Chapter 3

Elena

As I look at the burned buildings of the Mountain Pack, I tie my hair in a ponytail. I frown while I try to assess how much the repairs will cost. Of course, some buildings will have to be rebuilt.

Mark moves to my left, but I don't say a word as I keep looking at the Pack House. Half of it perished in the fire. I frown while I try to think how the pack members will live until they have the new buildings.

Less than sixteen hours ago, the Mountain Pack was attacked by a pack of rogue wolves. I still don't understand how the rogues managed to do so much damage to this pack.

"How many dead?" I ask Alpha Dan, the Alpha of the pack.

From the corner of my right eye, I see how Alpha Dan scratches the back of his head before talking, "Ten dead and twenty-three wounded."

"And what the fuck were the Enforcers doing? Play fucking cards while the rogues attacked?" I snap at the Alpha.

Each pack of werewolves has at least ten Enforcers or more, depending on the size of the pack and the territory that pack has. Enforcers are Delta specially trained to deal with any kind of threats and attacks.

"Elena–"

"Shut it, Mark!" I snap at him too.

"It wasn't only rogues," Alpha Dan says. "There were at least ten vampires too! And my Enforcers were not playing cards! They were–"

I turn on my heels to look at Alpha Dan, "What did you say?"

"That the Enforcers were not pla–"

I put a hand in the air, and he stops talking. "Before that! You said something about vampires!"

"Yes! Vampires led the pack of rogues that attacked us," Alpha Dan says, looking at me.

What the fuck? Since when have the vampires allied with the rogue werewolves? There's something about this whole thing that I don't like.

"I want to see the bodies."

Alpha Dan nods, "We haven't yet burned the bodies. Do you need me to call the doctor of the pack?"

Some packs that still live in Middle Ages insist on burning the bodies of the werewolves that vampires have killed. Remote packs even think that a werewolf that is bitten and drained of his or her blood by a vampire will rise the third night after he or she died and turn into a moroi or moroacă.

You wonder what a moroi is? It is a different type of vampire, and depending on the region of Romania, some might say a moroi is even a type of a ghost or a phantom.

Which is total bullshit. Because a werewolf won't turn into a moroi. I am twenty-one, and I have never met a moroi.

There has been a case of children born between a vampire and a werewolf, but those are rare cases and are taboo. To be totally honest, the Elders have forbidden the werewolf population to take vampires as mates.

Vampires and werewolves have been fighting for a long time. For about 550 years, to be exact. Around that time, the first vampire and the first werewolf appeared. Everyone knows that Vlad Țepeș or Dracula is the father of all vampires, but not many know that Radu the Handsome was the first of all the werewolves. History says that Vlad Dracul, the father of Vlad and Radu, made a pact with the devil himself. The truth is that Vlad Țepeș made a deal with the Goddess of the night, and Radu a deal with the Goddess of the Moon. They made the deals so that they could save themselves from the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Thus Vlad became the first vampire and Nyx the Goddess of all vampires. Radu became the first werewolf, and Selene the Goddess of all werewolves.

Like vampires, werewolves can create werewolves from humans by letting humans almost bleed to death. When the human is not dead but not quite living, the werewolf gives his blood to the human. If the human is lucky, he or she will wake up as a werewolf. In the worse cases, the human will turn into a vârcolac. A vârcolac is a werewolf who lost his humanity and is only a beast. In these cases, hunters are called in to track and kill them before they enter cities or villages and start killing humans. The relationship between humans and the paranormal community is very fragile. If a vârcolac were to create chaos in the humans' cities, I think a war between humans and shifters would start.

But only werewolves that are directed descendants from Radu can transform a human into a werewolf. And, of course, females gave birth to the next generation. In this way, werewolves multiplied quickly in the first two hundred years because many humans wanted to become werewolves. They were almost always Omegas and Gammas. Many of today's Gammas and Omegas are descendants of those humans turned generations ago.

I look at the Alpha and say, "Just show me the bodies."

Alpha Dan starts walking, and I follow him. Mark and William, my best friends, are right behind me.

"Should I prepare some stakes?" William says in a low tone, and Mark chuckles.

Some werewolves say that a way to kill a moroi is by impaling a stake in his heart.

"Why? You want me to shove it up your ass?" I say while I jump over some burned wood.

Mark tries hard not to laugh.

"You are such a sadist!" William says, and I grin.

Alpha Dan takes us to the clinic. It is one of the few buildings that are still intact.

"We used one of the rooms to put the bodies in until we can burn them," Alpha Dan says.

Before I can say anything, a female child approaches me, "You are her, aren't you?"

I narrow my eyes, "Her who?"

"Elena," the female says, "the best vampire huntress in Romania."

"Actually," Mark says, "she is the best in the whole Europe."

I glare at Mark, then look back at the child, and I shrug, "I am not the best, but yes, I am Elena."

"When I grow up, I want to be just like you, but my brother says that I am too slow and not strong enough," the child says in a sad tone.

"If you want to be just like me, you have to train very hard and believe in your dreams," I tell her.

The child nods and runs away happily.

"Would you like to say something to the other pack members?" Alpha Dan asks me.

"I can't," I say. He opens his mouth to say something, and I try not to growl at the male, "Just show me where the bodies are. I don't have the whole fucking night! I have to leave in an hour!"

I sigh. I know that I will probably talk to the pack before I leave.

"Of course, Elena. Don't need to get mad," the Alpha says. "But I thought that–"

"That what? That I am here to drink some margaritas while I tell you how much money the Alpha Supreme will send you for the damage?"

Alpha Dan goes a little pale, "Of course, I did not think that! But I thought that you would stay this night. What if they attack again?"

"I already sent word to the First Enforcer," I say. Looking at my watch, I add, "About thirty Enforcers will arrive in half an hour."

The Alpha nods and opens the door to a room. I enter. Mark and William follow me inside the room. Ten bodies are on the floor, covered by white sheets.

"Do you need me in here?" Alpha Dan says in a flat tone.

I shake my head. "You can go. I know that your pack needs you. I will come to look for you once I am done here."

He leaves and closes the door behind him.

I get on my haunches in front of one of the bodies. I grab the sheet, remove it, and look at the werewolf that died: a young female, probably seventeen or younger.

"Fuck those damn vampires and rogues!" I curse, not being able to control my anger.

Mark and William don't say anything, and I know they are angry as I am. I am used to death because I've seen so many dead people, but it never gets easy.

I move the head of the female to the side and examine her neck. When I see where she has been bitten, I curse.

"Elena?" Mark asks.

I don't say anything as I check all the other bodies. It doesn't take long to look at all of them.

When I finish, I look at Mark and William. "It's him! He's back!" I say in a tone full of anger.

"Are you sure?" William says.

"I thought you killed him!" Mark adds.

"I said I almost fucking killed him!" I snap. "He was still alive when he fell in that river!"

"What do we do now?" William asks.

I look at Mark and then at William. We have been working together for over five years, and we are a team. The best team. "We finish what we started!" I say.

We have been hunting the same vampire for the last seven years. Not only that he is a serial criminal and wanted by the Alpha Supreme, but he also destroyed my entire life.

Seven years ago, I made a vow that I won't stop until I find him and kill him for all that he had done.

My phone rings, and I take it out from the back pocket of my jeans.

"Yes?" I say, answering.

"I would like to speak to Elena," I hear a male saying.

"This is her. How can I help you?"

"This is Alpha Rick, from the Rock Pack, close to Sibiu. We've been attacked by a pack of rogues. We need help!"

"Fuck! I will send help as soon as I finish talking to you," I say. "Alpha Rick, tell me, were there any vampires with the rogue pack?"

"Yes! Around ten. The Enforcers killed two of them. But there took us by surprise, and they killed members from my pack," he says in a trembling tone.

I know he is suffering for his pack.

"It will be alright," I say. "I will send back up. Just make sure you are safe until Enforcers get there."

I hang up, dial a number, and put the phone to my ear.

"It's me," I say when the person I call picks up. "I need you to send Enforcers to the Rock Pack."

I hang up without waiting for a reply.

I close my eyes and rub my temples for a few moments.

Mark moves behind me, puts his hands on my shoulders, and massages them. I let my hands down and try to relax for a few moments but fail.

"Bad news?" William asks me.

"When do I not have bad news?" I reply with another question.

"When are we leaving?" Mark asks.

"Right after we see Alpha Dan," I say and open my eyes.

Before we leave the room, I look over my shoulder and vow to do whatever it takes to stop this from happening again.