(Some Years Ago)
The night sky was as dark as it could get. The moon was nowhere to be found, making the woods almost pitch black. At the moment Kreed thought it was an added advantage to them, masking their presences as they infiltrated the enemy's territory. It was the first time he was excited for a mission, it was the first one that involved saving someone, a member of their lost clan. Seeing how happy Damien was about it made him excited for it. "This is the kind of mission I am most excited about…" Damien broke the silence.
"I can tell" Kreed knew he was smiling behind his mask. He didn't have to take off his mask for him to know. That was how well they had known each other.
"Saving lives instead of taking them is the first step to peace" He explained. "You should be prepared. Just because she is a member of our clan doesn't mean that she will want to come with us willingly. She was raised by them and probably doesn't know the truth about her identity"
Kreed bobbed his head, taking notes of what he was being told. He was smart enough to have figured out it already but he listened to Damien anyway. He loved the way Damien naturally acts the role of a big brother. It was an experience he never had. "So how do we save her if she doesn't want to be saved? Definitely she would want to draw the attention of the others to come to her rescue" Kreed pointed out
"Yeah, that's why I have a solution planned out for that scenario already. All you have to do is make sure you're a hundred percent focused on lookout"
"Wait, we never said I was going to be on lookout. I never agreed to that" Kreed countered
"There is no way I am letting you into that den with me. Someone has to be on lookout and has to stay alive in case the other doesn't make it"
"Then I will go get her and you will be on lookout" Kreed argued
"No"
"Why not? I can handle whatever comes. We face whatever it is together. I am almost as strong as you"
"No…you're stronger than me. We need the strongest to survive. I know you can achieve the peace better than I can if we don't have the privilege to do it together. So right now, your safety is more important than mine" Damien stated
"But…"
"Shhh!" Damien cut him off, looking around and stopping on his tracks at the edge of the cliff they had been walking.
"What is it?" Kreed inquired, looking around through his mask with furrowed brows. He couldn't see anyone through the darkness.
"Something is off….it's been a while since we crossed the border into their territory and we haven't come across a single soul. There are supposed to be Betas guarding and patrolling the borders. There is no one and it's been as silent as a graveyard" Damien pointed out, taking off his hood.
"Are you saying they know we are coming and are setting us up?"
"I don't know" He replied, focusing his hearing to pick up any sound around them. He listened intently and began picking heartbeats one after the other. He signalled Kreed, telling him to listen carefully. Kreed did and immediately picked up on their heartbeats also. They were both surprised at the fact that they couldn't pick up any of their scents on their way. Damien figured out they must have found a way to mask their scents.
He looked over to Kreed, signalling him to get ready for them to try and escape. It was a setup after all and from the heartbeats, there were definitely more than fifty werewolves present, hiding in the woods. Just before they could make a break for it, they heard loud footsteps approaching as they all came out from hiding. They must have figured out that they had caught on to their plan and were about to escape.
They looked around at all the yellow glowing eyes around them. Both of them knew they were more than they could handle. "There is nowhere to run" They heard a voice from behind the wolves. They gave way and a more advanced looking Beta came out to stand in front of the others. He was bald and had a fearless expression. "You are both surrounded and there is no way you both can take on all these Betas no matter how gifted and strong you are" He warned
"Who are you?" Damien asked, moving closer to Kreed whilst his gaze was fixed on the one speaking.
"I should be the one asking you that. After all you're the one trespassing into our territory"
"You seem to know about us already. I am guessing your information came from the person that set us up. So who are you?" Damien questioned again.
"I am the right had Beta and commander of this pack, Beta Maynard" He replied. "Like I said, there is nowhere for you to run. You should give up and come with us quietly. You both can't take us all on" Beta Maynard pointed out with a look of certainty. He was sure he got them cornered already.
"You're right, we can't take you all on together…..but we both can't die here together too" He stated and immediately grabbed Kreed by his clothe.
"What are you doing? Damien?! Wait….you….." He blurted out, his mask shielding the shocked expression on his face. He couldn't get any more word out as Damien threw him off the cliff.
Kreed gasped with shock "DAMIEN!!!" He yelled out, staring up at Damien whilst he was freefalling. All he could see was Damien fighting them alone at the edge of the cliff, stopping anyone else from jumping down after him. It felt as though he was falling forever. He couldn't believe that what just happened was real, it felt as though he was in a trance. He closed his eyes behind his mask, feeling tears drop down the sides of his eyes.
The next time he opened his eyes, he was lying on his back on the floor. He couldn't remember what happened the few seconds before hitting the floor. His eyes went straight to the top of the cliff. He couldn't see anyone up there anymore. He tried to lift up his hand and it responded. His body was intact.
He reached for his mask and took it off. He examined the now cracked mask, angrily tightening his grip on it so hard that it broke in his hand. He could barely see clearly with his tears clouded eyes. He couldn't tell how long he was out but it was still dark. He forced himself up to sit and that's when he saw it. His eyes widened with fear and shock as his thought was confirmed. He kept staring at Damien's mask which was on the floor, few inches from his feet.
Seeing the mask there covered in blood was a confirmation to a thought he was trying not to have. He slowly reached out and picked it up. He examined the mask to double check what he was already sure of. He looked up at the cliff once more before shooting up to his feet and began making his way up the cliff as fast as he could, with rage building up inside of him.
After some minutes of finding and climbing his way up the cliff, he finally got to the top. He looked around where they previously were and there was no one in sight, not even bodies except the bloodstained earth. He dropped to his knees, tears forming in his eyes once more. He held Damien's mask tight so as not to drop the bloodstained mask. He broke down in tears, cursing the earth and himself for letting it happen.
***
Bayron sat on the step in the main hall with a blank expression. He caught Kreed's scent immediately the steel door creaked open. He could see the heartbreak and pain in his eyes as he slowly made his way toward him. He had a round well sharped stake in one hand and Damien's mask in the other. He had a tired but angry look in his eyes. "I see I don't have to guess what happened" Bayron said calmly.
"Making my way here, I have had the time to think about it, about everything. You set us up. You've been conniving with them from the start. I should have known from the beginning when your movements didn't seem to add up. I decided to push such thoughts aside when I saw how Damien idolized you. He was blinded by his loyalty and love for you and it got him killed. He thought you shared the same vision and idea of peace with him, instead all you wanted was power in this messed up new world order. You never cared about us or our clan" Kreed explained tiredly, getting to where Bayron was sitting.
"I do care about you both. I take it you don't want hear my side of the story, my reasons"
"It doesn't matter anymore" He made his way behind Bayron and stood behind him with the stake in hand.
"I am not going to fight you. It's certain I will lose at the end, so I accept your judgement" Bayron sighed, shutting his eyes.
"It's going to be the first of many" Kreed stated before driving the stake into his heart from behind. He held it in till he heard the heart stop beating and life was no more in his empty shell of a body. He pushed the lifeless body down the steps and then sat down there. He wiped his eyes and began staring at Damien's mask once more. "I am going to bring the peace you wanted….but in my own way, not blinded by loyalty or love for anything or anyone else" He said to himself and then put on the mask.
(Present Day)
Sitting on the edge of the cliff at the same spot where it all happened years ago, Kreed held his mask which was previously Damien's, his eyes fixated on it. The gentle night breeze swaying his robe and hair softly. The mask was a constant reminder of the scar he was carrying and a reminder of his goal and promise. "We are close to what we wanted" He took a deep quiet breath.
"The others have arrived" Adan announced, coming up behind him.
"Good…"He stood up and put on his mask before turning to face him. "Then it's time" He added, walking past Adan.