The earth cracked with the heat of the flames, setting ablaze anything they touched. The Blacks Pack attacked the Grays Pack, whom they called filthy, for not being white or black. They slaughtered all in their path, at the command of Alpha Tulio.

Alpha Tulio was covered in the blood of his victims, the most savage in the slaughter, leaving the bodies strewn and burning, without any dignity or rites, as is the custom of werewolves. According to their customs, without the rites, the souls of the wolves remain bound to the earth.

A shaman recited a mantra near the village, on the edge of the forest. Invisible to all, thanks to a cloaking spell, her mantra was simple but highly effective:

"Join with the youngest and avenge us."

However, the Alpha's command was imperative and tolerated no disobedience:

"Scour everything, leave no one alive. This breed must end."

The wolves howled in reply and scoured every corner, searching for any remnants. Finding no one else, they began to gather to depart.

Elias, one of the pack soldiers, one of the last to leave, passed a burning cabin and heard a baby's cry. He entered quickly, intending to end the little life when he saw that it had just been born, the umbilical cord yet uncut.

He returned to human form and assessed the situation, with the fire crackling around him, time short for deliberation. Amidst the bed where the mother lay, there were tools which he used.

A string to tie, scissors to cut, and cloths to wrap the pup.

He cut the cord after tying it and swaddled the pup in the fabrics.

With a bedsheet, he wrapped the newborn and tied it around his chest, transformed back into a wolf, and took the pup with him, hanging on.

His wife at home lay defeated, grieving for their stillborn child. The tragedy had occurred before he had left for the assault, a secret to all. He had left last and now approached his house by another route, hiding from the troop.

His wife, Natalia, lay weeping, and he, unwrapping the baby from his chest, placed the child into her arms.

When she saw the pup, she cradled it in her arm and immediately brought it to her breast, where the little female began to suckle vigorously and stopped crying.

"My little pup, the goddess returned my little pup to me," she murmured, crying.

"Yes, a gift from the goddess, but you mustn't tell anyone about this or they might fabricate some excuse to take her from us."

"Do you think they would do that? Why?"

"They might deem her a sacred being and that we are unfit to care for her."

Elias concocted a lie to keep Natalia silent, or they, along with the little one, could be killed. He knew it wasn't right to deceive his life mate, but it was the only way to keep them alive.

"I understand. Our little Luana will be safe with us, and we will raise her with everything we can give her," Natalia agreed.

Elias left her nursing the baby and went to the small cradle where he had laid his deceased daughter, picked up the tiny bundle, and left through the house's back, looking around. He moved away, deeper into the forest, dug a deep hole, and buried the cold little body.

"Forgive me, my daughter, but it's necessary, for the sake of your mother."

At the Alpha's house, all celebrated and recounted the night's exploits. Alpha Tulio' seven-year-old firstborn, Henry, whom everyone called Henry, leaped excitedly upon hearing the tales, trying to mimic the warriors.

Tulio was not a good man, some might say he was forged by the malice of misfortune and was heartless. He raised his pup, teaching dominance through violence and superiority, never to bow, not even to his father.

The pup grew in his father's violence, and his mother, concerned about this behavior, sought help from her family. Her father, Alpha Julius, a fair and coherent leader, maintained his Pack with order and decency and never envisioned the savagery taking hold of Tulio over time.

Thus, Dimas was sent to the Blacks Pack as his nephew's tutor while preparing the eldest for an attack, if necessary, to rescue his daughter and grandson. Upon arrival, Tulio, in his arrogance, intended to repel him, but his Luna was strong and knew how to persuade him.

"Our pup needs more than violence in his upbringing," said the Luna.

"Are you calling me violent, wanting a weak submissive boy?"

She approached and whispered into his ear, sending shivers down his spine.

"Only in bed, my love. If you disagree, I'll bind you no longer."

He changed his expression and gripped her jaw, kissing her mouth hard. As he pulled away, Luna's mouth bled.

"Don't threaten me!"

She smiled and wiped the blood from her lip with her finger.

"I don't need to, do I?"

He couldn't resist and smiled, his mate chosen by the goddess, he faithfully believed.

"Fine, he can stay. But if I sense my son turning soft, he's gone."

"Agreed, brother-in-law. They will be theoretical lessons in general culture," Dimas explained.

Henry listened from behind the curtain and relished having his uncle to teach him; he might live more peacefully, without proving what he was not. The only inconvenience would be to show that he had not lost his violent edge, a balancing act he was not sure how to achieve.

Until the next day arrived, and Elias went with Natalia to the Alpha, presenting their progeny, and Henry formulated his plans, none of them good for the little girl.

Elias advanced toward the throne, leaving his companion Natalia two steps behind him, and bowed to Alpha Tulio.

"Speak, Elias, is it a male or female?"

"Female, sir."

"Bring her forward, I want to present her myself."

Luna descended the steps to fetch the little one into her arms. She had missed having a female offspring, but since Henry, she had not conceived again. She thought maybe it was for the best, as Tulio was becoming increasingly wild, seeming mad in the head.

Natalia handed her pup over to Luna and took her place beside Elias, grateful that Luna had stepped in front of Alpha.

"She's so tiny and beautiful, Tulio!"

"Let me see her," he extended his hands to take her.

"Be careful, she's very young and delicate, not rough like the males," Luna advised, carefully passing the baby over to him.

Anyone observing the Alpha's tender handling of the pup wouldn't suspect he was the bloodthirsty brute who had decimated the village from which she hailed, including the deaths of her parents. He placed her on his lap and unfolded his cloak, gripping her under the chest, below her little arms, and turned her to face those gathered.

"What shall Elias and Natalia's daughter be named?" he asked loudly, rising to his feet.

"Luana!" the parents responded.

"I present to the Black Pack, Luana, daughter of Elias and Natalia!" he introduced the little female. "What brings you here, child?" he asked softly to her.

For a fleeting second, her eyes turned a deep blue and a faint dominance emanated from her, felt by everyone present. Alpha was startled and handed the pup back to Luna.

"What was that, Tulio?" she inquired, taking Luana and wrapping her back in the cloak.

"She seems strong, possesses a very special wolf, let's keep her close, preferably inside the palace."

At this moment, Henry decided to showcase his future alpha strength.

"If she comes inside the palace, I won't let her torment anyone, I'll see that she isn't insolent, and if she does not obey, she'll be punished with my whip."

Luna opened her mouth to scold her son, but Alpha burst into laughter, saying proudly:

"That's my boy! Henceforth, Natalia will serve Luna and bring Luana to brighten her day. Elias will join the palace guard and provide protection to our family. Let us celebrate."

Luna went down with the baby and Natalia approached to take her.

"Go home and pack your essentials; you shall receive all new things. You'll live in the palace, and you'll be my direct servant, and this little beauty will always be close by."

From then on, little Luana's life was safeguarded, yet she also suffered under Henry's tyranny, endured his savagery toward the female, all to please his father. Time passed, and Luana turned three. She ran around the house, frightened, always hiding whenever she heard young Alpha's voice.

Noticing she had grown more astute, he disguised his movements and managed to grab her from beneath the table. Dragging her by the feet, holding her ankle, he took her down to the basement. He had readied his tools and tied her to a chair. She didn't stop screaming for help.

Slap, slap.

He struck her little face, which promptly swelled and reddened.

"Shut up, stupid omega, you don't fool me, there's nothing special about you."

He gripped her jaw tightly and squeezed until he heard it crack.

"Now you can't speak."

Tears streamed down her swollen face and only a weak moan escaped her mouth. He took scissors and sheared her lovely locks until she was bare. Laughing at the child's image, he took pride in his deed.

"Now everyone will think me quite the villain. Filthy omega."

He urinated on her back to mark her with his scent, then released her and took his seat, laying her prone on his lap. He lifted her dress, pulled down his trousers, and with a clenched fist, struck her little white backside until it turned so red that it would likely bruise.

Luana lost her strength, no longer able to even moan, her eyes dried from a lack of tears. The scent of blood mingled with the dampness of the place and the sweat of the young Alpha nauseated her, likely to remain seared in her memory forever.

After redressing her, he hoisted her onto his shoulder and climbed back to the kitchen, where her mother and the other servants were searching for her. He dumped the child's body on the table and said:

"Take care of your offspring, useless servant! Don't let her cross my path again."

"My goddess, what have you done to her?" Natalia asked.

"Nothing much, if she's as special as they say, she'll be fine soon."

Henry walked away as if it was no big deal and didn't look back. Everyone watched in horror at the young Alpha's cruelty, who was soon to be eleven years old.

Natalia rushed to check her daughter, finding her jaw dislocated, her lip cracked, and her little rear end extremely red, surely in a lot of pain. She took her to the clinic, and Doctor Clecio attended to her.

Henry entered the study room after taking a bath, and his uncle, who already knew of the occurrence, sat down to have a talk with him.

"Why did you do that, Henry?"

"I feel something odd towards her, an urge to harm. But it's not that, it was a way to show my father that I haven't softened."

Dimas knew his nephew's nature wasn't wicked, and they had spoken about this before.

"Is she badly hurt?"

"Apparently, it was shocking since I cut her hair down to the root. She should recover soon."

Dimas shook his head in disapproval since his nephew was too young to carry such a heavy burden. He would have to talk to his sister and explain because little Luana was Luna's darling, and no doubt, she would be appalled by her son's actions.

News about Luana reached the ears of Alpha Tulio first, who went to check what his progeny had done. He found her in the clinic and couldn't stop laughing; his child was excellent at teasing the pups and he found his methods incredibly effective.

"Doctor Clecio, how is she?"

"She looks terrible, but otherwise, she'll soon get better. He dislocated her jaw so she couldn't talk, but it's back in place and it's already healed. Her buttocks were quite battered too, but there shouldn't be any lasting marks."

"Great, otherwise, I'd have to howl at the moon because my Luna will kick me out of the bedroom."

"Maybe you should have a word with Henrique, he's growing up and his strength could really hurt someone next time."

"Let the boy have some fun… he must be jealous of her, because of the mother's attention, I'll send him to the arena with the elders."

"Do you think that's wise?"

"He's not a child anymore, and if left unchecked, it results in him doing this to a child, let's see how he fares with an adult."

In an effort to please his father, Henrique brought an even bigger problem upon himself. Training with the older fighters would force him to concentrate so as not to sustain serious injury. When he learned of what his father planned to do with him because of his actions towards Luana, he regretted showing off at the girl's expense.

They started the very next day, but luckily for him, the instructor decided to strengthen his muscles first and had him running extensively through the forest, dodging trees and leaping over obstacles in both human and wolf form.

Luna couldn't punish Henrique, as Tulio stood up for his son and told his wife that Luana hadn't suffered much and was nearly recovered—there was no point in quarreling with the boy over this. He also blamed her for neglecting their own child, all the while attending to someone else's daughter.

Luna disliked what she heard, but she remained silent. There was a limit she couldn't cross with her mate. He was often violent and his mind seemed unbalanced at times, sometimes seeming quite fine and other times very much not.

Months passed, with Henrique growing stronger, and the pack attacked another, decimating an entire pack of red wolves. They weren't numerous, for that type of wolf was rare, and even divine protection did not aid them.

Upon their return, Henrique saw and heard everything, and was displeased to learn of such beautiful creatures being obliterated, aware that there'd be no more wolves of that kind. But he spotted a figure in the corner, hiding, snooping, and dragged her out by her newly grown hair.

"What are you doing here, you troublesome girl?"

"Let go, let go, Rique!"

"I won't, you came here because you're asking for more spankings, aren't you?"

"No, Rique, no…"

She then hung suspended and kicked his shin hard. Afterwards, she bit his arm, shocking him enough to make him drop her to the ground. She managed to crawl away and stand up, running straight for the kitchen where Luna was preparing dinner.

"Luna, Luna, Rique…"

She hid between Luna's legs, waiting for Henrique's arrival. It didn't take long, and there he was, glaring at his mother for protecting the impudent child.

"This brat kicked and bit me, and you defend her, why?"

"Stop it, Henrique, she's still a baby, instead of hitting her, you should be teaching her."

"How do you teach a pest?"

"You're like an older brother to her, please, protect her, don't hit her anymore."

He left the kitchen in a huff, joining his father and the men at the party. They began to fight among themselves, reveling, and included him, turning him into the adults' punching bag. From that point on, he resolved to become very strong and brave; he would train much harder than anyone else and one day, he would be a much better Alpha, even than his father.

Keeping the promise he made to himself, three more years passed and he was strong, although still a boy, he now resembled a young man. It was at this time he realized that Luana had grown as well; she was six years old and remained a little girl, her hair had grown into golden curls, and she looked like an angel.

"Luana!" he called out as he saw her dash through the room.

She didn't stop; she never did for Henrique, knowing how he tormented her, so she continued straight to the kitchen. But Henrique chased after and caught her by the shoulder, knocking her to the ground with force.

"Ow, stop Rique."

"I called you and you didn't stop, you need to learn to obey me. I'll be the alpha of this pack and you will serve me."

Luana knew this well; not wanting to cause further conflict, she stood up and bowed to him, asking, "What can I do for you, Rique?"

"That's better. Be at the arena early tomorrow; you will start your combat training."

The young female looked at him wide-eyed, wondering why she needed to learn to fight. Only males went to battle; there was no need for her to train.

"Females don't learn to fight, what must I learn?"

"Because I'm commanding it. You need to learn to defend yourself, and if one day we're attacked and you can't fight, who will protect you?"

"The pack warriors. They're the ones who protect the women and children; Luna taught me that."

He grabbed her hair with a full hand and lifted her off the ground.

"Ow! Let me go, Rique."

"I order you to be there at dawn tomorrow in the arena to learn how to fight, and I don't want to hear any more complaints."—he released her and she fell seated on the floor again.

He watched her drag herself away and then left, with a sly smile on his face. He'd teach the little pest to fight and defend herself, even if it took his time and resolve.