Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

- - -

​​

I stared at the four teenagers while wondering why they are here. Are they with those four werewolves? Prisoners?

The girl's head snapped my way and her eyes widened in shock.

"Ah!", the girl exclaimed when she saw me, getting the attention of the other three on me as well, and one of the boys put his hand over the girl's mouth, to prevent her from making more noise.

Their eyes shimmered in golden hues, and I realized that those are four werewolves. Are they going to shift into their wolf forms?

Two boys curled up with their arms around the girl and stared at me without blinking. The third boy who appeared oldest in the group of teens, jumped away from them, landing into a squat with his arms on the ground, facing me.

I wanted to tell them that it's OK, that I have no intention of harming them, but the growls and squeals from the other side of the bush would make my words useless.

I opened my mouth and all voice left me when I saw that boy on the side started shifting. His face was pained, and it took quite longer compared to Lazarus. It seems that is a skill they perfect over time.

The fur that covered the boy's body was light brown and he was slightly larger than Blackie, but his eyes were full of madness that mixed with fear.

On instinct, I took a step back and lifted my hands in front of me, palms toward the four young werewolves.

"I won't hurt you…"

I knew they were too anxious to hear me out, but I had to do something.

My leg slipped on a branch, making me lose balance for a moment, and the light brown wolf leaped toward me.

At the sight of his fangs approaching me, I inhaled sharply, preparing for the pain to come, but a big dark gray wolf flew in from my left like a bullet smashing into the light brown one. As soon as they landed, Alex grabbed the smaller wolf by the neck and shook him violently.

My mind stuttered. No… This is crazy… They are kids… You need to stop… Everyone needs to stop…

"STOP!", I shout ripped out of me with a ferocity I didn't know I had inside me.

- - -

Author's note: this is from Aldus's point of view

- - -

After making sure Serina is safe and down the wind from the four werewolves that were around the fire, I went with Lazarus to handle them.

My role is to distract them and help Lazarus if needed. This is his mess to clean up, so unless I'm attacked or he is in trouble, I will not act.

The four shifters that gathered around the fire are killers we were pursuing, and I knew that they will not surrender. After all, it's not like we have a prison for werewolves, so their options are to fight, flee, or die.

The scent of blood in the air was heavy and their casual behavior showed that it was not the first time they did something like this.

I sensed several other strong lifeforms in the area, but they didn't move so I guessed that they are probably tied up, or maybe animals got attracted to the fire but were too scared to approach it.

However, shouldn't there be a number of youngsters nearby? With hearts missing from the victims, we assumed that this is part of the rite-of-passage ritual that young warriors go through, but maybe these killed for fun. It happens.

I shot one last glance toward Serina, to make sure she is tucked in safely behind a tree before gesturing to Lazarus that it's time to move. He already shifted in his wolf form.

I stepped into the clearing and puzzled expressions directed my way told me that they didn't see me coming.

"Am I interrupting something?", I asked in order to get them to focus on me.

"Are you lost?", the shifter with the bottle asked me, and a moment later, they noticed Lazarus.

Well, considering that he is a giant animal and that werewolves can sense each other, it was not unexpected, but I hoped that my appearance will distract them for a moment longer so that Lazarus gets into a better position.

Bottle fell on the ground as the man closest to me started shifting and I knew that I am his target. The other three focused on Lazarus as they assumed I am less dangerous. And they were totally wrong.

I was taking my time with my victim. It feels good to see arrogance morphing into shock and then pleading for mercy. It never gets boring.

"Ah!", a scream came from the side and I realized that Serina is not behind the tree anymore.

In a flash, I was there to check what is going on, but Lazarus was faster.

I got in time to see Lazarus ripping through one young werewolf while three others were in the process of shifting to their wolf forms.

Serina looked like she is about to have a panic attack.

Lazarus let go of his last kill and turned to the three youngsters who were about to complete shifting.

"STOP!", Serina roared, making the three youngsters freeze in their last stage of transformation.

The intriguing part was that Lazarus was frozen as well. Was he surprised by Serina's ferocity? It didn't look like that. If I'm not mistaking, he really couldn't move.

My eyes darted back to Serina while wondering if she released another power. I could move without obstruction, so it's not something that will impact creatures or freeze time. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

Serina inhaled a shaky breath and her eyes moved from three youngsters to Lazarus and then to me.

"They are kids. Do we need to harm them?", Serina asked pleadingly.

Lazarus let out a low growl, and I raised my hand to stop him.

She is right. They are kids and I can take them out if needed. I was curious to find out what she was thinking, but more than that, I wanted to find out why those kids were not moving.

Lazarus shook his big furry head in disapproval and disappeared into the darkness.

The silence stretched through seconds as the kids still didn't snap out of their daze. They all stared at Serina with their eyes that flickered in golden light.

Gradually, they reverted to their human forms and I observed a girl with short light-brown hair, one brown-haired boy, and the second boy had blonde hair that fell over his eyes.

They looked young, probably not older than fifteen. Based on their scrawny looks and shabby clothes, they were not well off, and malnourished. Typical of rogues, or small packs.

Serina's gaze moved to the body of the fourth kid who was a few steps on her right, unmoving, in his wolf form. Based on the big gash on his neck, he was definitely dead. She lowered her head, unable to bear the sight. I can't blame her.

"Are you OK?", I asked her, and she responded with a stiff nod.

Considering that it's Serina's first time seeing something like this, I would say that she is doing quite well. She didn't show any visible reaction at the first campsite, and I assumed that was because it was cleared of bodies, but this was different.

Lazarus returned to our location, this time in his human form. He was pulling the t-shirt over his head while walking, and he stood protectively in front of Serina.

"What are you mutts doing here?", Lazarus growled at the kids, his eyes icily cold, like every time he looks at a rogue.

Seraphina frowned. "Do you expect them to answer when you ask like that?"

"They are murderers! If I didn't come in time, you would be lying dead on the ground instead of that mutt.", Lazarus said through his teeth while his eyes didn't leave three youngsters.

Well, she wouldn't die, but she would suffer injuries. Maybe those injuries would serve as a reminder to stay in her hiding spot when I tell her not to move next time. If there is next time.

To everyone's surprise, the three youngsters fell on their knees and kept their heads low in submission.

"We didn't kill anyone…", the girl said in a shaky voice. "It was Gil and others. They forced us to watch."

"Is Gil one of the guys next to the campfire?", I asked.

The girl responded with a series of rapid nods.

"Did you come here for the right-of-passage ceremony?", I continued asking, even though these looked too young. That is usually not done before the eighteenth's birthday.

Just as I suspected, Lazarus shook his head. "They are too young."

"We don't have enough warriors.", the girl said. "Gil brought us here to watch how it's done, and tomorrow it would be our turn to hunt on our own and deliver the proof of kill."

Lazarus snorted. "Hearts."

"Don't abandon us. We will pledge our allegiance to you…", the blonde boy said weakly.

Lazarus snorted. "Allegiance? Sorry, kids, but I'm not the guy to take in strays."

"I don't think they were talking to you.", I voiced my observation.

Lazarus shot me a confused glance and then his eyes widened in realization. He turned toward Serina in slow motion.

Lazarus moved to the side as if to confirm that the youngsters are indeed bowing to Serina and not to him.

Three kids lifted their heads and looked at Serina expectantly.

Serina's brows furrowed as she processed the situation. "Me?"

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