You're a Werewolf

Cassiopeia's Past Part 2

The Dark Crescent warriors came to our territory, much sooner than we anticipated.

Father noticed their presence from a mile away, and he had planned to buy enough time for the rest of us to escape. Some of the men left to lead the women and children out of the house through the back while the warriors' presence had yet to close in on us. Some of us stayed behind to accompany Father, relentless to leaving any member of our family behind.

All hell broke loose once father opened the door.

I could feel all of our morale shatter at the sight of our family members being held hostage. Some were held down by the warriors in wolf form. The others had knives pressed on their throats. Father's negative emotions swirled around the place and influenced us all.

I never got a good look at the leader of the warriors. He wore a mask over his face. However, I could deliberately remember how vile and cruel his voice sounded.

"I was expecting you to gladly join our crusade, Matthew. I never thought you'd turn down the offer."

"I cut all my ties with Dark Crescent the moment I left. I no longer serve the Alpha you serve, Marcus."

They invaded our home and seized the rest of us who had yet to make a move. However, I was more surprised at the fact that we were not just facing people of the same species as ours. Among the men they brought, the rest of us who weren't captured could never forget the red color of their irises.

We were also facing vampires.

We knew we could not win in a fight against them. But father strengthened his resolve along with the adults in the pack. They mustered up the courage and fought to the best of their abilities against them. They did what they could so that we could run.

Some of them caught wind of our plan to run and went after us. I even got injured by one of them. I was terrified, in pain, and despairing at the thought of our family being broken once again. My friends—the people that I referred to as my family— and I had to stop in order to fight our pursuers. We fought with all our might, lucky enough to wipe them all off.

When the fight ended, I was met with silence. The only beating hearts left were mine and the person I considered my closest sibling. We were both panting and out of breath. The rusty smell of blood was pungent in the air. Not long after, he collapsed for his wounds was too deep for him to heal quickly. He was bleeding profusely and I didn't know what to do.

I tried to help him up, but he stopped me, telling me to flee from the horrible pack who massacred our family members. He told me he wanted me to survive—to live as how our father always wanted us to.

Grief overtook my body. The sight of our family's corpses caused a dull pain in my chest. If my entire family was killed then and there, then what was the purpose of surviving?

My brother's last words kept echoing in my ears. "Promise me, Zyriel. You must escape and live. Don't ever look back."

I never felt so helpless in my entire life. Yes, I managed to survive, but I meant to survive with the rest of my family. Tears were streaming down my face as I continued to run as fast as I could into the depths of the forest. I didn't care where I was going. All I knew was that I had to escape from them as soon as possible. If I were out of their sight, they might leave me be.

The moment I found flickering lights in the distance, I followed them hoping that it would lead me to some sort of haven for the broken. I clung to that small fragment of light. I pushed myself despite feeling my legs numbing from the overexertion.

Once I realized I arrived in someone's backyard, I prayed to the Goddess that they'll lead me to a person who would be willing to take someone like me in. Only then did I realize the extent of my injuries. My arm was bleeding and I had cuts everywhere from the vampires that attacked me. My vision distorted and there was a dull ache in my head.