Chapter 1

Branches tore at my legs stealing blood from my body as they scratched me, begging me to stay, but I had to keep running, stopping and giving up wasn’t an option. A gasp left my throat as I stumbled from exhaustion and the darkness of the night, catching myself on a tree trunk just in time before I spiralled into the wicked bramble bushes. My only guide during this murderous night was the moonlight, blurred and weak from the rain and clouds charging across the sky.

I contemplated stopping, to sit beside the strong and sturdy tree and recuperate, to let my lungs fill with that much-needed oxygen and let my legs recharge from the torture they’d been enduring, or at least give them a chance to stop shaking. Rain roared around me, but it was hard to care, even as the icy droplets chilled me to my bones. I could take two minutes, couldn’t I? Two minutes to breathe, two minutes to rest, two minutes to pretend everything was okay and then I could keep going. 

Just as I felt myself lowering to the ground, a howl sounded, a nasty, familiar sound that had my body going rigid as I listened. The sound of the howl encircled me, trapping me like prey and I knew I had to make a choice: Stay and be dragged back to that monster of an alpha, or flee as far as I could, even if I would be caught eventually. Even if this was going to be pointless. 

No. No, I won't go back that easy.

I pushed off of the tree, the bark cutting into my already bleeding palm, but the pain was meaningless at this moment. The only thing that mattered was crossing the pack lines. I was running again and I knew the next time I stopped, it would be because I had found somewhere safe, or something had stopped me before then.

The crushing weight of the short respite ached me so badly that even pure adrenaline couldn’t ease it. My legs begged for relief, pain scorched up my back and my lung capacity had depleted. My body had tasted a brief period of rest, and dread raked itself through my body as I realised I might not pick up the same speed and agility I had only seconds ago. Shaking my head and gritting my teeth, I refused to let that fear rule me. This wasn’t the end.

“Awhooo!”

Was I paranoid or did that sound closer? Fuck! 

I’d hoped the rain would wash some of my scent away, I’d passed through rivers and streams just to account for it, but still, they were following me, getting closer and closer. 

My hair had fallen out of its braid and I wasn’t going to risk slowing down anymore just for the sake of tidying it up, even as the damp blonde strands whipped harshly against my face, the cold cutting almost as deeply as the branches did my legs. My body was confused as to whether I was warm or cold, the blood pumping from my body conflicted with the fierce wind and the unforgiving rain. Goddess what I would give for a warm bath.

“Elise,” a deep gruff voice sang tauntingly, stopping me in my tracks as I tried to look past the damp and dark. Which direction was he? Where do I go from here?

“Elise?” the voice sang again, wanting her to respond, “Aren’t you cold, pup? Why not come home?”

I didn’t dare to move, didn’t dare to breathe. He was here, he knew exactly where I was didn’t he? Goosebumps riled my skin, plastering my fear on my body for the warriors to see. A lump blocked my throat and unexpected tears began to swell. 

Please. Please, I've made it this far. Please.

“You don’t think you can outrun us with your two little legs do you?” This time it was a female voice, her tone gentle and kind, like a mother sympathising with her naughty child. But this woman was no mother of mine, and within the gentleness and the warmth, was ice hidden behind those words, was a mockery for an ability I did not have. Two legs. Two human legs.

Perhaps she was right, that cold mocking voice, so close that it was practically on top of me. This whole time trying to escape, I had been convincing myself to carry on, practically debating it in my head. It would be easy, so easy to stay where I was and let the wolves come for me, let them kill me or take me back to their murderous alpha, my parents’ blood not even dried on his tar black fur. 

My parents.

I didn’t respond to the jeering taunts of the wolves anymore, my body disconnecting from my mind as my legs carried me on their own as fast as they would allow. 

If only I could shift I might have stood a better chance and would've already made it to another territory. I had spent years picturing what my wolf would look like. She could have been like my mothers, small, grey and white, but faster than light. My mother and I could have had races in those few moments. My father was a great warrior for the pack, his wolf was chestnut brown and his bite could crush another wolf’s leg in seconds. My brother was similar to him in that aspect, the two would play fight and train for hours.

Maybe my wolf would’ve rivalled my father’s, maybe it would have been stronger than a great oak. But it wasn’t, because I didn’t have one and I had the scars to prove it. On my stupid, sluggish human legs and my limited human lungs, I had only been able to make it this far, but I was close. So close.

The trees had a different feeling to the ones in Alpha Fredrick’s territory; these were somehow safe and inviting, the branches from bushes and brambles no longer abusing my legs. The rain had even let up slightly and wind pushed at my back as if to assist me. I felt like crying again. I was nearly there, somewhere new, somewhere safe, some-

THUD.