Fated By The Blood Moon

Chapter 5: Shades Of Rivalry

Rita sat on the edge of her bed and gazed at the pendant on the bedside table. Beside it, the journal was open, its mysterious words, which she read only a moment ago vivid in her memory.

"The balance of Silver Hollow depends on the alphas."

The sentence had become ingrained in her mind and would not leave. She shook her head, attempting to interpret it. "Alphas," she whispered to herself. "Like...werewolves?"

Her grandmother's voice reverberated in her mind as she recounted ancient folktales about wolves that could transform into men and protect communities and forests in the moonlight.

Rita had listened to every word as a child, fascinated by the fanciful tales.

However, she had matured, growing up in a metropolis, and learnt to reject such stories as untrue.

However... Her eyes strayed back to the journal. The veiled warnings, the alphas, and the reference to the woodland all suggested something more than chance.

She reminded herself, "Rita, get a grip." "There must be a rational explanation."

Looking for solutions the following morning, she went into town with the journal safely tucked in her latch, determined to find the truth.

Although she wasn't sure where to begin, she knew she had to speak with Oliver Grey.

She discovered him supervising a team of laborers unloading crates close to the town's boundary.

Rita hesitated a moment before she stepped up to him, but it was impossible to ignore his imposing presence.

His jaw constricted when he saw her. He waved the employees away and approached her, his black gaze impenetrable.

"You again," he remarked in a tone that was both irritated and worried. "I believe I advised you to avoid the forest."

She shot back, crossing her arms, "And I thought you'd be more forthcoming with answers. I discovered a journal. You and someone by the name of Michael Frost are mentioned.”

Oliver tensed up, his face growing serious. "Where did that come from?"

“Is it important? I'm curious about what's happening in this community. And don't offer me any more ambiguous warnings, either. Until I have genuine answers, I will not be leaving.”

He was silent for a while. He then sighed resignedly and motioned for her to follow him.

The forest loomed like a wall of shadows as they made their way to a remote location just outside of town.

Oliver folded his arms, leaned against a tree, and stared at her steadily. At last, he said, "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

Rita said, "Try me," despite her racing heart.

After a moment of hesitation, he declared, "The alpha of the Aldonna Pack is Michael Frost while the Crystal Pack is led by myself. For generations, we have been adversaries.”

"Rivals? Wait! Packs? As in, wolf packs?”

With a hint of incredulity in her voice, she inquired.

Oliver's face could not be read. "Exactly." His bluntness took Rita by surprise, and she blinked.

"You're not kidding?"

Oliver shrugged, "I'm dead serious. Werewolves are real, despite what you may have heard. For centuries, Michael's pack and mine have guarded Silver Hollow. However, Michael is hazardous, and the equilibrium between us is precarious.”

With a frightened laugh, she took a step back. "All right, I see you're playing tricks on me. Werewolves? That is absurd.”

Oliver's mouth clenched. "You wouldn't believe me, I said it, didn't I?”

"Because it's crazy!" Rita paced and exclaimed. "I am not a character in some supernatural drama; I am a journalist."

"Consider everything you've witnessed since you got here," Oliver remarked in a cool but strong tone. “The pendant. The journal. The forest's marks. and the nighttime howls. Do you think they're truly normal?”

Rita froze, her thoughts whirling. “How do you know about those?”

But Oliver simply shrugged again, looking away.

Rita wasn't much concerned about pressing him for an answer either. She had bigger issues to worry about.

A part of her that had grown up hearing her grandmother's stories was entirely convinced, despite the logical side of her screaming that this couldn't be true.

Quieter now, she questioned, "What about the disappearances?"

Oliver's face grew even more serious. “Our goal is to prevent them. However, I have no doubt that Michael's pack is involved with the shadowlings. I told you to avoid him because of this.”

With her head spinning from what Oliver had told her, Rita went back to her cabin in a trance.

Werewolves. Shadowlings. Competing alphas. There was too much to take in.

In an attempt to ground herself, she poured herself a cup of coffee. But when she brought the mug to her lips, her hands shook.

Even while the evidence was growing, her rational mind would not believe what she had heard.

The journal, the pendant, and the mysterious map all suggested that something remarkable was taking place in Silver Hollow.

She remembered her grandmother's words again: "The moon reveals all in time, but the wolves guard their secrets well."

She shook her head in an attempt to block out the idea. "This is insane," she whispered.

She felt a glimmer of curiosity, though, that would not go out as she spoke.

Rita was pulled to the woodland once more later that night.

Determined to learn more about the Aldonna Pack, she followed the map she had previously located with a lantern and a notebook.

The crunch of leaves under her boots and the sporadic rustle of branches were the only sounds in the eerily quiet forest.

When she arrived in the clearing shown on the map, she used her flashlight to look about.

A symbol that she didn't know but felt oddly familiar was carved into the trunk of a nearby tree, and her heart began to race.

Then she heard it, a growl so low it made her skin crawl.

Her flashlight beam pierced the darkness as she whirled around. She gasped as she noticed two bright golden eyes peering back at her from the darkness.

A man with angular, predatory features and an authoritative demeanor that chilled her blood entered the light, and her heart began to rush.

"Curiosity is a dangerous thing," he said in a silky, menacing voice.

Rita gasped for air. "Who are you?" The man's eyes did not meet his smile.

“I believe you already heard about me.”

Michael Frost? Rita's blood suddenly ran cold.