Chapter 3. The Building in the Woods

The tall trees stood high, pointing towards the sky as they danced to the rhythmic wind blowing from the east towards the west.

The smell of dumplings filled the air, making Queen feel nauseous and vomit several times along the way.

The sound of thunder slashed through the air, leaving them terrified.

“I am tired,” Queen cried weakly, her lips trembling as she spoke.

“We are almost there. I can smell the scent of some members of our pack from here,” Olivia replied while running her hands through Queen’s long black hair as they walked through the woods.

Olivia was thinking about the previous day, feeling somber. Her eyes grew watery, and she was on the verge of tears.

After glancing at her daughter, she immediately wiped her eyes to avoid being caught crying. She needed to appear strong for Queen, and suppressing her emotions was the only way.

“Can you hear that? I think we are approaching the pack,” Queen spoke dreamily.

She was right. In a few minutes, they had already arrived at the camp where the rest of the pack was.

“We are here,” Olivia said with a smile on her face and a sigh of relief.

“I don’t see anyone,” Queen muttered.

Her mom smiled, blushing up to her ears. She then patted her on her back. “I can’t wait for you to discover your wolf,” she mumbled.

“Oww…” Olivia howled while holding her daughter close to her.

After a brief silence, they heard rustling leaves, indicating someone was around. They moved around in the dark, looking for a figure, but did not find one.

A few seconds later, a howl echoed from the direction they were facing.

“Oh, thank goodness!” they both exclaimed, quickening their footsteps and heading toward the direction the howl came from.

“Luna?” a young man appeared out of the darkness, startling them both.

“Warrior!” Olivia replied upon recognizing his voice. She had never been happier to see him.

“You are safe,” he cried.

“Yes, we are. Where are the others?” she asked him.

He was very ecstatic and immediately took her to where the others were.

“We were able to gather all the children, and ten of the warriors are here with them as directed. We were all scared you hadn’t arrived. Everyone will be so happy to see you.”

There was a small building situated close to the road. It looked like a hut with a thatched roof, and that’s where the children and some of the women were kept, guarded by nine warriors.

Everyone’s faces lit up upon seeing Luna and her daughter, especially Davies, one of the children. Davies was also 16 years old and a classmate of Queen.

She smirked as soon as she caught sight of him. Without wasting time, she went to him and sat on the floor next to him.

“There is a bus on its way to take us out of this town. Hopefully, it will be here in a few minutes,” Olivia said to the warriors and the children before stepping out to meditate.

“What about your dad?” Queen asked Davies.

“He is at the battleground.”

“So, how did you all get here?” she asked.

“I was carried by one of the warriors and brought here with these other children. We barely know what is happening, although I overheard my parents last night talking about a famous werewolf hunter and how he arrived in town to eliminate every werewolf,” Davies spoke at length, unsettling Queen’s mind.

“My dad got shot on our way here,” Queen snarled. Tears streamed down her face as the scene replayed in her mind.

“Your dad is our alpha. He’s going to be fine. Can’t say the same for my dad, though. I just hope he’s alright. Look at my mum over there,” he pointed, “she looks like she’s seen a ghost. If anything happens to my dad, I’m not sure she’ll be able to handle it.”

***

Meanwhile, Jacob was still lying on the bare floor with tall, muscular men standing over him. He lay bare on the ground, sweating profusely, counting the seconds until his death.

His hearing was becoming distorted, and he could no longer make out much of what they were discussing. His vision was also blurring, preventing him from seeing or recognizing anyone among the hunters.

All he could feel at that moment was the stony ground, becoming wet every second due to his sweating.

“You must have heard of me,” Graham, the new head of the werewolf hunters, whispered into Jacob’s ear, “the famous Graham Potter.”

He squatted down, placing his knee on Jacob’s neck. “Can you hear me, Alpha?” he continued.

Jacob could hear him clearly but chose to remain silent. Despite feeling like he was being repeatedly run over by a car, he chose to remain silent, as if he were not in pain at all.

Graham Potter’s phone rang in his pocket, prompting him to step away to answer the call.

Jacob was in severe pain, lying on the floor with his chest against the ground. His only relief was that they were no longer pursuing his wife and daughter, giving them a chance to join the others and escape town. He was willing to sacrifice his life at that point for the safety of his family and the rest of the pack.

Lying there, he felt fulfilled rather than the anger he had felt before. He and the other pack members who had died in the battle had served a greater purpose, and their bloodline would continue.

While pondering all this, he heard footsteps approaching – those of the hunter, Graham Potter. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled as he awaited his imminent death.

“What are you waiting for?” Jacob asked loudly after a minute of waiting.

No one was touching him or attempting to kill him. They all remained silent as if waiting for someone.

“What took you so long?” Graham spoke to someone.

“Just some minor distractions,” the person replied. “Where is he?”

“Over there,” Graham Potter replied, pointing at Jacob.

Jacob’s heart skipped a beat. He recognized the voice immediately.

It was his Beta, Charles Dura.