It was early morning, and the core members of the Howlers had decided to meet at their usual location, the Wolf's Pool Club. However, the place looked vastly different from how it usually would.
For one, all of the pool tables had been moved, and in their place were regular tables, seats, and chairs.
There was also a significant upgrade, with several large TVs placed everywhere, including a large screen projector displaying onto one of the establishment walls. The venue was not open to the public at the moment due to the meeting taking place.
Instead of meeting downstairs in Kai's office, the rest of the members were sitting on the main floor at a table arranged in a rectangular formation. Kai and Austin sat on one side, while Marie and Olivia were on the other.
"There's a lot of important things we need to talk about, I guess, but let's start this whole thing with some positive news," Kai stated.
"The day of the full moon passed without any troubles occurring at all. Despite us eating what we normally would have, none of us reported feeling an urge to transform. At the same time, there were no troubles with any other groups."
"All of this is good news for the future, and we just need to make sure not to get involved in any troubles on a certain day in particular."
Just like the time before, all of the werewolves in the Howlers had locked themselves up and waited. The only difference was that they ate what they wished rather than starving themselves, and in the end, it looked like Gary's deal had worked.
There was one problem, though, and that was trying to avoid breaking the vow. However, Kai was pretty adamant that Midwak wouldn't do such a thing. If there was anyone afraid of losing their powers, it was him, and since nothing had happened, it seemed to be true.
"Lucky for you, Marie," Olivia patted her on the back. "You will never have to feel the lust and pain to consume someone, unlike the rest of us."
There was a little worry in Kai's mind. Since it was Marie's first time, he wondered what would happen, but it looked like he had nothing to worry about. He was happy that they could resolve this situation before her first moon.
"Now, let's move on to the more gritty stuff," Kai said. "Innu... Innu has left us for the time being. I made you all aware of that last time. He has joined the Altered Hunters but only in name. Whenever he can, he will contact us."
"We are to treat him no differently. No matter what, he is a true member of the Howlers, but we have to be prepared if we see any chance of him changing or acting differently around us. We have to be ready."
Marie gulped. She was unsure if Kai was seriously suggesting something—suggesting that if Innu became a true Altered Hunter, they would have to get rid of him or at least confront him.
"Do you really think Innu would do such a thing?" Marie asked.
"Who knows," Kai replied. "You have to remember that Altered Hunters have become hunters for a reason, whether it's due to their family or something happening to them. The fact is, not all Altereds out there are good people."
"In a way, you could argue that more of them are bad than good, with many concentrated in gangs. With Innu going away for a year, there's a chance he will see more of the bad side than the good. And with everyone around him having a deep hatred for Altereds as well, it's easy for an echo chamber to be created around him."
"To be honest, I would be more surprised if Innu doesn't come back from all of this a little different than before. But he is a strong person, so in the worst case, he will be someone like Blake, who still has close ties to the Howlers."
Marie and Austin looked a bit down upon hearing the news. When the Howlers had started, all of them were there from the beginning, and now one of them had left. It felt like a family member was leaving them.
"Are the Altered Hunters really just out there to hunt Altereds?" Olivia asked, folding her arms.
They all knew what Olivia was referring to. It had happened about a week ago, when Innu was still with them. She and Marie had been attacked by one of the heads of the Hunter's Association.
After the attack and seeing that they were all okay, the group discussed the events. What surprised them was the news that Innu had shared about the things Edvard was capable of.
"There's still no way to confirm whether or not what you two faced was a vampire," Kai replied. "I wanted to talk to Midwak about it, to get his thoughts, but I'm unsure if that's the right thing to do."
"Honestly, mind control abilities, superior strength to a werewolf, speed, and red eyes? On top of that, they knew about werewolves. Although we only have fictional information on vampires, I would say most of it points to your guess being right."
"However, Innu has gone now, and so has the head of the Altered Association. There was no trouble from him even after knowing that you two were vampires. Which means I can only assume that we weren't their target, and perhaps the other werewolf group was."
"I guess it would make sense for someone like the head to know about werewolves as well," Marie added. "Still, all of this is getting crazy. I can't believe so much is happening from when we were just in school."
"In my mind, based on what he said to you, Olivia, there might be something else we have to worry about eventually. His warning was that we weren't strong enough to deal with the Kings of the North." Kai said.
"If 'Kings' is referring to those who control the Tier One cities, then we can assume the Kings in the North are the other werewolves, as in the other Alphas," Kai stated.
Marie looked deep into Kai's eyes when he said those words. Was there something about the Kings of the North that Kai was interested in? Was it just the fact that they were other werewolves? Either way, she could see the look in his eyes, someone who was ready for a fight.
*****
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