1 Chapter 1 : The Execution

"Bring the Tribrid!"

The wolves howled in unison. Some who were in their human form chanted in accord. Both thrilled and eager at the execution of the Tribrid.

Gathered this evening at the Cove Town in front of the stage with the presence of the Alpha, his Luna, and their sons, were the wolves that belonged to the Mandaya pack to witness the beheading of the hateful Tribrid, Mayari. The woman who possessed three disparate bloodlines. A daughter of a half-witch, half-human, and a full-blooded wolf.

One born different with the rest of their kind.

"Kill the Tribid!"

"Mayari is a witch! She is not one of us!"

"Behead the shameful woman!"

The two Beta followed the Alpha's order, and yanked Mayari's arms to take her on the stage. With her arms and feet both handcuffed with wood, the Tribrid could only do nothing but resentfully watch how the Mandaya pack will heartlessly take her life–– the same way they did to her parents.

The horde of wolves yelled with exultation, enthused with the cruel impalement awaiting Mayari. They loathed the existence of the Tribid by heart, that they were willing to go as far as executing her publicly, to assure that the disgusting specie will not live and reproduce.

They were wolves. Not one associated with witches, nor any kind. They were created by the Goddess, Marikit, distinct from all creatures. Secluded from the beast men, vampires, and humans. It was the law, and the Mandaya pack intended to keep living that way.

"This is not the end..." Mayari said with her voice barely above a whisper. But though her tone failed to deliver the depths of her threat, her eyes pierced straight to the man on the stage. "Even if you execute me in front of the Mandaya, I will come back."

With her throat deprived of water, and voice exhausted from all the screams and continuous pleading, Mayari could not speak with volume. She cannot reprimand the wolves from what peril she would bestow them, as an exchange for the cruelty they have shown her, and her family.

The time of her death was fast approaching. Yet, before she passed away in the hands of the pack she thought she belonged, she wanted to leave an indication. She wanted to plant the seed of terror. That even after they cut her head and burn her body to ashes–– she will return, but not to relive the same fate, but to avenge herself, and her late parents.

The power they feared would come haunting them down to collect the debt. And the Mandaya pack will soon realize what grave sin they committed.

"Your life will end tonight, Mayari." The Alpha imprecated. Hostile and cold blooded. He looked down on Mayari with evident hunger to ruin her life— as if the execution was still not enough. "Pray to the Goddess, Marikit that in your next life, you will be born as a full-blooded wolf."

Full-blooded wolf?

The wolves' chant and howl resonated in Mayari's ear. She was only a few steps away now from where the guillotine was in. Yet even on her demise, the wolves cursed with ignorance and inability to accept change, together with their unbefitting Alpha, still wanted to trample on her right to choose what wish to pray for their Goddess, Marikit.

Mayari's eyes darkened.

The condemnation. The hatred. The cruelty. This was all because they feared their existence. Her mother, a half-witch, and a half-human loved her father, who was a wolf. It was a forbidden love in an age where their race were still not capable of understanding the concept of co-existing. Thus, her mother hid her identity after she married her father. They lived and blended in with the Mandaya, until their secret was exposed after a decade and eight.

Her mother and father were caught, but she managed to escape with the help of her mother's black magic. Only it wasn't enough to hid her long enough until she could leave the Kingdom. Hence, she was captured. On her worse luck, it had to be on the same day her mother and father were publicly executed.

"This tribe is damned, Alon..." Mayari fearlessly mentioned the Alpha's name in his presence. Her pair of blue eyes emulating the depths of her hatred. "You may celebrate after my passing, but I will not disappear."

"Such threatening remark won't be enough to save yourself, young witch." The Alpha's Luna, Malay, spoke with emphasis. "In fact, even the Goddess, Marikit, will forsake you. So, stop struggling to live and accept your fate, Mayari."

Turning her head over her audience, Mayari's eyes meandered. Struggling to live? What good would it bring her if she were to struggle over her finished life? Her parents were dead. They tortured her enough in the cell to eliminate any shed of hope she had. She witnessed enough of their brutality to even continue living in this lifetime. They taught her the avenues of life the hardest way possible. She had enough.

The way they crucified her and her family, and chased them until they crawled to the ground. The way they imposed themselves as someone who had the right to decide whether or not somebody lives. There was no point in struggling. Because this place was no different than hell.

Mayari let out a chuckle,the skin of her lips cracking as it stretched. She looked up in the night sky and closed her eyes. This was the moment she had been waiting for. But despite that, she could not help but entertain regrets.

Why did I fear my power? Mayari pondered as she allowed the gentle blows of the wind to kiss the bruises and cuts on her face. She breathed in. Looking back, she had so much potential. Had she ask her mother to teach her how to use her power to its extent, she would have had the ability to save her parents.

She would have had the power to avoid their fate. She would have had the ability to save them, and none of this would have never happened.

But she was weak.

She didn't have the resolve to learn. She didn't have the courage to be what she could be, rather than what she should be.

"Enough, Malay." The Alpha of the Mandaya spoke with authority. "Begin the execution!"

The Beta firmly held Mayari's arms, pulling her body to the guillotine. The beta's fingers gripping tightly at Mayari's arm, that it was cutting the flow of her blood. However, Mayari remained numb to physical pain. Detached from the world, even when they had made her kneel by forcely propelling the back of her knees to bend, Mayari didn't move a muscle on her face. As if she had truly accepted the judgement they bestowed upon her.

In the fullness of time, the Betas placed Mayari's neck right under the blade, winning the hearts of the Mandaya pack by gratifying their greed for sin.

"Execute her!"

"We shall burn the witch after we cut her head!"

"Let us offer her body to the Goddess, Marikit!

Each of the wolves watching on the ground shrieked. Their well-expressed clamor echoing in every corner of the Central area. They celebrated in the morbid scene, satisfied by seeing Mayari get on her final destination. At long last, the Tribrid who could bring their pack to ruin was about to get killed!

What blasphemy. A grin carved in Mayari's lips, before she disgraced the wolves' plea with an incantation.

"Hecate, Queen of Witches. I summon you..."

The mythical Marikit was no longer her Goddess.

She felt it one time when she got interested in witchcraft. A few years back, when she finally understood what she truly was, Mayari had began to wonder how it was to be a witch. Driven by her curiosity, she hoped to connect with the power that resided within her.

She wanted to accept it.

" Hear me, a witch of your own, Hecate. I am here to offer a deal."

And thus, she indulged herself. She sneaked out to get her hands on her mother's spell book, as the first step. She flipped through the pages, and searched for a spell she could read. Everything was written in a language she didn't understand. Except that one spell on the back.

"I summon you, Hecate, Queen of Witches. Hear my plea, show before me. I summon you, Hecate,Queen of Witches. Hear my plea, show before me."

The only ever incantation Mayari was able to learn was the bargain with Hecate. A spell to summon the source of black magic, and plea for a contract. A spell that required an extreme cost. A spell that made her withdraw.

Hecate showed herself, and attended to her plea. She accepted to grant her wish, in-exchange for her parents' lives. But she feared it. She feared Hecate. Her hideous appearance. Her wicked tone. That one time scared Mayari to death, rendering her to end what had not even began.

It was how Mayari learned why her mother and father did not want the others to know about their nature. Because Hecate was real. Because they had the power beyond anyone's understanding. Because they were dangerous. And like the other races, they had the same sense of judgement.

They all feared what they didn't understand, and detest what they didn't know.

"I call forth thy existence. Hear my plea, show before me."

Mayari shut her eyes tight, ignoring the presence of the wolves around her. She whispered her bargain, offering Hecate the most pleasing wage she could ever give. She called for her, once again.

Slowly, Mayari heard the buzzing sound of the wind. Whispering, and softly touching her. She opened her eyes, recognizing the indication. Before she heard the metal from above clink.