The sound of birds chattering filled the air, and the cold wind passed by, making me shiver a little. The weather was perfect - the sun was shining brightly, making everything seem more pleasant. It was the time of middle school, and all of the werewolves were doing their training. We had to master some martial arts skills by the time we graduated middle school, to protect ourselves in dangerous situations if needed. But while everyone else was doing their training, I was sitting alone on a bench, lost in thoughts. "Hey, Ella, why aren't you doing your training?" Teacher Amsa asked, interrupting my thoughts. "I have already mastered kungfu, teacher. Don't you know?" I replied, my sadness and bad mood evident in my voice. "Are you sad, Ella?" she asked gently. I took a deep breath and didn't answer. "Are you okay, Ella?" she asked again. "How can I be okay?" I thought to myself. "Today is March 6th, my birthday, and my Dad isn't here. Tomorrow, March 7th, is the day my Dad was killed." The memories flooded back, and tears welled up in my eyes. I felt so alone, so lost, without my Dad.
"Oh, young lady, why are you in tears? Are you feeling sad because your best friend Emma didn't attend school today? We received a call from her family, They said that she's unwell, but she'll recover soon," Teacher Amsa said while embracing me. Her hands felt warm on my cheeks. "Please don't fret, my dear. You'll be alright. Remember, you're one of the most intelligent, skillful, and valuable student in our school," she said, instilling the courage I needed to face the day. She instructed me to go to class and rest there, and I complied, placing my head on the table while thinking about my father all the time. Later, when I returned home, I was feeling uneasy. I set my bag down on the couch, went to the kitchen to get a glass of water as usual, and called out to my mother, to ask her to prepare some water for my bath. The house was silent, and I couldn't hear anything. I called out to my mother once more, but there was no response. I searched the entire house out of panic, but I couldn't find her. Suddenly, I heard some commotion emanating from my bedroom from the first floor. I transformed myself into the werewolf the next second, and I dashed to investigate. As I opened the door, my adrenaline surged. "What if the intruder is powerful? Where is my mother? Did the intruder kidnap her?" I had many queries running through my mind. Even though I was just a young teenager who is in her training stage, I was self-assured, and I promised myself that I would save my mother from the intruder, even if it meant sacrificing my life. Upon opening the door, I received a shock. "Surpriseee!" Emma exclaimed. Edward, my friend, stood beside her popped the birthday popper. "Happy Birthday, Ella!" Everyone, including my mother and friends, greeted me.
As I watched their greetings, my bad mood suddenly turned to good. For a moment, I forgot the bad day and the bad feelings that came with it. "Weren't you feeling unwell, Emma?" I asked, confused. "What are you doing here? You should be at home since you're ill."
To which Emma replied, "Ah, you stupid, didn't you figure it out? I lied to the school to take the day off so we could decorate this party for your birthday!"
After hearing that, I got emotional and hugged Emma. "You're my only best friend, I love you so much," I said to her.
*ELLA COMING OUT OF HER MEMORIES*
As I came back out of my memories I found myself running towards Team 2 leaving Jason's body back at the cottage, Me in my werewolf's rage mode form seething with anger. My fury had reached its peak, and I was oblivious to the fact that the targets of my wrath were my friends and pack members. My body felt like it was on fire, my teeth exposed, and my eyes glowed with an intense red. The emotions of betrayal and pain had taken over my mind, blinding me from rational thoughts. Revenge was all I could think of, and it was all-consuming. They had to pay for their actions, and nothing would deter me from that goal.
*Meanwhile, on the other side where Team 2 was running towards their pack from Emma's side of view,*
We the Team 2 were running towards our pack. Eduardo from my team, Team 2, I asked him for his help. "Could you please help me take Ella back to the pack?" I requested. Eduardo hesitated
"Absolutely not Emma, Mathew said not to help her as she is a traitor, and we have to follow his orders as he is the leader of our team now after Mark. I can understand that she's your childhood friend and how you must be feeling right now."
I could sense Eduardo's conflict as he was torn between his loyalty to the pack and his friendship with me. "Yes, she is my childhood friend, that's why I want to help her. You can feel me too as Mark was like our brother, and how angry and desperate we were to take revenge for his life. Can't you feel how much pain I must be in for my friend who's left behind while being in a position of death?" I tried to explain my situation to him.
Eduardo was still unsure, "But didn't you ended your friendship with Ella six months ago when she left for Peace Talk and didn't listened to you?" he asked. "Yes, we fought and ended our friendship, but that happened because I cared for her. I didn't want her to die like her father was killed when he was assigned as a leader of peace talk when we were six years old," I said, hoping he would understand my pain.
"Please understand my pain, Eduardo. Just help me in helping my friend, please," I pleaded with him.
Eduardo finally relented, "Okay, even if I agree to help you, what's the plan? And won't it be considered breaking the rules?" he asked.
"We have already broke the rules by coming here and killing a human who was assigned as a leader from Hunter's side without getting permission from Captain Steve or Sigma. And as for the plan, I have one. Listen carefully," I said, laying out my plan to him. We executed the plan flawlessly. I acted as if I were injured while we were running, and Eduardo checked me as he was the only medical expert left in our team after our dead friend Mark. He told the other team that I had no significant injury and that I would be fixed in 30 minutes after having an 'Accelerated Healing Serum' "The Accelerated Healing Serum is a special serum that werewolves use to amplify their already impressive healing abilities. Typically, this serum is only used in dire situations, such as during wars or missions, and only special unit soldiers are allowed to use it. However, due to the urgency of the situation and the fact that we had already broken the rules we had to reach pack as soon as possible that is why Mathew allowed Eduardo to use the serum on me, and instructed us to make haste in reaching the pack". Meanwhile, Eduardo and I were waiting beneath a tree waiting our team to leave so we can execute our plan. When my team left, I watched for the moment and injected Eduardo with an anesthetic injection and said, "I'm sorry, Eduardo. But I don't want you to get punished twice like me, one for breaking the pack's rules and the other for helping a girl who's now considered a traitor. I'll help my friend by myself and will take her with me somewhere where we can live with peace away from this pack and you can tell the pack that i betrayed you in order to save Ella" Then I left to find Ella, with the hope that she was still alive.
*From Ella's POV:*
As I was running towards Team 2 in my rage mode "Rage mode is a unique and infrequent state that werewolves experience when they undergo an intolerable amount of pain that exceeds their limits. When in rage mode, werewolves tend to become uncontrollable, unleashing their primal instincts and acting with an unprecedented level of brutality. In this state, werewolves can often forget their most cherished relationships and bonds. It is pertinent to mention that after transforming back to their human form, werewolves cannot revert to their werewolf form until they manage to overcome the underlying trauma that was the cause of their rage mode."
I suddenly stopped as I caught someone's scent. It was Emma. I stood a few meters away from her, growling with my red eyes in my rage mode, while Emma waved at me to say hello. It was evident from her face that she was overjoyed to find me alive. "Hey Ella, I'm really happy to see you alive. I know that you're not a traitor; that human must have possessed you, or maybe you were drugged," Emma said to me.
She was trying to calm me down, but I couldn't control my rage.
"Don't worry, Ella. I came here to save you," Emma assured me.
Then she transformed herself into a human from werewolf, and we stood there in the silence of the dark night, with only the sound of owls in the background. Emma came near to me while saying, "Don't worry. We will go somewhere away from this cruel world. We will live alone and find some men for us who are brave enough to marry us. Don't worry; I'm with you always." She then came closer to me, and as she was saying, "Let's forget the fight we had six months ago," she saw my eyes were red, and I growled like an angry monster. It was then that she realized that I was in a rage mode and not in control of myself. Emma tried to transform herself into a werewolf, but before she could, I broke my claws under her neck.
*Six months before*
"Yayyyyy, Wohooooo, I'm proud of you, Ella! No doubt you're the greatest werewolf," Logan, a member of Team 1, exclaimed.
"Our Leader Ella is the best," Hunter, another member of Team 1, chimed in.
"She is just following her father's footsteps. I'm grateful that she's my daughter," my mother gushed with pride.
"We all love you, Ella. We're so proud of you," Luna, another member of Team 1, added.
"Yes, we all love you," Deesa, a member of Team 1, echoed.
"Cheers for Ella!!" Edward exclaimed, member of Team 1.
Everyone, including all members of Teams 1, 2, 3, and 4, and Captain Steve, raised their hands and cheered my name. "Don't forget our Mark is less than anyone," I said.
Mark chuckled a bit and said, "Oh no no no, Ella, I'm nothing in front of you. You're my leader."
"Ahh stop, Mark. There's nothing like that. We all know how much experienced and skillful you are. We all know who's better," I said.
"Obviously, you," Mark replied.
"Ohh, shut up," I said while laughing.
We were all laughing and enjoying the party that my mom had thrown for my selection as a leader for peace talk from Hybrid Werewolves' side. I noticed Emma sitting with a sad and angry face while everyone else was having fun. My mom said to me, "Hey, look how Edward is looking at you with pure love in his eyes hahaha. He's such a cute and good boy. You both know each other from childhood. I guess there is something between you."
"Oh, mom, no, there is nothing. He is like a brother to me. He is one of my oldest friends. That's it. There is nothing between us," I said a bit rudely but slowly.
"Oh, oh, calm down, my daughter. I was just joking. Why are you being so rude?" my mother asked.
"Sorry, mom, I didn't mean to be rude. Actually, I'm just worried about Emma. She isn't enjoying the party," I said to my mom.
"Don't worry, sweety. Don't you know how much she loves you? She's maybe sad because you're not giving her time," my mom said.
"Maybe you're right. I should go to her," I replied to my mother and then left for Emma.
I sat beside Emma and asked her, "What is wrong, Emma? Why are you not enjoying the party? It's our last moments together. Then I will leave for 8 months." Emma kept silent. "Hey, Emma??" I said.
"Don't go," Emma said with sadness in her voice.
"Don't say this, Emma. Don't you know it was my Dad's dream?" I said.
"Your Dad were killed, They will do the same with you," Emma said it loudly while having tears in her eyes and holding my hands.
"I can't Emma try to understand," I replied.
"Why can't you? They won't let the peace happen, they will do the same with you as your father," Emma said it loudly while crying.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm Emma down, "Calm down Emma, everyone is watching us"
"I don't care about them, I just don't want you to do die like your father", Emma cried, her voice full of fear and desperation.
I was taken aback by her words. "He didn't die, he sacrificed himself," I replied firmly, trying to reason with her.
"His sacrifice was meaningless. People forgot him. They will forget you too," Emma retorted, her words stinging.
I felt my anger boiling inside me I forgot that she was my childhood friend. "What do you mean his sacrifice was meaningless? Are you even in your senses?" I shouted at her.
"I didn't mean to say that. I just don't want to lose you, I ju-" Emma started to say, but I couldn't bear to hear it.
Out of anger, I slapped Emma and didn't let her complete her sentence. "Get out of the house," I said that angrily while pointing my finger at the door.
"But Ella…" Emma said.
"Get the hell out of here," I spat.
I turned to face everyone who was staring at us, feeling my heart racing with embarrassment and frustration. "Listen, everyone. Anyone who does not respect my father can leave right now. Thank you," I said, my voice loud and firm.
Without another word, I stormed off to my room, feeling exhausted and hurt. I could hear the party ending and people leaving, but I didn't care.
"Everyone party is over, You all can leave now," Edward exclaimed.
Emma was left there shocked and crying. My mother came to her and said, "Don't worry she will be okay."
*PRESENT MOMENT*
As my memory faded, I couldn't believe what had just happened. Emma's dying body was in front of me, and I was the one who did this. As she gasped for air, I saw the shock in her eyes, and I knew that I had made a terrible mistake but still I wasn't able to do anything as I wasn't in my own control. Everything was happening so fast, and I couldn't control myself. Emma was gone, and I had killed her. She was trying to say something, to comfort me perhaps, but I couldn't let her speak. My claws were under her neck, and I held them there, tighter and tighter until she was gone.The least I remember she was trying to say, "Don't wor.. rry E. khkhh Ella, Everything khkh w… will be alright". The guilt and sorrow were overwhelming. I didn't knew what to do, where to go, or how to make things right.
I then put her down gently, but my anger was still boiling inside me. I let out a scream, a howl of rage and despair, "Aoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"