Chapter 5
1209 Words
Veyra knew it was a bad idea. It was sheer foolishness to go out hunting at twilight without a Fang Instructor. But she still went with them.
Aeris, Lyric and Thorne crouched behind a dense bush, observing the stag feeding quietly just near a clearing in the forest. Veyra sat behind them, leaning against a tree.
“Instructor Orion would be so impressed when he hears about the big catch I'll make,” Aeris whispered, a bright smile plastered on her face.
"You mean we," Thorne took his eyes off the stag. "Remember we're doing this as a team."
Aeris scoffed, "team? When was that agreed on? I only said I was going to practice lone hunting, then you guys offered to tag along."
"I didn't..." Veyra said quietly, but no one listened to her. Nobody ever did. The only reason she decided to follow them was because she didn't want to feel left out.
"You both can argue all you want, but I'm going to get that stag," Lyric said quietly as he got up.
Before he could step out of their hiding place, the stag suddenly looked up opposite their direction and bolted.
"Great, you've scared it." Aeris clenched her fists, getting out of the bush. The others followed and stood in the clearing.
Veyra's sharp hearing picked up a crunch from behind the trees, but her eyes couldn't pick up anything, and neither could her nose.
"I'd say we go deeper. It's not that dark yet, and there would still be other animals." Thorne said. Lyric nodded in agreement.
"But this time I'm actually going alone," Aeris crossed her arms. "I don't want any distractions."
Veyra tuned out of their bickering, focusing on the strange stillness of the forest.
It felt empty. No scent of rabbit. No scent of deer. Not even the nasty musk of wild dogs that usually roamed these parts.
Nothing that had the scent of blood coursing through its veins.
Veyra straightened slowly, her eyes narrowing.
"Do you guys smell that?" She asked quietly but audible enough.
They paused in their argument, scanning the area.
"Smell what?" Thorne replied.
Exactly.
Nothing.
Not even decay.
Then she saw it.
Between the shadows of two trees… something watched them. Fiery red eyes.
What the vampires would call ‘eyes of bloodlust’.
“Guys…” Veyra stepped back, almost stumbling. The others looked in her direction instantly.
The creature came out slowly, its figure illuminated under the moonlight. Seven feet tall with the muscular build of a Lycan, but the red glow in its eyes…was unnatural.
Lyric’s eyes widened. “What the—”
Thorne's face was drained of color. “I think we should—”
Veyra cut him off. “Run!”
—
Lyra laid on her bed, arms wide and eyes on the ceiling. She had spent almost a week in Darkshadow pack — three days in the infirmary and two in the pack house, always spending her time in her room.
She was surprised to see that the Alpha, Beta, Delta and other important Weres lived in the pack house along with their families.
Back at Crimson Moon, the Alpha's home and the pack house were two different structures. Everything felt formal there, even interactions.
But here, everyone treated each other like family.
People spoke to each other with ease she wasn't used to. Laughter travelled throughout the halls and footsteps roamed freely.
The Alpha's room was only a short distance from hers. Close enough to remind her that she wasn't just a guest here. Close enough to remind her why she was here in the first place.
Three soft knocks broke through her thoughts.
Lyra sat up, facing the door. "Come in."
The door didn't open, instead: "The Alpha requests your presence in the council meeting room. I'll be outside when you're ready, Miss."
|Council meeting room.|
The last time Lyra was in one, they had already made a decision on her life. Who knew what would happen in this one?
Lyra stood before the council meeting door, fingers tight around the hem of her white dress. She nodded at the guard that was assigned to get her and he opened the door.
The table was smaller than the one at Crimson Moon. Less members, about six to eight seats and no sight of an elder amongst them.
‘Probably just for high ranked wolves,’ she thought.
Alpha Killian, who was sitting at the head of the table, gestured for her to sit at the other end. No one waited for Lyra to get settled in her seat before they bombarded her with questions.
“How large was it?”
“Did it shift?”
“Did it bear pack markings?”
“How long did the encounter last?”
“Did it speak?”
Lyra's eyes kept darting in between the speakers. Being already fed up, she slammed her fists on the table. The gesture rewarded her with silence.
“Allow me to speak.” Her voice echoed throughout the room. Her eyes did not miss the little smirk on Killian's face.
Lyra sat up straighter, years of Alpha training finally being put to good work. She cleared her throat, “it was a werewolf but didn't smell like one.”
“That’s impossible. It was probably masking its scent," Caleb, Beta one, spoke as he leaned forward.
“No.. it didn't have a scent to mask.”
Their eyebrows shot up, shock evident on their faces.
Lyra continued, "It was big. Bigger than an Alpha wolf…and its movements–”
“You’re exaggerating things. Maybe you haven't recovered from the shock.” She was cut off by another member.
Lyra's head snapped towards them, “if you think I'm lying then why was I called here? The patrol wolves encountered the creature also, so why aren't you questioning them too?"
“Enough.” Killian roared, his voice making the tense room go quiet. “You were brought here because you were the first to encounter it. And you are in no position to question how things are done in this pack,” he said sternly, eyes fixed on Lyra.
Lyra held his gaze, unflinching. She dug her nails into her palm, refraining herself from lashing out.
“Now tell us exactly what happened when it attacked your men."
“It killed them all. And..” she trailed as if remembering something else.
“And what?” Caleb leaned in as well as other council members.
“As I ran, I looked back and saw its teeth around my chief guard's neck.”
“A common way to kill while fighting in wolf forms,” the head warrior said.
“It wasn't just killing him," Lyra said, her face contorting in disgust, “It was feeding from him.”
Silence followed. Not the kind born out of confusion.
The kind that settled heavy in their chests.
Something was wrong.
A knock sounded at the door, shattering the deafening silence. All heads turned as a guard stepped in, breathing uneven.
"Alpha... a messenger hawk has arrived with a letter."
Killian's gaze didn't leave Lyra. "From where?"
The guard hesitated, hands shaking slightly with the paper in them.
"...The Sanguine Court."
- Writer
