CHAPTER THREE: THE ROGUE WOLF

The growl sent a chill down my spine, and I pressed myself against the wall, seeking some form of shelter. I was taut with fear, and my hands began to shake.

My pulse thundered in my ears, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the glowing eyes that stood at the window. This was no ordinary wolf. It’s presence felt different, more menacing, and very powerful.

My breath hitched as I reached for the small hunting knife that my grandmother always kept under the bed. There was no guarantee that it was still there, since grandma had died two years ago.

Thankfully, it was still there. My fingers fumbled around blindly, and then I pulled it free from the leather sheath. In my state, I could not fight, and if I tried, I would probably die from the effort.

My wolf was gone, and I was prone to attacks now. I was the wolfless girl, and a target for dangerous rogue wolves. For a moment, I thought about stepping out and surrendering myself to being torn into bits and pieces by the rogue wolf, but then shook the thought out of my head. 

“Who’s there?” I called out, although my voice was shaky. “Show yourself!!” I half yelled.

The growling stopped, and I could hear the faint rustling of the wind through the leaves. Then the door opened. The small cabin seemed too small as I saw his silhouette. 

My heart leaped into my throat, and I tightened my grip on the knife. “I’m warning you. I’m not afraid to use this.” I shouted, trying to sound braver than I felt. 

The man stepped into the dim light of the cabin, mounted at the opposite end of the room. The cabin was small and the only prominent piece of furniture was the bed. He wasn’t a wolf, at least not in this form.

He was tall, broad shouldered, and dressed in black, his eyes glowing with the same glow I’d seen outside. His eyes went to the knife in my hand, and then back to my face, like he was trying to decide what to do with me.

Then he laughed. A dry humorless laughter. I watched with horror as he walked over to the other side of the bed, totally ignoring me and picking up the old lamp. 

I didn’t need further prompting. My eyes darted from the man to the entrance of the cabin, as my fingers dug into my skin. A thousand thoughts raced through my head. I had to escape. This man looked dangerous enough.

Without the last of my strength, I pulled myself to my feet, and then before I could think about how fast he was or if he could chase after me, or if I could survive the chase, I ran out of the cabin and into the dark woods.

I ran blindly, the wind howling around me, and biting into my skin. Each step made the pain worse. The pain in my chest was tightening like a noose, as I clutched my dress stained with my parents blood, and bunched it up at my knees.

I was reminded about my wolf, and how without her, I was a shell exposed and forced to wander the woods without my wolf’s strength. I stumbled over a root but caught myself before I hit the ground. 

But as I pushed forward, still blindly, a sharp pain shot through my leg, and then I lost my footing, and stumbled to my knees. “Damn it!” I gritted my teeth in pain, forcing myself not to scream as I clutched my ankle.

This was just my luck. I was injured and alone, and being chased after by a rogue wolf. I resigned myself to resignation, and sat there waiting for him. What was the point of running anyway? I would not get far.

I felt it before I saw it. 

An unfamiliar chill ran down my spine, and the hair at the back of my neck stood on end. My head snapped up, sensing danger. The presence in the air was different from the rogue wolf chasing me.

I tensed, trying out to pinpoint the source of the change in the air. I panicked briefly hoping that I had not wandered into another pack’s territory.

But then I saw them—sharp green eyes that glowed in the dark, circling me. 

“Rogues,” I breathed, my heart thudding wildly in my chest. I didn’t even bother to hide the cold fear I felt. Without my wolf, I could not sense them, or their wolves, but I still felt their hunger, their predatory intent.

I was sure that they were here for blood, and to kill me. I was an easy prey to them.

Talk about going from frying pan to fire. I could not go back, and I was trapped with these rogues. I scrambled back, trying to put some distance between us, but they advanced, their low growls piercing the night.

The largest one stepped forward, his lips curling back in a snarl, and revealing sharp teeth. Instinctively, I reached for a nearby branch, but I knew that would not do anything to protect me.

I swung the branch frantically, but it didn’t stop him in his tracks like I wanted. “Leave me. I’m not what you’re looking for.”

The rogue let out a bark of laughter, openly mocking me. “Is that so? You don’t have a pack, and you’re out here in the woods alone. It sounds like you are exactly what we’ve been looking for.” He bared his teeth again, menacingly.

The rogue lunged at me, teeth bared and claws out–I felt the sharp sting of his claw as it raked through my leg, drawing blood–then someone slammed into him, knocking him to the ground with a force that made the earth shake.

I blinked in disbelief, but reached out gingerly to touch my abused skin. It was the tall broad shouldered man with glowing yellow eyes from earlier. The one I'd been running away from.

But he looked different under the light of the half moon. His hair was the color of midnight, failing in wild waves around his face. His yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dark, and for a split second, he held my gaze, before turning back to face the rogue wolves that had attacked him.

I stayed where I was, groaning in pain. My body was on fire, and simple movements made  me feel even worse. I watched the stranger as he moved.

He moved with a lethal grace, his muscles rippling under his leather jacket, as he tore into the rogue with claws that gleamed like silver under the moonlight. I would not have stood any chance if he’d attacked me earlier.

Within seconds, the threats were gone, scampering for their lives into the woods with painful whimpers.

He straightened, dusting off his hands, as if fighting down a pack of rogue wolves was a simple task. Finally, he turned to me, and his gaze burned into mine.

“Are you just going to sit there, or say thank you?” His voice was deep, but he had a small smile playing on his lips.

“Who are you?” I still could not bring myself to my feet, but I was doing well trying to hide the tremor in my voice. “Why are you helping me?”

He arched an eyebrow as if the answer was meant to be obvious. “My name is Frey Storm.” He stopped closer, towering over me. For a second, my mind went back to Rafe,and his rejection.

I turned away and let myself fall back to the soft earth, weak, and in emotional and physical pains. I wanted it to stop. I wanted to stop hurting the way I was.

“I helped you because well…” His eyes raked over me, and he hissed through his breath. “You’re in no position to help yourself. Besides, you caught my interest.”

“Interest?” I repeated, narrowing my eyes in suspicion. “You don’t even know me.”

He chuckled again, then continued. “I think you're the one who’s got it all wrong. You don’t know me, but I know you.” his tone darkened and so did the features of his face as he knelt before me.

He was strikingly handsome, but not in the hard commanding way that Rafe was. He was softer and intimidating. “You’re the disgraced daughter of the Crimson Pack, the one who killed her parents, and got exiled.”

His words cut through me, reopening that were barely even closed. “I did not kill them.” My teeth chattered noisily.

“Didn't you? Why are you out here alone, then?” He tilted his head. “Why’s there no one to save you?”

His cockiness angered me, and I pushed back and wiped away the angry tears that slid down my cheeks and then the ones that threatened to fall. “I don’t need saving. Not from you or anyone else.”

His eyes softened, just for a fraction and I thought that I’d imagined it. “It didn’t look like you had it under control.” he made air quotes, and then folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not here to save you, but to give you a choice, Selene.”

“What choice?” I demanded, keeping my voice neutral.

“You can’t keep running, keep hiding and spending the rest of your life as an outcast, and you won’t last long in that cabin, alone.” he said, his voice an octave lower. “Or you can let me stay with you. Teach you how to control that power that is trapped within you. It’s uncomfortable isn’t it?”

Of Course he knew everything about me. By now everyone who was anyone, and even the rogues knew that I’d committed treason.

“I can also help you find out the truth. We can find out what really happened to you.” He added.

The truth.  It was what I wanted, to understand what had happened. For one minute, my life had turned upside down. But I didn’t know if I could trust him. How could I?

His gaze was trained on me, and it was intense. “Come on, what’s it going to be, Selene?”

Before I could respond, a sharp pain shot through my skull. Now I’d experienced my fair share of pain over the past couple of hours, but this was a discovery. I sat up and gasped, clutching my head as a memory from that night filtered back.

“Are you okay, Selene?” Frey was by my side in a second, his eyes narrowed with concern. I was holding eye contact with him, but I could not see him. He was slipping away from my vision, and I was helpless to stop it.

The memory hit me again, in sharper focus,  and this time without remorse, and I screamed into the night. I didn’t care about the rogue wolves roaming the woods or other dangers at that moment. I just wanted the destroying pain to stop. But it didn’t.

The woods faded around me, and before I knew it, I was back at my room, struggling to sit up on the bed. I was in a strange haze, and nothing seemed to stay still. My parents lay before me, their lifeless eyes staring into nothingness.

Blood dripped from my hands, pooling on the floor. And then I saw him–a figure standing over them, his face hidden by a hood. I tried to move, but I couldn’t.  He didn’t turn to me, and remained hidden in the shadows.

Another spasm of pain racked through my head, and I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

Then I saw the insignia on his chest, gleaming under the dim light in the room. It was unmistakable.

The Silverfang Insignia.

Then I was back to reality, back in the woods, with Frey peering intently into my face. I gasped, then clutched my chest, as my heart raced.

“No.” I whispered, shaking my head with what little consciousness and strength I had left. “It can’t be….”