3

The bond of fated mates.

I was getting ahead of myself. Right now, I was surrounded by an entire rival pack right at the brink of the reservation. I couldn’t let them go anywhere near my home, where my family, the Creed of the Wolf, lived. That was sacred ground. It was forbidden for blood to be spilled there.

Yet, I was not able to fight the wolves alone. It was sheer madness to think that I could take on thirteen of the angriest, rowdiest, and blood thirstiest werewolves all by myself.

The moon strengthened me. The spirit of Briar Wolf, the strongest of our kind, looked over me. I knew it. Whenever I felt alone and overpowered, I remembered Briar Wolf, the most courageous wolf ever. I could feel him in my veins. I could feel the power surging through my being.

I looked up at the moon and howled, hoping against hope that my pack would respond.

“That was folly, kindred. You let our prey escape. You foil us, youngling. You’ve come in our way for the last time,” their alpha, a grizzly wolf by the name of Terror Trevor, snarled as he approached me.

“It is not the mark of the wolf to ambush weak prey. It is the mark of jackals. You should change your name from the Howls to the Cackles,” I said. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was scared.

But the sound of paws stamping on the ground comforted me. I could feel the bond I shared with my kin and kith strengthen as they neared. Suddenly, my brethren, my pack jumped out from behind the trees and appeared in the hilltop’s clearing, surrounding the Howls.

I could sense my parents in the pack. My pack’s elders, too. Wolves of a pack shared an innate connection with each other, a connection that could be felt at all times. When we drew nearer to each other, our connection strengthened. When one of our pack members died, we each felt the anguish of their passing.

Even though my kin outnumbered the Howls, we were short an alpha. Our alpha, Jonas, had disappeared a week ago. There were rumors around town that the DOPC had something to do with it. That they were tightening their grip in the area and hunting any werewolf they came across. However, since we hadn’t felt our connection severe with Jonas, we were hoping that he was alive.

However, the matter remained that an absent alpha is not an alpha any longer. In the face of this looming battle, this would prove troubling.

“Let there be no unnecessary carnage on this site,” the elder of my pack, Father Thomas, said as he turned back into a human. “This matter needs resolving in this court of wolves.”

The alpha of the Howls’ pack turned and stomped up to Father Thomas. He snapped, “Every day they hunt us, we cower in the shadows. You are to blame for this, you lot, and your pacifist creed. We shall sit idly no longer. Let us have our way or else!”

“Or else what? You slaughtered the diner’s manager. You hunted a poor, young, innocent girl. You didn’t keep to your territory. You invaded ours. You have faulted us. Not the other way around!” I yelled. I’d turned back into a human, too, even though I wanted to stay in my wolf form. The moon was doing wonders for me tonight.

“Spare us your yaps, mutt,” Terror Trevor said. “Let the elders speak.”

“Regardless of who speaks, I shall not allow you to treat this town like it’s your personal playground. You may not hunt the women. You may not mate with those you’re not supposed to mate with. You will, above all, not disrespect members of my pack,” Father Thomas said.

“Big words from an old man,” Trevor spat.

“How about we settle this, then? Let’s have at it, you and me. You win, we’ll let you do whatever the hell you want. I win, you turn your back and never come here again. You don’t touch anyone. You make recompense for the one you have murdered,” I said.

“That little trotting prissy young missy is not who you think she is,” Trevor said and grinned. He smacked his lips and walked up to me, grabbing his crotch. “Young miss is a fit wolf, same as our kind. Same as yours. Unclaimed by her fated mate. That being said, she doesn’t even know that she’s a wolf. We gave her a proper scare, didn’t we, Howls?”

My blood boiled. I couldn’t keep it under control any longer. Ever since I had come across Alice, the tether that had formed between me and her was strong and irresistible. I had kept it a secret from everyone, not wanting to make a big deal out of this. Legend says that when you meet your fated mate, the entire world dulls in comparison.

You can feel her presence. Her scent is tangible to the point where you can touch it. She becomes your universe. When she talks, the words that come out of her lips emboss themselves on your heart. When she looks at you, it’s as if lightning strikes.

Most importantly, you feel the blossoming of love in your heart. You feel a calling.

If that was all correct, then my hand to Briar Wolf, I knew that Alice was my fated mate. It’s as if I could only see her and no one else.

The only complication in this particular matter was that she didn’t know yet that she was a wolf. She was troubled, a newcomer to this town, and unaware of her roots.

I would die before I’d let these Howls get to her. If they had their way, they would breed her against her will and make her one of their pack. That was the most dishonorable, lewd, and perverted act a wolf could perform.

Enraged by this sentiment, I turned again, letting my fury fuel me, and pounced at Trevor.

Trevor was by every means a humungous wolf. His nickname, Terror, was well-earned. But in that moment as I leaped onto him, I felt no terror. I only felt anger. Raw, white-hot anger.

A circle of wolves formed around us as we fought. They howled, cheered, groaned, and yelped as they saw the progress of the fight.

Terror Trevor wasn’t an easy foe. He was taller than me, stronger than me, and quite fast for his size. In the beginning, he thrashed me so hard that I crashed into a tree. I would have broken every bone in my body had this not been a full-moon night.

I hastily got back on all fours and climbed up the now-slanted tree. Trevor’s size was his biggest disadvantage. He wasn’t able to climb this tree. Now I had the high ground. Thank you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, for educating me on the fundamentals of fighting.

From my high ground, I leaped into the air and crashed into Trevor. My momentum caught him off guard, throwing him off his paws, leaving his underbelly and neck exposed.