“What? No, Tori. We need to head back.” Kurt stepped forward and threw his hands towards the rest of the scouts. Most of them were tired of searching and were filled with exhaustion and fatigue no doubt.
“We have been out here for three days. Three bloody days! Everyone is exhausted - the troop needs to rest and eat too.”
“Are you asking me to give up, do you mean to say we should give up searching for her?” Her hardened gaze fell on his body.
“No, no. Finding your Mum is our biggest priority. She’s like our mum too - our Alpha. But we have outdone ourselves for the day, we need to go back and refresh.”
He said, staring at her.
Perhaps she should have listened to Kurt. His words held some truth to an extent and afterall, he was the leader of the elite troop of wolves - North Lotus’ finest set of warriors. They had been tasked by the council to find her Mum and tirelessly, they had rummaged every inch of these woods to find her. They had followed her scent and screamed her name and had even put up a few posters of her picture, but it had all been to no avail. This was the point where she was supposed to give up and head back to the pack like Kurt insisted, but how could she when it was her mum that had been missing.
“Every minute we waste could be a second closer to her getting killed or being lost forever. How can you even suggest 'rest' when she’s out there alone?”
She scowled.
“We will head West, Kurt. We will keep searching until we find her.”
She said, her words caused Kurt’s jaws to clench and knowing him for over eighteen years, she knew he had a mouthful to say. Everyone has been on the edge for the past 72 hours and Kurt’s usual boisterous attitude had disappeared somewhere along the way. Just when she thought he do oppose his words, he took a firm glance at his sister beside him and sighed.
“I will let the troops know.”
He said, then walked away.
Her words settled it and to an extent, they were law. That was what came with belonging to one of the most important families in the North Lotus pack. On most days, what she said goes and no one, not even Kurt, could stand against it. His father was the beta of the pack and that gave him and Kasa a level of command over other pack members. From the day they were born, they do been trained to be elite warrior wolves and it didn’t surprise her one bit that they both grew to be one of the fiercest warriors. Even though their characteristic innocent blue eyes was bound to deceive anyone that they were harmless, However, in battle, these two could take up a hundred wolves.
For over three hours, she continued on her quest and rummaged deeper into the heart of the woods.
Her muscles ached and her stomach squirmed in hunger. Although they were naturally built to be agile, exhaustion was not something they could escape.
It did not help the fact that the West of these woods was an unexplored territory. It made everything look strange or maybe, it was strange. The breeze seemed stiffer in these part of the forest and the birds had no songs to sing.
Sharply, her eyes surveyed every inch of the vicinity and she couldn’t help noting the uneasiness that went down her spine.
Almost like the hairs on her body stood as still as the wind here. She pushed through large tropical leaves, leading the troop through the slowly darkening forest. The tree canopies here were thicker and blocked out the rays of the dim sunlight from reaching the forest roots.
“What’s this place?” she asked Kasa, who stood beside her, she had her eyes all over the forest.
“I am not sure but I am guessing rogue territory.”
“She is right.”
Kurt said, stepping up to pace with us.
“It’s not safe to be here. Father has told us tales about this place.”
“Someone’s scared?”
Kasa said, nudging her brother, teasingly.
Kurt scoffed.
“As if I would be scared of those uncircumcised bastards. I eat rogues for breakfast!”
“Well, not today. I really think we should head back. We could get attacked and in this condition, we might turn out to be a dinner.”
Kasa turned staring at her.
“Let’s just go a little further.”
Catori said, urging them to walk further.
“Catori, are you crazy? Look at this place, it’s like one big rogue hunting nest. We need to leave.”
Kasa said, and she knew even without facing her, she knew Kasa was glaring at me.
However, Kasa's words fell on a deaf ears. Instead Catori's eyes snapped to a particular part of the forest.
It was more sheltered than the rest, with larger leaves and bigger trees. Her heart picked up it’s beat and every sense in her body focused on that small sheltered place. Like it was calling out to her.
On her own accord, she detached herself from whatever Kasa was whining about and slowly walked towards the mysterious place, pushing through the branches and twigs.
A strong unfamiliar scent overcame her other senses at that instance and the sound of a heart beating erratically filled her eardrums, except it wasn’t hers. Whoever it belonged to was inside that sheltered place and it was calling out to her strongly.
The deep urge to be there excited her more than anything and save for caution, the thrill almost had her changing in to her wolf form and sprinting towards it’s source.
However, her run was shortened when a cruelly intimidating growl echoed through the woods and had the birds taking flight. It was coming from that sheltered place and on one hand, her human instincts told her to take flight away from there, because it smelt of danger but something else urged her on - pushing her to keep going, it was her wolf.....
“Catori! What are you doing? We need to leave. Now!”
Kasa pulled her back harshly and like a spell, she snapped out of what she would call a trance.
She blinked at her and at the rest of the troop. They do formed a defensive stance and some had already gone into squatting position, ready to transform with their teeth bared. She took a step back. The forest had gotten darker and it went beyond saying that they were in enemy territory.
“Everyone stand back. We’re leaving!”
She called out to the troops.
“About time,”
Kurt mumbled and went on to address the troops on the route they do be taking to go back to the pack.
Yet, her mind could not shake off the thought of what she had experienced so easily. That unknown feeling, unknown desire that kept calling out for her. What was that? Or rather, who was it?
She turned back to the sheltered zone for one last time before she joined the troops to leave.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.Our rivals would laugh us to scorn if they could see what our once great and powerful pack had become. North Lotus used to be a subject of true envy to other smaller packs. Legend has it that our large pack was once a division of two smaller packs that got joined through the indivisible power of love.This happened when the original founder of our pack, Maurice Dolphus, found his mate and forever love in the eyes of Astrid Chann - Alpha’s daughter to a smaller local pack.The union of these two brought our packs together as one and started the new generation of North Lotus.Our pack was like one big family. We shared a strong love and bond for each other. And although a lot of our enemies never knew this, that was what kept us going.We knew that united, we could do anything - even conquer an entire region or t
Catori tore through the woods at an enviable speed. The mild wind rushed through her flaming red fur as she pushed her muscles to cover more ground. The agile she-wolf leaped over fallen tree branches with a daunting strength, given to the amount of time she spent in these particular woods.Everything here was familiar to her and to an extent, these woods were like her play ground. When she was younger, she and the twins would play hide and seek here with blindfolds as a way of strengthening their senses and tracking skills. Ofcourse, Kurt always won each time. But she was always good at the running part. Her speed always left the twins eating her dust and save for the fact that Kurt was an excellent tracker, it was almost impossible to keep up with her.The only other wolf in their pack who wouldn’t break a sweat while running with Catori was her Mum. She was just as good as her in speed - even better. Catching her mother was an impos
Kasa’s wild hair had been tied up into a messy ponytail and her characteristic blue eyes sparked with such radiance Catori envied.“Hey you.” She smiled. “Where have you been? You’ll never believe what happened.”“Went for a run. And can this wait? I’ll really like to go inside.” Catori’s eyes trailed over to the solid wooden mansion, fenced by a properly trimmed flower bush.Kasa’s scrutinizing gaze seemed to pick up the little hints of despair etched onto her friend’s face like an awful scar.She frowned with concern. “You don’t look okay. Wait- How did your meeting with the counsel go?”Your father was an asshole as usual, Catori wanted to say.“You know, same old grumpy bunch.” Instead, she just sighed and shrugged halfheartedly.
Catori turned to Kurt and asked, "What's going on?""I asked to speak to a lawyer," the boy in the chair said again. Everyone in the room ignored him. Kurt signalled to Tori for them to speak outside the room while Kasa stayed behind to watch the intruder."This guy is dangerous, Tori. Let me handle him," Kurt said once they were out of the room."How did you catch him?" she asked.With a sigh, he answered. "He was hiding behind one of the large trees close to these training grounds," he said. "I suspect he wants to learn our way of training and battle. It's not a coincidence that he decided to spy on this part of North Lotus first."Catori took some time to regard his words. They made sense and Kurt was never one to dwell on wrong reasoning unless he was very sure about it. But there was something about that boy. He did not like a spy to her. He seemed a little t
It happened quickly. His fist flew towards the boy's jaw soon, there was a loud crack. With speed like lightning was on his feet and narrowly dodged the blow. Kurt Hemming was breathing heavily. His nostrils flared. His usually pale skin was red like fire. His usually tranquil baby blue eyes were looking tense with his pupils being enlarged. The hair on his neck were on alert and he was becoming hairier by the second.Kasa was scared, getting ready to fight him or hold him down if necessary. His wolf was coming out. It must have been crying to be released all this while. Every soul in the room was tense except Catori. She sat down assessing Liam. Something about him was not right. Something about him was familiar to her, it was too familiar in fact. Unfortunately she could not really place a finger on it.Meanwhile, Liam was watching Kurt with every ounce of seriousness, so was Kasa. Gradually, Kurt's appearance went back to bein
Catori slung the strap of the shoulder bag over her head and nestled it on her right shoulder. She contemplated whether to take her phone or not but ended up deciding against it. After all, who was there for her to call? Or who would ever decide to try reaching her?She went to the mirror to study her appearance. Today, she had chosen to wear the most comfortable of all her clothes. It was a black shirt on a pair of black joggers and black sneakers. She wanted to be able to easily blend in with the shadows. The only thing which was likely to give her away was her flaming red hair. The joggers had as many pockets as there could be. Each pocket contained weapons that would come in handy on the journey. She wore a pair of sneakers to top it off. What bothered her was what to do about her hair. Dyeing it was going to be useless, the dye would still fade soon. Instead, she tied it in a small bun and wore a black beanie over it.Openin
Nine elders were seated at the round table. Nine people who were to be the elders of the pack. Nine members, of which the majority came to do what they knew best, to plot evil. They sat, each wearing his or her black cloak to signify that they were about to deliberate on certain issues. "We should not have given her two more weeks to find that wretch mother of hers," Zeta Ahmik said. "That will make it a month with us not having an Alpha." "You have to be fair to the girl," Mrs Maxwell said. "She is doing everything she can to bring our Alpha back. If anything, I expected you all to at least be proud of her efforts." Beta Calian snorted. "You speak like she is the only one who is making effort, Gamma Maxwell." He smirked. "I am not surprised at your stand though, you are her fellow woman, after all." "What is that supposed to mean, Calian?" Mrs Maxwell asked. Zeta Ahmik answe
There were barking noises all over the place. Four wolves stood in a circle observing the carcass before them. Suddenly, one ran out of the circle and took a big bite out of her.Catori woke up with a start. The excruciating pain coming from her left side made it difficult for her to move. The slightest move of a muscle sent intense waves of pain all over her body. The brightness of the sun was too much for her eyes to handle as her lids slowly opened."Don't move," a masculine voice her right commanded.As if I can even try, she said in thought.She could not even turn to see the stranger."Who are you?" she managed to get out though her voice sounded nothing more than a tiny whisper. There was no response.If you want to kill me, you might as well make a little conversation, Catori thought.She briefly closed her eyes and when she opened them, there was a face blocking the sun from her face.