Aadaya sat beneath the tree shade with Desmond and Marcus, enjoying the weather. The sunny day had a soft, sweet breeze coming from the forest, carrying the smell of earth and flowers. The sun shone brightly overhead, but its rays imparted warmth and laziness to the day.

Birds chirped in the surroundings as children played happily in the park to their right. Their giggles floated to them from a distance, everyone seemingly glowing with excitement in the pack. There was a happy buzz as everyone went about their busy schedule to prepare the pack for the upcoming party.

Aadaya watched from her vantage point as every pack member moved about, while the Alphas gathered for the Alpha Calling meeting. They were getting ready for the walk to the hall, deep in the forest, chosen as the venue for the meeting. The meeting was the main reason for the Alpha Calling: a secret event where only the leaders came together to address various problems, from territorial disputes to sharing information.

The Alphas emerged from the main pack house, joining together for the walk, showcasing the unity among the packs of the continent. The security was top-notch, and Aadaya observed more than five dozen security personnel, knowing that many more would be hidden in the forest along the path. It was the same path leading to the venue. Her tablet lay open in front of her, showing her the security details with several red dots indicating their positions.

Aadaya was snapped out of her concentration when Desmond called her, "Aadaya, I can't solve this question..." he said to her, pointing at something in his notebook. His notebook was filled with his scrawled handwriting, something that the Vampire King, Saddie's dad, was not so fond of. Aadaya moved closer to him, shutting her tablet to look at the question he asked.

Growing frustrated with explaining the question repeatedly, she took a deep breath. "Almond, why are you trying to learn the question? Understand it," she said, explaining the same question to him for the hundredth time. Marcus ate his fruit from the plate, watching Aadaya explain the question to Desmond. Marcus, being smaller and weaker than other kids, usually accompanied Aadaya and her friends as he couldn't play with the other kids.

Aadaya looked up at Desmond. "Okay, do you understand it now?!" she asked, waiting for his confirmation. Desmond, with his badly skewed pencil, making his writing worse, asked her, "But why are we doing this portion again?" He inquired about the most crucial part of the question. Getting frustrated with him, Aadaya groaned, cursing him under her breath.

Marcus, who had been watching her teach Desmond and heard Desmond's sarcastic remark about his nickname Almond, also became frustrated. He screamed at Desmond, standing up, still a bit smaller than the other two even when standing, and came near Desmond, towering over his head. "How can't you understand this?!" he asked in his cute, frustrated voice. Desmond became a bit scared of the small kid he had met just a few hours before.

Aadaya, teetering on the edge of her patience, watched Desmond with a glimmer of lost hope in her eyes as Marcus took charge of the situation, scolding the towering "man-child" with fervor. From the corner of her eyes, she observed the Alphas embarking on their unity walk toward the venue, the crowd's cheers echoing in the distance.

Discreetly abandoning her tablet, Aadaya slipped away from Marcus and Almond's banter, strolling towards the edge of the forest. With a silent call to her wolf for strength, she leaped onto a tree, swiftly donning her earpiece and pulling out a pair of glasses from her light jacket.

Zipping up her jacket carefully to avoid snags in the branches, Aadaya powered on her glasses, her surroundings coming alive with warriors strategically spread throughout the forest. She tied her shoelaces and pulled her mask over her face, Chris's voice buzzing in her earpiece, "There are warriors up in the trees too," a fact she had already anticipated.

Aadaya hummed her acknowledgement, eyeing a sturdy branch to hop onto. Her height and weight made her mass hard to conceal efficiently, posing a challenge. Chris's annoying voice interrupted, "Get a move on, Chiku. We need to have the intel," his impatience grating on Aadaya's nerves.

Snapping back, she retorted, "Shut up, idiot. Unless you want Aunt to murder you for stealing..." effectively silencing Chris. With a swift jump and a swing, she landed on a fragile branch, the noise sending a shiver down her spine. If caught, these pack warriors, not part of her own pack and deadlier because of it, would show no mercy.

Minutes passed as Aadaya climbed down, seeking sturdier branches, repeating the process tirelessly. The height was her only advantage; the land below was even more securely guarded, every warrior stationed just a yard apart. Once, she had a guard right beneath her, forcing her to hold her breath, praying her panting wouldn't give her away.

Chris's voice cut in again, irritating her further. "Have you reached?" he asked, his tone annoyingly bratty. Aadaya growled into her earpiece, "Shut your mouth," the sound emerging as a menacing snarl. Sweat drenched her, the forest's humidity working against her, the ground becoming increasingly slippery as she delved deeper.

Gasping for breath, she pushed aside leaves, finally arriving at her destination. There, she observed the hall, its glass roof casting the only illumination in the dark forest. Looking down, she spotted about three dozen more warriors patrolling the area.

Aadaya scanned for a way to reach the roof, the only vantage point into the meeting. The international affairs the Alphas discussed, the world's secrets divulged within those walls. Spotting a line of tall trees leading to the hall, she altered her course, gliding over the branches with agility. Her heart raced as she observed the warriors on the ground below, aware that even a single glance upward could betray her.

Reaching the last tree, she measured the distance to the roof. It was farther than she had anticipated. A creak from the branch beneath her drew the warriors' attention, their curious eyes scanning the area. Time was short. In a moment of daring, Aadaya made a split-second decision, pushing her knees into the air, leaping toward the hall roof, her fate hanging in the balance.

Aadaya's eyes squeezed shut in terror as she prayed, her heart pounding in her chest. Just as her fingers brushed the end of the wall's column, her eyes shot open in surprise. Swiftly, she pulled herself up, her thoughts distant, consumed by the urgency of the moment. Without second-guessing, she hid behind the wall, her body pressed against the cold stone, breathing raggedly.

In the distance, a guard's voice cut through the night. "Did you hear that?" he called out, the words filtering through to Aadaya from beneath the walls. When there was no response, she realized the other guard hadn't heard him. Laying on her elbows, she faced the sky, clutching her pounding heart. It thudded in her ears, racing faster than ever, her mouth gasping for air, trying to replenish her starved lungs.

Chris's voice crackled in her ear, "Chiku, the meeting is halfway done..." he droned on in his disinterested tone. Aadaya got up, dusting off her jeans, and whispered back, "I'm in position, shutting you off..." as she turned off her earpiece, activating only her microphone. This way, Chris could hear everything and record it without any sound emanating from her end, ensuring the Alphas wouldn't detect her presence.

Steeling herself, Aadaya approached a glass window, peering through it to see all the Alphas seated around a grand mahogany table. Their voices were hushed whispers, barely audible through the glass as they discussed something of grave importance. Aadaya carefully pushed out a small piece of glass, already cut beforehand by Saddie. There was no other way to access the listening position; entering the hall directly would be suicidal. This plan, meticulously devised, was their only shot.

With practiced precision, Aadaya pulled out a tiny microphone, attached to a thin wire. Swiftly, she dropped it into the hall behind the pillar, hidden from prying eyes. A different voice flowed into her ear, a crucial piece of information hanging in the air, waiting to be captured.

**************************

Aadaya found herself immersed in the clandestine world of the Alphas, oblivious to the lurking danger. Unbeknownst to her, malevolent forces crept through the digital ether, twisting her secure earpiece into a conduit for chaos. In the midst of secrets and shadows, Chris's voice, distorted and desperate, clawed its way into her consciousness.

"Check in, Aadaya! The pack is besieged," his words screamed, sharp as daggers, piercing the silence of the night. Her heart ceased its rhythm, a chilling prelude to the storm about to engulf her. Wide-eyed and frozen, she stared into the abyss of imminent peril.

Chris's voice, a phantom scream, echoed again, tearing her from her stunned paralysis. A nameless terror gripped her, the echoes of a past horror whispering in the shadows of her mind. Her surroundings blurred into a nightmarish haze as she fled, the forest clawing at her skin, uncaring for the blood it drew.

Through twisted, gnarled trees, she sprinted, her mind painting vivid horrors. The ethereal moonlight, filtered through dense foliage, cast eerie shadows upon the forest floor. The acrid scent of fear mingled with the metallic tang of her own blood.

In her desperate flight, her earpiece was torn asunder, a casualty of her haste. The forest seemed to close in around her, whispering ancient secrets and chilling prophecies. With each step, the ghostly memories of past traumas clawed at the edges of her consciousness.

Finally, she stumbled upon a scene both haunting and surreal—a clearing torn asunder, nature's bones scattered like discarded relics. Amidst the wreckage, huddled figures, their eyes reflecting a primal fear, told a tale of unspeakable dread. The night became an inky canvas splattered with fear, and Aadaya stood at its center, a lone figure in the tapestry of darkness, bearing witness to the enigmatic horrors that now encroached upon her world.

...to be continued

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