Beyond The Dead

The Werewolves

*two days later*

Salina's POV

Werewolves have been surviving fairly easily and my pack, other then the humans, was almost fully intact except the 13 Omegas we lost to the first hoard that surprised us. We had heard the news the day it started and as we were calling all of our wolves and humans home to close the gates down, we were hit pretty fast. The disease spread like wild fire the first night fall and we had no clue these creatures couldn't survive in the sun or we would have sent rescue helicopters and military before calling them all in.

Up in the Blue Mountains of Washington state, we were surrounded by a wall as well as icy cliffs and it proved to keep us safe time and time again as the disease progressed. I, as the Luna of the pack now, was able to handle things pretty well. Currently I govern a pack of well over 2,100 werewolves, including 600 from nearby packs that had fallen one month after the disease started and we saved. I now run the second largest pack in the world. We also have a little over 120 humans out of the 413 we had. We once lived along side the humans here, but had to separate them to an inner wall of the city when they started turning from dying of natural causes. We still care for them and make sure we do all we can, but they must report if they have any ill so we can asses and protect the rest. Those who are ill must go to the pack emergency hospital bunker and are either taken care of and released, which about 42 have. Or they were taken care of until they turned and we had to give them mercy from being an infected. Some of the families let us use their turned loved ones to study as well, but we always asked out of respect.

The previous Luna was killed by a jealous pack member who thought they could take advantage of the panic and she almost instantly turned. The assassin was killed immediately by the turned Luna. However, when a werewolf turned it was very much more dangerous, let alone a strong Luna. She was not easily taken down and I still smell her blood and remember her ear piercing scream as I plunged the blade through her wolf form while my parents held her down. Unfortunately our Alpha wasn't strong enough to survive his mate passing away and died when she did. His Beta at the time, whom is also dad, Malik, had to take care of him when he turned.

Two days later I was approached by our elders and at the time I was our Betas' daughter. At only 16 I had gained my wolf earlier then anyone else. They had been training me incase the Luna did not have a pup before her 40th birthday. She was sadly infertile, which is damn near unheard of in werewolves. The elders said it was a punishment, but the oracle told me that her blood line would produce a monster and so the moon goddess denied her the ability to have children. I could never understand this, because she was a strong, caring, and beautiful Luna. Everyone she met instantly loved her. How could someone so borderline perfect produce an heir that would destroy our pack? The Oracle would only speak to those who needed to know their destiny and I knew mine long before this disease and was trained for it all. The only thing left out, was the disease itself.

Being barely 18 now I wanted to share my knowledge and continue to learn from others, so I joined Rosi's online school 6 months ago when I was still 17. We had known each other since we were 4 thanks to our parents. Her mother worked very closely with my mother on trying to help the Luna conceive a child for 8 years. The elders were highly against it, but knowing it was impossible they just looked the other way. We stayed close friends even when her mother stopped visiting after her husband's death.

I share with her all we've learned, but honestly even our best doctors were at a loss. We assume that there may be dark magic involved or even just a punishment from the gods. However, we continue to learn what these new creatures fear and what will eliminate them. We created a stronger version of a UV light and put them around all of our walls to keep them away. The only time this was a problem was when one of the lights blew. Rosi was a technological genius and we wanted to bring her here, but she wants to wait for her powers to come in on her 18th birthday to see if she can help her mom. She had doubts and so did we, but I respect her choice. She was the design girl for our lights and we tried to bring some to her, but she again didn't want to harm her mom. She just finished our new circuit alarm with one of our engineers to let us know when one of the lights was out when she turned 17. We had all the materials we need to keep creating these bulbs with the mine under the mountain and the stocked supply we had from previous mining. Our land was rich and we already had multiple farms and ranches to sustain us during these times as well.

I grabbed my phone and saw that it was 3am. That meant Rosi would be awake and her birthday was finally today.

Me: Hey Rosi. Did you find a safe place to do the moon ritual?

Rosi: We found a place, but we have to make sure to make it safe while there is still day light.

Me: do you want me to send some of the Uv lights? They could protect the surrounding areas for a while.

She seemed to be thinking this through as it took her a minute to fully respond.

Rosi: Yes. Tonight has to go perfectly in order for me to get my true powers. One interruption could break the ritual and ruin everything.

My heart skipped a beat at the thought of Rosi coming into harms way. I knew this was very important because the oracle told me so. She was key to our new future and she was also one of my best friends. I would do anything to keep her safe.

Me: I am coming with them and my best warriors. Nothing will fail tonight.

Rosi: Thank you for everything Salina! I can't wait to see you. We have 8 hours until sunset.

Me: I'll be there in 5 hours. Just enough time to set up everything. See you then, my dear. Please be safe until then and enjoy your Birthday!

Rosi: Thank you again, see you soon and have a safe journey please!

I close my phone and look up to the sky where the sun was just starting to rise. Thank the gods her birthday is in the summer so we have more sunlight to work with. I turned and ordered my mother, whom remained our Beta until my brother was of age next year, to get everything ready to go and we would be heading out in half an hour. I mind linked 10 of our best warriors to prepare to leave as well. "Mother please watch over the pack while I am gone," I said and she hugged me tightly. "Please, please be careful. I need you to come back safely. The pack needs you. I trust you and can't wait for your return," she said while never once letting me go. I gently push her away holding her at arms length, "mom, I am only going to be gone for absolutely no more then 48 hours. She will try her powers on her mom immediately and then we'll all be heading back here. We do have to only travel during the day and it will be even less time if her airport still has enough gas for a full flight back." I see the tears forming in her eyes and sigh, "mom, I will be fine and until I return, you are acting Luna. You must control your emotions and focus on the pack!"

She wiped away a few stray tears and straightened up nodding her head at me. "Good," I smiled and hug her one last time before going to my room and grabbing my already prepared bag. Then I jog down to the military bunker.

Adkin's POV

I see the Luna Walk in as we all await for her by the plane. We chose the 2nd largest plane we had to accommodate anything Rosi needed to bring with her. I have been a trained pilot my whole life, but never have I flown our second largest jet in the bunker. I was nervous, but ready to prove myself to our Luna. She gave me a dazzling smile and I couldn't help, but smile back and salute her with the rest of them. She choose a small group of 20 to accompany her. 10 warriors, 2 healers, 3 trackers, our 2 gammas, 1 chef, my co-pilot, and of course, me.

It was no secret that the Luna fancied me and that I was madly in love with her, but she was not my mate. I had hoped that since she had not found her mate yet, that she would take me as a choosen mate with how the world is now. However, she has still been searching for her true mate. It was the other, but not the main, reason she brought in the neighboring packs after they fell. She had hoped a survivor would be the one. I had tried to come to each of her events hoping my mate would appear and I could finally get over her. Even though she got her wolf the earliest ever heard of, I had hoped when she turned 18 that maybe I really was. Still nothing.

I lowered my gaze and mentally shook myself getting ready for the biggest journey I, and most of us, have ever been on. They loaded up the last of the lights and opened the gait to the run way. I took the stairs two at a time and sat down in my head pilot's chair. My co-pilot, Brendan, hoped in the seat next to me and we began preparing the plane for take off. In walked our Luna and we bowed our heads while the engine began to warm up. She grabs the speaker and turns to the rest of the cabin.

"Today we venture into the unknown as we have never left the territory since the beginning of the disease. I have chosen each of you based on your skills. I have high expectations for all of you and I know we will make this the best trip. You all have my faith with the lives around you. With bringing back Rosi, we bring back even more hope for the survival of our pack. We do this for those who have fallen, those who will fall, and those who will survive! We will bring glory to our pack as we continue to thrive!"

As she finished her speech the whole plane erupted in cheers as well as the crowd outside who also heard the speech. The Luna takes her seat and after everyone is seated I take the pilot's mic, "this is your captain speaking, we are ready for take off so please buckle up." I noticed the Luna smiling at me again and quickly continued, "and let's kick some ass!" The whole plane and crowd erupted in cheers again as we began take off. My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest as we took off into the sky. When we reached proper altitude I turned off the seat belt lights. "You are now free to walk about the cabin," I announced and of course the Luna approached us as soon as I announced this. "Set it to autopilot and join me at the table please, Adkin" She said and walked back towards the table near the back. I set everything and joined her while my copilot kept watch in the cockpit.

Salina's POV

"Once I get in contact with the satellite we should get a visual of the airport. I can only hope there is enough landing space and that it's not over run at night fall," I said to the Gamma's and Adkin while looking at the holographic map before us. I turn to hack a satellite using an ultra high tech computer Rosi helped engineer. The same satellite we control to continue reception to all of earth. We had to magnify the Satellite last year, with Rosi's help, so others could access it as well. I pull up it's GPS locating and dig through files to get the ultra camera open. Once I finish sifting through everything I take a deep breath and focus the camera on the easiest airport closet to Rosi. She said she lived near Foster's Bay, south Carolina by the lake. "There," I said as I pulled up the closet airport that would have the least amount of Planes covering it. "Saint Gorgia airport has a small clearing we can use," I said as I used the satellite to hack the security feeds so we could see the very few remained in the airport hiding in dark areas, which was a relief. There was not enough shade for them to hide on the tarmac itself, which was amazing. However, the tarmac was still littered with abandoned planes and landing was going to be a little tricky. Since it was sunny today we didn't have to worry about the ones that were probably hiding on the planes. Technically, even if it were full cloud coverage it would still hurt them and our plane is outfitted with the same Ultra UV lights. "Okay so I have a plan and hear me out," I started while look over at my gamma, Altrix, and his mate, Helen, they both gave me reassuring looks. This pack trusts me with everything after the way I handled the disease at the beginning and I was hell bent on all of us coming home from this trip. "When we get above the airport tarmac we are going to need to cut the engine," I turned to direct my attention to Adkin. "I will use my telepathy to guide us down into one spot. It maybe be a little rough of a landing so everyone must be buckled. Adkin, I'll be sitting outside the cockpit to instruct you. Warriors," I turned addressing them, "you will clear the tarmac for take off later while the rest of us unload the vehicles." Everyone nodded in a agreement and then settled in for the rest of the 3 hour flight. Our chef began hand out snacks and even meals to those who asked. I took a sandwich and continued thinking through the plans for how to get to her house safely. It would take about 45 minutes to an hour to drive to Rosi as long as we didn't hit too many hiccups on the way. Most roads had been blocked by either abandoned cars or scared people thinking it would keep the hoards out. We had to make it with enough time to set up though so if I had to use my powers to get there, I would. Yes, I have many extraordinary powers that most wolves don't have. Mine came from the fact my great grandmother was actually a witch. I was the only one in the family to receive any of her powers and I knew it was for a reason. Only problem was some of my powers were like a homing becans to these creatures. We discovered this when we went to rescue the Gold City pack that fell apart.

*Salina's memory*

All I could see was the blood and remnants of the Gold City pack that had already been slaughtered. A violent shiver went down my spine as I took all of it in. We made our way through the bodies of wolves and creatures while being on high alert. It was still dark, but I knew if we didn't help them now, there would be none left to save. I saw one of the creatures and it noticed me. The creature started running at me and I was prepared with my sword, but then it shifted mid-jump and I realized it was also a werewolf. On impulse I used my powers to fling it into a nearby tree smashing its skull. It was a relatively quite and quick death, but suddenly I was surrounded by so many pairs of eyes and I used my magic to crush all their heads easily. I sighed and all of the sudden I turned and we were surrounded yet again. That's when I realized it was my powers, they wanted me to turn and be a strong member of their hoard. I lead a normal attack, no longer using my powers, and we managed not to lose anyone. The fight was bloody none the less and terrifying. Many wolves came far too close to losing their lives as well. Half of the hoard was now Werewolf creatures and they are much stronger, but thankfully we've only ran into the omegas from this clan.

"I have a plan! These creatures are drawn to my power. You 5 and I," I pointed at our top 5 warriors. "We will go outside the city and distract the creatures so the rest may get the survivors out." The bowed and smacked their fists to their chest ready to go. As we exited the city we ran into a few more. I used my powers to drag them farther away and attract the rest. It's worked alright and being able to safely use my powers now I did a lot of the work. At one point one snuck up behind me and I could feel it's beady red eyes staring at me. Before I could turn my attention to handle it I felt a gust of wind and the splatter of blood across my back. Zero had appeared out of no where and sliced the creature from his head down in half.

After what felt like an eternity one of our helicopters came and got us, signaling they found any survivors. When we returned I was surprised how many they saved.

*End Flash Back*

I stare at the map, done with my food, thinking about the lives I am putting at risk. So many things that could go wrong. One thing I know is we are strong and will help in anyway possible. I began to believe even more that we can pull this off without flaw. As I closed my eyes I started to drift off to sleep only to be attacked with nightmares from my worries. I tried my best to focus on the moon in my dream and soon the nightmares settled and I was able to sleep peacefully.