The Oldest Dream of Eternal Night
Chapter 54: Hugo’s Past

Chapter 54: Hugo’s Past

For most Wunders, power is passed through blood. Marcus, Hugo’s father, was born an Alpha—a dominant werewolf inheriting an ancient pack. For generations, the males of his lineage commanded the Northern Wolves, a formidable pack with roots tracing back to ancient Norse warriors and the entity Fenrir.

From his first breath, Marcus was presented to the entire pack, his Alpha status confirmed by the golden glow of his pupils. The wolves bowed, recognizing him as the rightful heir. Yet, against all tradition, he chose to abandon everything for Nina.

She was no ordinary human but a Paladin of the Order of Salvation—a fanatical hunter who tracked Wunders without distinction. Their meeting was a clash of worlds: he, the ultimate predator; she, a soldier devoted to exterminating his kind. Their forbidden love sparked a dual betrayal: Marcus renounced his pack, Nina broke her vows.

The Order saw her as a heretic, the pack saw him as a deserter. Their flight became a cruel legend—two sworn enemies united against all, hunted by both vengeful wolves and silver-armored fanatics.

The full moon shone cold and relentless above the dense forest where Hugo stood, fists clenched. Around him, a dozen pairs of glowing eyes watched, awaiting his decision. His father’s pack descendants demanded he take his place as Alpha. But Hugo wanted no part of this life.

"You can’t run from your destiny, Hugo," growled Nick, a massive scarred werewolf, Alan’s father and the one who nearly killed Kaiser and Hannah. "Your father’s blood runs in your veins. You’re an Alpha, whether you like it or not."

Hugo felt his claws extend against his will, his body reacting to the provocation. "I’m not my father, or my grandfather, or any of my ancestors. I don’t care about your traditions or your bullshit culture!" he muttered, teeth clenched.

– Ten years earlier

"Dad, why do we always have to hide?" asked young Hugo, barely eight, as his father, Marcus, checked the windows of their isolated cabin.

Marcus, a towering man with golden eyes, turned with a sad smile. "Because the world isn’t ready to accept us, my son. Not me, not your mother."

His mother, Nina, a woman with a stern gaze but tender gestures, adjusted her sword hanging on the wall. "We’re traitors in both worlds, Hugo. The werewolves see us as renegades, and the Order of Salvation considers me a heretic for giving birth to you."

Hugo didn’t understand everything, but he knew one thing: his family was in danger. And that night, everything changed.

...

"You think you can just ignore what you are?" Nick sneered, shattering Hugo’s memories. "Your father ran like a coward, and now you want to abandon it too?"

"My father didn’t run!" Hugo roared, his voice a mix of anger and pain. "He fought to protect us! And look what it cost him!"

Marcus had faced the pack alone to give them a chance to escape. He survived, but at what cost? A deep coma, his mind lost somewhere between life and death. And Nina, injured in an Order attack, walked only with a cane, her body broken but not her spirit.

I don’t want this. I don’t want to lead a pack, I don’t want to hunt, I don’t want to kill. But how can I make them understand? To them, it’s a sacred tradition. To me, it’s a curse.

And now, with Kaiser able to see Wunders... If he discovers what I really am, it’s over. I can’t risk putting the others in danger. Not after what happened to William...

Hugo was only eight when it happened.

Hugo stumbled into a clearing, his heart pounding like a hammer. William, his only childhood friend, the one who never asked questions about his absences on full moon nights, had been found here. An anonymous note, slipped under his door, had led him: Northern Woods. Hurry.

He saw him under the pale moonlight, and his world shattered. William lay unrecognizable, his body shredded like a rag doll mauled by a beast. His entrails, dripping with thick blood, sprawled on the grass, chunks of flesh hanging from his broken ribs. A leg, twisted at an impossible angle, revealed shattered bone, marrow oozing like pale jelly.

His face, or what was left of it, was a scarlet pulp, one eye dangling in its socket, the other staring blankly. Blood, thick and black under the moon, formed a sticky pool, clinging to Hugo’s boots. The pack’s Betas, those bastards, had taken him for prey, a human wandering too close to their territory.

Something in Hugo broke. Then, a black, visceral rage consumed him. His bones cracked, his skin burned, his black veins pulsing like serpents beneath his flesh. He remembered only in flashes: his howl, a primal sound that shook the trees; the Betas, six massive figures, their yellow eyes glowing with challenge; their growls turning into screams of terror.

He charged, his claws, long as blades, slicing the first Beta. Flesh tore like butter, muscles and tendons bursting in a geyser of blood. The wolf collapsed, its ribcage gaping, lungs quivering in a wet rattle.

A second leaped, but Hugo grabbed its throat, his fingers sinking into the trachea. A wet crack echoed, blood spraying his face as he ripped out the jugular, leaving it dangling like a burst pipe. A third tried to flee, but Hugo caught it, his claws gouging its back, exposing the spine in a shatter of bone. The others fell under his blows, limbs twisted, entrails spilling, their howls drowned in bloody gurgles.

Then, he stopped. The Betas lay broken, whimpering, their mutilated bodies twitching in pools of blood. "Al..." one gasped, its shattered muzzle revealing broken teeth, its yellow eyes filled with terror and respect. "You’re... an Alpha..."

He could have finished them, crushed their skulls, torn out their pulsing hearts. But that look in their eyes—fear, submission—froze him. He stepped back, breath ragged, and fled, leaving behind a slaughterhouse of living, broken bodies.

"Is this what I’m supposed to be?"

Hugo swallowed, then ran.

At just eight years old, he had massacred a pack that killed his friend...