Two.

(Landon’s POV)

I chased after my dad who was teaching me how to use my senses as a werewolf. I had just lycanthrope and I was eager to learn everything that there was to learn about what I was.

“You should always learn to be light on your feet.” My father said, “you’re a hunter and can never let your prey know where you are.”

He went low hiding in the grass when we heard someone running towards us, his ears perked. It was one of the packs betas.

“You need to come back to the town now!” He demanded, and you could hear the urgency in his voice.

“What is wrong?” My father asked.

“The Shadow Pack found out location and launched an attack. Our pack wasn’t prepared and they are killing almost the whole pack.” He said in a panic.

“Landon, I need to go back and I want you to stay away from the war, okay?” He asked.

“But father, I want to help. What better way to prove how powerful I am that defending our pack?!” I insisted.

“Landon, I don’t have time to argue with you and I need you to go hide. Don’t come out until I or someone from our pack comes to get you.” He stated as he asked me to follow him.

He hid me in this small underground bunker that he had made for such an occasion.

“Don’t disobey me and stay hidden, okay?!” He barked.

I nodded as I sat on the corner and was quiet, listening to the screams and shouts outside the bunker.

A loud bang on the latch made me become alert.

“Where is that no good son of yours?!” I heard someone yell.

Silence.

I heard someone get punched and a groan.

“I asked you a question!” The person barked. “You took my sister away from me and I want you to experience the same pain, I felt.”

I heard my father chuckle, “I am not going to let you hurt my son.” He said as the man punched him again and he fell back on the latch.

Something started to drip down where I was. I could smell it and it was blood. My father’s blood.

“Irving just tell him where Landon is and he’ll spare your life.” I heard a familiar voice say but I couldn’t quit put together who it was.

“Paul, you betrayed your own pack, what makes you think they would want a back stabber in their pack, huh?” My father started laughing. “You didn’t think if that, did you?” He asked.

I was looking up at my father, I wanted to get out there and fight alongside him. I wanted to be there for him. But I heard his voice in my head, don’t come out Landon. I’ll be fine.

“There is no point of you not telling me. He’s going to be an omega with no pack to go to. If you let me know where he is, you could be together. You’ll both be dead but you’ll be together.” He stated then paused as he leaned closer to his face, “I’ll ask you one more time, where is he?”

My father spat on his face as he laughed hysterically.

I don’t know what happened next but I felt a warm liquid dripping on to my face. A lot of it.

“Why did you do that?!” Paul screamed. “We don’t know where Landon is yet.”

“He’s a child that just lycanthrope, if he isn’t dead already he is going to be.” The man stated, “as for you.” A short pause then a thud.

I heard them walk away but I didn’t dare to move. I wanted to do what I promised my father that I would, and I was sure that he was right outside and he was going to come and get me. But for now, I needed to stay here and I was very much aware of all the sounds around me.

I had been waiting for a few hours at least when I heard someone calling out my name. I didn’t know who to trust so I was ready to pounce if I sensed any aggression. But when the latch door opened it was Conner, my father right hand man, and the one who came looking for us.

“Are you okay?” He asked when he saw me.

I touched my face and looked at my fingers, it was blood that was pouring down on me.

I stepped out of the bunker and the first thing I saw was my father’s head. His blood was what was dripping on my face.

I slowly bent as I picked up the head and looked right at it. I was angry and I wanted to make whoever did this pay.

“I know you want to avenge your father’s death but we can’t afford to stay here. We need to leave now, before they come back looking for you.” Conner said as he dragged me away from the body, as I dropped the head onto the group.

“Paul betrayed us.” I muttered.

“Our pack is a third of what it used to be. We need to rebuild before we can plan our revenge.” Conner reasoned.

“We need to hide in plain sight. Gather everyone that is left and we need to move immediately.” I stated.

Conner looked at me, surprised at how I was trying to take control of the situation. But he gathered everyone and we started out search for a new home, that was how we ended up finding the small town of Lore.

We stayed there for a while and as young as I was I went around looking at the town, studying weak spots in the area and possible points of entry for our rivals. But I needed to make sure that the rest of the pack was safe, so I needed to lay down rules. They had a town meeting the next day and I wanted to make sure everyone knew what to expect from me.

My pack and I walked into the meeting where the whole town was gathered.

I stood in front of everyone and they looked down on me. I wouldn’t blame them; I was a young teenage boy demanding their attention.

“My name is Landon Larkin, and I’m the leader of our werewolf pack, Dark Night. I’m here to warn you that no one is going to be leaving this town from now on, if you want to leave the town, you have until the end of the day to do so. If by tomorrow morning you are still here I will take that as a sign that you have chosen to stay here.” I paused as I looked at everyone murmuring among themselves, “after tomorrow morning, anyone who tries to leave will be killed.”

“I don’t think this is the right way for you to handle this.” Conner whispered in my ear.

“My father tried to be a fair leader and it only got him killed. Fear, people understand.” I replied as I turned to face the crowd.

“Any one has a problem with that?” I asked.

“You old boy should probably step down from there before you get hurt.” A man in a brown cowboy hat stood up and stated in a Southern accent.

I chuckled, “thank you for saying that. I needed someone to use as an example.” I strolled next to the man as I grabbed him by the neck and I was back standing in front of everyone before they could even blink with the man on his knees in front of me.

My iris turned red and I could hear the crowd gasp, and the man in front of me didn’t seem so mouthy now. “Respect is earned old man, not given.” I stated as I threw him over everyone up to the other end of the room. “Anyone else has something to say?” I asked and the whole room was quiet, I could barely hear them breath. Fear, it always works.

I walked out of the room, making sure everyone knew that had until the end of the day to leave town if they wanted to.

Some members of my pack didn’t like how I handle that but I made sure to lay down rules for the humans, they respect those and I wasn’t planning on killing anyone who obeyed the rules. I wanted us to live in harmony, but as human beings can be, some people did try to leave and I made sure to make them know that I wasn’t playing around with the rules I had laid. They were killed and displayed and after a few months, people stopped trying to leave, until that night.

I didn’t expect to have to kill them but it was too late by the time I realized what I had done. And more so, who saw what I had done.

I saw and heard the little girl whimpering in the tree and she reminded me of myself, the way I saw my father get killed and I decided to spare her a life, a choice that she didn’t know I had made but here she was trying to kill me. I didn’t blame her; I had been trying to find the people that killed my parents too but I was yet to find them.

I looked down at her limp body in my hands, she was determined and I both loved and respected that about her. But I couldn’t risk having her going around town telling everyone how she tried to kill me and failed. But there was something about her that drew me to her, it drew me to like her.

I carried her and took her to a cabin in a remote area close to where my pack had set up their new home.

I laid her on the bed, as I blushed her raven black hair. I would like to have a talk with her but I should probably let her get over the shock. I walked out as I closed and locked the door behind me.