CHAPTER ONE

Tala Pov.

The moon shone up , far away in the sky ,round and full.

Its crisp light flooded the valley, rippled in the steam, and illuminated the bony fingers of leafless trees.

I wasn’t concentrating on all of that , my heart was pounding so fast and I was gasping for breath. My vision this time around was very clear and real, my father won’t believe me anyways, he never believed in any of my visions.

It was the eve of my birthday and I’ll be turning 20. I wished my eyes would close and I would have some sleep but it was a fruitless effort trying to do so.

I heard a tap on my door, without waiting for me to answer my father walked in. His face portrayed an expression I’ve seen before and I couldn’t wiggle my way out of it even if I wanted to.

“ Is it one of those visions?”. He said, leaning back on the wall.

I shook my head in affirmation, with my face glued to the bed not willing to see the not so pleasant look on his father’s face.

“ You worry alot and you know visions ain’t entirely true”. He moved his big shoe towards my bed .

“ But it felt real”. I said softly, twisting my lips.

“What’s it about , this time around?”.

I shifted on my bed, my heart drumming in my ears and I remained still.

My mouth fell open but no words came out of it .

“ Tala”. My father’s voice jolted me, and I finally spoke.

“ Papa, I saw a war coming to our pack, a rival pack is on their way coming to raid our village”.

“ We need to prepare for war”.

My father burst out in a loud laughter, his voice shook the wall and filled the room.

“Enough of your nonsense Tala, tomorrow is your birthday, you shouldn’t have such thoughts on your mind”.

“ I think you need to sleep now , and I don’t want to hear about your visions again”.

“You should be more concerned about improving your hunting skills and mastering your senses”. The bed creaked as a sign of relief as he got up and walked out of the room.

My father has never believed any of my visions, the moon goddess blessed me with supernatural abilities, but my father always thought my visions were childish and I was too young to carry such powerful gifts.

………………………………………….

“Good morning my little princess”. My father said, rubbing my head gently.

“Now that you're 20, you should be able to master your senses and become faster”. He sent me a puzzled look and then returned his attention to other pack members calling him outside our cabin.

My father returned later in the day and we celebrated my birthday with other wolves in the pack. I couldn't keep my mind off the vision I had and I had a strong feeling that it would come to pass but who I'm I to tell that will listen to me ?

No one I guess”.

Three days after my birthday, the sound of growls and cries woke me up from my bed, the howls were loud enough to crack the walls. Crevices formed in the roof and blood erupted at the entrance of the door. It only meant one thing.

“We are under attack”!!!!!.

Fear surged through my veins, I hid behind the door but I remembered my father, he's out there and will need help. I opened the door and dashed outside.

There was an intense battle, paws tearing at each other, screams as jaws clamped onto one another. I saw the leader of the rival pack tearing my father's head while he screamed. Raising his maw to the sky, blood flowing from his teeth, and howling—.

“Leave her alone!!!!” . The leader's voice sounded from behind as he stopped one of the rival packs from slashing my throat.

He approached me, his eyes red glowing and they shine brighter with every step he took.

“ What is your name?” . He asked

“ Tala”, I replied as the word managed to leave my lips.

With every step the alpha took, it was accompanied by the sweetest smell I've ever perceived. My wolf screamed out

“Mate!”.

But how can my family murderer be my mate?. Can the moon goddess be so wicked to give me such a brutal mate?.

He walked around me, his eyes feasted on me like I was a trophy. Shivers of cold ran down my spine, his eyes scanning every details of my body and like a prey that was readied to be devoured.

“Take my hand”. He commanded, my feet could hardly carry my weight and my knees were knocking each other. I slowly took his hand and the sweet smell returned once again.

“Where are you taking me?”. I asked him not daring to look at his face.

He didn't reply but kept walking still holding my hand.

“ Please don't kill me”. I got on my knees, sobbing and begging him.

He bent down and growled, a wicked smile formed on his face.

“No, no I'm not going to kill you”. He replied, tickling my face with his sharp nails.

My heart stopped beating rapidly and I let out a sigh, he pulled me up, close to him.

“ This is going to hurt”. He said and before I could say anything a blow landed on my face knocking me out.

……………………………….

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a massive whitish blur.

Blinking, my vision slowly cleared and I realized I was in a strange room, I looked up and saw an unfamiliar crest which was different from the Nobleheart pack.It took some seconds before I realized that I'd been taken captive by the rival pack.

The door creaked open and someone entered the room, it was the leader of the gang that attacked my pack.

“ Finally you're awake. I guess I guess I knocked you out too hard”.

He said and poured himself a drink from a wine jar.

“ You killed my family, why?”. I asked shakingly even though I was visibly angry.

He moved closer, and the sweet smell filled the room once again.

“ I guess you know why?. Don't you ?”.He touched my shoulder and I shivered under his touch as his red eyes glowed once again, like I've never seen before.

My inner wolf screamed once again.

“ Mate!!”.