Chapter One

Three Years Later

~Mel~

I stared at myself in the mirror, particularly at the scar that would always be a reminder of a time in my life when I had trusted so blindly. No matter how many times I wished, hoped on the moon goddess that my life would have ended with Hannah’s that night, it never came true.

“Hey. Hurry up in there.” 

I snapped back to reality, blinking away the tears that had become a daily routine for the last three years. 

Everything went black after that moment the silver bullet went straight into me. It was meant to kill me but instead, it ended up killing my wolf so here I was, half of me lost forever and the other half broken. Nothing was the same after that. My mother sent me away to my father in another country to continue schooling. In her words it was to protect me from going down the road I was on that would end with me getting killed.

Well I was almost killed. I should be dead. I wanted to be dead.

The loud banging came again making me remember where I was or where I shouldn’t be. I pushed the door open and the person at the other end shot me a dirty glare before pushing past me into the bathroom.

I let out a sigh, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. I had another class but truly, I couldn’t deal with it so I decided to go home.

To my deadbeat drunk father.  

I will probably get to a point where I have to explain the dynamics of my parents but that will be a story for another time. Maybe my head wasn’t hurting this much. All that is important to know is that by the time I reached the house, like usual Nathaniel as I so affectionately called him would probably be in a corner passed out in his own vomit.

The universe just takes pleasure in being against me because the moment I opened the door to the rundown apartment I shared with him, my father was upright on his feet, throwing a bunch of things into a bag.

“Nathaniel, what is going on?”

He moved past me like he didn’t see me. He continued packing things, looking around frantically like something was coming for him.

“Nathaniel!” I raised my voice and that seemed to do the trick. His head snapped in my direction. I moved closer to him not taking my eyes off the bag, “Where are you going? Why are you packing clothes and all our stuff?”

For a moment he didn’t say anything like he was contemplating whether to tell me or not. If I cared enough for anything anymore, I would have rolled my eyes. So much for father daughter trust.

I began to move away heading to my room since he clearly wasn’t going to tell me but his voice stopped me. It was shaky and low, “I screwed up, Melody. I screwed up really bad.”

My head turned back to face him, “You always screw up. It’s been the only thing you’ve done since I was born so why is this any different?”

That was a low blow, I know but he deserved it. My words didn’t affect him, instead he continued packing, this time more erratically than before. I hadn’t noticed it before but his hands were shaking severely.

“Nathaniel, what did you do?”

He looked up at me, zipping the bag, “If they come looking for me, tell them you don’t know where I am. Tell them you do not even know me.”

Those words had a little ounce of care seep right into my brain cells. “Who is they? What did you do?”

He ignored my question, slinging the bag over his shoulder. It wasn’t until this moment I realized that particular act was something I got from him. He paused when he got to the door, his hand on the knob, “Take care of yourself, Melody. You have always been strong.”

What the hell? Was he really leaving? And was supposed to be his goodbye speech? 

The thought barely had time to register in my head because the door opened before he could leave and in the next second, he was sent flying backwards, his body slamming into the wall, the contents of the bag scattering all around him.

I stood frozen in place as three men in black suits poured into the apartment. This has to be some kind of sick reenactment of Deja vu except this time, there were no guns in sight, only extended claws with each of them having expressions of murder.

Werewolves and their murderous glares were directed right at my father.

Without wasting another second, my feet moved on their own accord and I found myself between my bleeding father and three glinting pairs of claws. I managed to find my voice, “Stay away from him.”

I had no idea why I was defending him. Perhaps it’s because I had been wishing I had truly died that night three years ago, somehow this looked like a way to make that wish come true.

The man in the middle spoke with a low growl, “Get out of the way little girl or I’ll let you watch as I rip his head from his shoulders then I will kill you.”

I swallowed visibly. This is where I should have stepped aside, after all Nathaniel had never truly done anything for me. He had clearly offended these people which was why he was about to run.

“Use your head, Mel. Step aside.”

I could practically hear Hannah’s whisper in my head. Just like I had for the last three years. Sometimes, it felt so loud, so tangible, so real like she was actually there. Unfortunately like in the past, I chose not to listen.

Standing to my feet, I faced the three of them head on. If I was going to die, it would never be like before where I looked like a desperate mess begging on my knees.

No.

“Then go ahead. What are you waiting for?” I dared them. My voice was surprisingly steady even though my entire being was shaking from the inside out.

“Melody.” I heard my father’s faint voice whisper behind me.

The one in the middle moved instantly. His hands shot out, wrapping tightly against my neck, claws digging deep into my skin. With the force he used, my feet left the ground. I couldn’t feel the blood gush out of my neck. This was it. What I had wished for for the past three years.

It was finally happening. I didn’t care that  I would die from strangulation by a man I did not know because of a man I didn’t barely even loved.

It was all going to be fine. I would finally see Hannah. Tell her how sorry I was. I felt the light slowly fade away, this time, it felt more peaceful than chaotic.

And then the sound came…

One... two... three... 

The sudden clapping stopped. I could physically feel  the shift in the air before he materialized.

Carmine Moreno.

I was already losing a lot of blood yet in actuality, I felt all the blood drain from my body. Everything in me stopped moving. 

His dark eyes didn’t leave my face when he spoke his first words, “Leave her.”

Instantly, the air returned to my lungs as I fell to the ground gasping. I tried to shuffle backwards hearing the sound of his shoe hitting the ground as he approached me.

I didn’t know who these men were. If I had known they worked for him, I would have listened to that faint voice in my head and ran hard and fast.

I knew who he was before I arrived in this country. It was important that lone wolves like Hannah and I learned about the hierarchy of the most powerful packs and who not to cross.

He came up on the top of the most feared. Not just in the supernatural world. He ruled the underground world too. A deadly combination of guns and claws. It was rumored that he ripped out hearts if a person just took the wrong breath in his direction.

Carmine Moreno or as he was known across all factions— The Demon Wolf.

It was already obvious the universe hated me because of all the places I could have ended up, it was right in the country where he ruled from.

Carmine Moreno’s name was spoken in whispers around the halls of my school. Even Nathaniel had specifically warned me to stay away from anything that would ever lead me to be in his line of focus when I first arrived.  I guess my father was as bad as a parent as he was at taking his own advice because I was right there.

In his line of focus and his beautiful golden eyes had not left my face. I was going to die anyway so I had to be honest about the facts. 

Carmine Moreno was a beautiful man. 

His lips titled to the corner in a smile. A dangerously beautiful smile that had been gasping for more air then he squatted until he was face to face with me, “You should have ran, little girl.”

The words seemed to cackle the air around us, making me blink unsteadily. The smile fell off his face the next second turning into a blank mask but still his eyes didn’t leave mine as he gave the order that yet again was about to make my wish come true.

“Kill him. Make it slow.”

His eyes bore into mine, “Let her watch every second.” He leaned closer, his voice a chilling whisper, “Then bring her to me. She’ll beg for death long before I’m done.”