REID:
As I try to settle in, I notice how the interior of the building is nothing in relation to the structure outside. The edges inside were smooth and not some oddly shaped design with no definite explanation. Feels like a roundhouse inside a square-shaped structure.
Where we are now is plain. And when I say plain, it truly is. Nothing of quality to show for it as they seemed to neglect anything that would make the room stand out.
I just have to overlook all that as I focus on the Elder who is comfortably seated and looking right ahead of us through those eyes that seem pretty dead. The pupils were not even part of the regulars and if I had any other conviction, I would say he is blind.
I’m totally uncertain about what to do. I have no idea if I am to speak first, judging by how the settings around here were. One thing I know now is that I have got some serious explaining to do once my father finds out that I visited the Elder.
‘Hunter, should I go ahead and speak?’ I mind-link Hunter who looks just as uncertain as I am.
‘Don’t know,’ he responds, shrugging in reality as he does so. ‘Perhaps we need to wait for him to come around,’
‘Before you brought out the idea of coming down here, didn’t you make enough research on this place?’
He gazes at me after my question. And I do not need him to respond to it because judging by his expression, he made no research. Goodness me, I wouldn’t mind killing the bastard if things go wrong here.
I have to go through the safe path. So what I’m going to do is just sit and observe. Maybe it would kick into the Elder to speak to us first.
My patience runs out before it even began. And so I find myself speaking out, “Elder Griffith, may I speak?”
The Elder blinks continuously. And just after that, I notice that his eyes come alive. What state he entered now, I do not know.
“Alpha Reid,” he calls my name, nodding slowly. “You may speak.”
“Before I go into why I came here, how did you know I was going to show up here? Your supposed head warrior, Diana I presume, mentioned that while she was escorting my beta and me down to this place.”
Being too observant, I notice how the Elder suddenly taps on his legs before he says, “Nature works in many ways. And I have a special connection with it. It was a gift the moon goddess bestowed upon me since the day I found a purpose in this life,”
“I see,” I say, finding it a little sublime but choosing not to show it in my expression. I decided to put his gift to the test, though. “Since you knew I was coming here, then you should know what I came here for?”
He hums. “Just get on with it first,”
Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be testing him. And with how Hunter stares at me when I look in his direction tells me that I shouldn’t have done that.
“Well, Elder Griffith, I came here with my beta because there seems to be an issue beyond my reach. An issue that is definitely mysterious with yet no knowledge on how to deal with it. So after deliberating what to do, my beta suggested that we come to meet you because he believes you could help us out with it. And I am convinced as well that you could help us out with it,”
The silence that ensues after I state my ‘yet to be explained’ reason to him is filled with a lot of awkwardness. Especially judging that I have to go through a phase of personal conviction that I am doing the right thing.
Nervously, I adjust the jacket I have on. I just hope I do not get a change of mind before the meeting gets to a midpoint.
“I am sure you believe you are running ahead of your time,”
When the Elder says that to my hearing, I pause for a brief second to process that. Did I just hear him well? I guess not.
“Can you say that again?” I request, hoping he would adhere to it.
“You are a young alpha, Alpha Reid. So even if you do not want to admit it, you are going through a lot of speculations right now on whether or not you are doing the right thing by coming down here to seek advice on how you could go about the issue your pack is facing. If it was left to you, you would try to solve it yourself but then it is beyond your reach,”
The words came out slow. But they were enough to sum up just how I feel at the moment. How? Just how does he know all this about me?
“How can you tell all these about me?” I ask, obviously still confused about the whole thing.
“Never ask a gifted one like me about my source. Instead, ask how you will be able to gain from the source,”
At this point, I need nothing to tell me that I should not go on with presenting my pack’s issue to him. So I proceed to start to explain to him.
“A few days ago, something otherworldly occurred. A whole household suddenly went missing with nothing to pinpoint their mysterious disappearance. At first, we thought it just happened to be that they were on an outing, but after listening to revelations from those around them as well as doing some investigations, we realized it has nothing to do with that.”
“And how do you know it wasn’t that?” Maybe I was overthinking things because I seem to notice that the Elder’s voice was a bit shaky. Why would it be when I have not even given out a definite explanation?
“Well, Elder Griffith,” I start to say, “the whole household was about to have a family dinner when the inevitable happened. But I wish there was evidence for us to establish what really happened to them,”
“Because there cannot be evidence!” as husky as the Elder’s voice is, I could sense the terror in it.
And like that, I could see it now. The Elder was not being himself. His body was trembling so badly that I was starting to believe that he is convulsing.
Just as I am about to stand up to help him out, I feel Hunter’s hands on me as he pushes me and holds me back from getting up to my feet. When I look at him, he shakes his head at me.
“What do you mean by that?” I ask as I look back at the Elder who is certainly going through a phase that I will not understand even if the explanation is presented to me.
“The prophecy...” although silent, I heard that clearly from the Elder.
“What prophecy?” I inquire.
“It is here. It is finally here. We have entered into the dark age and there is no way we are getting out of this,” the panic in his voice is much too evident that it leaves an ounce of worry in my system.
But just as it comes in, I push it out. “Are you sure you are not thinking it the wrong way, Elder Griffith? What dark age have we gotten ourselves into?”
The Elder shakes his head at me violently. “You are too naive to understand what is going on,”
“I am not being naive here. I mean, what does a prophecy have to do with this? It’s just a wipeout that we are trying our best to solve. That is why we are here because we believe you can help us with this,”
“You want my help, yet you choose to question my justification. I do not think you really need my help, Alpha Reid.”
A sigh makes its way out of my lips. “I’m sorry,” I apologize for my insensitivity. “Please carry on,”
“What is coming your way is bigger than what you think it might be. You think the mysterious disappearance happened just because of a little act or something. But I am telling you now that it is something you have no idea of. Something much bigger than your understanding,”
“Then bring it to my understanding, Elder Griffith. Make me understand what is going on.”
And like that, the Elder slowly goes up to his feet. When he does I notice that his eyes seem dead like they had been when we had first arrived in here with him. And frankly speaking, I have no idea what is going on here. Or what might be the issue on ground. Did I come here for something bigger than expected?
The Elder eventually speaks. “It is too late to make you understand because it is upon us now. And right now, I can feel it. It is out of its hiding place, ready to create havoc on the unaware. Ready to devour on the weak. And ready to wipe out the existence of those that come from Selene, the moon goddess.”
If this was meant to make me scared, it was working because I am shit scared at the moment. An unimaginable aura starts to overwhelm me and maybe it is just me but I feel like a weight was right on my shoulder.
I turn to look at Hunter to see that he is reacting the same way I am. The fear was apparent in his eyes. The fear of the unknown. And what if the unknown becomes known, how will he cope? How will I cope?
“It is here...”
Right after when the Elder says that in all eeriness, I get mind-linked. And by where it was coming from, I could tell it was by the pack’s head warrior.
‘Alpha... Alpha... It has happened again!’
‘What are you talking about, Ryu?’ I ask, sensing the panic in his voice.
‘Another disappearance has happened. And this time, we might know the reason for it!’
I gape in surprise. And not at the fact that the mystery was in motion, but that it seems the Elder might be right.
Something bigger than what I think is upon us.
KIRA:“So, Alexia, we are here now,” I say as I take a look around the woods. Won’t lie, being in here is giving me vibes from two days ago when I was on the run away from the warriors of the Night Blaze pack, even though I am not in their territory at the moment.‘You should try using the mind-link just as I’ve taught you. It’s going to be embarrassing if someone catches you talking to yourself,’ Alexia, my newfound spirit wolf, speaks in my head which startles me a bit. I’m still not used to this whole thing about having a living entity in me. Pretty sure it would take me a while even though I have come to accept my new identity.“It’s sort of difficult,” I say as I bend to pick up a stick on the ground.‘Just shut your mind off other things and you will see it would work. Takes quite a lot of practice but in no time you’ll get used to it,’I start to consider what she says. She’s right about it being embarrassing if caught. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m not used to this w
KIRA:Slowly I turn around, mustering enough courage not to reveal my emotions. “Wh– What are you talking about?” I ask.The distance between Bradley and me was a little much now due to walking out on him a few seconds ago. So what he does first is to cover up the distance a little.“I only asked a simple question,” he says, his eyes seeming like they could see through me.“That didn’t seem like a question to me,” I rebuff.“Do you have anything to hide?”Anxiously, I peel my eyes off him for a brief second before looking back at him. “Do I look like I do?”Bradley folds his arms below his chest. “You tell me,”“Well, I don’t. So stop questioning me like I’m doing something wrong,”So I turn around once again to leave. I do not even bother to listen to note if he was on my tail but I am sure he is.He proves he is directly behind me when his voice gets straight to my ears. “You could have just said ‘no’, you know? You didn’t have to be so dramatic about the whole thing,” was what he s
REID:I bend over to take a look at the slimy-looking substance on the pavement. It looked strange and possibly with no viable explanation of what it is by merely looking at it.“You said you saw what it looked like, right?” I say as I stand up to my feet and then turn around. Standing there was Hunter and Ryu, the pack head warrior that had put a link through to me during my visit to the Elder.The statement I made now was directed to him because he had been the one to inform me about the second wipeout of a household in the pack. And that is what I am trying to investigate with him.“Yes,” he responds with a nod.Briefly, I stare at the substance again on the pavement and then back at Ryu. “So what has it got to do with this?”“I think it has a lot to do with this. Because this is the only evidence that something actually happened in here. More like a remain,”“This looks like some kid made a mess of things and not like an evidence that something happened,” I say, proceeding to proc
REID:Ever since I took up the role of Alpha, my father has since moved out of the pack to go establish himself as a lone wolf. Although I won’t necessarily call it that way because the warriors and maidens around him indirectly make up a small territory. And not to forget him being with my mother and sister.The only time I ever get a visit from him is when it involves a serious issue. And I’m certain that is the reason he came around today.My best guess would be it was about the disappearances in the pack. And I hope not to be proved wrong, especially after trying to keep the other thing discreet.“To what do I owe this visit, father?” I ask him as I watch him from across the table separating us in the parlor of the main quarters.I noticed something about his expression despite him looking fascinated with his old territory. He looked distressed. Feels to me like he has been going through a lot. But I would like to doubt that because the man I know hardly has time to put too much o
KIRA:The whole atmosphere feels different now that I’m here. I wasn’t even dreading being here, but I can’t help but observe the oddity of it all. I guess being away from a place for a while changes your view about the place. But mine changes every time I do such a thing.School has always been my least favorite thing. Especially since the time I became intelligent enough to know that there were quite a few other things I could do instead of trying to be educated. Like who the hell thought it was beneficial for young ones to go through school?My dislike for school contributed a lot to my negligence. I just hate being here. Nothing about the environment gave me a feeling of satisfaction. And if it hadn’t been for my father who came back home last night and forced me to school today, I’m sure I would have begun my second consecutive week away from the educational sector. If that even makes sense.I hold on tight to the straps of my bag which I have strapped on my back. This was done a
KIRA:“What is going on?” I whisper to myself as I take a look at my hands that just performed some magic. How did I suddenly become this strong?I do not want to believe what is happening, but looking at the floor and seeing Sophie right there brings me to the realization of things. It really is happening. I just put the mighty Sophie on her butt.Looking around, I see that students like us have gathered around to witness the scene. Instantly spikes up the nervousness in me. I should get away from here this instance before things get out of hand.But before I can make any move, Sophie is up on her feet, looking ready to have another go at me. Although she looks humiliated, the fiery side of her won’t back down.“Sophie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you,” I start to apologize to her because even though I had just done something as magnificent as that, I still am scared about going against her. Who knows if that has happened as a mere fluke?But it seems Sophie is buying none of it
KIRA:“I’m not sure I understand what you mean,”Despite the sudden rush of my heartbeat after hearing Kelvin sound like he knows a secret about me, I manage to conceal my emotions when I talk to him.He still has his gaze on me just like I do on him. But I try not to look into his eyes because the last thing I need now is for him to get the wrong message that I was into him.A smile, and then he looks away. “You are confused,” he says after that.The first thing I try to do is correlate what we are discussing with the likely version of his newest statement. I am confused? Is that what he means by knowing what I am?“I still do not understand,” I have to admit.He taps his fingers on his lap as he takes his time to respond to me. And I have to peel my eyes off him as well because I was getting tired of staring at him like he was the most important being I have ever come across.“Don’t think too much about it. It’s nothing to dwell on,” and I hear him stand up to his feet which prompts
KIRA:“Okay, Alexia,” I start to say as I take my clothes off, “if this doesn’t go well like the last time, I won’t be trying it again. I am in no option to be sacrificing my body for something that will not eventually work out,”‘Do away with the negativity. I’m sure things will be different this time around,’ Alexia responds with confidence. And I am eager to know if the confidence would match with the end result.“I’ll believe you said that,” and I take the last piece of clothing off of me to reveal my complete nudity.Here I am again in the woods with the mindset of trying the transformation once more after failing in the first attempt.As usual, I am alone around here. This is what gives me the confidence to be able to do anything without the thought that I would be interrupted by anyone. Or so I thought.After my clothes have been successfully tucked in the tree hole, I bend to the ground because I am now ready to undergo the transformation. But no lies I am totally nervous abou