Too Much

The Hell Did You Punch Me For?

Predatory instinct is what keeps werewolves separated from their humanity. Beastly charms and quirks solidifies their concept of family and togetherness.

Though their species goes against basic logistical reasoning, they've survived on Earth for just about as long as humans have.

It's rumored that those indigenous to the northern continents during the time of the ice age feared death at every nightfall. The moon being their only light source in the dead of night, the people decided to worship it. Without fail, every night they worshipped the moon and spoke to her as if she were a sentient being, begging her to release the same kind of warmth as her brother the sun.

As far as oral history goes, those meek prayers were eventually heard by the moon after many passing nights, and they made her red with fury.

She gave them light when all else was dark and lost, how dare they find the room to complain after all she did for them.

So she did what every deity did at the time, she made them her slaves. That very night, the night of the first blood moon, men and women of all ages were transformed into savages of the night. Omnivorous teeth were replaced with fangs, dull fingernails with claws, and hair to thick coats of wolffish fur.

Man turned into beasts of great heights, each warrior standing over 8 feet in height alone.

Battles for dominance soon overtook the animal ridden brains of the former humans. Those who smelt of fear and reeked of tactlessness were branded as omegas and were inhumanly bred and spread thin. Gamma, delta, and beta wolves were minute men, itching to pick a fight whenever anyone would look at them the wrong way.

Alphas were the strongest, and by far the worst tempered. If another full grown alpha came into earshot they'd be pinning each other down and tearing at each other's throats.

The moon saw the children that she had punished, kill each other over and over again in a messy and bloody cycle until she couldn't take it anymore.

She began by giving them the ability to differentiate the mentality between their human and animal skin, readying them to be able to morph back and forth between their monsters and human figures willingly.

Then she ripped their souls in two, cutting their blood lust in half and stabilizing their condition. But this had an affect she has not planned for. Unknown to her at the time, souls grow antsy after not being whole for long stretches of time and start to deteriorate slowly after 18 years or so. That's why mating for life is so important to wolf kind, because being partnerless means madness, and in worst cases, death.

The mix breeds managed to thrive after these changes, somehow properly becoming unbreakable pack animals. They slowly but surely formed the original hierarchy known as the "Old Ways" in modern standards, everyone naturally surrendering under alphas.

To avoid tyranny and unnecessary bloodshed, only two alphas were allowed per pack— the Alpha and their successor.

If one was unfortunate enough to be born as an alpha and not become the prodigy, they'd have to leave their pack and family. And if one ever had the devastation to have their soulmate be in the same pack alongside their useless title , well, we all know how that ends.

***

Dimitri wasn't the same man he was when Kaleb last saw him.

A lot has happened. Probably more than there should have.

And now, on the weekend of his dad's funeral no less, he's standing face to face with the boy that haunts his every hour.

Though, he's not so much a boy anymore. No... no he is most definitely not.