Twenty Seven

The four guards who had thrown Elder Peter's and Beta Steven's into the pit of fire were the last to turn and see what the members of the pack were screaming at. Alpha Kilan growled, warning the members to take a shield, while the guards charged towards the leaping wolf, but it was too late. The wolf's loud, pained roar shaken the earth, making the guards tremble who were about to charge towards it. Taking that to its advantage, the wolf pounced on the four men who had thrown Peter's and Steven's at the pit fire, and with mighty force, it used its limbs to knock them down and dragged them one by one, using their legs, and made sure that they also burned alongside Peter's and Steven's. When everyone came back to their senses, watching with horror what had just happened, the wolf had taken a run, leaped over the fence, and disappeared into the thick forest.

"She is the one." The hunter's weak voice was heard during that thick silence, and before Alpha Killan could ask whom the wolf was, he passed out.

"Dammit! Guards, shift into your wolf forms now and follow that beast. Whoever she is, I want her back, alive, because you have all witnessed what she has done to our dear brothers." Alpha Killan's order rose. All the guards bowed, shifted into their wolf forms, and took a dash towards the forest. They were unlike Mila, so they couldn't risk jumping over the electric fence, so by the time they reached the gate and jumped over it, Mila was miles away because she had already run past the forest, which Alpha Killan and his guards were now taking entry to, had passed the stream, and had made her way through the Western woods, which were hidden on top of the forbidden mountain.

The mountain was forbidden, not because it was haunted by demons or ghosts, just like in movies or novels, but because the mountain was the home of the Lycans, who were wiped away from the face of the earth a hundred years ago by being set on fire by the werewolves.

It was believed that the first Lycans to be born after those hundred years would avenge their ancestors and take the world by force. The Alpha's guards reached the forest, and after running around for a while and sniffing around, they decided to go back to the pack to warn people about the loose rogue wolf in the forest because that was what they thought the wolf was. A rogue. In reality, all of them were stopping themselves from believing that she was a Lycan but not a rogue. Who was going to believe that they were the first to see the cursed beast that was believed to bring doom to the world?

Back at the palace, the few guards who were left to take care of the members of the pack were anxious because they had no idea what was happening out there. They had tried mind-linking Alpha Killlan and the rest, but none of them were responding. They had closed all the gates as instructed, and they wouldn't risk running out to the forest and letting all the members suffer because, as Alpha Killan had told them, the rogue wolf might make its way back to the palace because it knew that the alpha's guards were now tracking it.

The guards roaming around the forest were about to go back home when they spotted their leader, Alpha Killan's black, huge wolf, but not as huge as Camila's tracing something on the ground. They also did that, and truly, they could smell the wolf's scent, picking it up with their noses. They all ran past the forest and came to a stop at the stream, where it disappeared.

Although the wolves mind-linked with each other, telling themselves that they had never smelled that kind of scent, it was only their leader who was having doubts. That was the first time he inhaled the scent. It was familiar, but from where did he pick it? After drinking some water by the stream to cool their burning throats, the wolves panted, going back home with their leader now running behind them.

Reaching for the pack, the wolves silently walked back to their respective rooms, shifted into their human forms, and changed into clean pairs of clothes after taking a shower. They then headed to their Alpha's office, where he was holding an emergency meeting with all the pack elders and the military force. They were drawing up a plan, trying to see if there was another way they could use to track the rogue wolf.

"Alpha Killan I am sorry for interrupting, but the thing we just saw isn't a rogue wolf but a Lycan. We examined its paws, and it's two times bigger than a normal male wolf, making it a female Lycan. Male Lycans have paws that are four times bigger than those of a normal male wolf. I thought I should make it clear before we continue so as to let all our men know with whom we are dealing. It also has sharp eyesight and is believed to spot a person from a million kilometers away as long as it's focused on that particular person or animal. Let's not forget its senses of smell and hearing. It pounces on its prey silently, like a lion. It only roars when it's done ripping you apart. One last important thing: when it notices or senses someone on its territory, it releases some pheromones, which, unlike us, can suffocate a normal wolf to death. Thank you." The head of the military briefed

"Another thing, Alpha Killan, which I think our leader forgot to mention to you," the chef's vice said, "the Lycan we just saw here is six hours old. The hunter, who unfortunately passed away because of the electric shock, admitted to having seen the wolf shift. It was a young girl. An injured one. That's not important, alpha; the important thing is that the Lycans strengths increase by thousands more with each day they'll be spending on this Earth, increasing their chances of survival. Once the Lycans turn a year older, no one but the moon gods will be able to defeat them. Our Lycan here is only a few hours old but has already managed to kill people right in front of our eyes and inside our own pack, so we need to nab her as soon as possible. We won't say we can protect ourselves, because that's a lie. I mean, we all saw how she managed to leap through the electric fence, something that a normal wolf can't do. We also need to find out how many are out there. Because the fewer of them, the more dangerous they are, but the more they are, the less dangerous they are." The chief guards said

"What do you mean by the less they are, the more dangerous they are? We all know it's vice versa." One of the elders reacted.

"It's the other way around when it comes to Lycans. They are dangerous when they are fewer because it's easier for us to catch them. We should all pray that this Lycan is not alone because one Lycan is a million times more dangerous than two of them." He wrapped up his speech with a bow, and a deep silence reigned at the office. With all eyes on Alpha Killan, everyone present in the room waited patiently for what he had to say.

After pinching the bridge of his nose for a while, he finally said, "First thing tomorrow morning, let's contact all the alphas of this world and have a meeting with them. Let's find out how many packs are attacked by this Lycan. If they are other people's attacks, well, they are all of us; in other words, we'll come up with decisions on how we will nab it, but if it's only us, we will have to look for the course of its attack. But for now, ladies and gentlemen, let's go and get some early sleep because we have all had a rough day." With that, he closed his files and walked out of the office with his gamma, who was now appointed as the beta because the beta was no longer walking beside him.

"Alpha Killan, you didn't tell them that you'll also be appointing a new gamma tomorrow." Beta Harris reminded him.

"You go tell them, Harris. I'll go check on Alina," he said, then excused himself to go and see Alina. Alpha Killan walked into the room only to find Alina restless. She was pacing back and forth, mumbling some inaudible words. She picked up her phone from the bed and dialed a number on the screen, which she patiently waited for to be picked up from the other end. "Pick it up, damn it!" She chanted, flipping herself on the sofa. Killan sighed, hung his coat on the doorway hanger, and walked towards her.

"Everything okay, honey?" He asked while sitting beside her. Alina, who wasn't aware that Alpha Killan was already in the room, was brought back to her senses by the dip on the other side of the bed. To keep him away and avoid getting asked questions, she threw herself into his arms and said, "You are back." She sniffed while inhaling his scent to calm her racing heart.

"Yes. Is that why you are worried?" He asked, kissing her forehead.

"Yes. The wolf that attacked your guards was so big that I was scared. I tried mind-linking you, but I couldn't reach you. No one was, so when the night ascended, I thought that I would lose you." She cried, but in reality, she was crying because of something else. "I was so scared, Killan, I swear." She sobbed, wrapping her arms around him.

"It's okay, Alina. I am back, okay? Nothing will happen to me now." He calmed her down, rubbing her back softly. After patting her for a while, Alina fell asleep, and he went to take a shower. Moments later, he was done and returned to sleep, but Alina was not on the bed. "Alina?" He called, looked at the other bathroom, and when he didn't see her, he searched for her in the walk-in closet, but she was not in there as well. "She might be at the library. I'll just take a nap," he murmured to himself, going under the covers. It had been a long day for him and his guards, and because he would be holding a meeting, he needed to rest early so that he would be effective.

Alina walked through the dimly lit corridors, hiding behind pillars so that the guard on duty couldn't see her. Her mind was clouded with thoughts, and she felt like if she didn't reach her destination really quickly, she would end up losing her mind. Her heart thumped wildly, her left eye twitched, and certain words couldn't stop echoing in her head.

She slumped herself on the ground, sitting on the cold floor with her knees pressed against her chest. The wind howled by as if taunting her, drying her tears before they could reach her cheeks. She trembled and cried silently, and when she spotted the guards walking away, she dashed from her hiding place and ran towards a particular room on the left wing of the palace. She met a guard on her way who asked her what she was doing out here at that hour, but she lied and said that she was taking a walk.

"Should I accompany you, Luna Alina?" The guard asked When Alina ignored him, he reminded her, "Luna Alina. I don't mean to disturb you, but a Lycan is out in the open, and Alpha Kilan said that..."

"I know that already!" She flared up, cutting him short. "I know there is a Lycan in the forest; do you think I am the Luna of this pack without any reason? It's because I am strong, so Lycan is nothing to me, so get out of my way, you lowly life, before I rip you into pieces." She growled, causing the guard to go away. Clicking loudly, Alina cursed at his disappearing figure and ran towards where she was heading.

She only knocked once, and the door was opened. "Alina!" The person grinned and looked around to see if anyone was following her or watching them. After he was sure no one was there, he pulled her inside, closing the door behind them. It was only Alina's giggles that could be heard from outside that were muffled right away, and it went dead silent.