Chapter 2 Beast

RAYNE The following night, Aaron asked me to accompany him to work. He worked in security and was always on the night shift. His request confused me, but I went with him anyway since I had nothing better to do, and that’s when he introduced me to Orm, a leader of a band of hunters who hated werewolves with the same passion I did. Aaron knew the story I told him was mine and allowed me to avenge my sister. They presented me with an opportunity to join the hunter band, and I didn’t just join; I shared my story with our leader. After joining the band six months later, I received the most delightful surprise of my life. They led me down to the cells, where I discovered a beast awaiting my arrival. He was going to be my first kill, my passage to the band. They handed me the blade, and I accepted it without hesitation. I was prepared, yet the sight of the beast's face upon the removal of the bag covering its head caught me off guard. I couldn’t believe it. It was my stepfather. Orm had hunted him down for me. His eyes widened upon seeing me, and he immediately began cursing me, mistakenly believing I was the same girl he had trapped inside a burning house. Everything he did, all the pain came crashing back, and I didn’t even wait to be told what to do. My blade sank into his heart, and I felt all the power he had taken from me return tenfold as the light fled from his eyes. The pain-ridden Rayne died with him that night, and I was reborn. No one was ever going to hurt my family or me again for as long as I still had breath in me. I had my revenge but kept it from my mother. We took an oath of secrecy. We could never reveal who we were. All our family knew was that Aaron got me a job. Orm owned a chain of security companies that provided the perfect cover for what we did. It also enabled us to get a salary at the end of the month to provide for our families. Therefore, we were working in some way. The revelation that Sage and his family were beasts shocked me, and for a moment after the shock wore off, I felt disgusted. It didn’t matter what he did for me; my hatred for wolves was too strong, but when I saw them dragging his sister naked and bleeding after the attack on their home, something inside of me stirred, and my conscience got the better of me. I felt horrible for standing by and letting them kill his family like that. Yes, they were monsters, but did that undo all the good they did for me? I had to do something, so I went to the van after they threw his sister inside and helped her escape, but it was too late. I hesitated for too long, and she didn’t make it. Luke and Varn saw her try to run, and as hard as it was to stand by and do nothing, I did. I had no choice. I couldn’t help her without exposing myself, so I did the only thing I could. I prayed to God to give her strength and help her get away. But a few minutes later, they returned and told Orm they killed her. My prayer fell on deaf ears. It was a good thing I had the cloak on because I couldn’t hold back my tears. I was too late. Sage was the only one still alive. Until Orm revealed his plan to use Sage as an initiation sacrifice for his daughter, who would assume the role of second in command, I believed there was no chance of saving him. The news nearly made me jump with joy. I had time to at least save him, but I waited and waited for the perfect opportunity, and it never presented itself until I had already given up. “I hope you get as far away from this place as you can, Sage. I hope you make it, so I can know I at least paid one of you back for what you did for me,” I whispered before taking off in the direction Aaron went in and just then, I heard a howl cutting through the forest, and I ran faster in its direction. It wasn't long before I saw it–a white beast trapped in a silver net while being shot at with arrows. I quickly grabbed my crossbow and aimed for its head, but I heard Aaron screaming no, making me confused. "We have to take it alive!" he said, and I put my crossbow away and helped with the net. Just then, the beast collapsed to the ground, but I gasped in horror when it took back its human form. It was Inga, Orm’s daughter, who was about to become our second leader. “How?” I whispered, looking at Aaron, but he shrugged his shoulders, his eyes moistening, before telling me to grab his spear gun. “Give me a collar,” Orm, our leader said, and Aaron handed one over to him. He immediately clamped it around Inga’s neck while I stood there watching in shock as she shivered on the ground. We headed back, and I kept my eyes forward, unable to look back as the guys dragged her unconscious body by the net. “She’s a wolf, Rayne. She’s a beast.” I heard Aaron’s voice before he dropped another bomb on me. She was Sage’s mate. I stood there dazed for a moment, watching as they took her away. Inga and I were not just friends; she was a fellow soldier and a sister. How has she been a wolf all this time? She hated wolves, maybe even more than I did. Aaron's voice calling for me to come snapped me out of my reverie, and my legs were numb as I followed behind them before my heartbeat sped up as we inched closer to the dungeons, knowing what I had done. “What the f*ck?! Where is it? Where is the beast?” Varn exclaimed, looking at the open cell door. I froze as they all rushed past me, heading inside the cell, until suddenly, I felt eyes on me. I raised my head to find Aaron staring at me with a look that saw right through me and I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. “What the hell did you do, Rayne?”