It was a moonlit night.
Under the dense curtain of dark clouds, the drizzling raindrops sparkled like diamonds and seeped into the soil, leaving a mellow fragrance in its wake.
At the borders of a bustling city was a peaceful and quiet pack with a population of barely over a few hundred. It lived among humans, yet never strayed away from its roots.
Werewolves are creatures of the dark even if they live in the light of day. They could never wholly accept the light as their own.
Within the pack was a harmonious cooperation for growth and happiness. They were like a big family with their ultimate goal being survival among humans. It was different from the morals of packs, but acceptable still.
However, humans were never a part of their world. When the night rain fell on the city and midnight approached with light steps, the silence was filled with slow drops of water mixed with pungent and crimson blood.
The peaceful pack of Wonder Wood was slaughtered.
The population of over a few hundred was wiped out overnight.
Under the guise of rain and the moon, they did not have the chance to defend themselves. With humans around them, they were bound to lower their guard. The result was a m******e that came as a deadly storm and left a mess behind.
The cruelty of living creatures was way beyond the speculation of God. A spectrum sight of the shining moon shied away from bloodshed and his behind the guards of it's clouds.
In a dark house within the Wonderwood pack, two small figures trembled with fear. The two girls were one year apart, but anyone could barely tell them apart. They hugged each other, their bodies seeking warmth and comfort in each other.
They were still a happy family a few hours ago. The two sisters had finished their dinner and kissed their parents goodnight before retreating into their rooms. But before they could fall asleep in the arms of dreams, their mother had rushed into their room and locked them into the cupboard.
The two remember crying out and asking if they did something wrong and why they were being punished this way. Their mother shed two tears and squeezed them into the cupboard, trembling as she did so.
Her words were not clear but stern, "Don't come out of here. No matter what you hear, don't peek. Don't come out. Stick to each other and don't make a sound. Okay? Mommy will be back in a while to get you. Don't be afraid."
The door was closed and the latch was locked firmly. They couldn't go out even if they wanted to. The younger one hugged her sister, trembling as the sound of roars and screams filled their ears.
The older one was not more than six. Although it was hard to tell what was going on outside, it wasn't impossible to guess it in her heart. She slowed down her breathing, covered her sister's mouth and closed her eyes, trying to drown out the screams of a man and woman downstairs.
The sounds of screams became distant. The obvious sound of fighting was long over. The girls held their breaths. They couldn't sense their parents' scents anymore. Only blood and death were remnants in the air. Rain seemed to have drowned the desperate attempts of those facing death.
A few minutes later, their room door opened harshly. The younger one's body shook but the older one firmly covered her mouth.
Their mother said not to make a sound. Now she was gone, only her words remained.
The older one held her breath, suppressed her urge to cry and held her sister even tighter.
The room was filled with the sound of roars and heavy breathing for a while and eventually it became silent again. The pack had never been this silent. Midnight came with a nightmare that plagued the entire pack. It left a shadow on the survivors of the nightmare.
A shining moon hung helplessly behind the clouds. When the sun tugged it's way up the sky, the moon attempted to give a little more light to the wonder wood.
The moonlit night turned into blood red.
Morning came with a rush of footsteps and commands.
The younger sister had fallen asleep in her sister's conferring embrace. They had survived the night at the cost of the lifelong shadow of their pack's death. The older sister took a deep breath and wiped her face. She had cried all night but never made a sound. She couldn't do that. Her sister would find out.
How could she tell that five-year-old that their parents were probably dead and that the pack they played in till late evening was most likely destroyed?
The responsibility of being the older one had covered her mind in a dense fog. She forgot she was only six.
"Collect all the bodies and find as many clues as you can!" Someone's distant shout reached her ears. She perked up. It was morning already. Help must have arrived.
She banged the door of the cupboard on the inside. She had only made a little sound when she suddenly stopped. What if they were bad guys? She looked at her sister who was sleeping with a tight frown. No, the risk was too high. They could survive another day inside. They did not have to expose themselves.... Mommy said not to leave.
As the older sister was pondering over the last words of her mother, the cupboard door was opened from the outside. A middle-aged man was holding the door with a frown. When he saw the two girls crouching, his eyes were filled with shock and then sympathy.
Two girls managed to survive the hellish night.
The girl gathered her sleeping sister in her arms, partially hiding her behind her small body. Her eyes turned fierce as she stared at the middle-aged man. His intentions were unknown and the girl had an instinctive reaction to protect the only family of hers.
The man crouched on the ground and said, "Don't be afraid. We are from the Lycan organization. We got news of an attack on the pack and came here as soon as we could. You are safe now."
The young girl did not lower her guard. Her sister's body trembled and her eyes slowly opened. The screams were still lingering in her ears, making her frown. She only relaxed after her sister rubbed her back and reassured her of her presence.
The man saw this and felt that the older girl was quite sensitive for her age. He held out his hand towards them.
"Come on. You must be hungry. Come out to eat something."
The older girl was obviously reluctant to accept the hand but the younger one's stomach grumbled at the mention of food. She tugged at her sister's dress with an embarrassed look in her eyes.
She couldn't let her sister starve.
The middle-aged man came out of the house with two little girls following him like ducks. They were holding each other's hands tightly, as if afraid that the wind would separate them.
It had rained all night. The soil under their feet was mushy. An earthy scent mixed with a disgusting bloody smell had filled the area.
"Those two... Andrew, where did you find them?!" Someone came jogging towards the three and asked incredulously.
They thought the entire pack was killed. Unexpectedly, two little girls were left. He didn't know whether to feel relieved that their lives were spared or to feel sad that the two girls were left alone in this world now.
"I found them hiding in the cupboard. It was latched. Must have been their parents attempting to save them." The middle-aged man, Andrew, gave his guess.
"Arrange some food for them. It must have been an exhausting night for them."
The fatigue wasn't hidden well by the six-year-old. She was still trying to protect her sister when her own eyes were swollen to twice their size.
While the guards of the lycan organization collected the bodies, the girls were taken to a relatively blood-free house and given some fast food from a nearby food chain. Andrew talked to his superior about what to do with the girls.
They were werewolf offspring, hence it was impossible to leave them at a human orphanage.
"Ask them if they have a relative. If they don't, then we will take them with us. It's not safe to leave them alone."
The older girl watched her sister scarf down a burger and take a small bite out of her own. She was relieved that her sister was eating well. Her hostility towards those men went down a little.
Soon enough, Andrew came back. The young girl finished her burger while the older one was halfway through it. He sat down next to them.
"May I know your name? It has to be noted down for record."
With some hesitation, the older girl looked at the man and answered, "I am Naeva, and this is my sister Nyra."