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Haunted woods

Golden Summit Pack

"In the thick Culloden woods, where the trees stretch high in the sky, blocking out all sunlight, There is a pack of demon wolves who are direct descendants of Hades. They are known as hellhounds. Said to be the fallen soldiers of the goddess brought back to life by the eternal flame to do his bidding. They catch fire when awakened and will burn anything in their wake. It is said that the dense fog is not a fog at all but a thick layer of smoke that hangs low in the forest, making it even more dangerous to venture in. The woods are said to catch fire in the center and never stop burning, but from the outside, you see nothing. The portal to hell is in the center of those woods, allowing the hellhounds to cross over as they please. No one dares venture into the forest, for they fear they will never come back out.

"Boo!"

A piercing scream rings through the night from my not-so-little sister. You would think she was about eight years old, but in reality, she is sixteen and just a wuss. Reagan punches my youngest brother Sam in the arm, and I can’t help but laugh.

"What the hell, Sam, that isn’t funny. I almost had a heart attack." She yells before turning and stomping off her brown locks, which are swaying behind her.

"It’s just a scary story!" He yells after her before laughing. My two other brothers walked up, standing beside us after an angry Reagan pushed past them.

"What did you do now, Sam?" Duron is a little annoyed.

"You told her the tale of Culloden Woods, didn’t you?" Kendrick is amused.

We are all identical quadruplets. I’m the eldest; my parents gave me the name Cyrus. Then you have, in order, Duron, Kendrick, and Samson, but he goes by Sam. We are all 21, but our birthdays are in two months. Our mother didn't make it through our birth. Not even a witch could help heal her.

Now we are doomed to live a cursed life. We have no mate. Most claim there is no one destined for us, but I believe the goddess wouldn’t be so cruel. Whoever she is, I know she will be extraordinary to be able to take on four alpha males. Well, soon-to-be alphas, our dad isn’t handing down the pack to us until we turn 22. He claims we’re too immature, but I think he’s referring to Sam and Kendrick. They tend to goof around quite a bit. The only thing you can get them to focus on is training.

Kendrick is the strongest fighter I have ever seen; he is formidable. Even though all our wolves are identical, his seems to have an edge. Sam is one of the best in hand-to-hand combat; he trains day and night but refuses to train for alpha. Oftentimes, he skips out on duties, and our dad looks as if he will pop a blood vessel in his forehead.

My father is a ruthless alpha, never bowing down to anyone. His only soft spot is for us, and he seems to be the softest on Sam; after all, he is the youngest. He has taken all the territories around us, so we are now surrounded by allies.

There is one area of land he refuses to seize, and that is Culloden Woods. My brothers and I decided the night we took over as alphas, we would conquer these woods and claim them as our own. No stupid tale will keep us from taking what we want.

"You never came to dinner."

Speak of the devil, Alpha Augustus Idris, my father. Leader to all, carefully grooming his four sons to take his place.

"Wasn’t hungry."

"You know damn well I set up a meeting for the four of you, so you skipped out." His temper has always been a problem, but it never seems to intimidate us.

"A meeting to set us up with some slutty she-wolf who isn’t our mate." Duron snarls back at him, matching his fiery tone.

"Five years, Duron! Five years and you haven’t found her. What makes you think you will ever find her?"

"She’s out there somewhere!" Sam adds his two senses to not following my father.

"How do you even know there is a mate for quadruplets? It has never happened in history. The last set of quadruplets chose their mate because they never found their true mate." He seems annoyed at this point, and I decide I will no longer stand by and allow my father to try and control us.

"We’re not choosing a mate. We will wait." I say this in a final tone.

"Stop bringing those thirsty wolves here." Kendrick turns away from our father, staring into Culloden Woods.

"I will only ever accept my true mate, not some cheap knockoff that just wants to mate an alpha." Sam stomps off towards the Blairadam Woods on the other side of our territory, which are ordinarily peaceful.

Kendrick walks away toward the house, no doubt turning in for the night, seeing as he gets up at the crack of dawn to train. My father rubs his face frustratedly, then stomps off behind Duron to the house, knowing he has lost. I look away, turning back to the woods, staring into the dense fog and endless darkness, peaking my interest to know what lies within its cover.

All of the mate nonsense has never stressed me out. If we were to never find our mate, I would be fine with that. I enjoy my solitude, and I don’t need some she-wolf that has been groomed to ruin my pack. Most Lunas are groomed from a young age, just like an alpha is. Only they learn about pack politics and running a pack house. Our pack is self-sufficient in that, though. Lacking a Luna for twenty-one years will do that to any pack.

I see no sense in changing that now and bringing in a she-wolf from outside of our pack. Someone is entitled and bound to cause trouble within my pack, which for the most part is peaceful and like a family. After all, who needs the unnecessary drama of having someone constantly go out of their way to please you?

Not me.