© 2015 by Nique Joaquin. All rights reserved.
[Warning: If you dislike cursing, you're gonna have one hell of a fücking time dealing with this book.]
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Bang.
Another target hit. I sigh to myself. Training at 12 midnight during our pack's annual Full Moon Banquet is... pretty damn uneventful. But I hate crowds- and I hate meeting new people. I already knew the people I needed to know for my father's pack to be safe. Besides, I was only here until tomorrow, and then I'd be going back to my squadron.
Bang.
Headshot. I was using plain bullets at the moment. No need for fancy silver wolfsbane bullets when I'm just screwing around at the range. I checked on the cartridge of my gun. It was almost empty. The moonlight was beginning to hide behind the clouds, inevitably making it darker as midnight approached. I decided then that I might as well walk the patrol.
Just to make sure the area's safe, werewolves could never be too careful.
I'll be doing a few rounds. I mind-link my father, Alpha Stephen.
Alright, stay safe. Tell me if anything happens. He responds calmly.
I pull my wavy blonde hair into a high ponytail and reload my guns with wolfsbane bullets. With a gun secured on each hip, I began my first round. The Full Moon Banquet took place over by the waterfalls on my father's territory and I know that at least a few teens would take the chance to screw around in the more 'shady' areas. After all, most wolves like to take advantage of the oh-so romanticized Full Moon.
I had worn a military green turtleneck tank that hugged my chest and a pair of comfy black jeans that I'd paired with some heavy duty boots. I personally thought that I looked fairly bad-ass for someone who was turning 22 in 3 days. My twin brother, Ender, wanted to have our birthday celebrated tonight, he'd finally met his mate, Brianne, a couple days ago when we met up with a few other wolves for a counsel on border security.
Apparently, the infamous Macabre Pack was on the prowl and just last week, they were spotted near the borders of Red Raven- an ally of ours who lived close by. Stories about them vary from area to area. But what I do know, is that once when I was travelling around... I stumbled across the aftermath of one of their attacks... And the sight wasn't pretty.
The smell of death was left in every nook and cranny, so the name Macabre suited them pretty damn well. They leave everything broken, bloodied, and in absolute shambles.
Everything alright? My twin, Ender, asks through the mind-link.
Fine and dandy. Just keep having fun, brother. I responded. Ender was younger than me by 2 minutes and was going to become Alpha- mainly due to a few unexpected events, but it wasn't like I cared.
And let's just say I'm not exactly friendly material. Ender was at least on the more human and reasonable side of things. I tried to stay focused as I took my walk and just as I was about to get bored enough to start shooting trees, I heard the obvious voice of a teenaged pup giggling. I took a quick whiff of the air.
Damn it. I cursed in my mind. I sprinted for the river and mentally groaned when I spotted my younger sister, Celine, in the river with a guy I knew as Chad.
"Fun time's over lil sis." I announce as I walk out of the trees close to the edge of the river. I leaned casually against a nearby tree and watched as Celine's eyes widened and almost threatened to fall out of their sockets.
"Elair!" She screams, and it's only now that I realize that my blonde haired sibling is butt naked. I roll my eyes.
"You know you better get your ass back in that banquet before I tell father," I say before looking over at Chad who's pouting with all his might, "And you better get your ass back in the banquet too. Your father may be Beta, but you aren't- and just so you know, just because the two of you are mated, doesn't mean you guys can screw like rabbits. It's a Full Moon. Neither one of you are even half way through senior year." I scold.
"But-"
"No 'buts', Celine. Get. Out." I hiss and I'm thankful that Chad is a nice guy. Not too arrogant, just playful, which was why they were out here screwing around.
Celine sighs and looks over at Chad.
Sorry sis. She mind-links me.
Yeah, yeah. Leave the water-
I hear a snarl coming from behind the trees.
"Celine, get the hell out of there!" I shout and I pull out my guns and point them straight at the source of the snarls from behind the trees.
Chad, take care of her and run. I mind-link. Chad and Celine immediately shift and make a run for it, the growls get louder. From what I can hear there's at least three of the damned trespassers.
Got a bit of trouble here. Southern border, along the river. Counted three trespassers. I mind-link all the patrols.
"Hey, I love playing hide and seek and all, but I really hate it when trespassers play it." I say loudly, I hear another growl and sigh, "Okay, sweeties, mommy's getting a little tired." I say as I cock the gun.
As it clicks, three wolves emerge from the forest and I groan.
"Ugh... out of everything I really hate it when I'm right." I announce. "Three wolves. I got this." I say to myself, giving myself a 'pep-talk'.
The wolves bark and make some sort of snorting noise. One of them, a brown one, looks like a rabid hyena ready to bite my head off. She gets ready to do so, and I smile as she begins to make a run towards me.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm one cocky motherfucker. I know... which is why when I do something like," I shoot one in the shoulder and it whimpers loudly in pain, "that... people get pissed." I finish with a smirk.
The two other wolves begin to growl and I sigh as I watch the one I hit turn into a human. Guess today's batch was stronger on the wolfsbane than usual. I'll have to note that later... I think to myself. The two remaining wolves growl at me with a mix of snarls.
"Please, I didn't kill her." I explain as I twirl a loose hair with my finger. "If I did, I wouldn't leave any witnesses." I add as I point both guns in the wolves' direction.
I wait silently for the two wolves.
3... 2...
One of them makes a run for my arm and without any hesitation, I shoot him. One small whimper and he's down. The other sprints just fast enough to bite my arm, which sucks for him as I drop the guns and shift quickly into my beloved silver wolf. I'm taller than him, which I know is an advantage I can make use of. I growl at the trespasser and pounce.
I bite into his right front leg and taste the iron flavor of blood in my mouth. He whimpers but tries to bite me in a futile attempt to defend himself. Instead, I use my force to push him down so that I have him on the ground, his neck wide open to me.
Permission to terminate a trespasser that just tried to kill me? I ask with the mind-link.
Is the situation desperate? My father responds- probably too calmly, I can't help but roll my eyes.
I appreciate that he thinks I'm strong enough to handle it, but... a little concern wouldn't hurt. I growl as the trespasser tries to free himself below me. I snarl and a feral noise escapes my wolf, making me proud of the fear that immediately fills the wolf underneath me. Before I can communicate back with my father, another growl sounds from the forest and I look up to find a black mass of fur hurl my way. I suddenly find myself pinned to the ground by a large black wolf and I growl as he peers into my eyes in sheer silence.
10 seconds.
It's been way too long. I'm pretty sure attacking me means 'I'm gonna fùcking kill you right now' in wolf culture. Unless I missed a memo.
What the hell? I wonder in my brain. This wasn't how things went. He's supposed to try and kill me.
Talk about disappointment.
I squirm underneath him but he doesn't even budge, which isn't surprising considering how heavy this motherfucker is. I mean, had he probably thrown himself at me any harder, my bones would have been crushed and I would have had to go all desperate and try to make a run for it.
Well, until my bones healed, that is. But right now, this guy is heavy and he knows what he's doing.
Almost there. My younger brother, Vaughn, says through the mind-link.
Hurry up. I respond calmly.
Meanwhile Alpha over here just keeps staring at me. When I break eye contact he growls and I look at him again, confused. What the hell is his problem?!
I growl back in response and snarl but he, instead, chooses to sniff my face rather than attack me. Someone else growls from behind him and I watch as Alpha Black-fur here, snarls in response to the other person. The wolf behind him barks ferociously and the Alpha growls at him before looking at me. Then he does the absolute weirdest most disgusting thing ever.
He sniffs around me, licks my face, and then gets off of me.
And it doesn't stop there.
He grabs a piece of cloth from my shirt, the same military green one that I'd torn from shifting, with his teeth and sprints off without another sound into the darkness of the woods.
What. In. The. Actual. Fùck?