You Rejected Me. Remember?

The troops lined up within a few minutes. Because of their regular training sessions and their obedience to their alpha, all the warriors assembled prepared to fight without hesitation.

Miles scanned through the rows of his army. They were his people. He knew that fighting against the vampires would be deadly. However, he was extremely proud of his fighters. They were courageous and faithful.

“My people. We are going to face another race, the vampires. When fighting, avoid their grip as much as possible. Aim for their hearts. They have supernatural speed but we are strong. Use your strength and don’t look into their eyes. If you do, they will hypnotise you. And remember, we are one. We will work as one family. And we will win as one family. I am proud of all of you.”

His heart swelling with pride, Miles addressed his troop. They were obedient, and never went against him, and he believed that the real reason for the pack’s glory was them, his loyal pack members. He then turned to his friends.

“Have you informed Cassy and Elliott?” He asked Nolan who nodded.

“Yes, I have. And Ava has called her grandma for help.” He informed Miles.

“Awesome,” Miles grinned.

“But we don’t have time. The sun has set, and I’m sure they must be on their way already,” Ava frowned as she squinted into the trees.

“I think we should be prepared to attack at the perimeters. We can’t wait here until help arrives. We can’t take chances.” Castor mumbled.

“You are right. The royal army will need time to travel. Let’s hope your grandma manages to arrive sooner as she can teleport herself,” Miles mumbled.

“Alright! Everyone to the borders!” He ordered and soon all of them were dashing through the thick foliage of the woods towards the pack boundaries. They were stationed at the boundaries when Miles received a hysterical mindlink from a spy they had sent to check on the activities of the enemies.

“Alpha! An army of wolves and vampires are headed towards our pack! At the speed they are travelling, they will arrive at the borders within half an hour!”

Miles’ eyes dilated as he hastened to straighten the rows.

“Ava, any news?” He asked urgently.

“She said she will come. I hope she does soon.” Ava frowned. “You have me. I’ll do my best, don’t worry,” she promised.

“I know. And I have faith in my warriors.” Miles replied. He looked around. His gamma and his mate were fully prepared, and so was his mate. Ever since she was announced as the luna of the pack, she never backed off from war. She had proved that she indeed was the daughter of a ferocious fighter. She was exactly what he needed in life and he couldn’t be prouder of his mate.

Time passed, and as expected, their enemies arrived at the perimeters within half an hour. Miles narrowed his eyes at the familiar one-eyed alpha who was leading the pack alongside a pale vampire who was dressed in full black.

“Baron,” Miles hissed.

“Miles,” Baron smirked.

“I should have known that you will have something to do with this.” Miles sneered.

“I’m not here to exchange pleasantries,” Baron’s voice thundered in the atmosphere. He glanced at the army that followed him.

“Attack!” He roared and both parties rushed forward.

The warriors of the Dark Howl pack were adamant about not letting them step on their land. Hisses, roars and grunts were heard as the vampires and the werewolves fought against each other. Bodies were crushed, some were clawed open. One by one, the warriors fell dead on the ground.

Miles and Calli fought side by side in their wolf forms and so did the gamma couple.

Ava had transformed into her lycan, Nala, who showed no mercy as she clawed through the army of the nightcrawlers. As she fought, she noticed the familiar red flares making her smile internally. Her grandma had come to help her and her pack. Nolan too fought in his wolf form, carefully avoiding their glowing red eyes. He used his teeth and his claws to rip through their chests and crush their hearts, turning the vampires into ashes.

What surprised them was that despite how well they had trained and how enthusiastic they were, they were feeling lethargic. That was something that they never felt during a fight. It was restraining them. Ava’s magic was a great help for them. However, they had to find out the reason for their lack of energy.

While both parties seemed to be indulged in the battle, Draven slowly slipped to one side. Using his special power, he camouflaged himself in the shadows and slithered into the pack. Hiding in the trees, he used his powers to navigate towards his target.

Monica. The girl Baron wanted in exchange for the potion. He could take anyone he liked as his slave, but first, he had to get that girl…. Monica.

The girl he saw in the picture Baron had shown him had hair as black as ebony and pale skin with a sad smile decorating her lips. He was told that it was a picture taken when his luna was alive and that she brought Monica to live with them after she was orphaned. Monica was just a young girl in the picture, but it was enough for Draven to recognise her.

When he reached the streets, he realised that the whole place was deserted. Not a sign of life anywhere.

The wolves must have told those staying in the pack to remain indoors. Scoffing, he travelled towards the majestic packhouse. He didn’t have time to lure anyone else into his trap tonight. He needed to find the girl Baron seemed to be interested in. If they manage to defeat the pack leaders, which he was certain they would, he and his people could come here anytime to snatch an unsuspecting wolf and take them away to their coven as their slave. They were rogues, but he considered them as his coven members and had formed a special bond among them so that they could communicate through a link.

His cold, emotionless eyes scrutinised the exterior of the packhouse. With lots of windows, he didn’t know where to look. He smirked. He would use his powers, of course. His outward appearance suddenly changed to that of a charming young man, with hair slicked back wearing a casual shirt and pants.

“Monica,” he whispered after masking his scent and allowed the wind to carry his call to the ears he wanted it to be reached. His charm had never failed him.

Monica was grooming her hair when she thought she heard someone call her name. She had decided that she would take a shower and dress up as she waited for Cade to return. She continued to braid her long black hair but the constant calling was making her restless. At first, she ignored it, since she knew that no one was around and especially since Cade had told her to stay indoors.

“Monica….”

The voice was almost a whisper.

“Asena. What is that?” She asked.

“I don’t know. I just don’t feel too good about it.” Asena replied, concerned about that strange voice.

“Monicaaaaaaa…..”

Monica felt her heart race. The voice was so enchanting….so appealing…

She found herself getting up from the seat and sauntering towards the open window. The palpitations of her heart kept increasing and she took deep breaths.

“This is a bad idea, girl,” Asena warned, however, she was being pulled into a trance. Gulping down the accumulated saliva, she ignored her wolf’s warning and looked outside.

Just a little peek wouldn’t hurt…

She thought. The cool breeze of the night blew as she glanced at the young man beaming widely at her. She frowned. Who could that be? He was different. There was something about him that she found interesting. Something….unique and fascinating. She squinted at him. It was his eyes. They were so….. enchanting…..she was slowly getting lost in his glowing orbs.

Draven’s grin widened. Using his powers, he started to hypnotise her as soon as she made eye contact with him.

“Monica, come to me…” he whispered, lifting his arm towards her.

By this time Monica was completely under the influence of the young vampire. She neither blinked nor showed any kind of reaction on her face. She simply remained at the window frozen like a mannequin.

The vampiric trance had blocked Asena from contacting Monica, taking her wolf into a state of confusion. Staring emotionlessly at the attractive young man in front of her, Monica gave a little nod.

“I’m coming,” she whispered and walked out of her room so that she could go out of the packhouse.

Since the packhouse was deserted, no one saw her walk outside. Even the omegas had gone back to their quarters. They were instructed to stay indoors, and everyone had locked themselves inside. When Monica walked out, Draven was waiting for her at the door.

Smirking, he lifted his hands, inviting her.

“Come to me, princess,” he whispered and she walked right into his arms without reluctance. He placed one hand on her head so that he could use his charm to put her to sleep. He lifted her in his arms and stared at her face. His lips parted. Her dark ebony hair and soft pink lips with long eyelashes made his half-dead heart skip a beat. He had seen her picture once, yet seeing her face to face was different. The picture was of a younger version of this beauty. The woman in his arms was better and more mature.

“Beautiful,” he whispered and studied her face. She was perfect. Soft and sweet. His lips curved upwards. What if he changed his plans? Draven looked around. He knew he had to move before he was spotted.

“Let’s get out of here princess,” mumbling to himself, he dashed towards the shadows using his supernatural speed. Making sure that he was hidden in the shadows, he moved discreetly and notified his loyal fighters that it was time to go back to their territory.

“Change of plans, we are going back. Leave the battle as silently as you can and go home.” He ordered through their link as he carried her to his makeshift palace.

Unknown to the wolves, the vampires slowly left the battlefield, and soon it was just the wolves fighting against the Dark Howl pack.

As the leaders of the Dark Howl pack tried to spot the reason for their lack of energy, they realised that it wasn’t normal.

“It feels like the work of magic,” Ava mind linked her friends.

“We will find out what’s going on,” Calli replied as she scanned through the battlefield. She noticed that the vampires were gone and that just a few wolves were fighting back.

“Look! There is a witch among them!” Calli screamed when she spotted a hooded dark figure casting spells on the Dark Howl army.

“Who is that?” Ava’s grandma glared at the witch.

“Not if I can help!” Ava growled. She and Calli had shifted back to their human form. They advanced at the witch while she was indulged deep in a spell and grabbed both hands, interrupting the spell she was about to cast.

“Hey!” She screamed.

“Who is this hiding in a hoodie?” Calli removed the hood off her face, revealing who it was to them.

Ava’s grandma froze. Her eyes widened in fury and her jaws clenched.

“Amelia!” She screamed, her voice rising over the chaos of the battle.

The young witch went rigid as she stared wide-eyed at the familiar old sorceress.

“Ms Wilma…” She whispered, her forehead creasing.

“This isn’t what I expected from one of my best students!” Ava’s grandma shrieked, making her wince.

“But…. I was told that they were wronged…” Amelia frowned in worry.

“The hell,” Amara mumbled.

“We need to talk,” Ava’s grandma grabbed Ava and Amelia’s hands and teleported them out of the battlefield.

Baron and Elijah realised that they had lost.

“Let’s get out of here before they capture us,” Baron whispered. Elijah desperately looked around.

“Where is my mate?” He shouted.

“She will follow! Come, now!” Baron mind linked and fled the war, gesturing to Elijah to follow him.

He searched for a while and inhaled, hoping to catch a whiff of her scent. However, all that he could smell was the stench of b***d mixed with sweat – salty and metallic. He realised that he could no longer detect her scent so it could only mean that she was gone. When he couldn’t find her, Elijah also followed his alpha. He sprinted with Baron, even though he felt like he was leaving a part of him behind.

“I hope you will safely make it back to the packhouse, mate,” he whispered to himself on his way out.