Chapter 1 - Run, Idalia!
Horror spilt through Idalia's veins at the sight before her, as her hands tightened around her sleeping four-months-old son with dread.
There, on the kitchen floor, Grandpa Alfred was.
Black furs in place of skin, hands in the middle of a shifting that would now never be completed, and his face — still in its human form, buried in a pan of hot oil.
She rushed over, her gloved hands turning off the stove's switch. But then, suddenly, she slipped on something warm and mushy, her back hitting the floor with a thud.
Grandpa Alfred fell back too, lifeless, as the pan of hot oil went flying in the air. Idalia turned her back, immediately shielding Arik with her body while the hot liquid burned through her clothes to her skin. Ignoring the pain, she instinctively checked on Arik to ensure he wasn't hurt as his cries filled the air.
But then, she saw what had caused her fall, and her eyes widened.
Bloodied organs… and a heart.
She looked back sharply at Grandpa Alfred's collapsed corpse – at that emptied hollow carved in his belly - and her heart fell.
Silence.
Panic.
She shot up, looking around frantically. Then her gaze fell upon the message on the wall, carved in jagged strokes and painted in blood.
"BRING IDALIA AND MY PUP BACK TO ME ALIVE."
"Alpha Kalio," she whispered to herself, the name tasting like dread on her tongue.
He had been here. The only reason he hadn't known that she lived here was because her wolf was practically dead within her. Scentless and useless.
He had done that to her.
He had killed her wolf.
And now, he was here for them.
Her trembling hand grabbed a knife from the counter, and she raced to the main room. It was as empty as she had left it. She hurried to the door and locked it while putting Arik back to sleep. Her heart was pounding so loudly, it was all she could hear.
With Arik still in her hand, she pushed the lone sofa down. Tore the cloth coverage with the knife. Yanked out her emergency bag that had been firmly tucked away. Quickly, she changed hers and Arik's outfits. A brown long-sleeved jumpsuit with a hood for the baby. For her, black pants, brown blouse, black leather gloves, a scarf, and a cloche hat. With a shawl, she strapped Arik against her and concealed his presence under her long black coat. Her movements were quick, steadier than she had expected from her trembling fingers.
He wasn't supposed to know that she was still breathing.
She had been buried in front of him.
But still- he had found her.
She knew it would happen. But this was too soon.
Someone in the Sanctuary must have betrayed her!
Idalia was quick to erase any evidence of their existence in the two-unit apartment with such practised expertise.
Footprints? Cleaned.
The message on the wall? Blurred with hot rice water and scraped away with a knife.
The bloodstained clothes? Drenched in alcohol and packed in a bin bag.
She picked up her bags, paid Grandpa Alfred's corpse one last look of guilt and regret, then slammed the door shut behind her.
May his soul rest in Argon's Moon.
Idalia was out of the cramped storey building in minutes. In a place like Cedar, everywhere was a refuge site, so it was easy for her to find a place to dump her bin bag.
She continued to run, looking back at intervals to ensure that she wasn't being followed. It didn't help that it was at night, and she lacked the vision of a wolf.
"Sorry!" She said as she bumped into someone roughly.
"Fucking watch where you are going bitch!" One yelled as she passed by, then swiftly.
"Check your pockets, maybe she stole something."
"Oh, come on. She has a baby."
"Or it could be Alfred's son with his pretend baby. Fucking insane people."
They both laughed at that. Tears of grief welled up in Idalia's eyes at their words, as her racing feet put more distance between her and them.
Soon enough, she was at the train station. The blazing white light hurt her eyes, as the overhead music filled her ears, along with people's conversation as she moved through the crowd. The space smelled of sweat, grease and harsh disinfectant.
"Welcome to Train Station C3. The next train will arrive in 15 minutes. Please ensure to keep off the tracks." The overhead announcement boomed in the air.
She pushed through the crowd to get her ticket. As she joined the queue, the question finally hit her.
Where was she going?
Certainly not the Sanctuary.
Not anywhere in Outer Metro where Alpha Kalio could send his searchers to, either.
And not…
Not anywhere close to Echelon.
Werewolves vanished around Echelon.
No body.
No blood.
Just the smell of silver in the air— mixed with absolute terror.
They called him the Silver Hunter.
A strange chill rang down Idalia's spine at the thought. She looked around quickly, tapping her shoe against the ground restlessly, as her hand patted Arik gently.
Why was this queue so slow?
She looked around again, but this time, her mind was starting to make everyone a suspect.
"Where to?" The clerk's voice yanked her back to the present.
"Centra-city." It slipped through her lips without a second thought.
On one extreme, there was Alpha Kalio. On the other hand, there was the Silver Hunter.
So why not stay in between? It was the best bet.
She grabbed her ticket from the clerk, trying hard to listen to the direction the man was giving her as she hurried off. But someone crashed into her at that moment, spilling his drink on her coat.
"Watch it!" She pushed him back violently, worried that the liquid had spilt on Arik.
It hadn't.
"Sorry, Love! I wasn't looking—" He said with a nervous laughter.
"…leaving in 3 minutes." The announcement cut him off, and she hurried off, not waiting for what he had to say next.
Breathlessly, she rushed into the train along with other passengers. She found a seat quickly, holding Arik tight as he cooed against her.
There was something strange about that man.
Why was this train not going any faster?
They needed to be in Centra-city already.
Idalia looked around sharply when she felt eyes on her. But no one was looking her way. There were about 20 people in this coach; most were sleeping, and the rest had their attention elsewhere.
Still, that eerie feeling in her veins remained.
Just as Idalia was about to stand up and move to another coach, someone in a black hood staggered across to her and sank into the seat right next to her.
The train dipped into a tunnel, and the beautiful scenery outside was replaced by cold walls. The unsettling feeling thickened in her veins, and Idalia moved to stand up again. But then the lights in the coach began to flicker, and confusion stretched across the train.
Just then, a hand shot out from the black hoodie and grabbed her thigh. Long, dirty claws raking her jeans, threatening to draw blood.
Her teeth clattered with fear as she turned to look at the hooded man. He was looking right at her, his blackened teeth on full display, his eyes sparkling with unhinged madness.
A rogue. A packless werewolf plagued with a reckless thirst for murder and absolute insanity.
"Going somewhere, Idalia?"