5

Stripping in the woods

Fusilis

Andricia

I wake up before sunrise, like always, and immediately throw on my training clothes. I tie my hair up in a high ponytail and head out of my room straight for the training field. The ash-filled soil crunches under my boots in the crisp fall air. When I make it to the training ground, I see all my warriors stretching out and running a lap to warm up.

"Partner up!" I shout as they all immediately stop what they are doing and immediately partner up.

Their partners match in size and skill based on their rank. They immediately begin sparring in hand-to-hand combat, just like every morning. It’s a routine that is always on schedule. I walk around watching every move, looking for any flaws that I don’t usually find anymore. When I start seeing flaws, I know that warriors will be dropping from their ranks soon. Everyone is replaceable in this world; no one is special.

Following training I walk the perimeter with my lead warrior and Kira. She gives us an update on how, yet again, nothing exciting took place through the night. Is it bad to be this annoyed with peace and safety? We continue walking the perimeter as Kira and Jaqueline, the lead warrior, ramble about meaningless gossip. I pay attention to the trees and ground, looking for anything that may be out of place. My eyes fall on a large oak tree, and the bark seems to be missing in a spot. I stop walking and turn to walk closer. It takes a minute for Kira and Jacqueline to notice I stopped, but they immediately make their way back to me.

A small area of bark is missing, and a small notch is cut in the tree. It’s not from a rogue it is too precise for it to be from a claw. It had to be from a small knife or something.

"What do you think it’s from?" Jacqueline asks, looking concerned.

I smell the air, but I get nothing but the usual ashy wood smell that engulfs my territory.

"I don’t know, but from now on, have a warrior posted here at all times," I say to her before walking away back to the pack house.

I stop in the kitchen and grab a banana from the fruit basket on the counter.

"That’s not enough for breakfast. Go sit down. I will make you something." Lorissa grabs my arm, taking my banana from me.

I roll my eyes before turning to her to see a smirk plastered on her face.

"I have things to deal with and no time for breakfast, so the banana will do." I snatch it from her hands as she plays a fake offended look.

I turn and walk out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the fourth floor. While I walk, I peel my banana and start eating it. By the time I make it to the top and get into my room, it’s gone, and I toss it in the trash in my bathroom. I start the water for my shower and hop in, allowing the hot water to trickle over my tense body. My chest feels tight, but I decide to ignore it and allow the hot water to relieve my stress. After about half an hour, I hop out of the shower and wrap my body in a white, fluffy towel. I head out into my room and see that my bed has been made and old clothes have been taken to the laundry. I have young Omegas help around the pack house until they are old enough to help in the kitchen. Only the ones that want to work in the kitchen, though I don’t force them to do anything they aren’t interested in.

I go to my closet and pick out a pair of black ripped low-rise jeans, black boots with a chunky heel, and a black tank top that is cut to stop right above my belly button and has a small tear in the neckline right in the center. I return to the bathroom and brush through my almost dry and now damp hair, leaving it to hang loose and return to its natural curly self.

My chest is still tight like pressure is building up. I sit at the edge of my bed, pulling out my phone to text Kira. I only mind links when it is pack business, but right now I need my best friend. Just as I unlock my phone, a burning pain hits my stomach, like someone is branding me. My beast is now completely alert, and anger is rolling off of her. I look at my stomach and see no wound, but my beast is urging me to get up and get outside immediately. It feels as if she is going to leave my body and get out there herself if I don’t go. So I do the fastest thing I can think of. I run full speed to my open window and leap out.

---

Cyrus

We head through the woods slowly to avoid stumbling around in the thick fog. Strangely, the fog smells like smoke or ash or something, but it is just fog; it is moist as it hits my skin. For some reason, the temperature is rising the farther we head into the woods. We have all left our tux jackets and bow ties somewhere in the woods by this point. Our sleeves were rolled and the top few buttons were undone, exposing our chest to get any sort of air through without being completely shirtless. You never know what you are going to find, so it’s best to be clothed.

"I didn’t realize Culloden Woods was this large," Duron states his eyebrows are furrowed as if he is deep in thought.

Well, almost none of it has been discovered; I don’t think anyone has come back out after entering." Kendrick states this in a duh kind of tone.

"I for one love it. Where else can you go and get this perfect Smokey smell without having a full-on fire?" Sam states excitedly that he is enjoying himself.

We have been walking in a straight line, careful not to turn and go in a different direction. We don’t want to truly get lost in the woods. I pull out my phone and see that it has been about 42 minutes since we started walking into the woods. We haven’t found anything; it’s just like any other woods, just super foggy. I look up and see small hues of orange trying to break through the thick overhead brush from the trees. The sun is starting to rise, which means my father has probably figured out what we’re doing.

"What’s that?" One of our selected warriors says this while running forward, with the others following suit.

All four of us look at each other and then run after them, quickly catching up. We have no idea what the warrior saw, but we continue to follow for a few more seconds. The trees start to turn dark, and the bark is black and scorched from fire. The ground is softer. I look down to see gray ash mixed in with the dark soil. Then, with brightness, my head snaps up to see that we have broken through to a clearing. I push through the warriors to see a giant open area with a huge brick house standing in the middle of the open fields surrounding it. All the trees around are black but still have leaves growing at the top. The ground is ashy, with no grass anywhere and no vegetation anywhere in sight. Besides the tops of the trees being green, it’s all pretty bland. My brothers are now by my side, all of us taking in the area that lies in front of us. I look at the house closer; there are black scorch marks on the brick, but other than that, it’s perfectly intact.

"It’s real," Kendrick says with astonishment.

I look down once more and see bones that seem to be partly buried in the ashy soil. I look around and notice them everywhere. One warrior steps forward to speak with us but stops when a voice comes across the field.

"STOP!" A loud voice with authority booms across the field, not of an alpha but of a beta female.

My eyes locked on her pale gray eyes. She has pale skin and pin-straight black hair that stops right at her jawline. It enhances her sharp jawline. She is tall and built, and I can see her muscle definition from across the field. I finally break contact with her and notice a ton of other women standing around with black-as-night hair and pale gray eyes, all of them looking similar. They have the same details but different facial features and body structures. What is this? Some sort of cult, maybe?