Invasion

"Something feels off."

Malcolm muttered to himself.

He narrowed his eyes as he watched Everly walk towards Hazel.

He sensed intuitively that something was wrong, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. His wolf was unsettled, and his gut was biting at him, but he didn't know what it was.

He couldn't just stop the trial because of his suspicion. If he did, the pack members would question his decision, and if he told them it was just his gut feeling, they'd think he was crazy. And the one thing he didn't want was to make a bad impression.

Malcolm had been feeling a sense of unease ever since he found out it was the rogue who had killed Levi.

The poison he had used to accuse Hazel was one the Rogues tend to use in carrying out their assassinations. They killed their leader, weakening the pack, and then carried out their invasion.

For this reason, Malcolm had been seeking reinforcement and alliance from neighboring packs. But thanks to Levi's arrogance, most of the packs didn't want to help. Luckily, Malcolm managed to get the help of a few, like the Serenade Pack, Misty Moon pack, and the Moonlit Clan.

They had all agreed to send reinforcement, but the help would arrive in a day. And this was what made Malcolm tense.

What if they attacked during that time? He would have postponed the trial until reinforcements arrived, but he wanted to give the people closure for the loss of someone as relevant as the alpha. This would strengthen the bond of the pack. And for shifters, especially werewolves, such bonds were important.

All of a sudden, Malcolm felt a change in the air, and his body went tense.

"Despair...over what? What did I do that was so wrong?"

Hazel yelled, her voice laced with so much hatred aimed at him. Malcolm blinked slowly, mentally numbed for a second by the dominant aura Hazel briefly released. But he recovered almost immediately, unlike the pack members who were still quite shaken. They hadn't expected a female they thought to be submissive to ooze such vibes.

'She really is an alpha werewolf. But her fate has already been decided.'

For his ascension to power, she had to be a scapegoat. He was about to respond to her outburst, but then someone else beat him to it.

"Your crime is the same as that of the beta. You both need to simply die for existing."

Malcolm's posture suddenly stiffened, and he gave Everly an incredulous stare.

"What... what the hell was she saying?"

He knew something was off with her, and this proved his thought right. But he was confused as to why Everly would say such a thing. It just seemed counterproductive.

All Everly wanted was an alliance, almost to the point of obsession. So why ruin her chance of getting one?

All of a sudden, one of the guards behind Hazel moved forward, a spear held firmly in his hands. He had his gaze on Malcolm. And Malcolm could tell from the way he moved that he was no ordinary guard.

"A rogue?"

Malcolm muttered with a wrinkled brow. There was no other explanation.

"Are they doing this right now, right here?"

Malcolm said slowly as he clenched his fist. This was what he was trying to avoid.

As Malcolm stared down the guard in suspicion, he noticed there was something off about his eyes. They had a piercing shade of bluish-gray that held an otherworldly chill that made his body stiff.

The strange guard then took a throwing stance, and in a flash, his spear dove towards Malcolm with frightening speed.

Malcolm's eyes widened at this, and he immediately moved to jump out of the way, but he found he couldn't move his muscle one bit. "What...What's going on?"

Tremors ran through Malcolm body, and his breath quickened as he felt a sensation of dread. He hurriedly clenched his fist, digging his claws into his palm until it bled. And that was enough to snap him from his daze. His body finally obeyed him, and he could now move. But it was too late.

Thwack!

The spear impaled Malcolm, sending him backwards off the platform. The vial he held flew out of his arm. His body landing right before the crowd. And he laid on the ground unmoving.

It was silence before the screams, the pack members erupting in panic.

"Alpha Levi!"

"An attack...the pack is under attack."

"Run for your life."

The crowd scattered as they hurried to escape.

As they scrambled to flee, some figures stood still, unmoved by the chaos. One of these mysterious figures caught the neck of a man trying to flee and then snapped it like breaking a twig. He then howled and began to transform. The action acted like a signal to the others, and they followed, shifting into their beast forms. Werewolves, Werebears, Leopards, Lions, Were-ravens. Different shifters of different species, with the only similarity being their deadliness and their taste for blood. They began to tear into the crowds, the scene turning brutal as blood and gore sprayed everywhere, staining the greenery with red.

A female enforcer watched the scene and looked down at Malcolm's unmoving body before gritting her teeth. Though Malcolm's defeat had dealt them a huge blow, they still had to fight. This was their home. And it was their duty to fight to defend it.

With that, she shifted into a wolf, her clothes shredding before pouncing on a raven hungrily pecking at the neck of one of the guards. The two engaged in a fight, with the raven utilizing its height and beak, the wolf its strength and bite.

Seeing this, more enforcers and guards grew confident and also shifted into their beast forms, joining their wolf form in the battle.

Hazel watched the scene with bated breath. Brandon was right about the rogues. One second it was the crowd yelling for her death, the next, the same crowd running for their own lives. The irony.

"Ughh!"

One of the guards behind her groaned as he fell to his knees, holding his neck that kept pouring out blood, before his body went limp.

She turned to the second and saw his bloodied hands. He was the culprit. And he was also the bastard that started the chaos.

The rogue looked down at Hazel, and their eyes met. Hazel noticed his strange colored eyes, and she muttered under her breath.

"Creepy."

This caused him to tilt his head, seemingly baffled by her reaction.

"Lupin."

Everly squealed as she hugged Lupin's arm.

He tried to get her off, but she wouldn't budge one bit. Hazel's eyes widened at the interaction of the two. Were they working together?

"Oh...Hey Hazel. It's been a while." Everly said in a familiar tone, and Hazel wondered if she had seen her before.

"Don't tell me you have forgotten...Haa you're so rude."

Everly said in a distorted voice, like two voices grinding together. It was familiar yet different.

Everly's body then began to ooze fumes, and her physical features began to change into someone else. It wasn't a bone-changing transformation, more like her flesh was deflating.

Hazel's eyes widened in shock as she watched this. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Hyena face?"

"Are you high? Who are hell are you calling a hyena? It's Selena bitch."

"You...how? You're a rogue?"

"Rogue. Shapeshifter. Hybrid. Half werewolf, half... I'm so many things. It's impressive, isn't it?"

"No. It's quite disappointing. I really thought you were a hyena."

Selena's face went blank at this, and Lupin uncontrollably grinned, but the foreign expression left as soon as it came.

This reaction she got from Lupin made Selena's brow furrow. And she turned to Hazel, grimacing.

"You...you think you're funny, don't you?"

"No. I just find what is going on hard to believe." Hazel's face tightened as she processed everything. One of her tormentors was secretly the rogue everyone was framing her to be? What? Wait! Following that frame of thought, wouldn't the rogue also be the one responsible for killing Levi?

Selena had been in the pack before she entered the pack. Meaning she was a rogue for so long. If that was the case, then what was her mission? Why would she spend so long in the pack if it wasn't to do something drastic, like killing the alpha?

Hazel's eyes widened at the realization, and she turned to Selena, who looked visibly irritated.

"You...were you the one who killed Levi?"

Selena gave her a blank look before replying. "No."

Hazel furrowed her brows at this. Was her suspicion wrong?

"It wasn't just me...I did it with Lupin."

"What?!"

Hazel's jaw went slack. She had come to the conclusion herself, yet she found it hard to believe.

"What. Why do you sound so surprised?"

Hazel gave Selena a glassy stare. Is that a serious question?

Selena was the reason why she was falsely accused, stoned, and sentenced to death. Of course, it was surprising and infuriating.

"I would have killed you that night too. If it wasn't for Lupin who suggested keeping you alive, saying you will be useful as a distraction…"

"And she was useful."Lupin interrupted.

"And no one is disputing that. Why are you being extra chatty today?"

Selena said in annoyance. She despised the way Lupin was so invested in Hazel.

'So it's his fault.'

Hazel turned towards Lupin, really looking at him this time.

He appeared weary, with tired eyes that carried a hint of bluish-gray. His face bore marks of exhaustion, lines etched deeply into his features. In simple words, he looked really depressing.

Lupin met her gaze, and though his damned eyes gave her chills, it didn't scare her away.

"What's going on with your eyes?"

"It's my blessing."

"Creepy."

Hazel said and then turned away.

This caused Lupin to narrow his eyes, seemingly confused as to the nonexistent effect his blessing had on her.

Though Hazel felt resentment for the pair for putting her in physical and emotional turmoil, she couldn't help but admit that their actions saved her.

Because of their assassination, Levi hadn't had his way with her. Selena also hadn't killed her because of Lupin. And even now, because of their attack, she had a chance to escape.

Hazel looked around at the various shifters clashing around her, the screams, the blood, and the horror. Yet she was unmoved.

Anticipation was simply building up in her as she hoped. Prayed even.

'Brandon, please do...