Secrets of the Unity

Chapter 6: The Blue Lady

Olivia

The Shadow Howlers Pack is one of the rare packs of wolves that aren’t on the map of territories in the supernatural world. We aren’t under the Alpha King’s rule, and we don’t fraternize with other packs.

Because of our seclusion, we have little to no enemies. And when you lack enemies, you tend to lack attacks. However, if we do fall prey to an attack, we have practiced procedures that we follow to keep the pack safe. The warriors take the front lines and defend, while the pups, teenagers who haven’t shifted yet, pregnant women, and elderly take shelter in their home panic rooms, or in the packhouse’s stronghold.

Due to my extensive and strenuous training sessions with my dad, I’ve gratefully earned my place by his side as his left hand, even though I haven’t shifted yet. As the left hand of the Gamma of the pack, it’s my job to fight and defend my home on the front lines. So, the battlefield is where I must go.

I didn’t waste a second, shooting up from my chair. I ran in the direction of the northern forest, past the pack’s stronghold. Jackie, Josh, and Jules were already ahead of me.

Jules turned towards the stronghold with an annoyed sigh. She doesn’t shift until her birthday on Sunday at midnight, so she has to go into the stronghold with the rest of the vulnerable wolves.

Just as I was about to turn the corner that led to the back door, a firm hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked me back. The force of the pull caused me to collide with a rock-hard chest and abs. Knowing full well who it was, I whipped around with as much anger as I could muster, and faced my perpetrator, Sage Bianchi.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Sage asked, full of worry, fear, and confusion. “You’re not going out there, Olivia!” He said as he pulled me in the opposite direction.

I tried with all my might to pry my wrist from his grip, but it was firm and not budging one bit.

“No, Sage! It’s my duty to fight! I’m the left hand, I can’t ignore my responsibilities! LET ME GO!” I growled, continuously struggling to get out of his grip.

Sage turned onto the hallway that led to the stronghold and I immediately started to panic. I was not going to let him put me in there. He had no right to stop me from fulfilling my duties.

“Sage, no! STOP! You’re not putting me in there! I’m a warrior-” he cut me off with a ferocious growl that halted everyone in the hallway. They all bowed to him in respect, and he ordered them to continue with what they were doing.

He then turned to me with a warning glare that said, ‘try me if you dare’.

“You are a warrior that has not shifted yet! Meaning you go into the stronghold, where you'll be safe!” A deep growl rumbled through his chest as he spoke.

His demanding demeanor only angered me more. I challenged him with a growl of my own and snatched my wrist out of his grip.

“There are plenty of warriors my age that haven’t shifted yet that are on that battlefield right now, defending our home! What’s the difference between them and me that I can’t go out there and do the same?!” I was lying, but I said what I had to to get out there. I wasn’t going to let him and his over-worrying hold me back from my duties. Besides, what he doesn't know won't kill him, right?

He huffed, frustrated, and whispered. “I don’t have feelings like these for those other wolves. And I’m sure Kyson and Trevor wouldn’t want you out there putting your life at risk when there are other warriors to fight for the Shadow.” He said, calling the pack by its preferred nickname. “I just… I just want you to be safe… No matter what.” Sage’s eyes held sincerity. I knew he was being truthful this time, and that’s what scared me the most.

If he was being truthful now, then was he being truthful earlier in the hallway, or at the cabin? Just the simple question of ‘what if’ was enough to instill so much fear in my heart. Fear of getting broken again. The fear of allowing myself to fall so deep in love with him again that I wouldn’t be able to come back up for air. That fear was too great for me to allow any of that to happen again. So, I did what any young woman trying to protect her heart would do… I pushed him away.

I turned away from him with a scoff. “Sage, I don’t have time for your lies and your games, okay? I don’t care what you, Kyson, or Trevor want, and I’m not going to allow you to stop me from fulfilling my pack responsibilities. The Shadow is in danger, and the more time we spend standing here talking about meaningless feelings, the more the well-being of the pack is at stake. So, stop worrying about me and worry about the pack!” I didn’t wait for him to respond before I took off in the other direction.

I’d finally made it outside and Sage wasn’t far behind. I figured my words had knocked some sense into him. I could feel his sadness from what I said, but it was clouded by his worry and anger. I just decided to keep quiet about it and move on.

He’ll be fine eventually.

We were pleased to find that the battle wasn’t far from here when we made it outside. It was near the training grounds, which was about a ten-minute walk in human form. Since we didn’t have that kind of time, Sage shifted and signaled for me to hop on his back. I hesitated, but he growled in warning, leaving no room for argument, so I hopped on.

During the two minutes that it took to get to the training grounds, I couldn’t help but marvel at Sage’s wolf form. Axel was more magnificent than he’d described. He was big and stood on all fours at about 6’5. His fur was pitch-black and thick, and his wavy hair reflected the moonlight beautifully as it shone down upon him as if it were made just for him. I ran my fingers through the soft fur, relishing its soft plushness. It was the softest thing I’d ever felt. Axel purred at my touch. The animalistic noise alerted me, but I kept caressing him. I didn’t want to stop.

I have to say though, what entranced me the most was the color of his eyes. Usually, when you change into your wolf form, your eye color changes too. However, Axel’s eyes were the same as Sage’s, just darker and glossier. They looked like gems glistening in the night.

A little too soon, we reached the training grounds. I hopped off Axel’s back when we broke into the clearing. He turned around and faced me, and when he did, his eyes held nothing but shock. My eyes must’ve turned lavender. They usually turn when my wolf is at the surface. No, I haven’t shifted yet, so it’s weird that it started happening so early. But Dr. Luicile —who is also my mom’s cousin— said that it’s normal to get your wolf eyes before you shift on Mom’s side of the family, so I just went with it.

“Stop staring at me and go!” I scolded when Sage took control of the burly wolf. He whimpered and nudged me with his cold wet nose. He didn’t want to leave me to fight alone.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “I’ve been training since I was twelve. I can handle myself, now go. They need their future Alpha.” With one last whimper, the beautiful black wolf licked my face and charged into battle. I was taken aback by that. Maybe my assumptions about his feelings earlier were right?

Whether they were or not, right now that wasn’t important… We had a battle to win. I gathered my bearings and ran into combat, looking for my first victim.

******

It’s been over forty-five minutes, and the fighting has yet to cease. I was proud that the warriors of the Shadow were still fighting with strength and ferocity—those long hours of excruciating training paid off for the greater good.

The mysterious-looking rogues were nearly gone, but I was more focused on why they were here than anything else. There were so many questions in my head right now, I wasn’t sure where one ended and the next began. Questions like; “Who sent them?” “What do they want?” “Why don’t they look like typical rogues?” and “Why would they attack our pack?” raced through my mind on a loop. But every time I tried looking for an answer, my mind went blank.

I’d never seen rogues like these before. They were very clean, with assorted wolf-colored eyes —normal rogues’ eyes are usually completely black— they fought like they had been trained in combat, and they smelled weird, like chemicals and despair. Yes, despair has a smell.

Clearly, someone sent them, but the million-dollar question is who?

I loomed over a rogue, watching with disgust as it whimpered and writhed for mercy. But mercy in this pack is like a sin, so without a second thought, I grabbed the pleading wolf by the neck and plunged my hand into its chest, and ripped out its heart. The rogue went limp almost instantly.

I dropped the vital organ to the ground like it was nothing and shook the blood off. And that’s when I felt it… That familiar feeling of being watched. Alarmed, I searched my surroundings for the being that had its eyes on me, making sure to stay alert so I wouldn’t get taken off guard by a charging rogue.

My eyes scanned the trees in the distance, and that’s when I saw her, far in the woods, behind the thick trees and moss. If I wasn’t a werewolf with enhanced eyesight, I would have missed her.

Standing behind a grand oak tree, dressed in a royal blue hooded cloak was a pale-blue-skinned woman with midnight blue hair that mimicked the night sky. Her eyes were cloudy white pools of malice that lacked a pupil and an iris. When we locked eyes, I was shocked at how much evil was present in them. I knew immediately that she meant no good. And if her appearance wasn’t clear enough, then the golden symbol that donned the crest of her cloak was.

The symbol was one I knew all too well. I saw and drew it everywhere, in my sketchbooks, on my mural wall in my room, and in my dreams. Every time I dreamed about that symbol, my dreams were littered with death, destruction, and screams of peril. It gave me nightmares inside of nightmares.

When I drew the image, it had color, so I knew what everything looked like. It was the image of a dark gray tribal-patterned wolf. The pattern on the wolf’s fur matched that of the tribal wolves on the bad side of the mural in the dining hall. Its eyes were white like the lady’s, but with green ooze dripping from them, as well as its nose and mouth.

What made the picture so horrific to look at were the letters ‘NS’ burned into the wolf’s forehead. It was a brand of some sort. The poisoned wolf was outlined in gold on the blue lady’s cloak, leaving the royal blue fabric as the base of the picture.

The fact that she had it on her cloak gave me a deep sense of fear… fear that the blue lady clearly saw, from the devilish smirk that graced her pale blue lips. She looked triumphant as if she’d won a gold medal. A shiver of unease ripped through me as I stared the pale woman in her sinister eyes.

Her smile shook me to my core. So much so, that I was almost taken off guard by the rogue that lunged at me. I jumped out of the way before it could bite me.

I grabbed onto the wolf and hopped on its back, latching on tight by digging my nails into its scruff. The rogue went wild trying to shake me off, so I tightened my grip. I'm pretty sure I look like a bullrider right now.

I used the rogue’s movements as leverage and flung myself to the right side of its body and tightly wrapped my legs around its neck. In three seconds flat, I reached under the rogue’s head and grabbed onto the skin that connected to its left jaw, digging my nails into its flesh, and reached over with my left arm and tightly grabbed onto its right ear.

With great force, I yanked my right hand towards me while forcing my left hand away, taking the rogue's head with it. The wolf’s neck made a sickening crack as its head turned around in a full one-hundred-eighty-degree turn before dropping to the ground, dead. I threw the rogue off of me and turned in the direction where I saw the blue lady, but when I looked, she was gone.

Where did she go? I thought in wonder as I got up from the ground and dusted myself off.

The wolf that attacked me must have been the last of the rogues because just as I got up, a victorious howl sounded from across the field. It was Alpha Conner and his wolf, Salvador. Their howl signified our victory and that no one got hurt; thank Goddess.

I panted, trying to catch my breath while the rest of the warriors joined in, howling with the Alpha. I would have joined in too, but I was too occupied with thoughts of who that lady was and what that symbol meant. I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

There was a reason she was looking at me. Was it because of my eyes? Or was it for a different reason?... Whatever it was, I was going to figure it out. Maybe Alpha Conner could help me?

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE!?” Kyson growled from across the field, rupturing the maze of questions in my head. He stormed over to me, growling with fury.

I heavily sighed and turned toward my angry older brother.

This is going to be fun… Goddess give me strength.