Minki was carrying some tree logs in his back, dragging his feet as he followed the rest of the men. They were all in line, each bringing what was necessary to rebuild the destroyed cabin. For the past few days, the pack up north had been saving and rebuilding everything that they could in their pack.
They had been unprepared, misplaced and misdirected. The pack had been left without protection, literally offering a free entry to all those who wished to come and ruin them. Everyone seemed to be displeased with the Alpha's choice to mobilize their whole strength into fighting off one single wolf. Which, ultimately, led to their pack's wreckage by the unexpected attack. Every member of the pack was talking about the Alpha's decision, the way their cabins had been demolished, the way they all had been humiliated but the main topic was the black wolf they had seen. There was contradicting opinions amongst the people in the pack. Some found it ridiculous, the Alpha's decision to send all his men to fight him off. Some, those who had seen with their own eyes the wolf, all were perplexed, bewildered with his existence. They whispered to one another, mumbled hesitantly his name. All these stories and descriptions of the black wolf spread like wildfire. It was a mixture of admiration and fear that swirled in the air and penetrated itself into every conversation, every cabin, every wolf.
Something even more extraordinary was happening... a sort of uprising. Wolves gathered in the woods, in isolated places or in their own cabins. They discussed their Alpha's reaction to the black wolf, claiming that him and the wolf knew one another. That the black wolf terrified him and, for that reason, he had sent the whole pack to hunt him down. So, surely, the black wolf would be back again, to finish his job. It wasn't just an uprising that was brewing, it was a revolt. A part of the pack, covered in fear, dreading the day the black wolf would return; was planning on leaving. Another, amazed at the wolf, seduced by his power; muttered between hushed breaths that they wished to join him. The few that wanted to stay in the pack, remained in that place with a bitter taste in their tongues. A poisoning guilt and revolt towards their Alpha's choices. As Minki and Lucca set down their last tree logs of the day, that same conversation contaminated the environment once more.
"I saw him with my own eyes Arran" An older boy screamed at his friend; his eyes wide open as he pointed to himself. "He was huge, bigger than any wolf that ever existed. He ran so fast and skilfully in between the different attacks. Jumped, dodged, counterattacked... he was impossible to catch. The floor trembled when his feet hit the ground, even the breeze was too afraid to fleet through the air...."
"The wolf you're describing cannot possibly exist, surely, sleep clouded your eyes"
The friend replied, chuckling at what he believed to be a fairy tale. He trailed slowly and calmly in front of Minki who observed and listened to the conversation attentively.
"You didn't saw him Arran!" Euan's feet took off into a quick jog to catch up with Arran, who still smiled amusedly at his friend's statement. "If you had seen h-"
"I did" He replied, stealing a glance at Euan standing next to him. There was a calm and sure aura around him, shocking the friend. If he had seen the wolf, how come he didn't tremble and cower to his image? "He was merely a man when I saw him. A regular man, not a god like you describe him to be"
Arran scoffed, breaking into a fit of soft laughs as he thought, once more, about the description of that Alpha that jumped from one mouth to another, knocked on everyone's door, triggered irrational fantasies. Euan chuckled and placed his hands behind his head. His whole demeanour had changed upon hearing Arran's words. Now, a confident aura had grown around him. As if he had become surer of his description and of the image he had of the wolf. Arran scrunched his eyebrows in confusion and stopped, making the group stop as well.
"Why'd you laugh? Something amuses you?"
Minki and Lucca shared a loot between them. Truly, no one understood what had made Euan laugh and chuckle. At those hours in the afternoon – and perhaps due to, mostly, the recent events – the pack was becoming more and more deserted. No one appeared to notice the group, neither the conversation they were sharing.
"I might describe him as a god but trust me, there are plenty who compare him to one... perhaps, even believe he is"
"What do you mean?"
Arran and Euan snapped their heads towards the new voice that had joined their conversation – Minki. Silently, Lucca was following the conversation between the men. He, too, was curious as to what Euan had said. A wolf, a god? Surely, he was speaking foolish things.
"I heard some guys talking the other day..." Euan scanned the area around him as he spoke very softly, very quietly. The other 3 men came closer to him, forming a small circle. "They were saying that they heard uhh... our Alpha... on the night the wolf left. There was a name he screamed as he locked himself in the cabin; they think it's the wolf's name. Some people have started calling him that and, you know, found it quite interesting the name. A sort of "coincidence" that is sparking their imagination"
"What's the name?" Minki's eyes widened and his hands flew to grab Euan's shoulders. There was slight panic in his voice, perhaps, enthusiasm? Fright? It was hard to point out. When Euan took longer than Minki wanted to reply, he shook his shoulders before saying again: "What's the name?!"
"Ares"
The name slipped from Euan's lips, crashing onto the floor beneath Minki's feet. The name kept on echoing in his mind as images of the wolf flashed in his eyes. The boy was so bewildered, speechless, out of breath. Minki felt Lucca take a step forward, standing next to him, just as baffled as him. He shook his head side to side with his eyes closed, refusing to believe the things he was hearing.
"They think he's Ares? The Greek god of war?"
Lucca asked with sheer disbelief. Arran was quiet, deep in his thoughts, swirling in the midst of his own shock. Euan nodded his head, confirming everyone's guess. He went back to walking, apparently unfazed and unbothered by the name or his pack members reaction to it.
"Not only the God of War. Also, the God of Courage. Personification of brutality, bloodlust. Representative of the violent and of the untamed. Described as overwhelming, insatiable in battle, destructive, and man-slaughtering." The night was dawning on the horizon, darkening the pack more and more as the sun disappeared from the sky. Euan kept on talking and the more he did, the more they all understood why that wolf was being associated with the god. Behind him, Minki trailed heavily in silence, almost having to drag his feet; for all his energy and strength were being used to understand what this all meant. "It's not hard to understand why some people have assumed the wolf and the god are one.... or a representation of the other. After all," Euan chuckled, finding terribly amusing his next words. "Wasn't Ares often associated with wolves? Depicted as one? Dogs were sacrificed in his name, so that men could become wolves guided by his hand. Even his own name is interesting. Ares comes from the word 'are, which in its original form, means 'ara'. And what does 'ara' mean, you ask? Ara i-"
"Ara means bane, imprecation, ruin ...." Minki's eyes widened in realization and he felt his world collapsing around him. The big red curtains dropping and revealing to him the truth that had been hidden, covered, by his own blindness. "Ara... means curse. Ares was the cursed one and, at the same time, the one who brings the curse upon others"
Funnily enough, there was someone that he knew that believed he was cursed. Minki had seen him, with his own eyes, in his human form when Ulric and him faced each other. From the moment the first words left Ulric's lips, Minki grew curious, furiously curious. It was clear for everyone that had been there, that Jungkook and Ulric shared a past together, one bloody that bounded them by rage. If it was true what he was hearing, then, so much would change... If it was true that people believed this Ares was a god and wished to follow him.... His brain had shut off and he could feel his whole body shaking. Without sharing one more word to the group, Minki started walking rapidly away from them. From afar, Lucca observed him attentively, noticing how his body language had shifted so quickly, once the black wolf was mentioned. His eyes squinted and he scoffed. Finally, things were starting to get interesting in the pack.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾
(the night before)
"What are you up to? It's late Alec..."
Lily's sleepy voice, aggressively snatched Alec's attention away from the notebook in his hands. He had been staring at the same page for a few hours, something in it was irking him, stealing his sleep from him. Slowly he closed the old and worn-out notebook, placing it inside the carton box, where it belonged. Lily sat next to him on the couch and tenderly leaned her head on his shoulder. Alec had been going to bed late lately and she knew why. So, it came as no surprise to her, that, on that night too, his eyes were following the lines his mother had wrote.
"Are you reading it again?" Lily's hand was gently brushing Alec's hair as his eyes lingered persistently over the brown box. "By now, you know all the words by memory"
"The problem is not that, I do not know what they mean" Alec chuckled, carefully caressing the growing bump, which caused his mate to smile. "What bothers me is that... I cannot seem to grasp, to understand, to decipher what my mother was talking about in these letters"
"Do you think that she was trying to tell you something, and to your sister?"
"I don't think so... but I think it can help explain what happened to her." Alec explained and got up to grab the notebook. He was flipping through the pages carefully, searching for the one that was intriguing him the most. "I'm trying to find out not only who but what caused her death. Despite knowing Hani is involved I just... don't understand how is she involved. It's all so unclear as to why they were after my sister"
Lily sighed, feeling her heart becoming heavy in her chest. She eyed Alec up and down worriedly, as he trailed his fingers through the letters on that page. Ever since he had found out his mother's journal, he dedicated each second of his day to decoding and re-reading what she had written. His mother's death wasn't something that they talked about. Lily was aware that to both Alec and Hani, their mother's passing had always been a mystery, a thorn piercing in their hearts, preventing them from finding peace in her absence. Not even the pack mentioned their mother's death nor what had occurred on that day. It appeared to be some sort of taboo, a secret hidden in the pack being carefully ignored and forgotten, day by day. The appearance of the notebook came to change everything – it gave Alec hope, reassurance, explanations. Perhaps he expected the explanations to be given to him in a silver platter, without any sort of effort or hesitance. But when it revealed to be harder than what he was expecting, he got frustrated; stayed up late at night exhausting his brain and his heart.
"I think it's about this dream she had. That came to her many times and then, one final time when she was pregnant with Hani" Alec showed to his mate the page, pointing at the words. Lily took a deep breath, pushing her worries aside and, instead, focusing on offering herself to her mate as support system throughout these troubling times. "She never really mentions specifically what she dreamt but she alludes to a blue light... a moon becoming full... light and darkness... Also, she mentions some sort of cleansing, rebirth of sorts"
"Rebirth?"
"Something about a crescent moon becoming a full moon, paralleled with the idea that, it is only through the junction of the light and the dark side of the moon that you can... reach a new phase, a new beginning."
"And where does your sister fit in all of this?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out .... but if she had this dream, again, when she was pregnant with Hani then..."
"Hani is somewhat necessary for this new beginning she is talking about"
Lily finished her mate's words, locking eyes with him in search of confirmation. When she received it, her head dropped, resting on her hands. The environment surrounding them was silent, empty of words like the couple was. After what it felt like an eternity, Lily raised her head, then, she asked the question that was tormenting both.
"Do you think that's why they came after her? Because Hani can help complete this..." Lily's eyebrows were scrunched in confusion as she searched for the right words to describe what Alec had told her. "Prophecy?"
"Lily, I told you I'm not sure... this might not even be what we think it is." Alec leaned his head back and sighed deeply. His head was hurting and he needed some sleep. "There's just so many questions... if that's why they came after my mother... I mean, was the prophecy completed? If it wasn't, are there still people searching for Hani? "
"Is that why Ulric wanted her? In exchange for information concerning your mother? Do you think he knew about it?" Alec's eyes widened violently, slightly frightening the girl with the sudden action. Lily felt her heartbeat accelerating and her hands shakingly went to grab his. "You need to tell her, Alec. She needs to know..."
"I don't want make her worry about something we don't even know it's true"
"Alec..." The tone of disapproval was more than evident in Lily's voice. "It's not by keeping things from her that you are protecting her, you know? This is her mother, her safety"
"I know" He replied quickly, closing the box harshly. "That's why I'm going to find out the truth, first"
"How do you plan on doing it?" Lily rambled in panic, her mind creating all sorts of scenarios that terrified her. "Are you thinking about going to Ulric's door and asking him nicely about it?"
"I might not have been there when my mother died, neither my father. But if there's one person that knows what happened, is the person who found the body." Lily's throat was suddenly dry. The clock ticked as she waited for him to talk. "Jinsang... Jinsang knows. He had all of this... he had her necklace.... He must know what this prophecy is talking about, about Hani and .... about what killed my mother"
A sudden feeling triggered Alec's conscience, awakening him and tossing him into a terrifying realization. In a flash, he got dressed, despite the questions his mate was asking. He moved quickly through the house and, without giving Lily an explanation, he hid the box in their wardrobe, mixing it with the others they kept there. Very briefly, he told Lily where was he going and that he'd be back soon. Speeding through the dark cold night, Alec couldn't shake off the feeling that something... something incredibly important resided in that dream his mother had. There was so much curiosity and fear, laced with the hunger for peace of mind; Alec was flying through the pack. No one was around to see the panic and hurry in his face, surely, they'd think something was wrong. He already knew the path by memory. He had done it many times before, it was almost as if he was walking towards his own home.
The door was in front of him and, immediately, he started banging on it. Alec called for his name multiple times, never ceasing or slowing down. When no answer came, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Looking around to make sure no one was watching him, Alec took a deep breath. Then, forced his way into the cabin. Things were sprawled everywhere, objects broken on the floor. Alec was dizzy, he turned his head rapidly from one side to the other, desperately in search of the figure. His heartbeat was in his ears, echoing and smashing against his temples; making him feel dizzy and sick. He was standing in the middle of the living room, out of breath. Alec realized he was too late. He had arrived too late. Of all the things that were thrown, sprawled, fallen on the room; a specific object seemed to be missing. The red book that was always on the table, perfectly placed. Alec screamed in frustration, kicking a random thing that was on the floor. He, truly, had been too late.
Jinsang was long gone.