Prologue
The sky is soon bereft of the moon, giving way to a colder hue and accompanied by a trickle of rain. The windows of Nya's room tremble from the power of thunder rolling across the sky. With an earth-shattering roar, angry bolts of lightning cleave the sky, illuminating the night as rain falls in furious sheets, the drops sprinkling over the opened window like scattershot crystals.
The neutral look on her face changes to a frown, her head wiggling from side to side in a nightmare. The tickling sensation of raindrops and taps on her thigh forces her eyes open to confront both intruders.
As her eyes adjust, her confused face contours into a frown, "Ms. Helen?"
"Shh." Ms. Helen says with a finger raised to her mouth, "quick, we must hurry," she says, pulling her up from the bed.
Ms. Helen tiptoes to the door, her fingers entwined with Nya's as she follows behind her. Opening the door, Nya is taken aback by the angry growls and howls in the distance, as Ms. Helen scans the hallway. "It is clear, Eve."
A girl pokes her head from behind the wardrobe, "then we must leave at once," she whispers and shuts a backpack tight, then hands it to Ms. Helen. From the corner of her sleepy eyes, Nya sees their uneasy glances as they whisper in hushed tones.
Ms. Helen crouches to Nya's height and holds her shoulders, "you must listen to me and adhere to every word I say."
Nya is puzzled but nods her head as she wonders why tears keep stringing down the face of the bravest and boldest person she's ever known.
"Everything has crumbled, the pack is in danger, and with each minute we spend here, the more danger you are in. We must run and we do not stop for anyone. Even if we get separated, you must keep running till the 4 corners of this pack are long behind you. Do you understand me?"
Tears are flowing down Nya's eyes when she replies, "yes Ms. Helen."
Ms. Helen nods her relief, wipes her tears with the back of her palm, and stands, then pulls Nya to the door.
"What about daddy?"
Ms. Helen halts, turning so quickly as if Nya had said a forbidden word, "if you ever set your eyes on your father, run. Run as if your life depends on it or better still put a knife to his throat." A fire burned in her eyes and with every word.
Ms. Helen guides the way with a strong grip on Nya's wrist, the walls of the passage protecting them from the screams echoing around them.
"Don't tell me you're leaving the party. The fun's just getting started," a man says from behind them.
Her grip tightens as she turns, "Lycus. I always knew you were a traitor, just didn't realize you had the guts to show it."
"Let's get this over with. Hand me the girl and I'll give you a painless death," his teeth glisten crimson.
"No way," she says, making a barricade in front of Nya, "you have to go through me."
With lightning speed, the man's bones creak and contour as fur springs from his skin, and a brown wolf stand where he was. Even approaches him bringing out a dagger from her pockets, she swings her blade, but he is faster, his teeth digging into her neck, biting down. Blood oozes from the flesh as life escapes her eyes.
"Run Nya," Ms. Helen urged.
And the last thing Nya sees is a white wolf going against the brown wolf as she flees.
***
Nya shudders from the freezing rain still wet on her skin. She is focused on the scene unfolding in the distance, ignoring the hash strings of rain on her skin, as she lurks behind a tree, the twilight providing her safety.
Her dad is on his knees, his image a far cry from what she knows. He is ten years older than he was yesterday, the rain washing the blood from his battered head, his hands held up in a plea as he begs the man in front of him.
She hears not a word but reads his lips as they utter his last words Lar, a word that will come to hunt her in the coming years. With a swift move, the man snaps her dad's head off his neck, raising it high in a parade.
"NO," she shouts, the rain swallowing her words.
