Stand Down

Zara’s POV  

I let out a quiet sigh as I straightened, smoothing my hands over the creases on my clothes before pushing the door open.

The hall was quiet.

Unusually quiet.

I pushed past the crowd anyway, but as I moved deeper, I startedto notice some strange things.

No one looked at each other for long.

Some hunters sobbed quietly.

Another was sitting with his head lowered, blood dried up on his hands.

“Where is my father?” I asked.

No response.

Around me, hunters moved through the hall carrying bodies covered in dark sheets.

My heart raced faster.

“Hey, have you seen my dad?”

I was ignored.

Maybe he was injured.

Maybe he was with the healers.

Maybe-

Then I saw him…

Lying lifeless on a stretcher.

Arm resting outside, covered in blood, wearing the same ring my father never took off.

My whole world froze.

I shook my head over and over again in denial, as if, if I refusedit hard enough, the world would correct itself. My legs feltnumb. They wouldn’t stop shaking, and I didn't realize why until I looked down.    

There was blood on them.  

“No…, no…” I stuttered.  

I couldn’t look away. It's like something was forcing my gaze there, forcing me to see what I refused to accept.

I stared at his body in disbelief.  

“This isn't real… it can't be.”  

The words barely left my lips.  

“Everyone needs to go home.”  

The hall went quiet as they all turned to General Varek as he put his two hands behind his back, his voice steady as if he wasn't standing in a room full of grief.  

“No more training,” he continued.  

“No hunting.”  

Then a pause.

“We stand down until further notice.”  

Murmurs broke out instantly.  

Anger. Disbelief.  

I didn’t join them.  

I just stared at the General, as the images of my father’s dead body replayed in my head.  

“That will be all.”  

“No”  

The words left me before I could stop them.  

The room went silent again.  

Beside me, my childhood friend Elias exhaled,

“Zara…”  

Varek's eyes settled on me.  

“Excuse me.”  

I lifted my chin  

“With all due respect, sir, what are we standing down for?”  

Varek watched me carefully. “Your emotions are understandable.”  

“Emotions?” I laughed bitterly.  

“Zara, I said that will be all,” Varek replied.  

“They died for nothing.”    

Elias moved closer.  

“That’s enough,” he muttered.  

I ignored him completely.  

General Varek looked at me, unshaken.  

“They followed orders,”  

“Orders?”  

“Yes”  

“You sent them with no structure, no backup, nothing,” I shouted.  

“I sent them in prepared.”  

“They walked into a slaughter.”  

“This is war,” General Varek hit the table.  

A pause.  

“Then why are you being a coward and not attacking?” I stepped forward.  

   

Elias grabbed my arm.  

“Zara, I said stop, that’s enough.”  

I pulled away instantly.  

“Don’t fucking touch me.”  

“Think,” he says under his breath, “just think and stop this. I know they killed your father, but,”

“I’m thinking, Elias, leave me alone,” I interrupted, not moving my gaze from General Varek.  

I turned to the hunters, who looked so drained; their eyes were swollen from all the crying.

I refused to cry.

I had learned that the hard way.

If I cry, I show pity; if I show pity, they see weakness; and when they see weakness, they call it grief.  

“We lost our best soldiers,” I said loudly. “And we are supposedto do nothing?”

“So, this is what this whole madness is about,” a hunter from the crowd interrupted.  

“You are always making everything about you,” he continued as he stepped forward from the crowd, revealing himself.  

It was Noah.  

We were recruited together, and everything was fine until it wasn't.  

He never forgave me for taking his title.

“This is not the time, Noah,” I hissed.  

“Exactly, this is not the time for you to act like it’s only your father who died,” he replied.  

“Over 300 hunters, Zara, you were lucky enough to see his body in perfect shape”, he added.  

“He led that army,” I said.  

“And they all fucking died, your father led that group, and now they are no more. He led them straight to death.”  

“Don’t you fucking dare, Noah,” I said, as I unsheathed my sword and pointed it directly at him.  

“Don’t I dare what?? Tell the truth, don’t blame your father’s mess on General Varek”, he said.

“Since you want to make this all about you, do everyone a favor and do it yourself.”  

“Fine”  

I do not wait for anyone to respond or try to stop me.  

If I stay in that room for one more second, I might. Will actually lose control, and there will be blood if my father is disrespected one more time.  

So, I walked away.  

Fast.  

My grip tightened around my sword, not caring who I pushedpast, not caring who was calling my name, not caring about the whispers and stares that followed me out. Maybe Noah was right about one thing: I don’t give a fuck about anyone who died but my father. They think I am crazy, but they do not know how much he meant to me.  

My father was the only family I ever had.

I was just 9 when he found me buried in a pile of bodies during the Great War between the wolves and humans. He could have easily abandoned me or sold me off, but he took me in, though he didn't have enough for himself.  

He taught me everything I know.

Now he was gone.

They will pay for it.

I will make sure I kill every single one of them till my last breath.  

My father always told me I was special, and I'm going to prove him right. What's the point of living if the man who gave a chance to live is no more?

I don’t remember how I got to the weapons room. One second, I am in that suffocating hall, the next, I’m pushing the door so hard it slams against the wall.  

I plan to take everything and anything I can get my hands on to survive. I grabbed a bag first, ready to fill it with the whole weapon room.  

I strapped a dagger to my thighs, and I placed another on my waist. My hands were working faster than my mind, trying to make sure I didn't leave a single thing out.  

A crossbow.  

I slung it over my back and grabbed a handful of bolts right after. The metal tips caught the light.  

Silver.  

A bitter breath left me.  

“That might slow them down,” I muttered under my breath.  

Might.  

I hate that word.  

A pouch of herbs, wolfsbane mixed with something stronger.  

I reached for the First aid when the door slammed open behind me.  

“Zara.”  

I didn’t turn.

Of course, Elias followed me.  

“I told you not to follow me,” I mutter, tightening the strap of the dagger against my thigh.  

“You are not doing this, put that back,” Elias moved further into the room, reached for my bag. “You are not thinking straight.”  

I let out a dry laugh, grabbing poisonous gas bombs and putting them in place.  

“Then you are wasting your time being here.”  

“Running into wolf territory alone is not thinking right, it's suicide.”  

I turned sharply and faced him, anger snapped through me; it almost felt like relief.  

“NO!” I fired back, stepped closer to him, “I’m thinking, the only problem is you are not.”  

His eyes scanned through everything I packed, taking in the urgency, the fact that I’m not stopping.  

“You will get yourself killed,” he says, his tone low and controlled.  

“Who says anything about coming back alive?” I shot back.  

For a second, something in his expression shifted.  

“Do not say that, you are scaring me,” he said with tears in his eyes.  

“Why?” I shrugged, turning away from him again, reaching for more supplies. “It’s the truth.”  

“It does not have to be.”  

I paused just for a second, almost rethinking it all.  

I shook it off, grabbed a vial, and slipped it into my bag.  

“I am not staying here and doing nothing,” I said firmly.

“Not while they are out there,” I added.

“Your father wouldn't want this,” he said, hoping it wouldchange my mind.  

“Trust me, he will,” I replied.  

“And you think you will just walk in there and what? Kill all of them?” His voice rose slightly, frustration breaking through. “Zara, be serious.”  

 

“Not all of them, just the ones responsible and anyone who tries to stop me,” I said, hoping he would take a hint and stop.  

Silence stretched between us.  

I could feel him staring at me, trying to figure out a way to stop me, but I wasn’t giving him a chance. I grabbed the things I needed and moved past him.  

“Move.”  

He didn’t, then exhales sharply, like he’s just made a decision he didn’t like.  

“Then I’m coming with you.”    

“No, you are not.”  

“Yes, I am.”  

I stepped closer, my voice dropping.  

“This is not your fight, Elias.”  

“It became my fight the moment you decided to throw your life away,” he replied instantly. “We said we will stick together, right?”  

“You don’t have to do this.”  

“Too bad,” he said.  

My brows pulled together slightly.  

“What?”  

“I am not leaving you,” he said, his voice firm, no hesitation.

“So, you can keep arguing, or you can start moving before we get noticed. Either way…”  

He grabbed weapons, strapping them on like he’s already decided.  

“Fine, don’t slow me down,” I sighed.  

I didn't wait for his response.  

Food. Horse. Gate.  

That’s all that went through my head. Nothing else matterednow. I went straight ahead to the supply room with Elias behind me, following me like a lost puppy.  

The guards looked at me, but no one tried to stop me. No one dared.  

Respect finds a way of looking like fear in this city.    

I grabbed my bag, stuffing it with things I could survive with without slowing down. I stopped for a second as I saw Elias putting in a lot of effort and risking his life to keep me safe. I knew beyond the walls was death for humans, especially two naive, stupid, reckless humans.  

“Come on, I got the horses ready, it's now or never,” Elias said.  

I looked at Elias, really good this time. I almost told him not to come, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. I hate how calm he looked when he knew death was inevitable.  

“Then stop talking,” I said, my voice lower than before but just as firm.  

We made our way to the gates, and the guards moved the moment we got close.  

“Zara…. Don't do this,” one of the guards said, knowing fully well he wouldn’t be able to stop me.  

I slowed down just enough to look at him, “Move.”  

He paused briefly, glanced between Elias and me, before hereluctantly stepped aside.  

The gate creaked open, and cold air hit us. I knew there was no turning back.  

Elias rode closer, with a steady voice. “If we die out there…we die together.”  

I didn’t answer.  

Because deep down, I knew something out there was waiting for me. I could feel it.