Love Crimes in Moonlit Shadows

Cody raised the silver staff to moonlight. The blue gem in it glowed with a liquid silver tint. His heart swelled with satisfaction and pride. He has finally done it. Slowly, still holding the staff up to moonlight, Cody turned to the gang of misfits behind him. Nineteen odd men and a woman, removed from society, yet, a menace to it. They were looking up at the gem, the light from it showing the ecstasy in their faces. Ecstasy and greed. Cody had no doubt that they all were fully ready to snatch the artifact from him if they could. But then, it was of no use to anyone who did not come from an alpha lineage. Cody almost let out a howl. Such was the joy his wolf was feeling. But he suppressed it. They needed to get away safely. But not before his grand speech. He turned to the men behind him. "Gentlemen, and lady" he said to the one lady among his gang. He heard the lady mutter something about ladies first and grinned at her. He was no gentleman. He doesn't observe such niceties, except when they suit him. "Today, we have achieved that which makes it worthy to have followed our calling. Today, we reap the rewards of crime. Today, we start on our journey to being not just a pack, but one of the strongest and most feared packs around here,.." He paused for effect. The men were holding their breath. They were looking at his face now. He twirled the staff, so that its gem twinkled in the moonlight. They looked up at the staff once again. "...with a grand alpha as its alpha!" He completed. The men, and lady cheered quietly. It was not yet safe to shout and celebrate in their usual manner. "But first, I must perform the ritual to claim this artifact as mine. Isn't that what the legends say?" Everyone nodded in agreement. 'Let's do this.' Cody said to his wolf, letting it out at the same time. In the place Cody stood, was now a big white wolf. The wolf picked the staff with its mouth and looked at the men eagerly. One of the men took a pigeon from his pocket and untied its legs. The pigeon immediately flew into the air. It flew around the cave in confusion first, then it got its bearings and made for the exit. At the same moment, the wolf had bitten itself in the tail, letting its blood drop on the gem on the staff. The staff glowed bright silver blue, and the hunt was on. The hunt that would establish a new grand alpha if it was concluded before the gem went back to its normal state The wolf bounded off after the pigeon. In a thrice, it was back with it in its mouth. The staff has hardly diminished in brightness, which means the power he will get from it will be proportionally only a little less than one of the original grand alpha. He bit off the pigeon's neck and let its blood flow onto the gem. It glowed brightly again, then went back to its normal state. But a seal appeared on the staff. It now has a new owner. Power flowed through Cody, who was now human. He felt powerful. He felt indomitable. 'So this is how it feels to be an alpha.' He wouldn't be a grand alpha yet. That will take some time. Perhaps six months of gradually gaining the strength, power and authority of a grand alpha. And even this feeling of being an alpha will soon pass. But for now, he's an alpha. And he would be damned if he doesn't act like one. "Kneel!" He commanded the men. As if of one mind, their knees thudded to the ground at the same time, and their heads bowed in reverence. Cody walked in between the men, his eyes surveying any for signs of defiance. He found none. He felt good. "You!" He pulled up the lady. "Look in my face!" She obeyed. What she saw was an animal desire she has never seen before in him. It frightened and excited her at the same time. She trembled as she untied her hair and commenced removing her clothes. The men turned away. Twenty minutes later, the men were on their way out of the cave. Cody no longer felt as powerful, but he felt every inch more satisfied than he has ever felt in his life. He didn't know this was among the privileges alphas enjoyed. He could take any woman in his pack whenever he likes. And the act was way better than normal. He looked forward to when he became a full grand alpha. The staff was stowed in a sack slung over Cody's shoulder. They walked in silence, no doubt contemplating the new turn their lives will take soon. What they didn't know was that it would take a sharp turn alright, but not in the direction they thought. Outside the cave, on the far horizons all around the cave, helicopters were headed towards it. They were not normal passenger helicopters either. They were one of the most advanced war crafts currently existing among humans. But the twenty men and a lady walked silently, glowing, dreaming, and fantasizing future plunders and escapades. And after all that, when the new grand alpha has emerged, no doubt, they will be at the top of the new pack he will form. The cave was pitch dark, but it was no problem to the men, because their werewolf eyesight was way better than that of humans. Bones crunched under their feet. At last, they reached a point that branched into another part of the cave. The part where one of the original grand alphas was buried. "Gentlemen" Cody said, gesturing them into the smaller pathway. He had no doubt that more treasures, ones that could be exchanged for money, were buried together with the grand alphas. Perhaps, if they had ignored these treasures, their life may yet turn in the direction of their fantasies. About an hour later, the cave was a lot more bare than it had been, and the war crafts were a lot closer too. "What the f**k!" One of the men growled as soon as they came out of the cave. He threw up his hands to shield his eyes. They were engulfed in the bright searchlights of the copters. "We advise you, whoever you may be, and whatever your nation, to drop the nuclear warhead right now." A voice boomed across the whole clearing. The trees on the far edge of the clearing quivered with the force of the voice. "If it was your government that sent you, they have denied all knowledge of you. All of the United Nations have denied one of theirs is even remotely near this site, so you're on your own" 'Humans' Cody thought in panic. 'How did they get here? This was supposed to be off the map!' Panic flowed through him. "You're on your own!" He screamed at the men behind him, tearing into a run at the same time. "Carissa's bar!" Before he could take four steps, all hell broke loose. As Cody sprinted away from the cave, the world around him descended into chaos. The deafening roar of the helicopters above was followed by a series of rapid, thunderous explosions. The once-peaceful clearing erupted into a fiery inferno as the advanced warcraft unleashed their firepower. Trees splintered, rocks shattered, and the very ground trembled under the barrage. Cody's heart pounded in his chest as he dodged falling debris and leaped over jagged rocks. His wolf instincts guided him, his senses sharp even in the chaos. He could hear the shouts of his gang members behind him, but he dared not look back. His sole focus was on escaping the place alive, from where he will meet up with his men at Carissa's bar.