Chapter 1
My paws padded against the mossy forest ground with quickness. The wind brushed my fur back. I weaved in and out of the trees that were planted in my way. The full moon illuminated my path.
I giggle and laugh with excitement in my own head as my wolf runs free. I hear a faint whizzing sound heading towards me. Suddenly something pierces my wolf’s side and she immediately collapses. A writhing pain explodes within us.
“You got it” I hear faintly from far away.
—
I wake up gasping, clutching my side. I look around my room to reassure myself that I am safe. I groan and grasp my head in my hands.
That nightmare wasn’t just a nightmare, it was a memory. Hunters plague our woods, hunting our kind down. Two days after my sixteenth birthday…two days after my first shift, I had been hit with a wolfsbane arrow. The arrow should’ve killed me, but it didn’t. It weakened my already new fragile connection with my wolf.
It’s been just under two years since that had happened and I haven’t shifted since. I haven’t heard my wolf speak to me. I knew she was still there, I could feel her presence ever so slightly in my mind…but no matter how many healers that have looked over me and tried to cure me, there was no luck.
If I’m being honest, the arrow killing me would have been a mercy compared to a weakened connection with my wolf.
I shook my head slightly and stood up from my bed. I walked out of my bedroom, down the stairs, and to the kitchen.
I grabbed a glass and filled it with water, resting against the kitchen counter with my eyes closed, sipping the water. I hear footsteps approaching and my eyes open slightly.
“Veronica? You okay?” My older brother asked groggily.
“Yeah…just had a nightmare,” I say quietly and sip my water. “Didn’t mean to wake you, I know you have to be up early”.
“Same nightmare? About that night?” He asked and I could see the pity flash in eyes. I swallowed hard and looked away from him. I couldn’t stand that look. I gave a curt nod.
“Don’t worry about waking me up. Nerves weren’t really letting me sleep well anyways,” he said and moved towards the fridge to get himself a drink.
“You? Nervous?” I scoffed.
“Yes, Roni, I know you’re used to my overly amazing and charming self…” I roll my eyes at his words but he continues, “but I’m allowed to be a little nervous about the induction ceremony.”
“Ah, yes, gonna be Beta Victor now, huh? Goddess, I don’t have to address you as Beta do I?” I tease him.
He smirks and hops up on to the counter next to me “Hm depends on how much I want to annoy you on certain days”.
“You annoy me everyday.” I grumble and shove him. He chuckles, unmoving against my push.
“Your birthday is in a couple of days. You excited?” I could hear the slight hesitation in bringing it up.
“Why would I be?” I glance down at the water in my cup. “It’s not like anything special will happen,” I say with a hard swallow and then steel my expression.
“It’s your eighteenth birthday. You could find a mate. Isn’t that-“ I cut him off with a hard look.
“Don’t. We both know that won’t happen. I might as well be wolfless,” I grit my words. I push off the counter and walk away.
“Roni-“ he quietly calls after me but I ignore him, heading quickly back up to my room.
Once inside my room, I flop onto my bed letting out a deep breath. Thoughts of my eighteenth birthday swim in my mind. If you would have asked me a year ago about mates, a part of me would have still had hope my wolf would recover enough to find my mate but now? Now I’m very aware there is no chance that will ever happen.
Loneliness pools in my chest, but I push it away, hardening my emotions enough to allow me to fall back to sleep.
