Chapter 1
UNKNOWN
Eighteen years ago
That’s all you can smell is blood and dead bodies. The foul smell lingers and is overpowering. I need to stay hidden in the tree I’m in; I have a view of the horrid scene unfolding before me. The sound of the rogues eating the flesh of the young women and men’s bodies to prove that they are dead, that’s all he wants, every single man, elder, woman, and child killed and tortured, you can hear the screams, bodies being shredded as he wants our pack to suffer, he thinks they deserve everything that comes to them.
There are rogues everywhere. He is walking with a haunting smile, amongst it, all towards the Alpha. Two rogues are holding him up. The Alpha has been stabbed with a silver knife in his stomach. You can see that he is trying to hold on but is very weak. He smirks as he gets to the Alpha, crouches down, runs a figure through the pool of blood on the floor, and licks it off. He gets up and looks at the Alpha, amused that it didn’t take long for his pack to crumble as he had planned every single attack that he had thrown at them and killed every member that means dear to the Alpha and HER.
“This happens when you don’t give me what I want,” he says. “Where is she? She is mine,” she said while lifting the Alpha’s face to look him directly in his eyes. The Alpha has no energy for this but spits in his face. “She has long gone and is away from you. You won’t find her. I made sure of it.” He says with a smirk, hoping that what he says is true.
The man wipes the spit off his face and looks straight at him with a smirk that could be as cold as ice. “You seem very certain about that. I will find her, take her to be mine, and you won’t be able to do anything about it. I have friends all around, and they will find her. She is the last of her kind; I want her power, and I will make more heirs. Take the throne of every pack and rule as the werewolf king. I will kill every single supernatural being to get what I want.”
“Why kill all supernatural beings? What have they done to you?” shouts the Alpha, who seems to know what he is talking about.
There is that smile again, the haunting one. “All supernatural beings and even humans need a king; if they don’t accept me as their king, then they will die. With her by my side, I can rule every single one of them, and they know that her power is bigger and grander than a witch or Fae combined. I will have her as my queen,” he says.
“She’s not yours; she is not your mate. She will never be truly yours,” the Alpha says as he coughs up blood.
The man looks at him, lunges at the Alpha, takes the knife out from his stomach, and digs the knife into his shoulder blade. The Alpha roars and is in so much pain. The roar was so loud that it swayed the tree I was in as I gripped the branch tight and held on for my life.
The Alpha glared at the man.
“I made sure I killed everyone she loves, including him; now I’m going to kill you, her father. She will have no one. I don’t care about mates; I killed mine to have her.” He says as he takes the knife out once again. “Why kill her family? Why kill everyone she loves?” the Alpha says with a tired and painful voice.
The man looks at him and says. “If she has no one, then she will be mine. Is there anything else you want to tell me before I kill you?”
The Alpha looks into the trees; it feels like he is looking directly at me with sadness in them. “Rot in hell, Devon; you kill people for fun and no gain. You killed most of the pack that you wanted so much, and most are now rogues. You have nothing,” He yells.
The man I now know to be Devon stares at him. “I got a pack, and more than you ever know, this pack was a means to an end.”
With no more words, Devon plunges the knife into the heart of our Alpha; I can feel him leaving us through the pack bond, and tears flow down my face as I close my eyes.
Devon moves away as the rogues drop the Alpha’s body without hesitation. Devon looks around at the carnage and spilled blood and bodies. “We have killed The Yellow Stone Pack; if there are any of them alive, kill them. Find me Freya Stone. I WANT HER NOW,” He shouts at the rogues. I flinch at the name he spoke.
Devon moves through all the bodies mauled and killed, never looking back again as he leaves the territory.
All the rogues are leaving, and some are still slaughtering members of the pack. The stench of blood and dead bodies is making me sick. All my family and friends are dead.
I open my eyes and look down; I see movement from below the tree; I know I have to be quiet and stay still. Rogues are stupid, but they won’t hesitate to kill you if they can smell you. I wait for a while till I hear nothing below.
I climb down the tree, jump from the last branch, and land straight on my feet. I look around and walk over to the devastation and distraction of my pack. I am now a rogue.
I look at all the bodies. I could feel the tears flowing down my cheeks, knowing they were all gone and none deserved this.
My eyes landed on the limp body of the Alpha. I walk over and kneel, bowing my head. He was a true Alpha to the death. I respected him not only as my Alpha but as my grandfather.
As I bow down, I close my eyes to pray to the Moon Goddess. “Why, Moon Goddess, why did this happen? I need your guidance. I need your help. What do I do now? Give me a sign?”
I need to figure out what to do. As I open my eyes, a light comes from the pendant my grandfather has worn every day since I can remember. It is shining brightly. I grab it and pull the chain in my hand. I look at the pendant; it’s a full moon shape with a crystal in the middle. The crystal is glowing.
“You need to keep that safe,” says a woman’s voice. I turn around suddenly to see the most stunning woman I have ever met in my life. “Who are you?” I ask, sounding more surprised at my voice’s squeaky sound.
The woman smiles at me. “I’m here, my child, and I heard your prayer. I could feel all the pain and suffering of all my children who he killed.” She says sadly. I look at her, and I realize who she is. “Moon Goddess,” is all I can say.
She nods at me. But she suddenly becomes very alert and says, “You need to go, pack a few things, and take that pendant with you. It would help if you traveled to the Shadow Pack; they will know who you are when they see that pendant. Tell them what happened here; they will take you in, my child.”
I stare at her in shock and slightly confused.
“Why do I need to go north to the Shadow Pack? Why would they take me in?” I ask frantically.
“You ask too many questions; they know of you, Miles. Your grandfather talked about you all the time. He was a well-respected Alpha and had many friends and allies,” she says and turns away.
“What about my mother, Freya?” I say, feeling sad while thinking about her suddenly.
The Moon Goddess stops and looks at me one last time with a little smile and some hope before she says. “She is safe, Miles; he won’t find her.” And just like that, she disappears before my eyes.
I have left on my once again. I look at the pendant and notice that the crystal has stopped glowing. I smile, and I have some hope. I hope my mum is safe.
I look around the field before heading toward the pack house, ensuring there are no rogues around. All I can see are human and wolf-form bodies lying in my way.
I head to the pack house, and I walk in. There is a lot of blood in here. I see more bodies in the hallway.
I headed to my room on the ground floor as our pack house was small. We were a small pack. I opened my door, grabbed a bag I had left after school, and emptied it. I pack a few things in and look around, knowing I won’t be back here again. My home has gone with all my family and friends too.
I sit on the bed while holding the pendant in my hand. I cry once more for everyone. I pray my mum is safe. I thought about what that monster said to my grandfather and knew precisely why he wanted my mother.
Devon wanted my mum, as she was the only female wolf in our family in generations. Her wolf is white, pure white. We are descendants of the Moon Goddess herself. We are blessed if we have a girl in our family. They are told they will be the Moon Goddess’s form, a pure white wolf with powers, but my mum is the only woman in our family.
My grandmother couldn’t conceive. She kept praying for a child; years passed until she found out she was pregnant with my mum. It is said that the Moon Goddess came to her in a vision and blessed her. I don’t know the entire story of my grandmother, as she died before I was born. My grandfather did everything he could to protect my mum from people like Devon.
Devon killed my father in the last attack before this five weeks ago. My father protected me and made me run away. I climbed a tree and hid for days up there till my grandfather found me.
I love climbing trees.
My grandfather sent my mum away a few days ago with his Gamma, Richard. My grandfather planned on taking me after the war, thinking that he would win; he made a promise to my mum to keep me safe. Everyone attempted to either leave or fight the last battle.
When the foul smell of the rogues came, and a mind link from one of the warriors told us that war had begun, my grandfather told me to climb the highest tree and handed me a potion that covered my scent. I did what I was told. I think he knew he wasn’t leaving his pack alive.
I hear a loud bang from the hallway, like something big has fallen; I wipe away the tears and put the pendant around my neck to ensure it is safe. I grabbed all the money I had saved and put it in my pocket; it wasn’t much as I was doing odd jobs around my grandfather’s office.
I placed my bag on my back and opened my bedroom window as the north was in that direction; plus, you never know if any rogues have come back to run sack this place, so my window is the safest option.
As I opened the window, the smell was getting worse among the corpses. I climbed out of my window and headed toward the north through the woods to where the Shadow Pack’s territory would be.
It’s going to take me five days to get there on foot. I haven’t shifted yet. We change into our wolves when we turn thirteen, and I am twelve. I will be thirteen in six months.
I need to move before someone finds me.
As I venture through the woods, an hour elapses, and I suddenly spot an enormous cloud of smoke billowing from the pack house. Some rogues have done that; I best move before they realize I am still alive.
I know Devon thinks he has killed me as he put all twelve-year-old boys together and asked if any of them were me, remembering my best friend Jack putting his hand up and saying. “I’m Miles.” Devon didn’t hesitate and killed him straight away.
My grandfather must have made him do it, as he was chatting to him before all this went down. I knew my grandfather had a plan but didn’t know most of it.
I felt sick and heartbroken, but I knew I needed to run and move quickly. I need to get to the Shadow Pack fast.
