Chapter 6

Lily POV

Tears blurred my vision as Golden Moon Pack slowly disappeared behind me.

I was trying so much to be strong… to not feel, but goddess! I’ve been bottling everything up for far too long and I am tired. My knuckles whitened as I gripped the steering wheel, my mind a whirlwind of emotions.

The events of the past 24 hours played on repeat in my head like a cruel, never-ending movie.

I had sincerely hoped that my 18th birthday would be my big break. I would finally feel get my wolf – I thought I could finally belong. Instead, I’d found my boyfriend – no, ex-boyfriend now – tangled in the sheet with my sister. The betrayal cut deep… it was a wound that would never heal.

Then came the shocking truth surrounding my birth and my eminent exile from the pack – as a Rogue. The word tasted bitter on my tongue. How quickly my dad had turned on me, all because I hadn’t shifted. Because I was weak.

I knew I could have insisted on leaving tomorrow… but I was didn’t want to spend another night in the same space with them. I needed a break. Shaking my head to dispel the memories, I tried to figure out where I was.

I’ve been driving for hours; I didn’t know where to go… I knew no one, I had no friends but all I wanted was to put in enough distance between me and Golden Moon Pack. But as the lonely road stretched, Lucas’s warning echoed in my mind.

“Don’t leave, Lily. You don’t know what’s out there,”.

For a moment, I wondered if it was because he still cared or because he was under duress by Vanessa and my father but the memory of how cold his eyes were as he stood by while the Alpha – my own father- banished me, squashed the thoughts.

“There can’t be anything worse out there than what I’m leaving behind,” I muttered to myself, trying to fight the fear that was slowly creeping into my heart.

As I drove, a shrill chirping caught my attention. Sticking my head outside the window of my car to check, I noticed a flock of birds following my car. Their cries seemed almost frantic, as if they were trying to warn me of something and it was strange to see white birds at this time of the night.

Sticking my head back inside, I grumbled “Great, just what I need. Feathered stalkers,” I eyed them warily, hoping they wouldn’t leave their droppings on my car. Several times, I stuck out my hand and tried to shoo them away but it didn’t work either. Giving up, I continued driving.

Finally, I drove through the pack border and into the dense forest that laid in front of it. An eerie silence filled the night, the birds that had been following me seemed to have faded into the darkness. All that was left, was the noise of my rickety car and the eerie silence.

The hairs at the back of my neck stood on its end, my finger tightened on the wheel as my eyes darted from tree to tree, scanning for any of movement. Stories of the forest filled with Wild Werebear, Mountain Lions, Werecats or even Werefoxes and who knows what else could be lurking in the shadows and it didn’t help that I didn’t have a wolf of my own making me feel painfully vulnerable.

I tried to drive as fast at my car could go when suddenly, a twig snapped somewhere in the darkness. My heart doubled its pounding as my foot instinctively pressed harder on the gas. The car surged forward but it didn’t seem to be going as fast as I wanted. I wound up the windows and continued driving, so focused ahead that I almost missed the flash of movement in my rearview mirror. Almost…

My heart leaped into my throat as I caught the massive sizes of wolves racing through the trees behind me. I peered closer discovering they were werewolves. In the mirror, I squinted, trying to check if I would be able to identify their packs but I couldn’t pause long enough to stare. I was driving.

But they were wolves alright and they were gaining fast on me.

“No, no, no,” I chanted, panic rising in my chest. This couldn’t be happening. I’d just left our pack land and I hadn’t noticed them. So, where did they all come from?

A snarl ripped through the quiet forest, closer than I’d expected. I screamed as a hulking figure launched itself at my car, massive paw landing on the hood with enough force to dent the metal.

Time seemed to slow as I locked eyes with the beast. Its lips were pulled back in a vicious snarl, yellow fangs gleamed in the moonlight that peaked through the trees in the forest. This wasn’t a pack wolf – it had no mark on its forehead.

I froze - It was a Rogue!

And from the gleam in its eyes and sinister smile that curved on its lips and the way it was thumping on my windshield, I knew it was trying to kill me.

The windshield of my car cracked as it landed on it with the cracks spreading like spiderwebs across the glass and I knew it was only a matter of second before it shattered completely.

Suddenly, I came alive. Acting on pure instinct, I jerked the wheel hard to the left. The car swerved violently, as the tires screeched in protest. The sudden movement caught the wolve off guard, sending it tumbling off the hood and into the road.

But my victory was short-lived. The ones behind me were running almost side by side with my car. More wolves emerged from the forest, I could hear them snapping at the car’s tires, their thunderous paws and the hungry growls that filled the night air was all the indication I needed to confirm I was supposed to be their feast tonight.

Tears streamed down my face as I pushed the old car to its limits. My eyes shifted to the gas gauge – it was running low. Suddenly, the engine hissed, whining in protest, it was overheating, but I couldn’t slow down. Not now. Now when death was at my door.

“Please!” I sobbed though I wasn’t sure who I was begging. The moon goddess? The universe? Anyone who would listen. “Please, I can’t die like this,”.