Unknown's POV

I bolted towards the rusted truck at full speed. I could smell the scent of a she-wolf coming from the back of the vehicle.

Two of my wolves were close enough to the vehicle and began attacking the car, trying to get at the men inside. The truck was swerving on the dirt road, and eventually, they crashed into a tree. The front windshield shattered, and glass shards went flying everywhere.

The two wolves inside piled out quickly and darted toward the woods.

The wolves that had been chasing them had already captured two of the hunters that were in the car.

Without a second thought, I let out a loud growl, "get them!" I demanded. "Bring them to me alive. They will pay for what they did!" Two more of the Lycan warriors who stood guard behind me, without another word, sped past me on the trail of the hunters chasing after them into the woods.

My focus returned, back to the she-wolf that was in the back of the cargo bed.

My large paw ripped away the heavy cloth that covered the she-wolf. My eyes met the womens bruised and bloody figure, and instantly I had flashbacks.

I knew she was another one of his victims.

She was emaciated and battered. Her body was black and blue. The poor woman trembled with fear, her spindly arms violently shaking as she cradled herself.

Her blonde hair fell to her shoulders unevenly and extremely mattered with small twigs and leaves knitted into the thick knots of hair.

Small blood-stained hairless spots covered her scalp.

Her skin was pale from the lack of sunlight. I stepped towards her, and her eyes fell upon my lycan figure.

I could hear her heartbeat banging in my eardrums from where I stood a few feet away from her.

I took a step towards her, making her eyes open slightly. I could see thick tears poor from her blue eyes. She scrunched her face and squeezed her eyes shut so hard I could see the crinkles on her cheeks.

I took another step toward the women. I could now see much more of her.

Her swollen cheek was so bruised it was nearly black with splatters of blood.

Her lips were so dry they were cracked and split.

I could also see the fresh burn marks, blood, and blisters around her neck and ankles. The rest of her body was nothing different. She was dirty, covered in mud and dirt. Through her tattered shirt, I could also see so many cuts and scrapes all over her body and dark purple bruises.

She was in severely awful condition. It broke my heart. I couldn't even imagine what this poor young woman had endured.

"Please, don't kill me." A horse-struggled yell came from the poor woman. I took a couple of steps forward, slowly toward the rusted truck. Her head turned to look at me. She could barely keep her eyes open.

I could hear her heart thumping so violently that I quickly thought of my only resolution and began to shift back into my human form. I didn't want to scare her any further.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Don't worry." I tried to comfort her. I was now standing in front of her in my human form.

"Beta, should we send a message to the Alpha?" The voice of another warrior came from behind me. My eyes never left her trembling figure.

"Get me medical right now. We need to get this woman help first. I can send alpha an update when we start heading back. Our number one priority is injured wolves." I stated.

I climbed onto the Cargo bed. Kneeling, I inspected her injuries closer. Her neck was much more swollen than I had thought. It was red and purple, scattered with bulging blood vessels that looked like they were about to burst. I reached my hand up to her forehead. She was icy cold. The white of her eyes was bloodshot.

"Fuck." I cursed and ended the breath. We had to get her help before it was too late. I placed an arm under her body and gently picked her up.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I'm only here to help." My voice softened when I spoke to her. "I'm Ashton" I carried her bridal style off the truck.

She was a petite woman compared to my six-foot frame. I would guess she was no more than five foot three. She was dangerously light.

"I promise you. I'm going to get you help. Your heartbeat is dangerously slow, and I can't feel your body heat. I'm concerned you're not healing." I paused for a moment. I began hearing the voices of the warriors around me.

'Beta, we found another woman. She's dead.' A voice ran in my head through the pack mind link. I cursed. I looked down at the young blue-eyed woman in my arms.

"I'm going to get you back to my pack where you'll be safe, and we can get you treated," I explained to her calmly.

She looked at me and let out a half hesitant "okay." I held her close to my bare chest. I hoped my body temperature would warm her up.

The Medical team had brought over to me a stretcher.

"Beta here, place her here." One of the nurses instructed. I did just that. I gently laid her down carefully onto the stretcher.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Asked one of the nurses looking down at the women. She didn't answer, only looked dazed at the sky.

They carried her towards the large jeep they had come in with all the medical equipment. One of the nurses wrapped her arm to check her blood pressure while the other took her heart rate.

"Beta, here are some clothes." I turned to one of the younger nurses who stood behind me. She shyly handed me a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I thanked her and took the clothes from her.

I got dressed while the nurses continued to check on she-wolf.

They had placed the stretcher in the truck of the jeep. The back seats had ripped out, leaving room for the team to examine.

"Beta, we got the hunters." Now in human form, the warriors emerged from the woods. However, they only had one of the wolves that had run off.

He was still in human form but was now hog-tied, like the fucking pig he was.

One warrior, Gavin, was dragging him along their dirt road and back towards the trucks to put him with the hunters we had, captured as well.

There were gashes from claw marks on his face pouring out blood.

I turned to the warriors, "Where is the leader?" I asked angrily.

"We lost him. They split up in the woods, and we-"

My eyes widened, angrily I asked, "and you decided to both go after him instead of the wolf responsible for the sadistic torture and numerous deaths of our kind?" I let out a loud growl.

"He shifted, and I lost track of him. It's my fault. I apologize." The warrior Kai spoke up. His head hung low in shame.

Kai was one of the newest warriors. His older brother is a pack nurse.

"We have trackers on both his scent. He's not getting away." Gavin assured me.

I nodded, "Good, we need to get back to pack grounds. I need two warriors following along the trackers, and make sure, this time, you fucking catch both of them." I ordered. "I need it to take the she-wolf we rescued back to pack grounds and inform the alpha of what's going on. If, you don't have him by dusk, I'll lead the search myself." They nodded.

Both of them nodded, "Yes, Beta." I watched as they dragged the wolf towards the hummer. The man didn't even fight back. He knew what he had done was wrong.

"What's happening to her?" A worried voice asked from behind me.

I turned my attention back toward the medical team.

She-wolf was trembling violently. She had begun flailing her arms about like she was possessed. Her head bobbed back and forth, and I could see a giant lump rising in her throat.

"What the hell is going on?" I ran over toward the she-wolf.

I reached forward to inspect the lump in her throat.

I hadn't noticed until I saw her claws had extended, and she began clawing at her neck.

What started as tiny cuts turned into gaping holes within seconds as she broke the skin. Blood dripped down her neck and hands.

I grabbed her hands tightly, holding them over her head. Her body was still jerking and spasming on the stretcher.

I could feel her broken wrist bones wiggling in my grip. "Shit." I cursed, "Why didn't anyone wrap her wrist?" I asked angrily

"We were trying to Beta, but she started convulsing." Explained one of the nurses. I held her arms down tightly, keeping her in place.

The medical team bandaged her neck and wrist.

The young she-wolf was still trembling.

"Get her back to the pack grounds as quickly as possible," I ordered them. The nurses nodded, and I hopped out of the jeep and made my way toward Gavin and Kai.

The wolf and hunters were chained up, ready to be transported back to the pack grounds.

"Ashton, it's for you." Gavin threw me a black phone. I put it to my ear.

"Yes?" I asked calmly.

"Ashton, what's going on? I haven't received any updates." A deep voice boomed over the phone.

"Sir." I started, "you're going to want to hear this in person."

Name: Ashton Sail
Age: 21 years old
Pack Ranking: Beta, second in command
Pack allegiance: ————-

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TheKingsLuna