Luca had spent too much time in his mother's temple. The priestesses were happy to serve him as they were aware he was the son of the moon goddess, but he was getting fed up with the constant attention.
It was always like this. He'd go down to earth every few decades, spend some time as a wolf, running through the lands, and then rest at one of the temples. He had been there for half a year now and thought it was time to go back to his mother's castle in the sky.
There was a knock on the door to his chambers, the priestesses accommodated him in one of the best rooms at the top of the east tower.
"Enter."
A young woman entered the room. Her golden hair was pinned back by a small diadem, her grey dress covered just enough of her body, and her green eyes stayed down on the floor as she closed the door behind her.
"Lady Mildred is offering her invitation for you to have dinner with us before you depart," she told him respectfully.
"There's no need," he turned around to continue doing his bed. The priestesses insisted on doing everything for him, but he made sure they stayed away from his chambers as long as he was there. "I will get my own food when I get hungry. Thank you anyway, Alice."
"She insisted, sir."
"I am okay," he repeated enunciating his words carefully.
The priestess dedicated him a small bow and walked out of the room.
When he was done with the bed he looked around, making sure everything was back in its place and as clean as to how he found it. The room was lit by the afternoon sun, coming to its end on the horizon, giving it a romantic feeling to it. He looked through the balcony to the forest surrounding the temple, mile after mile, to the never-ending sea of trees.
If he wanted to go back to his mother's castle, he would have to travel to a portal. He did not have powers like his mother, so for him to go between the Earth and the Sky, he had to use the portals his mother had created for him. The closest one was two days away if he ran, he would take breaks to eat and refresh himself on the way.
He opened the doors and walked out, taking a deep breath before taking transforming into his gigantic white wolf. He jumped over the rail and landed with a hard thud on the side of the building, away from the dining area, and took off running north. He knew Mildred had probably sensed him leaving the grounds, but he did not care, it had been a mistake to go back to that temple.
The morning came and he ran to the end of the forest to the border of a pack. He took in the smell but came up empty, he did not recognize it. He had been away in his mother's castle for forty years before returning a year ago and he had not traveled this north since then, so he was sure this was just a new pack.
He was starting to get tired, so he considered sleeping in the open area, but the faint smell of scavengers was in the area. Luca was sure he could defend himself; he had done it before, but he wanted peace and quiet. And a good meal, now regretting not having dinner with the priestesses.
He approached the border and sat down, waiting for a patrol he was sure would not take long to sense him. He always tried to respect the packs. As their protector, as his mother liked to remind him, he could not harm them unless provoked. And he would not be the one to provoke them.
Less than a minute later, he heard a group approaching him. Three wolves emerged from the trees, cautious as their visitor was sitting there with apparent disinterest.
The wolf in the middle walked forward, stopping right in front of Luca, and transformed into a middle-aged man with long brown hair and dark eyes. He had a scar running vertically through the left side of his face.
"State your business."
Luca did not belong to a pack, but he did not smell like a rogue. To the other wolves, it meant he belonged to a pack, one they did not recognize.
Luca turned into his human form, standing a little taller than the man in front of him. He could've very well communicated with them through a link, but he did not want to scare them as they were part of a new pack, probably unaware of who he was.
"My name is Luca. I am traveling back to my home and need rest," he stated with a charming smile. "May I please enter for just one night? I will be gone in the morning."
"What pack do you belong to?" the man questioned him.
Luca had two options. One, he could tell the truth, but that would mean he had to prove it. He was just a legend to most of the new packs that were created every few decades, so of course, they would not believe him straight away. And the second option was to lie.
"I am a warrior of Luna Roja." He said.
Luna Roja was an old pack, one of the very first that was formed after his mother started to give werewolves mates. Forty years ago, he met the Alpha, so he hoped Alberto would remember him if they were to call them to confirm his identity. Luckily for him, Luna Roja was one of the packs located near the portal in the north.
"Really?" he asked, not believing Luca. "If I were to call them, would they confirm your identity?"
"Sure," Luca was not so sure now.
"Follow me. And do not try anything."
The other two wolves transformed into humans as well. One of them left, and after a few minutes, he returned wearing shorts and extra clothing items in his hands. He handed Luca a pair of old ripped jeans which he took with thanks and put on. They were itchy, but they'd do.
They walked through the forest until they arrived at a big house. Instead of having a big packhouse like many of the other packs would do, they had built a small village with the Alpha's house right in the center.
The walls of the houses were covered in vines, with wooded doors and their windows covered with thick chicken wire on top of a glass. Luca followed them inside the house, the inside was warm and full of laughter. He saw kids running, and young people socializing in one of the rooms where they had games and consoles.
The man knocked on the door and the group waited to be allowed in. A muffled voice came from the other side and the four men entered the office.
The walls were decorated with pictures of what Luca supposed were family members. There was a bookshelf holding documents on the wall in front of him, and a long black desk with a man in his twenties sitting behind it.
He had a child on his lap, who was coloring the man's arm. He had tattoos covering both of his arms, and the black-haired girl was filling them with colorful markers.
"Alpha," The three men greeted him with respect. Luca found the scene in front of him too adorable to ignore.
When the man looked up at the group his eyes landed on Luca. He moved liften the child and placed her on the floor, ignoring her complaints.
"Go with mommy, dear."
The kid took her markers and walked out with a small pout on her mouth. Luca smiled at her when she passed him, and the kid gave him a toothy smile.
"My men tell me you are from Luna Roja."
Luca turned his attention back to the Alpha in front of him. He looked very familiar.
"I am headed there, yes."
"Why are you here?" the Alpha walked around him, observing Luca and his strange appearance.
"I am just passing through. I would have slept outside your pack, but I sensed there are some scavengers in the area," The Alpha stopped right in front of him, scratching his chin. Luca could feel they found him as a threat as they were all on edge. "I really mean no harm."
"You must understand. Anyone who passes through the land unharmed is one to be treated with caution, especially right now."
Luca was not sure what he meant. He had spent most of his time alone, with the exception of being in the temple for half a year.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"How did you avoid the scavengers?" he asked Luca, ignoring his question.
"I just didn't run on them on my way here."
"And where were you before coming here?"
"The temple near the Moon Lake," Luca saw no harm in being honest.
The Alpha and Luca had a staring contest, neither looking away from the other. Luca was starting to wonder if it had been better to just sleep outside the pack. But his spoiled ass wanted a bed.
"How is a man from Luna Roja in the temple? Last I heard from my brother, they are not welcomed," The Alpha was now smiling, but his smile was rather nerve-racking. "Tell me, how were you in a temple where Luna Roja members are not welcomed?"
"I mean no harm," he looked and had a plan ready to leave the place. He would jump through the window; it was not strong enough against his own strength.
"I know," said the Alpha. "After all, the son of the moon is our protector."
Luca let a nervous laugh out. For being a man who had lived for thousands of years, Luca was still pretty foolish.
"So, you knew," he laughed.
"Of course. I grew up listening to stories about you and my father," he extended his hand which Luca shook with gusto. "Name's Sebastian. I, Alpha of the Night Hunters, welcome you to stay as long as you need."
Sebastian offered Luca a bed in his house and invited him to have lunch with his family after he had rested. Luca agreed and headed to sleep the morning away. When noon came, he heard a shy knock on his door which woke him up. He was on top of the bed with part of his leg hanging over it, and a pool of drool on the pillow.
He stood up and wiped his face with his forearm. He had not realized how tired he had been. He opened the door and saw a teenage boy with freckles all over his face in front of him.
"This is for you," he handed Luca a pile of folded clothes with a pair of vans on top. "My sister said we are just waiting for you to have lunch, whenever you're ready."
And without waiting for a response, he turned around and walked down the hall.
"Uh, thanks," Luca said to the empty hall and closed the door.
He entered the shower and washed the dirt off his body. When he was ready, he made his way downstairs to where he found Sebastian playing with the same little girl he found him with when they first met.
"Afternoon!" he greeted Luca when he saw him enter the dining room. He had washed off the coloring on his arms. "Let's go outside."
Luca walked with him, the little girl stayed behind after Sebastian encouraged her to see her mom, whoever that was. The two men walked past the houses located in the center and found themselves in a large clearing.
The grass was dry and some of the trees had been cut off to allow for space. There were teenagers lined up in different fighting stances. Luca was observing them when Sebastian pulled him aside.
"They will be helping the inside of the land in case we have a breakthrough."
"They cannot be any older than thirteen or fifteen... Why are you making them fight?"
Sebastian's face changed into one of sadness, but he quickly got rid of it as soon as it came.
"Crescent moon was attacked a few days ago. They are a strong pack, but they still got rogues entering their lands and killing some of them. Scavengers were in the group."
Luca remembered when he saw the creatures for the first time. It all started due to hunger.
The packs were disorganized and had no way to survive in a world where humans saw them as monsters, hunting them. So, they turned on each other, killing for territory and resources. The moon goddess had sent her son to stop the fights, but when Luca arrived, he found himself in the middle of a horrific feast.
Wolves were eating their young. Although it had only been a few, the moon goddess found herself horrified and bestowed a course on them.
The feral werewolves were transformed into what they were now known as scavengers, crazed animals unable to think, coursed with hunger they would never satisfy for the rest of their lives. Like any other animal in the wild, they found a way to multiply and survive.
"What happened?"
"Alexander, their Alpha contacted me to let me know what happened. I offered help but he said they were okay for now," He crossed his arms and leaned against one of the trees. "You know..." He said after a few minutes of silence, both men observing the group of teenagers training. "My father told me how the two of you made a mess back in the temple."
Luca smiled, remembering his old friend fondly.
"Good times."
"He mentioned you left after that, and he never saw you again." Sebastian sounded curious, but Luca could not help but think he was accusing him of something.
"I had to leave," He did not elaborate.
"You know, before we left and separated the packs, my father would mention his white-haired friend and the shenanigans they did."
"Is that how you figured out who I was?" Luca was rather surprised Alberto spoke of him to his children. He touched his long hair, he thought about cutting it but had missed the opportunity.
Sebastian shook his head.
"Not really. People can change their hair color," He sat on the ground, and Luca followed suit. "You have a weird aura. Dad once mentioned that when he met you, he was just a kid and you scared the crap out of him with how intimidating you were even though you were smiling at him. And I saw that today," he pointed at him from head to toe. "The 'I am dangerous' aura and the perfect match to how he described you gave up your identity."
Luca looked between his legs to the dry grass and pulled some of it, letting the wind take it from his fingers.
"Yeah. He was a brat," Then he remembered. "How is he doing?"
"Eh, he's old and bitter. But he's okay. Mom keeps him good company now that he gave up his title to my brother," Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. "I told him about your arrival."
"Does that mean I'll see him soon?" Sebastian nodded interrupted by his stomach grumbling. "Let's go eat, we can continue this talk when he gets here."
Luca got up and offered his hand to Sebastian who took it and helped him up. They made it back to the dining room where Sebastian's family was waiting for them.
"That is my wife and Luna of this pack, Teresa," He introduced Luca to a beautiful petite white woman with almond-like eyes and curvy hips. She offered her hand.
"A pleasure to meet you," Luca took her hand and kissed her knuckles.
Sebastian introduced him to his sister-in-law, Marie, who was a woman similar to Teresa in appearance but with longer hair and a few years older. Their brother, the young man who had given him the clothes earlier, Matias. And Marie's daughter, Angelique.
The group sat around the table, eating grilled meat and smoked vegetables. Luca stayed silent for most of the meal, enjoying how the family interacted and hearing stories about Alberto as he grew old.
Luca was glad his friend had found love, and a part of him was jealous but he would not admit it even to himself. About an hour later, they stood up and cleaned the table. Luca took it as his cue to leave. He had to return to his mother.
"Thank you, for your hospitality," he told the Alpha and Luna.
"You're leaving?" she asked, disappointed.
"Yes, I have to return to my mother."
"Stay. Dad is on his way here already. I'm sure he'd be glad to see you."
Luca had planned to visit him when he passed his pack but thought it would not hurt to stay one more day and spend some time with his old friend. He nodded to the couple and gave them a short smile.
"If you will have me as your guest, I'd really appreciate it."
"Of course. The son of the moon goddess is welcomed in this pack, always," said Teressa with a warm smile. Sebastian nodded, agreeing with his Luna.
The following day he got woken up by the sound of cars parking outside. It was almost eleven in the morning when he heard the voice of his old friend, which was now a little more hoarse.
"Where is that son of a bitch?"
Luca put on a new pair of pants and a shirt and made his way downstairs barefoot. He found Alberto, now with almost all white hair and wrinkles on his face, carrying Angelique on his shoulders. Luca leaned on the wall, waiting for Alberto to notice him. An older woman with silver hair was standing behind him.
She noticed him before Alberto and pocked her husband on the ribs and pointed at Luca when she got his attention.
"Hello, Al," Luca greeted the old man with a smile.
They rushed to embrace each other. It had been forty years since they had last seen each other, and now the friends had reencountered. When they pulled back, Alberto had tears in his eyes that he quickly cleaned with his forearm.
"Motherfucker, what took you so long?" he asked Luca.
"Mother was pissed after what we did. She wouldn't let me return," Luca explained, now regretting not going to see him sooner when he left his mother's castle.
"I bet. We burned it pretty bad," Albert smiled. "It cost me not seeing my best friend for forty years."
"What did they burn?" the soft voice of Teressa came from the other side of the room, asking Sebastian.
"Latter," he said.
"I see you got married," Luca was now looking at the woman who had come with Alberto.
"Yes," he replied with pride. "This is Antoinette."
Luca and Antoinette exchanged pleasantries, and then the two friends left the rest of the family to catch up. Luca found himself near the same clearing he had come to with Sebastian the day before, but he kept walking, talking with Alberto as he did so.
They stopped near the border; Luca had followed the same route he took when he first came to the pack. The scavenger smell was stronger as if they had just been there.
"You haven't changed one bit, Luca," said Alberto. Luca looked at his friend, not sure of what he meant. "For a man who has been alive for as long as you, you would've thought you'd know how to hide your thoughts, yet I can still read you like the open book you are."
"Huh?"
"What's worrying you so much?"
"Don't you smell that?" he asked, surprised Alberto hadn't noticed the smell by now.
"Smell what?" he took a deep breath in and tried to catch what Luca meant; he closed his eyes and concentrated on the smells around them. When he opened his eyes again, there was worry in them. "Scavenger."
"Sebastian," Luca reached to the Alpha as calmly as possible. He did not want to scare him by talking to a man he had no link to as well as to inform him of the news.
"Luca?" Came the reply shortly after.
"We are near the border where your men found me. There was a scavenger here recently."
"Come back here, quickly."
Luca cut the link and looked at a worried Alberto. He was now an old man, although he was still strong, in a battle, he was at the disadvantage.
"Let's go back."
The men hurried back to the house. Sebastian was already giving orders, asking questions to the patrols. He dismissed the woman he was talking to when he saw Luca and Alberto.
"The patrols told me they sensed him, but the beast did not try to enter the land. He was about half a mile away when they saw him running back south," He informed them.
"Was he alone?" Alberto asked.
"I am not sure."
"I think he was. It was one of the same scents I got yesterday when I arrived," Luca informed Sebastian. Luca wondered why would the scavenger return to the area? There was no explanation, unless... unless he was scouting the area. "Maybe he is looking for blind spots."
Sebastian nodded, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"Yeah, you are right. I'm gonna make some calls," he informed them. "Alexander mentioned he had a few incidents where his warriors spotted scavengers near his borders. Maybe this is the first of more coming," He left them and entered the house.
Luca followed Alberto who sat on one of the chairs in the dining room. His wife was there and she embraced him when he leaned on the table. Luca looked away, giving them their moment until Alberto called him.
"Do you think you can help him if something is actually happening?" he asked.
Luca looked at his friend. He had spent more than enough time on Earth, and although he was glad he got to see his friend, there was nothing that held him back. Boredom was what made him go back and forth between realms.
"Sure."
Alberto seemed relieved. He was the only one out of all of the people in this pack who had seen him in action before. Luca was a good fighter, a strong opponent, and a force to be reckoned with.
About four hours later, Sebastian called his father, his Beta, and his Gamma. Alberto pulled him into the office as well, sure Luca should listen to what he had to say.
"I spoke with Alexander and a few other Alphas in the canyon area. It seems Alexander is not the only one who had a group of rogues attacking them in the past few days. They told me there are some of them who are near the ending phases of becoming scavengers."
This was surprising for Luca to hear. Becoming a scavenger was only accomplished in one of two ways. One, it was in your blood. And two, you committed a crime against one of your own. His mother had altered the curse with the passing of the years as she saw not all of her creatures were good.
They committed crimes against each other, so she took it into her own hands to punish them and gave them the same fate as the first scavengers. It had to be understood, though, that all of the scavengers were rogues, but not all rogues were scavengers.
"How far is the canyon?" Luca asked.
"About a day and a half if you run without taking any breaks. Why?" Sebastian asked.
"Are the other packs under constant attack?"
Sebastian shook his head.
"Not all of them. Alpha Tabor told me they've had four attacks in the past two months, Alpha Alexander and Alpha Gloria told me they've only had one each, starting two weeks ago." He pulled out a map of the area. "But Tobar requested help from the rest of us. He sounded worried."
On the top of the map was a small island, the mainland on the rest of the map. There were marks indicating the packs in the area, Luna Roja and three other packs were up north.
Sebastian pointed at the south, where there was a canyon that covered a great part of the map. "Alexander's pack is here," he pointed near a human city in the south, they were closer to their current location. His finger ran down the map to the left, pointing at a pack with a lake nearby. "Gloria is here," he then went lower diagonally near the center of the canyon. "And this is Tobar."
Luca analyzed the map and the locations of the packs. Tobar's pack was the most isolated one, hard to get to. Gloria's pack was protected by their high altitude, the canyon cut through a mountain range where their pack was located. And lastly, Alexander's pack was surrounded by miles and miles of trees.
They were relatively close to a human city, think many packs avoided so as to not be discovered by accident.
"Why are they too close to the city?" Luca asked.
"Alexander is big on technology. He encourages adaptation and promotes the incorporation of the packs with the humans. Not many think like him." Alberto replied.
Their meeting was interrupted by Sebastian's phone. He left the group and answered. A few minutes later, he returned with a grave expression.
Before anyone could ask, he grabbed a marker and placed a big black X over the symbol representing Tobar's pack.
"Gloria just called. They've been wiped out."