The Crave

"My family again?!" The voice seeped out from the window of the room to Alini who was passing by. She looked up at the window. There was a curtain and a lantern must have been lit in the room because the curtain glowed with a gentle golden light.

She couldn't see much through the curtain, just a dark outline of the images of the people in the room as they moved around.

"Rita." Someone said in a bid to soothe the person that had spoken first. Must be Comrade Jones.

"First, it was my sister. Where is she now? Gone! I feel like I will lose this one too. How many more sacrifices will my family have to make for the human race? "

"Calm down."

"Little Elena is all I have left." There was a pause, like she was crying. "I wanted to protect her from this life, the very one her mother died in. But no! The universe just has to be against me now! Why her?! Why him?! The poor girl is supposed to be married next week!"

"She can still get married to Jeremy if--"

"--she follows the rules?" Rita's voice seeped through the window with disdain and Alini's interest spiked.

The rules had to be the reason only Elena had been detained in the meeting room today. Alini wondered what those rules could be.

"Yes. She will be alive." A shadow passed by the window, like he had moved closer to her.

"Oh, stop it, Jones! We both know the rules are not that easy to follow. If it were, Anna would be with us right now."

That even spiked Alini's interest more. These rules, what were they?

There was silence in the room. Maybe they were both thinking about the rules or about Anna.

"I don't know what to do. I'm so weak." Rita finally said, her voice at the weakest anyone would ever hear it. It surprised Alini. "Hold me Jones, please. I'm afraid I'll break."

Alini didn't hear anything after that. Maybe he had stepped forward and held her. Maybe she was crying. She couldn't really tell.

Alini shivered slightly from cold, then she took some silent steps away from the window before turning away and disappearing into the night.

***

The trumpets were ever only blown for one reason.

The werewolves were coming.

The sound of the trumpets rang through the whole Human Division D, waking up every single soul. It was so early that that sky was still dark, the moon just barely sneaking back into the clouds.

Elena sprung up at the sound of the trumpet. She wanted to race out of bed just that there was someone in bed with her.

Jeremy.

Her eyes widened slightly as the images of what they had done the night before flashed before her eyes. She pulled the blanket tightly around her chest before shaking him violently so he would wake up.

If this had been a normal day, she wouldn't have been so ready to face him but this was no normal day.

He smiled lazily at her, sleep slowly leaving him till he heard the trumpets and his mind jerked back to reality. Something unreadable set in his eyes and he sprung up from the bed, grabbing his clothes that had littered across the floor quickly.

"I think you should have a bath. I fetched a few buckets of water into the bathroom."

"That won't be necessary." Jeremy said, pulling over his shirt. His eyes were cold like he was trying too hard to conceal something.

"Please--" Jeremy turned to her and her breath caught in her throat. His eyes were filled with too many emotions that threatened to consume her, emotions that reminded her fully well of her own predicament. "I heard they can smell people...on people. I don't want him harming you after--" she looked around the room as if searching for the right word before she finally said, "--what we've done."

Jeremy stood still for a while, the sound of the trumpets playing in his mind. Then he turned abruptly towards the bathroom but he stopped again.

"Are you sure you'll come back, Elena."

"If I follow the rules, Aunt Rita said. We will be together." She nodded briefly and Jeremy smiled softly at her before dashing into the bathroom.

Tears rolled down Elena's eyes. Aunt Rita had also told her that her mother had died because the rules were so damn difficult to follow.

These werewolves were monsters! How could they claim a woman that already had a child, separate her from her family. How dare they take her mother away from her and now?

They were coming to take her.

***

"Don't look at the Alpha Superior's eyes or any werewolves for that matter!" Rita's voice rang out to the women and men that now stood in firm formation before her as she recounted the rules for them. It had been a long time since they had to meet the werewolves once again, she had to remind them of how to behave and the consequences of their disobedience if such should happen.

By the time the trumpet had been blown 7 times, everyone had already made it to the meeting ground-- that open field that was amongst the first few things anyone entering into the Human Division D would first see. It was brighter now, so they could at least see one another's faces without using a lantern.

"That would be one less worker and we already don't have enough to work with right now. So, if there is someone you love here and you don't want that person to die from work, be a nice little puppy and obey the rules."

"Yes, Captain!" They all chorused back firmly.

Rita nodded, satisfied. Her eyes passed over her niece briefly, worry flashing in her eyes for only a spilt second.

Then they heard it.

The sound of cars making their way into the Human Division D's territory and closer to them. Rita glanced at Jones and they nodded slowly to each other, then bowed slightly, their own eyes planted to the ground.

The cars stopped, some distance behind them pulling up dust. There was silence for a while, till they heard the car doors opening and people stepping out. They carried an aura of power around them, something that the humans could sense even without looking at them.

They must feel so high and mighty.

"Disgusting!" Someone cried out in disgust. "This place stinks!"

"Who is the captain?" Another called out and Rita raised her hands. "Raise your head."

She did, her eyes landed on beautifully sculptured faces that had all the care in the world to look the way they did. She would have had that face too if only these monsters hadn't done what they did.

"I am Beta Superior Golden. We are here for the yearly check. You know it's the Crave time, right?" He said, his blank eyes on her. He didn't look at her with absolute disgust like the rest, he must have a better control of his feelings.

"Yes, Beta Superior." Rita said, her head still lightly bowed.

"And you've told your girls?" his eyes raked through the formation. "Tell the guys to step aside, we don't need them."

Rita turned, then snapped her fingers twice. Immediately, the guys stepped out of the formation, their eyes still planted on the ground. Rita turned back to the Beta Superior who looked down at her almost impressed. "Good. Back to your position." With that Rita left.

Golden stepped closer to the car that was parked some distance away and he opened the door. "They are ready, Alpha Superior."

The Alpha Superior stepped out of the car, his eyes combed quickly through the whole formation and he sighed lightly before stepping forward. He moved closer and closer to the formation then he smelt it.

A unique aura that his soul tugged towards.

His body grew a control of its whole moving him towards that aura that held his peace, that held a part of his soul. That aura that seemed to complete him.

She was here.

Elena could hear him move closer, her hands trembled slightly, her heart was racing so much that it felt like it would explode in her chest. Her eyes misted with tears.

Despite how she had assured Jeremy that she would returned, something told her that if he took her today, she would never come back.

The trembling of her hands increased then a small hard hand wrapped around hers. It was Alini's, she was trying to comfort her. Her hands tightened around Alini's own even more.

The first time they had spoken was yesterday but Elena found a sense of peace in her like they had known each other for a lifetime.

The Alpha Superior finally got to where she was, the second row of the formation. He picked up the interwined hands of hers and Alini's and her heart dropped.

There was no where to run now.

He easily pulled them apart and her hands dropped firmly by her side. She squeezed her eyes shut not knowing what to expect but it was so awfully silent for too long that she opened them once again and she peeked upwards ever so slightly.

She was shocked by what she saw.

He hadn't held on to her hand because he was holding onto Alini's. His long fingers were curled around her chin, making her look up at him and he was staring down at her like she was...his mate.

But that can't be possible?! The Moon Witch...she had said... she..

Elena's mind was tumbling over with too many thoughts for her to think straight.

The Moon Witch was never wrong with these types of things. It was what she did, what she was made to do.

Except.

Elena sucked in a sharp breath.

Except if, she had lied to them.