Chapter Four: Show Yourself

The Shadowbrook cemetery was, as usual, shrouded in darkness and fog, with the quietness of death permeating the atmosphere. Candles were still lit up with fresh flowers, indicating that someone had recently been buried. Nate and Claire had just arrived in the cemetery via a portal.

"Seriously, this is the only place you could bring us?" Claire asked Nate as she turned to him.

"This place is the best when it comes to quietness," Nate replied with a sneer.

As they stood there, they heard distant squeaking and laughter. Three teenagers - two boys and a girl - had disturbed the dead and were causing a commotion."You know it's disrespectful to disturb the rest of the dead. That's why it's called 'rest in peace'. I mean, that isn't hard to understand," Claire scolded, but Nate remained silent. Despite his good looks, with his long black robe and dark hair, some strands of which had turned white, and his dark eyes and silk skin, Nate was reserved and mostly kept to himself. He reluctantly agreed to Claire's idea of scaring the teenagers.

As they set out to scare the teenagers, Nate twirled his hands, making a strong wind blow across the graves and quench the candles, causing panic on the teenagers' faces. One of them suggested they leave, but they shut her up. Nate then made an eerie laugh loud enough to scare them, and they froze. Claire raised her voice, pretending to be a mysterious figure in the fog with horns and glowing red eyes. They all screamed and left, leaving Claire to materialize and sit on one of the tombstones laughing evilly.

Nate turned back to Claire, seemingly angry. "That wasn't necessary, Claire. They could have died out of fear, you know," he said, dusting his robe. "You're as boring as your face. This is fun, and lie to me that you didn't love it," Claire retorted, rolling her eyes. "No," Nate stated. "It makes me wonder if your transformation shrank your brain cells that control fun activities," she added, patting her arms.

As they were about to leave, they felt an aura around them, and they knew they were not alone. Someone was watching them, and the feeling was dangerous. They couldn't discern who this strange demon lurking around them was. Claire knew that her father had many enemies, and she was often a target of their resentment. This time, however, something felt different.

Her father had broken the mating rule by consummating with a human, which resulted in numerous consequences that affected not only him but also her mother, Selene. Although her mother was no longer human, having mated with the Alpha himself, her DNA had been altered by nature. Now, a new, unknown danger had arisen.

"I know you're here somewhere. Show yourself!" Claire commanded, holding her dagger ready to fight. It was dangerous to transform outside the pack, as it would reveal that werewolves were still alive and present.

The wind blew fiercely, causing her hair to whip around her face. She searched for any sign of movement, but her senses were overwhelmed by a strange sensation. "I am the princess, and I command you to reveal yourself!" Claire demanded, hoping to coax the person out of hiding. Suddenly, a violent gust of wind knocked them out.

A wild laugh echoed in the tumultuous wind, which now resembled a tornado. Nate and the princess stood their ground, but the entity remained obscured. Despite the chaos, she knew that the smell was that of a rogue, and it was not a good omen. Nate tried to calm the wind by twirling his hands, but to no avail. This was the most powerful rogue they have ever encountered and as they were trying to escape, the wind yanked them to the tree and Claire felt a sharp blade impaled in her chest, making her unconscious…

At times, she felt as though she was being continuously stabbed in the chest. Images of Dave helping her draw the dagger out of her chest and blood gushing out of her mouth seemed real as if they had all happened. The eerie laughter that never left the cloudy and windy image in her head caused her to immediately open her eyes. As she looked around, she noticed that she was in no other place than her chambers.

"How did I get here?" she mumbled. It then dawned on her that she and Nate had been attacked at the cemetery and that she had felt like she had been stabbed in the chest. She looked down at her chest and touched it, but surprisingly, there was no wound. "Now, that's strange. I'm pretty sure I was stabbed," she said to herself.

Just then, something kicked the bed, and she got up to see who it was. Dave was lying curled up on the floor like a snake, with a bowl in his hand, as if he were trying to heal her, maybe feeling guilty or something. It was as if he sensed that she was staring at him, as he opened his eyes, which met hers. A smile crossed his chin.

"Are you doing okay now, my lady?" he asked, showing a bit of concern and anxiety. She nodded. "Yes, I am fine. Did you heal me?" she asked, pointing at her chest, indirectly asking him if he was focused on the wound or the extra addition. He understood what she was trying to say and immediately denied it. "No, my lady, that would be stupid and not gentlemanly of me to do," he said, folding his arms and bowing his head.

Then her mind drifted to Nate. What had happened to Nate? She knew that something peculiar had happened, but she couldn't seem to remember. "Dave, how did you find me?" she asked.

"Well, it wasn't that difficult. I knew you would wander off, thankfully, not too far away. I found you near the cemetery, lying on the ground," he said, a bit displeased.

"Did you see any..." she trailed off, and Dave quickly picked up on her hesitation.

"Don't worry. Maybe it was just my imagination," he reassured her.

"No, it's not," her father's voice boomed with anger as he walked into her room. "You were attacked. What were you doing there?"

"Where exactly?" she asked, glancing at Dave to see if he had told her father anything.

"You were supposed to be in the training grounds, but you wandered off into the woods!" her father scolded her.

"I don't want to train, Dad," she retorted, turning to face the window.

"You will train! Ethan has returned, and I know just what he wants. He's going to cause a catastrophe for the entire pack, and you were his target!" Her father's words were cold and menacing, his presence practically suffocating.

"Ethan? The rogue? I thought he was dead," she asked, her mind racing with questions.

"Well, I thought so too," Marcus said through gritted teeth, clenching his fists.

"You can do something about it, right?" she implored her father, but instead, he laughed at her.

"There are some things I cannot tamper with, my dear. You just have to await your new punishment," he sneered before turning to leave.

"This is not fair!" she yelled at him.

"Fair? I am saving this pack from your irresponsibility," he shot back. "Lock the doors," he instructed Dave, who followed him out of the room.

Feeling utterly useless and frustrated, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Nate.

.

.

Deep down in the forest, lay a small town, it was quite far from the werewolf's territory and its residents, loathed Shadowbrook to the core, this was the main and hidden spot for the rogues.

Ethan walked in swaying his robe in anger,

"He is back!!!" One of the servants yelled, everyone fell to their feet as he entered his chambers, his face filled with so much fury, the door opened and one of the guards walked in,

"How was it, Master?" His right-hand man,

"So Marcus has a daughter as extraordinary as that?" He thought to himself, the encounter at the graveyard, left him astonished.

"She is no ordinary girl. If we want to attack, we must attack when they least expected." He turned to the guard,

"Send words to Gotha, I will be needing her help." He said, clutching his hands,

"Yes, master." The. Guard quickly exited to relay the message,

Watching the guard leave, he stood up from his high chair, with a grin on his face,

"Be prepared for me, Marcus" He lets out an evil laugh.

Back in Shadowbrook......

Nate approached the house and walked inside, greeted by the worried gaze of his mother.

"Nate! Where have you been? We've been beside ourselves with worry," she exclaimed, relieved to see him unharmed.

Despite his safe return, he was still infuriated with his family. "I'm fine," he snapped, pulling away from his mother's grasp.

"Nate, that's all you have to say? Your mother and I were beside ourselves with worry, not to mention the werewolf on the loose," his father interjected. Nate halted in his tracks, turning to face him. "Excuse me, what werewolf?" he asked, bewildered.

"There was a werewolf sighting in the forest. Our hunch was correct; they are still alive and well hidden," his mother explained.

Nate's eyes widened with fear. The memory of the werewolf attack at the cemetery still plagued him. He could still smell the pungent odor of the creature.

"Are you sure it was a werewolf?" he asked anxiously, hoping it was just a false alarm. "A rogue," his mother clarified, seemingly reading his thoughts. "If a rogue exists, then the entire wolf pack is likely in hiding somewhere in Shadowbrook," she added.

Nate sneered at the suggestion. "You're all delusional. I don't believe in supernatural creatures. If they existed, I would be dead by now, considering I just returned from the forest," he retorted, trying to dismiss their concerns. However, his family's expressions revealed that his statement was ill-advised.

"You went to the forest?" they gasped in unison. Nate silently cursed himself for revealing too much. He hastily retreated to his room upstairs, mindful that if his family discovered where Claire was hiding, she would be in grave danger.

Nate had barely escaped the rogue werewolf's wrath the last time. Claire had been knocked out, and he had narrowly avoided the same fate. Despite his best efforts, the creature had relentlessly pursued them, despite his spells and chants. He hoped Claire was okay and sighed at the thought of her predicament.

Upon settling on his bed and removing his boots, Nate's head began throbbing. "Ahh," he groaned in agony.

It soon subsided, and he tried to stand up, but his knees buckled, and felt weak. "Am I sick?" he wondered, realizing he had never been unwell before. His head continued pounding, and he groaned again.

"I need a hot bath," he muttered to himself, dragging himself to the bathroom. As the hot water flowed, he bathed and tried to relax.

 After his shower, Nate wrapped a towel around his waist and peered into the mirror, noticing a peculiar change in his eyes. They glowed yellow, and he was horrified. Suddenly, he collapsed to the floor, bewildered as to 'what was happening to him