1 The Attack
Anna POV
The cries of terror echoed through my ears as I ran through the forest. My heart pounded in my chest, fear gripping me with every step I took.
I could hear three rogues growling and snarling behind me as they chased me through the dark woods. One was in human form and the two others had shifted into their wolf forms.
The sound of one set of paws on the earth was getting louder. I realized one of the wolves was gaining on my left side.
He jumped off a rock to lunge at me, attempting to knock me against a large tree. I slid on my side on the ground to avoid him and jumped back to my feet to keep running. Not losing any speed.
He flew through the air and went over me. He slammed into the tree with such force that he was knocked unconscious. His body fell motionless to the ground.
A small smile played on my lips as I pushed my legs harder. To run faster.
The branches and twigs scratched my skin as I weaved through the trees and bushes.
I saw a tree that had partially fallen and abruptly veered left towards it. I slid under it and hopped up to keep running again. I heard the other wolf crash right into it.
Now, I could only hear one rogue in human form running behind me.
“You can’t run forever, little wolf!” He shouted behind me, his voice laced with malicious intent.
I heard his bones cracking and flesh tearing. I figured he shifted into his wolf form. But, I did not stop to check. I did not dare to look back either. I wasn’t taking any chances of falling as I pushed my body even harder.
I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I dodged and weaved. My instincts guided me every step of the way. I pushed my legs to run faster.
I had to survive. Their sacrifice wasn’t going to be in vain. I would not let it.
However, I couldn’t outrun the feeling of regret and failure weighing heavy on my heart as I raced through the familiar terrain.
In a matter of minutes, my whole world had been turned upside down. My whole world had been destroyed. My mom and dad were gone. My pack was gone. Everyone and everything I knew and loved was completely gone now.
I felt the pack bond snap and break over and over as each one of the members of my pack was killed. It was so painful. Crippling. Agonizing. Like losing a piece of your heart. Piece of your soul.
However, I didn’t let it hinder me as I escaped. I couldn’t let it. I had to survive. I would survive. Their sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain. I wouldn’t let it.
All I had left was my mom’s pendant necklace around my neck. She put on me mere minutes before the rogues broke down the door to my bedroom. Seconds before I was able to escape.
I was asleep when the rogues invaded our pack lands. When they broke into other members’ homes and stores and stole whatever they could get their filthy paws on. When they burned down each building. When they butchered anyone they could find no matter how young or old they were.
I was even asleep when they broke into our house. I didn’t know how I was able to sleep through so many horrible events.
My mom woke me up. My father was fighting three or four of the rogues downstairs. But, two more had pushed past him and smashed down my bedroom door. My mother fought them off while I slipped out the window and ran through the chaotic streets to the pack woods.
That was the only thing I could do. Running was the only thing I could do. Even if it was not what I wanted one little bit. I wanted to stay and fight with the rest of my pack. But, I had to survive. That was what my parents said to me.
“The truth will be revealed when you need it most, Anna.” My mom’s gentle voice repeated in my head.
I didn’t understand what she meant, but there was no time to ask questions as the rogues broke down my bedroom door. As chaos erupted all around the pack. As the rogues burned down our town to the ground and killed each person who came across their path.
My mother told me to go to the Silver Moon Pack. It was her old pack. She left there when she found her true mate, my father, John. She moved to the Blue Crescent Pack with him and had me soon after.
There were so many questions I had. So many things that I didn’t understand, but one stood out more than the rest. Silver Moon Pack might have been my mom’s old pack, but it was also the Ruthless Alpha’s pack. Killian Rhodes.
He became the Alpha years after she left the pack. It was rumored that he was a fearsome tyrant who preyed on packs and even the people of his own pack.
He would destroy other packs to take their lands just to expand his territory. Just to gain power and money. Or, just for the fun of it. Whatever he felt like that day.
It was said that every one of his pack members feared him. If he caught any of them trying to escape, he killed them on the spot without question.
He was also the strongest alpha of all the alphas, and his pack was the strongest. There was only one stronger. The Alpha King. But, he did not interfere. Thus, no one could challenge the Ruthless Alpha or question the way he ruled.
‘Of all the packs out there, why send me to his pack?’ I thought to myself.
She told me to go there and find Andrew Alexander, the Beta of the Silver Moon pack. I didn’t know who he was, but she said I could trust him. He would help and protect me now. Just like they, my parents, had.
I didn’t understand what she meant by that or why I needed protection. Also, I couldn’t comprehend how she had so much faith in a person that she had never mentioned to me before in my life.
Of course, I would never question my mother. I loved and respected her. But, all I wanted was to help my pack. My family. Not run away and hide like a freaking coward. Even if it meant dying along with everyone else. Not that I wanted to die, but at least we would be together in the afterlife.
I had been running for what felt like hours. Hell! It probably was for hours. I had run through my pack woods and out of our territory. I wasn’t sure how much longer I had until I got to my destination.
I knew Silver Moon Pack was about a couple of hours away by car. I had no idea how long it was on foot. However, I didn’t have a car. I didn’t even have my wolf. All I had were my trembling human legs.
I was only seventeen. I had less than three months before I would meet my wolf. We did not meet our wolves until we turned eighteen.
I had been so excited to meet her. Now, none of that mattered. As I said, I truly did not want to die. But, my parents wouldn’t be there to celebrate with me.
I couldn’t imagine going through my first shift without them being there to talk me through the process. The first shift was always the most painful and the longest. With time, the pain lessened, and the time became shorter. Eventually, one would shift in seconds without any kind of discomfort.
I couldn’t imagine meeting my wolf without them being there with my father’s wolf to meet mine. My mother had lost her wolf years before she had me.
I couldn’t imagine training in my wolf form when my father and his wolf were not the two teaching me. He had taught me everything I knew about fighting. He was an amazing teacher. I couldn’t imagine a better teacher.
However, I needed to focus. To focus on breathing. To focus on running. To focus on surviving. To focus on getting to the Rock Mountains. It was the only advantage I had over the rogues chasing me.
There was an old tunnel passage that cut through one of the mountain ranges outside the territory of my pack. It was an old route that was a shortcut between packs. The passage now ended right in Silver Moon’s territory since it had grown so much.
The tunnel was centuries old. Maybe even a thousand years old. It was built and used years before cars were invented. The path to the mountains was narrow and unforgiving. However, it was hidden well. Hidden really well. It was said that only those who knew where it was could find it.
I had run through my pack woods. Those woods I grew up in. Those were my second home. I knew them like the back of my hand. But, not this forest.
Regardless, my instincts were guiding me with every step I took. The memories of everything my parents showed and told me about this place led the way.
They were the ones who told me about the Rock Mountains and the hidden passage. They showed me the path to the cave and how to open and close the hidden door.
The three of us had been to these forests and the mountain range numerous times. I never comprehended why we visited the area so much. That was until now. Until my pack was attacked by rogues. It was not just a shortcut but also a safe place.
If I just made it there, I knew I could make it to Silver Moon Pack. To safety. Not if when I made it there. Being caught was not an option. I could not let my parents and pack’s sacrifice be in vain.
‘I will make it to Silver Moon.’ The thought fueled me to run faster even as my lungs burned.
The sound of howling and paws against the forest floor told me that the one rogue was getting closer, and more were coming up behind him.
I pushed through the forest, my heart beating with fear and determination. I didn’t dare look back. I kept running as fast as I could. I might be small, particularly for a werewolf, but I definitely was fast.
The cool night air rushed by my face, and the pounding of my heart echoed in my ears. I came to a small clearing. I slid to a stop and looked up toward the sky.
‘There it is.’ I thought, and a small smile appeared on my lips. ‘The Rock Mountains.’
The mountains were barren and mainly consisted of rock, hence their name. Hardly anything could grow on them. There were only a few patches of tall grass that were scattered on its jagged surface. A small cluster of vines clung to one of the cliff edges. And, maybe ten or eleven trees jutted out from this side of the mountains.
I continued running until I found the route I was looking for. I sprinted up the scarcely visible narrow path to make my way to the passage. To someone unfamiliar with the area, it would appear that I was only weaving my way up the mountainside, trying to find the easiest trail.
There was one small part of the mountains that was covered with thick vines. I pushed the vines to the side and frantically ran my hands over the hard stone surface to find the lever.
The pounding sounds of the rogues running on the earth were getting closer. I glanced over my shoulder to see if I could see any of them as I kept running my fingers over the rock.
I found the lever and quickly pulled it. A stone doorway that blended in with the rock surface opened to reveal the cave passage, and I hurriedly ran inside. I quickly found the lever on the inside and pulled it. A wooshing noise sounded as the doorway closed behind me.
I stood in complete darkness. My irregular heaving breath and pounding heart were the only sounds that could be heard in the pitch black darkness.
