Chapter Three

Harvey's POV

I was walking through a forest at night. The atmosphere was eerily quiet and there seemed to not be any sign of life apart from myself. The trees were tall but all of them barely had leaves and I also couldn't tell what kind of trees they were.

I shivered as a gust of wind blew over me, the temperature was dropping. Where was I? How did I get here? But most importantly; how do I leave this place?

"Hello?!" I called out and paused in my steps as the sound of my voice echoed. Was it normal for voices to echo in a forest?

"Is anyone there?!"

No answer after the echo. Just eerie silence.

I thought of shifting into my wolf so I could be alert in case there was danger lurking around but immediately dismissed the idea because I didn't even know how to fight so it honestly made no difference if I was in wolf form or not.

I resumed walking again, shivering from the cold and from fear. Suddenly, thick fog began forming around the forest. It kept thickening until I could no longer see what was in front of me.

No, this wasn't a good sign at all

But for some reason, I kept on walking. Squinting hard to try and see through the thick fog. I let out a gasp when I suddenly bumped into something hard.

I staggered back in shock. What was that? I totally hadn't seen anything, perhaps it was just a tree?

I was about walking around the supposed tree when I heard a voice

"There you are, I finally found you"

I froze, the voice had come from the tree. Was this some kind of magical forest were trees talked?

No way. What the hell was I thinking? It was definitely a person

"Is.....Is someone there?" I asked, trying to keep my voice firm and not show that I was afraid. Suddenly, all the fog began to disperse the same way it had formed and I could see clearly again, I held back a scream when an unfamiliar face appeared before me.

It was a woman, she had long ginger coloured hair and light freckles that spread from her left under eye, across her nose and all the way to her right under eye. But it wasn't these features that scared the hell out of me as I stared at her in horror.

It was her eyes.

Her pupils were pitch black and dilated in a very abnormal way as she stared unblinkingly at me. I felt like she could see into my soul with the amount of intensity with which she was staring at me.

Slowly, the right side of her plump lips pulled up into a menacing smirk

I instinctively stepped back a little, eyeing her warily

"Who.....Who are you?" I stuttered and her evil smirk widened

She tilted her head

"Me? I'm your worst nightmare. The one who's going to destroy you"

My eyes widened as her once normal fingernails gradually extended into sharp claws. I screamed as she suddenly lunged at me with her claws. I dodged her attack and took off running as fast as my legs could go, I didn't dare look back.

Her evil laugh echoed through the forest and I quickly looked behind me, she wasn't there. I turned back around and skidded to a stop as I saw her standing right in front of me

I fell back on my behind in shock and she cackled

"Did you really think you could escape me?" she taunted as I kept moving back

"Leave me alone, stay back!" I cried in a frantic voice and she cackled again

"You will never be able to hide. Wherever you go, I'll find you. My revenge WILL be complete!" she hissed and raised her claw, ready to take a swipe at me.

I screamed and lifted my arms in an attempt to shield myself when I suddenly jolted awake.

I was panting and sweating profusely. I glanced quickly around and heaved a deep sigh of relief when I saw I was in Zach's room, on his bed. His familiar scent that filled the room made my tense muscles begin to relax.

It had been nothing but a dream. But it had felt so real, just like all the other dreams I had had before.

The last time I had had such a vivid dream was two years ago after I had dreamt about Zach being my mate. Since then, I hadn't dreamt of anything at all in my sleep.

Until now.

I unconsciously shivered as I recalled everything that happened in the dream. No, that most definitely wasn't a dream. It was a full fledged nightmare, a very big one.

Who was the red-headed woman and why was she trying to kill me? I hoped that this would just be a nightmare and not a premonition on what was to happen.

I threw the bedcovers off my body and slid out of the bed, pulling away the strands of hair that were stuck to my forehead because of how much I had been sweating. I quietly opened the door to Zach's room and peeped out. Nobody was in the hallway but I could hear muffled voices coming from downstairs, presumably the living room.

I tiptoed all the way to the beginning of the stairs and stood there, straining my ears. I was right, the people talking were in the living room. I couldn't tell how many they were or who they were yet so I listened even closer, making sure to stay absolutely still so I wouldn't make a sound.

"You promised me that you wouldn't freak out but Harvey totally passed out when she heard the news"

I immediately recognized kayden's voice.

"I'm sure she was just shocked. We weren't expecting the news to be about a dead person, especially a wolf" This was Zach speaking

They were talking about what happened earlier. I shivered again as kayden's words echoed in my mind. Our border patrol had found the dead body of a werewolf who had been brutally attacked with some of his organs gone.

"Who was the dead wolf? Has he been identified? Was he a member of our pack?" Zach asked

"No, luckily he wasn't our pack member" Kayden replied

"So he was a rogue?" Zach queried again

"No he wasn't a rogue. He was a member of the Crimson Claw pack"

My eyes widened at the same time I heard Zach suck in a sharp breath. The dead wolf had been a Crimson Claw pack member? What had he been doing around our border?

"But what was he doing so close to our border?" Zach voiced my confusion

"He was coming to our pack to visit a friend of his, I'm guessing that was when he got attacked by whatever the hell it was that did that to him"

"By the way, have dad and our pack warriors figured out what killed him?"

I heard Kayden sigh deeply

"No, they're still trying to figure it out. But whatever it was, it's big and definitely strong. Strong enough to take down a male wolf from the Crimson Claw pack"

"Perhaps it was another werewolf?"

"Yeah, perhaps. But we need to be sure. Dad has reached out to the Alpha of the Crimson Claw pack and told him about what happened. He's waiting to get a response, hopefully they can help us get to the bottom of this faster to avoid more deaths"

I decided I had heard enough and stomped down the stairs, making my footsteps as loud as possible so they would be able to hear me coming. I walked into the living room and met them both on their feet already, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Hi" I breathed and Zach quickly rushed up to me before engulfing me in a tight hug. I hugged him back just as tight

He pulled away and cupped my face gently in his hands

"You had me worried, I'm so glad you're awake" he rasped and I placed my palm over his

"I'm sorry for making you worried"

"How do you feel? Do you still feel faint? Here, come sit let me get you something to eat and drink"

I shook my head

"No, don't worry about it. I have to go home anyway so I'll just eat when I get home"

"Are you sure?" Zach asked and I nodded

"Yeah, I'm very sure"

"Okay, if you insist" he sighed "But I'll walk you home"

I shrugged "Fine by me"

Kayden stepped forward a little and I turned to him

He smiled warily

"You sure you're okay, sis? You took quite a fall when you fainted"

I chuckled at the way he always called me "Sis" because he knew that Zach and I were mates and that means I would one day marry into the family and become his sister-in-law.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm a werewolf, remember?"

We all chuckled

"That you are" Kayden mused before we heard a door open loudly from upstairs

"Kayden! Get up here, I need you!" Alpha Scott's voice bellowed

"Okay, I'll be right up!" Kayden called back to him and we heard the door shut again.

I turned to Zach

"I didn't know your dad was home"

Zach merely shrugged

"I have to go, see you lovebirds later. Remember not to stray past the border for now" Kayden said and we nodded before he walked past us and hurried upstairs.

Zach draped an arm over my shoulders and pulled me close to him before planting a kiss on my forehead

"I'll walk you home" he murmured and I smiled

"Let's go"

* Six Hours Later *

I was seated at my desk in my room at home with my sketchbook. I was sketching the face of the scary redhead I had dreamt about. I wasn't exactly a master at drawing but my art teacher in high school had often told me I was really good at drawing portraits and landscapes.

I made sure to capture every detail about her face, starting from her ginger coloured hair, to her perfectly pointed nose, her light freckles and her plump lips. But most of all, those terrifying black eyes that looked demonic.

I was adding the finishing touches to her eyes when I heard the front door to the house open, followed by loud footsteps and then voices.

I pushed my chair back and got on my feet before quickly running out of my room and going downstairs. I headed straight for the kitchen where I knew they would be and found them talking in hushed tones as dad sipped from a can of beer

"Dad, you're home" I greeted and he walked to me, pulling me into a brief side hug

"Yes I am, pup" he replied in his gruff voice

"You look exhausted" I noted, seeing his bloodshot eyes and messy hair.

He exhaled deeply "It was a long and difficult day"

"Where have you been though? You weren't at the Alpha's house" I asked as we moved to the living room and sat down

"I was there twice today but I'm just coming from our pack's border"

"Were you helping border patrol out with the body?" I inquired again and they both turned to me with wide eyes

"Harvey!" mum gasped "How do you know what happened?"

"I was with Zach when Jackson rushed over to tell the Alpha. We overheard them" I lied and they both shared a glance

"Well, the Alpha has called a general pack meeting tomorrow to tell everyone not to go beyond our border for now until we're sure that it's safe" dad said and I bit my lip

"The Luna told me that Alpha Scott has informed the Alpha of the Crimson Claw pack about what happened" mum uttered and dad nodded as he sipped his beer

"Yeah, I was there"

I sat up straighter

"And what was the Crimson Claw Alpha's response? Will he help?"

"Of course he'll help, it was a member of his pack after all. He said he'll be paying us a visit, he'll be here in two days" dad replied and I inhaled sharply

The Crimson Claw's Alpha was coming to our pack in two days time which just happens to also be my birthday.

The day I would turn eighteen.

The day I would acknowledge my mate.