Kaelen and the pack of werewolves who set out to follow him headed out at the first sign of morning light. He was determined to avenge his father.

There were a total of 15 werewolves who decided to follow him in total. All of them had a deep trust in him since they knew him since he was just a child.

They had watched him grow, and they followed his father too.

Plus, they all agreed with him. They all believed it was best to take the fight to the Nyx pack rather than sit around and wait until they were attacked.

"Alpha Kaelen," one of the men bowed. It was a middle-aged man with a muscular build and a bearded face. "What are we going to do about the yokai?"

"The yokai," Kaelen growled. He hadn’t thought about it. He was too consumed by the thoughts of getting revenge. "It’s about time we get that monster off our land. We will kill her," he declared loudly.

And seeing the strong conviction burning in his eyes, they all nodded. They, too, didn’t give it a thought as to whether they could defeat the yokai or not. Since their alpha declared it.

They were like sheep. They followed their alpha without any questions once he showed himself to have power. But the moment he showed weakness, others would rise to want to take his place.

In any pack, the alpha must be the strongest. Naturally, Kaelen was taught this by his father. Wolves would not follow a man they perceive weaker than them. Even the men now bowing before him could easily turn against him at the first sign of weakness.

Besides, at this moment, he was getting stronger by the second. His curse was one that was fueled by rage, so the angrier he gets, the more powerful he becomes.

This was the strongest he had ever felt in his life. At this moment, he felt as if he could easily pick up a building and throw it at the yokai. He felt as if no one or nothing could stand in his way.

So with that strong conviction, he marched towards the yokai’s territory.

Within just a few hours, he was just a stone’s throw away. But just as they were about to get there, they were stopped in their tracks.

"Werewolves," a man in their group that was known for his uncanny sense of smell said.

The group watched as a group of werewolves made their way through the forest. They moved with incredible agility, leaping from tree to tree.

Kaelen’s eyes widened when he saw the man leading them, and the anger inside of him exploded.

"Danzo!!"

Danzo immediately turned to the direction he heard his name being shouted, and when he saw Kaelen, a wide grin appeared on his face.

He felt Kaelen’s bloodlust, and he welcomed it.

Without wasting a second, Kaelen lunged forward towards Danzo, and his men followed with him.

...

The day Kaelen left, Veyron sprang into action. He wanted to prepare the village for the battle that was to come, so he assigned everyone their roles.

He made sure that every wall was manned, and he also assigned scouts to keep track of the Nyx pack’s approach.

The women, children, and elderly were all led to the banquet hall. There were three werewolves assigned to take care of them.

While the rest of us were assigned battle strategies, the men built tall wooden platforms that towered over most of the buildings in the village. It looked almost like a giant monkey bar made out of wood.

Apparently, this was how werewolves battled. They would use their agility to maneuver through the wooden platforms. The ones with the superior agility and skill would be the ones to win.

We also set traps throughout the village. As he was going over our battle strategy, Veyron held up a small vial containing a yellow liquid.

"This is wolfbane. On humans and most other supernatural creatures, this substance wouldn’t have any effect. But when used against werewolves, it is almost like acid," his voice rang throughout the room.

He then lifted up a cloth that was covering a table before him. It revealed several bottles of the same yellow liquid.

"These will be our weapons for this upcoming war."

After that, we went back to making traps. I was making traps right outside the village, in an area of the forest where it was highly likely that the Nyx pack would pass through.

Isabella had been assigned important work in another section of the village. Selthia was running an important errand for me.

On my way, I was approached by someone.

"Liora, do you need something?" I asked.

"What are you planning? You’ve been awfully quiet these last few days," she commented, looking at me suspiciously.

"What else is there to do than follow orders? I noticed you and Veyron are awfully close. I heard he’s been training you."

She nodded.

"He has taught me a lot of things. He said I have potential," she said, trying to hide how proud she was.

"Well, he’s correct," I said, patting her on the head, and immediately a frown appeared on her face.

"Have you gotten taller?"

"Maybe a bit," I responded.

She folded her arms and leaned in closer.

"You’ve grown at least 2 inches. You were 5’10 before, correct?"

"How do you know my height?"

"You may have forgotten, but we’re twins. I’m supposed to know everything about you. And you mean it. But you don’t even put out the effort to learn anything about me."

"You mean your hair?" I asked. "Did you cut it?"

Her face turned red immediately, and she averted her gaze.

"Grandpa Veyron said it’s best I cut it since in battle it will be easier to grab. Do you... like it?"

"Yes, it suits you."

She smiled.

"Well, anyway, I should get back to him. See you later, I guess."

I waved to Liora as she walked away, then I continued on to where I was going.

...

The battle between Danzo and Kaelen was over within just a few short minutes. Kaelen lay a bloody mess on the ground with Danzo standing over him.

"You have potential," Danzo said as Kaelen coughed up a mouthful of his own blood. "You can easily surpass your father. With your strength, I can proudly say that you are worthy of marrying my daughter."

"I would never," Kaelen spat. "After what you did, I would never."

"You’ve been deceived by that boy. But I’ll open your eyes."

Saying that, Danzo dug his claws into the back of Kaelen’s neck. It was a technique used by wolves to transfer memories.

Kaelen’s eyes widened as the memory of what really happened to his father played in his mind.

In the memory, he saw Liam, his own cousin, killing his father. It was that moment he realized that he was betrayed yet again, and the monster within him began to stir.

"Liam!!" He roared the name that was responsible for all of his anguish. His roar shook the entire forest, sending birds flying off in the distance.

"Yes, show me the true power of your curse," Danzo grinned.

And soon, Kaelen’s entire body began to transform into a monster. An apex predator. His entire body was covered in gray fur, making him look like a giant wolf-man.

He had the head of a wolf and claws that spanned 6 inches. His bloodlust was strong enough to kill any small animal that dared be in his presence.

He didn’t even spare Danzo another glance before he took off through the forest. Its agility was so great that Danzo could hardly believe his eyes.

As the beast charged through the forest, there was only one person that plagued his mind.