TAMING THE BOYS IN THE WOLVES ACADEMY

SOLANE I knelt on the muddy grass, holding his cold body in my weak arms. My soul was shaking to the core seeing my brother struggling for his last breath. “Don’t leave me, Hale!” I wrapped my fingers around his palm. When Hale was on protection duty guarding the Green Line, a wolf stepped onto our territory and ripped off my brother's chest with his claws. The guards for the duty changed every night according to the shifts. Unfortunately, it was my brother's turn. “Who did this to you?” “Tell me, Hale!” “Tell me the name!” His teary eyes looked into mine and he faltered to speak the words. “Tell me, please!” “Alpha's son…” He took his last breath. HALE!” “WAKE UP, PLEASE!” His hand slipped down from the grip of my fist. We belonged to a small village, located on the outskirts of the Kezent Moon pack. We were born to hunt wolf wolves, and we called ourselves Red Hunters. The Red Hunters and the Kezent Moon pack were always on each other's necks. The wolves wanted to expand their territory by wiping off the entire hunter's village, and we hunters were protecting ourselves against wolves. It all started with a war. In the past, a wolf from the Kezent Moon pack accidentally killed a child of a red hunter while shifting into his wolf. The incident led to a huge war between the Kezent Moon pack and the Red Hunters. Lozark Aylestone, the infamous Alpha of the Kezent Moon pack led the war from the side of wolves. His cruelty against hunters knew no limits. He forced a list of strict rules upon his pack, and those who protested, faced a brutal death. The war took the lives of many wolves and hunters, including Lozark's mate. He blamed the red hunters for the tragedy and went on a rampage, killing every hunter who was found on his territory. After the bloodbath, the three elders from the Red Hunters' village and the Kezent Moon pack formed a divide named Green Line. The line acted as a peace treaty, separating the Red Hunters’ village from the Kezent Moon pack. Crossing the Green Line meant death. Wolves openly murdered the Red Hunters when found on their side of the Line, whereas we hid our faces beneath black masks and hunted the wolves upon catching their sight on our side. As hunters, we were trained to hunt in the darkness. "Solane!" A familiar voice called my name. Scott, Hale’s friend, stood before me, casting a shadow upon my gloomy presence and balancing tears in his brown eyes. Shifting my fierce gaze to his colorless face, my voice told him about Hale's last words. “Where can we find that Alpha's son?” “No one knows him!” He uttered the words, deepened with disappointment. Since Lozark made so many enemies while climbing the ladder of power, he never revealed his son’s name or face to the pack. He was protecting his son, waiting for the right moment when he would inherit the Alpha's throne. The enemies were waiting to wipe off his heir chain to conquer the pack. “There’s a rumor in the Kezent Moon pack.” Scott said under a heavy breath. “Everyone says Lozark’s son is a student in the prestigious Wolves Academy. He is around twenty-two. Lozark must have given him a fake name with an ID. He's attending the academy as a normal student but no one knows what he looks like or what classes he attends.” The elders of the Kezent Moon pack made a sole rule for a wolf's strength recognition. Every wolf in the Kezent Moon pack must attend the Wolves Academy. An Alpha's son can only become the next Alpha when he graduates from the academy. “I will find him…even if he's hiding six feet under the ground.” My voice rose from the pain in my heart. “You can't cross the Green Line. Those wolves will shred you into pieces!” Scott knelt beside me on the grass. “Do you really think I care about that damn Green Line?” “What the hell are you planning?” He gulped. “I will enroll in the Wolves Academy.” “Have you gone crazy?” His voice panicked. “Our scent is different. Those wolves will recognize you the moment you cross the Green Line.” He wiped the sweat on his forehead. "Lozark is a monster. If you kill his only heir, he'll again start a war against us." “I know someone from the pack who is yet to repay his debt to me. He owes me his life.” My fingers gently brushed through the blood on Hale's pale face. “SOLANE!” Scott shouted, losing his mind. "I won't let anyone harm my people, trust me!” Suddenly, rain ripped open the sky and started beating the ground. Even nature was mourning for my brother's death. “I, Solane Ezell, will not return to the village until I avenge Hale's death.” My lips vowed. *** The next day… The village arranged for Hale's funeral. A silent prayer was flowing through the air. There was a time when Hale promised to break my shackles from the relentless life of a hunter. He wanted to see me like other normal girls. “You broke your promise, Hale!” My voice murmured, sobbing silently. My parents were great hunters. They died saving our village against cruel wolves. Hale was a child and his responsibility fell onto my shoulders. Leaving with no choice, I had to join the training camp at a very young age. My once happy childhood with my parents was tarnished. The harsh training of the camp forced me to abandon myself as a girl. I fought neck to neck with men and inherited the title of the best hunter. I sacrificed my childhood to protect my brother's innocence, keeping him away from the hunter's life until he was mature and responsible. After Hale became an adult, he joined the camp. My brother couldn't fulfill his promise to me! Four hunters stepped forward and buried his coffin under the ground. My eyes couldn't bear to watch the sight. One by one every person left…except for me. “I will find the Alpha's son. I will make him pay for your death. This is my promise.” My fingers roughly wiped off the tears rolling down my cheeks. *** At 3 am… Carrying a bag of silver weapons, I climbed the tallest tree in the woods. My eyes carefully observed the surroundings before making any rash moves. The huge muscular guards of the Kezent Moon pack were patrolling on their side of the Green Line. Those guards were known for their heightened senses. I aimed for a tree on the wolf's side of the Green Line and jumped on its thick branch. One of the guards standing right under the tree looked up at the moving leaves. “What's wrong?” Another guard asked him. “Probably, wind!” He replied. I pulled out ten T-shirts consisting of my scent from my black bag and arranged them in a line over the long branch of the tree. Luckily, a wild boar ran past the guards, drawing their attention and giving me enough time to escape. The moment they turned their heads in the opposite direction, my feet jumped onto the pine tree ahead of me. Suddenly, groans barged into the silence! “A hunter has entered our territory!” The guard, who noticed the moving leaves before, groaned, sniffing my scent. He climbed the tree within seconds only to find my dark clothes. “Find the damn hunter!” All the guards rushed over to the tree behind me, following the strong scent unleashing from my T-shirts. While they were focused on it, my feet escaped the woods, jumping from one tree to another. “The hunter fooled us. He must be hiding somewhere, find him!” “RIP HIM INTO PIECES!” They spread throughout the woods…but my feet had already entered the pack by that time. Hiding through the darkness, my feet stopped in front of the house of an old friend. A wolf who owed me his life. He was once attacked by the enemy pack but Hale and I saved his life. My brother followed a golden rule…never ever hurt any innocent wolf. We respected the rule even when dealing with our enemies. I only knew that his house was an old broken castle and the closest to the Green Line. He lived alone, surrounded by trees. It didn't take me time to find the broken castle. Sucking I. A deep breath, I knocked at the door, not confident if it was the right one. There's always risk in everything, and my heart wasn't scared. Exactly three seconds later, the door slightly opened, and his doleful eyes peeked through the gap. “Solane?” His eyes widened in shock. “How are you, Victor?” “I AM SURE THAT HUNTER ENTERED OUR PACK!.” The sound of several footsteps echoed through the air. "They found me!" my lips whispered.