Chapter 75 - 74. Taken Away

TRIGGER: VIOLENCE, TORTURE. THOSE WHO ARE NOT COMFORTABLE CAN SKIP UP TO THE END OF THE CHAPTER.

The mood in the room had calmed down and the tension eased as the man began to tell the hidden story of the witch who had cursed Glen, Light.

Hearing her name, Connor crossed his arms in an unconscious defensive posture. Elias and Silphie's expressions denoted the guilt they felt for their ancestor who had cursed his friend. He couldn't understand how these people could feel sympathy for her when they claimed that Glen was their Goddess Warrior.

No matter what they said, the agent had no intention of sympathizing. Connor fell silent and listened with cold distance to Light's story.

She and her twin sister, Moon, were the daughters of the first Luna and the first Alpha of the werewolves. Light and Moon had only inherited their parent's human side and, with that, their mother's witch powers.

Indeed, just like all the other children born in the tribe since the ceremony, they couldn't transform into wolves, contrary to their parents who had received the blessing of the Goddess of the Moon after the union of the Alpha and his Luna.

Nearly sixteen years had passed, so an entire generation of Skinwalkers awaited the soon-to-be ceremony to receive their blessing. Indeed, everyone in the tribe admired the power of the Skinwalkers warriors. Indeed, all the other tribes feared these men and women who could take on the appearance of terrifying, but fascinating wolves to defeat their enemies.

Light and her sister complemented each other perfectly. The tribe expected a lot from their coming to power which would take place in a few years. Courage and wisdom had already made their way into the hearts of the young girls who lacked only a little experience to acquire the maturity necessary to lead their people and continue to lead a life following the Moon Goddess.

Those who had attacked Light had acted with cowardice. Several rival tribes had attacked Blue Moon at the same time and for the first time, the warriors had difficulty repelling the allies who had relied on surprise and numbers to try their chance. At least that's what the warriors on the battlefield had told themselves.

What they didn't know was that the alliance the opposing tribes had formed had only one purpose. Force them to mobilize all of their warriors and empty the tribe of all protection. After all, even if they were powerful, the warriors of the pack and tribe weren't limitless. A large number of opponents forced them all to go to the battlefield if they wanted to assure. their victory.

Left behind in the village, there were only the teenagers not yet old enough to join the battlefield, the children and the old people, and all those who had embraced a non-warlike path.

Light was as usual, busy working on her gift for magic. The young woman was training to feel and control the energy flowing around her using her aura. This was the connection to the energy around her that all the children protected by the Moon Goddess possessed.

Skinwalkers possessed a human-shaped aura and werewolves possessed a wolf-shaped aura.

It meant that the energy attached to a Skinwalker's body had the shape of a human being which indicated his human nature, just as the wolf form of the werewolves' aura showed that they were born as wolves.

Skinwalkers' aura was used to transform and practice magic, while werewolves' were only used to change between their different forms.

The young woman, like her sister, had an immense and powerful aura, but each of the twins had chosen a different path. Magic was Light's preference, unlike her sister who was more into fighting. Everyone guessed that Light once in power would take care of the tribe, while Moon would join the warriors.

Their destiny already seemed to be mapped out. At least that's what they thought until now. As Light practiced, she heard unusual outbursts of voices. Children were crying as grunts arose. Suddenly, she saw flames and black smoke rising in the sky above several dwellings. A fire had started. When the young woman ran in the direction of the screams, she was stopped and quickly overpowered by men she had never seen before.

Light immediately understood that enemies had taken advantage of the battle raging elsewhere to attack. A blade pressed against her neck and she stopped struggling.

"You're a smart one. I like it! You will answer my questions." He pressed the tip which lightly pierced Ligh's skin, drawing a drop of blood. "I heard that your tribe's powers come from a priestess. If you don't want me to cut the throats of each of your people here, tell us where to find her."

Light looked at the crying children huddled together and turned her eyes to scan the surroundings for help. Her gaze fell on the body of an old man lying on the ground. Blood was flowing from a wound she couldn't see, but his chest, which barely moved to the rhythm of his breathing, didn't give any hope.

He had risked his life to protect the young people of the tribe. Even though he was too weak and too old, he had strained his head even if it meant losing his life. Light gritted her teeth. She was going to be one of the leaders of Blue Moon one day, she couldn't endanger those she was supposed to protect.

"It's me you are looking for !" She stated with a fiery gaze. The man raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Do you think we'll believe you, Kid? Rumor has it that the priestess is powerful and derives her power from a Goddess."

Whoever was holding Light gestured to one of his comrades in front of him. The man approached a child whom he brutally grabbed by the hair before dragging him in the dust. The young boy who wasn't yet a teenager tried to extricate himself from the man's grip, but the latter easily overpowered him and slammed his cheek against the ground.

The child was struggling to free himself when he felt the tip of a spear pressing against his throat and his whole body began to shake. Silent tears streamed down the part of his face that Light could see. Unable to bear the vision any longer, the girl cried out.

"I'm not lying, look at my skin, on my chest, I bear the mark of the Moon Goddess."

The two men exchanged a look and the one holding Light loosened his grip before turning her to face him. With a stab, he sliced ​​through the fabric of the tunic she was wearing and exposed her upper chest.

Just at the level of his heart, a blood-red crescent moon was drawn. The mark was too perfect to be a mere birthmark.

A victorious smile split the face of the man who nodded to his comrade to confirm what he had seen. The man released the child.

"It's your lucky day, kid! Enjoy it because the next time we come, it will be the end."

Light saw nothing more. Right after the stranger holding her discovered the mark, she felt a sharp pain before losing consciousness.

When she regained her senses several hours later, she was in a tent tied upright with her hands above her head to a pole. Her lips were cracked and her throat was dry and a growl in her stomach indicated that she was hungry.

She didn't know what time it was, but she was at least sure that a long time had passed since it was dark outside since she saw torches burning through the fabric of the tent.

The young girl fidgeted, trying to undo the bonds that imprisoned her wrists, but the rope was far too tight and all she managed to do was make her wrists even more painful than they already were because of friction.

Her muscles were sore from the awkward position and she couldn't rest in this standing position. She gritted her teeth, refusing to cry and waited.

Morning came, then noon, then afternoon. The sun was setting and no one had entered the tent. The woman was exhausted, her muscles tense and tense from the position, not to mention the hunger that tormented her, along with thirst and exhaustion. Her eyes fluttered and she lost consciousness.

Sharp pain on her tight woke Light up. Her eyes flew open in pain and a heart-rending cry escaped her lips. The scarlet tip of a spear was stuck to her thigh. A smell of burnt flesh fills her nostrils.

"Who allowed you to fall asleep, priestess?" The man who had pressed the burning metal against her skin sneered evilly and stood up, grabbing the girl's face with one hand. "You're going to call your goddess and allow my men to turn into wolves, if you get it, nod like a good little girl."

Light glared at the man but didn't move. The man who thought that after being starved, thirsty, and deprived of sleep, the young woman would immediately submit, clenched his fist.

He hit the girl on the jaw, just at the junction. The blow echoed in his ear and Light felt her bones crack at the impact.

"You and your tribe think you are above everyone else because a goddess has blessed you! We'll see who's got the last laugh when we can transform too."

He had barely finished his sentence when a mixture of snot and blood landed on his face. In disbelief, the man touched his face to check and felt the gooey sputum Light had just spat in his face.

"My tribe and pack are going to tear you all to pieces and get me out of here. You can open it as much as you want, that's not what will make you escape your fate that was sealed the moment you defiled our lands with your filth... Ahhh"

The end of her sentence turned into a hiss as the blade seared her flesh, this time on the Goddess' protection mark.

"You want to act brave, priestess? Fine, we'll see who will give in first."

The man pulled the blade out of his victim's flesh and a piece of skin stuck to the tip. He handed the spear to one of his comrades before taking a knife out.

"You will do what you are told whether you like it or not."

________

Connor had listened to the young woman's story in absolute silence. Blue Moon and Bloodhood who had returned to the village seeing the wisps of smoke rising in the sky, had found no leads to find Light.

In addition to setting fire to several houses, the men who abducted him had set fire to a good part of the forest that surrounded the village to mask their scent and their trace.

Even with their highly developed senses, the werewolves and skinwalkers could not do anything against the fire that had destroyed the traces of their passage and masked their smells.

"After that, nothing was the same. The Alpha and the Luna were devastated, along with the rest of the tribe and pack. It was Bloodhood's first loss, but the loss was too great.

They knew why these men had gone after Light. They searched, attacking every tribe they suspected, but every battle was in vain. They never found any traces or clues leading to her.

They waited a long time, expecting an onslaught from an enemy. They even planned to fight other Skinwalkers, if the abductors ever managed to get the Goddess' blessing even though they knew it was impossible.

Months later, as the pack and tribe started to grieve, a werewolf was brutally attacked in the forest by someone… No… Something that looked just like Light."