A significant war raged on a distant, secluded island. The grassy fields and luscious green forests endured thousands of wolves clashing. A black warship had docked on the sandy shores. Combat boots imprinted in the sand led to a morbid scene of American Military remains tracing a path toward the island's center, where an enormous mansion, usually surrounded by lush vegetation, stood desecrated. Its pristine white walls were now painted gruesome red, and shattered glass littered the floor like malicious jewels.
A pair of grey Beta wolves, fierce protectors of their pack, guard the massive doors. With their eyes fixed on the battlefield, they whispered emotional prayers to celestial deities who might listen, pleading with them to shield their respected gravid Alpha.
A white Delta wolf burst through the door and relayed, "She's whelping. Do whatever it takes to protect her."
The Beta wolves inhaled sharply, exposing their honed teeth from countless hunts. Their ears perked to catch any whispers of intrusion. The Delta wolf nodded to his comrades before navigating through several closed wooden doors inside the palace. His path led him to an open room illuminated at the end of the corridor.
The Delta wolf entered, his posture humble as he bowed his head. "Leader, the humans have dispatched a faction of irritable wolves through our defense, infiltrating our courtyard."
The Alpha female, her royal bearing unbroken even in human form, rose from her infirmary bed. Beneath her surgical gown, a swollen belly whispered of her forthcoming responsibility. Cascading waves of straight black hair tumbled down her back. Blood-red eyes carried the weight of their sorrow and resolved while tendrils of crimson veins spiderwebbed across the whites of her eyes. Puffiness clung to her lowered eyelids and pasty skin.
A Delta werewolf on standby wearing blue scrubs said, "Michelle, we're ready for you to begin."
Michelle elegantly tied her long, wavy blue hair in a bun atop her head. Freckles complimented her dark complexion. She modeled a white physician coat, expressing her elevated medical ranking. Belting her neck with a stethoscope, Michelle gently guided her back to the bed for her protection.
"Lily," Michelle addressed with compassion, "Pay no attention to the war at our doorstep. Your children need you now more than ever."
Grasping her belly, she let out strained cries and rasped, "You can't comprehend, Michelle. My soldiers are perishing, and the responsibility falls on me to guide them to victory. I cannot fulfill that duty from here."
Michelle maintained her firm gaze at Lily as she gloved her hands. The Delta wolves gently elevated Lily's legs upon the stirrups to widen her birth canal.
Kneeling between her legs, Michelle urged, "You don't have a choice. Now push."
Each unbearable push accompanied Lily's piercing screams underneath the white sheets. The cry of a healthy newborn resonated throughout the mansion. Lily sat up in her cot to catch her breath as she experienced a rush of hormones. Michelle cradled the delicate pink werewolf baby in human form, and carefully brought the infant to the examination table. A peaceful silence settled over the room while Lily sat shaking after her traumatic experience.
"How is she?" Lily asked, eager to meet her baby for the first time.
"She's in perfect health, though a touch smaller than I'd hoped," Michelle said reassuringly while performing her tests. With the baby swaddled, Michelle laid her in the bassinet to glimpse at her smooth, pale skin and red eyes.
Unexpectedly, Lily's piercing shrieks resonated, her fists pounding on the bed in distress. "The contractions are back," she exclaimed.
Lily's cries integrated with the voices of her warriors and her newborn daughter. Hostile wolves rampaged through the mansion doors, fueled by ruthless determination to reach the Alpha, leaving death and destruction in their wake.
Michelle positioned herself with Lily's elevated legs; she extended her arms to catch the secondborn baby. Lily's energy withered away, and she collapsed back in exhaustion.
"Michelle, leave while you still can."
"I won't abandon you."
Lily's command cut through the turmoil, "Go, all of you. Leave me here with the children. That's an order."
The harmonious cries of the babies inadvertently exposed their vulnerable location to the enemy. The delivery team had no choice but to flee if any of them wished to survive. Resisting her tears, Michelle delivered the newborns to their mother. Her voice trembled as she whispered, "Lily, you don't have to do this. Come with us."
"No, I can't come with you," Lily replied. "If I do, we'll all die."
Michelle quickly stepped outside the room and whispered, "You were a good friend, Lily. I hope you find peace."
Lily smiled reassuringly. "Go, I'll find peace when we win this war."
Michelle wiped her tears, leaving the infirmary united by the loyal Delta wolves. They embarked on a desperate quest for an escape route over the mountains of corpses from both sides of the war.
Lily rolled onto her side, facing the shattered windows, her babies cradled in her arms. Emotions surged within her as tears streamed down her cheeks like relentless rain. The enemy, with her acute sense of smell, closed in.
Sensing her time slipping away, Lily held her children close and spoke softly. Her voice quivered. "My beloved children, you are the very light of my existence."
Tears welled as she continued, "Know that I love you more than words express. I fear I will not watch the two of you two grow and become soldiers in this infinite war. I'm so sorry, my precious children. One day, when you're older, you will come to understand the world beyond this island is a wondrous place, but this island holds something even more profound. Shouji, protect your beloved sister. Sakura, I have faith that you will save the world." As the inevitable darkness loomed, the fluorescent light flickered and died. The mother's heart raced as she sensed a malicious intent. Before she could react, a snarling dark grey matted wolf with the blood of his enemies, lunged at her with a horrifying ferocity. In those fleeting moments, clutching her babies tightly, Lily's desperate cries pierce the air, "Spare my children!" She feared death most of all, but as a mother she understood the dire need to shield her offspring, even if it meant sacrificing herself for her lineage to survive. Her time had come to make that sacrifice. A radiant light surrounded her human form, and a colossal black wolf emerged. Her deep red eyes glistened with an intense fire as she warped her features, revealing her razor-sharp, white teeth. The savage beast at the helm of the pack licked his lips with a vicious grin and declared, "I shall obliterate the bloodline and claim the power of the Kami for myself." Summoning her strength, she waged a desperate battle against the wolves, determined to shield Shouji and Sakura from the unfolding nightmare. She clamped down on their limbs and hurled them into the shattering glass windows, using the shards to pierce their hide. As the wolves snapped at her flesh, she retaliated by gouging out their eyes, rendering them sightless. Her intimate knowledge of her homeland gave her a vital edge in the dangerous struggle. Lily proclaimed, "My ancestors have called this land home since the inception of our earth, and their legacy shall end far beyond its ultimate breath. I am the Generation of the Star, the proud daughter of the divine Kami. Remember my words, vile demon, for you shall not depart from this island with your life unscathed."
Lily unleashed a resonating howl and launched at the pack leader. She descended upon him with a considerable height advantage, snapping at his throat with her powerful jaws. The leader reacted violently, shaking his body, to throw her across the room. Despite the impact, she persisted, growling and snapping at his resolve to emphasize that she was the island's Alpha, and no monstrous creature could ever alter that truth. The wicked wolf emitted a sinister laugh and taunted, "I believe we both know who's going to depart this island alive, and judging by your weak state, you won't witness another sunrise." As Lily felt she was gaining the upper hand. The enemies' ranks swelled, challenging her in the ongoing battle. The wolf closed in on her vulnerable children. However, Lily vaulted over the pack, landing on her hind legs, and assumed a protective fetal position around her offspring. In a blink of an eye, Lily's world dissolved into the abyss as the wolf's shadow engulfed her. The hostile pack vaulted out the window, leaving a horrid scene for the history books. Veiled in a tattered brown robe that concealed him beneath the hood, a male werewolf in human form slipped into the eerie silence of the room—wondering whether they had won the war. The Alpha's fate lay like a heavy cloud above them. Should the Alpha have fallen, the dire possibility of abandoning the island for the human world bloomed, where survival would be their only compass. He approached the lifeless remains of his Alpha in the eerily silent room. At first, he turned away, jaw clenched and eyes filled with tears, replaying the moments in his mind. In a broken whisper, he said, "I'm so sorry, my love. I was supposed to protect you... but no one informed me until it was too late."
As his tears fell in quiet regret, something stirred beneath Lily's still form. His heart skipped a beat. Gently, he moved her limbs aside and found a baby girl, crying loudly, covered in blood and filth.
"She's alive," he said, his voice trembling. "My beautiful daughter is still alive." Yoshikazu, the relentless Alpha Lieutenant, stood as a lookout behind him. He witnessed the scene and commanded, "Kenjiro, spirit her far away from the island. Separate her to a distant country from prying eyes. Let no soul learn of her survival."
"Yes, sir," Kenjiro replied. The transformation began with a light encompassing Kenjiro's form, unveiling a black wolf. He searched forward through the dimly lit hallways, disappearing into the void of darkness.
"Sakura, it's time to get up."
With Crimson eyes, she jolted awake, and a gas escaped her lungs as she struggled to breathe. Her trembling hands brushed her straight black hair as her senses gradually returned. She felt the rapid thumping over her heart echo in her chest, harmonizing with the pace of her racing thoughts.
A gentleman hurried to Sakura's side–a seasoned figure in his late forties. His dark brown eyes peered through aviator glasses, observing Sakura as she caught her breath. She looked up, noting his Balbo beard and up-cut haircut. The gentleman asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"
In a heavy Irish accent, Sakura said, "Oi, dad, yeah. Not sure what to make of it."
"Come down for breakfast, and we'll talk about it."
"I'll be right down."
Sakura's father proceeded downstairs to complete breakfast preparations. She cast her blanket away, exhaling a sigh. She caressed her queen-sized bed draped in black silk sheets, and sat on the edge of her bed, savoring the plush comfort of her Ebony rug underfoot. Her left hand reached for the doorknob of her dark brown bedroom door, and gently turned the gold door knob to enter the extensive hallway. Descending the extensive wooden staircase led Sakura to an elevated foyer. Marble floors exuded elegance beneath pristine white walls illuminated by a cascade chandelier.
In the sprawling gourmet kitchen, Sakura stood before a broad rectangular island at the heart of the room. On the opposite side, brown bar stools with hydraulic metal stand as Sakura's father plated eggs benedict on a ceramic dish. Sakura sat on a stool, emitting audible groans and moans. She rubbed her weary eyes. "Why d'ya disturb me sleep?"
Her father gently positioned a glass of orange juice beside her medication bottle and provided her with breakfast. Leaning his elbow on the kitchen island, he supported his head with his palm. His warm smile accompanied his words, "You graduated high school a week ago and turned eighteen last night. Shouldn't you, I don't know, be having a birthday party or something? All the girls your age would normally be out drinking and fornicating."
Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed her medication bottle to pull out a few white round pills. "Why do we have to talk about this every single year? You can't party without friends."
"Look, I know you had a rough childhood, but maybe you can start fresh by applying to a few colleges."
Sakura groaned as she released her grasp on the fork; it produced a metallic sound on the ceramic plate. She could not shake off the years of memories spent in grade school, enduring mistreatment from her peers. The thought of repeating such an experience made her heart race, and she envisioned the potential traumas ahead. "I'm not goin' to college, Dad. It's too much, I'm sorry."
He sighed and pointed toward the prescription bottle beside her glass of orange juice. "The medicine you're on is just a temporary solution. Avoiding people won't help you heal from the past."
Sakura believed he could never truly grasp what she had to endure. The judgmental glances she received for her choice of attire and the relentless torment she faced because of her lack of social skills.
Sakura smirked, gesturing at the wine cases by the fridge, remarking, "Alcohol isn't a solution for drug addiction either."
Her father glared, then let out a chuckle. "Hey, I've been clean for five years. The alcohol has nothing to do with it."
A faint hum resonated as a smartphone vibrated atop the marble counter. The screen turned on, revealing a heartwarming image of Sakura and her father captured on her graduation day.
Her father picked up his phone and greeted the incoming call: "Good morning. This is Robbie Seaman. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?"
On the speaker, a cheerful voice echoed through the phone and said, "Hey, Rob! It's Kevin Church. You got the part in our new show. We're filming the first episode today."
"That is so fantastic. I'll be there soon."
Concluding the call, Robbie stepped away from the kitchen and proceeded to the foyer, where he retrieved his coat. He slipped into his leather jacket over a plaid button-down shirt. As Robbie turned, his gaze gently settled upon his daughter, who sat with a heavy heart. He recognized the urgency to provide comfort to her emotional distress.
"We still have to talk about that nightmare you had last night."
"I've no mind to step out of the house today."
"Go upstairs and change. I'll wait for you out front."
Robbie shut the door with a soft thud, and Sakura's audible groan resonated through the room as she massaged the tender lump at the back of her neck from leaning her head down too often. She leaped off the stool and faced the day's bright sunlight streaming through the window.