In the afternoon, Aurora left the elevator in the Enforcer Unit Headquarters, following her guide, and walked along the corridor, straight to the door at the end.
The young woman that took her there opened the door for her, and she entered, going towards a tall old man who was standing in front of a pulpit at the end of that room, with many Enforcers seated on the chairs in front of him.
He looked at her, somewhat surprised by her looks. Aurora had her blond hair loose, a pair of dark, reflective sunglasses, and a very simple, dark dress that ended a little above her knees. On her right hand was a small dark purse, and her dark heels clattered on the floor as she walked straight at him.
With a smile, she reached her right hand for a handshake and greeted him, “Hello, I am Aurora Kerrish. Nice to meet you.”
The man shook her hand and said, somewhat doubtfully, “I was informed you were coming, but I didn’t know it would be today. I am Allen Brooks, the Senior Officer of this branch. I was about to start the briefing. Please have a seat.”
“Will I be getting a partner?”
“Yes, I think it will be better. It is common practice in the Enforcer Unit. Only very special cases are allowed to work alone.”
Aurora looked back and saw Aella staring at her, completely dumbfounded. She smiled and announced, “I took the liberty of choosing my partner. It’s Aella over there.”
The surprised brunette blinked a few times, and then answered, “I… I work alone. I don’t need, nor do I want, a partner!”
Aurora made a slight frown and warned her, “Did I, by chance, ask you anything? I am informing you by courtesy. Now, please keep quiet and allow our Senior Officer to conduct the briefing. Where can I sit, Mister Brooks?”
“Sit anywhere, but normally it is me that chooses the partnerships around here.”
“Yes, I figured that much when you said you were the Senior Officer, but if I am not mistaken, Aella usually works alone, correct? Well, she doesn’t need to keep on doing that, and you also don’t need to worry about her anymore. I will cover her back. Considering that she works alone, either there is no one here that is as good as she is, or she doesn’t trust them. But now, I am here.”
Aurora went to join Aella at her table, and from the back of the room, a man mocked, “A new Enforcer dressed like that? You should go back to your mommy, pretty girl. This kind of work is not for Princesses!”
While everyone was laughing, Aurora slowly took off her dark glasses, turned back with a slight smile, and explained, “I don’t dress like this when I go after a Werewolf, but this dress is very easy to take off if I need to. I can get undressed and change to my Werewolf form in two seconds. You take what, twenty seconds, thirty? I would go to Japan and back, and you were still finishing. Now shush, the Senior Officer wants to start. But first, be a dear and go get me a coffee, will you?”
“Who do you think I am? I am not your servant!”
Aurora slowly got up and looked at the angry-looking man with her arms crossed over her chest and said, “Did I, by chance, stutter? I told you to go get me a coffee, Omega! Now!”
Her powerful presence, even in that dress, was enough to make everyone go silent. The man slowly got up and looked down, avoiding facing those blue, powerful eyes. It was as if Aurora’s stare was piercing through his soul, and he left the room in a hurry.
Aurora sighed and looked at the surprised Allen Brooks. “The nerve of these Omegas, lately. Mocking someone that he doesn’t know. Please continue. I am sorry for this interruption.”
“Miss Aurora, you shouldn’t use your Alpha’s influence on my subordinates. We have a hierarchy here.”
“Oh, I think I didn’t use any of that, because I am not sure if I am an Alpha or a Luna. That guy is just a rude and obnoxious man who is surely not used to strong women. Men like him, I eat at breakfast.”
She then faced the silent group in the room, and announced, “May this serve as a warning to you all. I don’t admit lack of respect or mockery from anyone. I will treat you like you treat me. If you are respectful, I will be as well. If you are rude, I will wipe the floor with your stupid asses.”
Allen Brooks rubbed his face with both hands, feeling drained, and explained, “Miss Aurora… they are your colleagues. You shouldn’t antagonise them right on your first day.”
“They were laughing, and I consider that extremely rude. Besides, I don’t need them. I have Aella. She is more than enough. They are just our support characters. If they deserve it, I will grade them higher.”
Allen Brooks slowly shook his head, completely dumbfounded. Then, the door opened, and the man returned with a tray with a cup of coffee, milk, and sugar, which he placed on the table where Aurora was seated.
He spoke in a nervous tone. “I… wasn’t sure how you liked your coffee, Miss Aurora, so I brought everything.”
“Thank you. You may return to your place so that Mister Brooks can start.”
He hurriedly went back to his seat and remained silent. Then, Aella finally spoke, “Come on, chief! I am not going to work with her, will I? For real?”
“Well, she has a point. It has been far too long since you have been working alone. And according to your report of your last mission, if it wasn’t for her, you could be dead by now.”
Aurora smiled at the frowning woman at her side and said in a cheerful tone, “Oh! Did you include me in your report? So nice of you! I also put your name on mine!”
Aella took a deep breath and spoke, without looking into those gorgeous blue eyes that were staring at her, “Aurora… your cheering personality is bugging me way too much…”
“Should I lower it for you, then? I am bugging you so much that you want to punch me like last time, you bitch?”
“What… what did you call me?”
“You heard me loud and clear. Don’t you think I forgot what you did. I will get you when you least expect it, just like you did to me. You got lucky because I was too surprised from finding you, but you won’t get me a second time. Now shut up. Mister Brooks is still waiting to start the briefing, and you are disturbing everyone.”
Aella frowned and counted to ten because she noticed Aurora raising one eyebrow at the faint light that was appearing around them.
She then faced forward again, and Allen Brooks started, “If there are no more interruptions, I will start. I am not sure if all of you saw the news this morning, but Lisa McCarty sent a new video to several television channels. As you are all aware since some years ago, she has been a strong objector to the Werewolf Organization. She was once a member of the Rossi Pack, but she disagreed a few times with the way the Werewolf Organization was dealing with normal Humans, and the several times that normal Humans mistreated and sometimes killed young Werewolves made her clash with her former pack, and she abandoned it. Over the years, her influence increased exponentially, and she gathered several Werewolves around her and her partner, Davis. From our last intel, their Pack was not as big as the smallest Packs in the World, but things have changed over the past two years, and nowadays, we are not sure about the size.”
A woman’s voice came from the left side of the room, “That bitch and her moron of a husband are terrorists! They should be hung at first sight! They already caused a lot of deaths in normal Humans with their weird ideas! A lot of Werewolves out there got poisoned by their propaganda, and things now are worse than they have ever been!”
Aurora turned to face the angry woman while the other Enforcers were cheering her words, and said, “You know, some people call them terrorists, but to others, they are freedom fighters. Their propaganda is not as misguided as you may think. They have logic behind their words, and while the Werewolf Organization preaches a better understanding and peaceful interaction between normal Humans and Werewolves, she, like many Werewolves out there, considers Humans antiques that are destined to disappear because Werewolves are the next evolutionary step. Their methods might be unnecessary sometimes, but they are not wrong in their propaganda.”
The woman frowned at Aurora and retorted, “Hearing you say that, it almost seems that you agree with them! They are a bunch of extremists that bend the law in their favour to gather more and more followers. It is because of them that things are like they are lately!”
“No, it is not because of them. The Werewolf Organization did a lot of things wrong, and Lisa uses those former events in her speeches. People still remember the several times that the Organization failed in defending Werewolves rights and duties and are resentful. That is why neither she nor Davis were arrested until now. They, like everyone in this country, benefit from freedom of speech. The fact there are Werewolves who take their words to the extreme is not entirely their fault. I know they are aware that their speeches have power, but what Lisa says can’t be contradicted because she is right in everything.”
The woman made a slight grin and answered, “If you agree so much with her, what are you doing here?”
“I agree with her because, unlike you, I know what happened that made her leave the Rossi Pack. You could also know if you read stuff. She never hid why. There is also the fact that she regrets some things that happened in her youth when the Rossi Pack was being formed, and that also influenced her behaviour, but it is not up to me to talk about things that are not public. Lisa is right about the Werewolves being the next evolution, and that fact frightens normal Humans, who fear being replaced or eaten. Several Humans still celebrate the Full Moon Massacre, when two years ago, groups of them attacked Schools all over the World for two weeks in a row and killed every son and daughter of Werewolves they could find.”
Aurora paused to take a sip of her coffee, and she then continued, “Some normal Human kids also died in those attacks, but hundreds of Werewolves sons and daughters were killed. Many of them, as you are certainly aware, could also be normal Humans, because they could become Werewolves or not, on their sixteenth birthday. So please, don’t call Lisa and Davis terrorists because they are doing what the Werewolf Organization never dared to do, that is, defend all Werewolves in the World instead of bending their backs to be fucked up their asses. I wonder if you would be here calling them terrorists if you were in the house of a Werewolves’ family like I was last month, and saw a two-year-old baby raped until she died, and her insides were used to write on her baby room’s wall that all Werewolves should die and Humans are the best there is.”
Aurora’s words were as if someone had suddenly draped a veil of sadness over them, and she sighed. “For sure you know what the Werewolf Organization did. They paid for the funeral and went to television to do a speech to ease the anger that was boiling in many Werewolves’ families. Do you know what Lisa and Davis did? They tracked down the normal Humans that took part in that attack and everyone that helped them. Did you hear any of this in the news? No, because Lisa only sent a video with the list of normal Humans that were in that attack and all the proof she gathered, like photos, surveillance footage, and recorded messages of them admitting what they did and bragging about it. A group of anonymous Werewolves took those normal Humans’ heads and put them in a box that they delivered to the mourning Werewolf family, together with a substantial amount of money. Lisa and Davis paid for psychological counselling for the family, and until this day, they are supporting them with anything they need.”
Allen Brooks took a slow, deep breath and interrupted Aurora. “Lisa’s speech at that time was also considered by the Werewolf Organization as a call for violence upon normal Humans, you know?”
“I know, and you for sure also know, that the main reason the Enforcer Unit was created years ago was to arrest criminal Werewolves because normal police and the military were no match for a Werewolf. The original concept was changed because of pressure from the normal Humans that are still the majority in the World. Did you by chance hear about a normal Human ever being killed on the spot when found killing a Werewolf? So why does a Werewolf have to be killed instead of arrested? Did you ever think about that? Do you know why that happens? Because the Werewolf Organization doesn’t want a Werewolf out there, giving us all an evil reputation. It is easier to kill him and reassure the normal Humans that Werewolves that kill and eat Humans no longer exist.”
The same woman on the left side of the room spoke. “You seem to know a great deal about Lisa and the Werewolf Organization…”“And you are wondering how I know all this? The family that lost their baby daughter hired me, and I went after the perpetrators, thinking that they could be Werewolves that were trying to cause problems between Werewolves and normal Humans, and during that mission, I found the same evidence they did. I delivered everything to the Werewolf Organization, and guess what? They did nothing because it was more advantageous to their propaganda if Lisa and Davis kept on being seen as villains. Unfortunately for the Organization, I am not dumb, and I sent cop
The old Senior Officer made a slight frown and answered, “Almost. Why are you in such a hurry?”“I have a funeral to attend. I just got the message with the address.”“If it’s because of that, then go. The rest is just the next assignments, but I can give yours to you two when you return.”Aurora got up, grabb
When Aurora parked the car, Aella got out and looked around. There were a few cars there, and a crowd was in front of the Church, with posters and black flags with a wolf's head in white.She followed the now serious blond woman, and heard her whisper, “Don’t you leave my side. And no matter what you hear, don’t get angry or say a word. That group didn’t come for the funeral, they only came to cause problems.”“What do you mean? They are not friends of the family?”
Aurora stared at the shouting man and frowned at the sign he was holding high. “You all know, and instead of minding your own business, you came here to annoy a family that is burying one of their members. And these leeches are even worse because they feed on other people’s misery and sadness. Why don’t you all go away and leave the poor family alone? Do you honestly believe you are doing them any favours? Because I didn’t see any of you offering to help with the funeral, or inside that Church, crying with them!”“I have every right to be here, bitch! It’s a free country! If I want to protest about some filthy Werewolves that killed an innocent man, I can d
Aurora parked the car in the underground garage under a big building. Aella followed her to the elevators and said, “You know, it is kind of strange the lack of security. You just approached the car to the garage door, and there was no one here to check our identities.”She pointed at the several cameras spread in every corner of the garage and explained. “We are being watched ever since we approached the building. There were hidden cameras on the street, checking who was arriving. If I wasn’t here, you would find yourself surrounded by five Werewolves that wouldn’t let you take another step until someone could vouch for you. We don’t advertise our security like
As they were driving back to the Enforcers’ Headquarters, Aella was reading the files. She then said, sounding somewhat puzzled, “There are only coincidences and suspicions. Some words were left in the air during a conversation that sounded like a threat, and the shadow of a Werewolf leaving the room where a body was found. What they have in common is that all the killings started to happen when their Pack’s Alphas and Lunas openly supported the clauses that your mother wanted to put in the Werewolf Registration. After a few Werewolves died, the Alphas and Lunas talked with the Half-Moon Alpha, and they got the feeling it was him that gave the order, because of what he said. Feelings and suspicions are not enough proof to go after them.”“
Aurora made a slight frown and wondered what she did, but since she said nothing more, she didn’t ask.When Aurora parked the car in the Enforcers’ building, Aella hid the files under her seat before exiting the car.They walked to the elevator in silence, and when they entered, Aurora asked, “What do you think-“She went immediately silent when she saw Aella opening her eyes wide and signalling with her head to the t
Allen Brooks put the file he still had on his hand back into the drawer and took out another one that he delivered to the puzzled blond as he explained, “That was just a bluff. This is the real deal. It is about the deaths in the Packs that have a seat in the Werewolf Organization. I am not sure if it differs from what you got from the Bounty Hunters.”She delivered the file to Aella, who, after glancing over it, said, “It is the same, but only about three Packs. We got a more complete file.”Aurora got up and put one of the dead men over her right shoul
Werewolf Enforcer Unit – a group that tracks down and kills Werewolf criminals.Werewolf Organization - twenty people can use the ‘Alpha Light’ in the entire world, meaning that there are few Packs of Werewolves, fully recognized. There are Packs with appointed leaders for the protection of their Pack or organisational purposes. The real Packs that exist around someone that can use the ‘Alpha Light’ are country-sized in numbers.Bounty Hunters Association - sometimes work with the Werewolves Organization, other times, work with the police. Anyone can hire a Bounty Hunter if there is a suspicion that a Werewolf is involved, or if it is a matter of normal Humans threatening or killing Werewolves.Rossi Pack – Aniya Rossi and Nick Kerrish Pack of Werewolves.Half-Moon Pack – rivals of Aniya and Nick, whose Alpha and Luna aim at controlling the Werewolf Organization.Werewolf Registration (original idea) – All Werewolves have to be registered with their name, address, and Werewolf fur colo
Six months after what would go down in the history of Earth as the Dawn of Werewolves, Aella was at the bridge of her fiftieth conquered kingdom ship, looking at the screen that was showing the new planet under Werewolf control, a green planet with one single and massive continent.The Lycans that lived on the surface and were in charge of controlling and increasing the original population were now under her orders.Aurora was seated in the captain’s chair and smiled as she was reading a small 3D screen in front of her eyes, and said, “It seems our cousins Lycans that were on the planet are almost here. Only evolved Lycans and the original species are on the planet. Like the other forty-nine planets under us, they are all very happy to get rid of their oppressors. Among the ships that are arriving, there are a few that have members of the original species that wish to join our fleet and get revenge on our cousins Lycans.”“Nice. Any news about the Lycan Queen and their home World?”“S
Near the moon, the Great Leader was looking at the screen in front of him, staring at the blue plantation planet that almost obliterated his troops.He clenched his claws and said, “Number One, any advice?”“I… I am not sure what to say, Great Leader. Never in the Empire’s history has a kingdom ship suffered such losses. Those Werewolves are truly amazing, and even if we can’t have most of them, we still have a few specimens. Perhaps our scientists can find out what made them like that. Their claws and teeth are by far stronger than ours. They heal as fast as we do, but unlike Lycans that fight with honour, style, and precise movements, those Werewolves fight like animals, and their attacks and movements are erratic. According to the reports, it is as if they don’t mind being hurt. If they are alive, they fight. But they are very similar to us. They only die if they get a sure hit in the heart or the head, but if we fail by millimetres and only wound them, they become savage and almos
Aurora searched for another news channel on her phone and said, “I don’t think this will end so soon. We might end up engaged in a guerrilla war, and if the Lycans lose too many troops, their Empire might give up on harvesting us and blow up the entire planet.”“That… can also happen, yes. Maybe a similar case has already happened, and they are prepared for that. Shit, we need to capture a few of them and find out everything about them. They seem to know a lot about us because they came prepared with those yellow spheres, and their ships are over the biggest Cities. Luckily for us, the Werewolf Organization headquarters is here, in a smaller City. The nearest big City is almost one hour away, and maybe in the morning we can see the spaceship from here, at this distance.”The limousine stopped in front of the tall building, and Aella exited the limousine, holding hands with Aurora.As they walked inside, no one dared stop them, and they went straight to the elevators, with Peter Clarke
On the screen, there was now a man with puffed eyes who looked worried.He glanced at the papers in his hands, put them down, and said, “I was supposed to come here and say that it was too soon to panic because no one knew the intention of those spaceships. But now we know. If what he said was true, the Werewolf gene was planted into our ancestors’ DNA pools, millions of years ago, and it seems that it is like the Werewolves always told us, that they are our next step in mankind’s evolution. It appears we were only meant to be food for those alien Lycans. It is still too soon for me to say anything, but I don’t believe mankind will fall into their plate that easily, because even if he said resistance is futile, and even if I have to fight alone, I won’t be turned into a steak for them to eat without a fight. At this moment, it is still unknown if our Werewolves will stand by our side or join them because the Lycans look like Werewolves. What I know is that my wife is a Werewolf, and k
Aella and Aurora were already in their room, with Aella seated at a table and looking at a report with the number of supplies that arrived during dinner, and Aurora was seated on the edge of the bed, looking at her and thinking.After a while, and since Aella was still too focused on the files over the table, Aurora approached her, massaged her shoulders and said, “You should relax now. You have been stressed all day, and since we arrived, you haven’t stopped worrying. Everything that could be done, you took care of it. Or others did. Today there is nothing more to do. What about if you put that aside, closed your eyes, and just stood still?”Aella sighed and said, “Yeah, but this feeling that I can’t figure out why is happening is bugging me. I don’t feel it now, but it still gives me shivers when I remember how I felt when we were in that room in the Organization building with all those Alphas near us. I guess you are right. Without knowing for sure what made me feel that way, there
The two women left the room, with all the others bowing at their passage. When Aurora closed the door behind her, Nick asked, while looking at the dead bodies, “Is it just me, or did everyone get a little spooked by the easiness Queen Aella killed them? I know she probably killed far too many Werewolves as an Enforcer, but she didn’t even hesitate.”Aniya sighed and said, “I know, and that always worried me. She likes killing Werewolves a tiny bit too much, but since she met Aurora, I think she changed. She used to be always angry, and most probably, the bond she has with Aurora and the new Pack made her realise she was not alone. She looked more at ease today than the first time I met her after she found Aurora. I was expecting her to be far more nervous than she appeared to be in the Auditorium. I am not sure, but maybe her light that made us recognise her as Queen of all Werewolves is also changing her, making her more worthy of ruling us all.”Nick slowly nodded and spoke. “I don’
Not even ten minutes went by, and there was a unanimous decision on all of Aurora’s suggestions. The following minutes were spent on preparing the speech that would be sent to every country with each change clarified and a complete explanation of the Werewolf Registration. They also agreed on a sudden suggestion that Aella made. Every Werewolf in the military of a country would immediately leave and join a Werewolf Pack.But when Aniya called for the voting to start, one woman asked, from her chair on the far left of the Auditorium, “Before we vote, don’t we n
The woman made a slight nod and leaned back in her chair again, thinking.Aurora disguised a grin because she knew her next suggestion would cause turmoil. “Second, prisons for Werewolves. I see no reason why a Werewolf should be killed because he killed a normal Human, and when a normal Human kills a Werewolf, he is arrested by the police and not killed as well. We need to find ways to make sure arrested Werewolves cannot change or escape from their prisons, perhaps with explosive collars around their necks that explode when needed. Either when the prison guards press a button, or when a security fence is breached.”Another man, on the right side of the auditorium, asked, “And those prisons would be controlled by whom? And how will the guards be chosen?”“By Lisa and Davis’ Pack, of course. They are the most impartial people I can think of. Any of you would have doubts about pressing the button that would kill a former member of your Pack, but Lisa and Davis? They won’t even hesitate,