Purple Crescent Moon

Chapter 6: A Look In The Past

Anya POV

The Moon Goddess taps her midnight black claw-like nail to the space between my eyes. I immediately feel like I'm being sucked into a vortex backward. Her face seemed to pull away from me at the speed of light, almost like someone grabbed me by the back of my shirt and pulled me back into darkness.

A soft sound of water trickling around me. The dripping noise splats against the ground in a slow rhythm; gentle and timid winds blow over my curly hair. My cheek is planted on the hard rocky ground. I open my eyes weakly and start to take in the darkness I'm surrounded in. The smell of mildew overwhelms my senses. I bring one hand up to brace my weight as I push off the ground into a sitting position. I scan my surroundings and gasp.

I appear to be in a cave. Hundreds of gold and brown tapering structures hang like icicles from the ceiling; the water is dripping from them. A drop of the water-like substance lands on my cheek; I bring a finger up to wipe it away and taste it. Salty.

I try to peer out further than a few feet away, but I'm engulfed in the thick darkness.

"Let me help." Athena whispers.

My eyes illuminate a light purple, and now I can see hundreds of miles ahead. My ears twitch with the ability to filter out the music of the water and hear past it so I can focus on any other noise. I can hear the scurrying of rats and their squeaks now. I rotate one of the 18 muscles in my ear and zero in on a voice far out in the distance.

I stand and realize I'm still in my shorts and tank top from earlier. Great! I'm barefoot in a jagged mildewy cave in the middle of nowhere. I started to stalk the voice quietly and use it as an auditory map. As I move closer to the voice, the cave brightens. I'm getting closer to the opening.

A blinding white light comes from a c***k within the cave; I squeeze my body closer to the black wet walls and walk along its side, hoping no one can see me. The voices are now within human hearing distance.

"Athena?" I ask

She knowingly returns my eyes to their normal color. I stop at the mouth of the cave and crouch down; I close my eyes, lift my nose to the sky, and inhale.

My eyes snap back open. Rogues!

Rogues are wolves with no pack. They have been banished from the safety and energy of a pack. Typically, these wolves have done heinous acts like r**e or murder. There are rare occasions when an Alpha will banish a wolf for other reasons, but all are usually for something unacceptable the wolf has done. Banishment is one of the worst punishments; some even say it's worse than death. A wolf without a pack has a distinct stench of rotten flesh. It deteriorates their mind, causing them to become similar to rabid dogs, but it eats away at their flesh. Most rogues ultimately lose their human side, making them even more dangerous than their former selves.

So here I am, hiding in a cave with about thirty rogues outside snarling and growling at each other. I peek out of the cave and come face to face with one.

He is in his wolf form if that's the right word. The muzzle is full of pink patches from hair missing with foam oozing out of its gaping mouth. His eyes are bright red and dull with crazed anger. His long canines are spotted yellow and brown with decay. The black and grey fur has tufts of hair missing leading to a visibly ribbed body and high tail showing his fury and dominance. The wolf is still bigger than the average wolf standing close to 6ft tall.

Athena growls within me, "An Alpha!"

The alpha wolf barks in my face but peers around me; he sniffs the air, growls deeply, and then huffs. His black and pink rotten lips slowly go back over his canines. He paws the ground and then turns his body away, returning to the other whining rogues.

Their tails tuck between their legs and bow their heads in fear at him as he walks to them. How has an alpha become a rogue and fallen so low? I think to myself.

"That’s Alpha Gru; he was banished for trying to r**e the Mate of King Ekon even though he was already mated with pups. This is his punishment." Chi remarks

"Chi!? You're here? Where is the Moon Goddess? Why did she drop me off here? Why didn't he try to kill me? What's happening!?"

"Anya calm down; I can only answer one question at a time, sheesh!" She snaps

"Yes, obviously I'm here as I said, I'm a part of you. The Moon Goddess has placed you here to remind you of who you are. She is always with us, but this is your journey. "She takes a deep breath.

"He didn't try to kill you because he can't see you. You are here as a voyeur to see what has already happened; you can't be seen, nor can you change anything."

"How long ago is this Chi?" I question

"23 years ago..." Chi states.

I sigh and stand up, trusting in her. I step out into the lush forest that's outside the cave. As she said, none of the rogues looked up at me nor acknowledged me.

"Okay, so what's next, Chi?"

She lies down in my mind, wrapping her massive black tail around her body..."We watch."

Within seconds you can hear the howling of a furious wolf. A stampede of paws follows. The noise alerts the pack of rogues lying about, causing them to jump up. The little fur left on their bodies stands high in fear.

A massive silver wolf jumps out of the trees, followed by a pack of fifty wolves running at an insane speed. The silver wolf slams into a rogue causing it to fly into a tree. The c***k of the wolf's body forces me to flinch. If he isn't dead, his back is for sure broken. The silver wolf runs at another rogue and snaps his jaws around his neck. The rogue whimpers, and then the cries die as the silver wolf rips his throat out, causing blood to gush all over him. The silver wolf laps his long pink tongue over his bloodied muzzle, licking off the blood of the rogue. His eyes glint with satisfaction as he runs after another rogue.

The fifty wolves totally dominate and tear the rogues to shreds. The sounds of growls, snarls, and whines carried into the sky. I watch with my mouth dropped in fear. Suddenly Gru, the rogue alpha, appears and marches to the middle of the clearing. He belts out a howl that causes the rogues and warrior wolves to shake and turn their necks in submission to him. He uses this to his advantage and torpedoes into a cluster of wolves, using his claws to rip their necks open. Warm crimson blood paints the green grass, splatter after splatter. Gru is fighting three wolves simultaneously with ferocity and terrible anger. He is so fast that the wolves have no choice but to retreat.

Then the silver wolf runs into the side of the rogue alpha, slashing the side of his body wide open. Gru lays on the ground in pain, gushing out ruby red blood; even still, his lips curl back, baring his rotten teeth at the silver wolf. The silver wolf stomps towards him as the other wolves stop fighting to stare at their alphas.

The silver wolf transforms as he walks into his human form. His naked form is tall, about 6'4, with black short curly hair with a short beard. His dark brown skin is stretched tight over a muscular but lean body. His naked body stops just out of reach of the wolf, with dangerously long claws still extended.

"Gru, long-time old friend." His voice is baritone deep.

The rogue Alpha transforms as well but much slower. What appears is the shadow of what used to be a beautiful man. His dirty blonde hair is patchy like his fur; his skin is creamy white with purple and blue bruises littered all over him. Ragged pink and red scars tattoo his body in various designs over the remnants of a thick muscular body. He is lying on his side and breathing ragged breaths while holding his gaping bloody wound.

"King Ekon, How is my Mate? Have you filled her with pups yet? He snarls with piercing blue eyes.

King Ekon growls, and his tricolored irises storm with black and gray. His growl rumbles through everyone forcing all heads to turn in submission, even Alpha Gru.

"You dare continue to claim Reina as yours? Is this why we smelled your stench near the pack house?” King Ekon bellows, pushing his alpha aura out, causing many wolves to whimper. A few rogues pass out from the pain of his smothering power.

Through gritted teeth, Gru pushes out the words, "She is supposed to be mine!"

"If you had stayed away, you could have lived out your wretched days in exile...but now you must die!" King Ekon yells

"You can't kill me! The prophecy says…."

King Ekon laughs loudly, interrupting the Rogue Alpha. "You really are a fool! The prophecy says what!?" He flares his Aura again, causing Gru to bend his neck at an impossible angle in submission.

"The Lycan Queen will rule all supernaturals not just in title but in power. She will bare pups that will have powers unknown to any being alive. Her Mate is the Black Wolf King!" He takes a deep breath and bellows, "I am the black wolf Ekon!"

King Ekon stares at Gru blankly; he crouches down, brings his face close, and whispers.

"Reina is not the Lycan Queen... She is the Mother of the Future Lycan Queen. MY daughter will be the ruler of all supernaturals…and she will never be yours…."

Gru's ocean blue eyes widen in surprise. "No! The red witch told me…."

"It matters not, old friend, you betrayed your mate, pups, and kingdom... I now must do what I should've done moons ago." The King remarks gently, staring into Gru's scared eyes.

King Ekon unexpectedly grabs Gru's stretched neck, forcing his angry black claws to sink deeply into the rogue's throat. The gurgling choking sounds of the wolf fill the air. The King squeezes so hard his knuckles turn white from the force. He roughly rips Gru's esophagus out in one aggressive pull. He stands, slamming the bloody remnants onto the ground with a loud splat. The King bares his canines and curls his lips as he howls at the invisible moon, loud and full of power, causing all the wolves to bow down. His warriors soon join him in his scream of victory—the sound echoes throughout the forest.