Chapter 1: Where it began…

At first, I didn’t understand what I was meant to do. I wondered why I was alive. Why did I have to live after what happened? So many died... So why was I still here? Before my fateful encounter with him. My life was simple. Why did he have to teach me how to feel?

Why did he have to open my eyes to a world I didn’t want to see? Why did he have to do all that? It would have been much better if I’d never met him... But... if I never met him... I wouldn’t have ever learned how life was truly meant to be lived. Thanks to him... I got to see beauty in this forsaken world.

Fourteen years earlier. A month before the fall...

While staking out the shop, it wasn’t long until the boy who caught my attention was in my sights again. The first time I saw him was weeks before, during an errand for the coven.

What caught my eye?

A Lycan boy who smiled radiantly, visiting a game shop with his friends. They were all of his kin and from the same clan.

How can he smile like that? That was the first thought that ran through my mind.

The boy who intrigued me had silver hair, and fair skin that matched perfectly with his amber eyes. A feature shared by all Lycans. It was one way to identify them if they were hiding their ears and tail with clothing.

However, if they wore contacts to hide their color, it would be more difficult to spot them. Although their temper and pride sold them out rather quickly, if untrained. Their hair color reflected their coats while in their beast form, which was one of a wolf.

Their humanoid form was also different from normal humans. They had wolf ears instead of the ones most normal humans had. Their clothes most of the time had a hole for their long fluffy tails too. It seemed uncomfortable for them to be with it inside for long periods.

Part of me wanted to touch it whenever I saw their features. When the boy’s radiant smile caught my attention, I followed him before I could even notice what I was doing. I wondered the same questions many times over.

How can he smile like that, even though the world we live in is so cold?

It seemed so freeing that I wanted to reach for it. Every time I could get away from the sisters or was doing an errand for them, I would hide. Trying to stay out of sight, I watched the wolves play in front of a gaming store.

Most of the time they would buy cards, trying them out at the tables outside the store. If not, they would bring their devices to play there until sunset. Other times they would come to buy and head out towards the beach to play with balls.

Or anything else that seemed fun to do for the day. Sticking to the shadows, I saw them laugh and smile at each other. It made me want to do the same, even if I did not know how to. I envied their freedom to do whatever they wished.

Their ability to smile and laugh without a care in the world was something I never knew how to do. The fated day started like any other where I would study them from afar. I was satisfied with that alone.

However, everything changed when one of the wolf boys, a brown-haired one, grabbed the silver-haired boy by his arm. It was normal for them to play rough, but this time he was whispering something to him before going inside the shop.

At first, it did not seem like it was anything significant. Until a few moments later when someone grabbed me by my shoulder, startling me to my core. A yelp left my lips before I turned to face them.

When they spoke, it made my heart drop.

“Hey, what are you doing?” a young boy’s voice began.

My hands trembled in response. Turning to face him, I quickly saw it was the wolf boy I had been admiring from afar for the past weeks. He seemed alarmed to have found me peeking at them.

Part of me panicked, peering around, only to see it was us two alone in the alley I was hiding in. Noticing my resistance to say anything, he sighed before continuing.

“You’ve been watching us every day for the past three days. Who are you?” the boy questioned, leaving me speechless.

They knew I was here?!

They had only noticed me for the past three days.

If they knew the truth, I would be...

Suddenly swallowing was harder to do. Pure fear swelled within me, too. It slowly gripped me in ways I didn’t even know I could feel.

If the sisters found out Lycans saw me outside, I’ll...

Especially today when I wasn’t supposed to be out, let alone be noticed by someone. I had to get away before he reported me or brought me back to the sisters. However, the boy’s gaze made my mind go blank.

“I’m nobody!” I replied, bolting away with little success.

The boy caught up to me effortlessly, grabbing onto my arm, and pulling me towards him. It caused us both to tumble onto the ground. I didn’t even know what I was thinking when I ran. Lycans could run faster than most races.

They were only matched slightly by vampires. I, a human, wouldn’t have been a match for him. Even if he was a kid, he also had the strength to snap my arm in half. But the way he held onto it even when we tumbled was so gentle.

The only force he used was to tug me onto him when we fell onto some crates. It was almost as if I was making sure I wouldn’t injure myself.

“Ouch!” the boy complained, still holding me.

I shifted my eyes towards him, only to see blood flowing down his forehead. It came from a gash from one of the crate’s sharp edges. Trying to get away from him, I profusely apologized. He held me tightly, preventing me from running away.

Once again, I fell onto him. However, this time he held onto me tighter than ever before. This wasn’t good at all. I felt like a butterfly caught in a bug net. I couldn’t get away from his strong, yet gentle grip.

He was relentless. A wolf that wouldn’t let go of his prey.

“Fenris!” his brown-haired friend called from behind us, startling me further.

They caught up with us after hearing the rucks I caused. Ignoring his friends, Fenris grabbed onto my other arm, preventing me from trying to escape again.

“I gotcha, you aren’t going anywhere.” Fenris beamed.

It astonished me. Even though he was injured, he could still smile like that.

How’s that even possible? Isn’t he angry with me? Didn’t he want to hurt me?

I couldn’t understand the meaning behind the smile that captivated me.

“Are you okay?” another yellow-haired friend asked.

The boys gathered around us. Before I knew it, I found myself surrounded by four wolf boys, with one being my captor. All of them had little intention of letting me go free after what I did to their friend.

“I’m fine. It was my fault anyway.” Fenris answered without letting go of my arms.

He took the blame for what had happened. He didn’t let me go because he knew I would bolt at any chance he gave me. Yet the motive behind taking responsibility for my mistake was a mystery.

The grey-haired boy noticed a familiar scent in the air, becoming slightly alarmed by it.

“It smells like magic. She’s a mage?!?” the boy announced.

His words caused the brown-haired boy to slap his face in disappointment.

“No, dumb ass she’s human. Mages are elves.” The boy corrected the grey-haired boy for him to gasp again.

“A witch?!?! Is she trying to curse us?!? Should we take her to Cerberus?” he added, escalating the entire event.

It left me terrified, hearing the name of the organization that once changed my life. The difference between mages and witches/warlocks was the source which we got our magical power from. While mages got theirs from the elements of nature.

We witches got it from sacrificial magic, otherwise known as death magic. It was worse than dark magic, one of the magical elements. And that was already frowned upon even though it was used by one sub-species of elves.

All the races viewed witchcraft as dangerous and unpredictable. My kin were the ones responsible for recent plagues and chaos in our history. These alone made us stigmatized. We even tried to end the world on one occasion.

During those times Cerberus was an organization founded by Lycans. Its sole duty was to stand up against malevolence, stopping their plans before it became irreversible. Thus, an organization of peacekeepers was formed, made up of many races but led mainly by the wolves.

They called themselves the protectors of the gate to the netherworld. It was why they picked the name Cerberus, a three-headed dog who was once said to be the gatekeeper to the underworld. A religion long lost to time.

However, it was always present in the emblems that every officer wore. It was also said that that was where the power of the witches came from. A myth, of course.

“Shut up, Ezra. If it’s a curse, she’s trying to cast on us. She clearly failed. No spell takes 3 days to cast. Plus, she looks younger than us. Doubt she can even cast any magic yet.” Fenris snapped at the grey wolf, who quickly stopped in his tracks.

I trembled where I sat.

Are they going to report me to the authorities? If they take me to the authorities... The sisters...

In this society, witches were the lowest of the food chain. They looked down upon us and suppressed us. All while Lycans were on the top and protectors of all races. They were resistant to most magical spells, making them the apex of all the races.

Their only rivals in power were vampires, but they had a weakness in the sun. They wouldn’t burn while in it, but their power would drain drastically. Most of them used umbrellas while out during the daylight.

Others avoided it altogether, making them night owls. Before I could think of a way out of this mess, Fenris asked once again.

“Why were you watching us?”

The question left me shaken, desperately looking for a way out. But there was none. I was trapped in a wolf den.

Author Note:

Thank you for reading! If you like my story please add it to your library and press the like! I would love to know all your thoughts good or bad!