"Alpha, there was an attack from the North border!"

"Are you all fine?"

"Nobody got injured, but there was a message for you."

Rolus sighed, his heart heavy with regret. He could feel the dread settle in his gut. "What did they say?"

The Pack warrior, Samuel, replied, "Alpha Luke awaits the day you die, then he will take the Pack. It will be his decision to show us mercy, but if we don't deserve his generosity, he will slaughter us all."

Rolus' heart hardened, accompanied by a terrible cough. Samuel quickly filled a glass with water and helped his Alpha drink. Rolus could feel his heart beat terribly, louder even because Samuel heard it too.

Of course it would be the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack to attack them when he was at his lowest. Alpha Luke loathed him, his Pack and everything Rolus had. He had been targetting Creek Pack since he learned about the sickness that had befallen Rolus. If it wasn't for Creek Pack's strong warriors, the Black Moon Pack would have invaded them a long time ago.

"Thank you. You may go now. Please tell Beta Sierra to calm the Pack down. You are excused," Rolus said, rubbing his temples gently. The headache was bound to surface to destroy him. He could feel it creeping, knocking and demanding for him to let it in.

Samuel cast him a worried glance, but left his office as requested.

Rolus is the Alpha of Creek Pack. He has been sick for a year. The Pack doctors think it is because he has not found his mate. After all, it has been seven years since he was supposed to have found his other half. Rolus told them his mate died, that's why he was sick. That was a lie.

His health has deteriorated to the point where he is bedridden, but because of his stubbornness, he refuses to be hooked to machines. He instead looked at paperwork in his office, the walls suffocating him and his world crumbling down.

He knew he did not have much time left. It was only a matter of time before he went rogue and died. Well, that's what the Pack doctor told him. The best chance he had at escaping death was finding his mate, but since he claimed that his mate died, he had no chance. The only thing keeping him alive now was his wolf, but he could feel it start to lose the battle.

His mind conjured all kinds of scenes of how he would die. He thought of being attacked by Alpha Luke from the Black Moon Pack and being unable to defend himself. He thought about how he would go rogue and eventually die because of his lonely heart. He thought of killing himself before his situation worsened, but that was unlikely because he did not have the balls to do that.

But who was he to think all that when he brought all these misfortunes to himself?

Before he could fall deeper into his thoughts, a knock on the door disturbed him. He raised his head to look into the eyes of Beta Sierra, who bowed and entered the office. Her red hair flowed, her hazel eyes blank. She was a strong and powerful Beta who wanted nothing but the best for the Pack. Her warrior mate shared the same values as her - protecting the Pack.

"Did Samuel tell you about the attack?" Rolus asked, his voice a bit groggy. He cleared his throat and awaited her answer.

"Yes, Alpha. I told the guards to enforce the border with more of them and instructed the pups to not play near the woods unattended. Everything is in order," she replied, her voice void of any emotions.

"Thank you."

She flashed him a tight-lipped smile and turned around to leave. Before she could close the door, he called out to her.

"Yes?"

It pained him to see her act so indifferent towards him. They were once so close and happy together until about a year ago when Rolus became sick. They had a fight that was brutal and deadly, all because he provoked her. She was fighting for Rolus to be honest with her about why he couldn't find his mate. She did not believe him about the hollowness he felt in his heart due to his mate dying. He did feel the hole in his heart, but she did not believe him.

Rolus told her that when her mate dies, she will feel the way he felt. That tore her apart, the thought of her mate dying. She did not handle it well and attacked him. They fought and ever since, she kept pestering him about his mate that he threatened to banish her if she continued. It was his emotions doing the talking.

He later regretted it and apologised, but she still kept her distance and remained professional for the sake of the Pack.

Rolus saw how his deteriorating health and their bad terms took a toll on her. She lost her spark. She never truly smiled and laughed like she used to. Instead, the only person that made her genuinely smile now was her mate. He meant the world to her that when he was near her, her spirit lifted and all her worries faded.

Rolus remembered when Sierra used to be bubbly and cheery to anyone. She always used to have a smile on her face. She laughed at nothing and everything, but now, because of him, she lost her spark.

"I... um... thank you," Rolus cut himself off before he could embarrass himself. He wanted to apologize and remind her of how they used to be before he became sick. But everytime he wanted the words to come out, they always remained at the tip of his tongue and all he did was stammer like a fool.

"No worries, Alpha. After all, it's my duty," then she closed the door and left.

Her words crushed him. They tore him apart, reminding him of how his actions and lies were ripping the Pack into pieces.

He leaned against his chair, staring up at the ceiling. The chair, comfortable as it was, was making him tired. He was always tired these days, wishing to sleep comfortably on his bed. The only thing stopping him from enjoying his sleep were the brown eyes that he always saw in his dreams. More like nightmares because he kept seeing those eyes damning him to a life of pain and suffering. Those eyes were so cold and hurt that they haunted him even when he was awake.

He sighed once again, standing up from the chair and collecting the files on his table, putting them in the drawers. He then left his office, going down the hallway and climbing up the stairs to escape to his room. Ever since he became worse, his Beta took matters into her own hands and played the Alpha the Pack needed. She was second in hand for situations like these. If the Alpha was not fit enough to rule the Pack, the Beta stepped in to assist.

He did not want to bump into any Pack members, hence he walked faster to avoid any contact with them. The members did not see their Alpha much these few months that he deteriorated.

When he reached the confines of his room, which looked more like an apartment with its sitting room joined with a kitchen and a dining room. His bedroom door was along the little hallway. Opposite his bedroom was the bathroom. Next to it was a spare room that was not used.

He sat on the sofa and laid down on it, willing himself to fall asleep. His mind ran with thoughts of his life choices and how he could have avoided bad decisions he had to take. He had regrets about the decisions he made when he turned eighteen. And now, seven years later, he was dying because of those decisions.

His sleep was awful as always. Nightmares plagued his sleep and made him feel like a zombie the next time he awoke. He hated it all. He hated how his decisions impacted his life now, but he had no choice at the time. He did everything for the Pack.

He thought he was smart when he turned eighteen. He thought he could defy the Moon Goddess and get to live in peace. How a fool he was. He was the biggest fool to grace the Earth to think he could get away with a treacherous sin he committed. He was a fool and is still a fool. He would rather die than accept defeat and come clean to the Pack.

Sleep was his enemy now, but he couldn't help but want to sleep. He tossed on the couch, turning and panting in torture. Brown eyes tortured him. They always damned him to a life of pain and torture. He could see their hurt and betrayal. He could see them harden, harden stronger than steel.

He woke up screaming in agony, sweat clinging on his body and hair sticking in all directions. He was being ripped to shreds, pain all he felt. He felt the hate dripping from every pore of the other person's body. Breathing his last breath as all hope disappeared, he awoke with a pain in his heart, hence he was screaming because he thought he was dying.

Was that how he would die? Being ripped to shreds by his enemy?

He caught his breath, trying to calm his racing heart and forget about the nightmare. That was a new one. He usually dreamt of brown eyes condemning him to a life of pain and torture.

His heart failed to calm down. He stood up and went to light the lights since it was dark in the room. He could see in the dark, but not as good as he could in wolf form.

Thinking about his wolf brought him a sense of longing to shift and run with his Pack, but that was impossible. Being in wolf form weakened him more than ever. His wolf was strong enough to sustain him in his human form. He could not sustain his wolf in wolf form, hence he was advised to not shift, ever.

He wanted to shift so badly, especially after his nightmares. But that was wishful thinking. He did not want to be too exposed to worsening. He went to drink some water and pills, together with a portion the Elders made for him.

After that, he turned the lights off and retreated to his bedroom. He climbed into bed and laid down, staring at the ceiling.

Before he could wallow in self pity, he heard footsteps approach his little apartment. He could smell his Beta, and food. His stomach chose that moment to rumble. He groaned in embarrassment because he heard Sierra chuckle. She knocked three times, then opened the door to his safe haven.

Rolus got out of bed and walked out of his room, beating himself up for almost sleeping in his clothes, again.

The lights were on, with Sierra transferring his food from the container to a plate.

"Thank you for the food," he mumbled, going to the island and sitting down.

"No problem, Alpha."

Her indifference sometimes annoyed him so bad that he wanted to snap, shout at her even and apologise. But how long will he keep apologising until she started to be comfortable around him?

Why was she even still angry at a dying man?

"Your food will get cold. I just heated it," she said, still standing with her hands behind her back, posture straight as ever. An indifferent Sierra was an intimidating one.

"Uh... yeah. I'll eat. But you can go now," Rolus told her.

"It's fine. I have to make sure you eat."

"Then at least sit down. You're making me nervous," he said, chuckling awkwardly.

She sat down, her eyes never settling on his. With that, he ate his dinner, nerves getting the best of him.

Rolus thought he could relax on this fine night and enjoy the presence of his Beta unscathed, but man was he wrong.

Not long after he ate his food, he felt immense pain attack him on his heart. He tried to hold his screams in, but it was like the more he tried to hold them in, the more pain he felt.

Sierra ran around the table and stopped his Alpha from dropping down, holding him in her arms as he went limp. She mind-linked the Pack Doctors and waited for them to come.

She could hear Rolus' heart beat slow down each passing second that she held him.

In no time, the Pack Doctor, Michael, arrived and together they took their Alpha to his bed.

"He's going to be alright, right?" Sierra shouted, her grip on Rolus' hand tightening.

"He will be fine. We need to get him to the infirmary and we'll take it from there."

"He's just so stubborn, you know. If only he could tell us the truth, Michael. He's killing himself!" Sierra lost her cool, punching the wall next to her.

Michael mind-linked some warriors to carry their Alpha back to the infirmary for better observation.

"It will be okay, Beta Sierra. We'll take care of him."

"I hope so because I can't lose him. We all can't. The Pack will be lost without their Alpha," Sierra looked devastated. She was hurting everytime she saw, thought and heard about her best friend, her Alpha.

She could not understand why someone could be this stubborn whilst dying. She hated that Rolus' stubbornness was killing him.

Help arrived and Rolus was taken to the infirmary.