Edward Zolvryck, leader of the pack for over twenty-five years. Edward Zolvryck, one of the most powerful wolves in the North.
Edward Zolvryck, an Alpha who fought for decades and saved hundreds of wolves.
Edward Zolvryck, the overprotective father who treated Hendrik like a cub.
More than three years of continuous training had to pass before Edward allowed his only descendant to go out onto the battlefield at the age of twenty.
Not as a warrior, not as a tracker or hunter, but as a simple rescuer.
That was his job, the son of the most powerful wolf in the pack was just a rescuer.
His job, along with Keith and three other Alphas, was to go to areas where members of his species were being held captive and bring them to safety while the rest of the wolves risked their lives fighting against the humans.
Hendrik understood that his father's fear of losing another member of his family was the main reason he had been assigned that role in the missions, and he was deeply grateful for the love he showed him.
But, holy shit, Edward wasn't the one who had to live day after day with the contemptuous looks and hurtful comments from the others.
After all, as the successor to such a powerful leader, great expectations were placed on Hendrik's shoulders.
Expectations that he couldn't achieve no matter how hard he tried and only continued to grow more and more as the years went by.
It fucking hurt to know that he could never give his father the pride of seeing him become a true Alpha, that he would never be as powerful, as wise, as strong.
He could never be a worthy successor to Edward Zolvryck.
Everyone in the pack seemed to agree with that thought, or at least the vast majority.
It had become a habit for him to hear the whispers and reproaches behind his back from an early age, especially those who compared him to what his sister might have achieved in his place if she were still alive.
If she were here, Hendrik often thought, it would be better for everyone.
He shook his head and walked among the pine trees, trying to push away the flood of unnecessary thoughts troubling his mind.
He needed to concentrate, to have all his senses alert in case things went wrong.
The rest of the wolves would attack at any moment, and that would be his signal to act.
They had done this so many times, more than eighty-five he could be sure, that Hendrik already knew exactly what was coming next.
The warriors would put their attack plan into action and give the rescuers the opportunity to infiltrate the human villages without drawing the full attention of those ferocious weapons.
At least, for long enough to help as many creatures as possible.
The rescuers' job was one of speed and pure intuition. Without knowing the exact number of survivors or their possible location within the village, the Alphas had to rely entirely on their instincts; clearing their minds, sharpening their ears, allowing their sense of smell to perceive as many scents as possible, without becoming overwhelmed by all the emotions that suffocated the atmosphere.
But what about the freed prisoners? He didn't know, and for the sake of his sanity, he tried not to think about it too much.
His duty was to rescue these defenceless beings from the suffering inflicted upon them by humans and take them to a safe place in the forest, after that, he would simply leave.
Sometimes, when no annoying wolf was around to pressure him to return home immediately, Hendrik would stay for a few minutes with the survivors, providing the silent company they seemed to need after so much suffering.
He comforted the frightened cubs with sweet words of encouragement, wiping their cheeks and enveloping them in a warm touch they seemed to have never received. With Keith's help, he also managed to hide some of the supplies he took from his cabin, from clean blankets to cereal bars, in the surrounding area, and respectfully offered them to each Omega.
He knew that, as much as he wanted to, there was nothing more he could do for them. His pack was already large enough to have more mouths to feed, and things would become complicated if resources began to run low for the residents.
In addition, many years ago, the Alpha leader had established a rule that absolutely not a single member of the pack could break without consequences.
Under no circumstances could any outside creature, Alpha or Omega, be brought into their home.
Never.
Even knowing Edward's reasons, it had not been easy for Hendrik to bow to such a harsh command. He argued about the horrible conditions in which he had seen those enslaved mothers and their cubs with his own eyes.
"Cubs, Father!" It had been one of the few times he had raised his voice to his father, overwhelmed by the whole situation. He didn't understand. Why free them if they were just going to turn their backs on them? "They're creatures that don't have more than a year of life! They'll die if we leave them!’
He remembered his eyes filled with tears and the desolation emanating from his body. That painful image of a cub in the arms of its mother's lifeless body haunted him in his dreams for months.
"Hendrik... I understand you, trust me. But try to understand me too, I can't make decisions that I know will affect my pack."
‘How can a cub affect the pack?!" He wondered sadly. "It's just a baby..."
If he could, he would take care of all those helpless babies himself. He would care for them and love them as if they were his own blood.
"I know it's painful..." Edward, as understanding as ever, had taken him by the shoulders, giving him that look full of affection and love that no one else knew. The look of a father genuinely concerned for the welfare of one of his own. "I'm so sorry, I don't want to cause you pain, but you must understand... you can't always save them all, cub."
Hendrik didn't believe that.
"And it's better to leave them alone? Why are you sending me to help them then?"
"Because when you help them, you give them freedom, son. They stop being prisoners for a minute, an hour, the rest of their lives. No one deserves to die as a slave, you give them the chance to leave this world free."
"I don't understand, I really don't understand you, Dad."
"These are the decisions a leader has to make, my cub. When you become the Alpha of the pack, you'll understand."
Hendrik wanted to tell him that would never happen, that the pack would never accept him as their Alpha. That he would surely never be able to prove his true worth to the others.
Instead, he hugged his father so tightly that he swore he could smell his mother's scent between them.
Keith got his attention with a tap near his left ear, pulling him away from his memories and warning him that the time to act was approaching.
Hendrik sharpened each of his senses by pure instinct, sank his claws into the ground, and, just seconds after his ears pricked up in anticipation, caught the precise moment when voracious growls began to echo through the forest, quickly followed by the sound of gunshots.
That was the signal that the battle had begun.
He pushed off with his hind legs with all the strength he could muster and ran as fast as his body would allow, breaking logs and thick pine branches along the way, steam escaping between his fangs in sharp exhalations and the whitish tufts of his mane were lost in the snow falling on them.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the manes of his rescue partners disappearing among the oak trees, the white colour of his own mane clearly better suited to the weather conditions that day. Like if the Gods were giving him the opportunity to become one with the snow that covered them and run freely through nature.
He didn't need to look beside him to feel Keith's presence. Always with him.
His emerald vision, developed when in his pure state, remained fixed on the target at all times.
After a long moment of uncertainty, the huge metal door soon appeared in front of the group of rescuers.
Thanks to the plans provided by the Council before each new mission, they had the opportunity to study the exterior of that place in advance. They knew it was a site protected by an impenetrable wall and that the humans inside possessed infinite amounts of weaponry that could easily kill more than one of the wolves, including him.
It took them less than a minute to completely destroy the metal, and as soon as Hendrik entered the village, he heard the terrified shouts of the humans, accompanied by the heart-wrenching cries of his own kind begging for help.
They knew they were there, that the wolves would finally end the agony of that hell.
Keith remained by his side throughout the mission, as was their habit, working together to rescue the Omegas and cubs they found, and appearing at just the right moment to prevent a human from shooting Hendrik.
His friend ripped off the man's head without hesitation and growled fiercely at the approaching group, his pointed teeth defiantly bared as his body seemed to fill with sudden, enormous strength.
They managed to rescue a total of twenty creatures, including three cubs with their mothers. The human village had been mostly destroyed, and the atmosphere surrounding the area was becoming increasingly saturated with the scents of all the presences.
Adrenaline and fear reigned in that fallen fortress.
"It's time to go, Hendrik," Keith's voice slipped into his thoughts with the same clarity it always did when they communicated telepathically in its purest form. "The warriors have already given the signal. We have to get out of here."
The wolf nodded.
"Did we get everyone out?"
"We got out those we could. We can’t help them any more."
Against his will, Hendrik had no choice but to agree.
He couldn't ignore the terrible condition of those he had rescued, marked from head to toe with painful bruises, deep cuts scarring their faces, thin to the bone, sick, unable to take more than a couple of steps on their own.
What kind of monster could cause such pain to these innocents? How long had they been living like this? Locked up in constant torment, frightened, probably waiting for death rather than continuing to suffer such pain.
At least now they are free, he thought. If they die, they'll die as free creatures.
It's better than rotting away in here as prisoners of a race that doesn't deserve to call itself their creators.
Man had lost that right decades ago, when they began hunting them down one by one. When they tore the cubs from their mothers' arms, when they separated the Omegas from their Alphas, when they mercilessly annihilated them in the most cruel and perverse way anyone could imagine.
Man is not a creator. Man destroys by nature.
He turned around, ready to leave before his instincts could betray him, but he only managed to take four steps before stopping suddenly.
His ears returned to a state of alertness, rising urgently, his pupils seemed to dilate until the green in his eyes disappeared and his fangs were displayed ferociously in a reflex action. Keith tried to speak to him once more, but Hendrik could not hear him at all.
There was something else, a sound that clouded his senses.
A moan. More like a whimper. Filled with sorrow and pain.
He raised his head to the sky and moved his ears, trying to hear the sound better. It was so low and high-pitched that if he didn't pay close attention, he would lose it.
He sniffed the air, finding no trace that could bring him closer to that agonising call.
"Hendrik?"
He ignored his friend's voice inside his mind and tried to search with his eyes. Desperate, that's how he felt when he heard it again, an incessant tightness settled in his chest, taking away his ability to breathe, and his claws dug into the ground as his frustration began to grow.
Find it. Find it.
His wolf kept repeating those words deep in his mind, unable to let him focus on a single thought.
"Hendrik, we have to go."
Stop! I need to... I need to find it.
It was on the third whimper that he identified it. It was coming from outside the wall, somewhere in the forest on the other side.
Go. Go. Go!
His wolf growled in exasperation and his whole body reacted before he could process it.
He tried to jump over the wall without success, too shaky to find the necessary strength. He let out a growl and ran like never before to the destroyed metal gate in front of the village; his body crashed into a log, which broke thanks to the ferocity of the impact. Hendrik did not slow his rapid pace; the obstacles around him were nothing more than a blurred stain clouding his true goal.
"Hendrik!"
Keith doesn't matter, doesn't matter. Go, go, find.
He ran, hearing the commotion of humans getting closer and closer, smelling the scent of his partners leaving. He didn't care. He ran and ran until he finally came to an abrupt halt.
Scent. That scent.
For the first time, he could perceive the traces of a soft scent. Sweet and delicate, completely different from any scent he had smelled in all his years of life, but too attractive to ignore.
It even seemed warm, as if that made any sense.
Peaches.
A peach tree, perhaps, or maybe a basket full of them, waiting for him in the middle of the forest.
He walked among the oak trees, guided by the trail of that unknown fruity fragrance. Every step and every passing second became torture in the fog of his mind. He could barely hold a coherent thought without his wolf's desires overwhelming the rational part of his brain.
Whatever was causing that smell had to be nearby.
He had to find it; he needed to find the source of that wonderful aroma.
The image he found minutes later was enough to appease the turmoil of his instincts.
In front of him was a small, thin creature, wearing what appeared to be mud-stained underwear. His wrists were tied with a rope to a large low branch, and he had his back to him.
His back.
Hendrik had not seen anything so horrific in a long time.
His back was marked with lines in all directions. Deep, long lines, dozens of lines, from which torrents of blood flowed. Horrible lines hurting the skin of a beautiful creature.
The same creature that had whimpered for help, he was sure of it. The same creature with such a captivating scent.
That creature that, he believed, could die at any moment.
Maybe he already had.
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