Chapter 1546: Steve’s Past (Part 3) For a moment, Gary wondered what it would have been like to live in a time when Werewolves were accepted, when he didn’t have to hide what he was, when his strength wasn’t something that made people fear him. He remembered all the moments in his own time when being what he was felt like torture, when every transformation and every loss of control reminded him that he wasn’t normal. But hearing Steve’s story so far made him realize that things hadn’t exactly been easier in this era either. Even though people knew about Werewolves here, it didn’t sound like acceptance. It sounded worse. The way Steve spoke about his past, the betrayals, the fear, the slavery, it was hard to imagine living through something like that. “Meeting Jack back then came as a complete surprise to me,” Steve said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group. “I didn’t even know he was a Werewolf like me, and he didn’t recognize me either. We’d been separated so young that neither of us would have known if the other was alive.” He paused, smiling faintly at the memory. “But I’ll be honest with you... he was terrible at being a Werewolf.” Steve chuckled lightly. “He couldn’t speak properly in his transformed state, didn’t know how to control his body for partial transformations. Yet despite all that, he was bloody strong. It made me wonder just how much he and his friend must’ve gone through before we ever met.” The faint smile on Steve’s face softened as he looked toward the horizon, his tone lowering. “I taught him what I could. I showed him what it meant to live as one of us. Back then, he wasn’t an Alpha, just an Omega Werewolf. So I never expected what happened next.” He drew a quiet breath before continuing. “The city of Zrey had a large number of captured Werewolves. I got myself into a bit of trouble... and so did he. At that moment, when everything seemed lost, Jack unlocked his Alpha powers. I’ll never forget that feeling. All of us could sense it, the power flooding out of him, the way it pulled at something inside us. It let us break free.” The others listened carefully, almost expecting a twist, some dark turn that always seemed to follow stories like these. “It was a big change for me,” Steve continued. “I’d spent my life hating my family. I hated the humans who bought and sold us. I hated everyone. And in some ways, I even detested my brother. He hadn’t had to live the life I did, hadn’t been sold, hadn’t been used. But... he did what he had to do, and at that time, I was thankful to him for it.” His voice lingered with that gratitude, but there was still heaviness behind it. It was the kind of tone that told the others there was more to come. “There were a lot of Werewolves who gained their freedom that day,” Steve said. “At that time, Jack was already part of the Redwing Kingdom. That kingdom... it was known as something of a rebel state. It was safe, yes, but it was also a place constantly on edge, changing, unstable, filled with trouble. And despite everything, Jack was living there among humans.” Steve shook his head slightly, as if still puzzled by it. “You can imagine how the others felt. The Werewolves who had been slaves like me, who had suffered at human hands, they didn’t feel comfortable there. They couldn’t. Trust takes time to build, and pain like that doesn’t fade easily.” He looked at each of them, his tone calm but weighted. “So who would be there to guide them? Who would teach them how to live again? That’s why I decided to part ways with Jack. To leave him be. The Werewolves split up, those who chose to stay with him, and those who decided to follow me.” Kai leaned forward slightly. “And that’s when you became an Alpha?” Steve smiled faintly and shook his head. “No, not yet. There was only one place I could go, one place where I could take the others safely. Back to the Werewolf camp, the same one I’d left before. It was still under the rule of the same Alpha.” He paused, and for a moment, the group could feel the weight of what he was about to say. “Although I never agreed with their ways, I thought maybe... maybe I could persuade them to live differently. To try and integrate. To be part of society rather than hide from it.” His tone turned distant, reflective. “At the very least, that Alpha would accept the Werewolves from Zrey. But if I’m being honest, there was another reason I went there.” Steve’s gaze lowered. “While I was at the camp before, I learned about our history. The stories that said whenever two Alphas existed at the same time, they were destined to fight. That two packs could never truly live side by side.” Gary, Kai, and Lupus exchanged glances. That legend wasn’t new to them, it had been passed down for generations. But hearing it from Steve, someone who had lived in the time when these stories were real, made it feel different. “A thought came into my head,” Steve continued quietly. “I didn’t want to fight Jack. No matter what anyone said about him, he was a kind soul. Always had been. And I thought if I stayed at the camp, maybe I could prevent that fight from ever happening. Maybe I could stop the cycle.” His voice softened. “Sometimes, I wonder if I made a mistake. What would’ve happened if I stayed by his side? Would more have followed me? Could we have worked things out together instead of apart?” For a moment, no one spoke. The wind rustled through the trees, and the forest path they walked along seemed to echo his doubt. Steve finally sighed. “Because the second part of this story... is how I ended up becoming the Alpha of the other camp.” **** *** For updates on MWS and future works, follow me on my social media below. 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