Chapter 3 Goodbye

My gaze suddenly locked with the moon; it's time for the full moon.

My ears reverberated with the sounds of howling wolves, my eyes turned dazzling red, and my claws slowly crept out.

I stared at the window, my only hope for escape, and contemplated jumping out and dashing away with speed.

I shredded my cloths, and a large black wolf -my mom- appeared besides me

We ran swiftly into the woods, playing and howling under the moonlight, cherishing our last mother-daughter moment.

We stopped at a pebble Stone and gazed out the mountains, talking in the view lost in our own thoughts.

This was it.

This was our last night together as mother and daughter.

We scrambled back home as the sun began to rise. I dashed into my room, took a hot bath, got dressed, and checked my clock which read; 4:30 a.m.

I had plenty of time to meet up with Miss Victoria, our coach.

She had ask me to meet her by 5 a.m.

I was wondered what she wanted to talk about. I gazed at my reflection i was wearing a black leather jacket, matching black leather pants, and boots.

I already had the aura of a soldier.

I let out a giggle.

As I was about to launch out of the house,my mom stopped me.

She looked at me with confusion and worry etched on her face.

"Where are you going, hun? Today is the day; I can't afford to look for you."

I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Nowhere, Mom. I will be back in a jiffy; Miss Victoria wants to have a word with me."

And she immediately narrowed her eyes at me. "What did you do?"

I swallowed hard, obviously scared she was going to catch me.

"Nothing," I shrugged off my shoulder.

"Nothing?" she yelled, glaring at me as if she were staring right into my soul.

I couldn't hold the heat and blurted out, "It was Luci's fault." Her eyes went wide open, and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"What the hell did you do to Luci?" she asked in disbelief. "Nothing, just grazed her face a little." "You did what...?" she yelled, obviously shocked.

Yeah, she always knew I had a quick fuse; she mostly gave me tips on how to control it. I suddenly rushed towards her and kissed her forehead.

"Mom, I will be back; I'm running late," I mentioned and hastily departed. She stared at me, her mouth wide open in shock, and yelled,

"You can't run forever!" she roared, and I couldn't help but chuckle hard while running away.

I got to the Moonlight Defile School and opened the gate, which creaked as it swung open.

I entered, observing the school environment, with crickets chirping and owls hooting, the environment enchanted with darkness.

I quickly went into the faculty lounge and came to a halt when I came across a large door with the name "The Clawsome Coach." I pushed the door, which opened with a loud screech, and stepped inside.

I swept a glance around the office and was fascinated by the artwork. My gaze suddenly diverted to something on the table that was hidden behind a book.

My eyebrows furrowed slightly as I approached the table.

I picked it up, and it seemed like a compact, odd sculpture. What kind of object is this? I was lost in a world of inquisitiveness when Miss Victoria emerged from a door connected to her office, causing me to drop the object in a daze.

She stared at me, stunned, of while I was here, and quickly took the object and tossed it aside.

"What are you doing here, Evelyn?" she stuttered, a glitch of panic on her face.

"You asked me to be here, right?" I responded, my eyes fiercely glued to her try to process weirdness behind her actions.

"Oh, I didn't recall I had asked you," she chuckled nervously, pushing her glasses up at the bridge of her nose.

"You did," I replied, my eyes wandering around her.

"Oh, about what you did to Luci. Thank the gods, she's a werewolf, and we have this ability to heal fast. What would have become of her?"

I suddenly let out a chuckle, my gaze fixed on her.

"You just mentioned that, so it's fine."

"You," she pointed at me frustratedly and let out a sigh.

"I heard you had been selected among the people who are going for the Blood Moon boot camp."

I immediately bit my lips to suppress the ache I felt in my heart.

"Yes, I was selected," I said firmly.

She stepped forward to me, held my shoulder firmly, and stated,

"You are strong, Evelyn. You will get through this, you were destined to be on this journey, take it as your life purpose"

I nodded and Said

"Thanks, and I will take it as my life task because it's part of my fate."

She flashed a smile at me and gave shoulder a little pat.

My gaze drifted to the wall clock, which read 5:45 AM, and my mind began to wander, thinking about the object

"Miss Victoria, what is was object you took from me?"

She looked puzzled by my question, but smiled.

"Nothing, dear, just some old bizarre thing my granny gave to me," she chuckled, and I chuckled did along with her.

But her eyes betray her,screaming lies.

I left the school and headed back home.

When I arrived home, I saw my bags already packed up by my mom.

"It's time," she muttered, her eyes swollen; I think she had cried a lot.

We walked through the crowded pack market and came across many young women and men heading to the park council announcement.

The air was filled with sounds of tears and murmurs.

In my whole life, I had never imagined I would be among these people, going to fight for our lives.

When I was 16 and 17, I would hide the crowds to watch people going to the Blood Moon Boot Camp.

We saw over 300 people go to the blood moon boot camp, but only 10 or 5 returned alive.

It's heartbreaking to be among those who are going to fight for their lives

We finally arrived at the pack council and saw the Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omega standing vigorously and elegantly at the dais, waiting for the Alpha to address us.

Immediately, the crowd went tranquil like a graveyard.

The Alpha arrived.

I stared at the broad and strong muscular man standing vigorously on the dais who began his speech.

"I know this is a very challenging and deadly assignment for us to execute, but we have no choice. Over the years, we have respected a tradition that has been passed down to every generation, and it can't be changed. I am sorry if you find yourself tangled in this situation, but it is set to be our fate. We can't question anyone, it's the moon gods that choose a path for us, and it's that path we must follow." The crowd immediately roared with cheers and clapping.

He continued and brought out a paper, reading from it: "The Blood Moon Camp is carried out for a year and has a rule that every Valtor werewolf must follow:

1. No Valtor from the Tharros pack is allowed to mate with any other wolves apart from their species.

2. No Valtor from the Tharros pack is allowed to get pregnant by another species of wolves.

Anyone who comes with a pregnancy from another species of wolves will be eliminated." The crowd followed with silent murmurings and questions.

"This is a message passed to you by your alpha, and you will be guarded by the soldiers away from the pack, where you will see a train. Please be alert and get on that train," he concluded, stepping off from the dais.

Immediately, the crowd echoed with tears and murmurs, and my mom turned to me with tears pouring down her eyes. I hugged her tightly, crying bitterly.

"Please be strong and stay alive for me, and don't forget about our love and the bond we share. If you are in a difficult situation, just remember I am always in ur heart," she choked on her voice while handing me my bags, which I took.

"I won't forget you, Mom. I love you," I uttered, half-yelling due to the commotion of the crowd, with tears dripping down my face.

I took a quick glance at my mom as we were led away from the pack, little by little her shadow slowly faded lost among the crowd.

We were led away by the moon soldiers, away from the pack, and came to a halt when we reached an isolated wilderness desert. The soldiers immediately turned their backs, leaving us confused. Some werewolves were tired from the short journey and sat helplessly on the floor.

I breathed out a sigh of relief when I saw a train track on the floor. Immediately, I felt the floor vibrating.

As the vibrations became stronger, i realized it was the train coming. Everyone got alerted and stood up.

"I think the train isn't stopping," someone among us spoke.

"Oh my, the train isn't stopping!"

As the train got closer, everyone panicked in confusion.

"What are we going to do now?" I yelled as the train was already close to us, lunching with full speed.

"Jump onto the train!" a boy among us shouted. We ran towards the train, and as it was heading towards a narrow tunnel, we jumped in and fell with a loud thud inside.

I winced in pain slightly as my head hit the floor, the train had no chairs or anything, just emptiness. I struggled to rest my back in the train when someone tapped me.