Gamma glanced at Luz and noticed the worry on her face.
"What's wrong, are you afraid you won't find your family?" Cristian asked.
Luz didn't know how to explain it, but she had the feeling that something very bad was watching them. At first, she thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but then the feeling in her heart grew stronger until her chest hurt and she had trouble breathing.
"I think we're being followed. I feel the presence of something sinister," Luz said in a distressed voice.
Just after she spoke, there was a noise from the underworld and something began to advance rapidly toward them, knocking down trees in its path and causing birds and animals to stampede.
"Run!" the Gamma ordered the two young women as they prepared for the imminent attack.
Aliana led the way as they ran toward the herd. Behind them, they saw a huge monster begin to attack the men. Luz had never seen anything like it and was terrified. She ran for her life, but she wasn't as fast as Aliana, who had to stop several times to wait for the human. Panting, she asked to stop. She couldn't run anymore, even if she wanted to.
"Luz, I could transform into my wolf, but I'm not big or strong enough for you to ride me. We need to keep moving and get to safety," the fifteen-year-old urged Luz to continue.
Behind them, they could still see the silhouettes of the shape-shifters fighting the Antrax that wanted to advance toward the females. It was a monster much bigger and stronger than they were used to seeing, and the fight was becoming harder to bear.
The five warriors alongside Gamma attacked in their wolf form and were knocked down one by one by this great beast. Werewolves heal quickly, but their wounds were more serious than usual and would take at least an hour or days to heal. Everything was going downhill. The monster advanced frantically toward the females, leaving a tremor beneath the ground it stepped on. Aliana tried to protect Luz, but she was knocked away with a single blow against the trunk of a giant tree.
"NO! STOP!" Luz's voice was heard screaming desperately.
The monster paused for a couple of seconds when, out of nowhere, a giant black wolf with white tufts appeared and pounced on the monster, managing to knock it down and kill it. The animal was left with some wounds, one of them visibly painful on its right front leg, which made it limp a little. By the time the fight was over, Aliana had stood up and seemed to be looking at the wolf, who was saying something to her through their mental link.
The great wolf advanced toward Luz, his blue eyes looking curiously at the young woman as he sniffed her and checked her to make sure she wasn't hurt. With his snout, he lifted the girl's hand, and she understood his need for affection. She looked at the Beast and his wounded paw, made a face of pity, and stroked the fur of that beautiful animal. She felt no fear, only a mixture of gratitude, love, and the need to be with him. After all, he had saved her life. A wave of sensations washed over her body as she stroked the soft fur and whispered words of comfort to the wounded animal. She noticed his sad eyes.
The warriors and the Gamma were standing wounded but alive and heading towards them. They stopped and nodded their heads silently, clearly motivated by a mental command.
"Let's go," said the Gamma, 'let's return to the pack. It's no longer safe to continue, and we'll need to be healed by Roxi."
The girl looked up and saw the naked bodies of all the warriors. Her face turned red with embarrassment and she lowered her gaze.
"Why are you all naked?' asked Luz, still looking at the ground.
"Cristian tried to explain in a calm voice, "What's the problem, girl? When we wolves transform into our beasts, we lose our clothes. It's completely normal for us to return to our human form after a battle and be naked.
It was then that the girl told him how normal it was to see a wolf naked in its human form, but that females were forbidden to be naked in their female form. It's an absolutely sexist way of thinking, Luz thought, but every village has its rules and beliefs, so she wouldn't criticize it. Even though it was normal, she felt uncomfortable standing in front of naked men, so when she looked up, she tried to look only at their eyes, avoiding looking below the waist or her ears would definitely explode with embarrassment.
"Luz, you can climb on the wolf's back so we can move faster," said Aliana.
The return to the pack was quick and silent. Everyone was devastated by what had happened and bewildered by the sight of such a huge monster. This was not good. It was the first sign that something worse was to come in the future.
Luz climbed down from the great wolf's back at the entrance to the cargo house, touched its head with her hand, and planted a loving kiss between its eyes. The animal's blue eyes sparkled, seeming to express happiness. After this, the animal turned and disappeared.
Luz had no idea that this animal was the Alpha, the same one who had savagely tortured her. If she had known, she would never have acted in such a tender and affectionate manner towards the animal.
"Luz, go back to your room and rest for now. I'll be back in a little while," Aliana instructed the girl so she could go talk to her brother.
The wolves who had participated in the expedition flocked to the healer's quarters in search of help. When they arrived, the Alpha had already been treated and his paw was as good as new. He regained his human form and covered himself with a towel to go to his room. It was normal to be naked, but that didn't mean he was going to walk around naked throughout the entire house, did it?
The other wolves waited their turn and were treated one by one, always giving priority to those in the worst condition.
Aliana looked for her brother, but he had already left his room and gone somewhere else. She then went to the Beta to ask about her brother, as he was not responding to her messages.
"Xioma, have you seen my brother?"
The Beta looked at her confused. "Isn't he with you?"
"No."
"I thought he would be with you. This morning when we met, I told him you would be leaving the pack with Gamma and the warriors to help the human return where she came from. But as soon as he heard me, he went crazy and ran into the forest."
"Why, was he upset?"
"He just kept shouting, 'I won't let her go.' I never thought he would be so distressed about your safety."
Aliana was surprised. She didn't think the Alpha would act that way just for her. Perhaps with all the attacks, he was more worried than usual, and rightly so, since her arrival was crucial in stopping the Antrax attack. She justified his actions with that thought, but what she didn't understand was why he didn't want to reveal himself in his human form in front of Luz. Perhaps he was worried about scaring her even more than she already was because she might recognize him as her attacker.
Aliana told the Beta all the details of the expedition and the battle. She was a little exhausted from everything that had happened.
"Please tell my brother if you see him to come to my room to talk. Right now, I need to lie down for a while." The full weight of her stress finally caused her to need to lie down and sleep for a while.
This day would be lost for any activity that required the Alpha. Instead, the Beta would take care of the basic needs and decisions of the pack.
The young Alpha simply did not feel like talking or doing his duties, so he disappeared from everyone's sight. The Beta did not bother him, as he could see he was upset. He did not know what was causing it, but he would respect his need to be alone. The day continued without further incident.