The Evil Within

The Hunt

Chapter eleven

I howl at the moon, enjoying the brisk moonlit air of the forest. I sniff around the ground, my ears perking to the wildlife that inhabites nature. Feeling the cool wild flowing through my fur, this is the true freeling of freedom and what it means to be part of nature. My siblings yip and nip at each other, I watch as our chief calls us back home and I stay behind to enjoy the rest of the full moon. I know I should go back but I have to embrace the outside because the full moon doesn't come very often.

I soak up the moolight and decide to head back, my paws avoid the sharp rocks and I slowly make my way back. Making sure to enjoy nature as much as possible. I transform back and join the rest of my family.

"We can't allow the vampires to take control!" One of my cousin's shout.

"I agree. They are too dangerous, not to mention our sworn enemies!" Another exclaims. The meeting erupts into outraged roars, some even getting heated enough to turn back. Our change is combined with our emotions, mostly anger. The full moon magnifies the change and emotions we feel to an extreme.

"We need to exterminate these savages before they gain too much power." My uncle, the alpha, says. "The humans aren't going to lift a finger to change things."

"Probably because they're being compelled not to." My sister, Aponi, mutters but I snicker at her comment.

"The humans are too weak to go against these murders, our incredible strength can fend them off and finally kill them. Our bite is poisonous enough to destroy them."

The pack cheers and I feel pride swelling. These monsters took my family from me, I won't let them take over so they can obliterate the rest of the world that is good and pure. I was born a wolf, my bloodline is pure but even those not pure blood, they're my family too. I refuse to sit around and watch as they burn the world to the ground.

"However, we don't have the influence and the power to take them on. Everyday, humans are turned into those beasts and everyday our pack becomes weaker and smaller." My uncle states as the rest of the meeting members groan.

"I know you all want to fight, trust me. You'll get your chance."

The meeting is adjorned and my sister takes my hand.

"Cheyenne, how was your hunt?" She asks, a smile plastered across her face. I can't help but smile myself, hers is contagious.

"Oh, Aponi, it was amazing! Feeling the breeze on my fur and howling to the moon. Vampires and any other creature would never understand the joy of being your true self and seeing nature's beauty."

"It sounds amazing, but uncle won't let me. At least until I'm ready." She groans and I laugh.

"You're young, you'll get your chance." I hug her and we walk to the forest. I check to see if anyone is looking, some are transforming to hunt or enjoy the chase, others are gathered around the campfire. My uncle is talking with other members of the pack, I look to my sister.

"What they don't know won't hurt them, I know a secret spot that others don't."

She smiles with excitement, I make sure to have us transform far in the forest and we run through the trees. She barks happily as we chase each other through the woods, we slow down as we come across a stream. We play and wrestle in the water but I hear rustling on the other side of the river bank.

We quiet down and find a rock to hide behind, I smell the familiar stence of the immortals and I make sure Aponi is hidden. I watch with my enhanced eyes and ears perked, listening to their conversation.

"I would love to just sink my fangs into those furry dogs and feed until I rip them apart." One of the vampires say, I hear Aponi whimper and I warn her to be quiet.

"Me too. But the stench," The other one groans.

"That's the trick, under all that hard nasty outer. Is the inner, gooey delicious substance. You have to get past the smell in order to get the goods on the inside."

"Yeah," The second one replies. "I don't know how you'd do it, sense of smell is my one weakness when it comes to anything. Ever since I was human, my nose was like a bloodhound, now it's like a bloodhound on crack. I-" He abruptly stops midsentence and I can feel Aponi and my breathe hold.

"You smell that?" The second one asks.

The first one takes a big inhale, his pupils dilating.

"Werewolf blood," He states, he looks right in our direction and I recoil behind the rock. But I know some of my fur is probably exposed and it can see that. He chuckles, starting across the stream. The second one stops him.

"We can't, this is werewolf territory. If Simon knew we were this close from crossing the line, he'd tie us to a tree and watch as the sunlight burns off our skin."

"Screw, Simon. He's a coward who'd rather make treaties with these beasts than devour them and claim the land himself." He roughly pulls away from the second one and starts towards us.

Suddenly, an arrow speeds through the sky and hits the first monster in the arm. He groans loudly as the arrow is burning the place where it hit him. He pulls it out and holds it in front of him. The second vampire is stood there in shock as the other one examines the weapon. I see a familiar gem shining in the moonlight, I then realize the arrow is imbued with sunlight.

The witches gift to werewolves as a way of defending ourselves against the vampires, if we are too small a pack and can't protect ourselves with razor sharp teeth and claws. The second vampire zooms away and the rest of my pack, my uncle at the front, snarls and growls as they walk to the edge of the river. The vampire chuckles, his fangs unhinging and he starts but another vampire with the rest of his followers at his side come out from the tree line.

"Seth!" The leader shouts, the vampire grumbles and continues hissing at my uncle.

"Come here," The lead vampire says patiently, then in a more demanding tone. "Now!"

He hisses one last time and recoils his fangs. The rest of my pack stand down but stay in wolf form. My uncle transforms to human, another of my pack hands him clothes. The leader steps out from the tree line and walks to the alpha, facing him from across the stream.

"I'm sorry for my cousin's stupidity," He emphasizes the last word, Seth spits on the ground in distaste. "He's very sorry and it won't happen again. The treaty is very important to us and we will all learn to respect it."

Seth seethes and zooms away.

"Good, because if one of your kind threaten another of our kind. We won't hesitate to kill you." My uncle says, hatred written across his face. The leader nods, zooming away which results in the rest zooming after him. My uncle looks at us with anger, he transforms back and the rest of my pack follows suit. I look to Aponi, knowing how much trouble we're in.