Looking back, there were many things I could have done differently to avoid what would happen next. If I had met my socialization quota, I would have never talked to that she-wolf. If I had swallowed my pride and asked for directions, I would have likely missed Bus 42's departure. Yet, in the end, none of those things happened. No, the following events were a consequence of my own will and actions and to say otherwise would be to deny myself as a human being. Besides, there was always the likely scenario that such actions would only have delayed the inevitable.

For in that moment of blood of gore, an accented male werewolf's voice boomed, "Everyone out and at attention."

We all looked to the elderly she-wolf at the front of the bus, unsure what to do. At the very least our hormone meds kept us from immediately screaming and running. However, given what happened in the train station, who knew how long until the tell-tale signs of panic would set in.

She stood up. "Everyone, stay seated. Let me see what the commotion is about."

For once, none of us so much as nodded. We all just sat there staring blankly. We all had parents, sibling, friends and the like who had come before us. Yet not a one had ever prepared us for a situation like this. Luckily, she did not reproach us for showing disrespect. Rather, she walked to the front of the bus, grabbed the driver's intercom and asked, "On what authority do you have to stop us?"

"I have authorization from District Fifteen's Councilman to search and capture an escaped convict from District Three so get out and let me search."

"Look elsewhere," the she-wolf said. "Other than myself and the driver there are only humans on board. They're all newly arrived from our district's wards for the mate selection. You will not find who you are looking for here."

"Get out now while I still remember how to keep protocol." The threat in his voice caused a few of us to start looking around at each other. What could any of us have done to have angered a foreign male werewolf? Was anyone really that idiotic?

Another more jovial male voice said, "What my companion here is leaving out is that if we're wrong, you can continue on your way and if we're right you will have helped in preventing an inter-district conflict."

"Do you have any form of identification?" The she-wolf asked, but how she was able to keep calm was beyond me.

I couldn't really see from my vantage point and with all the blood, but they must have flashed something to prove their legitimacy because the she-wolf said, "Alright."

She then turned to us and told us all to file out in an orderly manner. I slid out, leaving my oud on the bus and waited for Warda to join me. Call it cowardice or female bonding or whatever, but I'd rather go with someone I exchanged stories with than walk alone. What was odd though was how the one behind her—some boy with thick glasses that hid half his face—held up the rest of the line (few as it was) until I moved forward. He didn't try to move around or go in front or even complain at how slow we were being.

"Hurry up back there," the she-wolf called.

Brushing it off that the boy was likely just stalling, we picked up our pace to line up in single file. Since we all had our heads bowed, I couldn't get a good look at their faces. Next to me, Warda's hands were shaking, but the boy on the other side of her was somehow able to keep his hands still. Again, I brushed it off. There were some wards that served as military bases and the humans there worked as servants, growing up among violence and executions. He was probably just one of those unlucky people. I was just being paranoid and that wouldn't help anyone.

For a while, we all just sort of stood there, most of us shaking and fidgeting while trying to strain our ears as the elderly she-wolf discussed something with the two foreigners. Since none of us had the enhanced hearing of a werewolf, it was naturally futile. That was when the whispering began. I wasn't the first and I couldn't make out what was being said, but when a couple people started, it was natural for everyone else to join in.

So while keeping my head down, I asked Warda, "How long do you think they're going to keep us like this?"

"I'm not sure. My brothers never had this happen to them." She looked at me from the corner of her eye. "Any of your siblings ever talk about being stopped like this?"

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"No." I shook my head. "My sister went to the selection last year so if there was any weird test like this, she would have told me about it."

"Unless she wasn't allowed to."

I paused. "I had not considered that—"

"Quiet down," the she-wolf suddenly shouted. "We can still hear you."

The whispering immediately ceased. It was soon replaced by the sound of a single pair of footsteps. The black shoes from my vantage point were smaller than a male werewolf's so it must have belonged to the she-wolf.

My suspicions were proven true when her voice boomed, "Everyone lift up your heads and hands behind your back. This will only take a moment and then we'll resume our schedule."

I shared a look with Warda and it was funny how quickly people latch onto others when placed in undesirable situations. All of us were strangers but from the corner of my eye I saw several other people exchange similar looks. Then we all lifted our heads and assumed the she-wolf's desired position, losing the fleeting moment of comradery.

They were pale. That was my first thought at the two male werewolves. They were even paler than Elva. Not only that, but even among werewolves, they would have been giants. Yet their builds were different. The one who was a couple of millimeters shorter was leaner with long black hair tied in a ponytail while the other one had blond hair cut to his chin. His build was also larger, as if he could snap us just by touching us. In contrast, the dark haired one had a sort of controlled rage to him.

From experience, I hoped that the larger one would come. After all, stories taught us that it was the one who seemed smaller and weaker whom we should fear and watch out for the most. Unfortunately, it looked like they would be approaching together.

Ranna, everything is going to be okay. You haven't done anything wrong. They aren't coming for you. The mental mantra helped to steady my heartbeat until a loud scream sounded next to me.

Just as I turned to see Warda on the ground, her hands scrapped and bloody, I felt a hand around my neck—a clawed hand. As if time moved in slow motion, I traced the hand to the glasses-covered face of the suspicious boy behind Warda.

Simultaneously, the larger blond werewolf started growling while looking at the fallen Warda. He only stopped when the man accompanying him put a hand on his shoulder and whispered something only a werewolf could hear. Whatever it was worked and the larger one stepped back, but his eyes never left Warda.

I looked up at what was surely a werewolf, feeling my bladder full as I said, "I think there's been some sort of mistake."

The claws tightened around my neck, not enough to break skin, but just enough to let me know that words wouldn't save me now.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Things weren't supposed to end like this. This was supposed to just be a fun memory before returning to my ward. Was I really going to die here? I didn't even get to say goodbye to my mom and dad because the governor had some guests so they had to stay overnight with some of our relatives. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

"Let the human go." The dark-haired werewolf's voice cut through my chaotic thoughts. Was he going to save me?

"No, I don't think I will." From the corner of my eye, the one holding me hostage grinner. "And I think you're going to let me go."

"Why on Earth should I care about the life of one measly human?"

I had never in my life seen such cold eyes. No, he wasn't going to save me. He was really going to let me just die. This was really the end for me. As tears pricked my eyes, I felt a humiliating dampness between my legs.

The cause of my distress looked at me revulsion. "Did you just piss yourself?"

My face flamed. I had thought that at the very end of my life I'd at least be able to keep my dignity, but no. I was going to die and not as some strong and brave hero, but as a coward so afraid that I couldn't even control my bodily functions.

So consumed was I with my thoughts that I didn't even notice the werewolf in front of me shift until a big mass of fur lunged at us. Before I could even process what was going on or where I was, a loud crunch reverberated in my ears. I looked to the side meeting the golden eyes of a too large wolf that tore the head off of my would-be captor before spitting it out. My eyes followed it until lifeless golden eyes stared back at me. The situation was made all the more real when his clawed hand fell limp.

The wolf removed himself from atop of me and pulled the corpse away from me. For a while I was entranced, watching as he tore and mangled the corpse limb from limb, spraying blood, entrails and all manner of internal organs on me and the surrounding foliage. It was only when he had finished and the corpse was beyond recognition that the smell of iron and raw meat assaulted my senses.

I looked at my hands, soaked in blood which did not belong to me and I screamed and I screamed and I screamed. It was only when my throat was raw and sore that I hunched over the grass vomiting everything I had consumed on the train. Mercifully, I did not have to see the aftermath of the loss of any reputation for darkness soon overtook my senses.