MUTILATED
It has been fifteen years since the infamous battle that changed the lives of many. It also made them stronger and held a tight bond with all surrounding packs that participated in the infamous battle. This battle of mutated creatures was taught in their schools once the young wolves turned 13 years old with textbooks that had extremely graphic pictures so that future generations will know what happened to their ancestors and what they went through to keep their kind in existence.
At the end of the textbooks were the names of all that perished along with their picture. It was always heartbreaking to see the page of the 40 lost cubs. Because of those cubs, training was taken more seriously and the trainees worked harder to be the best warriors so that history won’t repeat itself.
The Wolf Council, now led by Councilor Bates, made it her business to evaluate all packs. If something was reported as suspicious, it was taken seriously and inspected immediately. Nothing was taken lightly or brushed to the side. Councilor Bates had the support of all the Alpha’s and Luna’s. She became the most respected and loved Councilor in the history of werewolves.
Destan was finishing up making sandwiches for his triplets, who are now 11 years old that Waverly blessed him with. They had two boys and one girl. The Moon Goddess returned Misty as their daughter and therefore, she was named Misty. She hadn’t changed a bit. She still had the same attitude and wanted to be a warrior. She mostly trained with her mother Waverly and with Beta Ingrid.
The Moon Goddess has returned many of the losses back to their families or new families. Both Ripley and Beck, now 26 years old, had their own mates. Ripley who grew to be 6’5 was mated to Rex, a 7’2 beautiful melanin skin, black thick curly hair, brown eyes no nonsense wolf. Rex and his family moved to Phoenix’s pack back when he was a teenager. Dalton loved him immediately when he respectfully asked for Ripley to be his mate . They got along since day one and whenever Rex and Dalton were in the same room, Ripley didn’t exist. She didn’t mind though. She was heavily pregnant and just wanted time to herself without those two fussing over her.
Beck became a strong warrior under his fathers’ Dalton’s infantry. He grew up to be 7’2, packed a solid muscular body and sported a nice well trimmed beard. On his chest was a beautiful pink orchid with his mate’s name Maribel on it. Maribel was a runt, tanned skin, icy gray eyes with long brown wavy hair. She only grew to be 5’8, but she was full of spunk and whenever Beck irritated her, she would speak immensely fast in Spanish. They share a 3 year old daughter that looked exactly like her mother. They named her Bonita (means pretty in English).
Roman and Aqua were always happy to babysit their granddaughter Avonlea who was 5 years old. Nerida, 25 years old, grew to be 6’2 and happily mated with her Asian mate, Flint who grew to be 7’2, sported a handsome beard and was heavily tatted. On her parents’ plea, both Nerida and Flint decided to live next door to the right and give her parents a peace of mind. Flint’s parents, Binna (mother) and Hoseok (father) had a house built on the left side and shared the babysitting responsibility with Aqua and Roman.
Dax at 17 years of age, has become quite the heart throb in his uncle Destan’s pack. He was already 7 ft. tall, wild curly brown hair, piercing gray eyes and lashes that were so thick, it looked like he was wearing eyeliner. He had a goatee and thick straight eyebrows. He had a chiseled jawline and thick neck. Every teen girl was beside themselves whenever he appeared. Aqua was tired of answering the door from girls looking for him or when he snuck outside of his room late at night to meet a girl.
Destan finished making sandwiches for his triplets, who are now 11 years old that Waverly blessed him with. They had two boys and one girl. The Moon Goddess returned Misty as their daughter and therefore, she was named Misty. She hadn’t changed a bit. She still had the same attitude and wanted to be a warrior. She mostly trained with her mother Waverly and with Beta Ingrid.
The Moon Goddess had returned many of the losses back to their families or new ones. Both Ripley and Beck would often volunteer to babysit the triplets as they were attached to them, especially where Misty was concerned. Destan called for his three troublemakers as he finished setting up the table with food and juices. The three came running, pushing each other out of the way to be the first at the table. Misty jumped over her brother Caspian’s head, but crashed into Devereaux making them tumble down the stairs. Destan sighed, took a deep breath as he didn’t bother to scold them for the millionth time. He will give their mother Waverly that honor.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!” Waverly yelled out as she came up from the basement from washing clothes. All three kids lowered their heads as their fierce, no nonsense mother towered over their sitting forms. “All three of you are punished,” she pointed her finger at each of them. The triplets didn’t dare complain. They only nodded. “All three will clean up the basement and backyard. Understood?!” They each nodded without a grunt. Destan looked at his mate and winked at her as she turned on her heels and went upstairs with him following close behind.
Destan encircled his arms around Waverly’s waist from behind, giving her a kiss on her temple. “You are so awesome,” he chuckled. “Hey, I…” he was cut off by the ringing of his phone from behind his pocket and smiled when he saw Calypso’s name. “Hello.”
“Hi Uncle Destan,” and although he couldn’t see her smile, he knew she was. “How’s it going?”
“Well your cousins are punished again. Are you not surprised?”
“Nope,” she popped the P, making him laugh.
“How are your kids Leo and Bethany and how is the Alpha training going?” He asked patting his lap for Waverly to sit down. Once she did, he pulled her closer to him and placed the phone on speaker.
At the mention of Bethany’s name, Calypso couldn’t help but smile. When she found out that she was pregnant again, both she and Cameron were beside themselves. Leo was even happier knowing that he was going to be a big brother and he didn’t care what. He just assumed the baby was going to be big like him to play with. Imagine the disappointment after she was born. When Bethany was finally returned by the Moon Goddess, Falcon and Halley were beyond happy. Both their great grandchildren meant the entire world to them and the kids loved them with every fiber of their being. Every so often you can find Falcon and Halley playing with Leo and Bethany in the bouncy house or Falcon having fake tea with Bethany as Halley chases Leo with a water hose.
There were times when Calypso would go check in on Bethany and would find Falcon and Halley in bed with her. Cameron was usually sitting by Leo’s bed admiring his son.
Calypso remembers all too well how her father Phoenix would give Cameron a hard time when they wanted to be mated. She had called her Uncle Destan and complained about her father’s irrational and unreasonable behavior. She still doesn’t know what Destan had told her father, but he finally let up and accepted Cameron. If Calypso left it up to her father, she would be a mateless old maid. It’s funny how Phoenix put her and Cameron through all that when he’s such a softy when it comes to his grandchildren Leo and Bethany. Their grandmother Mira has recruited the kids as her baking helpers. They volunteered to bake cupcakes for Leo’s entire 2nd grade class and he was the star of the day.
Calypso had to scold her siblings Reef and Talise when they were teens for being reckless. Phoenix had complained to her that Reef can’t keep his dick in his pants and Talise was caught sneaking through the window of her bedroom reeking of alcohol. She was a wild party girl. Talise had so many boys lined up wanting to be with her, but she just wasn’t interested in any of them. None of them gave her that “Wow” factor that she was looking for. Once Mira took over in disciplining them, that’s when they straightened out. Her mother Mira was not to be played with and they knew it. Talise was still Phoenix’s little girl. They would stay up late at night looking through the telescope for falling stars. Talise was very good with sky navigation.
Reef declined in taking the role of Alpha from his father Phoenix and instead has taken his duty as a tracker warrior, which is a new group formed by Dalton, but led by Rex to find missing wolves. Every wolf under this group has been training diligently until their muscles were shaking in pain. His fuckboy image was diminishing which is what he wanted. He wouldn’t be able to find a mate with that type of reputation attached to his image. One day he will meet the right she wolf.
Calypso cleared her throat to focus back on the reason for her call. “Uncle, I wish this was a friendly call, but it isn’t,” she paused for a couple of seconds. “We had two missing children from our pack that turned up three days apart.”
“Are they ok?” Waverly asked with concern.
“They’re dead,” she shook her head although they couldn’t see her. “They were…mutilated.”
“Oh my Goddess!” Both Destan and Waverly said at the same time.
“How old were they and did the parents report them missing?” Destan questioned.
“The oldest child was 9 and the youngest was 4,” she sighed. “Both families reported them missing. The reason why I am calling you is because my parents, Georgia, Dalton and my grandparents are investigating and asked me to call you.”
“I will head out…” Destan began, but was cut off.
“No stay put. I think you and Waverly need to inform your pack to be careful and keep their children close. We don’t know if whoever is committing these murders is moving and looking for its next victim. Also for anyone to report anything unusual or even anyone unusual. We have a child killer in our hands.”
“I think that will be best,” Waverly agreed. “I will call for a pack emergency meeting.” She removed herself from Destan and immediately left to speak to Jaxon, Ingrid and Boris.
“I’m so sorry Caly,” Destan walked over to the window to look out. He could see his kids cleaning up the backyard. An overwhelming feeling to protect them grew within his heart. “Curfew for kids will begin effective immediately. I will have more warriors patrol the area.”
“That’s exactly what we are doing. I will keep in touch. I love you Uncle Destan.”
“I love you too, Caly.”
Calypso, her father Phoenix and Falcon all wearing doctor scrubs stood on the other side of the autopsy table where one of the murdered children laid. Calypso forced the vomit that was creeping up her throat back down. As an upcoming Alpha, she had to be able to handle these kinds of disturbances. She cracked her neck and held her breath as Dr. Langley pulled away the blanket completely. Her grandfather Falcon turned his back to the body with eyes closed. He shook his head then turned around again.
Dr. Langley took out his small recording device and pressed play. “Child, female, nine years old,” he moved and placed his finger on the side of her head. “Head trauma with a heavy wood object.” He used a tweezer and pulled out a few splinters from the crushed skull, placing it in a tray. The splinters were soaked with blood and had pieces of brain matter. Dr. Langley continued with his examination. “Both eyes are missing,” he then checked her opened mouth. “Tongue missing, three deep gashes across her face, neck, arms, legs, chest and stomach,” Dr. Langley moved the child’s body slightly sideways. “Also the upper back of torso and back of legs.” He gently placed the body back in its original position then stopped the recording.
“How could someone do this to a child?” Phoenix angrily pursed his lips.
“The killer was angry,” Calypso stared at the child. “Very angry.”
“I think so as well,” Dr. Langley agreed. The other child is not in the same condition.”
“Have you done the autopsy on the four year old already?” Falcon’s voice cracked with emotion.
“No, not yet,” Dr. Langley covered the little girl again before they moved onto the next table. He removed the sheet of the second victim, making them all gasp. Dr. Langley began his recording again. “Child, female, four years old. Both eyes missing, lower jaw missing and from the bloat of the body, drowned.” He gently moved the body to the side, speaking into the recording. “The word hate is carved into the back.”
“I want to triple the security immediately,” Phoenix said. Calypso looked at her father and could see the tears in his eyes. She could sense all of his emotions because she felt the same way. She turned to look at her grandfather Falcon, who looked dazed from what he just witnessed. Calypso gently placed her hand on Falcon’s upper arm to reassure him. Falcon then wrapped his arm around Calypso’s shoulder, squeezing it gently.
They left Dr. Langley and continued their conversation outside of the small hospital.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Calypso whispered to her grandfather.
“I know baby,” he whispered back. “You need to get home and watch over my great grandchildren. Your father and I have work to do.”
“I have to be part of that work as an upcoming Alpha. There’s no way around it. I will have mom and grandmother Halley watch my children while I attend these pack meetings.”
“She’s right dad,” Phoenix said without looking at them. “I will call Mira. Dad, call mom.”
“I have to call Cameron and ask him to set up the pack meeting house. Meeting to start in two hours?” She asked both her father and grandfather. Once they nodded, she passed on the information to Cameron when he answered.
PACK MEETING
Everyone was sitting facing the stage that had a long table with chairs facing them. They spoke amongst each other until they saw the Alpha, Beta and Delta walk onto the stage to take their seats. “Good afternoon everyone,” Phoenix started. Everyone remained quiet waiting nervously on what they were about to hear. “We,” he motioned at everyone at the table, “are here to give you some distressing news and what we are going to do to solve this problem.” Everyone began mumbling to each other before Phoenix gave them all a small growl to be quiet. “The two children, Allison and Leigh have been found, but they were murdered.”
The pack members quickly abrupted into loud discussions and asking questions all at once.
“What do you mean murdered?”
“Who murdered those innocent babies?”
“Is it someone from this pack?”
“Was it a rogue?”
“Have the families been informed?”
“What about our children?”
“SILENCE!” Phoenix belted out. Everyone immediately became quiet. “The families have been notified. Both children’s bodies have been autopsied for our investigation. Once Dr. Langley finishes with his report, both children will be returned to their families for proper funerals that I expect each and everyone in this pack to attend.”
A female pack member raised her hand getting the panel’s attention. Phoenix nodded towards her, giving her the chance to speak. She bowed her head in respect before she spoke up. “Do you have any idea who would do this horrific crime?” She sat back down with concern.
“No, we don’t.” Phoenix flat out answered. When he saw Calypso stand, he sat down.
“We don’t know who did this as of yet. However, we will be conducting a full investigation. Beta Dalton’s Tracker Warriors that is led by Rex will be out looking for any clues and tracking. None of us know much, but this I will say,” she took a deep breath. “We know that the victims at this time are only girls thus far and under wolf transformation stage so it’s easier to kill them in their vulnerable state. We don’t know if the killer is specifically targeting girls only and not boys. Either way, keep your sons safe. Effective immediately, all after school activities are canceled until further notice and there will be curfew. Please speak to your children about reporting to you, us or any of the warriors if someone that they don’t know approaches to speak to them. Children that are attending school will be escorted by two warriors that will be assigned to live in your homes temporarily. There are no exceptions! Any sleepovers or any sort of celebration must be reported to the Alpha’s and chain of command. If you have any family or friends that want to visit, they must be approved by the Alpha or Luna first. Any questions?”
A male pack member raised his hand. Calypso nodded towards him and he too bowed his head. “Before all this happened, my mate and I had already planned our daughter’s Milly’s 8th birthday for this Saturday months ago. Do we have to cancel?”
Calypso shook her head. “No, you don’t. Speak to Dalton and Rex about assigning you some warriors after the meeting. The only thing that I suggest is that you keep the party indoors, even if you have a closed fenced yard. I don’t want to take any chances as I know you don’t either.”
“Of course,” he bowed his head. “Thank you.”
Calypso nodded at Rex, who now stood up to speak to the pack. “Beta Dalton and I will be passing by each home and assigning two warriors per household. Make sure that you set up a bedroom for them when you get home after the meeting….” he was cut off by the sudden burst of open doors. Everyone turned to look at the frantic woman crying.
“Help me! Milly is gone!”
Her mate came running towards her as the rest of the pack members began talking all at once. Everyone on the panel ran towards her as the frantic woman cried in her mate’s arms. Rex immediately called Reef. “Reef! Take some warriors with you and begin tracking for a missy girl by the name of Milly, 7 years old. She’s the one that lives down by the lake.”
Falcon roared for everyone to be quiet. “Everyone go to your homes now! Make sure that your children are safe.” All the pack members hurriedly left wide eyed and scared for their children. Once the pack meeting room was emptied from the families, Falcon turned his attention back to the woman. “Sheena, Sheena, where was Milly the last time that you saw her?”
The woman still crying sadly looked up to Falcon. “She was playing in the backyard with her toys.”
“Honey, did you notice anyone walking around or did you hear anything like a conversation? Anything at all?”
Sheena shook her head. “Oh Luke, our baby…” she sobbed uncontrollably.
Calypso gently touched Sheena’s back. “Sheena, what were you doing while Milly was in the backyard playing?”
Sheena closed her eyes, her words shaking. “I…I was cleaning…the kitchen. I had music playing…but I was constantly checking on her. I remember looking out the window and she waved at me. Then I started loading dishes in the dishwasher, put the soap, closed it and hit start. When I looked again, she wasn’t at her spot. So I went out and called out to her but she didn’t answer. I then walked further into the yard and she just wasn’t there.”
“Sheena,” Phoenix’s deep voice commanded attention. “How long were you searching for Milly before you came here?”
Sheena furrowed her eyebrows in thought, then opened her eyes wide. “About an hour,” she cried again. “I thought she was hiding at first then I went to my neighbors house to see if she had gone there, but no one was home.”
Rex immediately called Reef again. “Hey man, search as far in every direction. Milly has been gone for more than an hour.”
“Oh Patrick,” Sheena cried uncontrollably.”
“We will find her,” he spoke softly to his distraught mate. His own heart was pounding and his insides were twisting into painful knots.
“Sheena,” Dalton called for her attention. When she looked at him, he continued. “What was Milly wearing?”
“Oh, umm she had on blue jeans, white sneakers, a white long sleeve shirt with red hearts on it, red sweater and red ribbons on either side of her pigtails.” Dalton called Reef giving him the description of what Milly was wearing in case they came across any of her material belongings.
THE SEARCH FOR MILLY
Reef was accompanied by twenty warriors. They all search in teams of five in all directions. They climbed trees, searched underwater, caves, meadows, just everywhere. Reef climbed over large fallen trees until he saw something red caught in a branch. He quickly ran towards it, taking it in his hand. It was a red ribbon. Reef sniffed it and knew right away that it was Milly’s. “Hey, I found her ribbon.” The other warriors gathered around him, all sniffing the red ribbon.
Reef was about to call Rex when one of the warriors held a white sneaker up. “I found her sneaker!” He shouted out. Reef walked up to the warrior holding the white sneaker that had blood stains on it.
“Shit!” Reef angrily said through clenched teeth. “Search this whole area. I’m going to call the other warriors to go further up North ahead of us to see if they can track her down.” Reef made the call then called Rex. “We found Milly’s red ribbon and one of her white sneakers, but it has blood stains on it.” He could hear both Dalton and Rex cursing their disapproval. “I called warriors on a different route to go further up North from where my team and I are and track her from there.”
“Good thinking Reef,” Dalton nodded in agreement. “I contacted other packs from nearby villages to be vigilant and request that they too track Milly.” He ended the call then dialed Phoenix who was with Calypso and his father Falcon.
Phoenix picked up when he saw Beta Dalton’s name and put it on speaker. “What did you find out?”
“Reef and his warriors found Milly’s ribbon and a blood stained sneaker.” Everyone could hear the sadness in his voice as he related the details. Calypso closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath and praying that Milly was still alive.
“Keep searching,” Falcon’s nose flared in anger. “We have to find her before,” he took a deep breath. “Just find her.”
“Yes Alpha,” Beta responded. Phoenix hung up the phone and placed his hand on his father’s shoulder. “Dad, we will find her.”
“I’m going to your house Caly. I need to check in on Bethany and Leo and never let them out of my sight.” Falcon hugged his granddaughter. “Please find this monster.” He whispered.
“I will. We all will find this monster.” She kissed his cheek and watched him walk away until he was gone. “Dad,” her voice cracked.
Phoenix quickly took his daughter into his embrace. “I know honey,” she felt his massive strong chest shake mixed with anger and anguish.
Calypso’s phone rang and she immediately answered it. “Hey Reef. Please ease my heart and tell me that you found her.”
“Caly,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
