Three
The Silvermoon academy was established by the fourth Alpha of the pack to enlighten the young ones better about their pack history and to also help train them to become stronger and more strategic. The academy was founded to also minimise the interactions between the werewolves and humans so as to avoid their existence from being exposed to humans and also to avoid putting their kind in danger.
A seven year old Damien sat opposite his teacher with curious eyes, paying attention to each word that escaped his lips. He had a thousand and one questions to ask but each time a question popped up in his mind, his teacher, Darius, seemed to already know what he had to say before he even got a chance to speak, and to his surprise, all of his pending questions got replied to without him having to ask.
"I'm aware that you are curious as to why we always tell you to run whenever you come across any member of the Redmoon and why any sort of interaction is forbidden between the two packs and now, I believe, you are old enough to understand what I'm about to explain to you." Darius said and Damien beamed with excitement as he had always wanted to know what really went wrong.
"For the last ten decades, the Redmoon pack and the Silvermoon pack have been at war with one another." He started.
"It all started with Alpha Lionel, a good and kind man who was known to be a lover of peace and prosperity. He had travelled to the Redmoon pack with good intentions in his heart. He decided that it would be best to make peace with the Redmoon pack and for both packs to form an alliance that would benefit both packs economically and also help us to defend ourselves against our enemies but unfortunately, the Alpha of the Redmoon pack saw Alpha Lionel's sincerity as an opportunity and he selfishly and brutally killed him." He explained to the young lads.
Damien's eyes widened at the last words he had just heard, his young mind could not believe it. He wondered why they had gone that far and why they didn't appreciate the call for peace to reign. His young mind could not comprehend the reason for such a drastic action.
"The Redmoon pack is a sworn enemy of ours and they are merciless people. They do not like peace and they don't advocate for unity. They'd rather have years of war and unrest than settle for actual peace." He adds, laying emphasis on every of his word and knowingly building a feeling of fear and hate in the heart of young Damien.
*************
"Remember what I always tell you Damien, your actual strength lies in your ability to utilise it. If a person doesn't understand the depth of their strength and how greatly it can be used, then they are as good as dead in the real world. Do you understand?" Darius asked.
"Yes sir" Damien replied firmly.
Damien's eyes watched his uncle carefully as he prepared to attack. He knew his seven year old self could do little to no harm to him but he'd still be willing to try as he didn't wish to be considered as incompetent.
"Attack!" His uncle, who also happened to be his personal trainer yelled at him strictly and he immediately charged himself towards him.
They both fought against one another, using both their bodies and strength although Matteo took it easy on his nephew as he knew he had the upper hand for being heftier and older.
Damien on the other hand was quite impressive for a young lad his age. At such a young age and with such a small body, he has impressed the entire pack with his ability to tactically overpower his opponent even though his physical appearance and theirs was a complete contrast.
Damien tried using his smaller size to outsmart his uncle by aiming for his legs and attacking them until he finally got him to lose his balance and fall down to the ground. Unfortunately, Matteo saw his plan coming and he dodged every one of Damien's attacks.
"Remember Damien, when the Redmoon pack attacks, you have to be ready. You cannot use strategies that they would see coming or else you'll be killed in split seconds." He warned strictly and Damien let out a frustrated sigh. The more he heard the people around him talk about the Redmoon pack, the more he hated everything that had to do with them.
He mentally blames them for the strict training he has had to go through at his young age and he anxiously waits for a day where he would make use of his strength and all he has learnt and face them as the next Alpha of the Silvermoon pack.
***********
Fredrick watched as his beautiful daughter danced around the bonfire with a beautiful, radiant smile that reminded him of his deceased Celia. She looked so happy and excited, making him feel fulfilled and at ease.
Moving on from the demise of his dear Celia had to be the most difficult challenge he had ever faced. At first, he had wanted to join her since he thought he had no other reason to live but the minute he was reminded of his beautiful child, he couldn't bring himself to act so recklessly.
He knew deep down that Kira was Celia's last gift to him and it would be cruel of him to let her grow up without both her father and mother. He couldn't imagine not being there for her when she would need him most and the mere thought of anything or anyone hurting her made his heart break.
Kira had grown up to be the happy child he had always wanted her to be as he had made sure to be both her mother and father to her so she wouldn't feel the absence of her mother. He knew he wouldn't be perfect and that he couldn't completely replace her mother but watching her react so happily to even the littlest things made him satisfied and proud.
"Now gather round children," Layla, Fredrick's younger sister called out to the kids dancing around the bonfire. As expected, they all gather around, eager to hear what aunt Layla had to say. Layla had grown a habit of telling stories to children and she never failed to tell them every kind of story there is to tell.
"Aunt Layla tells us the story of the bad wolves!" Six year Adria and daughter of the current Beta, shouted eagerly.
"Yes Layla, you promised to tell us the story of the bad wolves today." Aria, Adria's twin sister added with excitement laced in her tone.
Layla chuckled softly as she watched all of them grumble and plead that she tell them the story. She knew they wouldn't forget to ask about it and she didn't mind telling them as she knew that eventually, they would have to know so they are aware of who their enemies are and just what they are capable of.
"Okay then cuties, I'll tell you all the story of the bad wolves that you must always avoid." She said to them with a wide grin and they all clapped their hands in excitement and anticipation.
Layla cleared her throat, preparing herself to tell them about the Silvermoon pack.
"A very long time ago, our pack was completely at peace and there was nothing but love and respect between ourselves and the neighboring packs but all of this changed very suddenly. A certain pack suddenly felt envious of our peaceful way of life and they did the most horrible thing to ruin it." Layla said, deliberately exaggerating her tone to keep the children's minds invested.
The Children paid attention to her as she spoke, waiting for her to keep going with her story.
"The pack alongside another envious pack, attacked our peaceful pack and they killed thousands of our people with the aim of stealing our land and our properties but guess what, our then Alpha, Alpha Manuel was very strong and powerful and with his strength and the strength and the will of other members of the pack, they were able to chase the wolves away and send them out of wonderful pack but sadly, the then Luna, Luna Silvia, who was heavily pregnant had been brutally murdered. Do you want to know the worst part? They didn't spare the life of the Alpha's only son who was only six years old." She narrated and they all gasp in unison.
"Aunt Layla, they are really bad!" Amelia blurted out, earning a nod of agreement from everyone including Layla.
"Aunty, who are those bad wolves Layla?" Aria asked and Layla went quiet for a while as she looked up at the full moon that was shining so brightly and obviously full of life.
"Aunt Layla, who are the bad wolves and what is the name of this horrible pack?" Kira asked eagerly, wanting to know the name of the pack that had killed the Luna.
"They're known as the Silvermoon pack my dear and they are dangerous and deceitful. They hate peace and love and they would do absolutely anything to ruin it which is why you need to be wary of them. They are not good wolves." Layla said, laying emphasis on her every word.
The children panicked in fear as the tone she had used sent shivers down their spine.
"The Silvermoon pack must be very bad. They are really the bad wolves." Kira said, shaking her little head in utter disgust.
"Yes they are Kira dear, which is why you must never befriend them because when you do, they will use that against you and they'll betray you without thinking twice about it. They do not want any friendship of any kind and they're too selfish to be sincere with anyone so you must stay away from them." She said.
"Are we understood?" She asked and the children were quick to nod their heads.
***
The next day, Kira looked forward to going to the Riverside with her aunt. She didn't have a mother but her aunt had helped her ease the sadness of not having her mother around. She had been taking care of her all this while and never hesitated to get her whatever it is she wanted.
"Kira, stay right here, you hear me? I will be back soon and you better not move an inch from here, are we clear?" Layla said strictly and Kira nodded her head.
As soon as Layla left, Kira sat down on one of the branches that seemed to be lying around and she waited patiently for aunt to come back.
After a while, she got tired of sitting as she already started to feel uncomfortable and she decided to stand up. Just as she got up, she lost her balance slightly and hit her toe on the rock in front of her.
"Ouch!" She cried out in pain.
She noticed the deep cut on her big toe and in no time, blood began to pour out causing her to cry out as the pain felt unbearable. She looked around for her aunt but couldn't find her anywhere.
She cried even more as she stared at her wound helplessly. She didn't know what to do and she wished her aunt would come back soon and get her out of here.
"Why are you crying?" She heard a voice ask suddenly and she quickly looked around to spot whose voice that was.
"What happened to you?" The voice asked again and this time, the person behind the voice moved closer and appeared in front of her.
She sniffled a little before wiping off her tears with the back of her hand and looking back at the person in front of her with a confused expression.
The little boy looked down at her feet and saw the blood gushing out from her big toe.
"Don't cry, I'll help you with your wound." He said to her calmly with a small smile tugging on his lips.
She offered a small smile in return to show her gratitude
He moved around a bit and cut certain types of leaves that he had been taught to use for any emergency injuries. He uses the nearest stone he could find to ground them before rushing to apply the theme on her wound.
She hissed in pain as he placed the medicinal leaves carefully on her toe. He looked up at her and she smiled softly at him once she noticed he was staring at her.
"You will be fine now that these are on your wound," he assured her.
"Thank you." She replied after he was done applying them.
"You really should be careful around here though. It is a riverside so there are definitely lots of dangerous stones around." He advised and she nodded slowly.
"By the way, who are you and what are you doing here? I come here quite often but I've never actually seen you around and not that many people come here out of fear." He said and she giggled.
"I'm not scared of the river and my name is Kira. What's your name?" She asked.
"My name is Damien and I'm from the Silvermoon pack. What pack do you belong to?" He replied and Kira's eyes widened as she heard the pack name he had just mentioned.
Just then, her aunt came with a furious look on her.
"Stay away from her!" Layla yelled from a distance, picking up her pace so she could get her niece away from the monster that stood in front of her.
Damien turned around to see a furious lady approaching them and he immediately became confused.
Unlike young Kira, Layla was able to detect the scent of a Silvermoon pack member and she had immediately smelt his scent from afar.
A confused Damien stood still as he kept watching the angry lady march towards him with a stone cold look on her face.
"How dare you trespass into our territory!" She yelled immediately as she stood in front of him.
Layla knew he was only a child but she also knew just how dangerous kids his age were as long as they belonged to the Silvermoon pack.
Damien wasn't fazed by her action one bit, he had seen more from his father and his uncle and he was already used to getting shouted at. He stared back at her unfazed and that infuriated her even more. Not only had he stepped into their territory, he also had the audacity to stare at her in the eyes.
"What a..." She raised her hands to hit him but was stopped by the sudden appearance of a wolf that immediately pushed her away from him.
She knew instantly that it was a Silvermoon wolf that had pushed her and shifted into her wolf form immediately to fight back.
Both wolves growled, looking at each other ready to tear themselves apart.
It has always been like that for both packs. As soon as they noticed the smell of their arch nemesis, they were quick to shift form and they'd start to tear each other apart.
Using his mind link, Damien's uncle spoke to him. "This is what I tell you about the Redmoon pack. They are dangerous and always ready to kill." Matteo tells him, still focused on the daring wolf in front of him.
Damien clenched his fist in anger seeing that everything that he was taught back home was indeed the truth. He looked towards the direction Kira was and glared at her and her shoulders sagged as she met his cold eyes.
While Damien's uncle fought with Kira's aunt, Damien decided to attack Kira but before he could touch her, Layla had seen his approach and she hurriedly pushed him away from her niece.
Matteo growled in anger and attacked Layla.
Kira's eyes widened as she stared at Damien who was on the ground. His right hand was bleeding from the scratch he got from her aunt's claws and she felt sorry.
He glared at her once he noticed she was staring and she panicked, her heart immediately beating in trepidation.
Layla used her mind link to speak to Kira.
"This is what I tell you about the bad wolves. You either avoid them or kill them before they kill you." She said and Kira frowned. She had no intention of ever hurting anyone.
The look in Damien's eyes said all she needed to know though. A few minutes ago, she thought she had met a good person but turns out he was just a bad wolf pretending. She might have no intention of killing anyone but she'll definitely never forget just how horrible members of the Silvermoon pack are.
