A week later, deep in the distant woods, by a quiet creek, around thirty tough-looking men and women gathered. They wore sturdy leather jackets, tight pants, and black boots, standing by a large campfire, casting flickering shadows.
The group's faces were stern and cold as they gathered around the campfire. Some sat on logs, others on the ground, all fixated on a rugged man in his late forties. Bathed in the fire's orange glow, his face was weathered yet handsome, with streaks of white in his jet-black hair. His name was Jack Axgorn, the Alpha of the Blood Rebel pack. He exuded authority and confidence, commanding the attention of his pack members with his presence alone.
“We’ve waited enough,” Jack was saying. “It’s time! It’s our time, brothers. We’ve been in this woods now for a year doing nothing. So I say the time is now. And now, it is. A war between beast and man has just begun,” he paused, to see if he had the full attention of his pack, satisfied, he went on, “Those people took from us what rightly belongs to us. Fur Rivers belonged to us. Every goddamned inch of these woods belonged to us. And we can do with it as we desire.” His voice was terribly high now. “And yet, those gutless bastards took it from us. They did us dirty. Our pack was much more than this. We that we are here now, present in this gathering are the lucky ones who managed to escape from the raid on our pack. As young as we were at that time, we fed and clothed ourselves. We were left with nothing except with our strength and guts. No father or mother to take care and watch over us. And yet, we survived. Look at us! Look, brethren! Look! ” He was yelling now, the lines on his face and neck, standing out like thick threads. “We are still fucking standing!”
Loud call calls, howls, whistles from the pack followed, breaking the silence of the night. Jack allowed them for some moments, satisfied, he raised his hands.
A silence followed abruptly.
“Everyone here has been hurt one way or the other. Every last one of us here. So what the hell have we been waiting for all this time?” He yammered, but it sounded more like a growl. “We’ve been screwing around while those spineless damned humans milked and fed on our lands.” He shook his head miserably. “I don’t know about you brothers, but I’m getting my land back!” And he moved to a piece of log meant only for the Alpha and sat on it.
One of the pack members, Helldog, rose to his feet and approached the campfire, the flames casting eerie shadows on his rugged face. It was clear that Jack's words had deeply affected him, and the pack watched intently. Helldog was revered for his bravery and combat skills within the pack, and he knew he had supporters who admired him. Although he feigned indifference towards their loyalty, inwardly he was gratified. Turning to Jack, he spoke up.
“Alpha! May I address the brethren?” he inquired.
Jack spread out his hands. “You may proceed.”
Helldog inclined his head.
“Thank you, Alpha.” Then he faced the pack. “As you well know, I’m not the type to waste time when it comes to making decisions,” he said, staring hard at the gathering. “The Alpha has spoken. We’ve wasted enough time. I say it’s the time to fight those bastards in Fur Rivers. We need to take back what belonged to us. We’ve lost fathers, mothers, sisters and children. His voice was trembling with rage. “We’ve lost brothers,” he paused, swallowed hard and went on. “I lost a brother! One of the strongest and bravest men in this pack was killed shamelessly like a dog. And we are still here, discussing.” There was a sardonic expression on his face now. “I mean, I just lost a fucking brother! Those humans in Fur…….” But he did not get to finish his words, because a voice from the pack cut in, silencing him off.
“Words got to us that Conan was fooling around with one of those dames in the bar when he got fixed”
Helldog's face lost its color. He turned on the speaker like a cat.
“You said what?” He hammered.
“I said what I said.'' the voice returned and just then, a man stepped out of the shadows. He was built like an ox. Big, muscular and heavy bearded. Different tattoos criss crossed his thick neck and arms. His hair was tied and piled neatly back to the back of his head. His name was Razor and he was one of the deadliest Beta among the pack. He stood a few meters away from Helldog, his arms akimbo, his legs spread out, his eyes facing hard and expressionless.
“You insolent bastard,” Helldog pointed a thick finger at him. “You dare interrupt me?” There was bewilderment on his face and he stared at Razor in smoldering astonishment.
Razor shrugged his powerful shoulders.
“The truth has to come out one way or the other, Helldog. You can’t run from it.”
Helldog narrowed his eyes at him.
“What truth?”
“The truth about your brother fooling around with a girl before he got killed. The truth that he was more focused on the girl than the assignment,” Then he leered at Helldog. ”The truth about you hightailing it even before he was wasted.”
Helldog's face was twisted with rage. And he looked like he could break an artery at any moment.
“You fucker! I will take your two hands off and use them to beat you till you die” he glowered.
Razor shook his head.
"Nonsense! You wouldn't do any of that. You know why?" He pointed a finger at Helldog. "Because you know I'm telling the truth. Conan messed up and paid the price. The mission was simple: scare the people at the bar, kill as many as you can and leave. But your brother was too busy with other things," he smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. "We all knew it was Ivar's town. That's why you two were warned not to mess around. Do the job and get back. But Conan didn't listen. I heard that girl was really beautiful. She got Conan all fired up," he added, ignoring Helldog's anger. "Imagine a werewolf getting killed over a human woman. He's an embarrassment," Razor finished, shaking his head in disappointment.
A terrible silence you can hang your hat on descended on the pack. Razor had just exposed what was inside the minds of some of the members of the pack; what they had been deliberating on, but they could not bring themselves to say. To them, Conan had died a careless death. All because he could not put a leash on his lust. A pitiful, embarrassing death that is.
Suddenly, Helldog let out a shattering roar and lunged at Razor. He fell on Razor and both men went down like a sack of beans. They were on top of each other and they began to roll on the floor, growling, screaming and roaring like mad animals.
The rest of the pack members all scampered away and stood aside, watching the madness unfolding right in front of them.
Razor, snarling, tried to shove Helldog off him, but the other wolf man pinned him down. Regardless of his build, Helldog was stronger than him. Razor knew this and it angered him. He raised his hands…….it actually had claws now and struck Helldog’s face. Blood sprayed from the deep cut.
Helldog yelled, a murdering glint in his eyes. He raised his head and head-butted Razor right on the face. Razor winced, as technicolor began to flash across his face. He was dazed momentarily. If only he could shove this bastard off him, he thought wildly. He raised his two hands and sank it into the unprotected back of Helldog.
Helldog let out a terrifying scream that rang around the night. Helldog was mad now. He surmised strength, grabbed Razor by his waist and pulled him up from the ground. He raised his hands and slashed Razor across his face.
Razor screamed as sharp claws sank into his face, scratching it deeply. His body was still trying to adjust to this pain when he felt rapid, powerful blows on his chest. Helldog was punching him now. Razor felt as if he was being hit by a hammer. The force of the blows propelled him backward, and he doubled back, tripped and was about to fall down on his back, but Helldog dashed to him and caught him, his movements, like a lightening speed.
Building momentum, Helldog grabbed Razor's fat neck. His claws sank into the thick flesh of his throat. Razor let out a blood chilling howl, as his blood began to rush out, soaking the collar of his sweaters, running down the inside of his sweatshirt, down to his pants. Razor found out that it was difficult to breathe. He was losing strength, and blood. Terrified, he grabbed Helldog’s wrists and tried to pry them off him. But he was no match for Helldog’s Delta strength.
Helldog, his face now contorted in a murdering rage, began to lift Razor’s up from the ground with a hand………..he was actually lifting Razor up with just one hand.
Razor's legs were already twitching in mid air now. His face congested with pain, his eyes closing and opening, a movement he had no control over. Blood was gushing out from his neck now, soaking Helldog’s hand.
“Leave him! Please leave him!” One of the girls who stood around watching the whole scene yelled. “Please, you are killing him!” Then she began to run towards Helldog. Her name is Chai and she is Razor’s betrothed bride.
Helldog caught a movement in the corner of his eyes. He lifted a leg, lashing out a powerful kick. The kick caught Chai in her chest. She doubled over and fell to the ground as if pole-axed.
“Enough of this madness.” Jack yelled, his face twisted with anger.
The sound of his voice was like the crack of a big gun. It rolled around the camp, stiffening the nerves of all the pack members. Helldog was terribly startled. He did not even know when the bleeding Razor fell from his hands. All he remembered was hearing a strident noise and the next moment, he was on his knees, his head facing the ground. Razor lay on the ground, still writhing, holding his bleeding neck. His clothes were heavily stained with blood. Some of the pack members rushed to where he lay sprawled out and began to administer relief aid to him.
"What's gotten into you!" Jack exclaimed, his voice sharp with anger. "Fighting amongst ourselves won't get us anywhere, especially when we're gearing up for a war with the humans. This madness has to stop!" His gaze swept over the pack, stern and determined. "We need unity, love, and respect to bolster our ranks and stand a chance against those humans." Jack's eyes fixed on Helldog, his second-in-command. "You let your emotions get the best of you tonight. A leader must always be in control. You'll face consequences for your actions, but not now." Turning to Razor, who whimpered where he was, Jack's tone softened slightly. "Razor, you crossed a line with your superior. You've been disciplined. Take him away, tend to his wounds. He'll be fine"
A man and two women, including Chai who was sniveling now, heaved Razor up on his feet and led him away.
Jack turned to the rest of the pack.
“You can all turn in for the night. And remember a big war is coming! Prepare yourselves” he paused, watching them leave, one after the other, then he continued. “Helldog! NightClaws! Magnum! stay back. I’ve got a little assignment for you”
Two powerfully built and hard looking young boys stepped out of the dispersing crowd and came over to where Jack stood. Helldog got to his feet and moved towards them.
Jack, seeing the camp was empty except for the four of them, turned his attention to the men who stood before him.
“Three of you are going into Fur Rivers tonight,” He said tightly. “You are going there to kill a man and his family. His name is Bill Castle. He was one of those men who led the attack on our families. I’ve been keeping my eyes on him for some time now. He has made a lot of money in the town.” Then an evil glint came into his eyes. “His money making days are over. You are going to wipe him and any of his families out. You wipe them all out. Once you are done come back here immediately. You need not linger around for trophies or anything. Kill and move. Helldog will lead the team. That will be all, brothers.”
Night Claws and Magnum nodded their heads and went away. Helldog watched them go and turned to Jack.
“Alpha! What about Ivar?” He questioned. “That man is still running around that town as a free man. I recognized him that night in the bar. He killed my brother. I want to stick him to the ground.” He snarled.
Jack shook his head.
“Leave him for now. He’s not our problem. You are no match for his skills. At least not for now. Forget him and focus on the assignment at hand.”
Helldog was angry and it showed greatly on his face. He spat out.
“I will kill Ivar the way I will kill a deer! I will break every bone in his goddamn body. He killed Conan! He…..killed…Conan. I won’t rest until I fix him. I will find him tomorrow and fix him. That’s when I will rest.”
Jack stood his ground. He gave Helldog a hard look.
“Your assignment is to fix Bill Castle,” he gritted out. “Anything else, you are on your own. Helldog! don’t make any rash decisions that will cost this pack. You are a good fighter and I still need you.Bill Castle is the mission. Fix him and run! That’s the assignment,” and he began to move away.
Helldog dragged his eyes to the ground, silent for a long moment, then he lifted his eyes to Jack’s retreating back.
“What if he shows up tonight? What if he comes to help Bill Castle?” He said eagerly. “Words always get to him, you know that right? So what if he shows up?”
Jack paused in his steps. He stood like that for a long moment, then he looked over his shoulders.
“He won’t show up tonight. This was careful planning. I intentionally picked this night randomly for the attack. No words would get to Ivar. But if he shows up, then he’s all yours, Helldog! Do with him as you please,” and he disappeared into the darkness.
Helldog watched him go and he grinned, revealing teeth that looked like tools.