Prologue

I groaned as my foot tangled in a vine, staggering and swearing all at once. I wouldn’t stop. I felt warm blood trickle over my toe. The scent of fresh blood would lead my assailants to me. I know this. Still, I wouldn’t slow down.

The midnight cold stung my skin. The bushes, with razor-sharp knives attached to the edges of their leaves, sliced through my legs as I raced on, defiant. The debris on the forest floor set traps of stumps on my path.

"It's no use running, boy!” Father’s voice echoed through the forest.

I squinted. I was almost at my destination. I approached a large mildew-ridden boulder ahead and took a sharp left, not slowing down to catch my breath. My instincts were on high alert. I could hear the wolves growl and snap behind me.

Father's laughter filtered into my ears, sending tiny shivers down my neck.

"There's no way to run. It's just a matter of time before I catch up with you, boy. Tick! Tock!”

The moonlit forest, home to my pack for these past months, was now a maze – a deathtrap. A familiar howl rings through the entire forest. Father is summoning every wolf in the pack to join the chase. I slow down as I approach the large willow in the woods.

The wolves around me slowed down. I steady my breath and listen. The rustling of leaves around me has gone quiet. I can scent them hidden in the bushes around the clearing at the foot of the tree. I pause. There is another scent in the woods—a human.

A yellow-eyed wolf poked his head from among the bushes, watching me as cautiously as he watched it.

“Oh, Troy, now I feel insulted. Of everyone in the pack, he had to send you, didn’t he?”

But the wolf would not answer. Instead, it charged at me, teeth first. I charged back in careful long strides, stretching my hand to reveal long claws. I shut my blue eyes momentarily, opening them to reveal gold eyes. Immediately, my clawed hand connected with the wolf’s jaw. The wolf landed on its side and scrambled to his feet, growling.

Another wolf emerged from the forest, then another.

“Just perfect. First Troy, now the Jonas twins? I guess he never really wanted to stop me then,” I teased, adjusting my stance. “Why send the weakest three of the pack?”

My jest got to them. Troy bared his teeth at me in unbridled rabid canine fury, priming himself for another attack. One among the newcomers turned back into my human form instead. My white shoulder-length hair and grey eyes stood out in the dimly lit forest.

“I'd enjoy every second of this,” I sneered. "...always knew you were a softie.”

I pinned my legs to the ground, watching my assailants’ every move. Now wasn't the time to speak. I waited and watched.

“Just come with us. I'd make it as painless as ever.” Jon, the white-haired wolf, spoke again. I wouldn't be distracted.

“Damn, you!”

“Well, you asked for it.”

The second wolf snapped his teeth and lunged at my ankle—wrong move. I dodged, allowing the wolf’s jaw to clamp shut in midair. In one sleek motion, I swung over the wolf’s head and onto his back like a horse rider. Raising my hand, my claws glimmered in the moonlight before slamming down on the neck of the wolf.

Troy leaped at me. I parried with one arm, wincing as Troy’s teeth sank in. I aimed another punch at Troy’s neck, connecting just above his jawline. As Troy yelped away in pain, I stood up from the other wolf, grabbing him on his underside and tossing him against the third wolf.

“Damn!” I cursed again, wincing in pain at the wound on his arm.

Three more wolves emerged from the bushes, all snarling like rabid dogs ready to pounce. They all launched themselves and sat Leighton, biting and snapping at his arm and legs.

He turned to basic primal instinct at this point, relying on his wolf senses as he dodged the legion of attacks from werewolves. His arms flailed as he struck out against them, sending most of them staggering backward.

“Well, well, well,” a cold voice called behind him. All the wolves immediately ceased their attack and retreated.

I didn’t need to turn. I would recognize that annoying light voice anywhere. I balled his fists and steadied his breath. Facing the alpha always pushed him to his limits, but not today.

I turned sharply and turned to look at the alpha. For a man who would rather live like a dog than a man, he was better looking than most. His long blond locks sat lazily on his shoulders, glimmering in the moonlight. His blue eyes seemed to reflect the ambiance of the moon even as he chuckled with so much scorn in his tone.

“Why wouldn’t you just let me go?” I asked.

“Let you go?” the alpha laughed. “Tell me, what kind of father would that make me?”

“I’m not your son,” I spat.

“You could deny it all you want, son. But this wild blood of mine runs through your veins.”

I gritted my teeth.

“You—”

“Shh... I’m going to give you one last chance, boy. Remain with the pack, and I will turn a blind eye to your defiance tonight.”

“And if I refuse?”

“I’d let you leave.” The alpha said in a funny high-pitched voice. Then added, “I doubt Arya would be too pleased with your decision anyway.”

“If you…”

“You don’t get to make any threats, boy.”

“Or what?” I said, stepping forward in blatant defiance.

One of the wolves stepped ahead of the others, snapping its teeth close to Leighton’s heel. It was Troy again. He squared his shoulders and squatted, relaxing on his haunches. My shoulders heaved slowly, fixing blue eyes on the wolf.

As the warm moonlight floated through his bare skin, a dark mass of hair spread through his entire body. His fingers grew longer, curving into talon-like claws, longer than the powerful teeth glistening in the moonlight.

“Relax, Troy,” the Alpha said, obviously calling on the wolf to stand down. The wolf, Troy, took a few steps back only to launch himself at me. Not to be caught off-guard, I reacted immediately. I sidestepped, landing a clean blow to the jaw of the

Troy landed with a noisy thud. But I would not wait for him to recover before attacking again. I charged at him, slamming his head against the forest floor. Blood sputtered from his nose onto the debris beneath.

Finish your enemy off completely.

I suddenly remembered his Uncle Gordon’s voice echoing in his subconscious. Grunting, I raised his my to land another blow on the wolf’s head.

Finish him off completely.

“Finish him off, Leighton,” the Alpha’s voice interrupted, replacing Uncle Gordon's.

Raising my hand to look at the alpha, I brought it down with even more force than I had the first time, only this time, it struck the ground merely inches from Troy’s face.

“No, unlike you, I’d rather be a man than an animal.”

His alpha chuckled. “Troy has learned his lesson, you know. At least a part of it.”

The Alpha rubbed his palms against each other.

“You, my boy,” the alpha continued, “…have learned nothing.”

The words had barely left his mouth when he charged, red-eyed, teeth bared. My eyes snapped shut, expecting the worst.