The crescent moon had now set. The full blue sky had turned dark as stars luminated over the beach. Bringing focus to a small white beach house. The inside of the house was dark, not a single light turned on. There was a trail of clothes leading up the stairs, from Lycan’s swim trunks, to Raven’s solid black two piece swimsuit. Around the corner and into the cracked door was the bedroom.

Lycan was now sound asleep, his naked body still on top of her. He was quite heavy but she wasn’t mad that he fell asleep on top of her. The man had spent every waking hour with her, walking on the beach, laying underneath the sun. This wasn’t how Raven expected the honeymoon to go.

The man that was laying on top of her was not the same Lycan she knew. The moment they arrived, it was like a completely different person had taken over his body. He was caring, kind, and she could scarcely believe it but. He even respected her, not once, did he ever hit her or treat her like a trophy. She preferred this Lycan over the other. It’s a shame she was the only person who got to see this side of him. If this was the Lycan, she had devoted herself to, then, she wouldn’t have minded marrying him from the start.

“Honey, I need you to get off me,” Raven whispered. “I need to go to the bathroom,” Lycan groaned. She helped him roll over to his side. He cringed when he did, she forgot, Lycan couldn’t sleep on his back. During his attempt to save her, Blaire had cut his back with a sword. Claire had to pay an emergency visit to treat the wound. Even with her blood healing him, the wound was still fresh. Claire had to give him pain meds to help him sleep it off. Pain meds that were really doing a number on him. “Sorry, do you need anything?”

“Just sleep,” Lycan turned over to his side. “The war is in three days’ time, I need to rest and gather up my strength so I can be ready for it. I’ll probably leave first thing in the morning. You can stay here, enjoy the honeymoon a little while longer.” He grabbed her pillow and held it in place of her. “I’m going back to bed, do whatever you want. Just let me sleep,” He nuzzled his head up to his pillow and fell back asleep.

Raven went over to the bathroom. Which, conveniently was in the bedroom, they had two bathrooms and Lycan let her have her own. She claimed the one in the bedroom. She stood in front of the bathroom sink and fixed her hair in the mirror. Her navy blue eyes lingered on her hand that was gripping her hair brush. She didn’t understand ever since that day. Lycan took advantage of her. Her hand would start to shake every time. He tried to get intimate with her. It was like that fear was coming back and she couldn’t control it. Even though she was trying to, she just hoped that it only applied to Lycan. She didn’t want to be afraid of Angel touching her. Part of her was curious to see how her body would react to Angel’s touch. That’s why she had to see him just to make sure it was only a Lycan thing.

Once, Raven stepped out of the bathroom. Lycan was sound asleep and snoring. She was sure nothing was going to wake him. But just in case, she tip-toed out of the bedroom and walked down the stairs taking it one quiet step at a time. He may be asleep but he’s still a werewolf with a keen sense of hearing. She wasn’t about to chance waking him up. The last thing she needed was for him to catch her sneaking out to see Angel. She managed to make it downstairs, her suitcase filled with her belongings was still on the couch. She forgot to bring it upstairs and was glad she forgot about it. Now she could get ready in the downstairs bathroom and Lycan wouldn’t take notice of it.

While Raven was rummaging through her suitcase to find something to wear. Her eyes lingered on the bottle of Sun Repellant IX Angel gave her at the wedding. It was tucked away safely inside one of the pockets of her suitcase. She’d take it to the secret cave as soon as she got back. “Here we go,” She grabbed a silk white nightgown, it was night time already so why not dress for bed. Besides, she wasn’t even going to chance putting on makeup. The longer she took to get ready the less time she had with Angel. She had to be back before Lycan woke up otherwise he’d know she had left in the middle of the night.

Raven slipped on the nightgown. The silk gown reached her knees and was outlined with black vines as a border. The bust area was laced up with white lace to draw attention to her breasts. Something she knew Angel would appreciate especially since. She fully intended to have sex with him tonight. Though, this time, it would be a little different. She took a condom package from her suitcase and stuffed it in her bra. No hybrid babies, not tonight at least. She shut the light off the bathroom after she fixed her hair doing one last mirror check before she saw him.

“Perfect,” Raven walked over to the kitchen where she left her key to the house. She picked it up and stopped at the door. She was trying to decide whether or not to wear shoes but it was the beach. Nothing felt better than her toes in the sand. So, no shoes, she unlocked the door and left the house, shutting the door quietly. Even once she got outside, she was being careful with her steps worried that Lycan could still hear her. She felt like she had to be a ninja at all times, her stealth skills were going to be top grade.

While Raven’s bare feet moved across the sand and over to the far reaches of the beach. So far out, that even when she walked the beach with Lycan. They didn’t even go this far out, Lycan had insisted that they head back to the house. From a distance, she could see the steel fence Angel told her about. It was going to be an easy climb just like he -What’s this?- She glanced over out toward the ocean. A little further out, it was empty but something was calling to her almost insisting that she check it out. This feeling, it was coming from, she glanced up at the moon as if it was the one doing this.

Raven began to remember, Jay told them that werewolves could feel the moon changing. He said that their bodies had a strong connection with the moon. Could it be possible, not only could they predict the change but could the moon draw them in. It felt like she was made of metal and the moon was like a magnet pulling in that direction. But why, why would it want her to go there? What was she going to find over there? She wasn’t sure but curiosity had left it’s mark. She had to know. There had to be a reason.

“Sorry Angel,” Raven climbed down from the fence. “You’re going to have to wait a little while longer,” She walked hastily toward the moon’s calling. The strong currents of the wind threw her long black hair back and she moved closer and closer to her destination. She had never felt something like this before. She was walking faster and faster almost like she was in a trance. But then her feet came to a stop.

“This place,” The harsh winds continued to blow her hair back. This is what Raven was being called to see. She saw three surfboards standing up in the sand left abandoned. That didn’t make any sense. “Why three?” She wondered. Lycan and Alejandro grew up here but there was never any mention of anybody else. Why would there be a third? More importantly, why did this place feel like an abandoned grave site? No, not abandoned. Raven crouched down taking notice of the two words written in the sand.

“Never forget,” Raven read aloud. “Never forget, what?” She turned around slowly. As she turned her eyes continued to wander the empty sands of the beach. “What happened here?” She continued to look around. But then, she sniffed the air. “What’s that smell? Is that-,” She gasped. “Gasoline?” She spoke out loud. She raced over to the smell. Her nose began to pick up the strong smell of smoke and ash like something was burned recently. Her bare foot tapped the red gas can that had been buried in the sand. She lifted it up and sniffed inside. There was still a very tiny drop of gasoline left behind.

Nearby was a pile of burned clothes and a bunch of other things. The flame was put out but the mess remained. Next to it was a large trash bag. Like someone was here or stopping by here just to clean it up but they were doing it slowly.

“What were they trying to hide?” Raven couldn’t take her eyes off the three surfboards that rested in the sand. “No it’s not what,” She rushed over to the surfboard that was placed in the middle. “It’s who.” She could feel it, a connection. The more her eyes lingered on the black surfboard with vibrant red orange flames along the edges. The stronger the connection felt, for some reason, she was called here. It had to be because of the woman. The woman that twins never talked about. The woman Alejandro saw whenever he looked at her. Somehow, this place is connected to her but how?

This place only brought more questions than answers. It didn’t tell her who she was or what she did or what happened to her. There was nothing, what was she supposed to gather from this. What were they not supposed to forget? She wanted to scream, this made no sense. Why lure her here if there was nothing for her to find. But, damn it, she wanted to know more, it was killing her not to know who this woman was. Or why she held such a strong significance to not one but all of the other pack members.

“Once upon a time, you were here.” Raven slowly ran her hand down the surfboard that she felt a strong connection to. “You lived here on this island with Alejandro and Lycan. But now, Alejandro sees you when he looks at me. Lycan is treating me the same way he treated you. Nobody talks about you, it’s like you disappeared. What I don’t understand is why. I’m so confused, I need to know.” She forced a swallow. “Please, help me understand.” Raven began to feel the moon calling to her once more.

This time, it was compelling her to look up into the sky. The calling was so strong, she could hardly resist it. The wind was starting to spiral out of control like something around her was building up. The wind was blowing so hard it was damn near screaming in her ears. The moment her eyes met with the moon, everything stopped. A bright light struck her eyes, so bright she had to close her eyes to block it out.

When Raven opened her eyes, she could only see shades of black and white. The more she blinked, the more color began to appear. It began with the pigments of the sand beneath her feet. The color gradually reached the clear blue ocean to the summer sky above her. The moon was gone and was replaced by a large sunset. In front of her, she could see the backs of two teenage boys, they were sitting Indian style in the sand. Both of them were staring far out into the ocean.

The teenage boy on the right. He had short brown hair spiked back. His dark russet eyes were fixated on the ocean. He was shirtless, his muscles well toned, he had a slight tan, He was wearing black swim trunks with gray leaf patterns on them. He had a slight smirk on his face that allowed her to see his sharp canines. He’s a werewolf.

“Wait a sec,” Raven walked over to the boy. The more she looked at his face. The more reminded her of somebody. But that can’t be right because he’s a lot younger than the person she was comparing him to. But, she couldn’t deny the resemblance. He reminded her of…No, that can’t be right. This had to be a dream, it can’t be him. There’s just no way, she rubbed her eyes and gave him a second look. She went to say his name out loud but her voice was gone. She had gone silent so he wouldn’t be able to hear her. Could she touch him?

Raven walked over and put her right hand in front of the boy’s face. He was looking through it but not acknowledging it. She swung her hand in an attempt to slap him across the face. Immediately after, she jumped back thinking he’d react or at least feel it. But nothing, her hand went right through him like a ghost. But there’s no mistaking it, this boy it’s Lycan, it’s teenage Lycan. She’d recognize his face from anywhere. She literally just had sex with his present self wait present self. She backed up and started to freak out.

“Wha-, Wha-, How did I-, Wha-, this, no,” Raven shook her head. “Oh shit, Oh shit, Oh shit,” She began touching her body. She could still feel every touch as if she were alive. So at least she’s not dead. “How did I pull this off? This is not okay, I should not be here.” She began taking huge deep breaths. “I am in the past, Raven, you fucked up and you are in the past. So, um, I just um, Claire, is there a Claire button?” She sat down in the sand. “It’s okay, It’s okay, they don’t know I’m here and where is here?”

Raven’s eyes searched her surroundings. She was at the same beach she was in the present. She was also at the exact spot she was in before. Though it was a little different. There was a red tent where the pile of burned clothes was. She tried to walk toward it but couldn’t. It was like she was trapped in a barrier not allowed to stray too far from the two boys. That reminds her, if the first boy was Lycan. The second one would be…-

The other teenage boy had short blood red hair. His bangs draped over the right side of his face. He wore a red and black bead necklace. He was shirtless, his muscles more refined than Lycan’s and he had much tanner skin tone. He was wearing black swim trunks with red leaf designs on them. Raven walked around him to get a look at his face. She moved her hair to the side as the wind kept blowing it in every direction.

The boy’s face, more importantly his dark green eyes the way they were looking toward the ocean. They were shining like the world’s brightest gemstones like he was caught in a trance. But that look in his eyes, there was no mistake. It was the exact same way Angel would look at her. He’s in love. He had a slight smirk on his face revealing his sharp canines. Still when the realization struck her of who he was. Raven refused to believe it, she couldn’t believe it, there was just no way this boy would be…Alejandro.

Raven followed the direction of both of the boy’s eyes out toward the vast ocean. There in the distance was a woman. The wind was blowing her straight red hair that descended down into small curls. Her dark amber eyes were filled with determination and focus. As her black surfboard with red orange flames crashed against the waves. She was riding the waves showing no fear of drowning or being swept away by the ocean. She was a natural and Raven couldn’t help but be impressed by her skill. It took a lot for a werewolf to be good at surfing. Most of them hated water and being wet.

Once the large tidal wave came crashing down, the woman started to paddle to the boys, her stomach being hard pressed against her surfboard. Her lightly tanned skin was drenched in water, her hair soaked. She was wearing a black two piece swimsuit with green leaf designs on it. There was a tiny tattoo of a four leaf clover next to her hip and right above the right side of her ass. A tattoo that Lycan was obviously staring at. Alejandro’s cheeks flushed at the sight of it and he turned his head to hide the fact he’d seen it. She walked over to them and when she arrived.

Raven was standing right there in front of her. Though the woman could not see or feel her presence. Raven’s heart raced as she finally came face to face with NightShade’s biggest secret. The woman that nobody talked about. The woman who was erased from history, the woman who Alejandro saw when he looked at her.

“I told you boys, I could do it,” She began wringing some of the water out of her hair. “Who says, a werewolf doesn’t do water,” She flipped her hair back. “I do water just fine. Which could only mean,” She held out her hand. “Alejandro, you owe me ten bucks, cough it up.” Her fingers began urging his hand forward.

“Lycan spot me,” Alejandro let out a deep sigh. “Damn it,” He threw his body back, laying in the sand on his back. “You weren’t supposed to be good at that.” He complained. She laughed and flashed a cute smile revealing her sharp canines.

“I told you,” Lycan rose to his feet. “She can do everything.” He handed her the money. “She’s a fucking beast, that’s why she’s going to be in my pack. I’m going to be Alpha and this right here,” He walked up to her and hugged her. “This is the future princess of the werewolves and let me tell you the future is hot.” He winked at her, he went to smack her ass. She caught his wrist and squeezed tightly on it.

“Prince Lycan, we’ve been over this.” The woman scolded him. “Until we get assigned to a pack and figure out where we’re going. I’m off limits,” She released his hand. He grabbed his wrist and released the tension from his fingers. “This whole pack deployment thing was your idea. We’re just lucky enough to beta test it. But it also means,” She jammed her surfboard into the sand. “We’ve got to take a placement test created by Lord Grimm. I shouldn’t need to remind you that he wants us to fail.”

“I’m aware,” Lycan crossed his arms. “Because if this pack deployment plan works. He has to change the way we deploy all werewolves. Have them all take the placement test and basically redo everything. Just because his son got a brilliant idea.”

“But it is a brilliant idea,” Alejandro agreed. “It’s better than what he’s been doing. His strategy so far has been.” He cleared his throat. “Okay, let’s act it out,” He rose to his feet. “I’ll be the werewolf,” He placed his hands on his chest. “You’ll be a human.” He motioned over to the girl. “Ready?” She nodded. “I’m a werewolf, I’m a bite you.” He started chasing her with his claws and fangs out.

“Oh, no, please don’t hurt me, mister werewolf.” She started running from him. “I’m so fragile, if you bite me, I could die. Oh no, I’m so scared of mister werewolf.” He tackled her and pretended to bite her neck. “Oh no, he bit me, now I’m a werewolf.”

“Good now that you’re a werewolf,” Lycan spoke. He was imitating his father’s voice. “Go out and kill all the vampires. No training necessary just go out and kill them. If you die oh well at least you tried and as for you.” He pointed at Alejandro. “Go bite more people. We need more people. I don’t know why but they keep dying.”

“Kudos on the Lord Grimm impersonation,” Alejandro laughed. “That was gold,” He clinched his gut laughing. “No training necessary, that was a nice touch. Sometimes, it feels like it too.” He laughed harder. “And you,” He pointed at the girl. “You make a nice human.”

“I know, I’m such a good human.” She joked. “Seriously guys, we need to start training for the placement test. It’s for the sake of all werewolf kind. We need to do well. The test will decide our rank whether it be Alpha, Beta, Hunter, Tracker, you know all that good stuff. Though, I’d like to mention that, this test of his.” She walked over to the red tent and went inside. She came back with a hair tie and tied her hair up in a mid length ponytail. “Is totally unfair if you’re a girl, we start at zero, which is Omega then work our way up to Tracker. We get capped at Tracker so we will never have a female Alpha. How screwed up is that?” She placed her hands on her hips. “Lycan, this may be your idea but your father wrecked it.”

“Yeah, he kinda did, but you know how he is.” Lycan shrugged. “Still, Tracker, that’s not bad. That puts you at what? Fourth strongest. Versus being fifth or sixth. I mean the higher up you are the more responsibilities you have. So, you’re kind of in the sweet spot, Princess. That’s if you can score Tracker.” He challenged.

“Oh I will,” She pointed at him. “I’ll break the test, I’m going to find a way to break the cap and rank higher than Tracker. I’m going to train until my whole body is sore. I’m going to study until my eyes bleed. But I will break that cap.” She began stretching. “Let’s go guys, let’s spar, I’m ready. I’m about to whoop all your asses and prove I’m the Alpha of this group.”

“Did she just say what I think she said?” Alejandro walked up to her. “Sounds to me like you want to get your ass whooped let’s go.” He punched his chest. “You want to spar, let’s spar, let’s go, I’ll show you who the motherfucking Alpha is. I don’t care if you are a girl, I will beat your ass for coming after my Alpha rank.”

“Your Alpha rank, it’s my Alpha rank bitch.” Lycan got in Alejandro’s face. He pushed him down in the sand. “You want my rank, that’s my rank, you aren’t getting it, I’m the Prince, you will-,” The girl tackled him and began hitting him. Alejandro pulled her off and threw her down. She and Lycan both looked over at each other.

“I’m the Alpha, hear me howl,” Alejandro went to howl but was tackled by both of them. Raven busted out laughing. She watched as Alejandro continued to beat both Lycan and the woman even though they were jumping him. Every time he won. He would scream Alpha and let out a loud howl. This only resulted in him getting tackled every time he did it.

Raven couldn’t stop laughing. It was so cute watching Alejandro play around with his friends. It was nice to see him smiling for a change. Nice to know that there was so much more to him than that emotionless face she knew. Nice to know, there was a time where he could talk and have fun. For if anyone deserved that it was him. A bright light began to shine into her eyes causing her to blink.

The light of the summer sun had faded. The starlit sky was now above her illuminated by a half moon. The woman was standing across from Alejandro. The wind was blowing through her red hair. The two of them were just standing there in silence staring into each other’s eyes. It was easy to tell, the woman was nervous, she would even say that the girl was afraid.

“You’re sure about this?” She asked him. She began untying her red hair letting it fall to her shoulder blades.

“You did say, you could beat me if you were allowed to use your special power.” Alejandro replied. “So if you can do it, then do it, beat me.” He challenged. “I already told you, I’m not going to tell Lord Grimm about this. So what’s there to be afraid of?”

“It’s just, you know there’s rules about this.” The woman confessed. “Werewolves are never supposed to use their abilities on each other. Any werewolf caught doing it, gets in serious trouble. We can’t even use them during the war for fear of friendly fire. He said werewolves were only good for their physical attributes and nothing more.”

“Yeah, but, there’s more to us than that.” Alejandro rested his hands at his sides. “We’re more than just savage beasts going out on a frenzy. Each of us are different, like me with my werewolf form and you with your abilities. We’re different and it’s okay to be different. He can’t just expect us to lock that part of us away. It’s who we are, it’s the part we love most about ourselves. So, who cares what the rules say?” He walked up to her. “The rules told me, I’d be nothing more than a servant. But look at me,” He gestured. “I’m about to take a test that’s going to allow me to fight in the war against the vampires. I’m far more than a servant now. So if that rule can change, maybe, this one can too.”

“You promise you won’t tell.” She brushed her hand through her hair. “I’m serious if you tell, I’ll be in so much trouble and-,” He walked up to her and hugged her. He ran his finger through her hair looking right into her eyes.

“I won’t tell anybody,” Alejandro assured her. “It’s okay, you can use your abilities on me. So stop worrying and fight me already.” He took a few steps back, giving her space. “I want to see what you can do, this is cool. I’ve never fought a werewolf with abilities before. If I was on my werewolf form my tail would be wagging right now. So bring it, Princess.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.” She bit down on her thumb. She placed her bleeding thumb on the sand. Once she did. Raven watched in amazement as the girl’s red hair turned into a sandy blonde right before her eyes. She held out her hand and the sand started to move like she was controlling it. This woman, she can control the elements.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.” Alejandro kept jumping out of the way dodging her attacks. She was creating whirlpools in the sand setting traps trying to predict his dodge patterns. “Reading my moves are you? Not bad, Princess but you’re going to have to do better than that.” He charged at her, he kept trying to punch her but she blocked his every attack with sand walls. He was so strong he was punching through them but he still couldn’t hit her. She’d dodged just before he could. “Gotcha,” He jumped at her, he struck the sand wall so hard it broke and his fist traveled through it and hit her right in the jaw.

The woman crashed into the water, her bleeding thumb touched the water. In seconds, her hair changed, becoming a bright blue color like the ocean. She shook off the hit and got back on her feet. She lifted up the water creating a massive tidal wave. Alejandro’s eyes shot open, she jumped at him creating several water whips striking him with them over and over again. It was clear, Alejandro had pissed her off by hitting her.

“Stop, that hurts,” Alejandro kept blocking the whips. Every time he had a red mark on his arm. He tried to punch her, she engulfed his arm in water, grabbing it. He kept trying to pull it out but his arm was struck. She began trying to throw him. Before she could, he overpowered her control over the water. He spun and tried to hit her. She jumped back dodging his attack. She quickly spun and slapped him on the ass with a water whip. “Ou, my ass,” He began rubbing his rear. “You spanked me with water.”

“That’s what you get for hitting me,” She stuck her tongue out at him. He charged at her. She began to chuckle at him.

“What’s so funny,” Alejandro crossed his arms. She pointed behind him. He turned around, the entire ocean was lifted up into a giant tidal wave. “No,” He pointed at her. “Don’t do that, I hate getting wet. If you get me wet, I swear, I’ll show no mercy.” She waved bye.

The massive tidal wave crashed down on top of him, drenching his entire body in cold water. His entire body was shaking as water dripped down his hair to his back all the way down to the sand beneath his feet. “What’s the matter, you’re all wet?” She fell over laughing. “You should really pay attention to the things going on behind you.”

“Like I said, first time fighting a werewolf with abilities. So excuse me for making a few mistakes.” Alejandro charged at her. He kept trying to punch but she kept deflecting his attacks. Her defensive maneuvers were working up until he grabbed her and pinned her down by the wrists. “Ha, I win,” He shook his hair at her like a wet dog to get her wet. She started laughing while he had her pinned. “Quit laughing, I won, you should feel defeated.”

“Okay, you win.” She admitted. He got off her and helped her to her feet. “Just so you know, I could have beat you at any time.” He shook his head at her. He punched his hand and walked over to her. “Alejandro, we’re on a beach, correct?”

“Well, yeah, so,” He shrugged.

“Earlier, I was controlling sand right?” She shook her hair, droplets of water fell out of it. Once the droplets were gone, her hair returned to its regular color. He nodded but it was clear he was still confused as to why it was important. “Your feet are standing in the sand which means I could have just.” She placed her finger on the sand. Her hair changed to sandy blonde. A whirlpool of sand caught Alejandro’s feet and pulled him into the sand. He kept trying to get out but he was buried so deep into the sand only his head was sticking out.

“No, No, I won, this is bullshit.” Alejandro kept trying to power his way out of the sand. She had trapped him in. While he was still trying to get out. She crouched down and pressed her lips softly against his cheek. He blushed in response.

“Thank you for allowing me to do this,” She shook her hair, sand fell out of it and it returned to it’s normal red color. Once her control over the sand was gone, it was easy for Alejandro to climb his way out of the sand. Once he was free his eyes lingered on the woman as she left. He had his hand placed on his cheek, on the exact spot she kissed him. It was like the kiss had caught him off guard and he wasn’t expecting it.

Raven slowly shut her eyes. A warm bright light washed over allowing her to move forward in time once more. It was there, Alejandro and the woman were standing in the sunset together. He was staring deep into her eyes taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. The way his eyes looked at this woman. It was like she was the only person. He could ever see. As time went on he only grew more attached to her. To the point it was hard for anyone not to see that he was in love with her.

“I made you something,” Alejandro’s words broke the long silence between them. “The test is tomorrow and you’ve been really worried about it, so,” He showed her a bracelet he made with beads. The beads were black and had a single four leaf clover bead resting at the center. “I know you like four leaf clovers and they represent luck so I figured. I’d make you a bracelet so you’d have a good luck charm for the test. I know it’s stupid,” He blushed. “I just didn’t have any money. I thought why not make you something instead. I mean, I think about you all the time, the truth is, I’m worried that-,”

“It’s not stupid, I like it, it goes with my tattoo.” She showed him the four leaf clover tattoo that was right above her butt. The second his eyes saw it, his cheeks turned dark red. He placed his hand over his crotch to hide his erection. “Though it’s not the clover I like, it’s what I can do with it. When I use my ability on plants I can do so much like make vines come out of the ground and slice things up. Out of all the things I can do, that’s the one I enjoy most.” She slipped on the bracelet. “It’s a nice gift, I’ll tell you what, I promise that I’ll never take it off. This is now my lucky bracelet.”

“Really, that’s cool, I’m glad you like it.” Alejandro leaned his neck in to kiss her. Raven could sense the girl was contemplating on the kiss. It was like she wanted to but something was stopping her. She was only inches away from the kiss but then.

“Oh come on,” Lycan laughed. “Tell me that you weren’t about to kiss him. Alejandro buddy, I told you this over a thousand times already. Guys like you don’t get girls like her.” He motioned over to her. “You get the scraps, you know this. That’s how it works. So stop trying buddy, she’s not into you. Come on, admit it,” He glanced over at her. “You weren’t really going to kiss him.”

“I’m sorry,” She shook her head at him. Alejandro’s eyes started to fill with tears. He quickly took off running so nobody would notice. “You shouldn’t have said to him, that was wrong, you really hurt his feelings.”

“I hurt his feelings,” Lycan placed his hand on his chest. “He did that to himself. He knew better than to make a move toward you. My father made it very clear, anything I don’t want, Alejandro gets. He gets the scraps.”

“I’m going to go talk to him.” The woman ran after Alejandro. “Alejandro, wait, at least let me explain,” She got in front of him. He turned his head to hide the fact. He had been crying. “I didn’t reject the kiss because of what Lycan said. I did it, because, I told you both, I was off limits until the test was over. I wanted to kiss you okay,” She took hold of his arm. “The only reason I didn’t is because I wanted to stick to what I said.”

“Even if it’s not about what Lycan said.” Alejandro jerked his arm free. “Even if you did want to kiss me. The truth is,” He shrugged. “He’s right, you could do way better than me and it was foolish of me to think.” He let out a sigh. “I could ever have you, I get the scraps. That’s how it goes. It’s always been that way and it always will be. So, I just need to stop trying, so please just stay away from me.” He walked away from her.

“You’re wrong, Alejandro,” She called out, he stopped. “It won’t always be that way.” She crossed her arms. “I bet you’re the Alpha,” He turned to face her. “I bet when you take that test you will score the highest score there is, Alpha. You will outrank all of us. You’re that good and you can’t tell me that means you get scraps. You have potential and a lot of it. Don’t let Lycan belittle you,” She pointed at him. “You’re too damn good for that.”

“You really think I could be Alpha?” Alejandro’s face began to light up. “Do you realize what that would mean? All that time I spent training, all that time I spent going against my parent’s wishes. Because, I wanted to fight in the war instead of being a servant. It would mean that this whole time, I was right about me.” His eyes started to fill with tears. “That was I meant to be more than a servant. It would mean my parent’s deaths weren’t for nothing.” He wiped his eyes. “You really think I could do it,” He stared at his hands. “Become the Alpha of my own pack?”

Raven closed her eyes. When she opened them, she saw the three of them standing there on the beach. They all had sealed envelopes in their hands with Lord Grimm’s emblem on it. She could feel the anticipation, the nervousness, the tension. As the three of them stared at these envelopes that held the test results.

“On three,” The woman took a deep breath. Lycan and Alejandro nodded. “One,” She took a deep breath. “Two,” She gulped. “Three,” The three of them opened the envelope at the same time. She pulled out the paper with her test results.

“Beta,” Lycan read aloud. Raven could tell by the expression on his face. He wasn’t happy with his results. In fact, he was angered by them. “I scored Beta, that’s bullshit, the test is rigged.” He ripped up the paper in his hands. “There’s no way, I’m a Beta. That’s like second to Alpha, good thing, my father is overriding the results and making me Alpha. Because there’s no way, I’m taking orders from anybody else. Ever heard of a Beta for a Prince, no the Prince gets Alpha. End of story, what did you guys get?”

“Tracker?” The woman scoffed. “But no, I was supposed to break the code and be the first woman to be more than a Tracker. How could I get Tracker? That’s so not fair, I demand a retest.” She yelled. “I trained hard for this.”

“Let’s be honest, your skills do remind me of a Tracker,” Lycan reasoned. “I’ve sparred with you a lot and every time you gave me tracker vibes. So, I don’t think my father’s wrong to score you as a Tracker.”

“Okay, yeah, I see it but it’s still upsetting.” She sat down in the sand. “I wanted to make history, damn it, that’s so not fair.” She curled up in a ball. “Alejandro, what did you get?” The two of them looked over at him.

Alejandro stood there in the sand. His hands holding the paper. Out of curiosity, Raven glanced over his shoulder looking at his test results. Her eyes widened when she saw his results. He scored…Alpha, Alejandro is the rightful leader of NightShade. This whole time, it’s been him, he was supposed to be their Alpha. She couldn’t believe it, she was right, Lord Grimm upped Lycan’s score and put him over Alejandro. That’s what-,

“Beta,” Alejandro crumbled up his paper. Raven didn’t understand. He did that to himself. He wanted to be Alpha. Why would he do that? It wasn’t about him. Alejandro did that for Lycan, so he wouldn’t upstage him or make him feel bad for stealing his position. His friendship with Lycan was more important than being Alpha.

“I knew it,” Lycan hugged him. “I told you Alejandro is a natural born follower. Which means, we don’t have an Alpha slot so I guess no objections to me taking it.” They shook their heads at him. “Sweet, I’ll talk to my father, and the three of us are going to be the first ever pack dispatch. I’m going to call our pack, NightShade.”

“NightShade,” The woman laughed. “I suppose that’ll work. I was thinking something more flashy, like, I don’t know. Burning Skulls or The Executioners or Twisted Nightmare or my favorite Team Alejandro, because we got an Alejandro.”

“Why is my name an option but not his?” Alejandro pointed over at Lycan. “He’s our fearless leader, not me. I’m just the Beta.”

“You’re right, we should be called The Giant Wolf.” She offered. “Because, Alejandro is the only werewolf who could be spotted for miles. Let’s face it, they’re not going to be worried about our pack name when they see a giant wolf stomping on them. They’re going to be worried about the giant wolf stomping on them. We’re just going to be the pack with the giant werewolf. That’s what we’re going to be known for. We might as well accept it.”

“She’s got a point,” Alejandro agreed.

“Yeah well,” Lycan held out a tray with three glasses of lemonade on it that was provided to him by a servant. “I still like NightShade.” He handed Alejandro and the girl a glass. “ So as Alpha,” He boasted. “I’m pulling rank on this. I’ll tell my father our decision, we will be dispatched first thing in the morning. Brace yourselves,” He held out his glass of lemonade. “What we do tomorrow will shape the history for all future deployments. No more will Werewolves be carelessly sent out with the order to kill as many vampires as possible. Instead, we will send out a well organized pack who’s skills complement each other bearing strategy in mind. We did that, you guys, through our determination and stubbornness,” He laughed. “We were able to get through to my father and now we have the opportunity to put this new deployment strategy to the test. To NightShade,”

“To NightShade,” The two of them raised their glasses. They all took a drink from their glasses at the same time.

A bright flash of light struck Raven. The warm light was so bright it forced her to close her eyes. When her eyes opened, the beach was gone. She could hear loud explosions, people screaming. The sound of wolves howling, swords clashing. When she opened her eyes, she was tight there on the battlefield witnessing NightShade’s first deployment.

“This would be so much easier if I could go wolf,” Alejandro jumped back doing a backflip and landing on his feet. He was shirtless, his skin unscathed. He wore a black beaded bracelet with NightShade written in purple letters in the center on his left wrist. He wore black loose fit distressed blue jeans and he wasn’t wearing any shoes. His claws were caked in blood and blood dripped from his sharp canines.

There was a vampire laying on the ground, clinching their neck as his venomous canines left him wallowing in pain. His powerful poison had immobilized the vampire and left his entire body shaking while he felt constant pain. He kept begging Alejandro to kill him but he left him there to die slowly. A vampire held up his sword prepared to cut Alejandro down with a sneak attack from behind. He quickly turned and grabbed their skull and crushed it with his bare hand in less than a second. The vampire’s metal helmet was bent out of shape left with the indent of Alejandro’s fingers. Raven’s mouth dropped, he’s that strong.

“Let see what you got, you bastards,” Alejandro unhinged his claws and charged at a large army of vampires jumping into the middle of the large group. He was tearing through the army using his claws and sharp canines. Not one vampire could touch him, he was moving way too fast for them to keep up.

“Save some for the rest of us, brother,” Lycan punched a vampire, took his sword and used it to slit his throat. Like Alejandro, he was also shirtless and his skin was completely unharmed. He had a bracelet on his right wrist. It was made of black beads with the word NightShade placed on the center with beads. He was wearing loose fit black leather pants.

Lycan was standing near a pile of vampire corpses who had been cut down by their own weapons. One of them had a spike mace jammed into their throat. A vampire rushed at him with a sword and shield. He yanked the vampire’s shield off and struck him with it. While he was trying to get back up, Lycan lifted his large black leather boot and crushed his skull. He picked up the vampire’s sword and threw it at another Vampire stabbing through the stomach.

“Pitiful,” Lycan backhanded the vampire and spit on him while he was ground bleeding to death. “Well, what do we have here, oh, look, my first spear?” He grinned as a vampire came down from the air with a sharp spear, he had enough force backing his attack to where he could jam the point through Lycan’s skull,

“Prince Lycan, look out.” The woman jumped into the air and kicked the guy in mid air. She landed in front of the guy slashing his spear in half with her claws.

“Hey, I wanted that,” Lycan complained. “I was going to use that to kill vampires. Now I have to get a new one. Do you know how hard it is to find a vampire who uses a spear?” She threw the spear to him. “It’s broken,” He threw it like a javelin at a vampire. The sharp point stabbed the vampire in the shoulder, impaling him. “I don’t want a broken one.”

“I’m busy,” The woman charged forward at the vampire. She was wearing a lightweight metal plate of armor over her chest. She had her red hair tied up in a mid length ponytail. She wore distressed blue jeans and green converse shoes. She had a water canteen attached to her belt and a bag full of various tools for her to use in combat. She kept slashing the vampire over and over again till his armor was reduced to nothing. She spun and kicked him so hard Raven could hear his neck break. She took out a wooden steak and jammed it into his heart. A vampire tried to slit her throat with daggers, she caught his arms, jamming her claws into his wrists, kicked him in the stomach, stuck him in the nose with a headbutt and slit his throat with her claws. She picked up the daggers and gave them to Lycan. “Will these work?”

“Daggers, I have claws.” Lycan showed her his claws. “That would be a waste. I want a spear.” She shook her head at him. A vampire tried to attack her, she jammed her claws into his throat and ripped it out. “So violent,”

“She is our Princess.” Alejandro threw a vampire’s corpse down in his pile. “Here,” He held out a spear that he stole from the vampire he just killed. “Spear,” Lycan’s lips formed a huge grin. He took the spear from him and jammed it into the ground next to his feet. The three of them watched as another vampire army came rushing in to fight them. “Oh good, another batch,” Alejandro stepped forward. “I was just about to get bored with the first batch. Remember the rules, guys, healer’s die first.”

“So,” Lycan’s lips formed an evil grin. “Which of you guys can heal?” He threw an injured vampire in front of the army to provoke the healers. “Come on,” He shook the vampire he had in custody. The man was begging Lycan not to kill him. “He’s begging for his life, judging from his wounds he’ll bleed to death if you don’t save him. Healers, come out, come out, wherever you are, come out and play with us.”

“I’ll play,” A man stepped forward holding a broadsword. He had slightly pale skin, pale blue eyes and blue hair. “Though, I don’t think we’ll be able to play long.”

“Lycan, careful, he’s ballsy for a healer,” The woman stabbed the vampire in the chest with a wooden steak. “I can sense there’s something different about this one. He’s one of those with a special ability.” She pointed out.

“So, the girl can sense that kind of thing.” The man spoke. He draped his sword on his shoulder. “Well, we can’t have that, can we?” He grabbed his sword with both hands. “So, the girl,” A white aura surrounded his blade. “Dies first.” He slammed his sword down a straight shot of clear energy headed toward them.

Raven couldn’t see his attack. Though, she could see it tearing the ground getting closer to them. The woman was quick to push both Lycan and Alejandro out of the attack’s range. The wave tore a straight line past them reaching the other end of the battlefield. The man began laughing as his pale blue eyes lingered on the Princess.

“Well, she can even detect the energy around my blade and predict where I’m going to attack. Impressive,” He smirked. “You know, this NightShade deployment thing is really starting to annoy me.” He gripped his blade tightly. “Now because of you three, I actually have to try,” He charged at the woman trying to get rid of her first.

“Lycan, Alejandro,” She called out. “You got me,”

“We got you,” Lycan and Alejandro smirked. “You tell us when he strikes, we’ll take care of the rest. Let’s do this, brother,” Alejandro grabbed Lycan’s arm and began spinning around. Lycan’s feet lifted off the ground as he was thrown at the vampire at full force. He had the sharp spear in his hand prepared to land on top of him.

“Lycan,” The Princess shouted. “He’s putting up some kind of barrier.” She warned. “Apply more force,” Lycan’s body became shrouded in black fur, his eyes turned pitch black, his face turned into that of a fearsome wolf. The transformation was instant and Raven noticed even in werewolf state, he was smart enough to use weapons. The spear broke through the vampire’s barrier shattering it like glass and as a result, the spear broke becoming useless. Once the spear was gone, Lycan charged at the vampire with his claws. The vampire barely dodged Lycan’s attack, his claws were only inches away from his face. The vampire released a green aura from his blade and it left Lycan paralyzed.

“You’re mine,” The vampire went to cut through Lycan’s stomach. The werewolf hitched a doggy laugh. Just as the vampire was about to hit him. The beast raised up his claws and slashed the vampire’s shoulder, blood shot from the wound. The vampire fell on his back, clinching his shoulder and blood gushed out of it. His blade rested on the ground as he tried to crawl away grasping his shoulder. “This can’t be, you were paralyzed.”

Lycan reverted back to his human form. His body wasn’t showing any ounce of pain from transitioning back and forth like most werewolves. Raven could scarcely believe how good he was at going back and forth between the two forms.

“I was for maybe less than a second but see, I overpowered it and pretended to be affected by your paralysis because I knew.” Lycan smirked. “You’d be dumb enough to attack me thinking you had me. Not all werewolves are stupid.” He flicked the vampire’s blood off his claws. “Some of us are a lot smarter than we appear.” He walked toward the vampire. “How does it feel knowing that even as a savage beast I’m smarter than the likes of you.”

“Damn it,” The vampire kept crawling away, he had his other hand over his shoulder. It was cloaked in a light blue aura treating the deep gash on his shoulder. The wound was so deep, he couldn’t lift his arm, he was leaving a trail of blood on the ground. Each time, he tried to crawl away. “No, this can’t be right, nobody is that good.”

“Now,” Lycan picked the vampire’s sword up off the ground. “I think this is the part where you cower in fear,” He slowly walked toward the wounded vampire. “Or is it the part where you realize just how insignificant your abilities really are?” He began laughing as the vampire kept trying to crawl away from him. “Honestly, I can never tell the difference.” He lifted the vampire’s sword above his head. “No matter, I’ll make this quick.”

“Stay back,” The vampire created a barrier to block the blade. He kept wincing in pain as blood dripped from his shoulder. Lycan began forcing the blade forward trying to cut his way through the barrier. “I need back up,” He yelled. He expanded the barrier forcing Lycan back but only by a little bit.

A small flask of blood appeared, before it could explode. The woman quickly climbed up Alejandro’s bare back and leaped off his shoulders. She caught the flask and threw it back. The explosion went off, a burst of smoke appeared and when it cleared.

There was a woman with sunflower blonde standing just outside the explosion’s blast radius. She had her hair tied up in a bun, she wore a plum colored T shirt and distressed blue jeans. She had on a pair of plum colored converse shoes. Her arms were crossed as she glared at the three of them.

“Nice save, Princess,” Alejandro smirked. He and Lycan both held out their fists. She pounded both of their fists. The woman’s eyes lingered on the female vampire who had joined in on their fight. The two of them were glaring at each other. Both of them were eager to fight each other.

“She’s good,” The woman stepped forward. “At first I thought you had gone weak Fate,” The wounded vampire rose to his feet. He was still clinging to his bleeding shoulder. “But it turns out these three are quite a problem.” She smirked. “So this is the pack known as NightShade,” Her pale eyes wandered each and every one of them sizing them up. “Lord Alexander had warned us about you. He said we should be careful when dealing with you. But it’s not like me to pass up a challenge.” She held up her fists. “Let’s see what you got,”

“Princess,” Lycan glanced over at the girl. “She’s all yours,”

“But, Lycan,” Alejandro argued. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? She’s a lot stronger than the other one. We should be worried about the strongest one and deal with the other one later.” He offered. “To let her fight to the strongest one by herself is reckless.”

“I’m the Alpha here, I make the orders.” Lycan pointed at himself. “Besides, once we kill the weaker one, we can join in and help her. He’s already on his last legs,” He glared at the vampire as he was still trying to heal his shoulder. “So between the two of us, it won’t take long, she’ll be fine. I could kill him myself but, then, there’s the chance he’ll send the army to save his weak pathetic life. So, I’ll need you to deal with that.”

“He’s right, I’ll be fine, I can do this,” She flashed her claws. “Besides, It won’t take you guys long and I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands dirty.” The female vampire began walking toward her. She was watching the vampire’s every move closely.

“I got to say, I like your strategy,” The woman walked toward the Princess. “It gives me the chance to kill the weakest link and the biggest nuciscense. So, I’ll play your game,” She ran at the Princess moving so fast, Raven had a hard time seeing her move. Every time she tried to attack her, the princess was fast enough to block and evade her attacks. While she was dodging, she caught the vampire’s arm and dug her claws into arm. She tore at the vampire’s arm. She was trying to aim for her wrists but missed. The vampire jerked her arm free of her claws creating a huge gash all the way down her arm. “You shouldn’t have done that.” She went to detonate the blood on the woman’s claws.

“Yes, I should,” She flicked the blood in the vampire’s face. The explosion struck them both. The blast radius was huge enough to knock them both back. The armor plating the werewolf girl was wearing shielded her from the blast, causing it to do minimum damage. Though, the armor was useless to her now. She ripped it off her chest underneath the armor. She was wearing a black shirt with NightShade written in purple letters. She was coughing and taking a lot of deep breaths as the explosion knocked the wind out of her. Other than that, she was fine.

“Bitch, you bitch,” The vampire yelled. She held her arm as blood continued to run down it. The woman’s face was burned up from the explosion. Her shirt torn to where her black bra could be seen. She fell to one knee trying to recover from being hit by own explosion. “Do you know who the fuck I am, I’m Selene bitch, nobody fucks with Selene.” She forced herself to stand on her feet.

“Do you know who I am,” The woman untied her mid length ponytail. She began moving her head side to side. Her gorgeous red hair flipped to the sides and dropped to her shoulder blades. “I’m the motherfucking Princess, come and get me.” She called out. Selene’s eyes burned with rage. The werewolf girl gasped. Selene hurled explosion after explosion at her wasting her vials of blood. The princess kept running from the explosions, jumping out of the blast radius, and avoiding all of Selene’s anger-fueled attacks. While she was running, she picked up a handful of dirt.

The Princess ran into the smog of one of Selene’s explosions using it as cover. While she was cloaked from Selene’s view. She chunked a handful of dirt into Selene’s eyes. Selene kept trying to get the dirt out. While she was doing that, the girl threw her leg back and jammed her knee roughly into Selene’s stomach three times. Selene clenched her gut, the werewolf girl grabbed Selene by her hair taking hold of a chunk of her hair. She threw her as hard as she could, Selene’s blonde hair ripped as her body was flung roughly into the ground.

“Ou, shit,” The woman kept flinging her hands. Strands of blonde hair were caught in the wind being blown away. She stopped for a minute blowing on her hands. Her hands were all burned up from Selene’s explosion. Her claws were destroyed and it was a miracle she still had fingers left. Though, it had to be because werewolves heal at a fast pace and they could withstand far more damage than any human.

Raven couldn’t help but be impressed by the fact. This girl was taking on someone like Selene without using any abilities. She was relying on pure physical prowess and was winning. She’s taking mental note of this fight. If she has to fight Selene, this is the type of shit she’s going to do. This werewolf girl is a genius, a psycho genius.

“Now you’ve done it,” Selene rose to her feet. She kept holding her hair after it was pulled so aggressively. “I’m going to kill you and I’ll enjoy every minute of it.” This ability, it was the exact same ability Patience used when Raven fought her. Selene’s body began to heal at fast speeds while she was healing. She charged at the girl.

“She’s a healer too,” The woman’s eyes widened. She kept dodging Selene’s attacks. She slashed Selene’s body with her now fully healed claws. She created a huge gash but the gash healed almost instantly. “Okay, that could be a problem, but at least,” She took out a knife, it was laced with Alejandro’s werewolf venom. “I have this,”

“Selene, enough,” A vampire called out. The woman was moments away from jamming the knife into Selene’s neck and killing her slowly. Before she could, Selene pulled back and joined the vampire’s side. “I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Well, it was fun but now, Scythe’s here.” Selene ran her fingers through her hair. The moment Scythe’s name came out of her mouth. Alejandro and Lycan both quickly stopped in the middle of their fight against Fate and the hordes of vampires to join the girl’s side. They both got in front of her in an attempt to protect their Princess from Scythe.

“Ah, yes,” Scythe took out two swords. His pale jade eyes lingered on Alejandro. “You’re the boy with giant wolf form aren’t you?” He took one step forward. When he did, Alejandro unhinged his claws daring him to make his move. “Like I could ever forget those eyes,” He stared deep into Alejandro’s eyes. “I’m given to understand that you’re restricted from using that wolf form of yours. Well, I figure, it’s better I kill you now than to risk dealing with that form of yours later. Wouldn’t you agree, Alejandro?”

“Lycan, deal with the other one,” Alejandro looked over at Fate. He was now fully healed and back on his feet ready to fight again. “I’ll take care of this one, he wants to fight me, he’s got it.” He bared his sharp canines at him. His nose crinkled as he growled at him like an angry dog. “So, you’re the legendary Scythe,” He took a step forward. “You’re the vampire who’s been causing Lord Grimm the most trouble. It’ll be my honor to kill you and secure Lord Grimm’s victory in the war. NightShade will go down in history for your death.”

“Alejandro, I’m not so sure about this,” The woman argued. “His ability I can sense that it’s really powerful. Also, there’s something with his sword. It doesn’t feel right, we need to retreat, we’re not equipped to handle this fight.” She placed her hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off. “Al, please,”

“I need to do this,” Alejandro glared into Scythe’s eyes. “This is my fight, I’m the only one who can take him.” The two of them were staring each other down. Both of them were eager to kill each other. The tension between them broke when Lycan laughed.

“Only you can take him, speak for yourself brother.” Lycan stepped forward. “I’m the one with a high tolerance for silver. I happen to know Scythe uses a lot of it too. If anyone is built to fight him it’s me.” He glared at Scythe. “But still, if you want to fight him, I won’t object.” He took a step back. “But don’t think I can’t handle him. I’m merely passing the torch. I’d rather save my strength for Lord Alexander anyway.”

“Such big words for a wolf with no balls.” Scythe challenged. Lycan snarled and tried to rush in to fight him. Before he could, Alejandro placed his hand over his chest. Lycan backed down realizing Scythe was baiting him in so he could kill him.

“Let me handle him,” Alejandro ordered. “Princess, Lycan, just focus on the other two and give me some space. I might need to go wolf on him.” The two of them went to argue but he stopped them. “Do you guys remember when Lord Grimm sent me out by myself to kill as many vampires as I could. The full moon was out, he wanted me to use my werewolf form. He thought I could win the war by myself. I don’t remember much about that night but from what I do remember there was one vampire. Who could still hold their own against me and it’s why I was made to withdraw. That vampire,” He glared at Scythe. “Is him. He’s the one.”

“So you do remember,” Scythe grinned. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had to push myself that hard. At most all I was able to do was hold you off until the full moon subsided. I wouldn’t necessarily call that a loss but it’s not a win either since you’re still alive. I’ve been waiting for this, for a chance to finish where I left off.” He flashed a wicked smirk. “This time, I will kill you.” He disappeared and reappeared by Alejandro.

Alejandro quickly dodged his attack. He grabbed both of Scythe’s wrists. He sunk his claws into Scythe’s skin, drawing out large amounts of blood. Scythe screamed out, dropping both of his swords. Alejandro threw his head back and rammed it into Scythe’s nose, breaking it. Scythe backed away as blood poured out of his nose. Alejandro grabbed Scythe’s throat attempting to rip it out. Before he could, Scythe shot a hidden blade out of his sleeve. The blade struck Alejandro’s shoulder, drawing some of his blood. One he got it, Scythe jumped back cloaking the edge of his blade with Alejandro’s blood.

“The fight’s over, wolf boy,” Scythe lifted up his sword. A large dragon made up of Alejandro’s blood formed behind him. The dragon opened his jaws as pools of blood dripped from its mouth. Scythe swung his sword. The dragon homed in on Alejandro jumping into his body through his mouth. Scythe held out his hand controlling every vein and muscle in Alejandro’s body with only two fingers. “Now to deal with these wounds,” Scythe took stitches from his pouch and began stitching the wounds on his wrist shut before he bled to death.

“Let me go, you motherfucker,” Alejandro kept trying to overpower Scythe’s control over his body. Despite his best efforts his arms and legs were unable to move. Once Scythe was done stitching his wounds shut, he unsheathed his sword. “Shit, I still can’t move,” He growled, still trying to break free of Scythe’s control.

“Well, that was disappointing,” Scythe charged at him using his full speed.

“You may have stopped my body from moving but you can’t stop this.” Alejandro unleashed a powerful howl. The ground began to tear apart, rocks raising into the air, the entire ground shaking. A powerful shock wave formed around Alejandro’s body so massive it blasted Scythe back. Scythe’s ears began to bleed even as he covered them. During this, Scythe’s control over him must have weakened. He broke out and charged at him like an enraged bull. He struck Scythe with all his strength directly in the jaw.

Scythe’s body tore through the ground and bounced off the pavement, He kept trying to get up, coughing up blood. He spit out his vampire teeth after almost choking on them. While he was trying to get back on his feet. He started laughing.

“You never cease to amaze me wolf,” Scythe licked the blood from his lips. “I don’t know whether or not to be aroused or furious. It’s been so long since I’ve had someone who was this much fun to play with.” He took two swords, both were cloaked in his blood. The sword on his right hand was cloaked in flames. The sword on his left was letting off powerful wind currents. “Please play with me some more,” He mixed fire and wind together creating a gigantic flame dragon. The dragon charged at Alejandro, burning everything in its path.

Alejandro jumped out of the way as the dragon kept trying to devour him. He performed a corkscrew in mid air dodging as it tried to devour him in midair. He landed on all fours and used his powerful leg strength to fire himself off at Scythe at great speed. He started slashing Scythe with his claws tearing at his skin. The dragon tried to hit him once again, he dodged at the last second causing it to strike Scythe instead.

Scythe dispelled the dragon before it hit him and slashed Alejandro’s chest with his sword. Alejandro endured the cut even as the silver edge burned at his skin. Scythe quickly jumped on top of him and held his two swords to his throat. Alejandro gripped both blades, leaving gashes in his hands while keeping the sharp blades from coming down on his throat.

“I feel like we should kiss,” Scythe brought his lips close to Alejandro’s as he fought with him. He growled at Scythe and kicked him off of him. Scythe performed a flip landing on his feet. “No kiss, oh well, how about some lightning instead?” He smirked. Alejandro’s blood on his sword disappeared and was replaced with red lightning. He swung his sword, a powerful lightning bolt struck Alejandro dropping him to one knee. “Sorry, did that hurt, my bad, I was just having so much fun.”

“Eat a dick,” Alejandro forced himself to stand up.

“Only if it’s yours,” Scythe swung his blade again. A red lightning bolt shot out. Alejandro tried to dodge but it tracked him and struck him anyway. “See this lightning is bound to your blood so no matter how fast you move or how much you try to run. It will always hit the mark,” He kept swinging his sword. Each time, Alejandro was struck by lightning. He kept trying to ignore the pain and force his body to resist the attacks. “So stubborn, some wolves just don’t know how to die do they?”

“I’m not going to die, you are.” Alejandro began walking forward. The red lightning kept hitting him but he ignored it and kept walking toward Scythe. His whole body was radiating with electricity. This lightning, he may not be able to dodge it but it’s not very strong. It was only meant to do minor damage and slow the enemy down. So, no matter how many times Scythe hit him with it, he’s too tough for it to kill him. “Is this all there is to the great Scythe’s power?” He kept walking forward being struck again. “A few fancy tricks involving my blood, a couple of sharp swords, a hidden blade, that’s all you got? Please, I don’t need fancy tricks. I’m just going to walk over there and bite you.” He bared his venomous canines at Scythe.

“You have some nerve insulting me like that.” Scythe kept hitting him with the red lightning. Alejandro continued to ignore the damage and walk slowly toward him. “Very well. I suppose you leave me no choice.” He pulled out his Katana. “I’m going to have to put you to sleep permanently.” The red lighting returned to Scythe’s sword and blade was once again covered in Alejandro’s blood. He manipulated Alejandro’s blood and moved it over to his Katana now cloaking it in his blood. “Now, prepare to die, Alejandro.”

Scythe held his Katana high up into the air. The blade began to crack then shatter into pieces. The metal pieces gathered swirled around the air and transformed into a large serpent like dragon. Its fangs were filled with sharp silver. Its eyes were bathed in Alejandro’s blood turning dark red. Its entire body was made of durable steel. Its body acted as a powerful magnet pulling all forms of metal into its body growing bigger and bigger in size. It kept growing until it was big enough to devour him whole.

“This is bad,” Lycan stared into the dragon’s eyes. The size of it was massive and left him immobilized by fear. “What the fuck are we supposed to do about that thing?” He kept looking at it’s sharp silver teeth, it had so many teeth.

“I’m not sure but we have to do something,” The woman forced a heavy swallow. “Oh, no, everyone, cover your ears.” She placed her hands over her ears.

The large dragon let out a loud screeching noise. The ground began to shake, becoming a massive earthquake. Alejandro, Lycan and the girl all began covering their ears. The metal screeching only grew louder and louder. So loud, even, Raven had to cover ears. This attack the way it targeted the werewolf’s keen sense of hearing. It made it impossible for them to counter let alone survive it. The beast opened its razor sharp jaws and came rushing toward Alejandro. Not only was it powerful, it was fast.

The large metal dragon was moving so fast. It was tearing through the ground leaving massive shockwaves. The speed of the dragon was increasing by the second coming at Alejandro with great force. There was so much silver in its jaws, it was sure to kill any werewolf it came in contact with.

“No,” Alejandro began shaking in fear. He was trying to move but the dragon’s eyes lit up and took control over his body. He couldn’t move, his arms were stiff, his legs were motionless. No matter how much he tried to move them it was no good. Scythe got him, Scythe was going to kill him. It was now only inches away from his face.

“I have to stop this,” The woman bit down on her thumb. She took out the packs’ water canteen and poured it on her thumb. Soon after, Her red hair changed to light blue. She forced herself to move and put herself right in the way of the attack. She let out a loud scream surrounding the entire dragon in a huge sphere of water.

The water cleansed Alejandro’s blood from the dragon’s eyes, weakening it. This also allowed Alejandro to move again. Though, he was still immobilized by the loud screeching coming from the dragon as it was held in place. The princess cringed trying her best to power through as the dragon let out loud screams trying free itself from her grasp. The longer she held it, the more the water pressure increased, damn near crushing the dragon to death. As a result, the steel dragon got weaker and was losing momentum trying to break out.

“This girl,” Scythe’s eyes widened. He began taking a step back. This attack had to be Scythe’s strongest attack. Raven couldn’t imagine anything stronger. But as strong as it was, it was being overpowered by this one girl. “No,” He stared at her with wide eyes. His dragon was screaming. It was like it was begging for mercy. “This can’t be,” Scythe continued back away from the girl. “Werewolves don’t have abilities like this. How is this possible?” He bit his lip, drawing blood to calm his nerves. “No, I will not have my ultimate attack be made a mockery of by some girl.” Scythe took out three kunai, throwing them at her.

The princess didn’t even bother to dodge. The sharp kunai hit the right side of her upper chest. She ignored the pain and continued to hold the dragon in place. She glared at the dragon increasing the water pressure as a way to punish Scythe for attacking her. The dragon kept screaming out, now squirming like a worm. Scythe kept throwing kunai at her but she refused to let go. They were hitting her chest, the silver edges burning her skin but even so she refused to let go. If Scythe tried to go for a vital spot, she’d move ever so slightly to make him miss but still hit her.

“Selene,” Fate stared at the girl. His eyes wide. “We need to rethink our strategy,” He began backing away from her. “This changes everything, she’s blocking Scythe’s strongest attack. I’ve never seen anyone do that.” His hands started shaking. “I didn’t know werewolves could do stuff like this. We got to report this to Lord Alexander.”

“Agreed, we’ll retreat for now.” Selene and Fate started to make haste toward the castle. A shield was thrown landing right in front of their feet. The two of them turned around to face the person that threw it.

“Going somewhere,” Lycan growled. “We’re not finished with you yet.” He transformed into his werewolf form. He ran on all fours coming right for them. He was moving fast enough to tear through the ground using speed alone. Selene and Fate smirked.

“You’re the one that said my abilities are insignificant and called me stupid.” Fate glanced over at Selene. “Let’s show him just how significant my abilities are. Selene, if you will please.” She pulled out a vial of her blood. She kissed it and threw it in front of Lycan’s feet. He tried to run toward them, Fate put a barrier up trapping him inside with the glass vial. “I hope you like explosions,” He gave Selene a high five and the two of them left.

The vial exploded, Lycan whimpered like a dog in pain. The explosion left a huge crater in the ground being contained by Fate’s barrier. The werewolf prince laid there covered in burns being forced out of werewolf form from all the damage it suffered. He kept trying to get back up but was unable to move.

The steel dragon let out one final screech. Once it did, the metal beast unleashed a massive explosion. The dragon’s body turned into several needles that were now slowly dropping to the floor in front of the girl. The pile landed right next to Alejandro barely missing him. There wasn’t a single scratch on him. His life was saved by her.

“Alejandro,” The princess dropped to her knees, her hands resting on the floor. She kept taking deep breaths. “Are you-,” The woman’s eyes were closing slowly as she was fighting to stay awake. “Are you alright?” She was exhausted. It wasn’t hard to tell, the girl was spent, she overdid it trying to save him. As kind of a gesture it was to save his life. The fact remained, she broke the rules to do it. Werewolves were not allowed to use their abilities during the war. She broke that rule to save him.

“Why’d you do that?” Alejandro noticed she was about to collapse and caught her. She laid her against his chest for support. “That was reckless,” He began yanking the kunais out of her chest. “and stupid and-,” He glared at Scythe who drew his sword. His intentions were clear, Scythe was going to finish the girl off.

“Do you realize how much training and discipline it took coming up with an attack of that caliber?” Scythe yelled. His anger was building by the second. It was as if he had completely lost sight of himself. He was not calm and not collected. “I spent years mastering that attack, it was flawless, perfect, unstoppable, and you-,” He pointed his sharp sword at the girl. “You stopped it and made a fool of my hard work. My training. All of that so a girl could stop my attack. No,” Scythe gripped his blade tightly. “She dies and if any of you think you can stop me. I dare you to try,”

“Alejandro, we’ve got a problem,” Lycan ran over to him. He glanced over at Scythe. “Who pissed him off?” Alejandro pointed at the girl. “Oh yeah, about that, what the fuck were you thinking Princess?” He shouted. “Because of you, they know what we can do. We’re not allowed to use special abilities. My father made that perfectly clear. The other two got away and they’re going to tell Lord Alexander, we’re-,” Scythe fired a lighting bolt at Lycan, the lightning grabbed him and picked him up.

“You’re in the way,” Scythe threw Lycan on the ground. His eyes were fixated on the princess. “I will kill you, you will die, and nothing will save you.” Alejandro went to get up and fight him.

The gray clouds started to gather as rain began to pour down on them. The rain was so heavy, Alejandro’s dark red hair was drenched in seconds. Sounds of loud thunder could be heard as the rain got heavier. Drops of water fell on the girl’s skin being absorbed into her body. With each drop, the woman regained her strength. The rain was even making her stronger and allowing her to heal herself.

“Alejandro,” She grabbed his arm before he fought Scythe. “You’ve done enough, I want to fight him.” She stepped forward. The rain continued to pour down on her light blue hair. Thunder cracked in the sky. Alejandro’s eyes lingered on her back as she stood there prepared to fight Scythe. She took a deep breath and all the rain stopped all of it now under her complete control. Her dark amber eyes were filled with confidence as she stared into Scythe's eyes.

“Princess, no, we’re talking about Scythe here,” Alejandro argued. “You’ll get hurt or worse he’ll kill you. Just step back, let me fight him. I’d rather it be me than you, come on please,” She shook her head slowly. “But, Princess,”

“You know what will happen to me,” She reminded him. “I broke the rules, I’m dead anyway, so I figure.” She forced a swallow. “If I’m going to die, I might as well go down putting up one hell of a fight. Besides,” She looked back at Alejandro. Her lips formed a sweet smile that left him speechless. “If I was in my werewolf form right now, my tail would be wagging.” He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Alright,” Alejandro took a step back. “He’s all yours.”

“Kick his ass, Princess,” Lycan forced himself to get back on his feet. “Show that bastard what happens when you fuck with NightShade.” She smirked. She created several water whips around her body and charged at Scythe.

“So, the girl wants to fight me herself.” Scythe began laughing. “This is great news, it’ll make it so much easier for me to kill you.” He created a lightning dragon and fired it at her. “Guess what, lightning beats water,” She gulped, creating a massive tidal wave hoping to overwhelm the dragon. Once the dragon was washed away. She spun and swatted the hilt of Scythe’s blade with a water whip. She kept aiming for his hands to force him to drop his sword. “Now, Now, stop going for the sword, that’s a bad wolf.” Scythe blasted her with a lightning bolt. She let out a loud scream while she was in pain. She slowly held out her bleeding thumb absorbing his lighting.

“I’m not finished yet,” The woman’s hair turned from bright blue to light purple. She absorbed all of Scythe’s lightning into her body. Once it was absorbed, she struck Scythe with a supercharged punch. In doing so, she managed to punch right through his chest leaving a hole the size of her fist. “It’s over,” She opened her palm lightning shot out of her hand and blasted Scythe back. Scythe flew back, his back colliding into ground tearing through it leaving a trail to his body.

Scythe’s whole body was covered in light purple streaks of lightning. He laid there receiving light shocks every time he tried to move. His sword rested on the floor being knocked out of his hands by the force of her attack. He crawled to his feet, blood dripped out of his chest onto the floor beneath him. He placed his hand over the wound trying to stop the bleeding. Between the damage dealt to him by Alejandro and now this. There was no way Scythe’s body could take anymore. He was already going to bleed to death.

“I can’t,” Scythe fell forward but he used what strength he had left to stay on his feet. “No, first my dragon, now my body, is this how the great Scythe is to be defeated by some girl. This isn’t how it was supposed to end. Lord Alexander, please, forgive me,” He fell to the ground. Seconds before he fell, a girl caught his body. She was wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans with flower designs. Her blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail. -Wait, this girl..-

Raven knew her, she’s the vampire she killed in the forest. She looked a little younger but there was no mistake. That girl is Patience. Scythe was leaning on her shoulder for support, she was struggling just to hold him up on her own. Realizing this, Alejandro rushed in to finish Scythe off. Before he could, a diamond spike shot out of the ground.

“Oh, no, it’s him,” Alejandro immediately pulled back. The spikes kept appearing one after the other forcing him to back away from Patience. The spikes shattered becoming shards that were fired off like bullets. Alejandro kept dodging them but was still being cut by a couple shards. The shards stopped and hovered in the air beside the one controlling them.

“Patience, go ahead get Scythe somewhere safe.” Lord Alexander, the King of the vampires himself had made an appearance. “I wouldn’t want my dear friend to die on me, that’d be tragic.” His eyes trailed the three werewolves that had badly hurt Scythe.

“It’s okay, Scythe, you’re safe now.” Patience took off with Scythe resting on her shoulder. Soon after, a bunch of guards with armored suits of diamond followed after her. Each of them acting as a personal shield to protect her from any attacks.

“Now,” Lord Alexander placed his hands inside the pockets of his leather trench coat. The rain kept pouring drenching his coat. “Which of you,” He held his finger out at the three of them. “Is the one with the special ability? I was told there was a werewolf with a special power and I wanted to see it for myself. Well, let’s see, by process of elimination, I know,” He rubbed his chin. “This one is the giant wolf,” He pointed at Alejandro. “This one is my brother’s adopted son, nothing to worry about honestly.”

“That’s it,” Lycan snarled. “Let’s checkmate this motherfucker,” He transformed into his werewolf form and ran at Lord Alexander. The king slowly waved his finger back and forth. He pointed up, Lycan’s eyes followed his finger. The sky was filled with diamond swords, their sharp points directed down on them. So many of them it would be impossible for him to dodge. This attack alone could kill the entire pack.

“As you can see,” Lord Alexander put his hands behind his back. “If I wanted to kill you. I would have done so already.” He snapped his fingers in front of them. The diamond swords dissolved into dust. Soon after, the dust began to dissolve into nothingness. “So, I guess, that goes without saying, I didn’t come here to kill you. So, which of you has the special ability? Do I need to attack you all and find out or-,”

“It’s me,” The woman stepped forward. “I’m the one who stopped Scythe’s attack. So, if I’m the one you want to kill. Then kill me and leave them alone.” Alejandro went to argue with her but she glared at him. He silenced himself as she offered herself as sacrifice. “That’s what you came for right? To kill me.”

“No, not really,” Lord Alexander answered. “Though, I admire your courage for offering yourself up to protect your friends. That takes guts, you boys would be smart to hold onto this one, she holds promise.” He walked forward. “Show me child, show me your ability, let’s see what you can do. I’m fascinated by this discovery. So please, give me a demonstration.”

“A demonstration?” The woman raised her brow. “But see, I’m not really supposed to use my ability. Um, I could get in trouble.” Lord Alexander busted out laughing like she just told a joke. “No, I’m serious, I’m not supposed to use it.”

“My brother’s stupidity never ceases to amaze me.” Lord Alexander laughed harder. “You’re telling me, he’s forbidding his kind from using what gifts they have. Even in war, no wonder we’ve been killing so many werewolves. It’s like you’ve been fighting with one hand tied behind your back dear. Now please, show me your ability, I won’t ask again.” He encouraged, “If you don’t, I will kill your friends. So, their lives are in your hands.”

“Well if you put it that way,” The woman laughed. “I guess I could do a demonstration.” She took a deep breath. She rubbed her hands together and began stretching. Her light purple hair started to glow as lightning radiated off her body. She held up her finger and shot all of the electricity she had gathered into the air. She fired off a long bolt of lightning into air that reached above the clouds and kept going like a giant beam of light. Once the beam was gone, her hair turned from light purple back to red it’s original color.

“There, a demonstration,” She walked over to Lord Alexander. “So we’re good.” She put her hands on her hips.

“Yes, we are, as you say, good.” Lord Alexander replied.“So, this is the notorious NightShade,” His eyes wandered from Alejandro, to Lycan then over to the girl. “My brother’s really outdone himself this time. I’ve never had this much trouble dealing with his wolves until now.”

“I don’t believe that you were only here for a demonstration.” The woman glared into his eyes. “What are you-,” Lord Alexander began clapping his hands together. Not long after, Selene, Fate, every guard and servant he had in his castle were all outside clapping with him. It was like they had earned an achievement of some kind.

“Power recognizes power,” Lord Alexander explained. “I am hereby acknowledging you three as a threat. Congratulations, NightShade, you’ve earned my respect. Selene, call for the withdrawal, we’ll let the werewolves have their victory. These three have earned it.” He continued to clap for them.

“Oh my god,” The woman fell on her butt. She was at a loss of words. “We won, we did it, we, we, we, they’re clapping for us. The King is clapping for us,” She placed her hand on her chest taking a deep breath. “Do you guys hear that? They’re clapping for us.”

“Hell yeah, come here,” Lycan grabbed Alejandro by the arm and pulled him in for a hug. “Do you hear this, Do you hear this,” He shouted. “This is the sound of our dreams coming true, we did it, we paved the way for not one but all werewolves. All that training, all that hard work, it paid off guys. This is how it’s done, great work guys, great work. Bring it in Princess,” He pulled her to her feet and hugged her.

The three of them watched as Lord Alexander’s army retreated from the battlefield. What werewolves they had left were cheering, letting out howls, it was a huge celebration. The werewolves had secured their first victory and it was all thanks to NightShade. Too bad, the celebration was cut short. Silence filled the battlefield as Lord Grimm marched through his army and over to the three of them. Surely, he was going to be proud of their accomplishment. Raven couldn’t imagine any other kind of response. It was fitting to be proud of them and even his son.

“Father,” Prince Lycan rushed over to him. A huge smile on his face as he celebrated with Alejandro and the Princess. “Did you see that, we beat them, they ran off with their tails between their legs.” His voice was filled with excitement. However, Lord Grimm didn’t seem too excited by their victory. “See, I told you, my idea would work. If we apply this method of training to our entire army. We could win, dad, we could win.” He repeated. Lord Grimm placed his hand on top of his son’s head.

“A retreat is not a victory, son.” Lord Grimm stated as fact. “You had the chance to kill the King and instead,” Lycan lowered his head. “You chose not to attack him. That is a sign of cowardice and I did not raise a coward for a son. Then there’s the matter of you.” He walked up to the woman. “The werewolf code strictly forbids the use of special abilities or powers. You broke that rule, so we will be discussing your punishment at the castle. You are to head there, immediately,”

“Yes, sir,” The woman bowed her head and left. Lord Grimm backhanded Lycan. The force of the hit busted his son’s lip. Lycan spat the blood out of his mouth and gave his father his full attention.

“As Alpha, you should have prevented this.” Lord Grimm pointed out. “I’m very disappointed son but it really shouldn’t come as a surprise. You became a disappointment the moment you lost to a servant boy at ten years old.” He glanced over at Alejandro. He was the servant boy that beat Lycan back then. Lord Grimm turned his attention back to his son. “Did you think I’d forget about your failure? Did you think earning my brother’s respect was going to fix everything? Get out of my sight,” Lycan lowered his head and left. “Worthless,” He shook his head.

“Now for you,” Lord Grimm walked up to Alejandro and grabbed his ear, pulling it. “You almost died today, you should have stopped that attack and trained harder. I didn’t spare your life so you could be this weak and pathetic.” He released Alejandro’s ear. “Remember you only live because I allow it, never forget that,”

“Yes, sir,” Alejandro lowered his head. “I won’t forget that. I’ll start training harder, it won’t happen again.” He walked off,

Raven couldn’t believe the way Lord Grimm treated Lycan. It’s no wonder he feels so inferior. Lycan is always trying to get his father’s approval. It made sense now. It’s because his father never got over the day Lycan lost to Alejandro. He’s held that against Lycan since he was ten. Over the years, it must have gotten worse.

Alejandro was just a better fighter than Lycan. Not that it was his fault, he was trying but it didn’t matter to his father. Every time Lycan lost. His father would diminish him. So that’s the real reason Alejandro didn’t choose to be an Alpha. He must have known how Lycan’s father would react and how badly he would have hurt Lycan. If Lord Grimm got word that his son was out ranked by a servant boy. He’d never let it go, he’d beat Lycan to a bloody pulp. This whole time, Alejandro’s been protecting Lycan from his father.

A warm light struck Raven, she closed her eyes and when she opened them. She was standing in Lord Grimm’s throne room. The crimson haired woman standing in front of the King of the Werewolves. Ready to accept her punishment.

“You used your abilities even though. It was stated in this handbook.” Lord Grimm set the werewolf handbook down in front of her. “That special abilities or powers of any kind aside from the werewolf form were strictly forbidden. You were careless and you broke that rule. Now because of your actions.” The woman bowed her head in silence. “My brother now knows werewolves have special abilities as well. Seeing as you are family to the house of the Crescent Moon. Which is a noble family that specializes in gathering intel for the army. I’m going to allow you, plead your case, so, why did you-”

“Father,” Lycan busted through the doors. “You can’t punish her, I won’t let you.” He stood beside the woman. “She did what she did to save Alejandro’s life but not only his life, my life too.” He pointed at himself. “It wouldn’t have stopped after hitting Alejandro, based on the information I’ve gathered.” He set a file down, the file had a crescent moon logo on it. Once the woman saw it, her eyes widened. “Scythe can control that dragon. Which means, if it had killed Alejandro. He could have made it swoop around and kill me as well. So father, do you really intend to imprison someone who saved your son’s life?”

Lord Grimm picked up the file reading through it. He kept flipping through the pages almost like he was trying to find evidence to go against his son’s theory. He read over it at least three times before he set the file down. “It looks like your family came through for you, very well, she won’t be imprisoned. Though, that was never my intention.” He cleared his throat. “I’m a very strict King and it’s hard for me to admit when I’m wrong. Even harder to admit that maybe I’m being a little too strict.” He walked up to her. “But I can’t deny, what you did against Scythe, saved my son’s life and because of your abilities we were able to get a retreat from my brother’s army. It’s not the feat I wanted from NightShade but nonetheless, it is an honorable feat. So Princess, that’s what my son calls you correct?”

“Yes, sir,” She answered.

“Consider yourself one of the lucky ones. You made this stubborn old man admit that his rules need to be changed.” He smiled at her. “From this day forward, the decision to grant use of special abilities during war time. Will be left to be the Alpha or the Beta of the pack. The Alpha of course must be granted permission from me. Though, the use of abilities outside of war and on other werewolves is still in effect. It falls on you to train yourself to use these remarkable abilities and only during war times.”

“So I can use my abilities now.” The woman’s face began to light up. She glanced over at Lycan. He replied with a nod. “Yes, thank you so much,” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “I’m so happy, I can finally protect you and Alejandro.”

“Just be careful of any-,” Lycan’s words were cut when Alejandro walked into the throne room. “Listening in through the door again were you?” Alejandro blushed slightly. “It’s okay, this time, but I told you, I could handle it. Like I’d let our Princess be thrown in jail. I’d only have to rescue her myself. Otherwise, the giant wolf might go on a rampage trying to save the Princess. We can’t have that, can we?”

“Alejandro, great news, I can use-,” The woman’s words were stopped. A young boy ran into the throne room. He had short ash blond hair and dark amber eyes. He had to be at least five or six years old. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and wore puppy print pajama bottoms. There was blood on his cheek, his clothes, his hands and he had been crying for some time. His eyes were irritated from the tears.

“You promised,” The young boy raised his fists up above his head and started hitting the girl’s stomach religiously. “You promised, You promised,” The woman stood there frozen in place. Even as the boy kept hitting her. “You said you’d protect the whole family. You promised, Princess, You promised.” He grabbed her pant’s leg and the tears came out. “You promised.”

“Jayson,” The woman spoke.

Raven’s eyes widened. That’s Jayson then, this must be when. Their parent’s were killed but how did they know her? Why did he come running to her? The guards burst in trying to grab Jayson but he wouldn’t let go of her. He kept clinging to her leg crying his eyes out. The woman crouched down wiping the blood off his cheek.

“Jayson, here, have some water?” The woman took out their water canteen. He took it and began to drink from it. “Now, I need you to be strong, okay?” The woman placed his hands on his shoulders. “Can you please tell Princess what happened?” She took the empty canteen and put it away. “Can you do that for me?” He nodded while he rubbed his eyes.

“Mommy, Daddy, they’re, they’re not waking up Princess.” Jayson kept crying. The woman took a deep breath to calm herself. “There was this mean man, he came into the house and-,” His hands were shaking. “He hurt them and they won’t wake up. My brother, he, he, ugh, he, I told him to go to his room because there was so much blood.” He waved his hands over the floor. “It was on the floor and I didn’t want him to see it so I tried to clean it up. It was in the kitchen, So I got a rag and tried to clean it. But then, the guards came and they scared me. So, I ran away because mommy said not to talk to strangers.”

“Okay, guards are a little different than strangers.” The woman ran her fingers through his hair. “They were only trying to help you sweetie,” She explained. “So is your brother still in the house?” He nodded.

“I told him not to leave our room no matter what.” Jayson answered. “I told him to stay because I didn’t want him to see anything. I told him if he left I was going to kick his butt. I was too, he knows I can kick his butt. Because I’m really strong,” He showed her his muscles. “See, these are my muscles.”

“You’re very, very, strong,” The woman rose to her feet. “Okay, Okay, ugh,” She rubbed her forehead. “I ugh, I have got to get Jay from the house. Blindfold, I need a blindfold,” She took off her shirt. “This’ll just have to work.”

“No, you’re not going to the house by yourself.” Lycan walked up to her. “What if the vampire is still there? It’s unlikely, but it’s still raining outside. His scent is being washed away by the rain. We can’t afford to take any risks. Guards, go check the house.” The guards went to leave but the woman stopped them.

“He might not go with you.” She informed them. “Besides, I want to check out the house and see if I can find any clues. I might be able to track him down. It’s a long shot but I have to try. I’m a tracker, so if anyone can track this,” She bit her tongue before she cursed in front of the young Jayson. “Mean man,” She corrected. “It’s me,” She draped her shirt on her shoulder. “Alejandro, I really hate to ask this of you.” Her eyes were lingering on Jayson as she talked to the Beta. “I know it’s not your responsibility but-,”

“Consider it done, just go,” Alejandro crouched down and got eye level with the young Jayson. “Come with me, little one, I’ll get you cleaned up.”

“Mommy said not to talk to strangers.” Jayson scooted his bare foot across the ground. Alejandro smacked his forehead and groaned.

“Okay um, I’m uncle Al,” Alejandro held out his hand for a handshake. “So I’m not a stranger anymore am I?”

“I guess not, but I still gotta ask the Princess.” Jayson glanced over at the woman. “Is he a stranger? ” He urged her to lend him her ear. She bent down and he whispered into her ear. The boy intended the conversation to be between the two of them but. The little boy was talking so loud, anyone in the room could still hear him. “He looks kinda scary and tall, I don’t think we should trust him.” Alejandro shook his head, Raven smirked. She found Jayson’s observation a bit spot on.

“He’s fine,” She shrugged. “He’s uncle Al,” She gestured over to him. Alejandro attempted a friendly smile but Jayson didn’t trust it. The little boy had some trust issues. “and it’s only until I get back.” She explained. “I’ll be back soon,” She kissed Jayson’s cheek. “Now, you be good for Uncle Al. Uncle Al,” She pointed at Alejandro. “Bathe him, clothe him, and send him to bed, that’s all you got to do. Got it?” He nodded and she left with the guards.

“Yeah, Uncle Al,” Lycan teased, “Take care of your baby.” He hitched a laugh.

“Let’s go, little one,” Alejandro picked Jayson up and let him sit on his shoulders. “This man here is Prince Lycan but we call him. Uncle poopy face.” He grinned. Lycan glared at him. “So you can call him uncle poopy face too.” He walked off with Jayson.

“Bye, Uncle poopy face.” Jayson waved. “Wow, you’re really tall, if I hold my arms out, like this,” He held out his arms like he was a plane. “It looks like I’m flying. Hey Uncle Al, do you know how to make pancakes?”

“Pancakes, um,” Alejandro raised his brow. “I know how.” He answered. “Why are you hungry little one?” He began walking to his room with Jayson sitting on top of his shoulders. He still had his arms out like was flying.

“No,” Jayson shook his head. “Not really, I just like pancakes.” He began messing with Alejandro’s hair. He groaned as the boy made it a mission to mess up his wet hair. “I feel like waffles are pancakes that got tired of being flat. What do you think Uncle Al?” He began kicking his legs back and forth. “Hey Uncle Al, what’s going to happen to us? My mommy and daddy are gone so who’s going to take care of us?”

“I really wish I knew the answer to that one, but, um,” Alejandro forced a swallow. “Right now,” He cleared his throat.“The Princess has a lot to sort out. But I’m sure, we’ll figure something out. It’s just a bit confusing right now. So until then, let’s just focus on pancakes.” He smiled. “I’ll tell you what, I’m going to whip some up for you, how’s that sound? You’re a growing boy, so you must eat a lot. I know I do.”

Alejandro came out of his room. Raven peaked in the door behind him. Jayson was resting in Alejandro’s bed. He was wearing a large white bathrobe that was twice his size. The little guy could use it as a blanket. Alejandro had a trash bag with Jayson’s bloody clothes in it and draped it over his shoulder. As he was walking to dispose of it, he was stopped by Lycan.

“Well this has turned out to be a shit show,” Lycan was standing outside the door. “How’d we end up getting babysitter duty? I didn’t sign up to take care of, kids.” He placed his hands in his pockets. “It’s those damn vampires, I bet they used our little celebration as a decoy so they could murder their parents. Well, it worked and we fell for it.”

“I don’t understand even if that’s the case.” Alejandro began. “Their family is an intel unit, non combatants, they are under the protection of our army. They basically show up, access the enemies abilities, make a record of it and leave. That’s it, in exchange they are well guarded by our army. So if they are guarded. How did a vampire get past them?” Lycan let out a long winded sigh, closing his eyes.

“My father,” Lycan explained. “He lowered our defenses during the battle. He did so, in order to send out more wolves. At the time, they weren’t being guarded.” He leaned against the wall. “A vampire could have easily snuck into their house and killed them. The little clap show Alexander put on was the perfect distraction to allow such a thing to take place. It was a trick, I should’ve known.” He punched the wall breaking a hole in it, his fist was caught in the crater. “Damn it all, I was reckless, I honestly believed that celebration to be genuine. It was a decoy, such a fool am I, to believe it.”

“What’s going to happen to them?” Alejandro glanced over at the crack in his bedroom door. Jayson was sleeping in Alejandro’s bed. His hair was wet from his bath. The little boy was curled up in a ball snuggled up to a pillow.

“Well, she has two options.” Lycan answered. “She’s old enough to where she could take the twins into custody and raise them herself. Though, she’s just barely old enough to raise them and she’s our Tracker. The amount of training hours she has to put in being a female tracker is double that of a male tracker. So, I don’t see her being able to pull it off and raise two kids at the same time. Plus, I’d have to allow regular visitation which would again cut into her training hours. Something, I’m not going to allow, she’s our tracker first.” He shrugged. “A damn good one at that and these kids are going to weaken her effectiveness to the pack. As Alpha, I can’t allow that, so, I’m going to push for option two.”

“What’s option two?” Alejandro crossed his arms. Raven noticed the young Jayson had climbed out of bed. He was standing at the doorway listening in on their conversation. He was wrapped up in Alejandro’s bathrobe. His dark amber eyes peeked outside the door. He remained unnoticed by Alejandro and Lycan.

“The second option is pretty much what we do to all of our orphaned kids.” Lycan began. “We send them to a werewolf training camp. We train them until they’re old enough to turn into their werewolf form and then send them out during the full moon. We let them go on a rampage on the frontlines. We have them kill as many vampires as they can until they die and that’s it. They die and we don’t have to worry about them.”

“All orphaned kids,” Alejandro repeated. “That would’ve included me,” He pointed out. “Was that what your father was going to do to me after my parents were killed? I was just going to be some pawn that he sent out to the frontlines to die. So if I wasn’t your friend, that’s what would have happened to me.” Lycan nodded. “That’s so fucked up, I lose my parents and so because of that. I have to die because nobody wants to take care of me.”

“We don’t have the resources to take care of every orphaned kid.” Lycan explained. “It’s the best option and at least it allowed us to get some use out of those kids. They were going to die anyway. They have nobody able to take care of them. Granted, there is a slim chance they get adopted before they get sent out like I was. But with twins,” He laughed. “There’s no way, chances are they’d adopt one but leave the other.”

“What if-,” Alejandro ran his hand down the back off his neck. “We cut her training hours. We can reduce them to the same as a male tracker. At least then, she’d have a chance at taking care of these boys. As Beta, I’m in charge of training so it’s within my power to do it.”

“Not without my approval it’s not,” Lycan reminded him. “We just set these rules up, The pack dispatch training regimen has already been made. It hasn’t even been in effect for more than a day and you’re already requesting changes be made. To something, I created and determined to be a flawless regimen. If I start making changes to fit one girl,” He stressed. “It’ll reflect poorly on me and show that my flawless regimen isn’t so flawless after all. My father will make a fool of me,” He pointed at himself. “I can’t have that. There will be no changes made to the regimen. If she decides to take care of these boys, she’ll do it while sticking to the regimen I made. End of discussion, if she can’t do that, then she’ll just have to step down as Tracker.”

“I’m back,” The woman called out. She walked into the castle. The young Jay was holding her hand. He had her shirt over his eyes and nose like a blindfold. “Alright, Jay,” She removed the blindfold from Jay’s and ran her fingers through his light ash blond hair. “You’re safe now,” He hugged her tightly.

“I was so scared, I heard a loud crash and footsteps. My parents were screaming, I wanted to go check but I was so scared Princess.” Jay buried his eyes on her shoulder. The little boy was crying his eyes out. His dark amber eyes were irritated from all the crying. “Jayson,” He gasped. “Where’s my brother, is he okay? Did the mean man get him?

“No, he’s fine, the mean man didn’t get him.” She answered. “Now let’s get you off to bed.” She picked him up and carried in her arms. “Alejandro,” He nodded. “Where’s Jayson?” He pointed over to his bedroom. “Thank you for helping me with him. I’m really sorry but is it okay if the twins use your room tonight? It’s just I don’t have a room in the castle and you do so, it’ll be easier if-,”

“They can have my room, I like to sleep outside anyways. It’s not a big deal.” Alejandro answered. “So, have at it, little guy.” He placed his hand on Jay’s hair and scuffled his hair. Jay laughed and the woman took him to bed.

Raven’s eyes began to shut slowly. When her eyes opened, she was back at the beach. She was now standing in front of the red tent. There was a faint light coming from it. It was dark outside, the beach was empty and cold from the night air. She felt Alejandro pass through her, his bare feet heading toward the tent. Alejandro brushed open the entrance and stepped inside. Raven followed him, once inside she took a look around.

The tent was small, it had a red sleeping bag on the floor and a few pillows. The red haired woman was sitting in her tent. In her hands she held a photograph, her dark amber eyes were on the verge of tears as she stared at the picture. Raven peeked over the woman’s shoulder to get a better look.

It was a photo of Jayson and Jay as kids. She was in the photo with them. Jay was hugging her, grabbing onto her waist while she was on her side. He looked so peaceful as held onto her in his sleep. The woman was taking a selfie holding up the peace sign with two fingers, her head was slightly tilted and she was winking at the camera. She was wearing a green camouflage two piece swimsuit. Jayson was in the background behind her using his fingers to make bunny ears over her head in order to sabotage the picture.

“Oh, I remember that picture,” Alejandro laughed. “It was taken the day you bribed Lycan into letting you borrow his vacation house to surprise the twins on their birthday. They wanted to know what it was like to go to a beach. So you brought them here for a few hours. Lycan and I had to stay at the castle and let you have the island to yourself. I remember, it was boring.” He sat behind her. “So, what gives?” He shrugged.

“What are you talking about?” She ran her finger along the edge of her eye. She placed the picture underneath her pillow. “I feel fine, I just needed some time to myself. Which by the way,” She poked Alejandro’s nose. “You know better than to be in my tent, you know the rule, if you have a penis, you have to stay outside. No penis’s allowed.”

“So I have a penis big deal,” Alejandro moved her finger off his nose. “It’s not like I intend to have sex with you or anything. I just came to check on you. You’ve been in your tent all day, it’s Princess day, we dedicated this entire day to you and,” He let out a deep sigh. “You don’t even want to celebrate it with us. We’re supposed to be doing all the things you like to do. I even broke out my surfboard and you know how I hate water.”

“Yeah, I’m aware but it didn’t stop you from asking me to teach you guys how to surf.” She pointed out. “But seriously Al, I really wasn’t in the mood to celebrate. I know you guys were just trying to cheer me up and I appreciate it. It’s just I’ve got a lot to think about.” She curled up in a ball. “Lord Grimm wants me to make a decision, I have till tomorrow morning to decide whether or not I’m going to raise the twins.”

“That soon,” Alejandro ran his finger through her hair. “So, what are you going to do?” He asked. “Surely you’ve been thinking about it.”

“I don’t know,” She threw her head back on her pillow. “I mean, I know what I should do and what would be the right thing to do. The problem is, I don’t know if I can do it. I have no idea how to be a mother. What if I mess up, What if it turns out that I suck at it, what if me taking them in is a huge mistake? I just,” She grabbed her pillow and put it over her face. “I don’t know,” She yelled into the pillow.

“Yeah, it’s a big decision,” Alejandro grabbed the pillow and removed it from her face. “You know what the best part about it is. You’re not making it alone. You have me,” He placed his hand on his chest. “I’ll always be there to help you even if it means I have to help you raise them. I have no problem doing that for you.”

“But it’s not your responsibility, it’s mine, I can’t put that on you and I won’t. Sending them to bed and giving Jayson a bath for me is one thing. I really didn’t have much of a choice then but raising them and having you play dad. That’s another.” She sat up and looked over at Alejandro. “I won’t put you through that, if I do this. I do it alone.”

“The offer is still there,” Alejandro shut his eyes. “Look,” He took a deep breath. “I’m not really sure how to say this,” He ran his hand through his dark red hair. “The thing is, I feel like,” He forced a nervous swallow. He started to sweat, the more he tried to speak. “If I don’t say it now, then.” He took a deep breath. “There will never be a good time to tell you. So, I have to tell you now and-,” He groaned. “This is so hard, I’ve never had to tell a girl how I feel and I want to tell you and I’m trying but damn it.” He took another deep breath. “Okay, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate and it’s selfish of me to put this on you. But if I don’t tell you, then, the words will always be there and they’ll never come out. They need to come out, I’m tired of holding it in, it’s suffocating me. So please just listen.” He forced a swallow. “I-,”

“No,” The woman shook her head. “No, No,” She ran her hands through her hair. “No, Al, I can’t deal with this right now. I’m about to be a mother and I have no idea what I’m doing and you want to drop your feelings on me. This is not the time, Al,” She placed hands over her face. “I’m so confused, I’m scared, and I love you I do but-,” He broke her words by pressing his lips roughly against hers. When he kissed her, she grabbed the back of his neck leaning into his lips as they kissed. “Al,” She pressed her forehead against his. “This isn’t fair, I love you, I do but I also love Lycan.” She confessed. “Unfortunately, I have to choose between you two.”

“So,” Alejandro brought his lips close to hers. He ran his fingers through her hair as he got closer. “Choose me,” He crushed his lips against hers. He slowly placed his right hand on her lower back while he tasted her lips. He casually brushed her hair to the side of her neck. When he did, she climbed up onto his lap and grabbed onto his broad shoulders. He let out a faint moan as she rubbed against his crotch again and again.

Raven could already feel the heat rising between them. The tent was being swept away by this unbearable heat. She began to fan herself with her hand. It was that hot. The longer they kissed, the hotter it got. The two of them were kissing, going at each other’s lips like it was a sweet dessert they could taste for hours. Raven forced a heavy swallow, the woman untied her red bikini top for him. His hands crept up the top pushing it up and grabbing her breasts. She let out a soft moan, throwing her top off and completely exposing her breasts to him.

“Oh shit,” Raven placed her hand over her eyes. She couldn’t believe it, she was about to witness. Alejandro’s first time. She tried not to look but damn, those moans, those fiery hot moans coming from both of them. She would occasionally peek and see Alejandro’s fingers on top of the woman’s tiny four leaf clover tattoo that was placed near her right hip and right above her ass. His strong hips were moving so aggressively grinding against her while his burning hot breath was the girl’s neck. She was struck by a warm flash of light that drowned out all noise and caused her to blink.

When Raven opened her eyes. Alejandro’s black swim trunks with red leaves were on the floor. The red bottoms from the woman’s swimsuit were thrown by Raven’s feet. Alejandro was top of the woman, his lips pressed against hers. His hand was placed on top of hers, on her wrist was the bracelet he made for her. She had never taken it off, not once since the day he gave it to her. He carefully pushed his hips into her. He was taking each and every thrust nice and slow helping her adjust to this new feeling. The red sleeping bag was over their lower bodies so Raven could only see his hips moving into her. While Alejandro’s hips were moving, his dark jade eyes were staring deep into hers. It wasn’t hard for Raven to tell why, his eyes never left hers.

Alejandro was painting a picture of her face in his mind. He never wanted to forget how she made him feel, or how much he loved her, or about this moment in time they shared together. For in that moment, the stars had aligned, everything was exactly the way he’d hoped it be and for the first time in his life. He could truly say that he’s happy. This moment in Alejandro’s mind, it was going to last forever.

A bright light began to form, becoming a huge flash right in Raven’s eyes. She shielded her face and turned away from it. When the flash was gone, it was morning, the light inside the tent was put out. Alejandro’s swim trunks were still on the floor. He was covered up in the sleeping bag, still asleep. The woman’s swimsuit was gone and she was nowhere in sight. He let out a loud yawn and began to stretch out his back. Alejandro’s dark red hair was a bit messy and his eyes were still trying to adjust to the daylight.

“Princess,” Alejandro yawned once more. His right hand reached for her but she wasn’t there. He kept feeling around for her or a clue as to where she was. He rubbed his eyes and took notice of a letter resting on her pillow. The letter was sealed in a white envelope and had his name written on it in cursive. He tore it open and took out the piece of paper and began to read over it.

Raven was curious as to what the note said. She sat down next to Alejandro no longer worried that he’d notice her or feel her presence. After what she saw last night, she had become accustomed to them not noticing her. She looked over his shoulder and directly at the note in his hands following his eyes as he read it.

The entire letter was written in blue ink and cursive letters. The woman had very pretty handwriting. However as Raven read the letter, she could feel her heart cracking in her chest breaking right there along with his. Her message was so hard to read and it was enough to pull tears right from Alejandro’s eyes.

I’ve decided to raise the twins. Though, it breaks my heart to tell you this. I also decided to choose Lycan. I do love him and he needs me. I fear if I don’t stay with him, he’ll lose sight of himself and I can’t let that happen. There’s also the fact and I really hate that I have to be the one to tell you. Lycan’s a Prince, there are things he can give me that you can’t. I need Lycan to change the rules and fix them so I can be there for the twins and you and I both know. He’ll only do that if I choose him. If things were different, maybe it could have worked out between us. Perhaps, in a different life it would have. But, I have to do what’s best for the twins and I’m sorry. I’m really truly sorry, I love you and I always will.

“A princess deserves a prince,” Alejandro’s eyes started to gather tears. He quickly wiped the tears away. “I’m no prince,” He folded up the letter and threw it aside. “But Lycan is, that’s why he gets the girl.” He let out a deep sigh. “It’s okay,” He rose to his feet and picked his swim trunks off the floor. “I may not be the prince that gets the girl but,” He pulled his trunks up to cover himself. “I can still be the knight who is always there for her and protects her. That role has always suited me better anyway.”

Raven shut her eyes once more. When she opened them, the three of them were standing there at the warm sands of the beach. The sun was starting to set, the waves of the ocean were lightly crashing to the shore. There was a calmness in the air as the three of them gazed into the beautiful sunset. Their surfboards were jammed into the sand. The image was just like the one she saw when she first arrived.

“This is it,” Lycan draped his arm on the Princess’s shoulder. His eyes lingered on the light waves of the ocean. The waves were pushing back and forth against shore. “After today, we’ll be officially dispatched permanently. No more breaks, No more vacations, just us and a whole bunch of vampires to kill. Our days as children are over, war is our life now.”

“No more long walks on the beach. No more feeling the sand between our toes. No more surfing. No more pretending like,” The wind pushed the woman’s red hair back with the current. Her dark amber eyes were staring far out into the ocean. “The war doesn’t exist, Our lives are going to change forever.” She looked down sadly as she held Lycan’s hand. “All of this,” Her eyes began to fill with tears. “Will just be a memory, we’re no longer the same teenagers we were when we first got here. We’re adults now and we’re making adult decisions.” She wiped a couple tears from her eyes. “I don’t want it to end.”

“Me neither,” Alejandro stared out into the sun. “I kind of grew fond of training here, trying new things, like surfing.” Lycan and the girl laughed. “It was fun, dancing, doing whatever we wanted and just being free to be wild and crazy and just being kids.” He forced a swallow. “It sucks, I’ve never thought I’d miss this place so much.”

“Yeah, from here on out,” Lycan wiped a few tears from his eyes. “I’ve got to start acting like the Prince my father wants me to be. I’m no longer free to be myself, this was the only place I was able to be myself. It’s going to suck being away from it for so long, if I even get to go back.” He balled his hands into two tight fists. “We could die in battle, just thinking that if that happens this is all I get. Just these moments, it’s not fair.”

“You know what?” The woman wiped the tears from her eyes. “This doesn’t have to be it,” She turned around and faced both Lycan and Alejandro. “So we won’t actually be here on the beach doing childish silly things. But it doesn’t mean, we can’t,” The wind blew her hair back as her eyes started to tear up again. “Remember those times where we did. Nobody said we had to forget the time we spent here.” She wiped her eyes. “So I say, we make a promise and we vow never to forget that promise.”

“So let’s promise each other that,” She put her hands behind her back. “We’ll never forget this place or all the times we spent here together. Whenever we’re sad, hurt,” Alejandro lowered his head. “or feel like we’re about to break and lose sight of who we are.” Lycan turned his head. “Let’s promise each other that we’ll look back on these moments and use them to overcome those feelings. Not only that, when the war is over and we’ve defeated all the vampires.” She smiled at the two of them. “We’ll come back here and celebrate our victory, it’ll be just like old times. So how about it guys?” She held her hand out in front of them. “Can we make that promise?” Lycan and Alejandro glanced over at each other.

“I promise,” Lycan placed his hand over hers.

“I promise,” Alejandro placed his hand on top of Lycan’s. His eyes lingered on the bracelet that was on the woman’s wrist. The bracelet that he made her, it was now a symbol of his feelings for her. A symbol to remind him of that night and of the woman he loves even now.

Raven felt a powerful flash of light strike her. Once the bright flash cleared she was back in the present. The crescent moon was set in the sky. She was standing in front of the three surfboards placed in front of the ocean. The message was still written in sand. “Never forget,” She closed her eyes as a tear dripped down the side of her face. She now understood why that message was there.

While Raven was making her way back to the fence. A bracelet had caught her eye, it was there in the trash bag full of burned items. It was placed neatly on top of the trash, no burns, no signs of damage other than the fact. The bracelet was caked in dried blood. The bracelet was made of black beads and had a bead of a four leaf clover placed in the center. This was the bracelet Alejandro made for that woman. No mistaking it. Surely, he’d want it back. She walked over to the ocean to salvage the bracelet as best she could. Once it was clean, she put on her right wrist for safekeeping and headed back toward the fence.