Tuesday – 7:00 AM
Writer POV
In the small village of Runudki, a young girl named Y/n walked happily down the stone-paved streets. She stopped at the local bakery — her bakery.
As soon as she entered, she tied her apron, ready to start baking. The shop would open in just one hour.
One of her employees was running late, but had sent a bird with a message to inform her. Y/n, being the caring person she was, forgave them and decided to come in early herself.
Quickly, she prepared some brownie and cookie batter, sliding them into the old-fashioned oven. Then, she moved on to making a batch of scones.
About thirty minutes later, the slightly heavy wooden door creaked open. It was Matt, her close friend and employee. Many people believed he only got the job because he was her best friend, but the truth was different. Matt had real talent in baking — though of course, not as great as hers.
Many people in the village envied Matt for being so close to Y/n, the true gem of Runudki. She always helped others whenever she could.
Some boys secretly desired her beauty, while others wished to protect her purity and treat her like a queen. Most of the village girls found her adorable and fun to be around, though a small few didn't care much for her.
"Hey, Y/n, sorry again for being late. My little brother refused to get out of bed for school," Matt said, sounding as if he had just run a mile.
In the village, boys went to school from ages six to sixteen, while girls attended from seven to fourteen. After graduation, they took adult classes to prepare for the roles they would play in contributing to the village.
For Y/n, as soon as she graduated, she dedicated herself to baking. Every day she attended baking classes, and at home she prepared dishes and desserts for her family. To earn extra money, she babysat for her peers. After three years of babysitting, studying, and working hard, she finally saved enough to buy her own bakery — which quickly became the heart of the village.
"It's okay, I've got everything under control. Grab your apron and start making some cake pops," she said with a gentle smile, fully understanding his situation.
Matt nodded in response.
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Somewhere close yet far, deep within the forest, lay a beast.
A beast who could take the form of both man and werewolf.
For now, he remained in his human form.
He rested on the grass, eyes fixed on the sky, wondering when his mate would finally appear.
If she would ever appear at all.
Day by day, his hope grew weaker.
"When will you come? I need you…" the beast whispered, speaking only to himself.
Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps approaching.
'Alpha, the Beta from the Red Moon Pack has come to warn us about invading their land. Give us your orders on how to deal with him,' his own beta, his second-in-command, mind-linked him.
'Tell him that we are not. We have owned these lands for years, and now they start to complain just because it borders their territory? Give them a warning and send them away. I don't need this right now,' the alpha mind-linked back.
The Red Moon Pack had recently started accusing them of "crossing borders," which only angered the beast more.
His pack had lived in this part of the forest for more than ten years, and not once had there been complaints. They had always kept their distance — from both the human village and the neighboring werewolf pack.
The beast had, of course, thought about entering the human village.
But since it was such a small place, he knew he would be questioned too much, so he refrained.
The footsteps grew louder, and the beast turned his head.
"Alpha, they want to see you. They refuse to leave us alone," his beta said.
"Fine. Start heading back, I'll follow," the beast groaned as he rose from the soft grass, trailing behind his beta, Jake.
To an outsider with no knowledge of this rogue pack, the scene might have looked innocent — as if they only wanted to live freely.
But that was far from the truth.
Yes, they lived on unclaimed land, which technically made them innocent of the Red Moon Pack's accusations.
But that was the only innocent thing about them.
They had killed countless humans who wandered into the forest.
They slaughtered any rogue they considered weak.
They even executed their own pack members for the same reason.
The alpha especially took pride in torturing others, both humans and werewolves.
His days felt complete whenever a human wandered into the woods, giving him his cruel "playtime" with knives, ropes, fire, and more.
Yet, his favorite pastime was to transform into his werewolf form, pounce on his prey, rip them apart, and devour them alive — savoring their screams of pain and desperation.
He himself had killed the first Alpha and Luna — his own parents.
At the age of eighteen, they told him that he would not inherit the alpha position.
Instead of passing it down to the heir, they wanted a battle to decide who was the strongest and most dominant.
He hated that idea. So, he killed them.
But he framed another pack member for the crime, leading that wolf to be sentenced to death.
No one ever knew the truth about the battle, and so the alpha position was handed to the "rightful heir."
Now, all he needed was his Luna.
He swore that when he found his mate, he would keep her away from everyone else and protect her with his life.
He would hide her from his dark, twisted world… making her completely and utterly his.
"There you are, Zachary. I was wondering when you would finally show up. You know, an alpha is supposed to watch over his pack, not abandon them," said the beta of the Red Moon Pack.
The beast growled in anger, not appreciating such disrespect from a beta.
"You'd better watch yourself, boy. I may not belong to an official pack, but I am still an Alpha. And I could tear you to pieces within seconds…" the beast warned, his voice low and threatening.
"Is that a threat I just heard?" the beta asked with a smirk.
"No, it was a warning. Now go back to your pack before I start a full-blown war. And you already know who would win.
My pack, made up entirely of men — aside from their mates — strong and trained every single day. One hundred and fifty of us against your one hundred warriors, mixed men and women, some barely reaching five foot eight.
Now leave, and stop trying to provoke me," the beast warned for the last time.
The beta wanted to argue, but he knew it wasn't wise. Just because a pack was official didn't mean it was stronger. Being smart, he retreated to his own pack with a scowl on his face.
"Can I never get a break?" the beast muttered in frustration.
"Alpha, there is a girl in the woods right now. It looks like she is picking our fruits," a pack member reported.
This news actually calmed him.
"Finally… another foolish human. This should be fun," he said with a dark grin.
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