iv

The night was dark and menacing. A full moon shone high in the sky, illuminating the otherwise pitch-black night. 

Howls were heard in the far distance as a young Flion Drottghes, in full werewolf form, ran through the woods, making the leaves rustle as he swiftly passed through the bushes. 

He panted heavily as he ran, his paws barely touching the ground for one second-- he lept, jumped, and sprinted through the woods to observe the human village that stood right beside it. 

Visiting the village was a fond hobby of his. Humans intrigued him. They were just as-- if not more complex than werewolves.

Flion stopped right behind two bushes and crouched down so that no one could see him. 

He gazed at a small hut that stood right before the forest. Sometimes, he even talked to the villagers while in human form.

The wolf watched as the townsfolk went about their business. There was some sort of commotion-- Flion heard various noises and chatter. He couldn’t make out all the words, but they were something along the lines of “baby” and “vampires”. 

A couple went out of the village borders, past the house that stood closest to the edge of the forest. Flion’s ears perked up as he slowly backed away and hid behind a few trees. What were these humans thinking, going into the forest? 

The woman seemed distraught while the man bore a scowl on his face. 

He carried a small basket on his left hand, while his wife carried a pitchfork.

“Oh, oh, my baby…” She cried as she stared at the basket. 

“It’s what’s best for us.” Her husband replied stoically. 

“If we let her live, the vampires would obliterate the whole human race. You know that.”

“How can we be so sure?” The woman grabbed the basket and tried to snatch it from her husband.

“How can we be so sure she is the sacrifice that they need?” Her husband pulled the basket away as his wife sobbed in despair.

“She’s already dead. There’s nothing you can do about it.” And with that, he threw the basket onto the grass and walked away. His wife soon followed, crying and pleading.

After they were finally out of the woods, Flion walked towards the basket that reeked of blood and peered inside. 

There was a baby, bloody and lifeless. The wolf stepped back, shocked at the sight. 

They had killed an innocent mortal baby.

Feelings of sympathy washed over Flion as he stared at the small corpse. 

She was a baby. 

She had a whole life ahead of her, and her parents just took it away, all because of the prophecy. 

A mortal baby had to be killed in order to fend off the vampires forever. But Flion could care less about the prophecy, especially since a dead body was right before his eyes.

He knew what he had to do. 

The wolf raised his head up to the sky and howled, harnessing all the power he had inside him-- the Fire of Life. 

It was a power unique to the Drottghes dynasty. 

His father had it before him, and so did his other ancestors. Among all the powers that one could possess, the Fire of Life was the most coveted, especially by the vampires. 

This power was the only power that could bring anyone back from the dead. Not just humans, but even dead werewolves and vampires that have been staked at the heart. 

The Fire of Life was to be used with caution, as it could only be used once in ten years. Prior to seeing the baby, Flion had never used it. Not once in his lifetime. Granted, he was barely a teenager at the time, but that still spoke a lot about how rare he used this power.

Fire shrouded the basket and encapsulated it in warmth and heat until finally, a baby’s cry was heard. When the fire subsided, Flion grabbed the basket by his mouth and ran through the woods towards where the other werewolves were staying. 

He felt drawn to the baby. He felt connected to her-- as if he had some sort of responsibility towards her. 

As soon as he reached his habitat, he placed the basket on the ground. The other wolves surrounded him, curious about the wail coming from the basket.

“A human? Flion, what were you thinking?” His adviser, Atlas Lobstrosfoxed, asked. 

Compared to Flion, Atlas was more reserved. 

He never desired to even do so much as bending the rules. He was a rigid follower of the status quo, and he always discouraged Flion from going out of the woods. Flion, on the other hand, was a free spirit who loved to roam the woods and the outside world more often than he should. 

Flion had been orphaned when he was just a baby, making him the Alpha at only six months old. Atlas served as his regent, educating him in the ways of leadership.

“She was killed by her parents because of the prophecy, so I used the Fire of Life to resurrect her,” Flion explained. Atlas huffed and narrowed his eyes.

The other wolves seemed taken aback by this statement.

“You used the Fire of Life? Are you insane?” Atlas asked. Flion simply nodded.

“I couldn’t just leave her there.”

“That’s exactly what you should have done!” Atlas snarled. Flion sighed, not wanting to argue with his adviser anymore.

“You will return that baby immediately,” Atlas commanded. 

“No,” Flion said. 

“You may be my adviser, but I am the Alpha, and I say we keep her.”

“What is this nonsense?” Atlas looked perplexed.

“Now, now, there’s no need to argue.” One of the wolves, Victoria, assured. Her voice was calm and soothing. She was the tribe’s peacemaker, and she often knew how to resolve conflict in ways that others couldn’t even fathom. 

“It’s clear that it’s not safe for the baby to return to the human world. Flion, you did the right thing.” She gave Flion a reassuring smile. 

“Oh, please, you know very well that he should have left her for dead.” Atlas scoffed.

“I’m a Battlerce, remember? I have mortal blood in me, and yet I fit in with all of you just fine.” Victoria said matter-of-factly.

“But this baby is human. Purely human. 

We can’t keep her.” Atlas growled. 

“Relax.” Victoria sighed and peered into the basket.

“You won’t be the one raising her. I will.” 

Atlas huffed and trotted off, clearly tired of arguing. 

Victoria turned towards the baby, who was crying hysterically.

“You’re free now, Caroline.” She smiled. Caroline. That’s what she’d be called. 

Raising a mortal was no easy task. They had to feed her, clothe her, and somehow teach her the ways of the wolves even though she was clearly not one of them. 

Victoria was like a mother to Caroline. 

Over the years, she brought Caroline to villages so she could also be immersed in human culture. Flion often tagged along. 

There were several instances where Victoria got into arguments with the pack.

“She has to learn how to fend for herself. She can’t just sit here doing nothing while we hunt.” 

“She’s human. She’s not like one of us. She may live with us, but she is not a werewolf, and she will never be a werewolf.” Victoria chose to treat Caroline like a princess, and this vexed the other werewolves. 

The fact that Flion grew more and more fond of the young mortal each day vexed them even more. 

They wanted her to be just like them-- rogue and wild. And they most definitely did not want Flion near her. 

He was the Alpha-- he couldn’t be fraternizing with a mortal. Like Victoria, Flion was also involved in arguments regarding Caroline, most of which he often responded with “I’m the Alpha. I get the final say.”, then everyone would just let him go about his business.

Humans always fascinated him and having Caroline, an actual mortal being, in his midst paved the way for more curiosities. Although she couldn’t answer most of his questions since she didn’t exactly live in the mortal world, she provided him with enough insight for him to know what is a mortal was like-- at least, what being a mortal among werewolves was like. 

Although Caroline was as human as they make them, there was one lupine trait Caroline inherited-- courage. She loved running and climbing on trees, and she especially loved exploring the woods. She was no damsel in distress. She was fierce and cunning, but still, she did not find favor with all of the wolves. 

They considered her a threat just because she was mortal. 

They tried to talk Flion and Victoria out of walking with her to villages many times in fear that she would have them hunted down. 

They argued that though Caroline was raised by wolves, she still had human nature in her blood, and therefore, she could turn on them. 

Flion disagreed. 

He didn’t believe that nature towered over nurture. He knew that Victoria had raised her well and that she would be loyal to their tribe.

As Caroline grew older, her pulchritude became even more prominent. Her platinum blonde hair had reached her waist, and her taut, angular face was complemented by her alluring hazel eyes. 

Humans in the villages she visited were attracted to her, and so was Flion. The two had grown close over time-- they had practically grown up together.

They would often talk about human nature and how starkly different and yet immensely similar it was to the ways of the wolves. Humans, like werewolves, were also separated into families and groups, although the said groups were more complicated than the werewolves’. Human classifications included age range, race, social status, and even interests. 

Werewolves were grouped far simpler. 

Their surname dictated their role in the pack-- The Drottghes family were the designated leaders of the pack, the Battlerce were half-bloods, the Argentha were the knights, and the Lobstrofox was second in power to the Drottghes. 

Caroline and Flion formed a strong bond, and what had become of their relationship was inevitable-- they fell in love, even though Atlas had explicitly warned Flion not to do just that.

Love was not a foreign concept to werewolves, but it was certainly something else. Falling in love with one’s best friend was how most werewolves came together. 

“Love at first sight” wasn’t the case for these creatures.

It was a full moon. 

Caroline and Flion had just finished visiting the local village. 

They both headed back to the woods and sat next to a willow tree, still in their human forms. Apart from the distant howls heard in the background, the night was silent. 

“Do you think that I should just live in the mortal world?” Caroline asked. Flion turned to her and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“Of course not. You’ve lived with us your whole lives.” He was slightly taken aback by what she had just said. It was the first time she ever uttered those words. 

Caroline let out a nervous laugh.

“I mean, it’s not like I’m wanted here. You know how the others talk about me.” She focused her eyes on the willow tree in front of them, avoiding eye contact with Flion.

“I don’t have a scintilla of werewolf blood in me, and besides…” She turned back to Flion and finally plucked up the courage to look him in the eye. 

“Nothing is keeping me here.” 

They both fell silent for a second before Caroline spoke again.

“Maybe it’s best if I leave.” She gave Flion a small smile and looked down. She slowly got up from where she was sitting, but Flion held her hand before she could leave. 

“Wait… You’re leaving now?” He asked, standing up so he was at her level.

“Well, yes. I could stay with Victoria’s relatives, I know where to go. I’ve actually been planning this for…” Caroline abruptly stopped speaking as Flion drew closer to her.

“You said that nothing is keeping you here… Are you sure of that?” 

Caroline hesitated. 

Their eyes gazed directly at each other. The moment was not how mortals often described it as-- no sparks were flying. 

Their eyes didn’t twinkle or shine. The moon stayed the same, and so did the stars. 

The world wasn’t the least bit different from how it was two seconds ago. Even as Flion lifted Caroline’s chin up and pressed his lips against hers, everything stayed the same. 

Nothing extraordinary or magical happened, except the bond that formed between them at that moment.

They both pulled away from the kiss, and it was at that moment when Flion knew it was love. Not because of how her skin lit up because of the moon and the stars. Not because of the way she looked like that night. Not even because of what she had said. 

He knew it was love because of everything that led up to that moment-- the years spent talking about human nature, the moments enjoyed in mortal villages, and the times spent frolicking around in the woods. 

It was everything about her-- her smile, her bravery, her beauty. 

From the first day he lay eyes on her, he wanted to protect her, and now he knew that he wanted her to be his, officially.