Vexed

Prologue

*About two centuries ago*

It was supposed to be a day of celebration. The day tyranny finally came to an end. The day concealed alliances broke, symbolizing the victory of the mass.

The vampires and witches retreated back to the colder parallel world that they usually resided in. The werewolves were to begin their healing process in the world they shared with humans. After a long and brutal war, today was the day that marked their victory. 

"Did we hear anything back from anyone?" Matteo asked while trying to hide the frantic undertone. As the Alpha of his pack, he was expected to be the cool-headed commander, leading the rest of the pack. But it was difficult, everything about the situation was blatantly onerous.

"Alpha, there is nothing to report back yet. With us all being shorthanded, it is difficult to cover all grounds even with the help of everyone available." 

The report from the Gamma of the pack didn't come as a surprise or shock but it didn't make Matteo any less annoyed. How can someone just vanish into thin air?

Perhaps the situation would have been easier to handle if he didn't witness the event with his own eyes. It happened so quickly that even with his sharp reflexes he was not able to react on time. One second she was there, smiling at their victory, and the next second her face twisted with evidence of her pain and poof.

He knew the witches weren't behind it all. Matteo would probably never admit out loud but he did misuse his authority to get answers using unethical means. At the moment, he wasn't worried about the consequences though. His twin sister, the Beta of his pack was missing for eighteen hours and counting. 

Being the Alpha of one of the four royal packs put him at an advantage. His words, or much rather orders, had more weight than that of an Alpha of a pack that was bonded to one of the royal packs.

But everyone wasn't searching for his sister because Matteo had asked them to, they were searching for her because she was their hero. She was the reason they even won. The news of her vanishing spread faster than the wildfire they had to start as a decoy plan. Even the rogues seemed to be helping with the search.

"Alpha," Matteo heard his Gamma call out, pulling him back from his thoughts.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"The Elder from the Oozaru pack sensed energy near the border of our territory. It has been confirmed that it was not from the witches or the scaled mystics."

Matteo's eyebrows creased as he started processing the information, "I have no doubts that the dragons aren't involved but we can't put our guards down about the witches, it still could've been them."

"As much as I would like to agree, the extensive... coercion methods we used are enough to ensure they are not lying. The elder also mentioned that the energy was, twisted."

"Twisted?" Matteo shook his head as if to clear his thought, "doesn't matter right now. Let's head over there." He announced before shifting.

Sulphur.

The smell hit him long before he was close to the territory border. The intensity of the situation grew with every passing second as he went closer to the cliff. He spotted some of the Oozaru wolves alongside some from his own pack. They all seemed to be on guard and some were in a stance where they were ready to pounce. As he approached them, the path was cleared for Matteo to let him move forward towards the edge.

He could sense it. 

A low growl escaped from him as he picked up a scent he didn't recognize. His senses were being overpowered by whatever that was laying right in front of them. While Matteo was on his way here, he received a report of a figure appearing out of nowhere and falling in the area with the twisted energy. He and the Alpha of the Oozaru pack asked their members to not approach until one of them arrived to assess the situation.

The figure moved, causing some of the wolves to step back but not Matteo.

It looked like the figure of a human but they were covered in what can only be described as a tar-like goo. The figure made a noise and Matteo moved closer to listen, his Gamma was advising him against it but something drew him towards it.

"Matteo?" The figure croaked before falling limp in front of him.

It's her! It's Violet.