Chapter One Kodessa POV

Kodessa Keneallyś long tanned legs entwined around the old Beech tree; she reached out towards the rosette of leaves with her basket in one hand. She bit her bottom lip and extended her arm, the leaves dancing with her fingertips.

“Stop being a baby and get them”, I  muttered to myself. Then, with a final push, I lunged forward and snatched the glossy dark leaves. 

Suddenly my legs let go of the grasp they had on the trunk, and I propelled forward. “No”, I shrieked. As I hurtled towards the damp forest floor below.

 Fenris and Fleki Grey were skylarking through the Beechwood Forest, laughing and teasing, the brothers, without realising, had veered over the boundary lines. 

“Quiet’, Fenis whispered. “Did you hear that?” 

He closed his eyes and listened carefully to the forest around him.

“Hear what, Fenis?” “I have not heard a thing” he retorted, shaking his head in frustration.

 “Follow me, brother”, Fenis yelled as he took off deeper into the forest. 

I landed with a hard thud at the tree’s base in the wet moss below.

Leaves and herbs were scattered all around from the fall.  Tentatively I started to sit up, But as I did, a wave of nausea swept over me, and the world around became black.

Fenis had been learning how to shadow since he was able to walk. His ability to listen and move with the forest had exceeded the other members of the pack. He sniffed the air as he reached the ancient beech tree.

 A new, unfamiliar scent was radiating from the direction of the old tree. He slowly crept forwards, eyes sweeping from left to right. And then he heard a groan and saw a body laying on its back under the tree.

Fleki was hot on Fenisś tail, the younger of the two brothers by six whole minutes.  They both had raven black wavy hair and their mother's eyes, brown with flecks of gold that glittered in the sunlight. Fleki was an inch shorter than his twin, with a leaner, sinewy muscular body, and his face had hardened with feelings of inadequacy.

 It always seemed he was trailing behind Fenis. As hard as he tried, he always felt smaller, weaker. What came naturally to Fenis, Fleki had to work a whole lot harder, and as hard as he tried for it not to happen, jealousy burned through his veins like wildfire. A tiny spark from childhood had ignited a flame that has burned ever since. 

Fenis had a kindness to him, an aura that drew people in. He was carefree and powerfully built, with a voice that commanded attention and presence that demanded respect. Fenis, by six whole minutes, was born to be the alpha of the Greysteel Pack, and Fleki, born 6 minutes too late, would always be his brothers beta. Fleki always feared that when his father, the imposing Darius Grey, handed the pack to his brother, that the fire raging around inside him would engulf them all.

Fleki finally caught up to his brother and bumped into him, sending both boys crashing through the undergrowth. 

"Who in the hell is that ?” Fleki exclaimed as his eyes came across the girl. 

"I have no idea “, said Fenis.

Both boys approached the figure, lying still,  her long auburn hair lay across her face, 

“I think she is dead”., Fleki whispers, 

“No, I can hear her heart beating.”

Rubbing my eyes as they opened, briefly blinded by the late afternoon sun beaming through the forest canopy above where I lay. I squinted, and when my eyes finally focussed, I realised a pair of eyes glistening with gold, and long black lashes that curled upwards, so intensity that made me gasp, were staring right back at me.

“Please don't hurt me “. 

 Frantically I started searching the ground for something to protect myself with. Then, realising my search was futile, I abruptly sat up, trying to muster as much dignity as I could.

“We aren’t going to hurt you”, states Fenis, exasperated by the notion.

“If we were going to hurt you, you would be hurt by now “! Fleki hissed between gritted teeth.  

"Stop, you're scaring her, Fleki; Fenis glared at his brother. 

“Oh fine”, Fleki blushed, angered to be reprimanded in front of a stranger. 

"This is Fenis, and more importantly, I’m Fleki”.

The forest became unnaturally quiet as tension rose between the two brothers. Flekiś face became dark as the anger started to boil over. How dare Fenis chastise him like he was a child in front of a stranger. Fenis looked at his brother shocked at how quickly the mood had changed.

He had experienced the wrath of Flekiś dark side since childhood, Little things had turned to big things. He feared as the year went on his brother was fighting a battle inside him and losing.

“I should be going”, I stammered, attempting to stand. 

Not wanting to be involved in whatever was going on between them.

 Pain shot up my leg faster than I could blink, and for the second time that day, I was falling. A jolt of electricity coursed through us both as his fingertips touched my waist. Our eyes met and I could see the confusion on his face, which confirmed he felt it too. I felt the strength in his arms as they encircled me and he drew me into his chest. 

“Got you,” Fenis reassured me as he gently sat me down. 

“Letś have a look at that ankle”.  Calloused hands removed my boot as I winced. A dark purple bruise had started to form. 

"Can you move it ?” he questioned. I slowly moved my foot in small circular motions. “Doesn’t seem to be broken. It looks to be just a bad sprain.” 

“Are you going to tell us your name?” Fleki demanded as he folded his arms across his chest and stared defiantly.

“Kodessa”, I stammered “, Kodessa Keneally”,

 “My father will be looking for me. Thank you for your help, but you must be going, for I fear you are trespassing”.

A wave of recognition swept over Fenis’s face like a dark cloud enshrouding the sun on a summer's day. And a second later, Fleki pondered on where he had heard the name Keneally and why the name brought shivers to his skin. And as quickly as lightning strikes, The brothers realised where they had heard the name Keneally before.

Fenis looked at Kodessa and then back to Fleki. 

“We need to leave now “, Fleki declared, “it's not safe for us to be here. It's not safe to be near her"

 “ I mean it, Fenis. We need to leave this cursed place.

“I know we do, Fleki. But look at her. She cannot walk on her ankle. We need to take her home!" Fenis replied as he walked towards Fleki and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. 

Fleki pushed his hand away from his shoulder.

“Take her home” “Brother, have you lost your mind”? He angrily questioned, “We cannot go anywhere near her damn home”."They will kill us both".

“I most certainly do not need any help from you two”, I replied 

Leaning against the tree, trying to figure out how to get home by myself— confused as to why they were suddenly so afraid.

 “See”, Fleki yelled as he pushed his brother's hand from his shoulder, “She said she is fine ! And we need to leave. We don't help her kind Fenis”.

 “My kind, What the hell do you mean by my kind?” I spat at him. “And for the second time, since you both clearly have an issue with hearing, I do not need your help to get home”."And MY KIND is not cold-blooded killers "!

Fenis, ``You know I am right”, Fleki implored, “she is a Crimson Shadow”.

“Wait ….. “What, how do you know that?  “What pack do you belong to?”

Before he could answer me, a howl rang out across the forest, followed by the echoes of footprints. It was a howl I had heard my whole life, the howl of my father.

” Fleki run” urged Fenis as the wind blew a new scent into his nostrils, and this one was the smell of danger. 

Tales told him as a child that he had always thought were non-truths, used to keep the children fearful of wandering over the boundary. He now knew that the Crimson Shadow Pack existed. And that he would never be the same again after encountering Kodessa Keneally. He was also well aware that they were both in mortal danger. Were the stories of the savagery of her pack true? 

He turned and looked into Kodessaś blue eyes one last time,  broke into a sprint, and this time it was he who would follow his brother out of the forest.