Stillness and darkness. These were the two words to describe the scenery of the forest inhabited by the wolves. Apart from the gleaming light of the moon and the crackling of burning torches, nothing in the forest seemed to be moving. The owls were silent. The leaves rustled no more. The tension in the area was at its peak; the tension that was created by the ancient vendetta between two, demi-human races: the ravenous beasts called werewolves and blood-thirsty fiends called vampires.
The two forces of nature were present in the forest, staring daggers at themselves. Both sides had their leaders standing akimbo in the front. The silence was finally broken by a man of great stature, endowed with arms like tree barks, calves which were comparable to yam tubers: "What brings a King like you out of his castle and into the forest at this hour?"
The man he was addressing stepped forward. He was slightly smaller than the other man but was tall, nonetheless. The King smiled and replied: "As the King of Dracia, don't I have the right to roam all the lands I govern? Or are you restricting me to my castle, wolf?" The large man growled, displaying horrifyingly-long fangs. His irises had become miniature suns, glowing with such intensity that the vampires backing their king stepped back out of instinct.
"Cut the crap!", he growled. "These lands belong to the Double-Fanged wolves. If you have no business here, then get the fuck out!" The King began to laugh maniacally with no regard whatsoever. "Oh, you wolves have always been the slowest of all creatures. This is not a visit of pleasantries! This here…", he gestured to the vampires behind him. "They are all elite soldiers", he smirked.
Realization hit the Alpha, causing his eyes to widen in shock. Rage boiled from within; the King had come to slay them all! "Let me ask this: when last did you hear from the Silver Fangs? Or Lupus Claw…" "Take your positions!", the Alpha roared. All the men and women backing the Alpha suddenly went down on all fours. The sound of fabric tearing violently along with bones shattering and rearranging themselves filled the night. Not long after, the vampires were looking at large hairy monstrosities with claws like giant shears. All the werewolves threw their heads back simultaneously and howled. The sound caused many animals in the vicinity to flee for their lives.
Their actions just assumed the King. "So NOW you understand, he chuckled. "I will give you another option, the same option I gave the other packs but they refused my generosity. Disband this pack and leave these lands; we vastly outnumber you."
In truth, the vampires outnumbered them at a shocking ratio of 10: 1. However, the wolves were powerful creatures, vastly outclassing the vampires in terms of physical strength. The large man beat his chest violently three times, ripped his cloak off, and declared: "I, Alpha Mateo, swear on my father's grave, that King Faginus will not leave this forest, ALIVE!" Faginus just shrugged. "Well, I gave you your chance. Exterminate them all! Leave none of the dogs alive!", he hissed menacingly. "For our fallen brothers and sisters, charge!", roared Mateo. All hell broke loose as the two powerful forces clashed. The Double-Fanged Pack immediately began to suffer casualties. Bodies began to hit the ground as screams of the innocent and guilty filled the night. The coppery scent of blood was all that could be perceived. The forest floor ran red with blood. Meanwhile, Mateo was locked in close combat with the royal guards. As for the King, he stood at a safe distance, watching everything unfold.
The fight looked like a scene straight from an action movie; the main character(Mateo) was outnumbered yet he was still putting up a decent fight. Upon his large body, the Alpha was unimaginably swift as he hacked and slashed the vampires that blocked him from the killer of his brethren. Mateo wasn't alone; his best friend, Caspian, was with him on the battlefield. The duo dodged and parried away swords and spears wielded by the bloodthirsty creatures. The war raged on, the two sides oblivious of the frightened woman and her child, hidden in the Pack's great hall. Mateo grabbed the spear of one of the vampires, thrust it through his head, and threw it at another one with neck-breaking speed.
"Your wife!", Mateo said as he dashed to an unsuspecting vampire, ripping her in half. "Get her out of here, Caspian!", he growled. "My devotion is with you and the Pack. For which we will both lay down our lives for!", Caspian retorted, parrying an arrow with his longsword. "She is with child, your only child, Caspian! As your Alpha, I order you to take them to safety. Let me deal with the bloodsuckers", Mateo replied. Caspian took one last look at his dear friend and he ran off to help his family. A vampire sprinted to block his path but was intercepted by a fist through his chest. The unfortunate vampires slumped, a large hole gaping through his chest. "Now… Where do you think you're going, bloodsucker", Mateo grinned evilly.
It didn't take long for Caspian to arrive at the Hall. A heavy kick to the door threw it off its hinges and into a wall adjacent to it. The Hall was void of light. "Aelita! It's me, my love. This place is not safe anymore; those vampires would sniff you out soon!" A woman with bright red hair and green eyes slowly crept out from the shadows. "Caspian?", she whispered. His response came immediately: "Aelita, please come to the entrance with the child; time is of the essence!" The terrified woman ran towards the entrance, clutching her child in her embrace.
The two of them embraced quickly. "I'm going to shift so we can cover more ground as fast as possible, Caspian said. "Mateo. Is Mateo alright? Does our Alpha still live?", Aelita asked out of curiosity. "He does but he might not last long; the vampires vastly outnumber us. Caspian immediately got down on all fours. Quickly, the man transformed into his inner beast: a large, black wolf with haunting, gold eyes. Aelita got unto his back, holding on tight. And with that, Caspian took off with his family. A few seconds later, a group of vampires arrived at the Great Hall, sniffing for all they were worth. "We just missed some of the dogs; they're fleeing", one of the vampires pointed out. "Then what are we waiting for? The King would have our heads if we let any off; after them!", their leader hissed. The vampires sped off after the fleeing family, fulfilling the orders of their leader
It didn't take long for Aelita and Caspian to sense the fast-approaching vamps. Caspian stopped in his tracks. "You have to get down, Aelita; the vamps are hot on our trail", Caspian said through their mate link. "No!", the woman declared. "I can't leave you, my love…" "You have to! Do you want our child to perish? So many lives have been lost today; men, women, and children alike! Please, Aelita. Run. Save yourself and the baby; I'll hold them off till my last breath."
With beads of tears flowing from her eyes, the saddened woman got off the large wolf, carrying her child. "I love you, Caspian. Always and forever", she cried. The unnerving hissing of the fast-approaching vampires met their ears. "I love you too. Protect Hayden at all costs." She nodded and ran off into the forest, tears still pouring out of her eyes.
Suddenly, vampires lunged from the shadows, threatening to kill Caspian. The black wolf lunged for one of the vampires and snapped his arm off with his powerful jaws. Unfortunately, he didn't come out unscathed; pain exploded in the back of his hind leg as one of the vampires stabbed him. They all circled the werewolf, staring at him with their haunting, red eyes. Once again, one of them lunged for Caspian, swords drawn. The wolf dodged the attack by springing backward, only to be blind-sided again by another vampire. Blood was dripping from Caspian's side and he wasn't healing thanks to the wolfsbane the sword was coated in. The wolf growled at the vampire who cut him, all his ears laid back. This isn't about survival. All I need to do is buy time for my wife! And with that thought ringing in his head, he lunged.
Meanwhile, a man stood amid bodies with a maniacal grin on his face. Blood covered his visage and his clothes were ripped in multiple places, revealing deep gashes. Mateo was clutching his brutally-wounded arm and still smiling in the direction of the King, who was in utter shock: one man had single-handedly taken out all his royal guards. "Royal guards? They didn't seem royal to me and they didn't fight like royals either!", Mateo chuckled, revealing blood-stained teeth. The fatally wounded man dropped to one knee, his eyes still fixated on the King. "My time may be up but I'll go to the grave knowing that I put such a look on the face of a…" Slash! Suddenly, the King was face to face with the dying man. "Dead men tell no tales. Let's keep it that way." Mateo's head fell from his shoulders and to the forest floor, his grin of satisfaction still plastered to his face. The Alpha of the Double-Fanged Pack was no more.
Out of all of the wolves, only two remained: Aelita and her child. The woman maneuvered through the forest frantically, dodging tree branches and sharp twigs and clutching her baby. It seemed like her child strangely understood the situation and did not cry out despite the situation they were in. The sound of feet that weren't hers hitting the forest floor was a continuous reminder of her husband's sacrifice. Caspian had done his best but the vamps were just too many. Lost in thought, the terrified woman was oblivious to the tree stump that blocked her path and she paid the price: she fell unto the hard forest floor. With her last iota of strength, she crawled to a gulley and placed her child in it, knowing that her time was up. As she turned around, she was hit square in the chest by a golden dagger. Aelita didn't have enough strength to scream. Rather, she just slumped and accepted her fate. As her vision darkened, she said a silent prayer to the gods to protect her child. Then the cold hands of death claimed her and she breathed her last.