CHAPTER 6

-Calista's wolf-

Calista's pov

"Welcome to the torture room, little human," Duncan grinned at me. I cringed in disgust; he showed no mercy.

"She is not a human!" Esmeralda gritted out. "She might look small, but she is stronger than you think. Her heart is not tainted like yours!" Alessia yelled.

"Let's see what she can do then..." I heard Jerkface's voice behind me. Before I could turn around, I felt a punch on my jaw. I fell to the ground, an agonizing scream escaping my mouth.

"See! She is nothing!" he sneered.

"You don't know anything, Daniel!" Alessia yelled, struggling to get out of the men's hands.

So this is the jerk, Daniel? "Want me to prove again that she is nothing?" Daniel said and punched me again before I could even react. Ouch! That hurt like a bitch. I even tasted blood in my mouth. Next, I felt a kick to my rib, and another piercing scream escaped my mouth.

Suddenly, he was pushed away from me. I looked up to see Darren shielding me. I also saw Jaxon punching Daniel's face while Rayce tried to pull them apart. "Are you okay?" Darren asked as he helped me up. "I'm fine," I said, but I knew I'm not. I'm not because it hurts like a bitch. Darren helped me to where Lilith and others were.

Almost immediately, Lilith grabbed my face and searched my face for injuries. I felt like I was in my mother's arms when I was only 3. "That's gonna leave a bruise," she said sadly.

Suddenly, a fight broke out. I don't even know how it started. All I saw was fighting and blood. I was scared. I felt useless. I felt like something was fighting inside me to break free. It was a strange feeling, but I ignored it.

"Calista!" I heard Esmeralda yell. I turned around slowly and screamed. A shiny black wolf with silver patches and silver eyes. Silver eyes?! Oh my god! Duncan.

My eyes widened. I ran towards the other side of the room. But before I could go far, I was pinned to the ground. I closed my eyes tight as soon as I saw his big mouth open showing the long canines. He is going to end me, kill me. Oh my god! I'm gonna die. Then what? No more living for me? I can't see my best friends? Panic settled inside me. And then I felt it. He freaking bit my arm. I screamed at the top of my lungs. If the punch hurt, then it didn't hurt as bad as this one. This one is worse. A lot worse. I tried to struggle, but I couldn't. I felt tears run down my cheeks. After some time, he let go. I felt his canines graze my throat. I gulped. This is it.

Suddenly, the large shiny black wolf was pushed off me. I opened my eyes slowly, too scared. And what I saw shocked me. It was a white wolf. Lilith. She was fighting with Duncan. She looked at me and barked. I got it. She told me to run. And that's exactly what I did. I ran away from Duncan, but not from the fight. I won't, no matter how useless I am. I still can't leave my best friends here. I can't. They are all I have. I won't leave them in this hellhole.

I ran and ran, enduring a few attacks along the way. But I finally managed to reach a dark spot in the corner. I didn't sit down; my friends were fighting for their lives, and I couldn't just sit there. So, I leaned against the wall. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, feeling tired and out of breath. Then I smelled something—blueberry and roses, strawberry and cherry with a hint of ocean. It was strange yet overwhelming. I opened my eyes.

Whoa! What the heck? I could see so clearly, from a great distance. The fight inside me surged again. I looked around once more to confirm that my vision had indeed sharpened out of the blue.

Then I heard a whisper. "No, please don't," I knew that voice. Fiona. I saw her, far, far away from me, yet I could still see her. "No, no, please. Don't hurt my baby. I'm begging you." Then I saw the man in front of her—Daniel. I saw the knife in his hands. He raised it into the air, ready to stab it into her helpless body.

Something snapped in me. My heart and brain begged me to save her baby. I didn't know why, but in seconds, I found myself running towards them. I jumped onto Daniel's back. "This needs to stop! You can't kill innocent people!" I yelled at the top of my voice while choking him. He simply grabbed my arm and twisted it. I swear I heard the bones break—my wrist!

But this time, I didn't cry. He pushed me to the ground, but I stood up again. "I know I'm human. So what? I won't stop. I won't stop fighting as long as I'm alive. I will do what I can to save these people, especially my best friends. Even if I have to die in the process. If I die now, then I will die knowing I at least tried," I said, but Daniel punched me, making me fall. I heard his teammates laugh at me.

I stood up. Again. "I told you I won't give up as long as I'm alive," I said.

He punched me again. He pushed me. I fell. Again. He kicked me several times, saying unwanted things to me. What he didn't know was that my anger was building—the anger I had kept since I was 10. The whole anger was coming back in full force. I lay there until he stopped. And then I stood up, ignoring the pain. "I will still stand up," I muttered.

Giving up is not a choice, no matter how weak or pathetic you feel, or doing it again is. I will stand up for them again and again and again.

"This is getting boring. Let's end this," Daniel said, taking his knife. He got ready to stab it into Fiona. I prepared to jump into the middle. Everything happened so fast. I didn't see the arrow that came my way. I didn't see Alessia jump into the middle of Fiona and Daniel. Daniel's knife stabbed into Alessia, and the arrow stabbed into me. It was made of silver. I let out a cry.

I looked up and saw a very shocked Daniel and Fiona, and Alessia looking at me with a sad smile. I looked to the side to see Duncan holding a bow.

That's when it happened. First, everything turned black. But then, they all started turning red. All I could see was red. I heard people gasp, cry, and even the sound of the air outside this place. I felt something snap in me, like before, but this time it was more. It was like the fight inside me was

coming to an end, like one side had already won.

Then... I felt it. I let out a cry as I felt my bones break. It all happened slowly, too slow. I felt like needles were piercing through my skin. I felt hot, too hot, that sweat appeared on my face. I felt every single bone break in me, every single piercing of needles, one by one. I cried as I clutched my legs. It hurt, it hurt so bad. I felt blood in my mouth. I yelled every time a bone broke. And then there was an even stronger bone break. I cried out. But what I heard shocked me. It was no cry. It was a painful HOWL?!

After what felt like hours, everything stopped. I closed my eyes and lay down. I felt weird, but I was too exhausted to care. I heard gasps, whispers, shocked voices. "Oh my god," I heard Alessia's voice.

Then I remembered that she was stabbed. She needed me. I forced my eyes open. Wow. My eyesight was a lot sharper than before. I tried to stand up, but I fell. I tried again, but the same thing happened.

Confused, I looked down at my legs. But what I saw... Oh. My. God! Paws?! I shifted?! Oh my god! I finally shifted! Then I noticed another thing. I saw it from the windows of the room. My reflection. Gold. Gold was all I saw. I had golden fur?! I walked over to the glass door to get a closer view. And then I noticed another thing. My eyes. Blood red. Blood red?! I remembered something.

The Ancient Myth book.

'There is another marking on her. It's the eyes. Once she embraces her inner beast, her eyes will turn to amber or gold. But, in wolf form, her eyes will be red just like rogues. The difference is her eye color will be deeper and darker than rogues. Hers will be blood red.' Then I heard the voice inside my head. 'When Death overpowers the light, the light shall be reborn. The tale shall be awoken. The looming shadows will linger in every corner, waiting to swallow you whole into the world of Doom. The Golden shall slay. The path of destruction. The Ancient shall bring peace and protection to the Beasts of the Moon.'

I heard a cry. I looked at Alessia and saw Daniel getting ready to stab Fiona again. I didn't know what happened, but I found myself running towards him at full speed and tackled him. I looked him dead in the eyes and without wasting a second, I bit into his shoulder. I heard another bunch of gasps.

That's when I lost it. This time, I really didn't know what happened next. I found myself sitting in a pool of blood and ripped flesh and bones. A howl escaped my mouth, a howl full of horror, pain, and sadness.

I heard footsteps. I looked back to see Duncan getting ready to run, and I ran after him. He shifted into his shiny black wolf, and his companions followed suit and ran with him. I ran and jumped onto one of those wolves. I bit into its neck and spit out the flesh as soon as it fell limp. I ran again, craving for his blood, Duncan's blood. But then I was attacked by two more wolves. I killed them, ripped them to shreds, and ran to another. I started killing, but at some point, I caught up with Duncan. Before I could tackle him, I was tackled by three other wolves. I snarled at them and killed them. But when I looked back this time, I couldn't find him. Duncan and the rest of his rogue mutts ran away. I howled, letting Duncan know that I wouldn't leave him alone, no matter how long it took, that I would kill him one day, the same way I killed Daniel, but in a more painful way.

I heard a howl. I knew it was him. He howled, telling me that he would wait for me to come and kill him that day, but that he wouldn't give in so easily. I howled, letting him know I wouldn't give up, that I would stand up as long as I was alive. Suddenly, I felt tired. I fell to the ground, whimpering.

I slowly shifted back into my human form. I felt someone put a blanket on me. I looked up to see Lilith. She smiled, a smile of happiness and gratefulness. Beside her stood Darren. He also had a smile of joy. "Thank you, Alpha. Thank you for saving us," Darren said.

Alpha? I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Why are you calling me Alpha?" I asked. "Alpha, you killed Daniel. He was the Alpha. But since you are the one who killed him, you are our new Alpha," Lilith said.

"No, I can't. I can't be an Alpha. I'm weak," I mumbled.

"No, you are not. Please. We want you to be our Alpha too," Lilith pleaded. "Please, Alpha. You are the perfect Alpha we could ever ask for. Not just because you are the Golden wolf, but also because you have the courage, the spirit, and the confidence. You stood up for us and never gave up. You are the perfect Alpha. Please," Darren begged.

"Yes, Alpha. He is telling the truth," I heard Fiona's voice. I looked up at her, feeling warmth inside me knowing the baby was safe. "Give me time to think," I said.

They nodded and smiled. I had no energy left to stand up, probably knowing that Darren picked me up bridal style and started walking. And the others followed. He took me to a place that looked like the pack house. I felt my eyes close.