"The protest proceeds even after the fire exchange between a faction of the protesters and the men of the elites."
BV News.
"So far about three hundred protesters are dead and the world is looking."
"The three islands have been isolated from the rest of the world about a century ago since werewolves…"
H News.
***
Five young men and two blue-eyed girls wandered into Alpha's pack and stood before a group of people playing chess under the stars. The pack now serves as a sanctuary to the city since almost all the houses are being raided at night. The pack as it's called can't be raided because humans and other werewolves packs are afraid of what Alpha has turned his pack into. He wasn't the leader before, but three years ago he got himself the position after an intense fight that led to Alpha Donald's death. Alpha mounted the pulpit and announced, "I'm the leader now. The alpha of this pack and to our enemies we shall deal with them."
One of the girls kicked off the board and ran towards the garden of herbs. She wore a jaded tan top and blue pants.
"Damn! Who the hell is this girl!" One of the men yelled. His right eye was half scared.
"Get her." Another said.
The scared-eyed man stood up and ran towards her, the other five men quickly hid in the flowers and started finding their way into the house.
"You bastard come here," he yelled out. The remaining two girls walk towards the bar. One of the men fired a gun and the place ran into chaos. Alpha heard the shot from his room upstairs. He shouted, "Damien, what's happening."
He got up and ran down the alley to the stairway leading to the sitting room on the first floor, a bullet moved past him, he ducked and retrieved, from his pocket, a knife.
Boom! Boom!! Boom!!!
He ducked again then managed to move downward slowly. Damien and other men followed him with rifles. The noise kept coming in from all angles of the house.
Before they got to the door downstairs, they heard a knock then a deafening howl then silence.
Then splattering and maddening sizzle.
"We have to go out now," Alpha yelled.
Damien and the other men ran towards the back door and shapeshifted into their wolf forms. Alpha saw them and he roared. He needs to turn too, this is going out of hands.
Minutes later the man who followed the girl crawled out holding his beck barely able to shout. He dropped there, dead. Alpha and the others saw him. He was from the humans and a leader in strategic planning. Alpha growled again, Damien ran towards two of the werewolves. He knows he can kill them and Alpha walked into the light and shapeshifted into a golden brown werewolf. He grunted and led the pack into a war that ended with the other werewolves dead.
Damien and the others behind him started calling out in a werewolf voice. Their eyes were red and radiant like death itself.
The night crawled. They've been fighting in the hillside and Guero's fortress looked a distance away from them. It looked tiny like it could fit in a palm.
The girl came out with blood all over her. She grunted and slowly turned into a human. They saw her from afar. People are dying around her. She grunted again, and the house collapses inward with the rustling sound of leaves.
Fire engulfed what remained of the dead, Alpha, Damien and the others watched from afar.
***
12:56 Am
Elvira's phone rings. She turned to pick it up. up
"Put your Tv on," the voice smiled. She knows it's Andrea's.
"What's it, man."
"Just put it on. You'll get the game of your life."
She crawled towards the side table, grabbed the remote control, and giggled.
"The death toll from the bomb is amazing, Andrea said.
"Yeah. Now I'm finally getting at them. But they won't know I did this. Will go see them soon."
"That's right. Plant alternative news around. Let the others think he lored them to their death. That way even the Damin pack will be ready to fight them."
"Sure. You are so amazing, Elvira. And they want your father's clothes."
"Dikkoff?"
"Yeah. Told him we'll get them across soon."
"Great. Catherine will be more clueless now. Her friends lost their pack."
They both laughed.
"See you tomorrow."
"Alright."
***
When they got back to see the mess their pack has turned into, Damien said, "Like we the gays against the homophobic world. Look at burnt people."
Alpha sat down on the floor and they all surrounded him. A makeshift fire burns in the middle of the night and they plan on what to do next.
"I know where this is coming from. We aren't going to stop. We won't give them the chance to think we are weak. We aren't weak. Tonight, we move to the fortress. Guero was a good man and we need to forgive his daughter, Elvira for conniving with that rebellious pack we are yet to know. I'll talk her into revealing more to me once we gain her consent to stay in the fortress."
"Alpha," Damien turned to face him. "Lots of innocent people died here tonight. Most of them are protesting for our common right. You don't have to ask Elvira if we could stay at hers."
"Why?"
"She sent me a message after seeing the news and asked us to come over. Perhaps she sent one to you too."
"I don't have my phone anymore. It's in the ruins."
"If that lady is Elvira, then she has changed." A man said from behind. He's wearing a deep blue hoodie and they don't even know when he joined them.
"It's me, Sam. Alex's gatekeeper. Elvira had never for once empathized with anyone. I have been with them for five years and I have seen a lot of her evil. Perhaps she changed but I doubt that."
"Why your doubt," Alpha asked.
"The day Guero died he fought with her. Then at night, that day, in the clubhouse, Johnnie said he saw her and that she kicked him into a gutter. When I checked the time he mentioned, Elvira was still at home."
"Then, Johnnie must be drunk." One of them said, laughing.
"He has his problems but he doesn't drink that much."
"So you're saying she's not Elvira?" Damien asked.
"Probably."
"Still we go to the fortress tomorrow. Get to the bunkers, pack our things and get the cars from the ranch. Tomorrow is another day. And to our dead brethren, I don't know what to say."
***
After reading what's in Alex Guero's notebook, Nicholas affirmed he was a genius but he's not going to reveal his geniuses to anyone until he sees him. Martha Stewart trusted him with the note even though she kept a copy too. He glimpsed at the redwood tree flanking his window, things running through his mind like the enormous roots the redwood shared with others miles away. Martha is a genius too, he said in his mind then returned to his study and sipped from the cup of coffee on the etagere.
"Life is here in one equation. Nothing is right. Nothing is wrong." He heaved and sat on the stool to continue reading the note.
He stopped again and again, then laughed.
"She did this to divert Catherine's attention to make her stronger and Guero knew about it. Damn."
***
John's sitting room.
Andrea sits, across him, sipping a night coffee too. Though it seems too late for one. It's five minutes to 1 a.m. but still, it's night, he thought. The world is dark here.
John lowered his cup, his beards flew out like a bird and said, " Whoever is in our way dies. The resources we want to grab from Smallsvile are in areas dominated by people. They won't just move if weren't moving them. And that new boy, make sure you get rid of him. Your men did great tonight. And the protesters, keep them protesting."
"Thank you, sir."
"See you at dawn."
***
At 3:10 Am, Alpha woke up from the nap he could get. The others are soundly asleep except for Sam who volunteered to watch over them. Alpha didn't know why he trusted him or was it because his heart each time longs for Catherine?
Even though he doesn't know she's not Elvira his mate, his heart wants to bond with her.
"What is happening to me?" he said. " I don't even know if she likes me. I have to find out."
He stood and walked towards Sam who sat close to the fireplace with a rifle in hand.
"You are going great. I saw your face that day when Damien was shot. You commanded the operation. Why are you here?"
"That was then. I think you are cool and the people say good things about you. You know Martha Stewart?"
"Martha Stewart, who's that?"
"She stays in the bower. She said you are a good man and that I should join you."
"Oh, I don't know her."
"I trust her. You'll know her soon."