Chapter 2

Nightmares. Bad dreams. Fear. It doesn’t matter what it was called; everyone had one. Sometimes it was something that would slither its way into your life like an undeniable desire.

Inevitable. Unauthorized. Unwanted.

It was that lingering thought of negativity that would follow you from reality into your dreams. It would sink its teeth into your hopes and poison all the goodness in your life until you realize that it was all a lie or a myth . Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

As children of the moon, we were surrounded by humans who believed we were evil, but we ignored them. We were born different, and we couldn’t change based on their opinions.

However, even monsters had fears of imaginary creatures in the closet or under the bed—Lupus Deus was at the top of that list.

A myth, legend, or a haunting; whatever you call it. A story; that’s what he would always be.

He’s who kids were told to look out for, lurking in the woods at night.

He’s who women were warned to stay away from.

He’s the enemy men go to battle against.

He’s the feared shadow looming over your house.

He’s the god who roams, darkness and evil monsters following in his wake.

He’s the savage that reminds us to be in control of our wolves.

The alpha of all alphas—The wolf god.

As I looked at Lily, I felt an icy chill cover my arms, giving me goosebumps—which shouldn’t have been possible with all of the warm bodies crowded together in the bunker. My chest suddenly felt hollow and cold, and my body felt numb.

Women were clutching on to their children, whispering words into their ears to calm them, yet their eyes looked horrified. Others were on their knees praying for forgiveness and for the lives of those in and outside the building. Older women were huddled together gazing at the entrance with hope on their faces.

The Lupus Deus , I repeated in my head. My wolf was silent, but I could still feel her presence, prepared.

The Lupus Deus.

The god controlled by hatred, whose thirst for violence and blood was likened to the human body’s need for oxygen. The god who was sent once every hundred of years as a warning from the gods above. The god who wasn’t born a god, but a man clothed with mystery and a threat to everyone—who even at the mere mention of his name, every pack avoided like the plague, whose presence made wolves fall to their knees in submission instilling in their minds that no one was above him—he was the law.

He was always lurking in the shadows, watching for those who disobeyed his rules. He came and went like a ghost, ready to kill anyone who stood in his way. The merciless punisher; anyone who opposed him faced a vicious animal.

He was compared to Voldemort in Harry Potter —he who shall not be named or whatever. We all knew it was him behind the attacks, but we could only hope that it wasn’t. After all, hadn’t we convinced ourselves that fear was just a product of our creative minds?

I looked over at Lily, who was rocking back and forth. Could she be wrong and misinformed? I pray she is wrong!

I felt relieved at the thought of my cousin acting weird. I had accepted that she might have been given the wrong information. Lily was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t even look up. I walked up to an older looking woman with gray hair and dark brown eyes. She seemed a little out of it, but other than that, she looked fine and responsive.

“Excuse me?” I asked, making her jump in fright, and I felt guilty.

“O-oh y-yes?” She stuttered, intertwining her hands nervously.

“Do you know what’s going on?” I asked softly, trying to put her at ease with talking to a stranger.

“Oh, it’s horrible! I was just sitting there watching the TV series Supernatural and then the alarms went off! It’s so bad, I thought Alpha Klein said we had a month to prepare before an attack. “

“Now what—” I interrupted.

“Who’s attacking?” I asked as naturally as I could.

She paled at the question, and took in a deep breath. Her eyes flicked to the side twice before whispering in a small voice, “Lupus Deus.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” I asked through clenched teeth. I could feel fear starting to creep into my veins.

“Lup—” Her mouth hung open and her eyes went wide as if seeing a ghost. I looked at her in confusion. What was she doing?

She’s being summoned through a mind-link , my wolf said. She hated being clueless as much as I did.

The woman turned her head over to the left, looking at something. I noticed how quiet it had become. Suddenly, in the direction everyone was looking at, a door—which wasn’t the entrance—opened, releasing a sliver of white light. Something was happening because they all shuffled out the door. Was it over? Were we allowed to leave? If we were, why couldn’t we use the same door we came in through?

Lily appeared out of nowhere, eyes wide and full of cautious. I opened my mouth to ask her what was going on, but she shook her head violently from side to side. She lifted her finger to her lips to hush me and then tapped her ears. Hearing. . . shushing. . . door opening and people leaving quietly.

Oh my god. Something was happening. Something bad. And whoever or whatever was going on was just around the territory. This must be an escape panel. We were fleeing.

I probably looked like a ghost as my face turned pale. I was hesitant to leave, but Lily grabbed my arm and we shuffled over to the exit doors. We entered a sort of an underground tunnel with smooth wide walls, as darkness surrounded us from all angles. Calling on my wolf’s eyesight didn’t even help; my eyes were desperately looking for light. Although we were trying to be as discreet as possible, our footsteps against the concrete floors could still be heard as well as our pounding hearts, and the tears falling out of fear rose into the air. I wanted to push us forward to the front where the luna was leading us, and be the first to get out of this dark hell of never-ending turns and walls, but I could barely make out the back of people’s heads.

I could feel Lily next to me and was focused on not losing her. It was unclear where we were heading to. We were just following the crowd blindly, hoping to find our way out. The journey seemed to go on forever until we finally came to a halt when a cluster in front of us stopped moving forward, and the strong but silvery voice of a woman spoke out. From the sound of her commanding voice, it had to be the luna.

“I will be dividing you into groups. I’m going to open the door, and as soon as I tell you to go, I want you to run into the woods as fast as you can, shift, and make your way into the Zauks pack.” Everyone was surprised and murmurs could be heard.

“Yes I know,” she said before taking a shuddering breath, though I couldn’t see her face. “I have to stay here. This is a direct command from your luna. Get out of here, and do not look back if you get the chance.”

The women and children were silent at the luna’s command. Her voice was more powerful than an alpha’s in extreme situations.

I felt Lily’s iron grip on my arm. I held my breath as they all responded in unison, anguish lacing their voices.

“Yes, Luna Emma,” they answered solemnly.

“Take care. Are you ready?” Her loud voice echoed through the tunnels, making most of us wince, and then we covered our eyes as light slowly seeped through.

I watched as large groups of women and their children were ushered off into the night, waiting until we saw them make it to what seemed like the borders of the territory. I wonder if this was a backup plan for them—to seek another pack for security. Who was to say they wouldn’t be attacked?

When the group before us made it to the edge, our group was pushed forward with Lily and me in the middle. We could barely see the direction we were heading, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t run as fast as those ahead of us. A woman next to me clutched on to her children and by the look in her eyes, was determined to do whatever it took to save her children. I caught a glimpse of the sight waiting outside and was frightened, but my fearless wolf took over.