Asher adjusted the cover on his face from the nose down. It was during their break that he secretly sent a message to Damon that they have to abort their mission. The exact number of the Great Alpha’s army is unknown but they’re double the number of those they have in the Virgo.Also, minus one. The man the alpha killed due to his slanderous comment about the war. All in all, the odds are not in the favor of the Virgo. Given that these includes the young teenage men, that means that the number is indeed up. They stopped for a quick rest. Alpha Draco has requested someone to hand him a glass of water. There, they paused and gave the alpha his water. Alpha Draco’s temper is still up due to the slanderous statement uttered against him. He did not plan to kill the man on his first offense but he felt the dire need of doing so. He is aware there are others in the army who thinks the same. So he has to prove them wrong by expressing his lack of care and conscience on death. “How close ar
Damon held Harper with both his arms. The archers are in position and anytime now, the Red Blood wolves would attack. It was Marion’s strict order not to do the first blow, to let them offend. The Virgo doesn’t initiate wars, they only defend the people when they’re attacked.So this time, the Virgo men and fighters are only waiting for the first blow: the commencement of a long and serious war.Hector’s safe, at least Harper can free her mind from worrying about his safety. The thing about it is that the babysitters of the Virgo are also witches, so they know charms and spells to protect the babies in case they get seen by the enemies.Brayden was beside Alora, but his eyes were sharply looking elsewhere. Norton, Asher, Anthony and Eva were talking about the silver poison on Eva’s waist band and she explains to them how and when she uses it.“So far, have you used this?”Eva looked at Harper, but then looked away. Brayden saw that and shook his head.“I use this for hunting… but I gu
“ARCHERS!”Damon ran outside when he heard the opposite pack’s battle cries. They have been too aggressive, the sounds of their feet echoing even when the doors and windows of the roundhouse have been closed. “I’m coming with you!” – Harper sounded and ran after her mateBrayden followed in silence. Eva, Alora, Norton, Anthony and Asher also followed shortly, their eyes sharp with intense glare to further the war. Outside, the archers have been shooting arrows to their targets. But the hits were only few. Maybe it’s because the other party already knew that they’d be welcomed by archers. They would be attacked by them. Brayden watched, but his eyes were only looking for one specific person. His father. He could not see him from the space, from the shadows, not even in the dark forest. The army they have was numerous so wherever the Great Alpha is, he cannot be seen. Perhaps because of the number of the many people who has been at his side.“Are you going to stay here like a coward
As if to answer their question, suddenly, they heard a call from the front lines. They’re being called. From that position, those reserved at the back to fight when everyone else has been exhausted stood up.“They’re being called.” – Brayden whispered to Harper“I guess this can be our ticket to pass.” – Harper replied, hopefulBrayden shushed her. The warriors have too sensitive ears, especially the one that has noticed them earlier. If that’s howsensitive they are, any slight movement from them would alarm the warriors… and it’s too early to be caught. The two of them stayed in their position and didn’t move. The warriors moved, as if a force caused them too. And then they heard commands from the front lines. It was Alpha Draco, finally making use of everyone in his army.“They’re moving… we can move any minute now…” – Brayden said and held her forearm.Harper stared at Brayden’s hand clutched on her arm. He’s not that touchy with her or anyone before. Brayden noticed and removed h
The place Brayden has in his mind was far but indeed, as quiet as possible. Finally, they cannot hear the sounds from the ongoing war from there. They cannot be anxious of the possible death counts that keep going up and up in number. They cannot be found by the enemy and most of all, they cannot be captured by Alpha Draco.Both are sure that no one knows this place. And that tonight, there’s only two wolves present in this place. “How did you find this place anyway?” – Harper asked as they sat inside the small cavern. They have retransformed into their human selves. They’re both naked, but the cavern has some blankets inside. “Since I got in the Virgo. This became my secret place. That’s why I have blankets here because sometimes, I sneak in the middle of the night and come here. As what you can see, the Virgo is not fond of hunting, I am. So there are really times that I sneak out and hunt, then I sleep here. I only come back to the roundhouse at the break of dawn.”Harper could o
Alora’s heartbeat got off the charts when he turned and saw Alpha Draco, just a few steps away. She thought of running, but that seemed like a useless option now. She’s already too close to him. The proximity between them has decreased and kept on decreasing every minute that passes.“Alpha… Al… Alpha Draco.” – she was stammering. Of all the wolves, she’s the one he’s ran into. Or maybe, she’s the one he felt to haunt. Because of what she did back at the Red Blood camp. “You’re a very sneaky wolf, you know that?”Alora gulped and looked around. Someone… she searched for someone who could jump at her rescue if ever Alpha Draco attacks her. which is kind of a certain thing, given on how he looks at her right now. There’s no one in sight. Not Harper, not Asher, Eva, Norton, Anthony, Damon, and especially Brayden who has been missing for almost an hour now.“What do you want from me?” – Alora managed to say, backing a stepAlpha Draco noticed the back step and smirked. He knows Alora’
“Harper?”Brayden poked her by the shoulder. Harper slowly opened her eyes, rubbed them with her knuckles and looked around, lost in thought. She must have forgotten why they’re here.“Brayden? Where’s Damon?”That’s the first thing she thought after waking up? Brayden thought. Only that he cannot ask her that. It simply sounded wrong to do so.“He’s in the roundhouse, I guess.” – Brayden said and cleared his throat.Harper finally sat up, making the blanket fall off her shoulders. It’s already morning outside and her mind’s stuck on the last memory of her entering the cavern with Brayden. She remembered the doubt in her mind and the refusal she should have said. But what would she do with regrets now that it’s already morning and the Great Beta’s only inches away from her?“Hector!” – Harper suddenly remembered that she’s left her own son to a nursemaid back at the pack. She has left him to the mercy and care of s stranger. The guilt suddenly ate at her system but there’s nothing s
Harper and Brayden paused by the door of the conjoined rooms. Harper’s on the edge of crying again, knowing that it is up to her and Brayden to break the news to Asher. They have no update on the outcome of the first leg of the war yet, but be it good or bad, it’s still hard to tell someone their sister’s no longer with the rest of them. “Ready in three.” – said Brayden and sighed. That gave Harper a little console that she’s not the only one finding this hard to do and at least, she’s not doing this on her own. “One…”“Two…”Harper closed her eyes before the counting reached three and when it did, she immediately snapped them open. The door opened slowly and everyone inside was resting on their individual rooms. The only persons they saw were Damon helping Hector fall asleep.“Hector!” – Harper rushed inside to get hold of her son. Finally, her worries about his safety comes to an end. He’s here, alive and well.“Finally, you’re here, the two of you.” – Damon said and tapped Brayde
“Alpha Draco requests your presence, sir.”The messenger talked in a slow fashion, careful that the Virgo Alpha would hear it properly. Marion just finished settling on an old room inside the common room. It looked like it belonged to a royal she-wolf, based on the expensive paintings on the wall and the hand-sewn dresses inside the closet. “Tell him I’ll be there shortly.”“He said it’s urgent, sir.”Marion nodded. There’s no excuses with the Great Alpha. Besides, he’s not in his territory. He’s at the Red Blood’s, the first time he got out of the roundhouse and housed in a different setting actually. The messenger left the door open. Marion put down the third pillow case he packed with him and followed the former to the main room of the common room. Inside, Alpha Draco was waiting. He’s sipping jasmine tea from a small teacup. A lady in waiting was at his side, holding the kettle by its handle. With a plain breakable plate placed under it.“You called for me, Great Alpha?”He lo
“I… I don’t understand. What do you mean, officer?”Harper was biting the edges of her nails in anxious anticipation. Surely, there’s nothing good that will come out from the end of this conversation. To mention the word “victim” mid-sentence doesn’t constitute good news. “You have no idea, do you?”Harper shook her head… then realized that the person she’s talking to is on the other end of the line. So, her nodding of head is not counted as a response.“I have no idea of what this is about. Please, just-“Harper couldn’t finish her sentence. She’s not even sure if she wants to. what has been unfolded before her eyes the entire day are facts - quickly given facts that either surprise her or catch her in the moment. And these facts aren’t even good news at all. “I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t think you are clueless about what happened in this house. It’s all over the news this past week.”What is?, she thought. But then, it’s Mrs. Keevah’s house. There’s no one else in the house that cou
In front of them were the men, the woman and the little baby that they all hated: the ones they denominated as “rebels”. They were on the front of Marion and Alpha Draco.“We meet again…” – said Damon.Harper and the rest of the group stood behind their alpha. The men were carrying their own choice of weapons, their own poison against the enemy. They stood gleaming at the site of fresh dead bodies on the floor. Proudly. The look on Alpha Draco’s face says it all. He wanted the war to be over. He wanted the war to begin as soon as it can. Right in this moment. Right in this spot. “Finally… I’m tired of chasing after your tail, Damon. You and Brayden can come here and let’s finish this once and for all. I’m tired of chasing and of canceling this to another schedule.”Damon licked his chapped lips. He has the same ideas. He didn’t come here to visit his father. He didn’t come here for peace. None of them believes in peace anymore. “I cannot agree more. Later, then. Once and for all.
Just when the silence stretched between Harper and Brayden, Damon got up from his sleep and pulled Harper closer from the waist.Brayden’s eyes followed where Damon’s hands were and gulped. In a moment, he turned to the other side and tried to forget what he has seen. He managed to turn and keep his eyes and body that way.“You’re up early…” – muttered Damon with a raspy voice.“Yeah… my body clock’s messed up these days.” – replied HarperThat was a lie. Her body clock has nothing to do with it. It’s always her thoughts that keep on saying something to her. It feeds her negative ones instead of empowering her to think of solutions. And of course, the place and the ambience did help with the thoughts. It even made the way for it. It even made her feel worse.“Is that because of the war?”“No, something else.”Harper looked at the ring that’s still on her finger. If Anthony didn’t cause a distraction, would that scary man really cut off her finger? For the sake of proving a point?Are
“Elias! You wouldn’t believe it!”Elias was cleaning the Great Alpha’s office when one of the guards from the office went to approach him. The guard was panting, his sweat rolling down his temples down to his neck and chest area. These droplets of sweat blurs his vision as they get past his eyes. “Do you have some news?” – Elias already has some expectations in his head. Hopefully, this is going to be good news. And hopefully, this is about the Great Alpha too. “Yes. you should go outside to see what’s up.”Elias nodded and then he got up to check if there’s really someone inside waiting for him. As it turned out, there’s a small crowd gathered outside over something. The question is, what’s the cause? Who is there that everyone seemed to be alarmed?“Is that…”The rest of the sentence got drowned in the air. the guard who brought Elias the news did not even let him finish. Whether it was excitement or worry, none of them can tell. However, it’s clear from the circumstances that the
“…and here we are!”Everyone of them looked around, expecting a tavern or a cabin in the woods. None of those things were present. They were only surrounded by different trees and the dark moon above them. “Here?” – Anthony repeated, confused“Yes. Over there.”Brayden pointed on the cavern behind him. The boys walked closer to see what he’s pointing to. Then, Harper followed. She already knows what it is, she only got closer so the others won’t speculate. They cannot know she’s been here before. “This is where your safe place is?” – Asher asked with a huge question mark on his face.“Yes. This is what I meant by that.”They all didn’t look impressed. But then again, they’re hiding from Marion and their men. Anything safe that they can use will do. Just not to be caught. Anything. Just not that. They cannot be captured. Not this time. With Brayden leading them, they approached the mouth of the cave and got inside one by one. Among them, only Hector seemed to be enjoying the show.“H
“Goddamn it, you have a knife! I don’t care if you cut her finger!”Harper’s eyes widened when the huge man on her right got a knife from his back pockets. It’s a new one and surely sharpened just before they went to the roundhouse. The slight shin of the knife reflected the fear in her eyes. Damon’s hip still hurt with the hitting. He was held by four men, struggling as he throws all sort of cure words upon Marion.The man with the knife neared Harper and she stepped back, pulling the two men with her. They can’t be serious. They surely cannot just cut off her finger when Marion tells them to. Or she could be wrong. It’s also possible that these men are Marion’s puppets and would do anything he tells them to. No matter howbrutal or illogical that can be. “Damon, just go… “ – Harper’s vision blurred as the tears welled on the corner of her eyesDamon shook his head. No, he’s never going to leave her. Not this time. Not ever. The man pulled her hand as one man from the side brought
Damon kept on looking behind him. He hasn’t seen Harper yet, the entire time that they were inside. The last time he did was when they were sitting on the benches. Back when nothing seemed strange yet.Aside from that, he hasn’t seen her yet. The thickness of the crowd barred him from doing so. However, he’s sure she’s still inside. The slight gap on the door cannot hold a person going out yet. Whoever attempts may be squeezed. “Harper? Harper, where are you?!” – the question roared in the air. They were stuck in the main room with lots of the Virgo aiming at them. Not to mention that the great number of its members were clawing their throats to make their way out. Aside from that, there are two Virgo men who’s at his back as he shouted. They were trying to catch him and bind him with a thick rope. The rope was too thick and Damon noticed that if that will be used against him, he cannot break it with his fists. He cannot set himself free from those.“Harper!”And then, like a mira
Hearts flutter in a negative manner. This isn’t good. It couldn’t be good.Harper sensed Damon’s tenseness. She looked at his brother and it’s clear that he’s also in his fight-or-flight mode. Any minute now, something is about to happen. She’s positive about that.“I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling there’s something odd here, right?” – Asher voiced out and Damon shushed himAsher nodded slowly. He has confirmed his statement. “… and it is the duty of the alpha to put his pack’s safety first. Even at the middle of the war, the safety of the pack shall not be compromised nor put aside. The safety of the pack has to be the paramount consideration. It is because of that that any threat, no matter how small or insignificant, needs to be gotten rid of.”- Marion ended his speech with a dangerous stare at the Red Blood pack’s direction. “This is not good. Come on. We have to get going.”“What’s going on?” – Norton saidHarper and Damon looked at each other’s eyes. They already understo