The Shadow Howlers

Bianca shivered when they pulled up to the ashes that used to be the Last Moon pack house. It felt creepy to her now. It was still daylight, but there seemed to be a shadow over the former pack lands.

"Alright, everyone spread out. Don't leave any stone unturned." Gunnar said. Everyone went off in pairs to begin their search. Gunnar and Bianca headed toward the dungeons. When they got there, it was nothing but ash and metal.

"Let's go beyond the dungeons. If they had a hidden place, it wouldn't be easily found." Gunnar took her hand, leading her past the ruble.

"I've never been back here. My dad was strict on what parts of the pack lands women and children were allowed to go on. The dungeons and anywhere around them were off-limits. I just assumed it was because it was too dangerous. I never thought they were trying to hide anything." Bianca looked around, trying to find something that would show them the secret place that Trisha had talked about.

"I don't think we'll ever know the extent of what they did, but at least we stopped it. If there's something here, I hope we find people, not bodies." Gunnar said as they continued walking. They were deep in the forest, out of view of the others. There were no buildings, but they stopped when they came to what looked like a narrow trail.

"It could be nothing more than a path made by animals going to a watering hole, but let's follow it to see where it leads," Bianca said, looking at Gunnar. He nodded in agreement.

They walked slowly, looking for anything that would give them a clue to what used the trail. It twisted through the trees and down a hill to what looked like a small creek. Bianca was ready to turn around but stopped when Gunnar pulled her closer to the stream.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Let's get a closer look. I thought I heard something." Gunnar answered, leading her further down the small hill. When they got to the bottom, they stopped and listened. Bianca gasped. He was right; there was something down there. She heard someone crying.

"Where's it coming from?" She asked, looking around but not seeing anything. They walked slowly while listening. They could both hear crying but couldn't locate the source. Gunnar mindlinked the others their location so they could help.

Bianca found a small hole in the ground and got on her knees. It didn't look like it was made from wildlife. She tried to peer inside but couldn't see anything. She leaned down closer to the hole, and the crying got louder.

"They're underground, but how do we get to them?" She asked as Gunnar joined her.

"There has to be a trap door or something that leads down there," he said while crawling on his hands and knees and looking around. Bianca decided to try talking to whoever was below ground.

"Hello? If you can hear me, we're trying to find a way to get you out. We're not going to hurt you. The people that brought you here are gone." She heard the crying stop, and a voice came through the hole.

"There's a door above us that he would use to come down." The female voice said.

"How many of you are down there?" Bianca asked as she ran her hands over the ground, trying to find a door.

"There were twenty-two of us, but now there's only nineteen. He took the others away." The voice answered her.

"Bianca, I found it," Gunnar said from a few yards away.

"We found the door we're coming down. Please let everyone know we're here to help." She didn't want the captives to be afraid when they saw them. The rest of their group got to them just as Gunnar was opening the trap door.

"There are nineteen people down here. Let Gunnar and me go down first to see how they are. I don't want to overwhelm them." Bianca said. They nodded at her as Gunnar started going down the ladder.

Bianca followed him and was appalled when she got to the bottom. The area was an underground cave. There was nothing there except a few jugs of water and buckets to use as toilets. It smelled of sewage and body odor. Bianca was thankful there were no children. She couldn't imagine adults living in those conditions, let alone a child.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Bianca, and this is Gunnar. We're here to help you get out of here and get back to your homes. Are you human?" she asked them softly. One young woman walked forward.

"Only a few of them are human. The rest of us are werewolves. Most of us were rogues, but we weren't causing any trouble. He told us we could join his pack, but then he put us down here." When the woman got closer, Bianca could see she was pretty even though she was covered in filth. She had long blonde hair and a cute oval face.

"Do you know the man's name?" Bianca asked.

"He said he was Alpha Karl. He and Luna Anara would come down here to hit us and make the women do things with the alpha." The woman looked away with tears in her eyes. Bianca didn't have to ask what her parents made them do; it was evident on the young woman's face.

"What's your name?" She asked. The woman looked back toward her with a small smile. Bianca was surprised she was smiling after everything she'd been through.

"I'm Alani. Thank you for rescuing us, but where are we going to go?" Alani questioned as the others walked over once they saw Bianca and Gunnar weren't there to hurt them.

"That's up to you. You can come with us to our pack if you'd like. Gunnar is the Alpha of The Shadow Howlers, and I'm his mate. Or you can go to another pack. The humans can go home if they want. Let's get you out of here, and then you tell us what you want to do." Everyone began to relax. None of them wanted to be forced to be servants or worse.

Bianca went up the ladder first and helped each person out one at a time. Alani came out last before Gunnar. Once they were all out, they started walking toward the trail that would lead them to their vehicles.

Omar and Alani were the only ones who didn't move. They stared at each other from several yards away. Omar started walking toward her like he was in a daze. When he got to Alani, he ran his hand lightly over her cheek, making her shiver.

"Mate," He said softly. She crossed her arms and looked him over. Alani might appear to be a damsel in distress, but she was far from it. She'd been taking care of herself longer than she could remember.

"You're not one of those mates who think they're going to tell me what I can and can't do, are you? Tell me now so I know if I need to reject you or not." Omar stared at her in shock. He'd finally found his mate, and she was sassy. He loved it. Everyone from the Shadow Howlers had stopped to watch the interaction and weren't doing a good job of hiding their laughter.

"Uh, no, I'm not like that. No one in our pack is like that. We see females as our equals. So, will you come to the pack with me?" Omar asked cautiously. Alani's smile spread across her dirt-covered face, making her green eyes shine.

"That's more like it. What's your name?" she asked while taking his hand. He was so stunned by her change of attitude that he didn't know what to say at first.

"I'm Omar, the head warrior of The Shadow Howlers." He answered.

"I'm Alani, and I want to train to be a warrior too. I don't need you trying to protect me when I've been doing it on my own since I was a pup. Got it?" Omar couldn't do anything but nod. He was falling for her already, but he was too scared to tell her, or she might attack him. So, instead, he walked up the trail to the cars, holding her hand.

Bianca and Gunnar followed the new mates. They couldn't help but laugh as they watched them. It looked like Omar had met his match.