Alpha or Omega

Athena

The first mistake I ever made was finding myself in the Lion’s Mane pack. The second mistake was being born a female. Stories about my kind in other cities made me realize how unfairly we were treated, especially in the village where I grew.

I witnessed the labor of a warrior in the Gamma’s quarters one night—one of those nights I sneaked out of my cage called home to breathe in the fresh forest breeze. I was eight, but I knew a lot, as the daughter of a popular pack warrior. The rage in the eyes of the male Gamma was so frightful, that I thought he wanted to devour the innocent newborn child in cold blood.

“It’s a girl, Gamma Richard,” a woman announced as she stepped out of the wooden house with a fire stick in her hand and a sloughing back. I stood far away, careful not to be found. The woman was frail and old. She was one of those women who handled childbirth in the village, despite her trembling hands with visible weak veins propping at the surface.

“Impossible! How can she bring such shame to me? The seer swore it was going to be a son!” The man raged as his voice roared into the night. I ducked, clenching onto the poor tree concealing my presence. I felt the leaves rustle as he dashed past me. At first, I thought he caught me. It would have been a different game for the eight-year-old me roaming about.

The surroundings cleared but I wanted to know more. I tiptoed toward the house, wanting to satisfy my curiosity, knowing that it could be my last opportunity to sneak out of the house.

I caught sight of a dimly lit room, one with a lantern on a small table at the center, from where I stood. My eyes traveled down to the silhouette of a woman sitting on the floor, in tears. A little baby was wrapped in white wool, placed inside a basket a few meters away from her. It looked so innocent and pure as it cooed inside the cotton blankets. It made me remember the birth of my brother, Carl.

Then, there was noise coming from the main entrance of the house. I knew what it meant. We all knew. It was a female child. There was no way she was going to be allowed a normal life—just like me. I wondered why my pack hated females so much, especially females born outside the bloodline of an Alpha or a superior warrior. My heart was sore as I saw a troop of men barge into the apartment.

“Please don’t take her away. Let me feel her, one last time.” The woman’s pleas did nothing as they yanked the baby from one of the nurses’ hands, who tried to yield to the pain of a mother about to lose her child forever. I didn’t realize when I began to sob loudly until a voice asked from beside the window where I stood, “Who’s there?”

My limbs became stuck to the muddy ground for a split second. Out of fear, I dove to the ground. No one has caught me since I began my nightly quest for temporary freedom. I couldn’t allow it to happen now.

Thankfully, there was a flowerpot beside me, large enough to conceal me. I heard the footsteps fade away as the other voices from within the house faded, except for the crying woman. I felt so much compassion for her. My mother had told me stories like this but I never believed them because I thought she wanted to instill fear in me just to keep me locked away. As I planned to leave, the woman in the house stood from the floor where she sat and the next sound I heard was a gruesome cry. I walked around the house to satisfy my curiosity. Maybe I should have disobeyed my whims and save myself from so many nightmares.

The whole kitchen was flooded as the knife gradually fell from her hands. Blood gushed out from her belly as it traveled to meet the blood dropping from under her skirts. It was a horrible sight. The night wasn’t cold, but I developed a sudden fever as I stumbled my way out. My feet were betraying my speed, but I didn’t stop regardless.

This time, it wasn’t my mother’s usual stories, nor was it the news from the pack’s messengers. It happened right before my very eyes. I threw up along the way as my brain couldn’t digest the gory sight. This would be me in a few years to come if I’m ever found, I whispered to myself as I dashed across the forest grounds, hoping to see a large oak tree—an indication that I was close to home.