There was no way the pack could have seen this attack coming. They had been lulled into complacency. The enemy had been captured by the Werewolf council after all. What did they have to be scared of?
When the alarms rang, they were startled.
They huddled together, their eyes shining in the darkness. The hunters were coming, and they were prepared to defend their territory. They might have been unprepared but they would not give in without a fight.
If the hunters wanted to attack them, they wouldn’t make it easy for them.
As the hunters stormed their borders, the werewolves leapt into action. They were fast and agile, their claws slicing through the air. But the hunters were well-trained, and they knew how to fight back and more importantly they had the edge of surprise and more than enough ammunition.
Bullets whizzed through the air as the hunters fired at the werewolves. The creatures howled in pain as the silver bullets pierced their flesh. But they kept coming, their eyes wild with fury, their hearts burdened as they fought for their pack and lands.
The hunters threw grenades, causing explosions that rocked the building. The werewolves staggered, but they didn’t give up. They lunged at the hunters, their jaws snapping shut.
One of the hunters, a young woman with long blonde hair, swung her silver knife at a werewolf’s throat. The creature dodged, but she managed to slice its arm. It howled in pain, and she took advantage of the distraction to drive the knife into its heart.
Another hunter, a burly man with a thick beard, fired a silver bullet into a werewolf’s chest. The creature fell to the ground, writhing in agony. The hunter stepped forward and drove his knife into its skull, sending it to the helm where the unnatural creatures belonged.
They worked as a team. Each was an extension of the other as they dealt death swiftly and mercilessly.
The battle raged on for what seemed like hours. Blood soaked the floor, and the air was thick with the scent of death. But eventually, the hunters emerged victorious. The werewolves lay dead or dying around them, their bodies torn apart by silver and steel.
The hunters looked around at the carnage, their faces grim. They had won the battle, but the war had only just begun. There would be more packs to end. More wolves to destroy before they would have a free life.
Maybe some hunters would join their cause once they saw how successful this strike had been and the need to ensure that abominations like werewolves lived among them no more.
For now, however, they allowed themselves a moment of satisfaction. They had declared war on the werewolves, and they had won. They would continue to hunt them down, one by one, until every last one was gone.
*********
“I knew it, the hunters will always be a threat. We should have wiped them out when we had the chance.”
Casper was in a mood but then again when, wasn’t he?
“Calm down, Casper. It’s not all the hunters but just a specific sect of them.” Sophia said, twirling her fingers in her hair.
It was her nervous tic and showed that no matter the calm facade she wore, she was as disturbed as them all.
“A sect? And who funded their operation?” Carpet was relentless.
“Sophia is right. I have spoken to the head of hunters in North America. He promised to fish out and punish them appropriately.”
“Punish them appropriately?” Casper asked incredulously. “It is werewolf blood they spilt so we are the ones who should do the punishing not them.”
“That is not how it works, Casper and you know it.” Yule objected. “We punish werewolf offenders and they take care of their own people. This is how it has always been. Nothing has or will change.”
“Perhaps it will change by the time they finish us off.” Casper said acerbically.
“Enough.” Eden bellowed, obviously irritated by the squabbling amongst them.
Dorian had been waiting eagerly for her interference wondering if she would even speak up at all.
Eden looked at them all with an unusual weariness in her eyes. It was on days like these that she looked her true age.
The attack had really put them on edge as Dorian had planned.
“We are members of the Werewolf Council who everyone looks to for support. The last thing we should be doing right now is bickering among ourselves.” Eden took a deep breath showing how much the situation had gotten to her.
“We have rogues going rampant and a possible war with the hunters on the horizon with no visible solutions to either. We need solutions, not harsh words amongst ourselves. If there is any input you wish to give, it had better be a valuable one.”
Now was the time. Valentine, the person he had elected and made sure got chosen to replace Laurel months ago, stood up.
“I think it is about time the werewolf community evolved to meet these trying times. We can no longer trust the security the packs have to secure themselves. We need a long-term fix because we all saw what a bad short-term approach can do. We took the wrong people in.”
The entire council was paying attention now. Valentine since her instalment only gave the sagest advice as supervised by Dorian of course. All for this moment.
“We need to install a central government with a special fighting force consisting of warriors from every pack all will be specially trained and equipped for this cause. These warriors will have one purpose, to destroy these rogues and rogue hunters.”
“Wonderful idea, Valentine.” Ryker said. The unanticipated variable. He replaced Dainty who has resigned to ‘travel and enjoy life’. It was something he had not planned for and the man was way too smart and intuitive for his own good.
He always seemed to be onto Dorian’s schemes but this time Dorian had planned around him.
“But the council is not allowed to have an army.” Ryker concluded.
Valentine smiled. “Which is why we need a monarch. In the days of the ancient wolves, there were queens and kings who shepherded the entire werewolves packs so as to properly utilize and concentrate our armies and fighting force. This sense of order and direction is what we need and the council would serve as a restraint for the excesses of the monarchy.”
Ryker seemed unconvinced. “Those days are antiquated for a reason. The wolf community will never stand for this again.” He looked around guarding everyone’s response to his words before turning back to Valentine. “I’m guessing you wish to nominate yourself?”
“On the contrary. I feel you would be the best fit, Ryker. If the Council will allow it. And I think, if the Werewolf Council could back this instead of sitting on our hands, the werewolf community will follow our ruling and it will inspire them because they trust in our leadership.”
Ryker seemed more receptive now that it seemed like he would be the head of this new and improved werewolf community.
Dorian almost smiled. Ryer had taken the bait hook, line and sinker and even Eden was looking contemplative.
He would never become the king of werewolves because Dorian had a plan and in a few months, he would be the king of all North America werewolves.