CHAPTER TWO

Deep down in the forest lived creatures that no one knew existed. The forest was always peaceful so no one could have imagined these creatures were in hiding there. For ages, the werewolves; powerful humans who could transform to wolves lived there, hiding from the weredragons who felt the werewolves were inferior to them and should not be in existence. They killed and destroyed any werewolf they found in their path and went as far as seeking out the hiding places of the wolves. "Two suns can not rule the sky at the same time" they often said.

This war continued until Gwa the most powerful werewolf became the Alpha of the pack. He had the strength of ten werewolves with his body emitting great powers when he stood before his kind. His powers became even greater when the moon was at it's peak. During the first three years of his reign, he dealt with the weredragons, defending his people and he could not be defeated. He killed many and at the mention of the name ''Gwa'', fear was instilled in the weredragons that they avoided the werewolves for a while. That did not stop the weredragons from plotting on how to erase the race of werewolves and Gwa's fierceness gave them more reasons to end this specie. No matter how powerful a werewolf was, he met his death when he consumed the most dangerous substance to them. This secret remained among the few keepers of the royals. They guarded the secret so well that they preferred to die than letting out this secret. And of course the keepers were made up of twelve trusted wolves who went through several test to become one and as such, they were very powerful. They fought side by side with Gwa and he earned their respect.

The werewolves freely moved among humans and because of their peaceful nature, no one could have guessed they were such creatures existed. The lights seen in the forest by humans were the werewolves showcasing their powers to each other and sometimes during a fight with the weredragons. The blue lights during the full moon was as a result of the wolves transforming which was somewhat a painful process. During this process, the werewolves were somewhat dangerous cause they could destroy everything on their path but Gwa created a cave for transformation so as to prevent destruction of any sort.

In every twelve they say, there is always one who was never satisfied with his position. The weredragons tried so hard to kill Gwa but their efforts proved abortive. "Show a bone to a dog and it will come running to you". Sham, one of the twelve keepers began to envy how much the pack regarded Gwa and he really wished he could to be in that position. He was the youngest, fastest (for werewolves could timeshift) and one of Gwa's favorite after Rapheal who was just a member of the park. The trio were often seen training together and Gwa was willing to teach them all there was to know about was to know in war tactics. He always felt the lot of the next Alpha could fall on either of the two.

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The next morning, Madame Hornet called her five girls and explained to them their duties. She owned a brothel where rich and prominent men from far and wide came for relaxation and enjoyment of all sorts. As Elsa rightly guessed, she had the most beautiful voice and a pretty face. She seemed all nice to her customers but this woman was the complete opposite to her girls. She screamed at the slightest provocation and how fustrating she could be. Madame Hornet sang some of her beautiful songs twice in a week and it was often crowded on those days. Aside from other services rendered, she was a great cook and that was another reason people patronized her brothel. Elsa had a kind of beauty that captured the eyes instantly so she was assigned to serve the guest's table. So many eyes were on her and Madame Hornet got so much gifts on her account.

This woman showed her girls nothing but wickedness. She gave them no breathing space and it was funny how well she acted all nice to her customers. ''Short she devil'' was what her girls called her behind her back. She flogged them whips whenever they made a mistake, but she avoided hurting their face. During this period, Elsa started having nightmares of what happened in her hometown. She screamed every night from her sleep and that annoyed Madame Hornet greatly. The girls comforted each other and over time they became each other's family. These nightmares continued until one day in the kitchen, Elsa thought she put off a fire after cooking but never knew the fire didn't quench completely. Few minutes later, Madame, Hornet could perceive something burning from where she was sitting and she later discovered that her kitchen was on fire. She screamed and all her girls came running to put out the fire. When Elsa got there, she froze as memories of how her hometown got burnt started coming back to her. They came as blurry flashes but she knew she had seen a scene like this before. She tried to move but her head was spinning until she fell down, holding her head. She was carried by one of the girls to the room because Madam didn't seem to care. A lot of things were destroyed but the structure remained. Madame Hornet asked the girls who left the kitchen last and every explanation led to Elsa. Elsa stood there crying as she had finally remembered her family and her people burnt in the fire. She cried for hours and Madame Hornet could perceive that her crying was not as a result of the guilty feeling that came from burning kitchen. It had to be something else. She and the girls gave her seat and they all stood waiting for her to calm down. The memories affected her days and Madame let her be for a few days after Elsa explained to them all how a fire broke out in her hometown without anyone knowing the cause of the fire. Elsa still couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something she was supposed to do back at home but what it was, she didn't know.