A Different Sort of Alpha

[kitearadarkblade]

Rajah Lo
Outskirts of Anam

Rajah Lo paced the room, like a caged beast. Her dark braids flew behind her, twirling as she turned. The beads at the ends of her braids tinkled musically, bright against her dark brown skin. Her weathered features contorted with anger. The Sultan of Anam had captured two more of her Pack and put them to death. Part of her wondered if the two had changed before the Mother took them, and fervently hoped not. The Sultan didn't need more proof of "demons" in his precious Anam. Another part cackled with delight at the prospect of her therians terrifying their captors with their primal wails and perhaps even taking out a few. Her brisk, hectic pacing had slowed to almost a stalk at the thought. Perhaps even slay the Sultan... That was too much to dream for. His guards and physicians would never let him die thus, even if he deigned to visit the dungeons. The youth was as annoying as he was arrogant.

"Rajah?" A hesitant voice broke through her thoughts. Rajah turned toward the open doorway, scowling. A thin man stood there, peering in cautiously. With some effort, the woman smoothed her expression and strode to him. She extended a hand to pat his cheek, ignoring the fact that he flinched beneath her hand. He was well accustomed to her and her sudden mood changes. Her brown eyes watched him as carefully as he watched her. "What troubles you so?" he asked, tentatively. Rajah's eyes hardened, her hand curling on his cheek.

"Solin," she spat, turning away before her anger could push her into action. Aliha would enjoy the male's pain, but Rajah reminded herself that he was her cub's sire. Even so, the man shied away, uneasily. "Two more loses for the Pack. We need more. More children, more food, more weapons." Rajah resumed pacing. She was pacing still when Aliha's head peered around the corner. The other woman's face brightened as she saw the pair, even though the man was trying to edge out. She shoved him aside, ungently.

"Out of the way, Rahaja," she growled with an exasperated sigh. He was a coward and a fool. Moving to catch Rajah's arm as she paced, Aliha drew her to face her. Where Rajah was weathered, Aliha was soft and smooth. Her dark brown hair spilled over her shoulders and back in gentle waves. She was Rajah's true mate, since the day that she had laid eyes on her. The fairer woman had heard Rajah's troubles as she arrived. "Rajah," she murmured, burying her face in the Alpha female's shoulder. Rajah relaxed slightly with a slow sigh, leaning into Aliha. "Don't worry so. We can weather this." Rajah nodded mutely, unwilling to focus on anything other than her mate's presence. Rahaja, her cub's sire, quietly snuck away from the pair, fleeing into the hallway. Aliha shifted to look up at her with a small smile. "Come and see Koza." Giving in to the woman's gentle tugging, Rajah allowed herself to be drawn from the room.

A few doors from Rajah's room, Koza rested peacefully. Her roommates did not. The small hyena cub lay sprawled across a man's lap, her sides slowly rising and falling with her breath. The man garbed in the uniform of the Sultan's guards sat perfectly still. Opposite him, another man similarly garbed, squirmed and whimpered at his bindings. Both men were manacled low against the wall, so that they were forced to sit on the bare floor. As Aliha and Rajah entered the room, Koza stirred with a wide yawn. The guard's breath caught as he froze, already forewarned not to wake the cub. The room bore only one other occupant, an alert cerval that watched the chained men eagerly.

"Koza," Aliha crooned softly. The hyena pup opened an eye balefully. Rajah crossed her arms over her chest, watching with some pride as her mate called their daughter from sleep. Koza yawned again, lifting her head before shaking it. Flecks of saliva flew from her muzzle, splattering on the man's uniform and face. Jaws gaping and tongue lolling, she rose to run to Aliha with a cackle of sound. Aliha scooped the pup up in her arms, noting her former "bed's" breath of relief. "Come, say hello to your mother." Koza's gaze turned to Rajah, one ear perking as she tilted her head. Rajah reached to stroke her ears, fondly. After a moment, Aliha thrust the pup at her, grinning as the Alpha yelped and fumbled with the child.

"Aliha! You know this dosconcerts me. Better she think of you as mother," Rajah objected.

"She does," Aliha shrugged. "But she will know that you whelped her, my Alpha." Rajah calmed slightly, straightening with pride, though she still held the child a bit stiffly.

"And when you whelp?"

Aliha snorted, reclaiming Koza. "Your pups are mine, and I am yours. You will simply have to have my share of pups as well." She smiled winsomely, reaching to slip her free arm around the Alpha female. "That's why you're Alpha, my Rajah. You think of the Pack, even when it discomforts you. Even when you must do what you don't wish to." An odd gleam enetered the Alpha's eyes as she stiffened.

"And if I ordered you to?" she asked, her voice holding a hint of menace to it. She looked to Aliha, her eyes stern. The smaller woman paused a moment, considering her reply before answering, her head bowed.

"Then I would do as my Alpha commanded, and hope to please her." Glancing to Rajah from the corner of her eye, contritely, Aliha hefted Koza on her hip slightly. "It is time for Koza's lessons, my Alpha..." Rajah's expression smoothed, satisfaction entering her eyes as she leaned to first kiss the small hyena pup's snout, then kiss her mate.

"Go. Teach her well, lover."

[kitearadarkblade]

Aliha
Pack Safe House, on the outskirts of Anam

Aliha strode through the mostly empty hallways of the large structure that served as home for many of the Pack. A few of the therians preferred to live alone and in relative privacy; rather than among the more social members. She sometimes wondered how they could stand the isolation. At least until annoyance drove her to the private rooms that she shared with Rajah Lo. As she passed one of the few guards, her thoughts turned to the female alpha. She was likely with the head guards, still demanding explanations for the capture of their two Packmates. Rahaja may or may not be with her, but Aliha had no desire to see him in any case. If it were up to her, the rat would be cast out. Koza was safely at lessons with one of the older therians, listening to the oral histories that the Pack dared to keep.

The slender woman yawned, casting a look around. It was nearing midday, and her bestial instincts were already urging her to rest. The heat of the desert noon time drove many who lived there, regardless of race, to their rest.. Only the fire fae truly thrived in the intense heat. Aliha wrinkled her nose, pausing to look out of one of the open windows that led into the courtyard, where a small fountain brought up fresh cool water. The sound was soothing, lulling. She smiled.

Continuing down the hallway, Aliha reached one of the doorways to the courtyard and made her way to the fountain's edge. Reaching to the water's suface, she cupped her hands to splash water on her face. Letting the water trickle down her neck, cooling her, the therian woman let her thoughts drift. Someone needed to head into the marketplace soon. Fresh food and, even better, fresh gossip could only benefit the Pack. Perhaps after a nap, she would head into the market herself.

**********

Aliha moved through the people in the marketplace, casting envious looks at the few men and women reclining in covered litters, carried by servants. Someday, we will have the money and power for such luxuries. We won't have to skulk and hide from the Sultan's men. For now, she was forced to weave through the press of people in the marketplace, grumbling under her breath.