Wolverton Falls

27. Found Within the Woods

"WERE YOU THERE?"

Lifting her head up, Katya blinked at her in confusion.

Then a second passed and Katya realised what the small human girl was asking her.

Slowly shaking her head, she murmured quietly, "No, I was not. But I remember the day it all changed for us." She gently grabbed for Maggie's forearm, leading her away from a fallen branch. The human couldn't see well at all, which was to be expected as they travelled through the pitch-black forest. "Luka came back a very different man that day – we left the –" A wince appeared on her sharp features, "left the pack."

Maggie moved closer to the lycan, the warmth emanating from her body comforting. She stayed silent and just listened. No encouragement, no pressure – only patience.

"You remember when we sat and discussed some things about my species?"

Katya sensed the girl nod her head before she slowly continued.

"Packs are terribly reliant on commands, order and hierarchy. Dominant lycans typically lead around fifteen to thirty people and stay in a desolate region. It is very cruel and primitive the way a pack is regulated –" Katya shuddered to herself. "The weaker wolves, runts, are horribly mistreated and are often left behind when the pack moves on. A lone wolf will almost always die. They need a pack to survive – to hunt, to socialise and to stay sane."

Maggie shuffled closer to Katya, carefully stepping over the thick forest floor covered in lumps of snow and fallen leaves. She continued to guide her, which Maggie was thankful for. She figured Katya would have been able to track down her wayward brother a lot quicker without her stumbling in the dark.

"Our parents died long time ago. So, staying with the pack was supposed to be the safest option." Katya blinked a few times, clearing away the cloudiness that came from tears surfacing. Her chest tightened painfully as she tried to clear her throat. "We had a younger sister."

Maggie sucked in a startled breath. They never mentioned another sibling and the use of past tense had Maggie equally terrified and saddened.

"Like I said, packs are merciless. Our leader was especially uncivil and vindictive. We are naturally primal and very dangerous animals – something that is typically forgotten by your people. My sister, Anastasia, my brother and I certainly became runts of the pack. Ana was a special and kind girl, but she was a weak wolf. We both knew that but did not care if we slipped through the ranks to stay with her. But, I know Luka struggled especially, he is a dominant lycan and had to suppress the instinctual need to take over from the pack. He knew if he challenged our leader, he could possibly die in the fight, so he did not risk it. He would risk leaving us defenceless as we were so young at the time."

Taking in a shaky breath and exhaling just as harshly, Katya lowered her voice.

"Around fifteen years ago, the pack had enough with being complacent with Ana. There was always a lingering fear that laid upon the pack with Luka's presence. During a full moon, they cornered Ana and beat her to death. Mumbling about how she brought shame and weakness upon the pack. The leader held me, claws against my throat."

Katya felt her fingers flutter over her neck, remembering the warm blood spilling from the crescent wounds.

"I – I froze. I could not do anything. I just... stared at the cold corpse of my baby sister."

Her voice became distant and dazed. The gory image burned her.

"Even fervent with rage, Luka could not fight off nearly thirty crazed lycanthropes feeding off the moon's influence. We had to leave – we could not even bury her in the earth with our parents. They hunted us till the end of their territory, and we kept running until we collapsed and lungs burned. Luka was guilt-ridden and struggling to maintain shifting. We weren't far from Eden's Creek when he finally couldn't control his form."