The Oath of an Alpha

The Werewolf world is dominated by a few basic laws.

Law 1: Never Harm a Human.

We are a rowdy bunch and normal human beings are fragile. Due to this fragility we tend to keep to ourselves and not make friends with them. They get hurt or even killed by accident when working in close quarters with wolves regularly.

Law 2: Never reveal our true nature to the outside world.

Humans remain mostly unaware of our existence with the exception of the Hunter organization who vows to keep us in check even though their recruitment numbers have dwindled low over the last hundred years. Mostly due to our first law making them increasingly unnecessary. When our first law is violated, we always extend an invitation to Hunter Leadership to watch the punishments in person to see that justice is served.

This Law also provides secrecy from the other races as well. They don't need to know the location of our packs nor our numbers or strengths.

Law 3: Always respect the Soul-Mate Bond which is commonly referred to as the Mate Bond.

Adultery while you have an active mate is considered a deadly attack on the mate being cheated on. The act of being intimate with another while you have a mate causes substantial pain as pieces of their soul are being ripped and torn.

This is also considered sacrilege as our soul mates are chosen by Selene our Moon Goddess herself.

Law 4: Always strive to better your pack and your family.

While it is not always done in that order, actively working against your pack or your family is seen as actively seditious behavior. This is not only an offense to your family and friends but to your Alpha and Luna.

Law 5: Always Obey your Alpha and Luna

The people in these positions were mostly chosen by the Moon Goddess Selene for the betterment of the pack. They are expected to work in the packs best interest and in so doing, your best interest.

Law 6: Always Obey your Alpha King and Queen Luna

These people were not only chosen by your Moon Goddess directly, but are the chosen representatives to lead our people in her name. These people are just and kind. The power they wield is truly divine and ordained.

Law 7: The Council of Elders preside as the 'Lunar Court' and can overturn rulings made by Alphas and Kings.

Proceedings invoking the council typically require the signature and request of at least one Alpha, Luna, or child of Alpha Blood.

This ruling is simply to make sure that every trivial matter does not bother the council. However if your issues are true and relevant you will find convincing an Alpha or Luna that their signature will help in the name of justice... to be an easy task.

Consequences: A typical consequence of minor actions can be as simple as pushups or running laps.

Further than that you could be held in the stockade. Yes a stockade like olden times. The children would get to throw rotten food at you and such.

If you behave and admit your wrong doing and understand your mistake these punishments are usually very minor.

For more serious crimes the discretion of the punishment is usually up to the presiding Alpha or Luna. It can be:

Corporal Punishment

Usually with a silver plated whip, the Presiding Alpha or his Beta would administer lashings.

Some particularly cruel individuals may even lace their whips with the infamous Wolfsbane poison to make it more painful and take even longer to heal. While this practice is frowned upon the Council respects the rights of each pack to govern themselves outside of their purview.

Incarceration in silver barred cells

This punishment is required to have an official determined allotment of time, and never to be indefinitely.

Most people get around this by giving some exorbitantly high number of years that the individual cannot possibly live through. The Council agreed to this loophole knowing that some crimes require such things.

Banishment from the pack land temporarily or permanently

This punishment is considered quite cruel. As werewolves and Lycans we are pack creatures and we function as such. Without a pack we slowly lose ourselves to isolation. Also packs provide much needed safety to our kind.

The second part of Banishment is that if the Alpha or Luna responsible for the banishment contacts other packs and reveals your crimes this could also end up forcing you to become a rogue and wander packless forever until you go insane.

Death

This can be carried out several different ways. Some use lethal injection and use sedatives to put them to sleep before injecting them with high doses of Wolfsbane or liquid silver.

Some use hanging, and some use an executioner. Though it is typical of an Alpha to do the executing themselves. Occasionally the Beta will also fill this roll.

If a crime is found to require the Death penalty by the presiding Alpha or Luna it is considered appropriate to contact a member of the council or at least other local Alphas and Lunas to make sure all leaders of justice in the area are of the same mind.

Usually you would gather these individuals or even council members during the trial phase, and not after sentencing.

It is also considered respectful to your elders to just loop them in on your general legal proceedings.

Worse than Death

This punishment is saved for those especially heinous individuals. it involves removing their canine teeth which causes the wolf inside them to wither and die. Unable to shift the wolf inside them will be trapped and as the wolf rots inside the soul so too will the soul of the individual rot. They typically become hollow individuals that do not speak.

This punishment is for the crimes we don't speak about.

Crimes against children.

Crimes against the elderly.

Crimes against the weak.

As strong wolves we have a responsibility to see to the safety of those around us unable to see to their own safety and our actions should always carry the weight of this burden.

The Hierarchy

Monarchy - Ruling family of Lycans

There are three Royal Lycan families. Their bloodlines can be traced back to the First Lycans.

There were more before the great war. There were eight Royal Lycan families. Two of the five lost families have bastards maintaining their bloodline but they do not have a claim to the throne.

Alpha King Vincent Kalgar and his Luna Queen Anisa Kalgar are the highest ranking individuals in the entire world. They live in their palace in Montreal.

The Council technically has authority over them but as stated previously the Council only steps in when required, they are not here to micromanage they are simply the counterbalance so that the people have a recourse when the Throne abuses it's power.

The Council was created in response to the Great War to prevent any further wars by being the limit to the King and Queens Power.

The Alpha King and Luna Queen have three children.

Vincent Jr the eldest at 24 years old, Natalia the middle child at 18 and Dentox the youngest at 17.

Crown Prince Vincent has been searching fervently for his mate which had the unfortunate side effect of forcing their father to put many of his duties on his youngest brother Dentox. Vincent spends an unfavorably high amount of time and resources throwing parties and searching for his mate.

Princess Natalia is her parents pride and joy. Her beauty is often spoken of as if the goddess Selene might hear and become jealous. A joke quietly made behind closed doors but not quiet enough to slip past the ears of a Goddess.

She herself is said to be upset about the rumors surrounding her and she spends much of her time at the royal orphanage helping where she can.

Prince Dentox is rumored to not have found his wolf yet. He is still imposing and strong, but again rumored to be truly just and kind.

He is supposedly his father's right hand being sent in a judiciary capacity to oversee many legal proceedings requiring a member of the royal court present.

Each Royal either chooses or is assigned their own beta. Even the Queen Luna has her own Beta separate from the Alpha King.

This person counts as their protector and their right hand as it were to help them in their duties as they do their best to lead the kingdom into the future that everyone hopes for.

The Alpha King and Luna Queen are the highest rank.

Their Children are of an equal authority to the King's Beta

The King's Gamma is in charge of training the warriors and seeing to the personal protection of the Luna.

Warriors have their own rankings called Classes.

Their ranks start at Cadet then become Warrior fifth class.

Fifth class means they are fit for patrol duty under a more experienced warrior.

Fourth class means they are fit for patrol duty under a more experienced warrior and are capable fighters themselves.

Third class means they are fit for patrol without supervision and they are capable fighters. Third class means these individuals have gained the trust of the Gamma and therefore their Alpha.

Third class is the typical rank of the majority of warriors in most packs.

Second Class means they have advanced combat training and this group is training personally with the Beta and Alpha of their pack to become the very strongest they can become.

First Class are extremely talented warriors. Not only do they have a knack for combat but for tactics in general. Even though some of these wolves are of Omega blood, their quick wit and tactical moves give even their Alphas a run for their money in combat.

First Class are usually given advanced training and used as trackers and Queens guard.

In order to be truly considered a first class warrior in a pack that doesn't belong to the King is to join the King in the annual Trials.

This is typically an event much like the Olympics but significantly more dangerous. This event is used to determine pack strength and it is also used to advertise who is in need of allies and who would make a great ally.

*The bell rings indicating class is over*

The teacher sighs exasperatedly as she shouts over the sound of teenagers packing their bags and running to the door, “Don’t forget test tomorrow, all of this will be on it”

It didn’t seem to matter as the students filed out of the classroom except for one who was still sitting in her desk snoring ever so quietly.

The teacher calmly patted her shoulder, “Heather honey it’s time to go home class is over.”

She shot up like someone had just fired a gun and after hyperventilating for a moment she apologizes profusely to the shocked teacher, “I’m so sorry Ms. Colby I didn’t mean to. Please don’t tell the Alpha.”

Ms. Colby responds, “Oh heavens no dear I’d never punish someone for sleeping, especially not someone with your grades. I must say Heather, I’m as impressed as ever with how high your grades are considering you always sleep through class. I don’t even know how you do it. According to your other teachers it’s the same with them. Sleep Sleep Sleep and Straight A’s all the time.”

Heather lets out a hollow chuckle, “Its simple really, people don’t like me and without the distraction of friends I have so much time to study that it’s not even funny.”

Ms. Colby looks quite upset as she ponders for a moment before responding, “Heather, I know life hasn’t been the best for you, but don’t you think ‘No-one likes me’ is a bit exaggerated? Don’t you have at least one friend to confide in? If not, you can always confide in me, I will always be here for you.”

Heather was touched by the sincerity of her teacher and took a moment to compose herself before responding quietly almost a whisper, “You have always had a soft spot for me and I’ve never really known why. I feel like I need to tell you something, my secret. I am leaving as soon as I get my wolf. It will be any day now, I can feel it.”

Ms. Colby looked at her with distress in her heart as she stopped being careful with her words as they poured out suddenly, “But you won’t be safe, you have to remain here with an Alpha’s protection. I promised to keep you safe. I can’t do that if you leave. Please don’t do anything rash Please.”

Puzzled, Heather feels a weight in her chest as she asks her question, “What do you mean promised, who did you promise? I’m an Orphan found in the woods abandoned with no relatives to speak of. Who on earth could you have promised anything about me?”

The short teacher’s eyes watered as she realized she had said too much and a single tear fell down her face revealing the unbridled need to share a secret that she wasn’t willing to open her mouth and reveal. So she said, “I promised the .. Moon Goddess I’d keep you safe.”

Heather felt anger in her chest as she spouted, “The Moon Goddess put me here where I’m a slave. An Omega. Beta Michael makes me clean his house twice a week and his family treats me horribly while doing it. Because of the attention the Beta gives me many of the women in this pack think I’m gold digging and spread rumors and lies. So what pray tell, are you protecting me from?”

This is the first time Heather had managed to push her this far for answers and she was hoping it paid off, but it was looking more and more like the same dead end she always came to with Ms. Colby. She was the only one who seemed to know anything about her past but no matter what Heather pulled she couldn’t get the information out of her.

Heather was getting more and more agitated as the days went by leading up to the full moon. People usually get their wolves by 16 but Heather was 18 and hadn’t heard a peep. Two days from now is the first full moon after her 18th birthday and she could feel the buildup in herself. It could just be anxiety or pressure, but she felt like it was a good pressure, her truth finally coming to fruition.

Ms. Colby had a quivering lip as she said, “Please go home and get some rest, class is not for sleeping you really should try to interact with others more.” before she walked away clearly flustered and straightening the items on her desk for the next class.

Heather seethed with frustration and packed her bags and walked out only to bump into Beta Simon, Michaels only son and a bit of flirt. She immediately responded with a red face and flustered look, “Sorry Beta I didn’t mean any offense.”

He manipulatively transitioned, “What will my father say, the house maid stepping on my shoes. I can’t wait to see what punishment he gives you this time.” before he continues to walk away.

Heather immediately started hyperventilating as she knew exactly what was going to happen when she went to the Betas apartment later for cleaning. Her inner voice wouldn’t shut up expounding on how Beta Michael was always degrading and looking down on his lesser’.

The voice continues, “This has been brought to Alpha Jax’s attention multiple times but he either doesn’t care, or Beta Michael is blackmailing him, or something like that. Who knows? Have you ever heard of an Alpha letting the Beta be in control? Heh.” The voice wasn’t her normal inner voice but it was right.

It continued, “Just breath in, and Breath out. He’s a jerk don’t let him rile you up.”

Heather’s hyperventilation stops much too suddenly as she realized she was talking to herself, “Wait are you... Are you my wolf? Are we together now?”

Her inner voice responds, “Hey now, I’m a goddess gifted half of your soul, not just ‘A Wolf’ and my name is Medusa.”

Heather starts freaking out a little bit doing a small silent dance of joy, “I’M SO HAPPY TO MEET YOU MEDUSA I’M SO EXCITED TO FINALLY HAVE YOU”

Medusa dizzy from the mental shouting, “please... I’m new to this too, think quieter toots. There is no distance between us. Literally.” even though Medusa is internal at the moment, Heather can hear her take a mental breath before continuing, “Yes I’m incredibly happy to meet you too Heather.”

Medusa suddenly stops as at the same time Heather smells it too. The most delicious scent of rain and honey mixed perfectly wafts in to them as the door Beta Simon just walked through bops open just for a gap of wind to blow through.

Medusa said the one word Heather was desperate not to hear from that direction.

“Mate”

Heather’s eyes clouded in water as tears began pouring from her face.

“No no no no no no”