The Generation Series: REBIRTH

Reaching the final day of their voyage, with the dawn's arrival, the sun painted the heavens with hues of gold and pink. Seagulls, like watchful sentinels of the sea, soared overhead before descending onto the boat's roof. Their sharp eyes and yellow beaks secured them a feast of crabs plucked from the ocean's bounty.

Among the observers were the twins, their playful nature translating into a sudden pounce as if they were young lions seizing upon prey. The seagulls cried out as they escaped the prying eyes of carnivores.

Sam squinted her eyes beyond the waves. Loaded with excitement, Sam shouted from the cockpit, "Hey, I see the island ahead. We're finally back home."

Yet, the island is not the only sight she sees ahead. A plume of smoke rose from the island.

"Guys, the island is on fire," Sam said. 

Emerging from beneath the shelter of the boat's deck, Sakura and the boys assembled upon the deck, their gazes drawn toward the billowing veil of smoke that hung over the island. 

Frozen in uncertainty, they stood together, their expressions inscribed with fear and disbelief.

Sakura cried out, "Where is that smoke coming from?"

Sam quivered and choked on her words, "It's coming from the City of Lights."

"My family lives there," Jack said, his voice trembling. "We have to do something."

Sakura frowned, concern etched across her face. As a leader, her responsibility was to instruct the island to safeguard them against the threat. She asked, "How many werewolves live there?"

Michael crossed his arms; he said, "That city's the second-largest on the island," he said grimly. "I'd estimate somewhere between five hundred and a thousand."

Alec's brows furrowed as he gazed at the distant flames. "Oh no… all those werewolves…" he whispered.

Alex added, "We might be the only ones who can help them."

Athen clenched his fists and shouted, "Sam! Get us there right now!"

"I'll see what I can do," Sam replied, her voice steady despite the urgency.

She sprinted toward the boat's cockpit, her fingers flying over the controls as she readied the vessel. The engines roared to life, the metallic beast surging forward under her command. But then, an ominous snapping sound echoed through the hull.

"Somethings wrong," Sam muttered, her heart sinking.

Before she could react, the acceleration lever snapped clean off in her hand. The boat lurched violently, propelling forward at an uncontrollable speed. Sam was thrown backward, her body slamming against the door behind her. She let out a sharp cry of pain, unable to regain her footing as the ship hurtled forward, the relentless force pinning her to the floor.

The sudden burst of speed sent shockwaves through the deck, Sakura and the boys caught in its grip. Their bodies propelled forward before gravity's pull yanked them back, leaving them tumbling to the stern.

The pack clung to the deck, their knuckles white with tension and their hearts pounding with fear. 

Sakura wrestled with the metal bars she clung to, offering only an unstable refuge. Her fingers slipped against the wet surface as the boat surged forward. She feared her life would flash before her eyes.

Alex gripped the table, fastened to the boat with his brother, and shouted, "Oh, shit. We're going to die!" 

"Brother, help me."

"What do you mean, help you? I can barely hold on to myself?" 

Before the boat swept him off, Jack caught the metal bar at the rear end of the boat directly behind the twins. He said, "The two of you better not let go, or else all three of us will fly backward to America by the speed this vessel is going." 

Alex shouted, "Athen, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I didn't realize this small boat could go that fast," Athen whined. 

Beside Sakura, Michael's grip held firm, his muscles straining against the forces of nature. But Sakura's battle against the surging tide was one of vulnerability and raw strength, and the struggle proved too fierce. A moment's lapse and her grip faltered; she collided with Athen, her weight crashing into him like a tidal wave. An involuntary sound of pain escaped him. As much as he clung on with every ounce of his strength, the boat's sheer force overcame them.

Athen relinquished his hold, and the weight of Sakura's body pushed toward him like the currents. It was only a moment of surrender, the realization that safety could not be found within his grasp alone.

"I can't hold on for much longer," Athen said.

The boat's mad dash persisted, its destination marked by the island's approach and the growing stretch of beach that extended before it. With every passing moment, the island drew nearer, and the shoreline loomed ever more prominent on the horizon. 

On the beach, the werewolves stared at the oncoming vessel, their eyes wide with fear and fascination. Ears tilted back, tails tucked in, they took hesitant steps back, a cautious retreat from the speeding threat hurtling towards them. Their senses told them to flee, and with hearts pounding, they obeyed, sprinting back to the shelter of the forest.

The boat met the beach with a resounding impact, its momentum unchecked as sand rose around its hull. The jarring contact with the ground sent everyone airborne, their bodies cast forward. The boys transformed, softening the impact and allowing them to absorb the shock. Athen held Sakura close, his wolf body forming a protective barrier against the consequences of the rough sand.

Yet, the forces of physics staggered others in different directions. Propelled by Michael's momentum, Michael hurtled far ahead, colliding with the trees before sinking into the sand. The others, too, found themselves scattered, each in their flight arc.

In the aftermath, the beach lay still, the ocean's waves lapping at the sand with a rhythmic tempo. The werewolves, having retreated to the safety of the forest, peered from the shadows, watching with curiosity and concern. 

Sakura's senses wrestled with a world of darkness. From the depths of that silence, a voice resonated with familiarity.

The voice drew nearer like a distant echo. Sakura's consciousness beckoned her to return from the abyss and step again into the realm of the living.

Her eyes fluttered open, the world revealing itself in a mosaic of colors and shapes, an abstract canvas of pinks and shadows. Agonizing pain gripped her like a vice, a reminder that she had returned from a near-death experience.

"Leader," the voice called out.

Sakura's vision sharpened, and the vibrant hues converged into a figure—a woman in pink attire with pink eyes. Recognition stirred within Sakura, a whisper of memory threading through the corridors of her mind. Through the fog of pain, she called, "Isabella?"

Cocooned by Athen's immense front legs, Sakura's face wrinkled up in a sign of discomfort as she found herself compressed between the massive seven-foot-tall wolf and the coarse texture of the sand. Some shrapnel battered her, so she oozed blood from her forehead to her abdomen. 

"Sakura, are you okay?" Isabella asked. 

Grunting, Sakura asked, "Oi, what happened?"

"Sam crashed the boat on the beach. All of you need medical treatment right away." 

"All of us?"

Sakura arose from beneath her mate, struggling to regain her footing as she stood up. Her eyes surveyed the aftermath of the impact, which had scattered debris over a vast area, from the receding tide to the expanse of the beach. Her gaze held fear and dread as she took in the scene that unfolded before her, resembling a grim and bloodied battlefield.

The young twins lay in a pool of their fluids, their vulnerable state a heart-wrenching sight for Sakura. She gasped, witnessing the impact of shrapnel on these two precious hearts. Once happy and carefree, and now emotionally traumatized until the end of days.

Sakura, her breathing rapid and shallow, voiced her distress, "We were perfectly fine just a minute ago. How did this happen so quickly?"

Isabella said, "Life has a way of being unpredictable, especially here on the island. Someone must have tampered with the controls before Sam left the island."

Sakura whimpered, "My pals are injured."

Beneath the shelter of a tree, Michael's lifeless form hinted at the possibility of internal injuries. Arising from the water's grasp after a near-drowning experience, Jack staggered onto the beach, hacking up water before succumbing to sheer exhaustion. Meanwhile, Athen endured a grievous head wound, his body coated in a layer of sand and wood fragments embedded in his skin.

Sakura found herself speechless, a sense of helplessness washing over her as she grappled with the uncertainty of how to aid her pack. Isabella gently pressed a pink handkerchief against Sakura's bleeding forehead. 

"We have to heal you," Isabella remarked softly. 

Despite her concern, Sakura waved off the matter dismissively, retorting, "I'm fine," as she gently brushed Isabella's hand aside.

"We need to get you back to Michelle immediately. You could have a concussion—or worse," Isabella insisted.

Sakura glared, her hand pressing against her throbbing head. "My Alpha Protectors are bleeding out, ya ballocks," she snapped. "Help them first, lass. Without them, I can't function."

Isabella's frown deepened as she planted her fists on her hips. "We need you to recover. If you can't lead us, this island will fall further into ruin!"

Sakura rubbed her temples with a hefty sigh. "Give me a break, lass. I just got here."

"We don't have time for breaks," Isabella countered sharply.

Sakura shifted to the shoreline, where she spotted a lone figure dragging themselves through the sand. Squinting, she asked, "Wait… is that Sam?"

Isabella turned, her expression confused as she tried to follow Sakura's gaze. "What are you talking about?"

Turning their heads to the right, their gaze fell upon a path leading up to the beach to what remained of the demolished pier. Audible, agonizing grunts echoed as Sam, now in her human form, dragged herself laboriously on hands and knees, leaving a crimson path unveiling her location as she navigated from the beach onto the grass. Her leg endured a small metal pole, from which a stream of red pooled. Shards of glass protruded from her abdomen and arms. Unlike Sakura, Sam's facial wounds appeared far more pronounced. 

Sakura's gaze landed on broken glass and remnants of the cockpit. It was not hard to conclude that Sam had been ejected through the shattered window. Her strength was weakening, and Sakura found ease in the warmth of Athen's body, slanting against him as she rested her head on his chest. Her concentration was divided between Sam's uphill battle and her sense of lightheadedness. Sakura's eyes grew heavy, and her consciousness slipped away.

Her thoughts drifted to a vivid dream that hypnotized her senses. She woke alone on the beach, the salty breeze replaced by an eerie stillness. She didn't speak but instinctively rose to her feet, her gaze sweeping the horizon. The island was consumed by roaring flames, its fiery glow reflected in the dark waters.

Before she could react, an unseen force tugged at her, pulling her backward into the ocean's depths. The cold embrace of the water swallowed her, dragging her further from the shore. Panic surged as she held her breath, her arms thrashing desperately to break the surface. Yet, no matter how hard she fought, she kept sinking deeper into the vast, shadowy abyss.

Her voice echoed from the depths, a desperate, muffled cry piercing the silence: "Wake up!"

After hours of lying unconscious, Sakura gently opened her eyes to find herself cradled on soft sand beneath a white tarp. She wore bandages from head to waist. The experience left her in a state of shock, rendering her emotionless, her gaze fixed on the horizon as if caught in a trance.

With a distressing groan, Sakura murmured, "Athen?"

In the silence, Sakura's frantic calls for her mate were met with only the echo of her voice. She whimpered involuntarily as the pain had temporarily retreated.

Then, a voice hushed Sakura in a gentle whisper. Before her, Jack kneeled, his figure draped in a squeaky-clean white medical coat. He held a canteen water bottle taken from his medical rucksack. With a primal thirst, she accepted the bottle and drank as though she had lived dry for days. 

Sitting beside her, Jack smiled warmly as he gently broke the silence. "Hey," he began softly, "Are you alright? I made sure to keep an eye on you while the guys were picked up by the Deltas. It took me a while to convince Isabella to let me take over, prioritizing them and you at once. I know things are tough right now, but you've got to remember, it's not all on you."

Sakura sighed, her voice tinged with guilt, "I can't help but feel responsible, Jack. If I hadn't left the island, if I had been more careful—"

Jack interjected with a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Look, accidents happen. What matters now is that we're here together. We're taking everyone to the infirmary, but they'll be alright."

She looked up at him, her eyes searching for a glimmer of hope. "Do you really believe that, Jack?"

Jack nodded. "Absolutely. We're a resilient pack, Sakura. We've faced worse and come out of it. Athen, Michael, and the twins, they're fighters. They'll pull through."

Sakura's shoulders relaxed slightly, the burden of her guilt beginning to lift. "Thanks, Jack."

He grinned a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Well, that's what Deltas are for, right? Keeping the heroes grounded."

A small smile tugged at Sakura's lips. "And what about you? Are you alright?"

Jack smiled and replied, "Yeah, I'm alright. I believe my family will be alright without me. Whenever a tragedy happens, I usually visit my boyfriend in the city. Unfortunately, he might be one of the casualties."

Sakura gasped and hugged Jack, "Don't give up hope. I'll help ya find him. We're family after all, ya?"

Jack smiled, appreciating her support. He chuckled, "Athen is like the grumpy brother, Michael is the big brother, and the twins are the little brothers."

Sakura laughed, "You're the smart brother, and I can vouch for that. We'll be alright."

"Seriously, though," Jack continued, his tone more serious, "you've got to remember that this isn't all about you. It's about all of us. We're a team, and we're in this together."

She nodded, her gaze returning to the flames, and said, "You're right. I can't let me guilt close me eyes to the bigger picture."

"That's the spirit," Jack said, reassuringly squeezing her shoulder, "We're going to get through this, Sakura. And when we do, we'll come out stronger than ever."

Sakura looked at him, gratitude and determination shining in her eyes, "I'm lucky to have ya by me side, ya know."

Jack grinned and stood up, reaching for her hand in a kind gesture to help her to her feet. "Let's get going."