Chapter 1

Emmy POV

Fifteen years ago (Seven years old)

         It’s the day after Mama’s funeral. She got sick from the plague that kills werewolves who have a fated mate. She and Father said this day would come. There have been so many funerals in our pack over the last couple of years, but Mama’s was the saddest.  

         Our house has had so many people from our pack coming in and out. I’m tired of talking to people. I decided to stay in my room and practice on my chess board. Father says I show a knack for the game. 

A soft knock on my bedroom door takes my focus off the pieces.

         “Come in!” I call to the other side of the door.

         “Sweetheart,” my father’s gentle voice says from my doorway. I can see the sadness in his eyes. “What are you doing alone in your room, Emerald? The rest of your sisters are downstairs,” he asks me, but he isn’t angry. He sits down in the seat across from me and waits for me to answer.

         “I don’t feel like being around people right now, Father. I’m enjoying the quiet for a little while,” I say to him as I rest my head in both my hands on the table. My long hair falls in front of my face. 

My father lets out a soft laugh and brushes my hair behind my ears.

         “You’ve always been wise beyond your years,” he says. His dark, brown eyes are shiny with unshed tears, but he is still smiling. “How about we play a quick game, then we head downstairs? Deal?” Father asks as he begins putting the chess pieces back in their starting positions.

         “You’re better than me, Father. You’ll win,” I say with a sigh.

         “Emerald Patience Stone…” 

    Whenever our father said our entire names, that meant we were about to get taught a lesson. I sat up straight in my chair, giving him my full attention. 

    “If you go into a situation expecting defeat, you may as well never try. Chess is all about strategy. Whoever has the best strategy, and whoever can out-think their opponent, wins. So, tell me, Emerald, do you have a strategy in mind?” he asks me as he raises one of his thick, brown eyebrows. My sisters and I would joke with him and Mama that his eyebrows look like fuzzy caterpillars; the thought makes me giggle.

         “Yes, Father. I have a plan,” I say between my giggles.

         “Good! Then let’s play. You have the first move.”

         I reach for my queen’s pawn and move it forward two spaces.

Three years later

         “Father, we can’t leave you! Why do we have to go?!” my older sister, Daya, shouts as Father leads us out of our home. He had us all pack our things last night. He said we all would be leaving, and that the five of us would be going with different members of his pack.

         “Diamond, it is not safe here anymore! You all must leave,” Father says sternly as he runs his hand through his thick, black hair that has started to develop gray streaks. 

       Daya frowns and puts her hands on her hips. “Father, I want to stay. I can help you protect the pack from any danger. Andre and Ophelia have been training me. I will get my wolf soon. I can help fight!” Daya shouts as she stomps her feet. 

    Our younger sisters, Amy and Pearl are getting agitated from their shouting. I see their lips trembling. Me, and our other sister, Saph, do our best to comfort the two.

    “Diamond Joy Stone, enough! I have said what I said! It is done and decided! You all must leave. The house is empty. Nobody will see you five leaving. You will go with Andre and Ophelia. They will continue your training. I have complete faith that you will become the strongest warrior and lead an entire army one day,” Father says to Daya. 

    He is now kneeling in front of her, holding her wrists so she can’t run away. Daya is so headstrong and stubborn. Her eyes soften and tears begin to escape them.

   “Who am I going with, Father?” I ask timidly. 

     As the second oldest, I try to be brave, but I’m only ten, and Daya has always been a natural protector. 

     Father shifts his weight, so he is now facing me. He holds my face in both his hands and tucks my unruly hair behind my ears. “Emerald, my sweetheart, you’re going with Gamma Milo. He will tell you where you two are going once you leave. I cannot know in case people try to ask me. I don’t want people to find you- any of you.”

         “It’s like hide and seek, Father!” Amy shouts with a goofy smile on her face. I roll my eyes at her constant need to play games.

         “Yes, my darling. It is exactly like hide and seek. You can’t come out from where you are hiding until it’s safe,” Father says to her as he pokes her nose, making her giggle.

         “This doesn’t sound like the best strategy, Father,” I say as I cross my arms, my face pouting and I just stare at the tiled floor.

         “My sweet Emerald. This is the best strategy for now. I trust you will always have a way of seeing the best plan for everyone when you’re older. Always remember that we can only plan for so much, and at some point, we just have to have hope that things will work out for the best,” he says to me as he tilts my face up so I’m looking him in the eyes. I simply nod my head. He kisses my forehead and then pulls my four sisters into his arms for one final hug with all five of us.

         “Always have hope that we will find each other again, my darlings.”