The only survivor

Humans were wiped out long ago after the great war led by Aelra, the supernatural lord, centuries ago.

Or, at least, that's what the supernaturals believed.

After the great war, the supernaturals—werewolves, vampires, elves, faels, witches, and other supernatural beings—lived in harmony under the sovereign rule of Maelva, Aelra's grandson.

Over generations, humans became nothing more than a forgotten species, only spoken about in ancient history books.

But unknowingly to the supernatural world, a tiny group survived.

Deep inside the enchanted forest of Arandour, they built a hidden settlement where they lived completely isolated and heavily protected from the supernatural world.

"Move it, baby," the fat, bald rogue with brown fangs said as he pushed her.

Aria hissed in pain but gritted her teeth as she walked barefoot, the chains around her ankles dragging along behind her.

She had been captured, and her home, where she'd lived for years with her family and the few humans that survived, had been raided and burnt to ashes. Her eyes pricked with tears as she remembered how her parents had been brutally dismembered two days ago. She gnashed her teeth as she walked on.

She had been walking to Heaven knows where for days now without any food or water.

She had no clue why the rogue pack leader had ordered them not to kill her. Although she was frightened and exhausted from the events that had unfolded two days ago, her stubborn survival instinct led her on.

"Hahaha, is our pretty face tired?" one of the werewolves asked, and the others burst out laughing.

Aria spat out, "That's not funny."

The moment she finished speaking, a slap landed across her cheek from a female werewolf.

"Mind how you talk to us," she said.

Aria looked at the werewolf as tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

"What's going on here?" the rogue pack leader asked as he approached them.

"She was insulting our men, Radro. She's a feisty one, and I think you need to teach her some lessons," the female werewolf replied with a smug smile on her face.

Aria scoffed.

"Don't make your jealousy too obvious. It's making me gag."

The female werewolf grunted as she bared her fangs and claws, ready to attack.

"Fraelta, that's enough!"

"No, Radro. You don't expect me to watch her insult me. I need to teach her some lessons."

"It's fine. I'll handle it."

"You better do."

She stormed away from them.

"You're lucky I arrived right on time. If not, you'd be pretty much dead by now," he said as he stroked Aria's face and inhaled her scent.

What a pervert.

Aria gasped when his hand found its way into her clothes and he pulled her close to himself.

What the hell?

What should she do?

Her hands and feet were shackled.

As she was contemplating what to do to get rid of this pervert, unexpected noises were heard around them.

They were surrounded by another rogue pack. They were here to loot whatever Radro and his pack had.

Radro immediately took his hands off Aria and took off to confront them head-on.

"Everyone, now!"

Aria watched as they all turned into their beastly forms.

It was terrifying.

Howls and cries filled the air as they tore through each other.

Aria gently huddled up under a car. As she watched, she noticed a bundle of keys on the ground.

Just perfect.

She used a stick to reach for them since they were too far away from her. Then she tried each of the keys on the chain.

Luckily, it clicked on the third try.

After freeing herself from the chains, Aria looked around to see if anyone would notice her, but after confirming that she wouldn't be noticed, she slipped away.

She ran through the thick forest, which was eerily quiet, with the faint sound of howls and stomping from the fighting werewolves miles away, signalling that there was life.

She ran and ran and lost count of how many minutes she had been running.

Exhausted, she sat under a thick, moss-covered tree and tried to catch her breath.

She was hungry, thirsty, and tired, but she would rather continue running than wait there and be captured by Radro and his men.

With that thought, she stood up and continued running.

She stopped in front of a tree with fruits on it. It looked edible. Hungry, she left caution to the wind and plucked one.

"Hmm, it's yummy."

She had never seen a fruit like this before in her whole life.

She ate until she was satisfied and then picked a few, which she tied into her scarf and slung over her back like a backpack.

She continued walking through the dark, thick, foggy forest and then lay to rest under a tree when she got tired.

She spent several days in the forest, surviving alone. She drank from streams and ate whatever fruit she could find from the trees.

She was all alone on this massive land of eerie quiet, darkness, and dampness. At night, she had terrifying nightmares of her parents' deaths and the total annihilation of their race.

She was the last human alive, but nevertheless, she was determined to survive, come what may.

One morning, she was walking through the forest when she suddenly felt faint. She thought she was sick. As she was thinking of what to do, she heard a faint sound.

It was the only sound of a living thing she had heard in days.

She walked in the direction of the sound. Two guards were talking and laughing among themselves.

She was glad.

She thought they were humans.

They looked ordinary; there were no noticeable fangs or claws on them.

They were laughing out loud and seemed carefree.

While she watched, she noticed the massive stone structure.

She had no idea what it meant.

She walked out from the forest and approached them.

They immediately noticed her and stopped talking.

As Aria opened her mouth to talk to them, everything went dark.

Meanwhile, in a large office in Valthera, Kael felt his wolf shift uncomfortably inside him.

His brows furrowed as a subtle, unfamiliar scent suddenly filled his nostrils. It was faint, almost impossible to detect, yet there was something strangely captivating about it.

Kael took another breath, trying to identify the unfamiliar scent, but he couldn't place it.

Little did he know, the person he had spent years desperately searching for had just stepped into his world.