CHAPTER ONE

"We should head home" Scarlet heard Miranda's voice as the wood began to grow dark around us. She could see the tightness around Carrisa's mouth, the barely suppressed anger under the thick black cloak.

Sensing that the rest were not ready to leave, Scarlet gathered some firewood. She lit it with her lighter.

"When is the so called shadow going to emerge?" Miranda asked, shivering as she clutch tightly to her perch. They sat down around the burning flame. It was the period where a warrior from a random pack will be picked from a random pack and join the mission in increasing security for the elite werewolf. They were sitting in an open field. On their body was a paddled leather armour. There were five. Only Jenny wore a helmet.

"Just leave if you are not interested" the question was directed to nobody in particular but Shirley answered instead.

"I'm less concerned about this. I'm so excited, I can't wait to fight whatever shadow is coming". Fel giggled. She was the fifth person and she was grinning from ear to ear.

"Not like you would get the position" Shirley growled. She was known for being ambitious and would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

Miranda wiped the beads of sweat already forming on her forehead. Even in the cold, she was feeling hot. She also wants to be chosen. It was every girls' dream. The fear of what shadow might appear keeps weighing her. She moves closer to Scarlet who paid little or no attention to them. She was not interested in becoming a warrior for the elite werewolves and she didn't hide it.

The elite werewolves are a group of alphas and the Darklord, who is often regarded as the Alpha of the Alphas. His powerful aura intimidates any other werewolf. His voice was said to be deep, alluring and husky. Every Alpha bows for him. The elite groups are made up of fallen and aged Alphas. They are mostly at the mercy of their warriors. Except of course, the dark lord.

"What if I get to protect the Darklord?" Fel asked, with a serious face. Her black hooded eyes and fangs, ready to attack whoever argues with her.

"Wait?" Scarlet stopped them all of a sudden. She was not interested in the drama and she cared less. She sniffed the air and everyone looked at her weirdly. "I can smell someone" she paused, "it's not human. I really can't put my hand on whatever it is" she concluded.

They stood up quickly. They knew better than to argue with her. Her sense of smell is the sharpest amongst them. Their sense of smell only gets sharp in their wolf form but while in the human form, Scarlet's sense of smell beats theirs. They once ignored her observation and got attacked by some rogues.

They are the warriors protecting the Blood Moon Pack. They are one of the best warriors in the pack with everyone having a special talent.

"What if..." Miranda wanted to yell but her voice betrayed her. It came out as a whisper.

They all knew what she wanted to say.

The shadow.

Since they would be protecting the Elites, fighting the shadow is a test they have to pass through. Winning against the Shadow is not the only criteria. They would go through their past data, the bravest and fearless of each pack would be chosen. And again, they have to pick just one person.

Scarlet eyes swept back and forth over the abandoned campsite. Only the warriors use it, they work on shifts which make them few at the moment. Once they leave, another group will take over protecting the camp. Her eyes stopped at a double bladed battle axe. Not knowing what to expect, she picked it up.

A shadow emerged from the dark of the wood. It stood in front of Shirley. Tall, it was, and giant and hard as old bones, with fresh pale as milk. Its armour seemed to change colour as it moved; here it was as white as new fallen snow, there black as shadow, everywhere dapped with the Green grey of the trees. The pattern ran like moonlight on water with every step it took.

"Come no farther" Miranda yelled. Her voice cracked. She threw the cloak over her shoulder to free her arms for the battle and took her swords in both hands. Though she was scared. There was no option than to fight.

The other slid forward on silent feet. In its hand was a long sword like none that Scarlet has ever seen. Scarlet was not surprised. After all, they feel they are the most superior so they would send the strongest thing they could think of to get the bravest to protect them.

A strong wind blew, sending chills to their spine. It was alive with moonlight, translucent, a shard of crystal so thin that it seemed almost to vanish when seen edge-on. There was a faint blue shimmer to the thing, a ghost-light that played around its edges, and somehow Scarlet knew it was sharper than any razor.

Shirley met him bravely. "Dance with me then." She lifted her sword high

over her head, defiant. Her hands trembled from the weight of it, or perhaps from the cold wine that didn't seem to stop.

Scarlet saw its eyes; blue, deeper and bluer than any human eyes, a blue that burned like ice. His blade was pale blue light. She quickly stopped thinking when the glimmer of a blade shot into the air, aiming at Shirley. In a speed they couldn't comprehend, she threw the axe she was holding into the air. It slashed the blade shot in the air.

Not wasting time, she took a sword lying on the floor and ran into the ugly looking thing. It was hard to tell if it was human or not. She slashed the arm where the blade was broken with the sword. To retaliate, the Shadow raised Jenny who was also coming to help. He threw her and stuck his blade in her right palm.

Shirley left her position and jumped on his back. She covered the two hooded eyes with her palm. The huge body whose back was bent slightly started whirling. It's vision was blade and unclear.

Sensing what Shirley was doing, Scarlet and Carrisa ran to get a wood. Fel also jumped on its back. The wood was placed behind the figure while Scarlet and Carrisa pushed backwards with Shirley still covering the eyes. The figure inched in pain and tried to strike them back when Jenny stood up and clashed her sword with his blade. It eventually got to where the wood was. It staggered and fell. Scarlet took a sword and pierced it into it's stomach with blook gushing out.

She had the last strike.

She always do.

Exhausted, they went back to sit. Miranda who didn't get a strike all through also sat with them

"I don't like the elite werewolves a bit. How could they send something huge enough to hurt us just because they need a warrior" Scarlet snorted. Her fangs were now shorted.

"I'm glad we survived and I'd be chosen to guide them. At least I faced him first" Shirley said, proudly. Scarlet could not help but laugh. How they seem blinded by the elite position is something she might never understand. She is a warrior and her life is difficult enough, ranging from the time she go for war and defeats them to now, adding the elite position is the least on her mind. Miranda raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you obsessed with them? What is wrong with you?" Scarlet was forced to ask.

"I should ask you what is wrong with us instead. This is a position everybody wants. How come you don't want it?" Jenny fired back.

"Even you? I'm not surprised. The darklord is too mysterious for my liking" she replied.

"I like him because he is mysterious. No one knows the real him" Carrisa said.

"The whatever selection is no meaningless" she stood up in anger and headed home. It was time for the switch after all. The darklord was the person she would ever associate with. The way everyone praises him seem to annoy her.

"To hell with y'all and the darklord" she muttered under her breath.