Dark Moon [Rewriting]

Chapter 1

The night had just fallen upon the fertile land. With the moon hidden, darkness had covered the trees underneath, turning the forest in the Chugach mountains, Alaska, more frightening than ever. The air was ice cold, threatening to freeze the wanders.

Between those dense trees lived the White Shadow Pack. They were far from being the biggest pack in North America, but they were one of the strongest. What they didn't reach with numbers, they achieved through strategy and bravery. Every night, their warriors would patrol the large territory, stopping rogues or other packs from attacking their members. The safety of the pack had high priority and just the strongest of the warriors were chosen to perform the task.

Marc had been born into a family of Betas. He had met the current Alpha, Kyle, when he started kindergarten. Kyle had been a very reserved child back then. Their group had been composed by children from all status. Kyle had picked up Marc from the group and had invited him and another kid, Luke, to play. Since that day, the three of them had been inseparable. That day had forged Marc's and Luke's future as the second and third in command, as it did their education. Luke was also descendent from a beta family. From that day on, their games had required strategic thinking and planning and as they grew up, other important topics were introduced, like diplomatic communication, history of the packs of North American and also worldwide, resources management. The list of subjects had been endless. Kyle's education had been stricter than Marc's and Luke's. Kyle was a good Alpha, a true leader that placed his duties above all else.
Between their trio, he could show his soft and funny side, but outside that circle, he was strict, and distant. With rogues he was known to be cold and brutal. When the safety of his pack was threatened, he would not think twice before eliminate the cause, be it a child, a teen, an adult or an elder.

Tonight, it was Marc and Luke that were on duty. They had created a rotated system, and a list with all betas of the pack. Some days they would be on duty, some days not. Their job as betas, was to control that all sentinels, were doing their job right. He was still in his human form, walking along the dense forest looking out for anything amiss. The forest was too quiet. Sensing Luke nearby, Marc walked towards him.

"Hey man! Did you catch something strange?" He whispered, looking at the line of trees in front of them.

"No. But I feel something isn't right." Luke replied. The male's voice was also low and the guy seemed to be uneasy.

"I'm feeling the same..." They stared at each other. After some years working at their job had taught them to not ignore the sixth sense that sometimes popped out of the blue.

It didn't take long for them to get an answer to their suspicions. One moment the forest was silent, as if building suspense in a horror movie. The next moment, movement was heard from their left, causing the owls to warn the night. Immediately, their bodies tensed, both prepare to answer an attack. Seconds passed, the bushes rustling along with the movement of the intruder. Could they be human and not know where they were walking into? No. As whoever was approaching came near, Marc could smell at least a wolf. Someone that didn't have much power though. Was it a rogue? Kyle wouldn't like that. One thing was certain. Whoever had crossed their borders knew what they had done and either were they stupid or desperate. As the trespasser appeared between the trees, Marc and Luke both took a step back. What they saw surprised them both. A small black wolf, a female, that seemed to be at her limit of strength, carried something in her mouth. A grey male wolf followed the female close behind.

They looked terrified, glancing behind from where they had come from, smelling the air around them as if searching for some predator to come out and attack them. Anyone could notice that they were exhausted, as if they had been running for days without stopping to rest. Both Luke and Marc relaxed slightly, not bringing their guard completely down. Once they saw Luke and Marc standing there, they stopped, sniffed the air, and changed to their human form. The man had blonde hair, the woman black hair like the fur of her wolf. The clothes that the man had been carrying in his mouth were dirty, their skin was covered in mud. Their eyes seemed to shine in the darkness. Marc noticed that they were from different colors. The man's were green and hers blue. The man was tall and as they changed to human form, he stepped beside the woman, placing his hands around her waist, holding her up, so she wouldn't collapse to the ground. Marc focused on the woman. Even in the dark he noticed that she was beautiful. Her appearance seemed fragile, but her eyes told another story. Marc followed her movements and noticed the baby in her arms. He saw her shield it from him. Her eyes were fiercely throwing daggers at him, stopping him from approaching her. Marc couldn't see well the baby since it was wrapped in a white blanket.