The forest was alive with midnight silence, the half-moon casting silver shadows through the thick canopy above. Leaves rustled softly underfoot as the pack moved in formation, their eyes alert, their senses sharp.
"Did you hear?" Jasper murmured, walking beside Bella. "Mr. Davidson wants to see us."
Tyler raised an eyebrow, his voice low and skeptical. "Who's Mr. Davidson?"
"He's the chief of Davidson Estate," James chimed in. "Father to Mr. Hudson."
"What does he want with us?" Tyler asked.
Jasper shrugged. "No idea. But if he wants to see us, then we're in for a big surprise."
Bella's face lit up with excitement. "I'm so excited to meet him!"
"Me too," Henry added. "His apartment boasts some of the fiercest wolves around. We might even see Rachel and Ricky."
"Who?" Jasper asked.
"Twin wolves," Henry explained. "Same fur, same strength. They're Mr. Davidson's personal bodyguards."
"And they're not alone," James said with a grin. "That entire apartment's crawling with elite wolves. It'll be an honor to stand among them."
"Sophia, don't you think so?" he asked, turning to her.
Sophia blinked, caught off guard, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. "Of course," she replied with a soft smile. "I'm deeply excited."
Tyler's eyes narrowed as he scanned the forest. "So far, I can't pick up any vampire scent."
"Same here," James said. "Maybe we're sniffing in the wrong direction."
"Let's keep moving," Sophia said, her tone firm.
The group fell silent, walking deeper into the woods. The moonlight barely filtered through the thickening branches above. The air was cold and damp.
"Still no sign of anything," Henry muttered.
"We're supposed to keep watch, not hunt," Bella reminded. "No one said we had to go after them."
The pack paused and looked at her. Sophia gave a nod. "She's right. Let's sit for a while."
She settled onto a thick log, and one by one, the others joined her except Tyler, who remained standing, arms folded, eyes roaming the trees.
"You guys rest. I'll keep watch," he said, voice gruff.
"Don't be silly," Sophia said. "If there's anything nearby, our senses will pick it up."
Tyler grunted but eventually took a seat beside them.
"Look at the stars," Jasper said, pointing up. "So beautiful."
Bella nodded beside him.
"It reminds me of when my family used to sit outside and stargaze," Jasper said, his voice trailing into a soft ache. "Mom, dad, my sisters…"
Bella gently wrapped an arm around his shoulder, her smile warm. "Now you can do it with us."
A sudden hiss sliced through the quiet night.
Every head turned.
From the tallest tree above them, a shadow dropped.
With a heavy thud, a vampire landed on the forest floor, crouched and grinning fangs glinting in the moonlight.
"Free food," he chuckled, eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
The pack rose to their feet in unison, muscles tensed and eyes glowing beneath the half-moon light. Tyler cracked his neck, his voice low and sure, "You're the one getting eaten tonight."
They closed in around him Sophia just ahead, Bella and Jasper flanking Tyler, James and Henry steady behind. A quiet confidence radiated from the group, their stares unwavering. The vampire hesitated. Something about them how still they stood, how calm unsettled him.
"Why are they not scared, " he thought, flexing his fingers. His voice trembled slightly, though he masked it with a grin. "You're all going down."
Jasper let out a short laugh. "This should be easy."
"Don't be too sure," Bella warned, eyes narrowing. "His aura... it's heavy, I can sense his battle spirit."
Sophia's tone was sharp. "Don't underestimate him."
Then, in a blur of motion, the transformation began.
Bones snapped. Muscles shifted. The clearing erupted with the fierce sound of fur shredding through skin. Midnight blue, white, purple, black, thick brown and red wolves each unique emerged from the smoke of their shift, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, growling in harmony.
The vampire's eyes widened. "Wolves... I knew it."
Without warning, the wolves lunged.
The vampire reacted fast his hands etching a demonic rune into the air. A blast of dark energy exploded from his palm, sending the entire pack flying. They crashed through underbrush and trees like falling meteors.
"My name is Strake," the vampire snarled, his voice now a guttural growl. He crouched low. "You won't even lay a claw on me."
Tyler groaned as he dug his claws into the earth, rising. "Get up he thought through the mind channel."
Jasper was first to spring. Midnight blue flashed through the forest but Strake summoned a glowing blue void. Jasper was flung deep into the woods.
"I'm fine," came Jasper's strained voice in the pack's mind channel.
Tyler and Bella lunged, but were knocked sideways bodies slamming into tree trunks. Henry and James attacked next, only to be struck down by sharp black thorns of energy that erupted from Strake's palms.
Then blinding speed. Jasper reappeared, his claws slashing across Strake's face, drawing blackened blood. Strake hissed and staggered back, touching his wounded eye.
He leapt high into the treetops, summoning a burning red iron fusion weapon. The branch cracked as he launched downward. Jasper dodged barely.
The two collided with thunderous force.
Jasper struck him, his momentum sending Strake crashing through the bushes.
"Well done," James said through the link.
Tyler's voice answered. "No more playing."
The pack regrouped, breath steaming in the night air. They stood beside Jasper, fangs bared, eyes glowing.
"Let's end this," Sophia thought, her voice resonating through the channel.
They charged as one.
Strake fought like a demon possessed, summoning massive boulders and hurling them through the air. The wolves danced between them dodging, weaving, never slowing.
Tyler smashed through Strake's arm with raw force.
Sophia and Jasper tore through his legs.
Strake screamed, summoning a void of swirling darkness, but Bella and James dove through it, tearing at his chest. Henry lunged in last, driving his weight through the vampire's broken ribs.
And finally silence.
The vampire's body crumpled into the dirt.
They shifted back, scattering into the trees to change.
Moments later, human again, they circled the corpse.
Jasper wiped his brow. "That was one strange vampire."
Tyler hissed. "His nothing compared to the vampire I fought last."
"He is stronger," Bella corrected. "If it was 1v1 some of us would not had stood a chance. But we had each other. Alone, we would've lost."
Sophia smiled, pride in her eyes. "Well done, all of you."
They stood together, breathless, victorious, as the vampire's corpse lay at their feet under the pale gaze of the half-moon.