Most Alpha (Werewolf Romance)

by Tee Bryant

  “Of course, we don't do hazing or anything like that,” Bartley quickly said. “If that's what you're thinking.” Nick and Zach exchanged a look, glanced at Carter, and began to chuckle.

  “Well, obviously, I expect to pay some dues,” Carter said. “Yes I am like you guys but admittedly I don’t really know exactly what I’m supposed to be. I was asked by my parents to find the others like me once I got here and that’s what I plan on doing. I know this is the place for me.”

  “You better be prepared,” Zach warned, then burst into laughter with Nick. Carter’s speech was pathetic in the brothers’ eyes. An Alpha didn’t have to be told to become an Alpha, especially by mom and dad.

  “Yes. Well, we will be calling you about the status of your bid,” Bartley said with mock professionalism.

  “These kids don't know what they're signing up for,” Nick said after Carter left the dining room.

  “'We don't do hazing,'” Zach quoted, and all three shared a good laugh.

  CHAPTER 4

  Carter stood outside in the brickyard, hands in his pockets, waiting for Jenni. He could not stop thinking about the night before and found himself wondering what “dues” Nick was talking about. Every frat hazed its pledges; that was a fact of life. Of course, it wouldn't be more than he could handle. If hazing was so bad, no one would want to join a fraternity. To be fair, though, not many people ever signed up for Omega Omega Psi. Not many could be Alpha wolves.

  Carter’s thoughts ran a mile a minute about his future and what he was set to get himself into. The others were all cool in their own unique way. Even the pushy frat brothers Nick and Zach held characteristics that Carter admired. He knew deep down that he wanted to be one of them. This was what he was going to do no matter what.

  He looked up as students began to trickle out of the building. Jenni came out just as the trickle turned into a flood. Carter lifted a hand to wave at her, but she did not appear to notice him. Carter wove through the crowd and caught up to her.

  “What the hell, Jenni?” he said. “I was over there waving my arms around like a crazy person.”

  “Don't talk to me,” she said without even looking at him.

  “Hey! Hey!” He grabbed her arm and positioned himself in front of her. “What's wrong?”

  “We were supposed to go out last night, and you were nowhere to be found. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.”

  “Oh,” Carter said.

  “'OH'? I called you SIX TIMES, Carter!” Jenni looked as though she might blow a fuse if she hadn't already.

  “Well, I was busy,” Carter said. “I'm sorry.”

  “You're sorry? So, where were you, huh? Who is she?” Jenni said, crossing her arms.

  “Her name is,” Carter chuckled, “Scott.”

  “Ever since you met that Scott guy you've been 'busy.' Why was your phone off, Carter?”

  “We were doing something,” Carter said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Handling business. I can't really talk about it.”

  “Well, I can't really talk to you,” Jenni said and stormed off again.

  “Shit,” Carter mumbled as he took off after her. Again.

  “Okay, okay, okay,” Carter said, breathless and defeated. “I'll tell you.” His eyes darted around for a moment as he checked for anyone who might be eavesdropping. He dropped his voice down to a whisper. “I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Scott and I rushed last night.”

  “Carter, you could have told me that,” Jenni said as her face softened. “You don't have to act all suspicious.”

  “I know. I know,” he said. “But I'm just not supposed to be talking about it. So, enough, alright?”

  “Okay. Fine,” Jenni said, putting her hands up. The explanation was good enough, for now.

  Carter heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see Adrian walking in their direction, phone to ear, and wearing large oval sunglasses that covered up half of her face. She briefly acknowledged her sister with a wave of her pinky finger on her phone hand and walked by without missing a beat on her phone conversation. Almost every guy noticed the petite girl but the phone was like a shield that kept them from approaching.

  “You girls,” Carter said. “I'll never understand you. Who is she always talking to, anyways?”

  “Who the heck knows?” Jenni replied. “Oh, crap,” Jenni gasped as Scott surprisingly appeared behind Carter and grabbed him by the shoulder. To her it felt like he came out of nowhere. Wolves had an innate ability to sneak up on humans. The human senses were not good enough to detect a wolf standing a mere 12 inches behind them.

  “Oh, my bad,” Scott said to Jenni when he noticed her. “I didn’t mean to scare you. You are Carter’s girlfriend right? How are you doing?”

  “I’m doing fine, thanks,” she said stiffly. “I’m Jenni.”

  “Scott,” Scott said, in his usual overly enthusiastic tone. “Yo, Carter, my man!”

  “Uh, yeah?” Carter replied, less enthusiastic.

  “Yeah, dude,” Scott paused and glance at Jenni. “I got the good news. What about you?”

  “I haven't heard anything yet,” Carter said, “but I will let you know as soon as I find out.”

  “Oh, alright, dude. Well, I'm out like a McRib! Yeah! Woo!” Scott ran off, shouting and jumping all the way until he was out of sight.

  “Like a McRib?” Jenni asked.

  “I don’t even know with him,” Carter replied. “Scott’s his own type of dude.”

  Adrian walked through the brickyard, still on her phone, when she noticed Zach and Nick walking in her direction. Nick stopped directly in front of her, arms extended for a hug. Without missing a beat, Adrian walked around him as if he was a permanent fixture on the grounds.

  “You know what?” Nick said. “Fuck you, bitch!” Without turning around, Adrian lifted her free hand over her shoulder and showed Nick her middle finger. “Fucking whore,” Nick mumbled.

  “Forget about that bitch, man,” Zach said, putting his hand on Nick's shoulder. “We've got more important shit to take care of.”

  “She's going to get hers,” Nick said as they walked off.

  ***

  Carter listened to the crickets as he walked back to his dorm room. He was glad to have made up with Jenni, but was put down that he hadn't heard back from any of the brothers yet. Scott had heard back early in the afternoon, and it was already almost ten. Surely, they would have called him already if they had decided to let him pledge. Maybe he wasn’t cut out to learn the way of the campus’ Alpha dogs after all. Quite possibly Scott was right. Perhaps one did have to be born with the Alpha characteristics that a fraternity like Omega Omega Psi were looking for, whatever those may be.

  Carter walked into his room to see James lounging on his bed and listening to music. As usual James had on all black although he’d upgraded to matching black nail polish and eyeliner. Full Goth mode was complete.

  “Goodness, James, do you do anything? Ever?” he asked as he tossed his keys on the desk.

  James watched Carter fall back on his bed and massage his face. “You, okay, man?”

  “Yeah, man. I'm fine. Sorry.” Carter sat up and checked his phone. Nothing. “Just a weird day is all.” He set the phone back down on the bed and let out a big exhale.

  “Want to talk about it? I mean, it sounds weird, but I'm here if you need anything,” James said.

  “Thanks,” Carter replied. He checked his phone again. He thought that if he stared at it long enough it would ring.

  And then it rang. It scared him so much he nearly dropped it on the floor.

  “Crap!” he said, fumbling with it. He unlocked the screen and answered it while James listened to a one-sided conversation. “Hello? Yes, this is him. Okay. Alright, thanks, man! I'll see you there. Definitely. I’m ready,” Carter ended the call with a huge smile on his face.

  “Well, that sure was a mood-changer,” James said. “Who was that?”

  “Ah, nothing,” Carte
r said. “Nobody. Just a follow up on a job application.”

  “So, you got the job?” James asked.

  “You could say that,” Carter grinned.

  “Aw, congrats, man!” James said, trying to share Carter's happiness with him.

  “Thanks. I'm going to go see what Scott is up to,” Carter said. He reminded James of a fairy princess as he glided out of the room. He was still smiling when Scott answered his door.

  “Hey! You weren't sleeping, were you?” he asked.

  “Nah, I was just doing my pilates,” Scott said.

  Carter's smile disappeared. “You do pilates?” he replied, eyebrow raised.

  “Yeah, man. Good for the core,” Scott said, patting his flat stomach. When Carter's facial expression failed to change, he added, “Just forget I said anything.”

  “Anyways,” Carter said. “Guess what?” His giant smile reemerged.

  “No,” Scott said.

  “Yes,” Carter beamed.

  “No,” Scott repeated.

  “Yep. Just found out,” Carter exclaimed with a tiny tap dance in the hall. “We’re going to rock this thing.”

  “Dude, that's awesome! This is going to be incredible!” Scott shouted, inviting a few students to poke their heads out of their rooms and yell obscenities at him. The two young wolves weren’t worried. If either of them lost their temper or simply wanted to, they could maul the entire hall between with their shared power. Dealing with humans was a simple game of ‘ignore & repeat.’

  “I know, man,” Carter's voice was barely over a whisper. “I wonder who else is going? Do you think they’ll all be like us? I saw a few regular guys in there.”

  “I guess we'll find out tomorrow,” Scott said below his normal volume.

  “I guess so,” Carter said, then relaxed from a smile to a look of concern. “Do you think they’ll make us do anything, you know, on the other side?”

  The fearful Scott shrugged. “Probably. How else would they know about us? Aren’t they supposed to be looking for Alphas?”

  “I guess you’re right,” Carter replied hesitantly. “We don’t have to worry about that now. There isn’t another full moon for a few weeks.”

  ***

  Carter sat around the dining room table with the three brothers and three other new pledges, Scott, Derrick, and the lone vamp, Clinton. Similar to the interview, Bartley sat at the head of the table with Zach and Nick on either side of him while the four anxious pledges sat on the other side. The table had been formally set with intricately woven place mats, ornate silver ware, and crystal champagne glasses.

  “Congratulations, pledges,” Bartley started. “You all know what you are here for. Each one of you has been given the privilege of being a member of the 51st pledge class of Omega Omega Psi.” He paused to allow the applause that erupted around the table. The pledges were proud of themselves for making it just this far. “I do remind you that this is a privilege. Just because your bid has been accepted does not mean you are a member of the fraternity. Also, your bid is not permanent. Your bid can be canceled at any time, so keep that in mind. I know this process will not only be enlightening, but hopefully challenging to you all.”

  “We wish you all good luck,” Zach said. “And, as always, sunt omnes unum.” Everyone at the table raised his glass for a toast.

  “Enjoy yourselves tonight,” Nick said plainly. “Laugh it up. The real fun starts tomorrow.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Bartley added. “In case you forgot, I am Bartley, and that is Zach. That nutcase right there is your pledge master, Nick.” The way Nick grinned, Carter would have sworn he was sharing a table with the Devil himself. The pledge master looked each pledge in the eye one by one. They all diverted his extended demonic gaze. He was sure they’d all crack under pressure.

  The pledges and the frat brothers continued the evening as they enjoyed a nice dinner together. Jokes were made, stories were told, and they all worked on getting to know one another. Most of the talk revolved around women, power, traveling, and their visions for the future. The underlying theme of purpose and living on one’s own terms dominated every topic.

  It was true, some were naturally more Alpha than others. Scott and the vamp Clinton’s personalities were more passive, Derrick was a headstrong natural Alpha type, and then there was Carter. Carter was an introvert but possessed the qualities of a leader. He commanded a certain amount of respect when he spoke. The difference between Carter and them was his unease with power dynamics.

  When the plates were all empty, the pledges looked around awkwardly for a moment, and a few started to stand up. “Hold up!” Nick said, stand up and catching the guys off-guard. “You guys didn't think you were getting off that easy, did you?”

  “Shit,” Scott murmured.

  “I heard that,” Nick said, and the room chuckled. “You guys thought you were coming here for a good time? Thought we were going to take it easy on you? That's kind of funny. Actually, it's sort of cute. Well, me and the boys would like some post-dinner entertainment. So it’s time to entertain us!” He sat back down and straightened the front of his shirt.

  “Everybody up right now!” Zach commanded.

  “Right now,” Nick said, “It’s that part of the show ladies.” Zach left the dining room for a minute. The pledges tensed up as the smell of fresh cedar circled the air. Zach returned with a large, light brown, wood plaque featuring raised wood letters with the initials ‘OOP.’

  “Shit,” Scott whispered to Carter. The stress already had him trembling. Carter shook his head in disbelief and took a deep breath. The first step of the process was about to get underway. Zach passed the plaque paddle to Nick as he took a glance at his scared bunch pledges. The veins in Nick’s forearms bulged out as he gripped the neck on the wood handle.

  “So do we have any volunteers?” Nick grinned. The pledges each took a big gulp as they glanced at one another. Clinton slowly stepped forward.

  “You’re a very brave man,” Nick laughed. The frat brother frowned as he tossed the paddle between his palms. He was visibly upset as he took a step towards Clinton.

  “So you’re telling me, all these wolves and it’s the one vamp that has the balls to take his wounds first. And you all expect to be like us?! Sit down Clinton.”

  Clinton said nothing as he took his seat.

  “You ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” Nick added. “All these wolves and no one steps up to lead the pack? You all were going to watch me use my power on a man who’s not even a wolf? How do you all sleep at night?” He eyed up his first victim. Scott was the most fearful; he was the easiest target to create an example of. “Scott get over here.”

  Scott trudged over towards Nick with a look of death on his face. The pledge master said nothing as he turned the pledge around and lifted his shirt. WHACK! WHACK! The wood pelted Scott’s back with a bone shaking force. The plaque left the letters OOP on the small of the thin boy’s back, beaming in red. The others cringed for they knew they were next.

  One by one they each received their lashings. Derrick, nor Carter or Scott said a word as they were beat with the wooden paddle. The frat brothers knowingly looked on with smirks on their faces. It wasn’t long ago they were the weaklings on the receiving end of those paddle hits.

  Finally, Nick called Scott back up. Scott trembled in anticipation of a secondary lashing but it was not to be. Nick had something else on his mind. “Scott I want you to give Clinton his,” Nick exclaimed. He figured Scott was the weakest of the pledges.

  Scott grabbed the handle and slowly approached his fellow pledge. He lifted Clinton’s shirt and took a deep breath. Up went the plaque. Scott hesitated. He couldn’t do it. He looked at the brothers who all looked on with their arms folded.

  “Let’s get on with it,” Bartley commanded. “We don’t have all night.”

  The young pledge closed his eyes and swung the wood paddle.

  ***

  “Dude,” Carter said as he and Scot
t walked up to Scott's dorm room.

  “Dude,” Scott said.

  “You better not tell anyone,” Carter said gravely. He winced in pain with each step. The force Nick hit them with was powerful enough to break a regular human’s back.

  “Like I'd want to,” Scott scoffed. His back ached as if he were in a car accident.

  “Good point,” Carter mused. “See you tomorrow night?”

  “Yep. Peace out, dude.” They two guys forged a laugh under their breath and went to their rooms.

  CHAPTER 5

  DARKNESS.

  “Oww!” Carter shouted as his tailbone hit the bed of the truck for the hundredth time. He had no idea where he was; the blindfold made sure of that. Even if he did know, he was handcuffed to his fellow pledges and would not likely be able to do much. Wherever they were, they certainly were not driving on pavement anymore.

  The truck slowed to a stop, and this time it was Carter's back that caught a blow from the truck. The raw wounds from the paddle still hurt. He would definitely feel that one later. The driver's side door opened, and Nick got out. Carter could hear the crunching of leaves under his footsteps as he rounded the back of the truck and opened the tailgate.

  “Move it! Move it!” Nick shouted. “I don't have all night.” No one knew what to do; they could not see anything. Carter felt a strong grip around his elbow. “I said move!” Carter found himself being pulled to the edge of the truck and thrown to the ground, followed by the three other pledges.

  They all yelped and shouted, partly from the unexpected fall, and partly from landing on top of one another.

  “Shut up!” Nick yelled. “Everyone up! Now!”

  The pledges scrambled to get untangled and up on their feet. After a few minutes of confusion, they managed to position themselves side-by-side. Nick began untying the blindfolds one-by-one, starting with Carter.

  “Now, the purpose of tonight is to demonstrate to you all that, as a pledge class, you all must be united,” Nick said with authority.

  Carter looked around at his surroundings. It had been sunset when he was blindfolded, but now it was full blown night time. What little light the half moon provided was partly shaded by the trees.

  “You must stand together,” Nick continued. “You are linked together, not only by these chains, but now also as brothers in the elite fraternity known as Omega Omega Psi.” Clinton's was the last blindfold to come off, and Nick looked him in the face. “Together you all stand tall. But if one of you fall...” he demonstrated what would happen by shoving Clinton's face to the ground. Each pledge was yanked down by his wrists. “...you all shall.”