Return Of The Bad Boy Alpha

Magnus

"Oh man, I needed this," I say to my best friend Chance. I took another hit of the joint before passing it to Chance.

He took a hit, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. "Yeah, Gordy really hooked me up this time," Chance passed the joint to Bryant, my other best friend. "Your Dad was really laying into you, wasn't he?" Bryant coughed a bit from the weed after taking a hit.

I snorted. "No s**t. He is always laying into me," I rolled my eyes. My father or Pops is the Alpha of Ghost River Pack, one of the largest wolf packs in the country. He is extra strict with my twin brother Maximus and me because we will be the next Alphas of the pack. I hate the discipline and the constant training. I just want to hang out with my friends and do what I want. Maximus is the studious good boy. Everything I am not. "He was pissed because I got an F in history. Like it's so stupid," I snorted as Bryant passed the joint. I took a hit and relished how the weed made me feel as I felt my body relax. "Like its history. A bunch of s**t that already happened. Pops was all like, 'Magnus, why can't you be more like Maximus. Like because I don't like being a boring a*s wet blanket." "Hey Bryant, have you noticed how hot your sister is getting?" Chance says out loud.

Bryant glares at him. "Which one?"

"You have more than one sister?" I ask while taking another hit.

"Uh, yeah. They are twins," Bryant scoffs.

"The hot one, Elena," Chance chuckles.

Bryant punches Chance hard in the shoulder. "Dude, she is f*****g eleven."

"I know. But there is something about her," Chance says dreamily. "I think she might be my mate."

"Gross," Bryant sneers.

"What is your other sister's name?" I asked as my friends were looking ready to fight each other.

"Naomi. Everyone forgets her because she is so quiet," Bryant laughs. "But seriously, quit fantasizing about my eleven-year-old sisters before I kill you both," Bryant snarls at Chance.

The room we were in was filling with the smoke from our joint despite having the windows open. We are sitting in the unfinished part of the basement in the packhouse. Pops is having it remodeled into a recreation room for the omega. The three of us are sitting on crates and paint cans as there is no furniture. We come down here when we are hiding from our fathers. Chance is the son of Pops's beta, Franklyn. He is going to become beta when Maximus and I become Alphas. Bryant is the son of the Delta s***h head warrior, Allen. The three of us have been tight since kindergarten.

"MAGNUS ALEXANDER!" I hear Pops bellow from somewhere.

"f**k, he found us," I mumble. I can hear his heavy boots stomping down the stairs into the basement. I had the joint in my hand and looked around.

"You better hide that before he sees," Bryant said while scrambling to his feet. He and Chance ran out of the room.

I set the lit joint down on the paint cans I was sitting on, not realizing the cans were paint thinner.

"Is Magnus with you?" I hear Pops asking Chance and Bryant. I casually walk out of the rec room. "Magnus!" He growls.

"What now, Pops?" I drawl while leaning against the wall with my arms folded. I can see the anger rising in Pops's eyes. He steps towards me.

"You were supposed to take your turn running the perimeter. The guards were counting on you," He lectures me.

I sighed. "Man, Pops. I forgot. I just needed to cool off after your a*s reaming this morning. Get Max to do it," I say while shrugging.

"Magnus, what do I have to do to get through to you? You are going to be the next Alpha. Start acting like it," He yells at me.

"Maybe I don't want to be Alpha. I don't think I could handle the twenty-four-hour stick up my ass," I snicker.

He gets into my face, and I can sense his wolf, Diego, at the surface. Diego is one of the strongest wolves in existence, and even I know not to cross him. "Diego is itching to come out and teach you a lesson," He hissed. "Tell Diego to chill," I say to him.

A room shaking growl rolls out of Pops, and I shudder slightly. Chance and Bryant are both on their knees with their necks craned. Pops opens his mouth to say something but sniffs the air.

"Do you guys smell smoke?" Bryant asks while still on the floor.

"I smell the weeds you dumb asses were smoking," Pops responds angrily.

Smoke begins to fill up the hallway, and we all look towards the rec room. I step towards it, and the room explodes, and I am knocked to my ass. Pops pulls me to my feet and then screams at the guys and me to run. We scramble out of the basement just as the fire alarms begin to go off. Pack members scream and start to panic. Pops is right behind us.

"Calm down, everyone," He says in his alpha tone, and the pack members all stop. "Evacuate in an orderly fashion." He says in a tone I rarely hear him use on me.

My mother runs over to us. "Darryl!" She shouts as smoke begins to fill the bottom floor.

"Let's go," Pops urges us outside.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

"Dad," My twin Maximus runs down the stairs with our little sister Phoebe. "What's happening?" He shouts just as more flames leap out of the basement stairs well. The sprinklers turn on but seem only to fuel the fire.

We all run out of the packhouse along with everyone else. I fall to the ground and watch as the packhouse that has stood for nearly two hundred years becomes an inferno. My Dad runs back into the house to make sure everyone gets out.

Beta Frank and Gamma Kevin help him while Delta Allen is on the phone with the fire department. I just sit and watch the chaos.

'You really did it this time,' My wolf Kairos snarls in my head.

'I didn't do anything, I protest.

'You set that lit joint on paint thinner, you i***t, Kairos is a goody-two-shoes like my brother. He is always trying to get me to mind. But I do the opposite. Instead of training to be a good alpha, I am out partying or skipping school. The last two years, I started into drugs and not just weed. I have snorted my share of cocaine. I also like getting drunk even though I am only sixteen. I want to live life on my terms and not anyone else's.

'Ooops, I mumbled to the wolf.

By the time the fire truck shows up, the packhouse is completely engulfed in flames. My parents are running around calling out names and other s**t. I just sit on the grass watching.

My twin is with Pops running around. I sigh and just sit there. Why should I bother? Chance and Bryant walk over to me both with grim looks on their faces.

"We f****d up this time," Chance flops beside me.

My eleven-year-old sister Phoebe walks over to us. "Daddy says you did this," She gestured to the burning house. Firefighters are scrambling to put out the flames that a licking the sky.

"It was an accident," I mumble with a shrug.

Phoebe sniffles. "How are you so stupid, Magnus?" She walks away from us towards where our mother is standing.

Pops storms over to me with Delta Allen and three warriors, "Stand up, Magnus," He orders.

"Why?"

"I SAID STAND UP!" He roars.

I get to my feet and sway because I am high. Pops snaps his fingers. "Lock him up in the cells," He orders the warriors. They go to grab me, and I step back.

"What the f**k, Pops? You are locking me up."

"Yes, until I figure out what to do with you," He hisses. "Now go," He spats at me.

The warriors grab my arms and walk me towards the cells. I looked back at the packhouse, and it has collapsed while flames licked the sky. "You really f****d up this time, Magnus," Andrew, one of the warriors, says to me. He has always busted my ass, especially in training.

"Shut the f**k up, Andy," I snarl at him. I run my hands through my long hair and contemplate what is happening. 'Have I gone too far this time?' I just want to have fun and not live such a rigid life. Everyone treats me like a criminal because I have long hair and tattoos and prefer smoking weed. Ever since I was about five, I have been labeled the troublemaker. I refused to fall in line, which put me in contention with Pops. My twin, Maximus, is the model Alpha's son while I am the f**k up.

We enter the cell building, and I am led down the corridor. The cells are normally for rogues and others who cross the pack. Delta Allen opens a cell and shoves me in. The cell is cold concrete with no window and only a cot and a toilet. "Come on, Allen. Don't do this," I plead with him as he closes the cell and locks it.

"I have to follow orders, Mag." He says and then walks away.

I leaned against the back wall and slid to the floor. I bury my face in my hands. I feel bad for burning the packhouse down and leaving the pack without a place to sleep. But we are rich. We can afford a new one. I just wanted to relax after being yelled at by Pops. Hours pass, and I fall asleep on the cot despite how hard it is. The outer door slams open, and I hear the distinctive sound of Pops's boot clunking on the floor.

"Get up, Magnus," I hear him say to me.

I have my back to him. "I can hear you just fine, old man," I mumble.

The cell door opens, and the next thing I know, I am being lifted from the cot and slammed into the wall. "I should f*****g kill you for what you did," Pops growls loudly as he grips my shoulders. "Darryl!" My mother protests.

He lets me go and steps back. "Lucky for you, no one died," He snarls. "I am at my wit's end, Magnus. No matter what I do, you get worse. And now this!" He yells. "You deserve to be banished to No Man's Land.

I just stand there waiting for what is to come. Banishment is one of the worst punishments for a wolf. Being sent to No Man's Land is even worse. It's a lawless hellhole full of rogues in the middle of the desert. It's like some Old West town where you have to kill to survive.

"We aren't banishing him, Darryl," My mother speaks up.

Pops holds up his hand. "Janice," He snarls. "Let me handle this." He glares at me. "Magnus Alexander Bowie, you will be going to King Kerry's newly implemented military school."

"What?" I scoff.

"It's either that or banishment. Chance and Bryant are both going to the school also. It's about time the three of you learn discipline. If you complete the school to my satisfaction, then and only then will I consider letting you come back."

"Mom?" I looked at my mother, who had tears in her eyes. She is the only one in my family that understands me.

She sighed. "I have coddled you far too long, Magnus. It's time for you to grow up."

"But-"

"You leave tomorrow. In the meantime, you will spend the night here," Pops says coldly before turning to walk out of the cell.

My mother tries to hug me. "I'm sorry, Mag."

I push her away. "You guys are abandoning me."

"No," She tries hugging me again, but I step back from her.

"Janice!" Pops screams from down the corridor.

"I have to go," She says sadly. "I do love you," She touches my arm before walking out of the cell.

The door slams shut, and the lights turn off. I am left alone in the cold darkness and sink to the bed. I lie on my back and stare at the ceiling. Eventually, I fell asleep.

The next morning I am woken up early by the guards and Delta Allen. He walks me out of the cells. The smell of smoke hangs in the air from the smoldering remains of the packhouse. There are tents set up all over the front lawn as pack members wake up to nothing.

Two black SUVS sit in front of the burnt house, and a man steps out dressed in fatigues. He is a tall and bulky African American man. He has no hair on his shiny head and glares at me with nearly black eyes. Chance and Bryant are led by their mothers to us. Chance's mother Olive is snuffling while Bryant's Maureen stands tall, trying not to cry.

"Are these the boys?" The man in fatigues says in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir," Delta Allen replies as Pops and Beta Franklyn walk up.

I don't bother looking at Pops as he speaks to the man. I just stare past them at the ruined packhouse. "Magnus," Pops says to me.

"Magnus Bowie," The man in fatigues steps up to me. "I have heard a lot about you," He says while an evil grin spreads across his face. "My name is Colonel Samuel Marcus, and I am your worst nightmare."

"Y-you don't scare me," I say to him as he gets into my face.

"Ah, I love it when the little alphas act brave. Today is the start of your new life. Fail, and you will never see your family again. Work with me, and who knows where you will wind up," He gestured to the SUV. "Get in."

I turned to my parents. My mother is crying while Pops stands stoically. "Please be good, Magnus," My mother grabs my arms. "I want you to come home."

I look away from her. "Goodbye, Mother," I pull away from her and get into the SUV without looking at Pops. Chance and Bryant slide in beside me. We start to drive away, and I don't look back.