Davao Region, Mindanao, Philippines
2021 — Present Day
Two Months After Vince Became a True Alpha
Two months had passed since Vincent Davis awakened his royal blood and became a True Alpha.
Two months since the Midnight Howlers were formed.
Two months since Vince became responsible for JR, Ryle, and Shane.
And somehow, the biggest threat to the pack this morning wasn't another Alpha.
It was Vince's mother.
CHERRY: VINCENT DAVIS!
Vince's eyes snapped open.
VINCE: Oh, shit.
A loud BANG came from downstairs.
JR: What the fuck was that?!
SHANE: Are we under attack?!
Ryle sat calmly on the couch with a cup of coffee.
RYLE: Worse.
JR looked at him.
JR: What could possibly be worse?
Ryle took another sip.
RYLE: Vince's mom is pissed.
Silence.
JR: Oh.
SHANE: We're fucked.
The Davis family house had unofficially become the Midnight Howlers' headquarters.
That had not been Vince's decision.
It hadn't exactly been Cherry's decision either.
The problem was that JR was constantly around, Shane kept leaving tools everywhere, and Ryle had discovered that Cherry made better food than he did.
Eventually, everyone just stopped pretending they weren't using the place as headquarters.
Footsteps approached.
Vince came running downstairs wearing shorts and a black shirt.
VINCE: Mom, before you say anything—
Cherry Davis stood in the kitchen holding the remains of what had once been a frying pan.
It was bent almost completely in half.
Cherry was an Evolved Werewolf.
An Alpha.
And unlike Vince, who had only been a True Alpha for two months, Cherry had years of experience controlling her supernatural abilities.
Which made her considerably scarier.
Her eyes flashed red.
CHERRY: Who destroyed my kitchen?
Vince looked around.
JR looked at Shane.
Shane looked at Ryle.
Ryle continued drinking coffee.
RYLE: Shane.
SHANE: YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!
CHERRY: Shane?
SHANE: Okay, technically, I didn't destroy the kitchen.
Cherry pointed toward a black scorch mark across the wall.
CHERRY: Explain that.
Shane pointed at Ryle.
SHANE: Hellhound.
Ryle slowly lowered his coffee.
RYLE: Don't drag me into this.
SHANE: Your fire did that.
RYLE: Because your homemade fucking toaster exploded!
Cherry stared at Shane.
SHANE: Prototype.
CHERRY: Why were you building a toaster?
SHANE: The old one was slow.
VINCE: Shane, it makes bread hot.
SHANE: Exactly. Why should that take three minutes?
JR nodded thoughtfully.
JR: He has a point.
Cherry looked at JR.
JR: He does not have a point.
Cherry placed the bent frying pan on the table.
CHERRY: All four of you. Clean this.
VINCE: Why me?!
CHERRY: Because they're your pack.
VINCE: That's bullshit!
Cherry's eyes glowed red.
Vince immediately grabbed a broom.
VINCE: Cleaning sounds fantastic.
JR laughed.
JR: The mighty True Alpha.
VINCE: Shut the fuck up.
CHERRY: Language.
VINCE: Sorry.
Ryle raised an eyebrow.
RYLE: You literally fight monsters.
CHERRY: And?
RYLE: Nothing, ma'am.
Shane whispered to JR.
SHANE: She scared the Hellhound.
RYLE: I can fucking hear you.
Before Shane could respond, Vince suddenly stopped sweeping.
His head turned toward the window.
His expression changed.
JR noticed immediately.
JR: What?
Vince listened.
His supernatural hearing reached beyond the house.
Cars.
Motorcycles.
People talking.
Dogs barking.
Then—
A scream.
Far away.
Vince dropped the broom.
VINCE: Someone's in trouble.
Cherry's expression hardened.
CHERRY: Where?
Vince sniffed the air.
Blood.
Something else.
Something rotten.
VINCE: Northeast. Maybe three kilometers.
JR's eyes flashed golden-yellow.
JR: I smell it too.
Ryle stood.
RYLE: Human?
Vince shook his head.
VINCE: I don't know.
Shane grabbed his jacket.
SHANE: So much for cleaning.
Cherry stepped in front of them.
CHERRY: Wait.
The four stopped.
VINCE: Mom—
CHERRY: You're not running blindly into another fight.
VINCE: We're not.
JR looked at him.
JR: We absolutely are.
Vince glared.
VINCE: You're supposed to support me.
JR: I'm supposed to prevent you from getting us killed.
RYLE: He's doing a terrible job.
Cherry sighed.
CHERRY: I'm coming.
Vince blinked.
VINCE: What?
CHERRY: You heard me.
VINCE: Mom, we can handle it.
CHERRY: Vincent.
VINCE: I'm a True Alpha.
Cherry stepped closer.
CHERRY: And I'm your mother.
Vince opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Shane smiled.
SHANE: True Alpha defeated again.
VINCE: Shut up, Silver Eyes.
---
Twenty minutes later, the Midnight Howlers reached an isolated stretch of woodland outside a small community.
The smell of blood became stronger.
Cherry crouched beside a bloody footprint.
CHERRY: Barefoot.
JR examined another mark.
JR: Human-shaped.
Ryle sniffed.
RYLE: Doesn't smell human.
Shane stared at the trees.
SHANE: That's comforting.
Vince touched the blood.
Still warm.
VINCE: Whatever did this is close.
A branch snapped.
Everyone turned.
Nothing.
SHANE: I hate forests.
JR: You weren't complaining two months ago.
SHANE: Two months ago I got thrown through a wall.
RYLE: You get thrown through walls everywhere.
SHANE: Exactly. Forests aren't special.
Something moved above them.
Vince looked up.
VINCE: MOVE!
A creature dropped from the trees.
Everyone scattered.
BOOM!
The creature landed where Vince had been standing.
It was tall and horribly thin.
Gray skin stretched across its bones.
Its mouth was covered in blood.
Dark-yellow eyes stared at them.
JR's claws emerged.
JR: Wendigo.
The Wendigo screamed.
SHANE: Ugly motherfucker.
The creature charged him.
SHANE: Why is it always me?!
Shane jumped sideways.
The Wendigo smashed through a tree.
Ryle's eyes ignited fiery orange.
RYLE: My turn.
Hellfire covered both hands.
Ryle fired.
BOOM!
The Wendigo was blasted backward.
Its chest burned.
It screamed—
Then stood back up.
Ryle frowned.
RYLE: That's annoying.
Vince's eyes flashed bright red.
VINCE: JR, right side! Shane, circle behind it! Ryle, keep it distracted!
JR moved immediately.
JR: Finally! An actual fucking plan!
VINCE: Don't sound so surprised!
The Wendigo charged.
Ryle met it head-on.
They collided.
The creature clawed Ryle across the shoulder.
Ryle grabbed its arm.
RYLE: You scratched my fucking jacket.
He headbutted it.
BAM!
JR attacked from the side.
His claws ripped across the Wendigo's ribs.
Black blood sprayed across him.
JR froze.
JR: Oh, that's disgusting.
The Wendigo punched him.
JR flew backward.
VINCE: JR!
JR: I'M GOOD!
JR crashed into a bush.
JR: Fuck this bush, though.
Shane jumped onto the Wendigo's back.
SHANE: Hey, corpse-face!
The Wendigo reached behind itself.
SHANE: Oh, shit.
It grabbed Shane and threw him.
Vince caught him.
Both fell.
SHANE: Thanks.
VINCE: Get off me.
SHANE: You're comfortable.
VINCE: Shane!
SHANE: Fine!
The Wendigo charged them.
Cherry suddenly appeared between them.
Her eyes burned red.
The Wendigo swung.
Cherry caught its wrist.
Everyone went silent.
The creature tried pulling away.
Cherry didn't move.
SHANE: Damn.
JR: Now I understand Vince's genetics.
Cherry smiled at the Wendigo.
CHERRY: You picked the wrong children.
She twisted.
CRACK!
The Wendigo's arm snapped.
Then Cherry punched it directly in the chest.
BOOM!
The creature flew through two trees.
Vince stared.
VINCE: Mom!
Cherry turned.
CHERRY: What?
VINCE: We had it!
RYLE: No, we fucking didn't.
VINCE: Ryle!
RYLE: I'm not lying to protect your ego.
The Wendigo screamed and charged again.
Cherry's body shifted.
Her claws lengthened.
Fangs emerged.
Red eyes burned brighter.
Then her transformation continued.
Bones cracked.
Her body expanded.
Dark fur spread across her body.
Within seconds, a massive wolf stood where Cherry had been.
The others stepped backward.
Shane stared.
SHANE: Holy shit.
JR smiled.
JR: Evolved Werewolf.
Ryle looked at Vince.
RYLE: Can you do that?
VINCE: Not yet.
RYLE: Skill issue.
VINCE: Fuck you.
Cherry lunged.
The Wendigo barely reacted before the massive wolf slammed into it.
They rolled through the dirt.
The Wendigo clawed Cherry's side.
Cherry bit into its shoulder.
CRUNCH.
The Wendigo screamed.
Vince transformed partially.
Bright-red eyes.
Claws.
Fangs.
VINCE: NOW!
The Midnight Howlers attacked together.
JR slashed the Wendigo's leg.
Shane kicked the back of its knee.
Ryle blasted its chest with hellfire.
Vince jumped through the flames and tackled it.
They crashed into the ground.
Vince pinned the creature.
It snapped its teeth inches from his face.
VINCE: Your breath smells like fucking death.
JR: It's a Wendigo!
VINCE: Still needs toothpaste!
The Wendigo threw Vince off.
It attempted to escape.
VINCE: It's running!
Cherry returned to human form and shouted—
CHERRY: Don't chase it!
Vince stopped.
JR stopped.
Shane stopped.
Ryle took two more steps.
RYLE: Why?
Cherry pointed toward the trees.
Everyone became quiet.
Growling surrounded them.
One pair of dark-yellow eyes appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Five.
Seven.
Nine.
Wendigos slowly emerged from the forest.
Shane looked around.
SHANE: Okay.
JR swallowed.
JR: That's bad.
RYLE: How bad?
JR: Somewhere between "we should leave" and "we're completely fucked."
Vince counted them.
VINCE: Ten.
Cherry shook her head.
CHERRY: Eleven.
A massive Wendigo emerged behind the others.
It was almost seven feet tall.
Old scars covered its body.
Blood dripped from its jaws.
Shane stepped backward.
SHANE: Can I change my vote to completely fucked?
The massive Wendigo roared.
The pack charged.
VINCE: HERE WE GO!
Chaos erupted.
Vince ducked beneath one Wendigo and drove his shoulder into its stomach. He lifted it and slammed it onto the ground.
JR jumped over Vince and kicked another creature across the face.
JR: Behind you!
Vince spun and punched a Wendigo.
VINCE: Behind YOU!
JR turned too late.
A Wendigo tackled him.
JR: SON OF A—
Shane hit the creature with a thick tree branch.
CRACK!
The branch broke.
Shane stared at it.
SHANE: Cheap fucking wood.
The Wendigo looked at him.
SHANE: That's not good.
Ryle blasted it with hellfire.
RYLE: You're welcome.
SHANE: I had it.
RYLE: Everyone keeps saying that today.
Two Wendigos attacked Cherry.
Her eyes flashed red.
She grabbed one and threw it into the other.
The creatures crashed together.
Another attacked Vince.
Its claws tore across his back.
VINCE: AAGH!
JR saw him fall.
JR: VINCE!
The giant Wendigo approached Vince.
Vince tried standing.
The creature kicked him in the ribs.
He rolled across the ground.
Cherry growled.
CHERRY: Get away from my son.
The giant Wendigo turned.
Cherry transformed.
Her massive wolf form charged.
The Wendigo caught her midair.
It slammed Cherry into the ground.
VINCE: MOM!
The Wendigo raised its claws.
Vince's bright-red eyes exploded with supernatural light.
He roared.
The True Alpha roar ripped through the forest.
Birds fled from the trees.
Every Wendigo froze.
JR covered his ears.
JR: FUCK!
Ryle's flames flickered violently.
Shane nearly fell.
The giant Wendigo turned toward Vince.
Vince stood.
Blood ran down his back.
His claws extended.
VINCE: Nobody touches my mother.
The giant Wendigo charged.
Vince sprinted forward.
They collided.
Vince ducked beneath its claws and punched its ribs.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The Wendigo grabbed his throat.
Vince drove both feet into its chest.
It stumbled backward.
VINCE: JR!
JR immediately understood.
He dropped onto all fours behind the Wendigo.
Vince kicked it.
The giant Wendigo tripped over JR.
JR stared at Vince from the ground.
JR: Did you seriously use me as a fucking obstacle?!
VINCE: Teamwork!
JR: THAT'S NOT TEAMWORK!
Ryle fired a stream of hellfire.
The Wendigo screamed.
Shane grabbed a broken metal signpost from beside the road.
SHANE: Vince!
He threw it.
Vince caught it.
The Wendigo charged through the flames.
Vince drove the metal pole through its chest.
The creature froze.
Black blood poured from its mouth.
Vince twisted the pole.
The Wendigo collapsed.
Silence.
The remaining Wendigos stared at their fallen leader.
Then they fled into the forest.
Ryle raised his burning hands.
RYLE: Should I burn them?
CHERRY: No.
RYLE: You're no fun.
Cherry returned to human form.
Vince rushed toward her.
VINCE: Mom, you okay?
CHERRY: I'm fine.
She looked at the claw marks across Vince's back.
CHERRY: You're hurt.
VINCE: Healing already.
Cherry inspected him anyway.
VINCE: Mom.
CHERRY: Stay still.
VINCE: I'm sixteen.
CHERRY: Congratulations.
JR laughed.
JR: Alpha Boy getting checked by Mommy.
Vince looked at him.
VINCE: Didn't I use you as a speed bump five minutes ago?
JR stopped laughing.
JR: Fuck you.
Shane approached the dead Wendigo.
He crouched.
SHANE: Guys.
The humor disappeared.
There was something carved into the Wendigo's chest.
A symbol.
A circle divided by three claw marks.
Cherry stared at it.
Her expression changed.
Vince noticed.
VINCE: Mom?
Cherry didn't answer.
VINCE: You recognize it.
JR stepped closer.
JR: What is it?
Cherry remained silent for several seconds.
CHERRY: We need to leave.
Vince frowned.
VINCE: That's not an answer.
CHERRY: Vincent.
VINCE: Mom, eleven Wendigos just tried to kill us. One of them has a fucking symbol carved into its chest. If you know something, tell us.
Cherry looked at her son.
For once, Vince wasn't joking.
Neither were the others.
Cherry exhaled.
CHERRY: That symbol belongs to an old supernatural faction.
JR: How old?
CHERRY: Older than any of you.
Ryle crossed his arms.
RYLE: That's not difficult.
Cherry ignored him.
CHERRY: They disappeared years ago. At least, that's what we believed.
Vince looked at the symbol.
Something about it made his instincts scream.
VINCE: What do they want?
Cherry looked directly into his eyes.
CHERRY: Powerful bloodlines.
Silence.
JR slowly looked at Vince.
Shane did the same.
Ryle's expression hardened.
Vince already understood.
VINCE: Royal blood.
Cherry nodded.
CHERRY: Your awakening didn't go unnoticed, Vincent.
The forest suddenly felt colder.
Two months ago, Vince had become a True Alpha.
He had thought the hardest part would be learning how to control his new strength.
He had been wrong.
His existence had placed a target on his back.
And maybe on everyone standing beside him.
Vince looked at JR, Ryle and Shane.
VINCE: Anyone wants to quit?
JR laughed.
JR: Fuck off.
SHANE: Not happening.
Hellfire appeared around Ryle's fist.
RYLE: Somebody comes for one of us, they deal with all of us.
Cherry smiled slightly.
Vince nodded.
VINCE: Good.
JR raised an eyebrow.
JR: What if I said yes?
VINCE: I would've called you a pussy.
JR: There he is.
A cellphone suddenly rang.
Everyone looked around.
Shane pulled his phone from his pocket.
The screen was cracked.
SHANE: Oh, come on!
RYLE: What?
SHANE: My screen!
JR: We nearly got eaten alive.
SHANE: This cost money!
Vince started laughing.
SHANE: Fuck you, rich werewolf.
VINCE: I'm not rich!
SHANE: Royal blood sounds rich.
VINCE: That's not how it works!
Cherry shook her head.
Eleven Wendigos had attacked them.
An ancient faction might be hunting her son.
Something dangerous was clearly moving through Mindanao.
And somehow these idiots were arguing about a phone.
Cherry sighed.
CHERRY: We're going home.
Vince looked at her.
VINCE: Food?
CHERRY: After you clean my kitchen.
Vince's smile vanished.
VINCE: Fuck.
Cherry stared at him.
VINCE: Sorry.
JR burst out laughing.
RYLE: True Alpha.
SHANE: Royal blood.
JR: Defeated by household chores.
VINCE: I hate this pack.
The four started walking toward the road.
Cherry followed behind them.
She smiled at their arguing, but it quickly disappeared when she looked back toward the dead Wendigo.
The symbol carved into its chest wasn't the only thing she recognized.
There had been a scent.
Faint.
Ancient.
A scent she hadn't encountered in years.
Cherry's eyes flashed red.
CHERRY: This can't be happening...
Far away from them, hidden deeper within the forest, a figure watched the Midnight Howlers leave.
A hood covered its face.
In one hand was an old photograph.
The photograph showed Cherry when she was younger.
Beside her stood another werewolf.
A man.
The stranger looked from the photograph toward Vince disappearing through the trees.
UNKNOWN FIGURE: Vincent Davis.
A claw slowly extended from beneath the hood.
UNKNOWN FIGURE: The little prince finally became a king.
The figure disappeared into the forest.
And the Midnight Howlers returned home completely unaware that their first real war had already begun.
END OF CHAPTER 2