2 Wild Mountains
Years later.
AFTER she was allowed to grow up.
The sky was an intense blue with no cloud disrupting its infinitive magnificence, while the wind was battling with the trees surrounding the gigantic rock where Elena sat peacefully, enjoying the view of her mountains enclosing the concave valley with their wildness and immortal power. With the sun being consumed by the horizon, the girl was admiring the magical change of colours and the incoming arms of darkness.
She had been living here with her pack since she could remember, growing up in that paradise for children, with enough nature and open space for all, with a loving family and amazing friends. Sporadic rogue attacks were the only danger she had ever faced, and not even in person, since she was not allowed to fight. Unfortunately for her, the pack trainer had always paid a special attention to the Alpha's daughter, knowing that one day she would be in charge. Aware of her innate power, Elena was mentally preparing to use it for real, putting into practise those years of hard training and sweat.
"Patience is a dote to refine and every genuine leader must accomplish this task." Giacomo, Alpha of Full Moon pack, also known as her dear father, would constantly remind his daughter.
As tough as training and life at Full Moon could be, it did not even come close to Black Devil's practices.
Or what the members of that pack had to endure from an all too early age, or soon after shifting.
Black Devil was a neighbouring pack, notorious for the legendary 'Black Alpha', the feral Killing Machine, the Beta and the Cunning Fox, their sly Gamma.
Full Moon and Black Devil shared an extensive history of blood and tears, currently coexisting in a cold awareness of each other, with few fatalities in recent years.
Elena was proud of Full Moon, recognised for its rich territory with its cheerful members, and for its compassion and reciprocating respect. Despite this, its history was not perfect either...some brutalities and assassinations had also occurred.
After all, it is a rough world where respect is gained by violence and blood shed.
Her father, the current Alpha, had always had zero tolerance towards trespassing and did not believe in the concept of forgiveness: once his trust was lost, it would be forever. Besides that, when people were in need, Alpha Giacomo and the Luna, Elena's delightful mother, provided warm shelter and protection, fighting against unfairness and injustice.
Black Devil was on an entirely different level.
Elena shivered thinking about their inhumane training... such as living in the most wretched conditions for a significant amount of time, without food or other basic survival necessities. Only with their own recently born wolf-side.
Apparently, the higher-ranked they were, the worse the 'training' was. She remembered those stories her grandmother used to whisper in the night: from their future Beta and Gamma that, at the tender age of 10, were sent to kill grizzly bears haunting the proximity of their territory, to their Alpha's son, Alpha to be, who was left alone for a whole year, even before shifting, in the Alakasian woods, considered to be the wildest, most dangerous and inaccessible place on earth, There, storms and ice were ever present, among hungry beasts and wild wolves lurking in every dark corner.
The stories went that their previous Alpha, didn't allow his own son to have a single tool, weapon or even a piece of cloth, as he was abandoned there totally naked ~ only with his instinct and Alpha blood.
When this so-called father returned years later, he found his son in his wolf form as leader of an odd pack formed of rogues and real wolves. The boy's wolf was already as massive as the rogues' ones, at such a young age.
The black beast had a mammoth set of fangs and cold dark blue eyes, like the colour of the icy storms thrashing in those remote territories forgotten by the Goddess.
The tales of the Black Devil Alpha's son had continued during her childhood, becoming increasingly stained with blood. Some lunatic elder of her pack declared that he was only eating raw meat from creatures still breathing, and parents referred to him him as the boogeyman to scare the children that weren't behaving well.
Elena knew her granny and all those people may have exaggerated some details just to prevent Elena and her friends from going to the Black Devil pack border to spy on some of their evil children.
Especially after Elena's little cousin had mysteriously disappeared. There were rumours that Black Devil patrol had killed the little girl simply because she crossed the border accidentally. Some folks were sure they had eaten her alive.
The Black Devil Alpha at the time had always denied the horrid act and clarified that nobody cared about a little pup. The most plausible truth was that rogues had kidnapped little Marica and god knows what else those rats did to the poor soul.
Marica, her beloved cousin and an innocent child, was always following Elena around as children.
The pain was still raw within Elena.
Silently crying for the umpteenth time, the memory and wounds felt fresh, even after several moons had passed since her disappearance.
When more tears stung her red cheeks, the girl recognised the familiar scent of Herculi, her pet/ lone wolf that she had adopted. Or he had adopted her, it wasn't clear.
At first, it was difficult for her father to allow her to stay with the giant wolf who refused to shift back to his human form, and with whom you couldn't communicate in any language, not even through mind link.
It almost seemed as if he had refused his human side. Elena was certain something horrible had happened in his past, shocking his human side to the point his wolf took over... to allow the human to sleep for an indefinite period. Possibly forever.
Elena stroked Herculi with affection.
"Hey, my friend.'' She whispered.
"These mountains always bring back bitter memories.''
Herculi barked at some movements in the nearby rocks and disappeared suddenly with a huge jump. Elena did not even bother, knowing that Herculi had always been hyperactive. Some moments later he returned with a huge rabbit on his mouth, she chuckled softly, imagining her own mate in his wolf form bringing her animals to eat.
She couldn't visualise what her mate would look like. Two things were certain: he wasn't from her very large territory or her school. Speaking of school, hers had been temporarily commandeered as refugee camp, for all the rogues and pack members that escaped Lord Skull's territory and surroundings.
The crazed wolf, Ciro, Alpha of the Lord Skull pack, lost his mate for unknown reasons and turned feral, mistreating his pack members and ignoring his Alpha duties. Some time after the disappearance of his mate, his son and future Alpha was murdered. It was the final straw: Alpha Ciro had entered the realm of madness, with no return ticket.
And so, the sad story ended with Alpha Giacomo's offer to host all the pack members that left their homes, seeking safety and stability. However, the only space available for such a large community was Full Moon High School.
In the end, it was decided that the group of Full Moon students in their last two years of schools had to attend somewhere else. Temporarily.
The Alpha informed everyone that he had enrolled them in a new school.
Redwood High. Located on the border with the Black Devil Pack, to be precise.
And tomorrow just so happened to be the very first day.
