Twenty Six

Camila opened her eyes and saw the best thing she had ever expected in her life. She had given up on having a wolf and had accepted that she was a freak and a weak human who was nothing but a punching bag for the werewolves. She giggled, released an excited whimper, and scanned her eyes around, looking at herself. The soft black fur covering her was blown by the wind, releasing her scent all over the forest as if making her dominance clear. On inhaling the new scent, the rogue wolves didn't dare run to her and attack her like they did with the new wolves, but bowed their heads and ran to hide in their caves. The scent was enough to scare them away because it made breathing difficult. The wolf, hearing Camila's excited giggles on its head, ran around like a puppy, making Camila lose herself in the moment and forget all her pain.

"Time for a run." Camila's voice pushed the wolf to do as she wanted. She had grown up seeing other wolves go for a run and everything they would do, so she would imagine how exciting it was. Getting lost in the things happening around you, like the brushing of air past your furs, the scents of other animals, the scent of the air itself intoxicating you, and the adrenaline rush to run miles and miles away without getting tired. The wolf jumped around, stood on its back feet, growled as if asking the other wolves if the forest would make a way for them, and with a leap, it jumped over the rock that Camila had tripled on and ran through the cleared path, its large paws digging the soft ground and throwing the soil behind them.

It passed over trees, ducked under shrubs, dodged the trees that threatened to fall over them when they knocked them over, and kept over streams and rocks until it reached deep into the forest, which was so thick that if it weren't for its red-glowing eyes, she couldn't have seen the way in there. They had monkeys hiding on treetops and tigers jumping from the trees and running for their lives, and as all the animals went away, clearing the dark forest for them, they dominated, running around in circles, jumping on the trees, digging the rabbits wholes out, and eating their first prey. A fat gazelle, unlike the other animals, didn't run away from her presence but stood fixed on the ground, paralyzed with fear because of how huge she was.

After the nice dinner, relishing all the energy in it, they took another run, and this time they didn't stop; they went deeper and deeper until they came into a small clearing, where, after darting around for a while, the wolf ran forward, tracing the scent of water wafted into its nostrils by the wind brushing past it, increasing its adrenaline rush. The wolf stopped in front of a huge river which flowed silently, carrying twigs on it. The wolf stood beside it, watching its reflection on its clear waters, and was thankful to the moon shining above them because if it weren't for it, Camila wouldn't have seen what her wolf looked like.

She was big. Bigger than Alpha Killan's, and she was amazed at the number of questions rushing through her mind. She was completely black, except for her ears, which were pure white, and her eyes, which glowed red. She read books when she was young. She had heard tales, and she had heard the elders of the pack talking about them. They were rare, pure black wolves with pure whitish ears and glowing red eyes. They hadn't had one in about a hundred years, so she was the first one. She didn't know who she was, but she knew she was powerful, and even the ruthless Alpha wolves bowed at their presence. The wolves of her kind didn't rule packs; they were the rulers of the world. No one could determine their fate, snatch their destiny, or bring death to their likes, but only the mood gods.

"Do you like me?" The wolf asked when Camila remained silent, gawking at the reflection in the water.

"We are different." She murmured, "But we are still beautiful. Beautiful like the moon goddess." She smiled, chuckling at the proud glow that flickered in her wolf's eyes.

"I am more beautiful than you, Camila." The wolf teased and then growled at the passing figure. The person had been watching the wolf for a while. He was hunting when that crooked moon appeared in the sky. He stood wondering what was going on because he had never witnessed that kind of moon before. That was them. He had a deep roar, and he knew there was a person stuck somewhere in the forest taking his first shift. It was the full moon that appeared when people were shifting, but that was different—crooked, with a star at the center and a figure of a beautiful woman sitting on top of it. The roar came again, and he stood shocked as all the animals, even the king of the young, ran for their lives.

He went to see what was going on, but ahead of him, wolves ran past him with their tails tucked between their legs. That was when he knew something was going on. He knew the roar was not ordinary, or else those ruthless rogue wolves who were known for their courage in even facing the Alphas of the pack wouldn't dare run that far. If they had been left alone to run, they wouldn't have touched their tails between their legs. That has never happened. The hunter prayed silently and walked on tiptoe, hoping that he wouldn't trip over anything and attract the beat's attention, which had made the noisy forest turn as silent as a graveyard. He stopped at the stream in order to drink some water and continue with his journey. He has decided he won't track that beast's voice anymore but will head back home.

He bent to take a mouthful of the stream's sweet water, and that was when a red glow, like a fire, caught his eyes. He almost thought that the roar he had heard didn't belong to a beast but to a rogue wolf that was burned by a heartless hunter, but the movement of the glow in between the tall trees, which fell down whenever it dashed past it, made him hide behind a shrub. While there, praying silently, the dark figure stood in the river, panting heavily, its glowing eyes scanning around as if looking at something. It ran around in circles; our whitish ears perked upwards as if excited to see the river. The hunter watched as the wolf scanned its eyes on the river and then walked into it, took five laps, and shook its body vigorously, getting rid of the drops of water that had stuck on its black fur while running around the forest. Its front paws were bloody red, and without even thinking much, he knew the wolf had had its first prey.

The wolf remained silent as if conversing with someone, and he guessed the wolf must be conversing with its human. A proud glow flashed in its eyes, evident enough that it had agreed on whatever it was talking about with the human on its head. It waggled its tail like an excited puppy that was promised a treat, and it went back to watching its reflection in the river. A mischievous glint flashed across its eyes, and he chuckled at that, attracting its attention because the wolf growled, the red glow flashing furiously at his presence, and charged at him.

"Mommy!" The hunter ran, grabbing the small twigs of the shrub, which were thorny, thus scratching his palms. He didn't have time to think about the pain, but he crawled with his knees on the ground, and when he finally got energy to stand, he rose and ran, his wobbling feet weighing him down. He looked behind his shoulder to see if the wolf was anywhere near him, but he regretted that act because he tripled on an overlying tree, hitting his head on its roots, which pulled some of his hair from his head. The wolf pinned him down with its strong front feet and sniffed him all over his body. The wolf licked his face and gritted its teeth, causing him to pee on himself.

"Let him go; he's scared." Camila's voice came through her head. The wolf moved backwards, pushing the man with its nose, and as if getting its message, the hunger stood and dispersed behind the thick DSRK forest, cries of fear escaping his mouth. Camila chuckled, exciting her wolf, who had vowed to make her happy. To let that smile remain on her face for longer, the wolf charged towards that man, pushing him with its nose and nudging him to run faster when it caught up with him. The saga continued, causing the hiding animals, birds, and insects to pull their heads over their lying spots and watch the going saga. Birds felt pity for the hunter because he had them meet whenever he got something in his nets.

Snakes hissed happily because the hunter always took their loved ones away from them when he stoned them to death. The lions were happy because he took their prey away with him with his string nets, which they never succeeded in breaking, and the few who succeeded ended up getting trapped in them. The hyenas were sad with the vultures because the hunter always left some left-overs for them. The animals came out, one group clapping happily, the other praying silently that the beast wouldn't catch up with the hunter. The hunter spotted an electric fence in front of him, and before the wolf could pull behind to prevent him from getting an electric shock, he had already climbed over it, screams of pain escaping his mouth, and he fell on the safer side.

Guards rushed out, looking at the intruder, and they were shocked to see a man lying there, paralyzed with fear and with bruises all over his body. "Hide." Camila nudged her wolf, who did as she had instructed. The guards hurriedly carried the man away, asking him numerous questions because they all knew that no one could take a risk and climb over the electrified fence if they weren't chased by something dangerous or had seen something and wanted to notify people as soon as possible.

"These guards look familiar," Camila thought while looking at them from their hiding spot. A tall man with a farmer's back came from behind them and went towards the man, who kept blabbering something she couldn't hear from where she was. The guards and that man with a familiar back turned and started looking around with worried expressions on their faces. The man also turned after one of the men whispered something in his ears, and Camila gasped. "That's him. It's Alpha Killan. How did we end up in his pack once again?" Camila panicked.

"Don't worry, Camilla, Ash is with you; her wolf calmed her down.

"Ash? Is your name Ash?" She asked, wondering what a coincidence it was. Her best friend's name is Ash, and so is her wolf!

"Yes, you called me Ash when I first came to you." Camila rolled her eyes while looking at the wolf's head and chuckled," Nay, that's not your name. My best friend's name is Ash, so when you called me, I thought it was him. But what's your name? You didn't tell me." Camila reminded her of the wolf.

"Mila." The wolf responded by wiggling its tail.

"Mila?" Camila chuckled. "Mila is my nickname. My friend Ash called me by it."

"No, Camilla. Mila is my name. Your friend subconsciously called you by my name. But don't worry; I won't take it from you if you like it. I love Ash anyway." The wolf responded. A cry of help pulled Camila and her wolf from their conversation. Two people were dragged by guards and pulled towards a pit of fire.

That was Alpha Kilan's pack, and she knew what it meant when someone would be taken there. If you disrespect your Luna, you'll be burned in it under the watchful gaze of the Alpha, Luna, elders, and pack members. That meant those two people who dragged like that had disrespected Alina. Camila didn't know why, but she started feeling restless. One of them was slapped, and maybe it was because the slap was hard, and that was why his head was tilted on her side and she recognized his face.

"Steven's!" She gasped. "Mila, please, those are the people I promised to save; can you do it, please?" Camila begged, and her wolf jumped into action. As if Steven's and Peter's were the only people who had seen her, they turned to face her at the same time, a ray of hope surging into their eyes. Her wolf's gaze locked with theirs, as if telling them that she would save them soon. They held their hands, their gazes still locked on the fence.

"They are trying to confuse you guys. Guards, what are you waiting for? Throw them now!" Alina's voice ordered Camila didn't know what was going on, but she knew she had to fulfill her promise. Her wolf tried to leap over the fence, but it was too late. She stood there, watching them get burned by the hungry fire. Their screams were muffled the moment they were swallowed by the pit.

Even though her wolf had no connection with those two men, she quickly realized they meant something to Camila because she couldn't feel her anymore. She had gone silent. Blaming herself for not taking the leap on time when Camila asked her to save them, she dashed out of her hiding space, the glow in her eyes much brighter than the moon itself. Standing behind the fence with her back limbs, she growled, attracting everyone's attention.

"A Lycan!" Someone screamed with fear as they all turned to look at the huge wolf leaping over the fence.

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