3 | Duel in Leo Carillo

My mom and I ran as fast as we could. We took the car and drove to the beach.

"Damn it. Where's the beach my future son-in-law is going to?"

I glared in annoyance. How could Mom use that term in such a critical situation?

"There are many beaches. I was attacked at Leo Carillo. Is it possible the boy went there too?"

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. Unfortunately, my ability as a half-werewolf could not sense where Sol was.

"Ah, is that Sol?"

I opened my eyes. We had just crossed the beach of El Matador. My eyes blinked as I saw a familiar figure laughing with two men and a woman.

I wanted to jump for joy. At least they were safe, not attacked by wolf creatures like us. Or maybe even attacked by a vicious vampire on the hunt.

But where were vampires in the middle of sweltering Malibu?

I laughed inwardly at my own ridiculousness. Vampires would never survive in this town. Sol's family would never come across a hungry vampire or werewolf.

"Hi, do you need some help?"

Mum stopped the car. Her smile was kind and cheerful. Her expression was very different from mine, which tended to be moody and often had a dark face.

"Oh, Lei? Madam? Are you here?"

Mum waved her hand. "Just call me Linda. I heard your car broke down. Do you need a lift home?"

Sol explained briefly that Mum and I were the new neighbours in the house they lived in. Strangely, I didn't want to smile at Kay and Ferdinan, Sol's parents.

There was something strange about them, but I didn't know what it was. My instincts just warned me to keep my distance from them.

"Thanks for the ride. But we can take Sol's car."

"Your own car?" Mum asked again.

"It's in the garage." Kay replied.

"All right then. We'll go first." Mum waved goodbye before raising the windscreen.

In the rear-view mirror I saw the little family. They were still watching us. It wasn't obvious, but I felt really uncomfortable.

"Maybe the werewolf that attacked me is here." Mum reassured me when I expressed my fear.

"In that case, we should patrol. Don't let these werewolves attack beachgoers." I suggested.

Mum nodded in agreement. "Sergey will definitely be pleased with our actions. Those destructive werewolves will probably eat the beachgoers, seeing how aggressively they attacked me."

I paused. My spirits dropped a little when I heard Sergey's name.

Sergey Moon is the leader of the Moon Clan. He was an unrivalled Alpha. The only strong one in the clan.

And the only werewolf I was mated with.

Yes, that's right. Mated. Sergey said, feeling me to be his mate. But I didn't feel the same way about him.

Shouldn't mates be able to feel? It's not just for one party, right?

"Don't think about anything, Lei. Concentrate on our new job first." Mom patted the back of my hand.

I just nodded weakly.

"Leo Carillo is only four miles away. In wolf formation he can be here in a few minutes." Mom said.

In comparison, the distance between Leo Carillo Beach and El Matador Beach takes seven minutes by car or over an hour on foot. That's the normal travel time for humans.

For us werewolves, however, that distance can be reduced by ninety percent when we are in werewolf mode. On such a dark night, no one would suspect two wolves roaming the forest by the beach. The darkness of the night would hide their movements.

Mom parked the car between the alcoves of the cliffs. Hidden from the Coast Guard. We went out barefoot.

It was easy for Mom to turn into a wolf. She was already a full-fledged werewolf. While I, who's only half-blood, can only turn when there's a full moon. And there isn't a full moon right now.

So I wandered around in human form while Mom hopped between the cliffs of the beach, watching the surroundings.

Mom's wounds must not have healed properly. I noticed that Mom's movements were a bit sluggish. I complained to myself. If I were a full-fledged werewolf, I would have been able to help Mom patrol by now.

[Lei, ten o'clock]

I looked in the direction Mom was pointing. There was only a small dark cave. My eyes narrowed.

There was nothing there, but my nose smelled a very familiar scent.

I heard Mom's low growl. Her fangs appeared. While I started to prepare myself for a fight.

Then a louder growl came from the direction of the darkness. There were two. I frowned, trying to distinguish each sound.

I prepared myself even more. Dueling was nothing new to me. During my time as a child of Papa and Mama, I had faced the werewolves of other clans many times.

However, this werewolf was different.

I was stunned and lost my self-control for a moment. Ten meters in front of me stood two of the largest werewolves I had ever seen.

Their bodies were massive and towering. Their gray fur moved in the breeze. A pair of brown eyes, the color of acorns, stared down at me.

Damn. They're really big.

[Move aside, Lei!]

Mom's voice echoed loudly in my head. I shook my head, refusing to obey my mother's orders.

"I can face them, Mom."

[Don't be stubborn! They're strong!]

Mom scolded, but I didn't care. I jumped high into the air, planning to land a single leg punch to the head of one of the wolves.

I missed!

The lead wolf easily parried my attack. My leg twisted violently. I screamed as the pain shot into my head.

Shit! Damn it! Damn it!

I cursed inwardly. Fortunately, I was still able to plant my feet firmly on the sandy ground.

But I was not fast enough. A wolf jumped at me. His body, twice as big as mine, was intimidating.

I screamed in surprise as the wolf crushed me. Its mouth was wide open, showing its long canine teeth. Saliva dripped down my face.

It was inches away from sinking its bite into my neck. I tried to break free, struggling with all my might.

I almost succeeded.

Unfortunately, I was still outmatched. The wolf only moved from above me, but it could still reach me again.

It looked as if it wanted to kill me. Its claws tore into my arm, which was wrapped in a thin parachute jacket. I bit my lip against the onslaught of excruciating pain.

I searched for Mom's whereabouts. It turned out that she was wrestling with another wolf. I didn't have time to find out what was going on because my opponent was after my other arm again.

I tried to push her chest away. I used all my strength. He only moved a little and started to raise both of his hands.

I was dripping with sweat. This was not good. I could die in vain with human strength like this.

This time, I changed my strategy and tried to trip the attacking wolf's leg. But before I could do so, the wolf's body suddenly slammed hard to the side.

I was free. I quickly took a deep breath of oxygen to fill my lungs. As I tried to figure out what had happened, my gaze instead fell on the third wolf standing directly in front of me.

He was huge. Very, very big. And I watched wide-eyed as this newcomer ripped through the enemy wolf's neck with incredible ease.