001: No More Hibiscus Pack

The air was heavy with acrid smoke and blood. Fire licked the sky, casting an unearthly glow upon the ruined clearing. Eyes wide in disbelief, Hazel stood rigid at the edge of what used to be her home.

There was no more Hibiscus Pack.

She clutched at the edge of a tree, her nails digging into the bark, as shallow gasps escaped from her mouth. Among the carnage lay her parents. Her father, the Alpha, had crumpled at the steps to the pack house, his powerful body drained of life, his chest slickens with crimson. The slight form of his wife was crumpled beside him, sprawled in a way that even in death seemed to reach for the last touch of her husband's side.

The attackers moved with swift, deadly efficiency, faces covered in dark hoods, growls and orders lost within crackling wood to wails of pack mates too slow to attempt an escape. Her legs just about went from under her as if to buckle. This wasn't happening.

Her home, her family, her whole world destroyed. Why? How have things turned this way? In just a day, she had become an orphan, her parents were gone! 

A soft rustling in the back jerked her out of her trance. Whipping around, she jammed deeper into the shadows of the forest.

"She's out there. I can smell her," growled a deep voice.

"Find her," replied another, colder and sharper, "she is the last one, the Alpha's daughter; we cannot let her get away."

Her heart raced. They were looking for her. “They know I’m here.” She didn’t need to think twice. Survival instincts kicked in, and she began to move. She had to run, she was the only survivor and she couldn't let herself fall. 

Carefully, she shifted her weight, her bare feet sliding silently over the forest floor. The undergrowth was dense, the leaves damp with evening dew. She stepped lightly, her movements careful, until her foot snagged on a hidden root.

The twig snapped loudly.

"There!" one yelled. "Don't let her get away!"

The panic washed over her, and drowned out the grief laced with disbelief as she bolted to run; strawberry-blonde hair whipped behind her. Her lungs were burning, her body weaving through trees, shouting from her pursuers ringing in her ears.

"She's going into the forest!"

"Cut her off!"

The woods were like an interlocking maze of shadows and whispers. With a thudding heart against her chest, under the low-hanging branches, she bowed down; undergrowth scratched against her legs. She just could not let them catch her, or else all that her parents fought for would be in vain.

She was panting in ragged gasps, her eyes darting frantically for a place to hide. The forest was endless-a sprawling labyrinth of trees and darkness. Every step felt heavier; her limbs shook with exhaustion and fear.

Somewhere behind her, an angry voice barked, "Spread out! She can't have gone far!"

Aching through her legs, the bare feet protesting every jagged rock and gnarled root, could not avail to stop her; she would not stop. It was what would come from behind should she be caught that kept her head up, pressing onward.

She ran, her legs pumping, and flung herself into a thick bush that closed over her head like a barrier. She crouched low, her chest heaving while she struggled for quieter breaths. The shouts fell away into a general shout of pursuit, growing softer and farther away.

For the moment, she was safe.

But the safety wrapping around her did little for the ache in her chest. Behind her eyes flashed images of the destruction of her pack, the fire, the screams, and her parents' lifeless bodies. She clamped a hand over her mouth to smother sobs as tears streamed down her face.

Why did that happen? And who could these attackers be? What did they want? The Hibiscus Pack wasn't a threat to anybody. They all lived together, kept in their territory, and never arranged superfluous fights, they were so peaceful, so lovely. 

Her fingers curled into the dirt as a wave of despair washed over her anew. She had been lucky-no, unlucky, to be out this day. She had gone into the city for supplies, an errand her mother had insisted on. If she hadn't, she would have been there when the attack started. She could have fought, could have died with her family.

A strangled sob broke from her lips. Maybe it would have been better to have stayed, to fight, to die.

The thought was cold and heavy, an anchor weighing down in her skull, but it was very rapidly replaced by another. No! I cannot let this be my end. I'm the last of the Hibiscus Pack. The last hope. To die and let them win that easily?

She wiped her face with shaky hands, forcing herself to sit up straight. The surrounding forest was quiet; the bedlam of her flight was long behind her now. She had lost her pack, but she lived. And so long as one breath remained, so did hope for restoration.

But how? She was just one wolf, barely an adult, with no allies, no resources, and no plan. Despair threatened to overwhelm her again, but she shoved it down. She couldn’t afford to wallow. Not now.

She clenched her fists, her nails biting into her palms. “I’ll survive,” she whispered to herself. “For them. For my parents. For the pack.”

It was a resolve unfamiliar in her voice, but it steadied her. She would not let the Hibiscus name die.

The leaves rustled around her in a sudden gust of wind. She straightened and her eyes scanned the shadows, high on alert.

A twig snapped near. Her breath caught. They found me.

She scrambled to her feet and was instantly on her haunches, ready to take off running once more. The forest seemed to fold in around her, the darkness weighing on her like a living, breathing entity.

The noise came again, this time closer. Footfalls.

And then, behind that, a voice. Low, threatening, and much too close.

"Did you think you could hide from us, little Alpha?"

Her blood ran cold.