“Who are you!?”

“Stop!” Two guards take a few steps forward while the others remain vigilant for any situation.

“She needs urgent treatment. Lyaria doesn't have much time.” Ezer now carries her in his arms so the guards have a better view of her.

"She is... the Alpha's daughter?" The guard can't believe his own words or what he sees.

“Who are you? I've never seen you in town.” The same guard repeats the question suspiciously.

“My name is Ezer and I was in the woods accompanying Lyaria. Please she needs help immediately.” He begins to get impatient, forgetting any previous rehearsals.

"Let's just let it go, she's clearly injured and unconscious and it seems the rumors are true. Boy, follow the main path until you get near the bigger building and turn right taking the smaller path to the house with the red gates. Just show them who needs treatment and they will prioritize it.”

“Thank you!” Despite allowing him passage verbally, they did not do so physically.

“One more thing, you clearly don't belong here. Anyway, I feel Lyaria's scent impregnated in your body intensely and that's not easy... I think you've earned her trust, but that doesn't mean you've earned ours. You are not welcome, especially at a time like this.” This time the guard opens the way for him and the others follow his example.

Ezer just nods and walks through the threshold of what was once the town's main gate.

“It's obvious where he came from, that boy got into the lion's den... literally.” The guards talk to each other once Ezer is out of sight.

“And he does it on his own.”

"It's the first time I've seen that hair outside of the Alpha bloodline. What's a human doing here? Isn't that a violation of the treaty?”

“Whatever it is, it doesn't change our current job. Those above will decide what to do with him.” The same guard who allowed the Ezer to pass cuts off the opinions of the others.

Regardless, Ezer follows the guard's directions without being stopped again, hoping to find the place that would help Lyaria.

If Ezer had to describe his first impression upon entering the town it would be that of desolation and heat, wherever he walked small flames or ashes were visible counteracting the lack of people. The bodies of the beasts that assaulted this place were soon revealed, and for the first time, the bodies of people are also visible.

The first to appear wear classic soldier clothes and weapons, but as he progressed through the streets, bodies of normal people and even children also began to appear. Despite walking on a sea of corpses, for some reason Ezer does not seem to mind, in his mind there is only one goal and that is to get help for Lyaria, even if that means ignoring the cries for help and the cries of despair.

As the terrain rises, the largest building in town is also more easily seen, and people begin to flood the street as well as soldiers. What differentiated them was not their clothes or weapons, but the soldiers had a look and a walk that made it clear that they had a goal while the people had a blank and lifeless look.

Everyone was too busy to pay attention to the young man carrying an injured woman in the middle of the streets, after all, it wasn't uncommon to see people helping the injured. But Ezer still attracted a few curious glances as he passed, especially from the soldiers, but they were too busy to focus entirely on him.

When Ezer can no longer move forward without crossing another wall that divided the small castle from the city, he takes the path to the right that was clearly smaller as it was a side road.

Being almost at the highest point of the town, Ezer has a clear vision of the damage caused by the attack of the beasts, the fire that surely originated near the main door spread from house to house giving the sensation of being a huge fire, when in reality, it only covered a few homes on the main street and was already practically under control. Ezer is surprised to see the great movement of people helping others and they had a shine in their eyes bigger than that of the flames that destroyed their town, at that moment he understands that those who had lifeless eyes had lost something or someone very important to them.

The town that for Ezer at first seemed like a dying animal, was actually a wolf that was licking its wounds preparing to attack at any moment. It was the first time that he witnessed such despair and death, but he was sure that other cities would not respond as efficiently as this one whose population helped each other regardless of whether they were women, children or the elderly.

Ezer notices his feet stop at the incredible sight and forces them to continue despite the protests of his muscles. It doesn't take long until he arrives at a house that stood out for being larger than the others, apart from its characteristic red doors. There were people who entered and left all having something in common, if their faces did not express pain, their wounds did, and even the only guard that Ezer sees has half of his face bandaged.

As Ezer approaches the door the guard abruptly stops him by putting a hand on his shoulder. With the only eye that is not bandaged, he casts a stone look at Ezer and then turns it to Lyaria in his arms, without saying anything, he withdraws his hand and lets him enter the already packed building.

The smell of iron and screams muffled by the biting of teeth bounce off the walls of the hospital. People who didn't have a chair sat leaning against the walls in the corridors, some looked at him with strange eyes, and some didn't even notice him.

"Excuse me, do you know whe-?" A woman who had in her hands a pile of bandages dripping with blood crosses in front of Ezer without paying attention to him.

As fast as she left, she comes back and this time Ezer stops her with his hand almost pulling the new bandage she was carry.

"What the-!?"

“The daughter of the Alpha is wounded! Where is the old man?” Ezer doesn’t even gives her time to finish cursing, cutting her words.

“What!? The daughter...?” The woman looks at Lyaria. "He should be upstairs, but…" She glances down at the bandages on her hands.

"Don't worry I can find it myself if you point me to the stairs."

“They are on the right, people block the vision.” She nods her head and hurries away.

While going up the stairs Ezer must give way to two men carrying another on a stretcher, the wounded man has his hands on his stomach pressing down and clearly showing his pain with repressed screams. They enter a room closing the door and an old man follows shortly after with clothes that were once white.