day.”

It definitely was a long day. After sorting out the many files, I spent my time browsing through online furnishing websites trying to find things to decorate the house with. However, this kind of stuff was definitely not my strong point. Niah popped in to check on me once and winced when she saw the green curtains I chose to match with the violet sofas for the living room.

At that point, I was ready to push this responsibility on someone else. Or I could’ve just left the house as is. It’s not like I’ll be using the living room or anything like that. I only need the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

I sighed and closed down the laptop, getting off the floor and stretching my arms above my head.

I glanced at the empty hallway and pursed my lips, wondering if touring the house and all the rooms would spark inspiration for me.

I glanced at the time on my watch and figured I had enough time to explore before anyone else came back. So I traveled the hallways and opened all of the doors to glance at the empty space behind them. The house really was empty. I could tell barely anyone visits here.

I went a bit deeper into the house and just wandered aimlessly, my thoughts scattered and thinking of nothing yet everything at the same time.

Before I knew it, I came across a door that was at the end of the hallway. It looked like it led down into the basement. I twisted the knob and was surprised to find the door locked.

My lips tilted down into a frown as I played around with the knob a bit. This was the only door in the house that was locked.

Curiosity swirled inside me.

I placed my ears against the door and listened carefully for any sound from the other side.

I heard nothing but the sound of my own breathing.

I sighed and pulled away, ready to give up on opening the door.

Then I heard it.

The slight sound of a body shuffling across the floor.

My wolf and I perked up as we turned back towards the door, our heart rate increasing as we hurriedly placed our ear back against the door.

Was something behind this door? Was that why it was locked?

“Hello?” I asked tentatively as I knocked on the door.

The shuffling stopped.

Everything went silent again.

I frowned, “hello?”

No response.

I tried twisting the knob again.

“What on earth are you doing?”

I jumped in surprise and turned to look at an angry T’niah as she stomped towards me.

“I..”

She grabbed a hold of my arm and harshly tugged me away from the door, “you’re lucky that I was the one who found you instead of Zion! That door is locked for a reason! Don’t go near it again or I can’t promise that Zion won’t hurt you.”

I shivered in dread and fearfully glanced back at the door, “It’s that serious? I was only touring the house to spark ideas for decoration.”

T’niah glanced back at the door with a grimace, “I don’t know what’s inside that door but Zion guards that door like a hawk. I should’ve warned you, I’m sorry. I’d advice you to stay away from it or else you’ll end up with even more bruises.”

The curiosity I had for what was inside the door immediately disappeared and I found myself thanking the goddess that Niah stopped me in time.

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