2. Painful Promise

The cold was even worse on this dreadful night. I was shivering so badly, and my brother tried his best to shield me from the harsh weather, but he needed the warmth he was trying to provide way more than I did.

I felt terrible, but I was also aware that there was nothing I could do to make him change his mind, so I just kept quiet and burrowed myself deeper into his arms and the little warmth he provided.

The monsters who did this to us were glaring at us, but they had not yet uttered a word to any of us after they brought us here.

I dared to look back at the pack house and could not stop the whimpers that left my lips as I took in the sight of our once beautiful pack house now brought to rumbles and ashes as it burned behind us.

I silently prayed to the moon goddess to save us from this disaster, but it seemed she wasn’t listening to any of us today. Has she turned her back on one of her own? Did we commit a great sin against her, and now she was punishing us?

I quickly dragged myself from those harmful thoughts, muttering apologies for my mistake of daring to doubt the moon goddess's plans for my family. She knows what’s best for her people, and she never makes mistakes, but why this plan for me? I would die if I lost my family.

I peeked at the men parading in front of us. They were looking at us with anger and disgust, especially Dad. The intent to kill him was so obvious on their face, and it made me scared.

Why would these monsters want to kill an innocent and loving man? I knew for sure that there was no way Dad would have offended them.

The pack loved him for a reason, and it’s because he was so caring and nice. He had never harmed anyone who didn’t deserve it, so I did not know what to make of these strangers’ anger towards my pack and my home, a home that was now the shell of its former self.

I was getting impatient, and so were my brothers and parents. We were blind in this matter. We had no idea who these people were, and they were not saying anything to us. Instead, they seem to be talking to someone through their mind link. Their Alpha, perhaps?

“Who are you people? What do you want from us? Why have you destroyed our homes and killed our people as though we are animals?” Ethan roared. You could hear the pain and anguish in his voice as he spoke.

His body shook against my cheek as he cried. Cried? I snapped my head up to study his face, and surely, there were streaks of tears running down his face. Ethan never cried; he was a strong man, but here he was crying in anguish at the loss we had faced today.

It brought a dull ache to my heart, and deep down, I vowed to get my revenge and never forgive these people, regardless of the outcome of today’s event.

“Shut up, you dirty mutt. You murderers deserve worse. You are such great actors. You should become entertainers and not rulers,” the blonde who had dragged me and Liam out of the house spoke.

He spat on the floor in front of us as if we were vermin, and I saw that Father’s face was full of anguish and remorse, but remorse for what?

My thoughts zeroed in on the stranger's words, and I started to wonder why all these accusations were being thrown carelessly at my family. Why were they accusing Ethan of being an actor? I’ve known him my entire life.

Ethan glared harder. The glare elicited whimpers from my lips. He was an alpha and naturally commanded respect, especially as the next in line. The strange wolves even took a step back.

“Aaaah” Ethan groaned and I turned my head swiftly to see that someone had struck him hard, and he was quickly bleeding from the back of his head.

“Are you crazy? Do you want to kill him, you bastard?”. I screamed in horror, but the male just laughed at me. Others didn’t laugh, but I caught sight of some wolves with approval in their eyes at the action that just took place.

“You better shut up your trash else you’ll be next” he spat, but I refused to cower. Instead, I spat at him and he groaned in disgust. He reached out to wipe the spit from his face and moved to hit me, but his hand stopped midway. He dropped his hand and took a step back.

“Luca, Callum, say something… hey… LUCA” The sound of mom’s pained voice made me turn from the man, and my body became numb at the sight that greeted my throbbing eyes.

“Cal, Luc?” I crawled out of Ethan’s arms towards my brothers, who were lying too still. My hands trembled as I reached out to touch Luc’s arms gently at first, before I started shaking him violently, eager to get a response from him.

“Luc… please wake up… LUCA… LUCA” I yelled, but he wouldn’t move. He was just sleeping so deeply, and he wouldn’t answer either. He was too still. He had to be pretending. He can’t leave me alone.

I turned to Ethan, “Ethan, tell them to wake up... this isn’t funny anymore,” I spoke, but my voice was so shaky with fear.

“Ethan, say something…they shouldn’t die so easily. It’s just a little beating, wasn’t it?” My heart was beating so hard against my chest, but no one was answering me.

I crossed over Luca's body and crawled towards Calum’s. I lay my head against his chest, and it was still. There was no beat. He was so still.

“No” I whispered at first “No” this time it came out choked “Please don’t leave me. Cal, I am so sorry. Please forgive me. It’s all my fault” The tears that streamed down my face were hot with my burning guilt. If only I had stayed in the room like he asked, this wouldn’t have happened.

I turned towards the men who were just watching, “What did you do? What did you use on them?” I asked them, but they just stood there, watching me with cold eyes. There was not a single trace of guilt or remorse in their eyes.

“Answer me goddamit,” I yelled.

“Wasn’t the wolfsbane meant to make them just weak? How come they’re dead? Fucking weaklings.” Someone muttered, but I don’t know who. I was too busy trying to make sense of the situation before me, but the careless statement made rage burn through me.

“You used wolfsbane on my family? You used that deadly poison on my family? Why?” Father roared so hard the ground practically shook. Mom cried out, and you could hear her heart break as she tried to crawl to her children.

“You don’t have the right to say anything. In fact, you don’t have the right to be angry. You have done far worse things, so you better shut it”. A man larger than the rest roared, and I almost flinched at the ferocity of his voice, but something held me back.

He was powerful, but he wasn’t an alpha. Maybe a beta. His build should be 6’2, he commanded respect, and the other men with him flinched at his command and bowed in respect as he marched forward from where he was.

He was furious. He was more than angry, he was livid, and I didn’t notice when my heart began to beat as my fears began to grow.

“Did Dad have a hidden side he never showed us?” I wandered inside, and Dad’s eyes snapped to me. He heard my thoughts. He had fear in his eyes, but not for the man before him.

My brothers, Ethan and Joseph, had a look of guilt on their faces, and their eyes lowered as if they couldn’t dare to look at the man before us. It was as though they had done him some wrong, but I would never believe some stranger over my family. Never

“What’s happening here? What’s this?” A large figure emerged that I hadn’t seen. He was the alpha, and there was no mistake about it. He looked at us as if we were the filthiest filth, especially Dad.

I hated the way his eyes lingered on me, and something like shock crossed his features, but it didn’t stay long. The look he gave Dad was something I couldn’t describe, and Dad had suddenly become mute at the entrance of this man. Who was he?

“Isaac, I believe I asked you a question? Why are they dead?” He asked the man, whom I assumed was the beta, and the man flinched back at the question. He was terrified of this man, not just respect but terror.

“The warriors used wolfsbane on them, I didn’t order them to do it, they acted all on their own”. If I thought the beta was livid as well, I don’t know what to call this terrifying anger on the alpha’s face. In the blink of an eye, the large beta was on the floor and groaning in serious pain.

It had to take a lot to bring such a huge man down, even for an alpha that was just a bit bigger. This man was dangerous and powerful, two elements that shouldn’t go hand in hand.

“Whose idea was it? I believe I said death was too lenient for these people,” He roared, and out of instinct and the power he commanded, I whimpered and leaned into Ethan, but he wasn’t where he was before.

No one spoke, and the men from his pack stepped back in fear in order to avoid the wrath of his man. His whole being commanded respect even without demanding for it.

The need to submit myself to him was so strong, and it was nothing like I had experienced, even with my father, who was my alpha.

“Ethan?” I turned to search for him, but he was also lying still on the ground like Cal and Luc. He was gone as well. Our future Alpha was gone. My knees gave out, and I sat on the floor, weak.

“No, no, no, not you too, Ethan. Please, I can’t live without my anchor” My heart was lodged in my throat, but I was too scared to touch him as well. I was scared of what reality was showing me “Ethan, please” I whispered brokenly “Please don’t leave me as well. You said you would be with me until the end”

Why was the moon bringing me so much pain? This wasn’t the bargain. The night was only halfway gone, but the part that had gone had taken half of my family with it.

My chest was aching so bad, and the tears that were dropping from my eyes were endless. I scooted back from Ethan’s body, afraid of hurting him even more, and I found Joseph’s hand. I couldn’t bear to look at him because he was half dead as well. There was no way he would survive the night.

I don’t think I can endure anymore, but it was far from finished. Dad and Mom were so weak and they could barely move. Ethan, Calum and Luc were dead. They left me even after promising that they wouldn’t. Who was going to protect me now? I had a bad feeling about the way this would end, and I didn’t like it.

Even if the night ended on a positive note, there was no coming back from it. The hatred that grew inside me for these people in front of me tasted so bitter like Vermin in my mouth, but I wasn’t spitting it out.

I would make them pay for what they did. They would pay for every single blood they shed on our pack soil tonight.

I lifted my eyes to meet the alpha before me, and the pain in his eyes as he looked at the bodies on the floor didn’t match their actions. I spat at his feet.

“You’ll regret this. I promise. I’ll make you pay”