LUNARVILLE CLAN
The wail of women filled the air as Thane walked alongside his brother, Alpha Ryker, through the stretch of ravaged farms destroyed and burnt during the night by Villapaw, their long-standing rival clan. The once thriving fields now lay in charred ruins, a blackened expanse of devastation.
The wheat, barley, potatoes and carrots had been reduced to ashes and stubble, stretched out like a vast, dark grave. The few trees that hadn’t completely burned down stood like skeletal sentinels, their trunks scorched, and their barks cracked and peeled. The early morning air lay heavy with smoke and singed earth.
Thane and Ryker walked on, placing their feet delicately on the dusty soil, cracked and fissured from the intense heat, as if they feared that their weight would shatter the already fragile, heat-ravaged soil.
Their faces were sullen and grim, yet composed, a facade they maintained in the presence of the distraught women following them, crying out and loudly exclaiming their losses.
Earlier, some pack wardens had attempted to prevent the women from trudging after the Alpha, but Ryker had forbidden them to do that.
“Never prevent a woman from expressing her grief as she sees fit,” he’d said. “It will only add to the problem.”
So the women had formed a weeping entourage behind them, vigorously led by the four whose husbands had fallen to Villapaw’s marauders during guard duty. Even though the bereaved women didn’t say it in words, their cries were a masked, yet direct demand for their Alpha to do something, anything.
Murmurs of discontent rippled through the crowd.
“This is the third attack in two months,” a woman exclaimed, her voice quavering with emotion. “Four of our men dead! How much longer will this continue?”
“They attack us in our homes, they attack us in the forest, and as if that is not enough, they burn our crops!” Another woman shouted, her voice hoarse from crying.
“The Alpha will have to do something, he has to...”
The whispers rose and fell as the women trudged on, the air vibrating with their anguish.
Thane walked on beside his brother, absorbing the shrill, haunting voices. As Beta, he could easily have turned and ordered them to be quiet and let the Alpha think, but he wouldn’t. The women’s anguish was justified; this attack had crossed a line.
The first attack had come in broad daylight, without warning, and even though the Lunarville warriors had managed to gather themselves and put up a valiant fight, they lost three good men, and two of their women were carried away. The second targeted a hunting party in the fiery forest, claiming two more lives.
Afterward, the Lunar Council had strategized, planning defences against future attacks. They had set up a strong defence around the whole village and the Alphahold.
But Villapaw had outmanoeuvred them, targeting their farms, killing unsuspecting guards, and burning five hectares of land under the cover of night. Then they’d disappeared as silently as they came.
“I’m thinking of summoning the Lunar Council,” Ryker said gravely, his voice low amidst the din. “This cannot continue. We must prepare for war; we’ve held back too long.”
Thane stood close to his brother, observing the wisps of smoke that still curled from the ground. His face was a mixture of frustration and determination, but there was no mistaking the quiet fury outlined in his piercing, blue eyes, his thick, furrowed eyebrows, and in his pouty, plump mouth set in a firm, determined line, just above his sharp, clenched jawline.
“We can’t afford a war, not right now.” His voice was calm, but resonant.
“We don’t have the men, nor the resources. The clan is still struggling to survive the effects of the last famine.”
“Five hundred dead!” Alpha Ryker hissed. “Worst famine the Realm has seen in a century, and it hit our clan hardest.” His eyes betrayed a deep sadness, and his voice was filled with regret and suppressed fury towards the end.
“Hijar knows we don’t have the men,” Thane resumed, “Two years ago no other clan – especially not Villapaw – would have dared attack us like this. They know the famine took many of our fighting men, and they’re seizing their chance.”
“They want to provoke us into declaring a war.” Alpha Ryker said through clenched teeth, while Thane regarded him with an unblinking stare.
“They want to draw us out to fight them, so that they can use that opportunity to crush us and take our lands, then when the other clans ask, they can say that we were the first to declare war on them.”
“That’s one way to see it.” Thane spoke, his tone measured, and his eyes narrowed in reflection. “Another way is that they might be doing this to cause internal conflict. I have heard some whispers.”
Ryker’s face contorted into a contemplative frown. "What are you talking about?" He demanded. "Is there something going on that I don't know of, Thane?"
"Let me explain..." Thane started.
"Do that fast." Alpha Ryker thundered, and for a moment Thane feared that in his already riled up mood, his brother was on the verge of channeling his frustration to the wrong person. But he had to explain himself, and quickly. However one problem lingered... How was he to explain what he heard, without having to give up the identity of his informant which he swore to protect?
The days following the battle passed in a blur of heat and quiet. Summer had settled over the realm like a warm blanket, heavy with the scent of pine and wildflowers, and the skies above Lunarville were a steady blue, unmarred by storm or shadow. But for Kael, the stillness outside was a stark contrast to the whirlwind within.Thane had taken him alongside his mother, Dr. Ganner and Angela to the Alphahold where physicians came daily to attend to them. The fields had quieted and the scent of blood was slowly fading from the wind, but Kael scarcely payed any attention to the outside world, not even to ask what would become of Justine. He didn’t want to know. He reasoned that it was best to allow the Alphas who had lost brothers and sisters in the senseless war be the ones to decide his fate alongside those of the other prisoners. The Alphas would know how best to pass judgment on the man who had deceived the world and tried to slaughter an entire race based on a lie.For Kael, Justine
Kael held on to Lylah as though his arms alone could protect her from the terrors that had come before. He sat cross-legged on the cold floor of the tent, rocking her gently, his cheek pressed to her temple. His voice trembled as he spoke, soft and repetitive, murmuring the same reassurances over and over again."I'm here, mom. I'm so sorry. You're safe now, I promise. Everything will be alright. You're safe."Lylah's arms barely moved, but her head rested against his chest, her breathing slow and uneven. Her skin was pale, her eyelids drooped with exhaustion and the weight of the drugs still clinging to her system, but there was a flicker of awareness returning to her gaze.Angela, meanwhile, had turned away the moment she saw Kael take Lylah in his arms. Her eyes found the other figure slumped in the corner. “Uncle Peter!” she gasped, rushing to him.Dr. Ganner looked up, dazed but coherent, his face shadowed by fatigue and drug-induced stupor. Angela dropped to her knees beside him
Kael staggered back a step, as if struck. His breath came in sharp, broken shudders. All the stories, the warnings, the quiet grief Justine had weaponized over the years—the tales about the savage beasts who tore his life apart, the man’s encouragements and determination as he took samples of his blood to develop the deadly weapon, all the while telling him that he's a special child and their mission was a necessary one for the survival of human beings—crumbled into ash before his eyes.“You let your wife die…” Kael murmured, his voice shaking with emotion. “She didn’t die for you. She died because of you.”Justine’s grip on Angela faltered for a fraction of a second. The blade at her throat trembled. “It wasn’t like that—” he barked, wild-eyed now. “She chose to stand by me. She knew the risks. She—she understood!”But the room wasn’t listening anymore. Not to him.The Alphas stood in grim silence, their gazes hard as granite. Angela’s eyes were wide, shimmering with unshed tears. An
Inside the command tent, tension rippled like a taut wire, waiting to snap.Alpha Walter took a deliberate step forward, his eyes fixed solely on Justine—as if no one else existed in the room. Justine responded without missing a beat, shifting his grip on Angela and dragging her in front of him, the blade still pressed to her throat like a silent warning."You," Alpha Walter repeated, his voice low but thunderous with accusation.Thane, now standing shoulder to shoulder with the other Alphas, turned his head. “Do you know him?”“Know him?” Alpha Walter scoffed, his voice dripping with disgust. “Of course I know him. Surely he's put on a bit of weight over the years and changed his hairstyle, but that doesn't change what I know of him. The man’s a thief. A coward.”The air grew dense, thicker with every heartbeat. The other Alphas stilled. Justine’s expression remained neutral, but Kael saw the shift in his eyes—a flash of unease, quickly masked.Straightening, Kael stepped forward. “U
Screams tore through the air like a thousand jagged knives. Outside the command tent, the ground thundered with a new rhythm—hundreds of pounding feet, snarls echoing through the forest’s veil. The shriek of gunshots met the howls of beasts as the world outside turned to blood and smoke.The werewolves came from every direction, spilling into the camp like a living flood. Some bounded on all fours in monstrous wolf form, fangs glinting and eyes alight with primal fury. Others, still in human shape, loosed arrows from sleek recurved bows, each shot finding its mark with lethal precision. Others still wore gauntlets bristling with claws or wielded curved blades that danced with a deadly grace. They struck with purpose, cutting down the stunned JANEERAD agents who scrambled for their weapons, their panic betraying their unreadiness.A soldier stumbled backward, firing blindly, only to be seized from behind by a dark-haired warrior who rammed a gauntlet into his side and drove him into th
Kael took a slow, deliberate step back toward the center of the tent, his boots brushing against the dirt-smeared canvas. The air was thick with tension, so sharp it could slice flesh. Outside, the world was still, save for the distant bark of a command or the faint scrape of metal. Inside, the silence was more volatile than sound.He stood upright, spine rigid, eyes fixed on Justine. Calm on the outside, but within, a storm churned with fury and disbelief. His hands, curled into tight fists, trembled faintly at his sides.“So this is what it’s come to?” Kael’s voice was low, even, but each word struck with force. “You’re using your soldiers—your dogs—against me?”Justine didn’t flinch. His eyes narrowed, the lines of age and ambition deepening across his face. “It doesn’t have to be this way,” he said coolly, though a muscle twitched in his jaw. “You’re letting emotions cloud your judgment. Don’t forget who you are. Don’t forget your place.” He took a step forward, gesturing to the s