Episode 1

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.

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