Preface
The dark scented lake outside the house rippled when Ramon jumped into the water with minimal coverage. He had taken off his clothes before immersing his body into the cold water.
"Pass me the dagger!" he whispered.
I drew out the dagger from my back pocket, lathering the tip into a jar of luminous gel. I then threw it into the water and Ramon caught it.
"Are you ready?" I whispered, asking Ramon. He nodded, diving into the lake to retrieve a piece of emerald stone.
My eyes roamed around in search of distant figures.
Before we came to the lake, we first lurked around the lake to scout for someone that might see us. When no one did, we Stealing from an Alpha has never yielded great results. It never crossed my mind that we could get caught, or that the water might bear an irreversible curse upon the son of the Alpha.
The thing is, it's an ancient lake with artefacts and relics capable of destruction. One mistake and they happen to land in the wrong hands, then it's over for us. We can't afford to lose it.
"Got it!" Ramon cheered, swimming to the edge to jump out of the lake.
I handed him the towel to dry himself and when he was done, he wore his clothes. He came over to give me the stone, along with the dagger. "Don't let anyone see you with these! Get behind me!" those were his instructions before he threw stones into the water.
As if the most magical lake I've ever seen in my entire life, it glowed. The dancing ripples released black, misty foam. The lasting blackness was like an evil-like rupture had formed on the earth, sending out creatures of the night, except that we didn't know what the dark water had unleashed upon our world. We didn't care as long as we retrieved the stone.
He ran, and I followed behind him. The scent of mud and grass lingered in my nostrils, with a mysterious trail of musk perfume snorted when I breathed.
The reverberating beat of my heart resonated in my head as the humid air hit my face. I felt alive. Running behind Ramon rejuvenated the rush and the thrill of running with a wolf in the night of terror!
...
...
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There are different clans of werewolves in this world. There are good kinds, the bad ones, and the ferocious. They have been both in ancient and urban legend. They are explained as horrible monsters that transform during full moon, then the rest is history.
In the past, there were laws that restricted any transformation, then the laws changed as the hands of time changed. We grew up knowing that werewolves could be killed by silver. Guess what? That changed in a blink of an eye.
'They're just like us'. That's what my mom used to say. I grew up in a traditional home, where no one dared to talk about the wolves. It was always a sore topic to the family. Ninety-years ago, Lupine Harmony wasn't like this. Only humans roared, then wolves bowed. Werewolves were treated as sick, like devils and demons. Those that bore the mark of the wolf were showed no mercy.
Like a witch trapped in broad daylight, the 'sick' were torched down under the scorching sun, then men pierced silver rods into their hearts. The 'devils' howled to their ashes. In the days of our forefathers, the beasts did not exist. The world was a quiet place...
I've learned that things are not always what they seem. That people we call friends that claim to care about us are always the ones that hurt us. I've learned the hard way. Those instincts and the late night arrivals taught me resilience. But hey, that's life's hurdles. We lose some people on the way, and I've lost more than my fingers can count.
I was predestined to find refugee in a beast that my parents warned me against. Even though it may burn to touch the flame of a raging fire, let it burn me as long as I've found my purpose and someone worth risking it all for. The knife may cut, but let it stab me to make me stronger for the road ahead. It's a cruel world prying with red eyes in the dark, preying on the weak.
