Chapter 1- Familial Ties
BELLE
This was how the world
ended.
The king of wolves, the mythic
monster; the majestic man I'd
grown to love and lust for
with my every breath, he lay
there…bleeding out beside his
throne. Dying.
Towering over him was a
grinning demon..the Demon
Lord. He pointed at me with a
long, black, spindly finger.
"You're mine now,
"he
croaked, fire spitting from his
mouth.
“Annabelle”...my
“princess of darkness..”
I fell to my knees and cried
out in anguish. But as the
tears trailed down my cheeks,
I felt them..
hubbling….
boiling…..melting through my
skin. I shrieked, tearing at my
face, trying to make it stop.
But there was no stopping
what I was becoming now. I
heard the Demon King's
cackling laugh as my tears
became black scars, my eyes
voids, my lips….. that would
never know the taste of his
again..
the Werewolf King I
loved..
He was lost.
I was lost.
The world was lost..
Only
darkness ruled now.
I woke up with
shaking, hyperventilating, but
the world was still dark.
"What?" I said, freaking out.
"What's happening?"
I realized I was wearing an
eye mask, and as soon I
pulled it off, I could see I was
safe and sound in my
chambers. Phew.
That damn dream again. It'd
been recurring for weeks. But
every time I woke up, I
couldn't remember a single
detail. Only the terror, the
dread, the feeling that
something big was coming.
But what?
A heavy knock at the door
made me jump.
"Honey?'
I turned to see my father. That
was all. Get a grip, Belle, I
scolded myself.
"What is it, Dad?'
‘There's something important
we need to discuss…’
He came and sat down on my
bed. My father was the alpha
of our pack, built like a brick
wall, but with a quiet
kindness in his brown eyes
that couldn't be rivaled. He
was fiercely devoted to his
family, which is why what he
said next shocked me to my
core.
"Anabelle;
" he said, eyes
lowering. "I don't know how
to say this, but it's time for
you to leave the pack
behind."
My eyes widened.
"What??
"Your mother and I are
sending you somewhere..
safe. Warm. Far away from
here."
"What are you talking
about?" I said, standing up,
backing away.
"This is my
home! I can't leave the pack.
I belong_____
"You belong where I say you
belong!" he bellowed, and I
was struck quiet.
My father rarely raised his
voice. That meant this was
serious. It meant that he, the
alpha of our pack, was scared
of something. But. what?
"Why... why are you doing
this?" I asked, and now tears
filled my eyes.
I thought of my brother, Sean,
my best friends, Joshua and
Danny, and most of all, of
Gregory, the man I believed I
was destined to be with. How
was I ever going to live
without them? What was
happening? My world was
slipping from beneath my
feet.
I can't explain,
"' Dad said.
"But you must understand
Annabelle. It's for your own
protection."
Protection from what? Was
this related to that damn
dream? If only I could
remember the details. But I
wasn't scared of it... whatever
it was. No. This was my
home. And nothing, nobody,
was going to take that away
from me.
«Annabelle,
» my father said,
seeing the wheels turning in
my head. "Don't___
"Try to stop me," I said.
And before he knew what
was happening, I ran from the
room, out of the house, and
into the woods as fast as my
feet could take me.
I was running for my life. In
the distance, I could hear my
father's booming voice.
"Come back here,
Annabelle!?
But no way was I stopping
now. I shifted and felt the
familiar warmth seep into my
skin. My limbs stretching, a
pelt of reddish fur emerging
from my body, covering me
like a thick blanket.
Now on all fours, I sped
toward my secret spot in the
forest. I discovered it when I
was much younger. Sean, my
big brother, had teased me
relentlessly, leading me to
flee into the forest in tears.
"You're not my sister!' he
shouted. "Go back where you
came from!' He was five
years my senior, and all I'd
ever wanted was to be loved
by him.
That night, I stumbled
exhausted into the clearing,
but the full moon looked
down on me, blinding me
with its fluorescent majesty. It
spoke to me silently, soothing
my worries. It was my secret
friend when I was lost in the
darkness.
I was running there now,
hoping to find the same
solace and comfort I first felt
those thirteen years ago.
Being sent away meant I
would have to leave behind
my special clearing, too. I
couldn't bear the thought.
Where could I turn? Where
could I be alone? Oh. dear
Moon Goddess, don't let this
be my fate. Don't let my
father send me away!
"Belle, stop! Wait for me,"
hollered Sean. Time had done
much to resolve our
differences, making us close
now. I knew he cared, but
something inside me refused
to let my legs stop running. I
needed to be away from
everyone.
I heard him shift behind me,
his large six-foot-ten-inch
frame morphing into a
massive grey wolf that was
just as quick as it was strong.
He would catch up with my
small. weak wolf at any
moment.
When I first shifted at fifteen,
I thought my wolf would get
bigger, but it never did.
Unlike the rest of my family,
my wolf remained small and
scrawny.
I heard him shift behind me.
his large six-foot-ten-inch
frame morphing into a
massive grey wolf that was
just as quick as it was strong.
He would catch up with my
small, weak wolf at any
moment.
When I first shifted at fifteen,
I thought my wolf would get
bigger, but it never did.
Unlike the rest of my family,
my wolf remained small and
scrawny.
Which made me easier to
catch.
Sean's wolf jumped on my
back, pinning me to the dirt. I
tried to wriggle free, nipping
at his legs, but it was no use.
Sean snarled and dug his nails
into my pelt.
Relenting under the pain, I
morphed back to my human
form and he let me get up.
One upside to being an
undersized wolf? I was the
only one in the pack who
could keep my clothes on
while shifting.
"We need to talk?. Sean said.
putting on his shirt.
"I'm not going anywhere,
I spat.
"If Dad sent you after__
me
You have to, Belle. It's the
only way."
"I can't believe you're on his
side,
» I shot back.
"For the
Moon Goddess's sake, will
you tell me what the hell's
going on?"
Sean looked away. I knew it
must be something serious.
He wasn't one to avoid
confrontation. In fact, he had
quite the reputation in the
pack for knocking out anyone
who looked at him wrong. Or
any poor guy who looked at
me, for that matter.
He's coming for you, Belle,
Sean said quietly.
"He knows
where you are. You can't be
here when you turn eighteen.
"He? What are you talking
about? Who's he?'
"That's not for me to say. If
Dad didn't think you should
know..?
"It's my life, Sean!' I
shouted.
"I deserve to know if
someone's after me. Please?
Tell me. Who is it? Who's
coming for me? Is it another
alpha?"
"No, he's not a werewolf.
He's. he's something else.'
"Something else? What do
you mean? There isn't
anything else. Just humans
and werewolves."
"There's a lot you don't
know. Belle..
I felt like the world I knew
and loved was falling apart
and not even my secret
clearing could protect me
from what was coming next.
"Look, do you remember that
day you ran away in the forest
because I was taunting you,
and no one could find you all
day, and Mom went
ballistic?”
"And then you were grounded
for a week?" I replied. "Yes,
of course. I hated you that
day.
, 99
"Sure, I would have, too,
Sean said impatiently, as if I
was keeping him from
making his point.
"But, do
you remember what I was
saying before you took off?"
"You said.. you said that no
one loved me, and Mom and
Dad were lying to me. You
were a real jerk back then,
you know that? You made my
life a living hell."
"I also said, you were found
at the Pack border.
"Whatever. That's the same
stupid joke every older
brother makes. What does it
matter?" But my body
betrayed my true feelings. I
could feel my heart pounding
fiercely in my ribcage. A
revelation was coming.
I could feel it.
Sean looked at me with heavy
eves and let out a deep sigh.
"That wasn't a joke, Belle."
I silently pleaded for him to
smirk or wink, anything to
indicate he was just pulling
my leg. Instead, his face
remained solemn.
"I remember one night, Dad
came back with a bundle in
his arms, and he and Mom
argued. I had never heard
them argue like that. So, I got
closer and started to
eavesdrop. Mom wanted to
keep you, but Dad was
worried.
"He kept saying, there must
be more to the story. He said
somebody was going to come
back for you one day. I
rushed downstairs to see what
they were talking about. And
that's when I first saw you,
bundled in that blanket. You
were so small and fragile,
Belle.
"That's why I was angry for
so long. I was scared to love
you because I thought you
might be taken from us, and I
couldn't bear the thought of
losing my little sister. It took
me a while to realize, it didn't
matter if someone came,
because they weren't your
family. We were your family."
It was too much to process all
at once. I didn't know where
to begin. I looked at my
brother, my protector, my
friend. This was tearing him
apart from the inside.
"That's why you're so over-
protective?" I asked.
"I can't help it," he said,
nodding.
"I promised I'd
never let anything bad happen
to you. That's why you have
to come back home with me,
all right?"
"First. tell me,
I demanded.”
"Who is he? Who's after
me?”
Sean sighed, looking down. I
knew the answers were
imminent, though, I
suspected, they weren't going
to make anything clearer.
"Last week, an ultimatum
was issued to the King. It said
to hand you over or else war
would be declared on all
werewolves."
"The King? A war?'
I
stammered.
"What could that
possibly have to do with
me?”
*Belle," Sean said, holding
me firmly.
"We don't know
much. But we know he's a
ruler of all his kind. We know
he's called…. the Demon
Lord."
A flash of horrifying imagery
struck me silent. A black.
spindly finger pointed right at
me. A fiery, cackling mouth.
The dream.
That was who I'd dreamt of.
The Demon Lord.
"I wish I knew more,
» Sean
said.
"All we know is, he
incredibly dangerous. And
he's willing to go to war if it
means getting you back."
I choked for breath, my hands
clammy. I felt like I was
suffocating.
"Why? Why me? What could
he want with me??'
"Belle…Sean said, looking
into my eyes.
I think
you're…I think that's where
you came from. You belong
to him."
I took a shaky step back, eyes
widening, hyperventilating.
Everything started to blur,
and it felt like my body was
weightless. I was falling.
And now, I could hear his
voice again…the voice from
my dream..
"Annabelle, my princess of
darkness..
Sean's voice was screaming;
he was trying to reach me.
But he was too far. It was too
late. My secret clearing,
illuminated by the moon, was
drowning in darkness, the
stars blinking out, one by one.
And as all went black.. as the
world ended around me…all I
could see was the other man
from my dream, the Werewolf
King, lying in a pool of his
own blood.
"Belle," I watched his lips
silently mouth.
"I love you."
And then there was nothing
but darkness.
