Chapter 2

Erika's POV

I looked at him with my lips tightly shut, then shook my head without hesitation.

He didn't seem surprised by my decision, but he closed his eyes, tears oozing down from the corners of his eyes. He looked miserable.

"Go back." I mind-linked.

He turned around and slowly walked forward as all the soldiers watched. Suddenly, at some point, he screamed and started running wildly.

Orsen gave me a worried look. I waved my hand and told them the plan continued.

 

In total darkness, we marched toward the Westford pack. I look up at the sky from time to time.

Tonight the moon was different from usual, it was big and round and low, as if I could reach it by throwing my dagger. And the moon was blood-red, hinting at the bloody scene that was about to go on.

 

An hour later, the Westford Pack.

We hid in the grass at the border.

I glanced at Orsen.

He nodded, stood up slowly, and waved his hand.

A group of men stood up after him, marching towards the gate, with weapons in hand.

 

There was a group of soldiers lounging outside the gate, unaware that death was imminent.

In the next second, they all fell to the ground.

Good, everything went according to plan.

 

I stood up and sprinted towards the door.

I didn't need to look back to know that there were a lot of people following me.

Orsen set off with me with his squad as well.

 

We entered through the gate and headed inside.

We have the terrain of this pack mapped out. After going inside and seeing a pavilion, the third building on the left was their pack house.

I took out the map and looked at it to make sure it was the correct location.

We arrived at the pack house soon.

It was an old shabby house, only six floors high. It was dark and not defended by many people.

I was a bit surprised that this was their pack house.

But Steve had sworn to me that the map was 100% error-free.

All I had to do was trust him.

 

I ordered the attack and shifted into wolf form.

My soldiers did the same.

Together we charged toward the pack house.

 

Soon we reached the door and the guards were easily killed.

But surprisingly, no one came out to stop us.

Even though I had no experience leading soldiers in battle, I now realized that something wasn't quite right.

There must be a trap.

I didn't have time to think about why things had turned out this way. Even if it was hell inside, I had to go in and find it out. I was confident that I could come out safely.

But I couldn't let the soldiers follow and risk their lives.

"You guys stay put, I'll go in first and take a look," I ordered.

"Erika, you can't go in by yourself." Orsen held out his hand to stop me.

In the night, I could see his worried eyes. He was smart and must have realized something was wrong too.

James, another strong soldier, also looked at me and shook his head.

 

"Change of plan. Four men will come in with me to see what's going on, and the rest stay put. Who wants to come in with me?"

Orsen and James were the first to raise their hands. Soon two others raised their hands as well.

 

A minute later, on the sixth floor of the pack house.

We climed up and got in through the window. According to the map, the sixth floor was where the pack leaders lived and also the target of our attack.

However, at that moment, we were in an empty room. There was only a bed in the room.

We went out of the room and into the corridor. The cold wind blew in, giving us goosebumps.

At that moment, a howl rang out from outside the building!

All of us were alarmed and rushed to the window to take a look.

What had been pitch black was now as bright as day. The front of the building was full of wolves. They stretched their necks and kept howling, thirsty for blood. And my soldiers were already surrounded. I couldn't see their faces, but I knew that they must have looked terrified.

How could this be?

 

My heart began to beat wildly.

"What now?" Orsen asked.

The sounds of fighting and screams were now ringing outside.

I was sure the screams were't coming from my soldiers. They were well-trained and highly skilled in combat, and they wouldn't be at an disadvantage for a while.

But they got numerous wolves, while we didn't even surpass one hundred. I knew that all my soldiers would die here in this battle. I had already lost it.

I clenched my teeth. Someone had leaked the plan. Was it Steve?

 

"I'm going out to join them." I mind-linked Orsen. Right now we're undetected and there was still a chance of escape, but I would stay with my soldiers, even if the chances of surviving were slim.

"No, You can't do that! You're Gamma," Orsen immediately contradicted me.

"Don't you want to know who betrayed us? Let's escape first, then we can find the traitor and avenge them!" James said.

I clenched my fists. James was right.

"Let's get out of this building and then go around them in the back," Orsen said before pulling my arm and heading out.

 

Just like we came unimpeded, we left unnoticed, because all the firepower was focused on the soldiers that were surrounded.

Listening to the deafening screams made me dizzy.

An hour ago, I was confident that nothing would go wrong tonight. I would return with news of victory.

And now, the cold reality taught me a painful lesson.

 

Before I left, I still couldn't hold back. I turned my head to say farewell to my soldiers.

And that one glance made me lose all my sanity.

I saw a soldier fall to the ground, and the wolf that had bitten him to death stepped on his body and then jumped at another soldier.

God knew how much I wanted to stop and join them.

Suddenly there was a pain in my neck and I blacked out. I lost consciousness.