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"Alison, wake up! Alison! Alison!"

"Stop it, you're already awake," I said resignedly, looking at him to find him smiling triumphantly. I grabbed him, pulled him onto the bed, and started tickling him. The sound of his laughter filled my room as he tried to ask me to stop.

"Now you will learn not to wake me up again," I told him, laughing too.

"I... I give up..." he managed to say with difficulty between his laughter.

"Okay, now tell me who I am." I stopped tickling him and waited for his answer.

"Alison," he replied.

"Wrong answer!" I attacked him again.

"You two stop playing and go downstairs; the food is ready," said Zack's mother, Megan, as she entered the room and looked at us.

I took a shower and got dressed in my gym outfit before heading downstairs to the dining table. "Good morning," I said.

"Good morning," my brother, Austin, answered, looking at me—or rather, at my clothes. "Alison, again? You know today is a day off," he told me.

"I don't have a day off," I replied, sitting next to him and Zack.

"Okay, do whatever you want." He sighed as he continued eating his food.

"How about you and I go shopping today?" Megan asked me, trying to calm the electrifying atmosphere between us.

"Sorry, Megan, you know I don't like shopping that much." I apologized to her before kissing Zack's cheek and standing up. "I am going now."

"Can you at least come back early?" Austin said, looking up at me.

"I'll try, brother," I replied and headed outside.

My name is Alison, and I am 20 years old. My family members are my brother, Austin, his girlfriend, Megan, and their son, Zack. My brother is the Alpha of the White Crescent Pack. My father was the Alpha, but when he and my mother died, my brother took his position.

We, as werewolves, live in the world alongside humans, but we live in a pack and a community of our own. There are many supernatural creatures that live in this world without the knowledge of humans—such as werewolves, vampires, witches, and others—and there is a Council that facilitates the involvement of these creatures in life like ordinary humans.

There are many werewolf packs, and all of them have their own space and a specific number of members. To conduct operations, the packs or those responsible for them—the Alpha—create projects in the human world so that werewolves can work there and earn their living, but their home always remains in their pack territory, and they follow the orders of the Alpha.

Each pack has its own area and boundaries. If a werewolf crosses the boundaries of a pack that is not his own without permission, he is considered among the dead—especially Rogues. I hate them very much.

"Good morning, Mr. Willen. Isn't today a holiday?" I asked the person responsible for the security of the training room.

"I know. I just came to give you the keys; the Alpha told me you were coming," he answered me as he handed me the keys. I smiled softly, thinking of my brother looking out for me.

"Thank you, and I apologize for that."

"It's okay, no problem. I'll go now," he replied, disappearing, and I opened the room in the center.

In every pack, there are major facilities you will always find.

First: The Pack House, which includes the members of the pack. It is large and consists of rooms, a kitchen, and many facilities such as a library. Sometimes individuals prefer to build houses independent of the Pack House, and the officials agree, provided that the house is on the land of the pack.

Second: The Center. This is where the offices of the Alpha, the Beta, the Gamma, and the Commander of the Warriors are located. These are the ones responsible for managing the pack. There are also training rooms for the warriors and guards.

Third: The Pack Hospital. Because our nature is different from humans, we cannot go to their hospitals; they would know something is abnormal. So, there is a hospital for werewolves in every pack.

In addition to the Alpha’s house, which is usually separate from the Pack House, like my own. There is no large distance between all the facilities, but they aren't close either. The larger the land area, the larger the number of facilities, and they are spread a little farther apart.

You must be wondering about education. We all went to school with humans, and the majority of werewolves do not complete university. When we graduate from high school, we can find any job we want or see ourselves as good at within the pack or in one of the projects abroad.

I walked into the room, took off my jacket, and started the thing I had been doing for a while: training. I'm a warrior—or at least the Deputy Commander. I got my position after extensive training and my own effort. But now, I keep running away from my family and my entire surroundings through this, which is why my brother was angry.

I started doing some warm-ups before starting my training. When I eventually felt tired and lay on the floor, I heard the door closing and caught the smell of my brother, Austin, approaching. I stayed lying down as he sat next to me. We continued in silence for a while.

"Alison," he spoke after a moment.

"Yes," I replied.

"How long are you going to keep doing this? You know it wasn't your fault," he told me. I sat up to look at him.

"I just know..." I held my hand, trying to find the right word.

"It hurts?" he asked. I nodded.

"It's just more than painful. It’s as if the period of my mother and father's death has come back to me—the same pain and my inability to do anything is still the same."

"Don't say that, Alison. I always tell you that our parents' death was predestined, and you were just a child then. You weren't helpless; you were a child, and I'm glad you're alive."

"But I wasn't a child that day. I was an adult and a fighter, but I still couldn't save him," I told him.

"Alison, you can't save everyone, and you shouldn't have to. Just to point out, he's the one who broke my orders. I told him not to go near the border until others arrived, and he didn't. Worse, I almost lost you too if we hadn't arrived in time."

"He was just trying to do something to protect his pack from the Rogues."

"I know, Alison. But it's been two months and you're like this; you get up and you come here, and you don't return until the middle of the night, and you don't do anything else."

"I'm sorry. I'm starting to hate how everyone close to me dies at the hands of the Rogues, so I want to make myself stronger."

"You're really strong, Alison. Do I need to remind you how you take down our warriors even though they're huge and you're so small?"

"Don't worry, brother. I'll try... I'll try to get back to myself."

"Yes, and to help you, I have made some arrangements."

"What arrangements?"

"Put on your jacket and let's go home; I'll tell you on the way," he said, standing up and grabbing my jacket. We left the room and the center, closing it up before heading home.

"What arrangements?" I asked him again.

"Tomorrow, you will go to the Red Moon Pack for a month," he answered. I stopped walking and looked at him, waiting for him to tell me that he was joking.

"What? Where did this come from? I still don't understand why I should go."

"Because it will help you stop thinking so much and help you change from your current state. Also, I advise you to accept this, or I will make it an Alpha's order." I hate it when he talks with that look.

"Okay, I agree," I replied with a smile.

"Good. I think you will have fun there. How long has it been since you saw Andrew?"

"Six months ago."

"So, it’s good; you can see him and spend some time with him."

"I don't want to spend time with him, and he has a girlfriend to spend time with, in case you forgot," I answered him, smiling.

"But you're like his little sister; he will look after you," he replied.