— •🔐 Lucas 🔐• —

Shining bright, the sun rose high in the sky. Clouds dotting the sky, setting a light mood for the rest of the day. Little did I know of the darkness to come.

I walked across camp, occasionally bumping into camp members, but I was yet to see the one person I was looking for;

Abi.

It's been a few days since she basically confessed her feelings for me and honestly I've felt a little bit confused.

I'm exhausted. Physically I've not been doing any more than usual. But mentally I've been running marathons round in circles.

Constantly flicking my thoughts between Abi and Bella has taken its toll. Plus there's been news of monsters at the borders again. My dad is getting stressed and he's taking it out on me, which is always fun.

Eventually, I run into a very scared looking Paige, who was walking at a hurried pace.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask, grabbing her arm and making her stop.

She flashes a smile, but I see she's lying. "Yeah I'm good." She says.

Giving her a disbelieving nod, she carries on. "I was on my way to see Auntie Julia, you know how she gets when you're not on time." She mutters before scurrying off.

I try to chase her, but hear my dad call from behind me. "Lucas, do you have a minute?"

Knowing that although it was a question, he meant it as a statement, so I turn around and walk briskly over to my father.

"Yes dad." I say.

There was no disapproving look this time for saying his name as 'dad,' and not his respected title of 'Alpha.'

"Can you go on patrol tonight with the twins and David?" He asks in a somewhat gentler tone.

I nod my head. "Yeah." And then add "have you seen Abi around?"

He raises and eyebrow and then answers. "No I haven't, but I've noticed you're spending more time with her these past few days. It's good to see you're finally moving on from Bella."

And boom. He says the words I knew he would. The words I didn't want to hear, but maybe needed to. Maybe it's best I move on from Bella. I mean it's been at least 2 weeks now and she's not returned.

Zafen has stopped talking to me since that day we spoke to Abi. It's been pretty lonely to be honest.

I do miss Bella though, I tried tracking her down one last time when Zafen took over but to no avail. She's gone and from the smell of things she was with someone else.

I'm snapped back into reality when my dad speaks again. "You were thinking about her weren't you?" He asked, letting a sigh slip from his mouth.

I nod my head yes in response, leading him to continue. "I know you miss her, but you have to face the facts. A lone human out there on her own wouldn't survive, especially with those vile creatures about." He says softly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Letting out a sigh, I raise my gaze to meet his. "I know dad, it's hard, and I'm starting to feel things with Abi and honestly it's all so confusing." I admit.

It felt kind of good to open up about my feelings. Maybe my dad could just be my dad for once and give me some advice.

He gives me a smile and a pat on the back and walks off.

Or maybe not.

The cocktail of warm tone and actions but giving no advice and completely ignoring my last sentence, I'm left somewhat dumbfounded.

For the rest of the day I aimlessly wandering round camp looking for something to do. I could train but my mind is too exhausted it's starting to drain my physical energy. I could also sleep but my mind is too buzzing with thoughts and worries that I can't. So I end up pacing around camp until I'm utterly bored.

Eventually, it's my turn to go on patrol and honestly I'm glad for the distraction. Anything to get my mind off the woman and the she-wolf that seem to haunt my mind.

Walking over to the barracks trailer, I spot the twins. "Hey." I call over to them. "You guys ready?" I ask.

Nodding their heads they follow me towards the woods.

At the start of the patrol there was nothing out of ordinary. Until we got to the east side of camp, and we saw a very distraught Lucy sat on the floor with her dog Hollie.

We approached her cautiously but quickly, I'd rather not have to deal with an angry Beta female, but was concerned about her all the same.

"Hey Lucy, are you okay?" I ask as we make our way over to her.

At the minute there is only me and the twins. David didn't join us and from the look on Lucy's face I can see there was something very wrong. I knew there would be an acceptable reason for our Beta to not turn up to patrol.

Noticing us approach she gives a fake smile. "I'm okay, but Paige." She chokes, too upset to finish her sentence. Pulling herself together in a single breath, she breathes "Paige is gone, I can't find her."

Her words fade into a whisper and there is silence. "We will keep an eye out for her." This seems to brighten her up, because a warm smile spreads across her face.

I reciprocate the smile as Lucy stands up. "I'm gonna keep looking for her, if I find her, I'll let you know." She says with a newfound determination.

Nodding my head at her I begin to walk away, as she strokes Hollie. Stopping in my tracks I turn to face her once more. "Do you know if David is joining the patrol at all tonight?" I ask.

Truth be told, I'm nervous of something going wrong tonight. I can feel it in the air. I would feel much better if he was here with us. With Paige missing his attention is obviously going to be on his daughter, but there have been a few sightings of those creatures on the borders again.

I have to act strong in front of everyone, I am the soon-to-be Alpha. It does get hard at times, especially without Bella, although I know she's not my mate and quite frankly doesn't like me, I miss her. Not even just because I liked her, I just miss the friendship. I was closer to her than anyone else in this camp. To have the one person I actually trusted to leave broke my heart. In more ways than one.

The funny thing is, I would have told her about us all being wolf shifters, I would have loved to see her face when she realised the beauty in it, that look that was seen upon her face many times when admiring something wonderful. It was my father who ordered us never to tell her. The annoying thing about all of it is that he never told us why.

Drawing my attention away from my thoughts, I reassess the situation in front of me. The twins have yet to say a word and Lucy looks as if she's about to kill someone and cry at the same time.

Mentioning David seemed to have terrified her. I mean I did ask her the whereabouts of her mate and she doesn't know, so she's bound to be somewhat distraught.

"I don't know where he is? Give me a moment." She says before staring off into nothing. She's linking David which might not actually be the best idea. My only reasoning being that if he is panicked at the thought of his lost daughter, a distraught mate is only going to double that. The last thing we need right now is a wild goose chase occurring, when their are potential enemies just meters away from us, waiting to strike.

There was a short gasp and all attention was back on Lucy. Paled like a ghost, her body convulsed at whatever was being sent through the link.

She sent me an image of those sickening creatures. "They're at camp." She whispered. "David's there." With those words I darted off, not sparing a second glance at anyone.

I shifted, my stride lengthening as I rushed home. Eventually, Lucy and the twins flanked me, when Lucy had snapped out of the daze she was in. Honestly, I think her emotions threw her out, usually she's quite impulsive.

Occasionally,
I hear the soft bark of Hollie as she trails behind. I smile at that, slight amusement able to be found in the chaos of this.

Bursting into camp, I holt. There are thousands of them. All heaving their meaty heads around, snapping at anyone they can. Many of them chasing and others toying. Some even flying high with wolves in their claws, only to drop them down, winding them.

This is utter madness.

I didn't expect this.

Not wasting a single second more, I shoot out, belly dragging on the floor, trying to stay low to avoid those huge beating wings. Ugly things.

Heading straight for a she-wolf in danger. Recognising it as Ruby, one of the mothers, I instruct her to go find her daughter, telling the twins to accompany her and get any other females they can. We have very few in this pack and they're precious.

The attack must have been an ambush because they would have prepared for this. In fact that's stupid, of course it was an ambush. It's not like we would willingly want to fight these disgusting beasts.

What are they here for anyways?

My thoughts are cut short when I receive a jolly good smack to the muzzle. Snarling in discomfort, I look up to see David fighting one of the creatures. While he has its attention, I jump on its back and dig my claws is, slashing at its wings. No wings means no escape.

Letting out a terrifying roar the monster lunged upwards with me clinging on for dear life. I've always hated heights.

Risking my life, I loosen my grip and continue to slash at the wings as they beat, encasing me in darkness, only to reveal me to the bright sky.

Successful in my attempts, the wretched creature lets out a cry, before dropping from the sky. Shit, I'm going to die.

In a loud bang and crack of bones we hit the ground. Luckily his head and neck took most of the impact, killing him instantly. The rest of the impact running down his spine with enough force to throw me off, but not kill me.

Letting out a loud groan as I try to jump up, far too quickly might I add, seen as I just fell from the sky.

Looking to my left I spot David and Lucy fighting side by side, the need to protect eachother far too strong to let anyone close. They'll be running on pure adrenaline.

As am I.

With adrenaline coursing through my blood after that ordeal I spot my next target. The glowing red eyes bore into me as I near. It's waiting for me. But why?

Not knowing how these creatures tactically fight makes it all that harder to fight them. At least with wolf shifters it's all pretty much the same, using strength and speed. We don't have wings we can just sprout and pop up into the sky whenever we damn please.

Then, it happens. Lunging for me so quickly I barely saw it move, it digs its claws into my body, scraping them down me, much like they did with Bella. I let out a strangled cry as it bites down on my neck like a frickin vampire.

Fading out slowly as the poison mixes with my blood. The pain too strong for my body to bare so it shut down, slipping me into darkness.

— •🦋 Paige 🦋• —

[About 4 hours earlier]

Chaos. Bloodshed.

In front me lay bodies. Some wolf, some human, some those vile creatures I was told about. I'm not supposed to know about them, but I know things I shouldn't.

There was so much blood, some red with love for those they care about. Others black, full of poison and fury so strong it controlled them.

Not many survived.

As I stumbled around the battlefield which was my home, I resisted the urge to scream and cry as I saw people I love dead in front of me.

And those disgusting creatures up close, they're worse than they were described.

I wish I could fix it.

I wake up with a gasp. My body heaved with shock at what I saw.

Forgetting to put any shoes on, I run outside and breathe a sigh of relief when I realise no one is hurt and everyone is fine.

Still shaken from the dream, I get dressed and decide to go speak to Auntie Julia about it.

But I run into Lucas on my way.

I planned to smile and run straight past him but he had other ideas. He reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop.

"Hey are you okay?" He asks.

I smile at him. "Yeah I'm good." I reply. I can tell he doesn't believe me because he just nods. The same way my mum and dad do when they don't believe me but want me to think they do.

"I was on my way to go see auntie Julia. You know how she gets when you're not on time." I add before scurrying away.

He chases me for a short while but Uncle Charlie calls him so he goes and speaks to him.

Making my way over to Julia's tent, I tap the fabric door four times and enter. She told me that when it's me to knock four times. Maybe she tells everyone a different number so she knows who is there. It's a smart idea, as she doesn't have a window.

Pulling back the door, I step inside and see Julia sat with her stones again. Reaching into my pocket I get the strong urge to pull only one of them out. I pull out the black stone. Auntie Julia must have been watching me, because when I hold it in my hand she rushes over.

"Paige, sit down please." She demands. Doing as I'm told, I sit down on the bed. Bella's bed. I feel hurt rush through my bones and suddenly I throw the stone down. It felt hot, like it was burning me, but when I looked at my hand, there were no marks.

Eyeing me, she speaks slowly. "What just happened?"

Not really knowing myself, I try to answer the best I can. "Well, when I put my hand in my pocket, only the black stone felt warm, like it was wanting me to pick it, so I did. I sat on the bed and it made me think of Bella, pain rushed through my body and the stone got really hot, like... like it was burning me." I say.

She frowns and sits next to me. "Okay, and why did you come in the first place? Something bad happened yes?" She guessed.

Nodding my head yes, I begin explaining. "It was awful." I say, thinking back to the nightmare. "I was so scared... there was so much blood." As I spoke the images came back to me and I saw myself walking between the bodies once more.

"There are too many bodies." I say as I keep walking, stopping in front of a familiar corpse.

"She's dead... I- she's dead. It can't be! Nooooo! Tell me it's fake. Please!" I wail, the voice emitting my body from all directions like the light reflecting off a disco ball.

My whole world crashed around me. Pain pierced my heart stronger that I've ever experienced. I thought it hurt when I broke my wrist that time. This was a pain too strong for my body to cope with. I couldn't function. All I could focus on was one thing.

The person in front of me.

I hear Julia's voice, as I stare teary eyed at the body in front of me. "Who is it Paige?"

Falling to my knees, dirt moving as I slide into the sticky blood covered ground. I place my hand on her face, unable to comprehend what I'm seeing. Far too distraught to even answer Julia.

Snapping back to reality, the vision fades into the familiar wall of Julia's tent.

I don't move to even look at her. Trying to come to terms with the vision alone was hard, but to see that. I'm going to be scarred for life.

This moment changed my life forever.

"Paige." Julia says as she hugs me.

I cry and scream into Julia's chest, angry at the universe for doing this to me.

Why her?

Of all people.

"It was my mum." I whisper. "She's gone." And with those words, my whole body goes numb.

I cry for hours. Well I don't know exactly how long
I've been crying, but it feels like hours.

With every tear that fell, I expected to feel a little better, or even a little worse. But nothing. All emotion, all care stripped from me, leaving my empty broken soul.

Eventually, Julia convinced me to go somewhere with her, so I did. Honestly, I didn't really care. Nothing really mattered anymore.

My light in the world was gone and that was it, the young and happy Paige was gone. Here I stood, a shell of broken fragments, feeling nothing.

I changed.

In those short minutes I spend trapped in the nightmare of my mind.

I had changed.

Julia took me out to the woods to a cozy, but abandoned looking building. Once inside I could tell that it really was abandoned. Dust covered almost everything.

Walking across, what I assume was the relaxing quarters of the building, towards a wooden door which I pushed open quite easily actually. I entered into a very clean room.

Quickly deciding that this room was the kitchen, as I saw cooking utensils and an oven, I wandered over to the olive green couch that sat at the opposite side of the room.

Sitting down, Julia joined me and spoke. "I'm going to leave you here for a while, I'll come back shortly, but there's something I need to do and I need you to be safe. If you need me, squeeze both stones two times and then think of a message to send me, only one sentence. I can't give more than that, I need to go. But Paige." She says, turning to face me as she stands up. "Whatever you do... do not under ANY circumstances leave this building." She says and with that she's out the door, locking it behind her, unbeknownst to me.

Word count [3326]

Hey guys, so this chapter wasn't really planned. The part about Paige, her visions and her mother's death definitely wasn't, but it doesn't affect my story plots much and I was like 'yesssss frickin inspiration come on' so I went with it.😂

Alssooo just in case anyone is confused as to what happened, I'll explain in chronologically:
1. Paige had a vision of the attack and her mum lying dead.
2. She went to visit Julia / at the same time Lucas was talking to his dad.
3. Julia took her to the house in the woods to protect her from the monsters and also to prevent her watching her mother die a second time / at the same time Lucas was on patrol and no one knew where Paige was.
4. Lucas went back to camp and fought the monsters.

Anyways, hope you're all having a good day.💖

Much love,
- Bri xox