"Have you ever seen a werewolf that flies like a dragon?"
A woman dressed in a black spy leather costume with green stripes that would accommodate easy hiding in the night forest whispered, catching the attention of her partners.
Katherine sighed as she held her light curls in a bun before adjusting the light intensity of her torch as they tried their best to stay as low as possible.
Currently, they were in the attic of the hidden building that held the world's rarest manuscripts about species.
Katherine turned towards Nick, who was reading other hidden scriptures and manuscripts from the ancient temple they were asked to excavate.
The place was well maintained and protected by the Serenity clan of the witches.
The clan was known to keep these hidden scriptures and artefacts about all the species to ensure no species overpowers and dominates others.
According to them, it was for peaceful cohabitation, but the elders begged their pardon. Thus, the task of excavating these manuscripts was handed to the S-team of Black OPS spies.
Katherine walked to the window before looking at the beautiful full moon, her eyes beaming in recognition of the blue moon.
It was the night of the Magna shower, the only night in the year when all the witches go to their sacred rivers to unleash their energies. It was like a purification process for them.
"A werewolf that flies like a dragon? It's not entirely impossible. We have heard the legendary stories, no?" Mason looked at her, and Katherine hummed.
"Are you talking about the legendary wolf-dragon?" Christian joined them, and Katherine looked at him inquisitively.
"Seven rare ancient wolves have been discovered so far, including elemental wolves. It's rumoured that every now and then, an ancient wolf is born to maintain their legacy. Do you think some ancient wolf is living in the world we share?" Christian asked no one in particular.
"Rather than talking about useless things, we should pick the manuscripts and leave," Simon glared at Katherine, who rolled her blue eyes at him.
He was such a joy killer of their group.
"You are talking as if we can take all the manuscripts. We need to rectify what belongs to us first, or the other species will come for us if we as much as take one page of manuscripts belonging to them," Katherine said before she bent and grabbed another ancient book in her hand.
She dusted the book with her gloved hands before opening the first page.
"King Dante, the sleeping vampire king of the -" Katherine couldn't continue her sentence because the next thing she heard was the creaking sound of the large doors of the entrance, and the five of them froze in their places.
"Didn't the chief say no one was to come to the place till morning?" Mason asked.
Katherine walked to the window, her pupils dilating when she saw the Council guards standing at the door.
"The chief was right. The witches weren't supposed to come till morning, but he didn't say anything about the council, did he? Let me handle this," Katherine nodded at Simon as she placed the manuscript down and opened the window.
As soon as she did that, a few laser points of the snipers immediately pointed at her, and she raised her hands in the air in an indication that she didn't mean any harm.
"We are just here to take back our wolves' manuscripts," Katherine said firmly.
She could see they were the members of the Joint Council of all species.
"We got the intel from the werewolves only that a few spies were trying to steal the manuscripts in the absence of witches," the leader of the guards said, and Katherine scrunched her brows.
She looked at Mason, who had an equally surprised expression.
"How is that possible? We were asked to -" Katherine started but stopped when the leader threw a paper on the ground.
One of their guards pointed the flashlight at the paper for her to see clearly, and Katherine froze in her place when she saw the seal of the Black OPS team.
She didn't need to read the content of the paper. The seal screamed thousands of words.
"What is happening, Katherine?" Simon asked as he tried to push her away from the window to see what made her vibes cold.
"Stay back. I am your leader, not the other way around!" Katherine pushed Simon back.
She didn't need to be told twice what was happening as the realization dawned upon her. Her heart thumped as heat traveled to her head.
Cold sweat beads appeared on Katherine's forehead as things started to make sense to her.
She was working on the corruption case on the rogues of the Caribbean rivers, and she was suddenly asked to drop the project because they needed to excavate these manuscripts, which were supposed to help the Black OPS find the ancient wolves.
Her removal from the project and giving that project to their rival team when she was almost close to finding out who was involved with the rogues from the Black OPS team, and then sending her and the best people of her team here, the arrival of these guards, this paper with the Black OPS seal, everything made sense to Katherine.
Not only was she double-crossed by the organization, but was probably betrayed by the team members who didn't come with her.
Katherine turned to look at the four members who always supported her, and tears brimmed her eyes.
No. She can't risk the team's lives and have them become a part of this dirty conspiracy played against her.
She looked back at the leader of the council team.
"I am the leader of the Nocturnals. My team has nothing to do with this mission. It was me all along. I will be coming down and surrendering. You have to promise me that my team stays alive," Katherine took a shaky breath.
Simon and Mason looked at Nick and Christian, who all had the same expressions.
"Katherine, what are you talking about?" Christian was the first one to step forward.
"Just do as I am saying. The organization has betrayed us and made us bait. I want to protect you guys. You will go back safe and sound to your family. I will go with these people. I promise to do something and run in between before they take me to the council for the punishment. Maybe they are not here for you at all," Katherine said, her heart skipping a beat.
'Katherine, is this it for us?' She asked herself before taking a deep breath.
No. She can't let her morale down like this in front of her team. She was supposed to be the strong one.
"What do you mean they are not here for us?" Nick asked. Fear of what was going to happen was written all over their faces, but before Katherine could say anything about her conclusions, they heard the firing going off, and Katherine shook in her place.
"Let's go," Katherine started walking ahead with a stern look.
"Katherine, we will be alright, right?" Nick, the youngest one, asked again, and Katherine looked into his blue eyes before smiling.
"You will be fine. We all will make it out of here alive, I promise," Katherine said, and he nodded as they walked out of the building and looked at the men pointing their guns at them.
"As I said, I am the leader who carried out this mission single-handedly. They are not at fault," Katherine looked at the leader of the men.
The leader looked at the desperation in her eyes before sighing and massaging his forehead.
He was one of the leaders and knew what the girl was going through. Though he worked for the council and has always been against Black OPS, what they pulled here to save themselves was a real dirty trick.
These people didn't deserve that. But an order was an order.
"You have to come with us for questioning. Do you understand?" The man asked, hoping she would get the hint, and she took a shaky breath before nodding.
"I do," Katherine smiled at her people.
"You know how good I am at questioning, don't you? I will handle it. Go home," She whispered before two men stepped forward and bound her hands behind her back.
"Kat-" Simon stepped ahead, but Katherine shook her head.
He could see the sadness in her eyes, and his heart thumped loudly.
"You will come back, right?" Simon stepped ahead, running behind the men who were taking her away before they pushed her into the Jeep, making her look at Simon.
"You will take care of them, right?" She asked, and Simon's doubt proved right.
"No. No. No. This is not happening," He started, a low snarl leaving his mouth, but Katherine shook her head at him.
"It's me against them. And when it comes to us, you know I am selfish enough to always choose myself, right? I won't let anything happen to you guys. This might be my last duty as your leader. Let me complete my mission," Katherine asked, tears welling in her eyes, and Simon gulped as the Jeep started.
"Please don't do this to us," Simon begged her through his eyes.
"I trust you," She said one last time before she turned around to face the other side, leaving her group of members alone.
As soon as they were out of sight, Katherine looked at the leader, who had been looking at her since the beginning.
"So I got betrayed by my boss. I must be looking pathetic," Katherine muttered under her breath, and the leader sighed.
"You know what will happen to you now, right?" The leader asked instead.
Katherine looked at the beautiful full blue moon again and hummed.
"Can you do it from the front? I don't want to be known as a coward," Katherine whispered, making the leader feel even guiltier.
The Jeep stopped near the forest at some distance from the council, and Katherine stepped out with the help of the men.
"Open her hands," the leader ordered.
"But, sir, what if she -"
"She won't run away," The leader said, and Katherine smiled at him thankfully.
"My team will be safe, right?"
"We will set them free indeed," The leader said, making her hum.
"Any last wish?" The leader asked.
"I never got to live my life. I devoted it all to the Black OPS organization. But if I get another chance at life, I want to live. A proper life full of emotions this time," Katherine smiled in self-mockery before she looked straight into the leader's eyes.
"Do it," Katherine said, and the man nodded before he grabbed his gun.
He pointed the nozzle towards her head before he took a deep breath.
"You were a good leader and spy. I heard about you," He said, and without a warning, he pulled the trigger.
Boom!
The sound of the gun going off echoed in the silent night, making the sleeping birds fly away.
The second sound that echoed in the silent night was the sound of a body falling on the ground, and the leader looked at the girl, who still had some life left in her, as she smiled at him.
"Did you miss the shot to make me feel more pain?" Katherine asked, tears rolling down her eyes before she looked at the night.
The starry night that she never got the time to gaze at. All the memories she created with her partners on the missions went through her head, and she smiled.
"I wish I had a chance to live and take my revenge," Katherine whispered before losing her life as her eyes closed involuntarily.