Chapter 2

The night's breeze was just as it used to be in every winter season. Cool and chilly but at the same soothing on one's skin as it showed signs of welcoming a new and fresh snow that had started falling in gentle drops.

The trees were not left out from experiencing the touch of the wind and the snow as their branches moved in harmony with their gentle whispers and whistles, adding to the thrill of the night as the sound of the scrunching footsteps on the dry grasses accompanied them in their echo inside the dense forest.

Oblivious of the change in the environment as the thrill of what they came for put out the forest fears they should be wary of by transversing into the barely illuminated forest almost before the time of midnight, the footsteps belonging to the four people could be heard walking deeper into the forest with heavy and thick coats draped over their body as a shield from the cold.

Not long after, the four people came to stand on a clearing where one could see the vast land covered with greeneries and tall trees. The snow which had been falling in gentle drops seemed to have quickened its pace as if in tune with what was to befall the night and seemed more eerie than the days before.

The four people comprising of the two ladies and two men looked ahead of them with unpredictable gazes in their eyes until one of the ladies broke the night's silence when she spoke,

"Every full moon always gets better and more fun than the previous ones," Her feminine voice cut through the numerous sounds in the forest, barely concealing the excitement in them as her eyes wandered around as if in search of something or someone.

"There's nothing fun in this wolf thing, Thyra. Just accept you want to satisfy your curiosity and wild fantasy world." Arnold, a male out of the two men countered the words of Thyra with a scoff.

"And you must accept you know nothing about them. They are special. Nothing like any species I have seen or read about." Thyra snapped with a sneer. "Don't you know that this is the second time there's going to be a full moon in the same month? Not only is it a double full moon, but a full moon appears on the first day of winter. This is the biggest winter moon that will happen in over a decade now."

"Winter moon, winter moon," Arnold said in a sing-song voice. "I can barely count how many times I've heard that today. I'm beginning to think you have been turned into a werewolf. What is so special about them? They're a bunch of wild beasts."

"And I can't remember bundling you to this place. Either way, you're stuck in it. No going back." Thyra took a jab at Arnold while catching a falling snow in her hand she threw it towards him.

Arnold stared at the Lady beside him with a bewildered look on his face. He still couldn't understand how the woman was his elder sister. She always had her way with anything she wanted, leaving him at the brunt of her tongue. His gaze went from Thyra to the young man beside him who never uttered a word since they embarked on their sister's wolf-seeing. He helplessly shook his head and muttered in a low voice, "I can't believe you made me come here, Derrick."

Derrick let out a low chuckle. He turned to his youngest sibling and patted him on the shoulder and replied, "You are stuck in it, brother."

Thyra who heard Derrick speak turned to look at Arnold with a sly smile on her face as she mouthed, "I told you so,"

"Mum, look at that! That's the moon, it's slowly appearing." Thyra's excited voice sprang out once more, as she gazed through the gaps created by the trees through which the glow of the moon slipped through. 

"Come on, Mum, Derrick, Arnold, we've got to hurry. This is an hour before midnight when the will moon fully appears." Thyra continued to rant as she started to walk again with her family following behind her.

"Oh, Thyra," Avira, the mother of the three siblings shook her head with a slight disapproving look on her face. She said in a chiding voice, "Your Father wouldn't be thrilled with this idea of yours. This is going to be the last time we have to come to see werewolves on a full moon."

"Alright, alright, Mum." Thyra dismissingly waved her hand. "I don't know why you all are thinking too much about it. It is just the normal seeing of werewolves change into their wolf form. It's not the first time it has happened. Just for tonight, have fun guys."

"Derrick," Thyra called as she fumbled with her bag to bring out a camera. She asked, "Did you bring your recorder with you?"

"Yes, Thyra," Derrick replied while watching the excited Thyra.

Thyra smiled, "I know you'd bring it with you. Why don't we split up? I'll go over to that cliff to get a better view while you stay here to video everything?" Thyra suggested while staring at the cliff that was a considerable distance away from where they stood.

"Sounds like a good idea, but I'd prefer you stay with us, Thyra. Werewolves can get out of control and they are always at their bloodiest on full moons." Arnold interjected before Derrick could reply. 

"Oh shut it, Arnold." Thyra snapped with a glare. "Stop being a stick in the mud, you are just thinking too much. Besides, there are other humans here too, so nothing can go wrong. See you guys, I'm off."

Avira made to reply to Thyra's words but decided against it while shaking her head. Her face was marred with a solemn look as if something was bothering her she wanted to speak about but at the same time was hindered from speaking.

Derrick walked towards Avira and placed a comforting hand on her back with a small smile on his face as he whispered, "Do not worry, Mum, she will be fine. She's young and still has an adventurous blood in her."

Avira nodded with a sigh while staring ahead with a complicated look on her face.

Away from the forest where the four people were in the forest, and in a meeting room where there was absolute quietness enveloping the room, reflecting the look on the faces of the fifteen people seated around the room.

The astonishment in their gazes as they stared at the man seated at the head table whose menacing aura could make one halt in their steps and at the same time flee for their life.

While some apprehensively stared at the man, some dared not look at him for fear of being the unlucky one to get the brunt of his anger. After all, he was their King. Alpha Ryker Donovan. The Alpha of Dark Wolf's pack was known for his brutality and his ripper wolf that had many avoid his pack at all means.

Every once in a while, the men would exchange gazes with each other as if they could all understand an unspoken language. During their exchange of unspoken questions, they would in turn look at the man seated at the right-hand side of their Alpa who was undoubtedly the Alpha's Beta to help them out and ask their unspoken questions. 

After what felt like an eternity, the Beta deciding to clear the doubts in the minds of the men seated around the room and also to confirm his doubt stood on his feet and stepped forward so he could stand before their Alpha.

The man bowed respectfully at the Alpha Ryker and greeted, "My Alpha," Raising his head he began to speak, "It is not my wish to question your decision, but this sudden decision will surely cause more chaos than we have already caused. Please do consider your order one more time?" 

Just after the Beta finished speaking, Alpha Ryker's voice boomed in the room as his words reverberated in the hearts of the men, "My decision is final. I do not care what other packs have to say or do about it. I create my rules and also break my rules."

Alpha Ryker paused in his speech and stared at everyone as if he were staring right through their souls. He continued to speak, "No matter what happens, Dark Moon Pack shall attack tonight. It's high time we started showing these feeble humans their place. It is time to stop being viewed as another species or something they could experiment on. We shall rule over them and not the other way around. Am I clear?!" Ryker questioned as his voice resonated with a commanding tone.

"Yes, Alpha Ryker," The men chorused without a word of refusal as nothing they said would change the decision of their Alpha King.

"Good." Ryker nodded and with a wave of his hand, he dismissed the meeting leaving only his beta with him in the room.

"What are you still doing here, Beta Alvan?" 

"My Apha," Alvan respectfully bowed at Alpha Ryker with a small frown marring his face. He quizzed in a skeptical tone, "Does the Wolf Elders know about this sudden change?"

Alpha Ryker stood from his seat and turned his back on Alvan, his jaws clenched and his expression grim as he replied, "They don't need to know. This is my Pack and I shall rule it whichever way I want. After all, it was under my father's rule and their watch that humans came to know about us, turning us into their specimens to be studied. I shall change that history tonight." He uttered with conviction, his voice hardening at the end.

He turned to look at Alvan with a darkened gaze where the rims of his pupils turned into a deep shade of red because of the moon that was slowly making its presence known. "You should go and prepare, Beta Alvan, for the day when the history of humans having control over us shall change. I, Alpha Ryker Donovan shall change this history tonight."

"Very well, My Alpha." Alvan bowed his head, obliging to the words of his King. Before he could entirely depart the room, he heard the loud howls echoing in the distance signifying that the pack members accepted the order with open arms. 'It is going to be a bloody night.' He noted with a sigh and shake of his head.