What does it mean to be a community? Lucian can’t help to be disappointed at the people before him. Did fear corrupt them so far as to kill their own? The same people they lived with for years. Did they forget what a family mean? A friend? A neighbor?
“Cowards,” he called out to the crowd. “You’re all cowards. Killing the innocent and the unarmed just to make yourself feel a false sense of safety. What you’re doing here just proves to me you are all a bunch of spineless, witless humans. It’s a wonder how you survived all these years.”
The crowd stepped away from him in fear, raising their weapons at him. They trembled, they jittered, and they cried in his every step as he walked towards them. “Go away,” an old man shakily shouted. Then a pebble flew at him, hitting him on the head. It bounced lazily down his face and back to the ground. He picked the small stone up and held it in between his fingers.
“Stones, huh. Is that how you’ll scare me away? Is this how
Living in isolation deep within the forestry under the Crescent Peaks Mountain range, were a pack of werewolves led by a well-respected alpha named Lucian. Since his founding of the settlement, he was stern on keeping distance from the humans living on the southern regions of the continent. No werewolves were allowed to attack humans, unless they were the ones who ventured into their territory first. During his reign as the alpha, the werewolves dutifully lived like normal humans; they farmed, they foraged, they care for livestock, they have houses, and they commune together as neighbors. Their way of living reflecting the knowledge he earned through his travels from his homeland, until he settled in the location with his companions. In time, though, werewolves developed a discriminatory stance against humans and any creatures they regard as lesser to their kind. It was in their nature to be prideful of their strength. It was part of their culture that they would loo
Helene never spoke with the humans; much less mate with them. That’s why she was still flustered by the accusations of townspeople after all these years. I may be a bitch, but I am no whore, she thought to herself. Her love of Selene was overwhelming that even during a full moon, her anger of the gossipmongers in town never manifested. She can’t make her daughter’s life harder than it is, after all it may be because of her that she was born without the power of the moon. She must do everything to keep her from being more miserable even if her life depends on it. “Sel,” she called at her daughter dearly. “Your 18th birthday is coming close; do you want something as a gift?” Selene was at the dining table, eating breakfast before going to the library for her shift. She wore a plain long dress, considered modest for women her age. The dull color of the cloth enhanced the natural blush of her cheeks and skin. In Helene’s eyes, she was
The library is by far the most unpopular place in all of Crescent Peaks – most werewolves in town regard books as waste of good trees. As a result, the library became a clean, silent place to spend time in and learn interesting things at the same time. Just as always, Archibald Novak sat at the solitary long table placed exactly in the middle of the building. It was surrounded by bookshelves on both ends – the books in the shelves were sparse for Archibald’s taste, but he had no choice. He was reading a book about warfare as part of his self-studies as one of the zetas in the pack. He was expected to be knowledgeable, especially about military strategies. He was not complaining, but more references would have been nice. In between paragraphs, he would look up and take a glance at the librarian’s assistant. Without hindsight, she looked exactly what you would expect someone living in a town to look like; she looked ordinary. If you did not know her to be a human, you
Selene made up her mind; if she can’t find comfort in this town full of prejudice, and prideful beasts, she would just go out on a journey by herself. Live a solitary life, then maybe she could find a more accepting community in which she can stay with. She already fixed herself up – changed into clean clothes and dressed her wounds. She also packed clothes in a suitcase and readied to go out of town. She went outside her home – the only place in Crescent Peaks that stored good memories of her past but was desecrated by the barbaric violence of strangers. The darkness of the night looked down on her like a lost child. She felt like a lost child. She was lost in a whole new world without the comfort of her parents’ love. She stood on their front door, uncertain of what to do next. She sighed heavily before bracing herself for the journey she chose. I must go and find a place for me, she thought as she took the first step towards an uncertain f
The night was covering the forest in almost pitch darkness. The woman proudly walked with only a small lamp as a source of light. Perseus has no problem seeing clearly in the dark; his eyes pierces through the darkness like it’s not even there. The zeta followed her closely, like a loyal house pet. Perseus marched behind them, observing her. She was wearing a bonnet covering her long bright red hair. She was wearing winter clothes; her dress covered her entire torso and feet, too modest for his taste. “Hey, zeta,” Perseus called out. “You smell that?” The zeta looked back at him and just nodded without saying a word. The smell of rotten flesh was wafting from the forest, surrounding the beaten path they were walking on. Perseus felt giddy with excitement at the introduction of new challengers. Ghouls are stalking us. Five, maybe more, he informed the zeta. The girl is yours; the ghouls are mine. For the second time that night, Perseu
It was almost daybreak when they reached the first human town down the path from Crescent Peaks. Selene knew the town existed before, but she did not expect it to be this far south. She was exhausted by the journey last night. Thanks to her companions, night creatures were not able to even get close to her. Perseus picked them off while Archibald stayed by her side. Selene was glad they tagged along with her. Her initial stubbornness could have had killed her if not for the equally stubborn persistence of the two werewolves. She reminded herself to thank them once they found a place to stay in town. It was built surrounded by a high wall with wood spikes pointed outwards, maybe as a deterrent to the monsters lurking and hunting at night. As they approached the wooden gate, two men armed with pikes and clad in leather armor interrupted them. They stared inquisitively at them, especially to the two men with her, who she realized were caked in dried blood and dirt.
Selene never felt as full as she did after eating the breakfast Ida prepared. Her exhaustion from last night’s events made her ravenous to the point where he devoured every meal the old woman brought them without even thinking about it. If her mother was there, she would be ecstatic to see her daughter eating as much as she did. She thanked Ida before and after the meal, and every time she did, the widow always brushes her off and would just sweetly smile at them. She wondered if she could take her in as an assistant, then she could stay in the town. A woman burst through the door and rushed to the stairway. “Where are you going, Elise?” Ida greeted her. The woman turned around but her eyes seemed glassy and inattentive. “Up,” she replied and continued on her way. “Who is that?” Selene inquired. “She is the baker’s daughter,” Ida replied. “Wait a minute while I check where she’s going.” She stood from her seat and walked up the stairs.
Selene was frantically awoken by Archibald. It was not long ago when they went to sleep after another hearty meal for dinner, so she woke up in full alert.“What was it?” she asked. The dark of night engulfed the room, except a solitary candle in between the two beds.“We have a problem,” he said. “Perseus has gone out and I’m smelling blood in the air.”“Have you tried calling at him telepathically?” she asked. Werewolves can communicate mutually telepathically, but the range in which they can do it depends on the place they are on.“He’s far enough for me to reach him,” he explained. “But I can track the smell of blood. It was coming from the edge of town.”“Should we go out and see what’s happening?” she asked.“No. I want you to prepare your things again. We’ll be going out in the night. We can’t risk staying here
What does it mean to be a community? Lucian can’t help to be disappointed at the people before him. Did fear corrupt them so far as to kill their own? The same people they lived with for years. Did they forget what a family mean? A friend? A neighbor? “Cowards,” he called out to the crowd. “You’re all cowards. Killing the innocent and the unarmed just to make yourself feel a false sense of safety. What you’re doing here just proves to me you are all a bunch of spineless, witless humans. It’s a wonder how you survived all these years.” The crowd stepped away from him in fear, raising their weapons at him. They trembled, they jittered, and they cried in his every step as he walked towards them. “Go away,” an old man shakily shouted. Then a pebble flew at him, hitting him on the head. It bounced lazily down his face and back to the ground. He picked the small stone up and held it in between his fingers. “Stones, huh. Is that how you’ll scare me away? Is this how
“Good morning,” Massimo greeted as he peaked his head through the tent. Lucian nodded at him in acknowledgement. “How are their wounds?” he asked about his injured comrades lying unconscious on the cots. “They’re not healing properly,” he replied. “If this continues, they may die before sun down. Their injuries are more severe than we initially thought.” He was baffled, as was his companions, about the state they were in. It’s unusual for their kind to have troubles healing wounds, more so when they have ample time to recoup. “Let me see,” Massimo offered as he approached his wounded men. His companions eyed him with distrust as he walked, but he did not seem to mind. They flinched when Massimo reached out a hand on one of the injured and pulled on his blanket to reveal the entirety of the injury. He nodded to himself and looked back at Lucian. “Allow me to fix this,” he said before mumbling incomprehensible words and hovering his hand over the wounds. Gray colored s
Farkas was reluctant to let him leave by himself but he relented after he realized he won’t be dissuaded. He intended to go south, alone. Nobody can force to do otherwise. Something about the unnatural color change of the moon was tugging at his memory. He once saw the moon turn red in his past. But it was a centuries ago. Back when he was still adapting to his alpha status. There was this young man who confronted his pack as they pass by a small human town. The man wore pristine clothing, not unlike the kind of clothes nobles were wearing at that time. “What brings you here… dogs?” He had his arms crossed around his chest and was looking at them with disdain. Lucian was about to explain that they were just passing by, but one of his pack members decided upon himself to turn beast and growl at the stranger. He placed a hand on his arm to calm his comrade. It was full moon, so it was tricky to complete control his pack. Stumbling upon the town may have
Following the young alpha in secret was no easy task for Genn. He had been a scout for a long time, and this by far was the hardest thing he ever did, next to keeping his wife in check. There were many times when he thought they were found out as they lurk kilometers away from him. He was sure they will inevitably die if he ever did. Lucian’s orders might spare them, but he was not betting on it. They saw how he silently infiltrated the high walls of the human city, before coming back out with the Edevane woman. They scampered away to avoid detection, before they followed him to the isolated cabin by the river. They then watched as he tied the poor woman on the roof. “What do you suppose he will do to her?” he asked Evan beside him. “I dunno. Maybe he’ll burn her down. Or…” he looked at the full moon. “Ravage her.” Genn nodded. “Maybe he will toy with her first before killing her,” he agreed. “That sounds about right.” The full moon was tingling his s
The realization slowly crept into Perseus that his life had been tampered with and his freedom was cut short by the meddling of some witch. He stared angrily at Archibald, furious at the situation he was in, but unable to do anything about it. “Now that I can actually make you to listen to me,” Archibald started. Perseus felt a pang of shame at his words. “I want you to hear what Massimo told me about Selene.” “What about the woman?” “Do you remember the story of how our kind came to existence?” “A great warrior was blessed by the moon after accomplishing a set of challenges. So what?” “Well, if Massimo was saying the truth, it would mean everything we know about our history was a lie. Our powers are not from the moon, it came from the earth. The first werewolves were druids who chose to integrate the bestial features of wolves into their life. We have a lot of things in the past we don’t know, and one of them is the existence of the royal blo
Archibald woke up a little light headed. He held on his head when he sat on the side of his bed as his vision spun. He somehow felt weaker than when he slept. He sat motionless for a while, gathering himself, before slowly standing up. He looked around and figured he must be in a medical ward of some kind. A curtain was acting like a wall covering the bed from general view. He parted the cloth and was immediately caught off-guard by the sight of Perseus sitting on a bed beside his. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “You tell me,” he replied. “I just woke up in here. Last time I remembered, I was out in the woods, fighting some flying freak.” He raised his arms in front of him and stared curiously on them. He looked confused and equally exhausted as him. “Where is Selene?” he asked Perseus with a piercing glare. “I don’t know where she is right now,” he started. “But last time I know, the flying freak stole her from the cabin and hid her som
The body was still warm and rigor mortis has not set in yet, so the joints were still malleable. The arm muscles, just above the elbow, were indeed torn to shreds. About 15 centimeters of bone was exposed in both arms, with the torn ligaments and flesh hanging loosely on the sides. The cause seemed to be an implosion of the inner muscles by intense external pressure. It would be fatal for a human, but it seemed this did not kill the werewolf. The death was caused by a clean incision in his jugular. The entire physique of the man is incredible by human standards. His overall muscle form was absolutely incredible. Hans admired the formation of the taut muscles in his calves, his legs, chest, back and shoulders. This man must be always busy toning his body by exercising and seducing ladies. Too bad that he came upon Master Massimo. No matter his power standing within his werewolf community, he would always be no match against the master. Nobody ever had a chance to win
Selene did not move an inch from where Massimo left her. She was unsure if he was telling the truth when he said he knows Archibald, but she was also deathly afraid of the creatures lurking within the dark of the forest. She saw enough monsters tonight to last her a lifetime. If she had only known Perseus intended to make her bait, she highly thinks she may have not stood up for Elise’s life. Being tied and leered on by monsters – most of which she never knew existed – was an experience worse than anything in imaginable. She was fuming with anger with him for endangering her life for his entertainment. It was unfair. She agreed to be a plaything, but he did not say anything about this. She was starting to miss Archibald. She missed the feeling of warmth whenever he was near. She sure hoped Massimo was true to his words, and that she will see him again. But she was not entirely sure of what Massimo is. She saw him nimbly fly even without wings. She read stories of wit
Perseus was infuriated by the stranger’s meddling of his plans. He snarled at the flying intruder as he slaughtered his supposed prey. He intended to be the one butchering all these lesser creatures he lured in using the woman – who was a surprisingly effective bait for creatures of the night. “What are you?” he asked the stranger. He did not saw what happened, because of the sudden change of the moon’s color, but he was sure he transformed into some kind of winged creature. I am the night, a voice echoed in his head. “Come at me,” he taunted. “Or are you scared?” He heard a resonating laughter all around him as the stranger flew around the area. Stay there while I clear the battlefield of these animals, he heard the voice again. I like saving the best for last. Perseus was getting more and more impatient. He was rudely interrupted in his sport, and now this intruder wants him to stay put while he steals his prey awa