Chapter One – Destruction
Danielle – Aged 14
I stare in shock and horror at the devastation surrounding me. It’s only taken a few hours for the Savage Wolves to wipe out my pack and destroy my life.
Anyone who tried to fight back lies dead or dying. The bodies of my friends and family scattered among them.
I try to keep from staring at the mutilated bodies of my father and older brother, but I can’t tear my eyes away.
Ryan the alpha of the Savage Wolves has ordered the last remnants of my pack to be gathered together, the young and fit have been separated from the old and the sick.
We’ve been forced to watch while he executes those of us he deems to be worthless.
“Your pack is gone. The Wolf Claw pack is no more. There is only one pack that matters, the Savage Wolves pack. You who remain now have a choice” he tells us.
“Join us, swear your undying loyalty to me, and my pack, and you will be allowed to live. Refuse and you will be banished to become packless rogues.
Those who join us will become the omegas of our pack, our servants, there to obey our every command.”
A couple of the wolves that stand with Ryan start to snicker. Dirty and unkempt their clothes ripped, and stained with the blood of my pack mates they sneer at us.
One of them meets my gaze, he licks his lips and leers at me. It’s a promise. I might only be fourteen, but I know instinctively what he’s thinking what he wants from me.
I shiver and clutch the hand of my best friend Rory for comfort.
He squeezes my hand, which keeps me centered, and I turn my attention back to Ryan.
“If you work hard, prove yourself, then you may earn yourself a place among my warriors. It’s a hard road, only the best, the elite get to join my wolves.
If you choose not to join us then you leave here now, you may take nothing with you.
I watch my pack mates weigh up their choice. It’s not an easy decision to make.
To leave with nothing, to become a rogue is not something any wolf would choose lightly. Hated by packs, forced to roam from place to place, never allowed to settle. It’s a fate that all pack wolves fear, but could it be any worse than staying with the Savage Wolves?
The idea of serving those who’ve killed my family and friends repulses me. I look around at Ryan’s wolves, and shiver at the thought of being their slave.
I catch the eye of the wolf who had been leering at me. He mouths the word “MINE” at me.
If I ever any doubt about what I should do it’s gone now. The life of a lone wolf, a rogue it is.
I turn to Rory “I’m leaving” I whisper to him.
He nods. “Me too. As soon as Ryan says we can leave, we need to run, I don’t trust him to keep his word.”
“Have you made your decision?” Ryan asks.
We nod.
“Right, those who wish to stay move over to stand with my warriors. The rest of you stay where you are.
I watch as the majority of the survivors move towards Ryan’s warriors, only five of us remain. Besides Rory and I there are the beta’s two youngest sons Harry and Rob and the alpha’s daughter Alison.
“Oh no, Alison, I can’t allow you to leave, you stay here.”
“No!” Harry shouts.
“It’s OK Harry just go” Alison pleads with him.
“No not without you. I won’t leave you to these animals. We go together.”
Ryan looks bored. “Are you going or are you staying.”
“Going, but with her.”
“You are a brave boy, it would be admirable, if you weren’t so stupid.”
He nods to one of his warriors who marches over to Harry. He grabs hold of him, places his hands around his neck and he twists. We hear a snap, and Alison screams.
Rob runs towards them, desperate to avenge his brother.
“Now” Rory whispers in my ear. “While they’re occupied.”
I nod and take off running towards the trees, Rory sprinting beside me.
Ryan shouts “stop them. I had planned a hunt, but you’re not playing by the rules.
You might have a head start but my wolves will still find you, and they will kill you. No one is allowed to escape.”
It’s clear he never intended to let any of us go.
We don’t pause, we keep running, knowing our lives depend on getting into the forest before Ryan’s wolves can catch us.
The one advantage we have is that we know this terrain, if we can make it to the trees we can lose them in the forest.
From there we can make our way to the nearest human town where we’ll be safe. Ryan’s wolves wouldn’t dare risk exposure by hunting us there.
I’ve never been there before; our pack doesn’t mix with humans.
I’ve always been curious about humans; I longed to go and find out what they’re really like. I’m now going to get my wish.
We keep running, my heart is pounding, my lungs struggling for breath, but we set a blistering pace., knowing that to let up for even a second would mean our deaths.
For the first ten minutes we can hear Ryan’s wolves behind us howling and laughing as they tear through the forest after us, confident that they’ll catch us.
Why wouldn’t they be, a couple of teenage wolves are no match for warriors. But we know this forest, the best tracks and trails, the places where roots will trip the unwary.
As the trees get closer together, the terrain more difficult to navigate, they slow down and we manage to pull ahead.
The further into the forest we get the more distance we manage to put between us and the Savage Wolves.
After thirty minutes we reach the river. Rory dives straight in, and I don’t hesitate to follow. We swim to the far side, but don’t climb out, instead we keep our heads down, and sticking close to the bank we swim north.
An hour later, Rory decides it’s finally safe to leave the river. We climb out and begin walking through a part of the forest I’ve never visited before.
I’m tired and frozen. My clothes are soaked through and chafing against my skin. None of this will matter if we can reach the human town before Ryan’s warriors catch us.
We haven’t heard or seen any signs of them since we entered the river. I hope we’ve managed to lose them.
“I don’t think it’s far now” Rory tells me.
“How do you know?”
“My father used to take me, he’s got a friend in town we used to visit.”
“A human?” I ask curiously.
“No, goddess, no. He didn’t know any humans. There’s a lone wolf he was friends with.”
“A rogue!”
“No, he wasn’t a rogue he wouldn’t harm anyone. He was a lone wolf who had lost his pack, just like us.”
I struggle to hold back a sob. He’s right. My whole family are dead, all my friends have either been killed or enslaved, how am I any different from this friend of Rory’s?
“Sorry” I manage to whisper.
He turns and hugs me.
“Don’t be. We both need to get used to our new situation, and I’m hoping Harry will be able to help us. He’s our only hope of surviving this.
Even if we manage to evade Ryan and his rogues, we’ll need help to live in human society. I just hope his friendship with my dad will be enough to persuade him to take us in.”
Not many wolves would. Our own alpha turned away lone wolves who approached our pack requesting sanctuary.
We make our way out of the forest and start to follow a paved road. Gradually the trees and fields give way to houses, as we reach the outskirts of the human town.
Rory leads us through the suburbs to a single-story house. “We’re here, I hope he’s home” he says nervously, before walking up the path and knocking on the door.
A tall, grey-haired man opens the door. I can immediately tell that he’s a wolf like us.
“Rory, I wasn’t expecting to see you, is your dad here too?”
“No, uh, no…..” Rory trails off, unable to say the words, to explain what’s happened.
I steel myself, “our pack’s been destroyed by the Savage Wolves. Our parents are dead. We…..managed to escape, we think we lost them but….” I sob. I’m ready to collapse from exhaustion and grief.
“You need a place to stay” he guesses opening the door wider. “Well come in. You don’t want to be seen out here.”
“You’ll help us?” Rory asks.
“Yes, your dad was a good man. He helped me when I needed it, the least I can do is help his son.”
He leads us into a small living room, and gestures for us to sit on a small comfy sofa. I crumple into the seat relieved to be able to stop, and rest without fear of attack.
“Are you hungry? I can make us something to eat and then we can discuss what to do next.”
“Thanks” Rory says. “I don’t know what we’d do without your help….”
“Don’t mention it. This world is no place for lone wolf pups, but I think I know how to keep you both safe.”
