Cinder Pack, Seven Years Later
A woman walked through the bustling town square, hair covered with a shawl. She squeezed her way to the front to properly watch the artistic displays going on.
All 11 ranked members of the pack were all seated in order of hierarchy; the Alpha, his Luna and his six-year-old son sat in the front row.
A tall and lanky man with minimal muscles stood beside the Alpha, his hands clasped behind him.
The gamma stood behind the beta and the pack's advisor stood behind the Alpha.
The councilmen and elders sat behind the Alpha and his family, followed by the shaman and physician who sat beside each other, their apprentices standing beside them.
The pack's midwife, huntsmaster, quarter master also sat beside each other.
Pack warriors patrolled the venue from every corner.
In the crowd, some people behind the woman with the shawl began talking amongst themselves.
"Karl sure takes after his father. Look at that high chin. Reminds me of his father when he was a child."
"I doubt. Alpha Axton was way more charismatic with very bright eyes."
"Enough of the Alpha and his son, Luna Carmen is still as radiant as ever. She doesn't seem to age at all."
The woman's attention instantly diverted from them when she saw the people making a path for someone and naturally moved to a side as well.
The familiar attire of a border guard came into view as he pushed forward a man covered in dirt, his hand bound in chains behind him.
"My lord, I found this suspicious person lurking behind our border. But he doesn't seem to be from a neighboring pack." Said the border guard to everyone's hearing.
"Why bring him here? Take him…" The beta was saying when Carmen excitedly cut him off.
"No, leave him."
Then she turned to Axton.
"My lord, our son will be turning 7 in a few months. Don't you think it's time he starts learning the way of the sword?"
The man's dark eyes met hers, his hoarse voice coming up in slight confusion, "He already is."
She smiled deviously.
"He has trained with you ever since he was 4, but has never really held a sword to a man's throat."
"This peasant must be a rogue trying to sneak into our pack. Why don't we let our son make an example of him?"
Axton Wolfe was about to refuse when a councilman behind them politely butted in, "Pardon my insolence, my lord, but Luna Carmen is right."
Some people in the crowd also found sense in his words and began chiming in in agreement.
"We need to inculcate these values into him from a young age. Otherwise, how would he be able to follow in the mighty footsteps of his conqueror father?"
"That is right! Alpha Axton had his first kill at the age of five. He killed the man who poisoned his mother with a straight face."
"As his father's son, surely our young Alpha can do the same."
"I support the Luna. Give the boy a sword so we know what he's made of!"
And just like that, the crowd took the decision out of Aston's hands, leaving him no choice, but to comply.
A sword was handed to the young Alpha and although heavy, he dragged it across the ground until he was standing right in front of the kneeling rogue.
But just as he tried to lift it up, the rogue suddenly broke out of his chains and held the sword to the young Alpha's throat.
The warriors instantly sprang up, quickly surrounding him with their spears and swords while the crowd shrieked in fright and moved backward.
The rogue narrowed his eyes at the warriors, displeased at having so many weapons pointed at him.
"I don't like the look of this. Especially those spears and swords pointing toward me. I assure you that even if you spear me from behind, I'll be alive for a few more seconds to slit his throat."
"You don't want the life of your young alpha to be lost so early, do you?" He paused and turned his attention to Carmen and Axton.
Carmen was already hyperventilating and urging Axton to do something while the man remained seated, a fleeting coldness in his eyes.
"Alpha Axton, I know you're capable and can always have another son, but if you don't hear me out, someone else will still take that son away from you."
"But I assure you my orders were not to take your son's life. Now, aren't you interested in what I have to say?"
"Give the order, my lord and he'll be dead before he can blink again." Growled the beta, unsheathing his sword.
In the crowd, the woman with a shawl lifted her opal eyes, swiftly surveying her surroundings while the rogue kept them busy.
"Don't be in such a hurry, beta Ronan. I've committed an entire hour to explain in details what I came for."
Axton suddenly smiled and leaned back on his seat.
Crossing one leg on the other, he waved his hand at the rogue.
"So what is it you want?"
The rogue straightened up, staring him dead in the eyes as he outrightly retorted, "My leader has asked that you order your men to stop hunting and taking us rogues as slaves."
"We may not have a pack of our own, but we're contented being a dysfunctional community. So why does it bother your Cinder Pack so much that we exist?"
Before Axton could retort, Carmen furiously lashed out at him.
"Because you're a thorn that shouldn't exist in the first place! You're rogues because you couldn't fit in with your pack or you were abandoned outside of one."
"Whichever is the case, you're scum no one wanted. So how dare a bastard like you look Alpha Axton in the eyes?"
The rogue's eyes glimmered murderously, "Wrong answer."
Then he moved his arm to slit the young Alpha's throat, but the woman in the crowd promptly leapt forward, shoved him aside and held the boy hostage instead.
But unlike him, she held the sword away from the child's neck, trapping him firmly with her arm.
"We will give you time to think about it. In the meantime, release to us every rogue you have locked up in your prisons."
"After that, I'll continue to hold onto your son until my friends are long gone. During that time, if any of your warriors so much as twitch…"
The momentary pause as she trailed off was enough to pass her threat across.