Chapter 2 Fallen Moon

Lord Grimm's most powerful werewolf pack rested at their campsite beneath the stars. They resided in the darkest parts of the forest positioned closest to the Luminous Castle, Lord Grimm's stronghold. This pack is referred to by many as the notorious Nightshade. The pack began as a generous friendship between Lord Grimm's adopted son Lycan and a mere servant boy with nothing to his name. That unexpected bond became the story of their origin.

In every existing pack, there are a total of six members each entitled to a specific task. These roles are The Omega, The Medic, The Tracker, The Hunter, The Beta and of course, The Alpha. Without all six members, a pack cannot be dispatched. At the moment Nightshade was short two of them, they had lost them during the war. Now, they were lying in wait for the replacements. The two of them had just arrived.

The first to be replaced was none other than the Omega. The name translates as the end. This rank is given to the weakest member of the pack. They are tasked with shopping, running errands, and taking care of the other pack members. Their strength is measured by their spouse having no real strength of their own. This is why this rank is typically given to women. The werewolf code has always been biased toward women.

This rank now belongs to a woman by the name of Raven. They knew a bit about her during their meet and greet sessions with her. She was once known as the infamous Erika Ravenheart, a famous composer at the peak of her career. Her name had to change due to her popularity with the humans and media. The pack members took her as a joke at first. They wondered how a woman of her stature was able to survive the transition. She was quick to prove her worth. For an Omega, Raven was indeed strong and well balanced. She seemed perfect for the role. That was until they learned she wasn't the type of woman to let people walk all over her.

Raven has long flawless black hair that descends to her mid back in a flow of delicacy. Her navy blue eyes were fixated on her notebook as she jotted down lyrics. Her light tan skin shined in light of the stars. She had only two tattoos. One of them rested on the back of her neck. The artwork was of a small raven. The wings of the raven were spread out inside the outline of a feathered heart. This tattoo she referred to as her family crest. The second tattoo rested over the breast that contained her heart. It was a tattoo of a black heart. She wore a black hair tie on her right wrist just in case she needed it. She dressed in a black tank top with a white outline. Her agile legs were covered by faded distressed blue jeans. She wore standard black converse shoes.

The second and final role to be replaced is the Medic. One of the most crucial roles to be filled, their title pretty much tells all. They are tasked with treating wounded pack members, creating and prescribing medicine. They also dissect medicine in order to combat the vampire's healer. The Medic just like the Omega must refrain from fighting. They are oftentimes protected by the Tracker and The Hunter. This is also the only rank that refrains from using the werewolf transformation. This person must stay in control of their emotions at all times and like the Omega it is typically given to women.

This rank now belongs to Claire, Claire Ravenheart. She is the younger sister to Raven. Unlike her sister, she was quick to catch on having read many novels about the supernatural. This left her with a lot of questions to ask whenever she discovered that supernatural life did in fact, exist. Lord Grimm gladly cleared any confusion she had. Afterward, she made it her goal to be the best Werewolf she could be. She scored high on all of her tests. Whenever it came down to physical examination her scores began to drop. This is where Raven's scores tended to grow making them the perfect combination. However, fortune had smiled down on her.

Claire became one of the unique cases. When faced with the transition. She was also given a special gift that earned her high respect. Her blood had strong healing capabilities. It always remained active. Due to this, she healed remarkably fast making it almost impossible to harm her. Claire even learned how to use her gift to mend the wounds on other werewolves and even discovered. Her unique blood also acted like the perfect defense mechanism against vampires. It could react as a powerful acid to a vampire's skin. This alone, made her the ideal medic.

"Sister," Claire rushed over to her sister. "You actually made it into Nightshade with me." Well, she couldn't let her younger sister upstage her. Though, she sort of did when she scored Medic a rank higher than her. Raven blames the fact she had a gift that allowed her to heal. It didn't matter now at least they were together again.

"Don't act shocked," Raven closed her notebook. She dropped from the tree branch she was resting on landing on her feet. "Let's not forget who beat who in that sparring match we had." Claire put her hands in her jacket pockets. Her jacket was navy blue with the words "Every Rose Has Thorns" written on the back in cursive with a rose underneath it. She dressed in faded blue jeans and navy blue converse shoes. She was still wearing that gold purity ring attached to a gold chain around her neck. A firm believer in abstinence, Claire hasn't changed over the course of two or three years.

"That's true, you did beat me." Claire acknowledged. She ran her fingers through her brunette hair. "It's going to be great being in the same notorious pack as you. It's been awhile since we've," She lowered her head.

"Bonded," Raven understood. The two of them were never really that close. Even as kids, it was hard for them to find something in common. The two of them were just different. Being a werewolf with her younger sister. It was going to be a nice switch. At least now they finally had something in common.

"It's going to be good," Claire assured her half heartedly. It was easy to tell that her sister was a bit worried. Maybe even, a little scared. They were no longer in the shelter of the training camp. This is the real thing, it was kill or be killed and the vampires weren't going to think twice about it. They trained for this but even so, it was hard not to be at least a little worried. Still, Raven had to be strong for her sister's sake.

"Hey," Raven placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "We'll get through this." She smiled at her. "Think of it as a new chapter in our lives, maybe a better one." Claire's navy blue eyes lingered on the werewolf rulebook in her hand. They were bound by rules now, not that Raven knew them. She only skimmed through a couple pages despite the warnings they were given.

"Yeah besides," The slender built boy walked up to them. Like most werewolf males, he wasn't wearing a shirt. His right ear had three gold piercings in it. While the other ear only had two. He was wearing blue denim jeans with a few tears in the knees. "You have me Claire," He placed his hand on his chest. "You remember me right?"

This werewolf, Raven knew him as Jay. He's the tracker of Nightshade. Two ranks above her and a rank above her sister. What did she know about him? Well, from their meet and greets. She learned that Jay and his twin brother Jayson joined the war at the age of only twelve. They hoped to avenge the death of their parents who were brutally murdered when they were only six years old. As a reminder of that tragic day, Jay had his mother's name tattooed on his left forearm. While his brother Jayson carried their father's name on his right.

After the death of their parents, the twins were taken in and raised by the Beta of Nightshade. He trained them and turned them into the strongest werewolf tag team. They complemented each other to perfection. One is fast, while the other is strong. One had an act for formulating strategies while the other acted as decoy to throw off the enemy. Even their special gifts could complement each other to some extent.

Jay can augment any one of his five senses. He can increase it to up to three times that of your standard werewolf. He could see things from a farther distance, hear distinct sounds in the forest. He could feel weak points in an enemy's armor or even weak points in the ground beneath him. This allowed him to dig underground and strike from below. Jay could even smell things that other werewolves can't. Nothing could avoid his detection, not even if it were a fly on the wall.

His brother, Jayson can manipulate the flow of his adrenaline. This grants him a substantial boost to both attack and defense. He can boost his adrenaline so high that he doesn't feel pain. He can push through any attack and still be able to counter it. It's seldom a vampire survives after he has them trapped in a corner. There's a rumor that he could even use his ability to kick start his heart and bring himself back from the dead. It's never been tested, which is probably a good thing.

"The two of you are new to the werewolf lifestyle." Jay pointed out. "So um," He ran his fingers through his light ash hair that went to his shoulder blades. "If you have any questions, well," He put his hands in his pockets. "I've been a werewolf my whole life so," He scooted his bare foot across the grass. "If you got a question." His cheeks reddened when his eyes met with Claire's. "Just ask me okay?" He forced a nervous smile.

"I get this feeling," Claire placed her hand on her chest. "It's weird," She explained. Jay nodded at her attentively. "It's like," Raven understood what she was talking about. Her body felt it too. This strange feeling was more like a weird prediction. "I have this connection with nature like, it's attached to," He cut her off.

"Oh," Jay arched his head back. "You must be referring to the natural connection our bodies have with the moon." He explained casually. "Sorry," Jay forced a light chuckle. "I've had it my whole life so to me," He placed his hand on his chest. "It's normal. But yeah," He shrugged. "We are able to detect when there's going to be a full moon. Our bodies naturally feel the moon changing." So then tonight is going to be...-

"Awesome, we got Raven," Jayson rested his muscular arm on Raven's shoulder. She groaned, taking his arm off her. His locks had the same light ash color as his twin brother. Though, his strands were much shorter in length. His shirtless mass was more toned than his brother by quite a bit. He wore distressed blue jeans that sagged dangerously low.

"Just so you know," Jayson crossed his arms. Raven rolled her eyes. Here we go, he's still upset about that sparring match they had together. He has such a fragile ego. "The only reason I lost to you is because," He forced a swallow. "I got distracted by your breasts."

"I'm not one to take my brother's side but," Jay's canine teased his lip. "He might be right." He crossed his arms. "Breasts have always been his greatest weakness." He let out a deep sigh. "Either way," He clinched his lips tight together. "You got your ass kicked by an Omega." Jay busted out laughing. Jayson growled in offense. "Two ranks no, wait." He paused. "Raven is three ranks beneath you and she still kicked your ass."

"Shut up, I'm still the Hunter of Nightshade." Jayson countered. "That puts me a rank above your weak ass," Jay wouldn't stop laughing at him. In frustration, Jayson tackled his brother to the ground. The two of them began to wrestle each other in the grass.

"Strange we are at war but," Claire shrugged. "Somehow having them around," She glanced over at the twins as they were playing around. "It makes things easier," She laughed watching as they wrestled each other to the ground.

Two of their pack members had died. Yet, the twins acted as if their deaths were... Normal. Perhaps to them, this is normal being raised in times of endless war, seeing loved ones die. To people like Raven and her sister who have never witnessed the death of a loved one. This is anything but normal, in fact. There was a part of Raven that feared for her sister's life. Maybe that's why even she's a little afraid.

Their eyes wandered over at the man standing against the small cabin. His long blood red hair whisked in the cold wind. His well sculpted half naked body was built like a strong tower that stood over all of them. His tanned skin like living marble, unbreakable. Yet, there were claw marks across his chest and his back had been covered in gashes. His right ear is outlined with gold piercings, while the other bore only one a piercing of a single red and white feather. He wore distressed black jeans and black converse shoes with red claw mark designs.

This wolf had many tales to his name though, he never spoke. Raven could remember her meet and greets with him. He never showed any sign of emotion, not one smile, one frown, nothing. His face was so calm and collected. It's like he didn't care about anything. The room was filled with nothing but a cold dead silence. She knew only rumors of his tremendous strength. Those rumors only left her with an even greater mystery.

His name is Alejandro. A befitting name seeing as it translates as protector. He began as a servant boy befriended by Lord's Grimm's adopted son. The man who was destined to be nothing became Lord's Grimm's most dangerous weapon. His blood red eyes were a trademark of what was thought to be a myth among wolves. The killer's eye. It is said to be given to a werewolf that kills over a thousand vampires. Not much is known about what it does or how powerful this legendary gift is. That wasn't all Alejandro had to offer either.

Alejandro's werewolf venom is far more potent than any other werewolf. Once his deadly canines sank into flesh. Even if it were just a gentle bite. It no longer mattered if the person were a human, a vampire or even a werewolf like him. They would die a gruesome and rather painful death. A death so slow, it was too cruel to watch. It was reasons like that why they were told not to get too close to him.

"So tell me," Jay placed his hands on their shoulders. "What do you two know of our origin, the birth of Nightshade?" This question, it seemed only natural for them to know this answer. They were now members of the notorious pack.

"It began with Lycan, Lord Grimm's son befriending a servant." Claire answered. "They fought battles together for many years. Nightshade started as a two person pack. It evolved into what it is today." That's the story, they were told at least. "Lord Grimm tested us on it." She put her hands in her jacket pockets. "I got it right of course." Jay and Jayson both exchanged bothered glances at each other.

"Lord Grimm would make it seem like," Jay rubbed his chin. "His precious son is the main character of that story." He crossed his arms. "Well, I hate to break it to you like this but." He shook his head. "What he told you is false, that's not what really happened." Raven and Claire exchanged glances.

"Are you serious?" Claire whispered.

"I'll go get the firewood."Jayson placed his hand on his brother Jay's shoulder. "These ladies are a part of our pack now." He smiled at them. "It would be wrong not to share the real origin story. Brace yourselves ladies, you are in for a treat." He raced off into the woods.

"The truth is," Jay crossed his arms. "Leader Lycan didn't start our pack." He put his hands in his pockets. "He didn't befriend Alejandro. Actually," He took a seat in the grass. "Alejandro was the one who befriended him." Raven didn't understand. It shouldn't matter, who befriended who first. It's not important.

"You might think it doesn't matter," Jayson returned passing pieces of firewood to his brother. "Trust me it matters," He took a seat while Jay set up the campfire. "Here's the real story," He crossed his legs sitting Indian style. "Alejandro was indeed a servant destined to serve the werewolves. He and his family lived to be treated as lesser beings by those they serve. You see, Alejandro was treated like scum, his family like dirt. They would live that way for all eternity but Alejandro." He shook his head at them.

"He dreamed of being more than what he was destined to be." Jay lit the campfire. Raven watched as the tense flames lit up the camp site, dancing vibrantly. "He wanted to fight on the battlefield. So what did he do?" Jay took a seat by his brother. "Alejandro trained himself to fight, defying his very purpose. His mother and father begged him to accept what he couldn't change. Still, he trained every day for that unattainable dream. Where does Leader Lycan fit into this story?" Claire took a seat in the grass.

"One night," Jayson whispered, "An Alpha decides to claim Alejandro's mother in front of his father, her husband. She was but a servant forced to do whatever the Alpha asked of her. So, she had to let him." Raven eyes lingered on the ground. "But," Jayson paused. "Alejandro did the unthinkable." Raven sat next to her sister.