CHAPTER 169: CHAPTER 169: THE END OF THE CALAVERAS

Tonight was the night of the full moon, and Liam was about to go through his first full moon transformation.

Scott and the rest of the pack stood in front of the pack house, watching him closely as the moon reached its peak. Under its pull, Liam shifted for the first time, his eyes glowed gold, fur spread across his cheeks, and then his entire body transformed into a massive grey wolf the size of a tiger.

After that, they all stayed outside, sitting on chairs around a roaring bonfire, laughing, talking, and drinking under the moonlit sky.

---

Meanwhile, in the woods near the ranch...

The two hunter families: the Calaveras and the Madrigals had arrived.

Araya Calavera and Ramiro Madrigal stood side by side, each flanked by twenty armed hunters.

Gazing at the McCall Pack gathered in front of the pack house around the fire, Araya asked. "Should we attack now?"

Ramiro shook his head. "No. First, I’ll send the Kanima in to weaken them. It won’t win, but it will paralyze a few of them. If we’re lucky, it will paralyze the True Alpha and some of his strongest werewolves. Then we strike."

Araya smirked. "Sounds like a plan."

---

Back with Scott and his pack...

While they were relaxing, they all suddenly turned their heads toward the woods.

Then Scott glanced up at the sky, a smile tugging at his lips. "Looks like some idiots want to die tonight."

The pack followed his gaze and saw a creature flying toward them. Liam squinted and asked. "What is that?"

Victoria answered calmly. "That’s a Kanima, and it’s in its Alpha form."

Scott nodded at Peter. "Peter, the Kanima is yours."

Peter’s eyes gleamed with excitement. "Finally. I get to become an Alpha again."

The Kanima swooped down, claws bared, but Peter intercepted it mid-air, punching it so hard it crashed to the ground.

The Kanima quickly got back up. Peter smirked, ready for it to attack again so he could absorb its power. But instead, the Kanima hissed, then suddenly spread its bat like wings and flew back up, hovering above the pack, just out of reach.

Peter scowled. "Damn it. I can’t fly."

Lydia smirked at him. "Peter, I can help bring it down. But you know the deal... you’ll have to pay."

Peter threw up his hands. "Come on, Lydia! We’re a pack. Shouldn’t you help me for free? Besides, I just gave each of you a million!"

Lydia sighed dramatically. "Fine. I’ll be generous this time. Just give me twenty thousand."

Peter muttered. "I think I’ll wait for the Kanima to come down on its own..."

Lydia inspected her nails. "You sure? Looks to me like it doesn’t dare attack again and might escape any moment now. If that happens, you lose your chance to become an Alpha."

Peter groaned. "Ugh... Fine, you blood-sucking witch. I’ll pay you. Just bring it down!"

"Pleasure doing business." Lydia winked at him with a wicked grin. From her back, two huge black wings burst out. In a blur, she soared into the sky, appearing behind the Kanima in an instant. She grabbed its wings and ripped them off its back, then kicked it down hard, sending it crashing at Peter’s feet.

Peter didn’t waste a second. He straddled the wounded Kanima and punched it repeatedly until it was barely alive. Then he drove his claws into its chest, absorbing its power. When he was done, his eyes blazed red. He threw back his head and laughed maniacally.

"I’m an Alpha again!"

He looked down at the Kanima, now reverted to a middle-aged man, who lay gasping in pain. Peter sneered. "Let me end your miserable life as a thank-you gift."

Without mercy, he shoved his claws into the man’s chest, piercing his heart and ending him instantly.

Scott placed a hand on Liam’s shoulder. "Liam, what’s about to happen next is going to be a bloodbath. Our enemies tonight are just human hunters, so I think you should sit this one out."

Liam, still trembling after seeing Peter kill a man, stammered. "I... I can go with you guys."

Scott shook his head gently. "No. Stay here. Next time, when we face other supernatural creatures, we will take you with us. Kira, Erica, you two stay with him."

Then Scott’s eyes glowed crimson as he turned toward the dark woods. "Alright. Let’s go say hello to our guests."

He raised his hand, opening a swirling shadow portal. Without another word, he stepped inside, the rest of the pack following close behind.

---

Araya watched as the Kanima disappeared into the woods toward the McCall Pack. Although she couldn’t see what happened next clearly, one look at Ramiro’s face told her everything she needed to know.

"Ramiro, what happened? Your face doesn’t look so good." She said, her tone sharp.

Ramiro glared at her. "No shit, Araya. I’ve lost connection with the Kanima, it’s dead. How do you expect my face to look? Do you think I should be smiling right now?"

Araya ignored his outburst. "What do we do now?"

Ramiro crossed his arms. "I don’t know about you, but my family and I are leaving. The Kanima didn’t even stand a chance. The McCall Pack isn’t normal—if we go after them, we’re all dead."

Araya sneered. "I didn’t think a greedy bastard like you would just leave something as valuable as a True Alpha and run away with his tail between his legs."

Ramiro shot her a dark look. "I may be greedy, but I’m not stupid. Save your insults, old woman. I know when to cut my losses."

He turned to his sons. "We’re leaving. Now. Before those wolves catch our scent."

But just as Ramiro and his hunters were about to retreat, a dark portal opened right in front of them. Scott stepped through it, his pack at his back.

Scott’s eyes glowed crimson as he smirked. "Leaving so soon?"

Derek, Cora, and Peter stared at Araya and her son. Cora scoffed. "Oh, so it’s you, old hag."

Chris and Victoria stepped forward too, recognizing both hunter families immediately. Victoria’s eyes narrowed. "I heard you wanted to kill me, Araya. But for someone so strict about the Code, I didn’t think you’d stoop so low as to ally with the Madrigal family, of all people."

Allison glared at Araya, then turned to her mother. "The Madrigal family? Who are they, Mom? Hunters too?"

Victoria nodded grimly. "Yes, but more like bounty hunters. They don’t follow the Code. They hunt for profit, nothing more."

Chris added, his voice cold. "They’re ruthless. If they can make money from a supernatural creature, they’ll hunt it down and sell it, innocent or not. They don’t care about anything except the highest bidder."

Rage blazed in Allison’s eyes as she stared Araya down. "You old bitch, you were so obsessed with my mom breaking the Code, yet here you are, allied with butchers who’ve murdered innocent people and trafficked supernatural creatures on the black market. Why? Why do you want to kill my mom so badly? She’s not even a hunter anymore!"

Araya sneered, but her voice faltered. "Once a hunter, always a hunter, sweetheart."

A chilling breath of frost escaped Allison’s lips, and a cold mist swirled around her. Her eyes glowed red.

She whispered darkly. "Sister, they want to kill our mother. So let’s tear them apart. show them no mercy."

Malia’s eyes blazed red too, a feral grin on her face. "Say no more."

Scott said. "Girls, leave the old woman alive."

Allison and Malia nodded, then blurred forward with terrifying speed, ripping into the Calavera hunters with savage precision. Cries and gunshots filled the forest, but the humans were far too slow.

Derek and Cora joined the fray, killing any of the Calavera hunters who tried to flee.

Araya shrieked. "Use the yellow wolfsbane!"

But it was useless. Allison froze several hunters where they stood, turning them into glittering ice sculptures. Malia, Derek, and Cora tore through the rest, leaving only blood and broken bodies behind.

In moments, the Calavera hunters lay dead in the dirt. Derek stood over Severo, Araya’s son. his severed head in his grasp. He walked up to Araya, tossed the head at her feet, and said coldly. "You should have stayed in Mexico."

Araya collapsed, her screams of grief echoing through the trees. If she had known she would lose her son and her hunters, she would never have dared to come after Victoria. But there is no medicine for regret.

Scott turned his crimson eyes toward Ramiro. The older man froze, panic flooding his features. "We... we’re not with the Calaveras! We were just here to... to watch the fun, that’s all!"

Scott tilted his head, his expression dark. "Is that so? Then the Kanima wasn’t yours, right?"

Ramiro stammered. "N-no! It wasn’t mine!"

Stiles stepped forward with a mocking smirk. "Funny, it smelled like you. And we know you’re lying. We can hear your heartbeat, dumbass?"

Scott’s eyes narrowed. "Peter, Aiden, Isaac, Boyd, Stiles, kill the Madrigals. Leave only the old man alive."

Without hesitation, Peter and the others launched into the Madrigal hunters, tearing through them with savage efficiency. Within moments, the forest was silent again, only Ramiro remained, trembling on his knees amid the carnage.

Ramiro didn’t even glance at the dead bodies of his sons or hunters. He dropped to all fours, pleading. "Please... please, have mercy!"

Chris and Victoria exchanged a look. They knew Scott left Araya and Ramiro alive for one reason, to read their memories.

Chris moved first, blurring behind Ramiro. He plunged his claws into the back of the old man’s neck, searching his mind. Ramiro convulsed and screamed, eyes rolling back as Chris ripped through every secret thought.

At the same time, Victoria grabbed Araya by the hair. She drove her claws into the back of Araya’s neck and peered into her memories.

When Chris finished, he stepped back, face twisted in disgust. Without a word, he drew his gun and put a bullet through Ramiro’s skull. The old man’s spasming body went limp, a mercy kill to end the agony of having his mind shredded.

After finishing reading Araya’s memories, Victoria slit her throat with her claws, killing her. She wiped her hands clean as she walked back to Scott.

She said flatly. "If you’re thinking about her money, don’t bother. Araya’s family was poor to begin with. What little they had, they wasted on yellow wolfsbane."

Chris said. "Same for the Madrigals. They don’t keep money. Whenever they get some, they just blew it all on parties and bribes. They were here for our bounty from the Deadpool, but after the Deadpool ended, you became their target. They were planning to capture you alive and sell you."

Scott sighed, disappointment shadowing his face. "What a waste."

Then, Scott and Stiles pile the bodies and set them ablaze. Watching the flames rise into the night sky, Scott turned back to his pack. With a flick of his hand, he opened a shadow portal.

"Let’s go home."

One by one, the pack stepped through the portal, leaving the ashes of their enemies behind.

To be continued... 😊