Chapter Two
“Gather the pack,” Lucas commanded, his eyes were flaming with anger. No one knew why he was so hot headed. Just an hour ago, he was in a good mood and all of a sudden, he was furious. That was the thing about him, he lacked the discipline taming anger. He let his temper get the best of him. No wonder no one from the outcasts dared to challenge his dominance.
Vincent Kendrick, the most faithful apprentice he’d ever had bowed his head and turned around to do his mentor’s command. Lucas never wanted to train him in the first place for the very reason Vincent was half-human, an impure blood with less strength and poor stamina. But seeing his eagerness to learn and prove his worth, Lucas agreed to train him. But it was not exactly as what he’d hoped. Catching Lucas’ meal was not part of the training he’d anticipated for, but what else could he do? He wanted to learn and he would do just about anything to be trained by the toughest werewolf there was.
Lucas stood at the edge of the cliff with his gaze fixed at the forest. His ears flickered forward and backward. He could hear the many waters streaming through the falls and it scared him that sooner or later, blood shall be mixed with the fresh water that sustained the forest. Through the sole of his feet, he sensed the pulse of the jungle and listened to the symphony of all the creatures living therein.
He sniffed the air. No sign of danger. It was safe. But until when? He scanned the forest and though it was nighttime, his vision could see through the darkness. His excellent sense of smell was enough to trace any intruders and with his speed, they could not escape. Once an outsider stepped into his territory, he had no choice but kill it. It was the rule and he had to follow it, or else, risk his position as the alpha male of the pack, something he could never allow. He’d bled and shed tears for this position, and he wouldn’t just let anyone ruin his hard-earned glory. Over his dead body.
The whistle of the wind whirled around the bonfire and flame rose to a great height. The dried twigs flaked and the ashes scattered around. The flame roared and threatened to spread across the forest, but Lucas stood still untamed by the remark of the element that could quench him alive. He had no fear, not even the toughest werewolf that had ever lived in the history of lycanthropy could scare him. He was like a hardened steel, reared up by an iron rod.
The flame calmed down and the wind ceased to blow. He could feel the heat radiating from his body as sweat drifted passed his forehead. His naked back faced the fire as he savored the sensation of torrid heat that slowly released the pressure from his perplexed mind. He liked the pain because it was his source of strength. Every scar on his body had a legacy, but his pride lay in his ability to protect his pack and territory.
He breathed in and out, meditating on his next move. His tensed nerves and popping veins eased out. His breathing slowed down and the weight on his chest disappeared. It took him long enough to practice meditation, a much-needed task to control his emotion so that he could think straight and plan his move against the dark shadows. Letting his anger takeover would only serve as an obstacle.
“You’re over thinking again.”
He was caught off-guard. He didn’t sense her presence until now. He turned around and blocked his thoughts. “Ayana.”
The half-naked woman whose legs could extend as far as a meter for each step took a step forward. Her only covering was a piece of thin silk. Her breasts traced through the fabric and her temple seemed inexistent; perhaps it was covered by a thick piece of fabric. Her silvery white hair glistened in the reflection of the sun and her ruby-like eyes shimmered with kindness. Such a gentle countenance she had and every man in the forest could not help but fantasize mating with her.
And Lucas was on the top of the list.
“Doubt consumes conviction; therefore, don’t let your heart control your mind,” she said solemnly, gazing at him with that look as though inviting him to lay her down.
He swallowed. His face was turning red and his heart racing out of his ribcage. His manhood erected, getting choked under his tight and worn out pants. He frowned at her, pretending to be angry to hide his interest. “I’ve told you, don’t read people’s mind!”
“Is it wrong to help?”
“There’s nothing wrong with helping, but reading people’s thoughts is not helpful at all. You’re intruding other’s privacy.”
He had a point, but Ayana seemed unconvinced of his reason. She knew he was hiding something fishy. She’d known him for far too long and a glance at him could instantly reveal his deepest and darkest thought.
“It’s not my fault to be blessed with this ability. You should be thankful that I’m helping you out,” she said, raising her voice slightly.
Lucas sighed and grabbed a handful of dried twigs, throwing them into the flame to keep the fire ablaze. Keeping an eye contact with her was dangerous so he was doing everything he could to avoid her gaze. “I’m not that kind of person and you know that. The one thing I hate the most is people intruding my personal life.”
“No one intrudes your personal life. I can only read minds and look through people’s thoughts, but it serves them no harm. I’m here to help, trust me.” The sparkle in her eyes spoke of her genuine intention.
But Lucas trusted no one. “Trust cannot be given, neither can it be earned. It’s the most dangerous thing in the world because those who trust die.” He stared at the fire with a stoic look in his eyes, reminiscing his past and those mistakes he’d foolishly committed.
“If you can’t trust us, how can we trust you?”
“Don’t. Because even I don’t trust myself,” he said quietly. His countenance fell sad and a hint of resentment covered his face. He kept his gaze on the fire and walked even closer to it. He seemed very fascinated by the colors of the flame, dancing in the harmony of the wind. Blue, red, orange, yellow and green in one wave. He reached out his hand to touch it and feel the embrace of the blaze.
“Lucas!” A familiar voice put back senses into his brain. He almost touched the fire and get burned. He brought his gaze in the direction of the voice and sure enough, it was Chris, the most hot-headed person he’d ever met.
Chris, along with the rest of the pack, marched forward. His intimidating presence pushed Lucas back. He bent back up and stood firmly, keeping his eyes on Chris who seemed somewhat perplexed by the situation. From his rear vision, he saw Ayana faded into the heart of the forest. Her silvery hair and tantalizing eyes disappeared into the darkness.
“What took you so long?”
“It’s only been a couple of minutes,” one of them said.
Chris walked toward Lucas. His arrogant gaze and bossy attitude irritated him, making him want to knock him down and put him to sleep at least for once. These two never got along. Despite the comradery, the scar of the past had never fully healed. Chris wanted to be the alpha of the pack, but with his inability to protect them despite all his effort, Lucas got the position.
Chris stood right in front of Lucas and crashed a huge spider underfoot. His unfriendly gaze was enough to speak on his behalf.
“Why did you summon us here?”
Lucas locked his gaze with Chris’, letting him know who the real boss was. He had never understood why despite all his effort to reconcile with him he seemed emotionally detached to feel his eagerness to befriend him again. He suspected Chris still couldn’t let go of his defeat against his last encounter with the dark shadows where most of his troupe got killed. For sure it must have been a tragic and traumatizing event, but one should not dwell in the past and relive every minute of it in the hopes of changing what had already happened.
He shifted his gaze to the rest of the pack and walked through him, shoving him aside. He ran his gaze across them, counting each head. There were only a hundred of them, excluding the trainees. These guys were experienced hunters and some of them were assassins, paid to kill and clean the dark shadows who were sent to the outside world to spread their kind.
“None of us is oblivious to the fact that the dark shadows are out there, spreading their virus on humans to form an army against us,” he said, looking each of the members with a fervent look in his eyes. “We are very outnumbered. If we don’t make a strategic plan to save our kind, we’ll be phased out and our kind shall only exist on the pages of stupid history books. And we can’t let that happen. We have to devise a plan to defeat them.”
Chris turned his head to Lucas. A look of great doubt was evident of his distrust over his plan. “We are no match for their weapons. They’ve become wiser than they were years back. They’ve learned to use the technology to their advantage and I’m not gonna let you risk my men for your foolish plan.”
Lucas’ face turned red and his blood boiled to knock Chris down for a moment. His fangs protruded and his eyes turned black. He couldn’t bear Chris’ disregards to his authority. Out of nowhere, he heard a voice in his head.
“Get hold of yourself. Your men are watching you.” He calmed down and the color of his eyes returned back to normal.
He recognized the voice. Ayana had not left after all; she was just in the forest, hiding in the darkness, listening to their conversation. And no one even knew she was there, except him because she’d entered his thoughts. She could be a great asset against the enemy with her ability to read minds and manipulate thoughts, but being a warrior was not in her list of interest; she preferred the peace and quiet of the forest.
Lucas turned his back on Chris and faced his men. “I see that they’ve adopted the ways of humans and now using it develop weapons to eliminate us. But that does not mean we’re no match for them. Remember, we are werewolves, the strongest and toughest creature on the planet and our kind shall stand through the end of time,” he yelled, lifting their spirits up and giving that hope they’d all wanted.
The pack roared and chanted their agreement. Their loud voices deafened the ears of the forest as each flying creature flew from their nests and scattered across the sky. The birds were awakened from their slumber. They squealed as they made their escape. Possums, rats, skunks, and other small creatures crawled their way out. They were lucky, these guys weren’t hungry otherwise they would have been grilled for dinner.
Chris rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to the ground. He noticed a struggling rat biting him on the foot. It turned out he was stepping on its tail. He picked it up and his eyes turned black. He swallowed the poor thing down his throat.
Those who’d seen him felt disgusted. Rats were at the bottom of the pyramid chart for a wolf’s diet, and no one really liked them. At least Chris did not have to bother looking for his dinner; all he needed to do now was to determine the dark shadow’s weakness, something he’d been working on for a long time. But until now he still couldn’t figure out what was the catalyst to easily kill a dark shadow. Onions and garlic had lost their grip. Dark shadows nowadays had evolved to a great height. Thanks to the development of technology, they could now take human forms and be in the sunlight in the middle of the day. Their skin was no longer pale and their eyes could change colors. They mingled with humans as if their kinds shared the same bloodlines, although they really did. Dracula’s first descendants had once been humans so there was an inevitable attraction between them, unlike werewolves whose origin came from a pure breed animal.
Lucas’ face brightened up. His source of inspiration was his men and without them him being the alpha of the pack would be useless. He refocused his attention and looked into each of his men’s eyes, assuring them that there was a great hope, a bright future for them. “They might have the advantage of technology, but they lack strength. And with the evolution of their genes through modern drugs, they’ve become even weaker so they rely on heavy duty weapons to defend themselves against us. They know we are the purest of the pure. We are animals in the human form and our strength stands unchanged through the ages. And we’ll keep it that way.”
Vincent took the courage to cut in, though he knew doing so could incur punishment. It was an unwritten law that no one should interrupt a leader when he was speaking unless one had a strong valid reason to do so.
“Given that they’ve weakened physically, this does not take out the threat that they cannot defeat us. They have been developing weapons so sophisticated they could wipe out the entire planet. We need to match them not only with our strength but more so with our ability to develop modern weapons.”
He had a point, and Lucas could not punish him for his honesty. He could sense the sincerity in the young lad’s voice and he felt his eagerness to help. But he wasn’t so sure about such idea. Wolves weren’t domesticated creatures like dogs, so adapting to the modern world of technology would be a huge task to tackle. And he doubted time would let them so. The spread of the virus across the mainland was on the rise and the number of dark shadows was spreading rapidly. Sooner or later, they would outnumber human’s population without the humans knowing. It was very difficult to tell a real human from a dark shadow human. They shared almost the same things, ate the same meals and did the same stuff. But one crucial thing about dark shadows is that they could never look a wolf shifter in the eyes and that was how they often got caught.
Everyone turned their eyes on Vincent, glaring at him as if he knew any better. They knew he was half-human and wondered why he was even here. For them, he was lucky enough to be accepted into the pack, but they never wanted him to do anything but clean after their mess.
One of the men confronted Vincent. “Hey, human, aren’t you supposed to be in the training camp?”
Vincent kept his gaze straight at Lucas. He knew he would never let harm come near him just because he was under his umbrella. “I have finished all my training and topped the physical examination.”
“No one is asking for your credentials, human!”
Lucas just stood still and waited for Vincent’s next move.
But Vincent kept himself composed and focused all his attention on Lucas.
“Hey, say something. I’m talking to you.”
“That’s enough,” Lucas ordered. Everyone silenced and the commotion turned dry. “Vincent has a point. We must look through every possibility of how to better stop the spread of the dark shadows on the mainland. This is the least we can do. If we can’t defeat them, at least we could stop the spread of their population.”
“You could send him to the outside world since he’s still a human,” Chris cut in. He wasn’t a big fan of Vincent like the rest of the men. He viewed him as a weak and impure creature, worse than the outcasts who rebelled against them. And to see him gone would make his life feel better, or so he thought.
Lucas made no response. He’s got a point, but I’m not quite sure if this boy is ready for this kind of mission. He still hasn’t finished his full training. Being intellectually intelligent isn’t enough. He needs experience, he thought, while staring at Vincent who was petrified at Lucas’ patronizing eyes.
“He’s no baby. He’s a wolf deep inside him. I’m sure he’ll use his animal instinct to defend himself,” Chris said, getting extremely irritated at the attention Lucas was giving to Vincent.
“Right. I have made up my mind.” He paused and turned his head to the dark side of the forest where he sensed Anaya’s presence. In his mind, he asked her approval for he could not see the future. He asked for a sign and when he saw twin pink circles sparkling, which must have been her eyes, he looked straight at Vincent.
“I’m sending you alone for a mission to the outside world. Find a way to develop weapons that could kill the dark shadows instantly.”
Vincent’s eyes grew wide open. He couldn’t think straight. How on earth could he find a way to develop such weapons? It wasn’t as if he’d lived there for a long time. Oh well, he’ll do just fine. He was half-human after all.