Chapter 2: Failure

She knew something was not right. She opened her eyes to see the gloomy expressions of the pack members who surrounded her.

She turned to look at her mother... her father... and her brother. All of them had the same concerned and worried expressions as they looked at her.

The entire area was engulfed with deafening silence. Others were puzzled about this unusual event.

This was the first time that the transformation ritual took longer like this. One of the elders approached Titania who was still kneeling inside the circle.

"How do you feel right now? Can you feel your super senses now?" She asked her softly. She looked at her intently.

Titania could not utter a word. She just shook her head. The elder sighed deeply. Then she placed her right hand on Titania's forehead.

Since a werewolf could share its thoughts with other werewolves, the elder was trying to communicate with Titania's wolf.

As time went by, Titania became more anxious and afraid. She could not shake the uneasy feeling in her stomach as she waited for the elder to say something.

The elder opened her eyes and she stared at Titania's eyes as she said "I can't sense your wolf inside you. I tried to communicate with it but I got no response."

Everyone gasped in surprise having the same thought in mind. What happened to her wolf? Is it dead or she does not have a wolf inside her?

'I had a strong feeling that this is not going to end well.' Titania balled her fist as she looked down.

She could not face them. This was such an embarrassment. A daughter of the strongest wolves in their pack, could not shift into her werewolf form.

Could she still be considered a werewolf?

"Everyone, I am afraid to say but the ritual ended and her transformation failed. We can no longer stay here." One of the elders said.

"Don't worry, there might have been some delay in activating her werewolf's power and full potential." This time the pack leader, her father, Tristan spoke up.

The elders just nodded and started to leave the area. Titania stayed rooted in her spot. Her mother, Olivia, walked towards her.

"Don't worry my dear, everything will be fine. Don't lose hope. Let's go back now." Her mother was trying to console her.

"I know Mom. Thank you. Can you go back first? I want to stay for a while. I want to be alone." Titania smiled faintly as she requested them.

"Alright... please come home after you have cleared your mind." Titania just nodded at her.

Soon, her family left her on the hill. They understood how she felt right now.

She was now sitting on her spot, alone, while looking at the night sky.

The tears started to burn her eyes and her lip began to tremble.

Seconds later, her tears which she stored for a while continued to flow and the sobs wracked her body, robbing it of the ability to speak... barely allowing a breath to be drawn.

Everything that happened there passed through her like a hurricane. Everything she worked and struggled for lay in ruins.

'I am such a failure. How can I protect the people I love if I am a weakling, a powerless fellow, a werewolf who can't shift?'

"Dylan...I am sorry... I failed once again." She said in between her tears.

Unknown to her, there was a black figure watching over her hiding in the dark. He witnessed everything that happened on that hill.

Seeing her like this, it seemed like his heart was being squeezed. He wanted to go to her and wipe her tears.

He wanted to tell her that it was just okay. She had done her best.

However, he could not do it. Seeing her from afar was enough. He was afraid that if he went to see her he won't be able to leave her.

This was not the right time for them to meet once again. He still had some important things to do.

*********

*** Flashback, 7 Years Ago…***

The eerie darkness of that night could be felt in the old forest. No moon... no stars could be seen in the sky because thick clouds blotted out the stars. It was pure black.

The noise of the wind was howling through the trees, and the leaves produced rustling sounds. The air was heavy on this breezy night.

Black figures were flashing from the trees. There were lots of them.

Growls! Loud growls could be heard from afar.

The black figures did not waste any more time as they rushed to the middle of the forest.

They moved swiftly in the dark, making a 'crackling' sound as they stepped on the dry leaves.

In no time, three creatures were cornered and surrounded by dozens of black figures.

The creatures had fur which was a combination of the shades of dark and grey, but they had human-like eyes. They had sharp teeth and claws.

Werewolves...they were larger compared to ordinary wolves.

Werewolves were like humans but they possessed superior strength. However, they also had vulnerabilities. Werewolves were commonly weak to silver.

On the other hand, black figures had several weapons with them including shotguns, pistols with silver bullets, crossbows with a variety of different arrows made of silver metals, swords, ropes, and wires.

To help them to have better vision in the dark, they were currently wearing infrared goggles.

They were called hunters, who were appointed to be protectors of the human races from threats, especially against werewolves.

This was a face-off between werewolves and hunters.

What once was a peaceful and silent night turned into a bloody night in that old forest.

The hunters started to shoot, the bullets pierced the body of the creatures.

Another loud growl reverberated in the forest. The werewolves started to move, trying to avoid the bullets and arrows.

They leaped forward to attack the hunters, using their claws and sharp fangs which only served as their weapons. Running paws could be heard from different directions.

Wolves growl and hunters' excruciating scream, the clacking of weapons, sounds of gunshots, skin rippings, bone-cracking filled the night. It was very chaotic.

The gunshot and arrows could not catch up with their extraordinary speed. Several hunters were now injured and bathing with their blood.

Minutes later, the werewolves began to feel weak and they slowed down as the silver bullets and arrows buried in the different parts of their body started to take effect.

Hunters grabbed that opportunity to use their silver metal ropes and wires to bind and restrain the werewolves.

After an hour of fighting back, the werewolves were caught by hunters successfully. Even though they were stronger than humans but at this moment, they were outnumbered.

"F*ck! we lost so many comrades tonight." One of the hunters cursed as he saw the lifeless body scattered in the area.

The werewolves were still alive, but they lost their strength to fight back. They were being restrained by the silver metal ropes which were held by the remaining hunters.

One of the hunters picked up his silver dagger as he glanced at the creatures in front of him with a cold glint in his eyes.

"An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth," he muttered before he pierced the werewolf's heart using his dagger.

He tightened his grip on the dagger as he pushed it deeper into the werewolf's chest.

"No!!" Two small figures witnessed everything that transpired in that dark forest. They were hiding behind the big old tree.

Titania was terrified to see those scenes. Three of their kinds were hunted and caught by humans.

She stood there, rooted in her spot. Her face lost her color as she became pale. There was a stinging sensation at the corner of her eyes.

Her tears started to fall from her eyes down to her face. She watched the other werewolves being stabbed one by one through their hearts.

She could hear the howling and growling sounds. She could feel their pain. She wanted to run towards them to stop the hunters from killing the other werewolves.

But before she could do that, arms circled her small waist as he held her in place.

"Dylan, release me. We need to help them." Titania pleaded, trying to take off his hands but he did not budge.

"Are you an idiot? Even if you run there, you won't be able to save them." Dylan's gaze dipped to her reddened eyes.

Titania could feel it. Dylan was angry... no... he was very mad. She could see the burning furry in his silver dark eyes.

"But... they are... your parents." Titania had difficulty saying those words. It was almost a whisper.

The two werewolves there were Dylan's parents so she could not understand why Dylan could still act calm like this.

"Why...?" Titania asked him again.

Dylan squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He looked calm outside but deep inside he was burning with rage.

Just like Titania, he wanted to run there to be with his parents. He did not care even if he would also get killed.

But he could not do that because of Titania. He needed to protect her.

He was sure that those hunters would not spare their lives even though they were still children.  After all, they were also werewolves.

Dylan breathed deeply before he said "Let's go back to the pack. It is dangerous here. If they see us, they won't hesitate to kill us also."

"But..." Titania wanted to refuse but Dylan cut her off immediately.

"Listen to me, Titania! We could not protect everyone even if we wanted. We are just kids. We still don't have the strength to fight them!"

Titania was on the verge of crying again as she heard Dylan's angry voice.

"Then what should we do?" She asked him desperately. Dylan looked at her helplessly.

"We need to stay alive for now. Live and train. We can protect everyone if we become stronger just like our parents. Wait until you can shift into your werewolf form."

Finally, Dylan was able to convince Titania to leave the forest. Titania stared at the forest one last time.

At that moment, she had sworn to herself "I will become a stronger werewolf. I will use my strength to protect our kind."

That night, she did not see Dylan shed tears for his loss but she knew he was hurting inside. His eyes were dull and empty. They walked back with heavy footsteps and their shoulders were slumped. 

Titania was following him behind. Her vision blurred slightly with a sudden flow of tears that welled up in her eyes. She blinked them away as she stared at Dylan's back with sorrow. 

It seemed like the sky wanted to sympathize with them. The thunder and lightning boomed and crashed above them for a while and then the rain started to pour down.

She wanted to ease his pain but she didn't know how to. She ran towards him, hugging him from behind.

Dylan was taken aback when he felt her arms wrap around his body, her chest was touching his back as she leaned my head on him.

He stopped from his track. He did not say a word. Seconds later, he held her arms. They stood there for a long time, not minding the rain.

Titania thought she was the only one weeping that night as she hugged Dylan from behind. Little did she know that Dylan was also crying at that time...it was a silent cry.

And that was the last time Titania saw Dylan.