Chapter 0001

BRUNA’S POV

“Catch her! In no way should she cross the pack’s border!!” A thunderous voice boomed in the dense forest of the Blue Moon Pack in the dead of night.

The booming, masculine voice reverberated in my ears, causing my eyes to widen at its intensity. It was none other than Patrick, the Beta of our pack, ordering the security to chase me down. I couldn’t afford to be caught by them, so I took off, knowing they were hot on my trail.

For the past half an hour, I had been running through this thick forest, desperate to escape from the clutches of the Blue Moon Pack security. And at this moment, my body was yearning for some much-needed rest. My heart thudded ferociously against my chest, and I was trying to catch up for my breath while I was running. I could not afford to take a break and gasp for some air because they had gotten too close to me.

I gaped at my fair-skinned legs with several cuts and bruises. Not just my legs, but one could find several scars and marks all over my body, all thanks to the torture inflicted by my people who would not leave a single stone unturned to bully me!

I am Bruna Walters, an eighteen-year-old she-wolf from the Blue Moon Pack. Just like my name, my life is dark, or should I say pitch-black. I’m the Alpha’s illegitimate daughter, and my step-sister Regina Walters and stepmother Linda Walters are my bullies. I used to think they were my worst enemies, but I was mistaken. A few months ago, on my birthday, I discovered my true enemy: my father, Alpha Kenneth Walters. On discovering that I was wolfless, he looked down at me with shame and disgust.

My battered legs, a result of beatings, torture, bullying, and countless other abuses, pleaded for me to cease. However, I swallowed the severe pain my body was giving and continued running.

I glanced at the front, and my hazel green eyes twinkled on seeing the pack’s border getting closer.

“Come on! We are almost there!” I muttered to myself, knowing that was the only chance to replenish my body with much-needed energy. But suddenly, I could hear several sets of thumping feet from behind, crunching the leaves and twigs on the ground. I swiveled my head and glanced over my shoulder.

I was horrified to see them getting closer. As I turned my head forward, I pushed my injured legs to quicken their pace. At that moment, an intense surge of pain surged through my body as I stumbled over a rock, tumbling headfirst onto the ground.

“Aahh!!” I hissed.

Suppressing my pain, I bit my lower lip and struggled to rise from the ground. However, but found myself unable to stand. As I prepared to make another attempt, I could see several sturdy feet blocking my way right before my eyes. Frustrated, I turned to the left, hoping for a possible escape route, only to find several pack security members standing upright and alert.

No, this can’t happen to me! I couldn’t believe my misfortune as I was apprehended just when the pack’s border, my gateway to freedom, was right before me!

My head whirled as I searched in every direction, only to discover that the pack security had trapped me. They closed in, forming a menacing circle, their eyes filled with ferocity as they loomed over me. Overwhelmed with shock, I couldn’t help but tremble uncontrollably in terror.

What was going to happen next?

I saw two security officers before me stepping aside, and a gigantic burly figure ushered. This strappy man in his late forties with pale silver hair, black eyes, and a thin beard around his lips was the Beta of my pack, Patrick.

Patrick walked up to me, and his towering figure stopped a step away from me. Looking down at me with his cold face, he said, “You shouldn’t have run away, miss!”

“Ouch!” I shrieked when he harshly grabbed my arm to pull my sprawled figure up.

“I am sorry, miss! But I will have to take you back to the Alpha!” He said, his tone devoid of emotions.

My eyes widened, and I protested. With my right hand,  I freed my left hand, which Patrick tightly gripped and pulled.

I hissed in pain, “No! I am not going back! I won’t marry that monster! I WON’T!!”

Earlier today, my supposed family delivered a sudden blow by commanding me to marry the next day. Just yesterday, they had informed me of my impending marriage. To make matters worse, they wanted me to act as a replacement bride in place of Regina. However, I was determined not to let that happen.

How on earth would I marry Regina’s fiance, who was ugly and disabled? I have heard about how ruthless Regina’s fiance, the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, was! He was a walking devil who would turn anybody’s life into a living hell! He was powerful and ruthless, and all the thunder-striking words couldn’t describe how much of a dangerous werewolf he was!

“I am not going to marry him! NO WAY! JUST LEAVE ME!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I started scraping his hand, tightening around my weak wrist mercilessly.

My resistance didn’t go well with the emotionless Beta. He started heating up due to anger, and his voice became sharp and rough as he warned me.

“You can’t go against the Alpha’s order! Alpha said if you are not back tonight, your beloved grandmother will die at his hands!!”

What? No! This can’t happen to me! I was shocked upon hearing his words. My heart stopped beating for a second, and I shook my head incessantly as I gasped, “No! Please don’t involve my grandmother in all of this! Please don’t do anything to her!”

I folded my hands together, and my eyes were now brimming with tears as I begged, “I beg you!”

My grandmother, Lily, has been my only family in this world. In my dark life, she was the only ray of light.

After my mother died, my father married Linda, and my grandmother got a whiff that they were going to kill me, which was when she took me away with her. All these years, she had been secretly raising me alone and away from the eyes of the royal family of the Blue Moon Pack.

Unfortunately, fortune did not smile upon us. One fateful day, we fell into the clutches of misfortune. My stepmother became deeply unsettled by my grandmother’s actions, leading her to imprison her and forcefully take me to the pack house. From then on, I was subjected to relentless labor as a maid, or perhaps even worse. Everyone around me treated me as a mere punching bag, causing immense suffering.

I yearned for my grandmother’s presence, especially now that her health had deteriorated due to old age. Even in my most fantastical imaginings, I could never have fathomed that my father would stoop to use my grandmother’s life to threaten me.

I begged, but my cries and pain didn’t seep into the hard-skinned werewolves standing before me like emotionless robots.

The brutal cold voice of Patrick quashed my constant pleas as he urged me by pulling my hand.

“Hurry up, lady! Your grandmother will die if you don’t return with me right now!”

I was left with no option. My world revolved around my grandma, and I could not endanger her life.

Tears streamed down my eyes, and I scrambled to my feet and sobbed, “Okay, I am coming back with you!”

My only hope was to flee the pack house under cover of darkness while everyone slept, but my cruel father shattered that hope by sending his pack members after me, plunging me into the abyss of darkness. I considered fixing my upside-down world, but I can do nothing now.