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 t
The world toppled over around me and a deafening crack echoed throughout my head, almost distracting me from the sharp pain ripping through my skull. It was hard to breathe, and at first, I thought it was because of the impact, maybe part of it was, but the huge crushing weight of the dark grey wolf didn’t help.“Ow,” a whimper I didn’t mean to make left my throat.The wolf didn’t seem to care, baring its fangs at my neck, so close that if I moved an inch it would slice my neck like scissors to paper. I tried not to flinch, but saliva dripped down its mouth, splattering on my face, and another whimper formed. I could’ve sworn the wolf smirked at my fear. Its paws crushed one of my arms with such strength I was sure it was going to break. Another paw was pressed firmly on my chest, I wasn’t going anywhere. Opening my mouth, I tried to speak, maybe it would’ve been a threat or a beg, but as I did so, the sour taste of iron coated my tongue from where my teeth had torn my gum and instead
Melanie.So this was how they were able to track me so easily, despite the mud and the rain and the streams. I spotted one of my shirts in her hand and runes splattered in blood across it. A tracking spell. Everything had been against me tonight, the rain, my lack of a wolf, and now a tracking spell. I glared at the witch, promising to make her pay for standing in the way of my freedom.“Forgive her, Alpha Jackson, A slight misunderstanding between the girl and our alpha. We would never dare to intrude-”“And yet here you are, witch. You have brought an army into my territory, some may say this is an act of war.”Melanie raised her head, a paragon of proprietary and politeness, “I assure you alpha, we are only here to reclaim the girl. It was an oversight that we-”“Oversight?’ He cut her off again, eyes blazing with a dark fury, “My territory, was an oversight?”Melanie bowed her head again, out of fear or respect I wasn’t sure. The forest was still and silent, tension lurking in the
It was dark and I was running again. Running through the forest with its sharp branches and stones and unforgiving cold. Someone was calling my name, over and over, singing it like a song. The further away I got, the louder it became and the singing turned into screaming into screeching. With my lungs heaving and sweat trickling from my forehead, I turned to try to see just what was following me. But that was a mistake. I lost my footing on something, maybe a stone or an exposed root, but I started tumbling. I waited for the blow of the ground, preparing myself for the pain and to get up again, but nothing came. It was like I was thrown into an endless void of darkness. Was I standing up? Was I upside down? Was I awake? Was I dead? The screeching got louder.“Elise!”The voice was familiar, so familiar that it hurt my heart to listen to it, my mother's voice calling for me.“Elise come home!” “Moth-”My call to her was cut off and my father suddenly appeared before me. His body was
I took a long look at the second man who had appeared as the alpha’s backup, recognising him as the golden wolf from the night before; his golden hair and brown eyes betrayed him so obviously. The Beta. His second in command would ensure I was no threat towards his alpha. Maybe I should’ve felt flattered he felt the need for assistance.“Thank you, Christian,” Alpha Jackson said, his smirk still prevalent on his face.Turning to me, his expression finally shifted to one that was cold and calculating, “now to business. Who are you?”After a moment of silence, looking between the alpha and his beta, I finally answered, “Elise.”“Elise what?”“Clares.”“And you were a part of the New Moon pack, is that correct?”I looked at Christian with that look that asked is he slow? Before answering properly, “duh.”The alpha looked at me with disdain and I fought back the smile that tugged at my lip, ‘Why bother asking? You’re just going to kill me anyway,” I retorted to that glare, not particularl
“Yes, wolfsbane…” It was all the answer I was willing to give him. “They knew you would run.” A dark chuckle escaped me as I remembered my mother’s body from my hiding place, as I pictured my brother’s life leaving his body in front of me, “after what they did? Yes, they knew.” “So that would be why her wounds took longer than usual to heal,” Christian commented, aiding my story with that added detail. Alpha Jackson looked at him and nodded. I shifted uncomfortably, my hand moving to the wounds on my side, only bruises at this point, like I hadn’t run for my life half blind and half frozen. “I think so. Can’t say I’m in the habit of drugging myself with it.” Without a wolf, my body was practically human with a few small perks: I was faster than the average human, my senses were heightened and I had a bit of added strength, but healing? My healing was human, and I had to be careful, like a human. “What do you think, Christian?” Alpha Jackson asked, not taking his eyes off of me
Beta Christian didn’t think it was necessary to have me bound as we walked out of the dungeon and into the sunlit pack grounds, the only restraint being my anklet. At the very least he didn’t think I was going to leap away and rip everyone to shreds. I wouldn’t have been able to do that even if I wanted to. I also have more self-preservation than to take on an entire pack by myself. There were many reasons I wouldn’t have done it… I just didn’t want innocent blood on my hands. Christian had taken me on a tour of the pack grounds: the school for young pups, the shopping areas and a monument to the previous Alpha and Luna; Alpha Jackson’s parents. Finally, we arrived at the mess hall. It was a big building shaped like a Greek temple with pillars and triangles but solidified with wooden walls to keep out the rain. It looked like it could hold the whole pack at once which made it slightly intimidating. The New Moon pack never ate together because it was a dog-eat-dog pack, no one but fa
We stepped into the building and I found it almost ridiculous how many people were working together to provide for the others. Endless sounds were coming from the kitchen with more people setting tables and laughing with each other, cleaning plates and serving food. A wolf clad in a tracker’s gear had dropped off some meat and gave a young girl and elderly woman pecks on the forehead before waving and leaving the hall. “That’s Harry, his mother and daughter are eating,” Christian explained to them as I watched with a pang in my stomach. The family was happy. They were safe. Christian sat me at a corner, gesturing for one of the servers to come over with food. The young man didn’t question the order or even look frustrated as he smiled and placed the food on the table before hurrying away for his next task. The food smelled heavenly and I had to resist the urge to grab my fork and stab the slab of meat on my plate. I looked towards Christian, “Are you not going to eat?” Shaking his
Jackson’s POVNo. No that couldn’t be true. There was absolutely no way in hell he would’ve sent his head warrior and adored witch alone to my pack, not when I’d left it in Christian’s capable hands with Clarissa supporting him,I didn’t have to worry about that. I didn’t.I had faith in my friend. Christian had done more than enough to earn his place at my side as my beta. All the warriors had also earned their spot and even the healers were no strangers to a fight every now and again.That’s why I organised the weekly training so that everyone felt like they had a fair chance in a fight. The only people I was concerned about were the elders of my pack and the pups.I didn’t want Fredrick to know that he had me frazzled by his threat and whilst I tried to control my emotions I couldn’t help but keep thinking of everything that could go wrong back at the pack:Were Clarissa’s wards reinforced?Was Melanie stronger than Clarissa?Would Christian be able to stop Marcus if the two met in
How did he know we were here? We hadn’t been gone for very long, there was no way he could’ve organised all of this in that short time. I wouldn’t have been surprised if there had been a couple of wolves chasing us or a warning howl, but everything had been silent.“Did you really believe I’d leave you unsupervised whilst in recovery?” Frederick asked snarkily as he took a step forward.Jackson tensed, looking at all the wolves surrounding us, debating his odds. If he attacked first how many would he be able to take down before he was overwhelmed? I could see the cogs turning in his head before he turned to me slightly. Another problem, he’d be trying to protect me as well. His odds of winning would decrease rapidly if he had me to think about too.“You have your Blessed Silver,” Jackson spat, “Let her go.”Frederick tutted, “Yes, yes I do, but you see, Jackson,” It was a blatant insult not to use his alpha title in front of the rest of this pack, “there are two things that you fail
We crept out of the infirmary and Jackson held onto my hand tightly, keeping me behind him. He mentioned briefly that his bracelet from Clarissa protected him from being seen so long as his movements didn’t draw anyone’s attention.I had faith in Jackson and in Clarissa so I stood behind him and let him lead us out of the infirmary. I was glad that Clarissa had done what she did, because not only did it mean she was looking out for Jackson but she wanted me back too.Even though he’d explained this to me, I was still shocked when we weren’t immediately attacked by the multiple wolves patrolling the area. It looked like no one had even seen us and I let out a quiet sigh of relief as I stuck close to Jackson.Even when someone walked close to us, they didn't seem to notice us. It gave me more confidence in Clarissa's abilities (not that I had any doubt to begin with).Jackson glanced around too, watching for even the slightest of movements like the warrior he was before he took his fir
Elise's POVI thought I was still in my dream when I opened my eyes. One moment I saw his body, bloody and broken on the floor, the next he was in front of me, touching me so tenderly and looking like he was about to cry. I relished in his touch. It was so warm and gentle and my whole body tingled. I wanted to move and hold him and cry all at the same time, but I couldn’t move, my back was still so sore.But I knew the second I opened my eyes that he was my mate. Jackson was my mate. And I had fallen in love with him all on my own even before that.“I’ve always been yours,” He said to me with a smile that made my heart jump, even as tears began to fall down his face.I pulled one of my hands away from his and stroked that stray tear away, “And I’m yours,” I said, proudly and clearly.Jackson’s smile grew wider and despite the situation we were in, no matter how horrifying or painful, he leaned closer towards me, and kissed me.He was careful not to move me too much, but I kissed him
Jackson's POV I followed Elise’s scent, my mate’s scent. I could hardly believe it; she was my mate. Maybe it was because her wolf had been suppressed before, but even still, the longing and connection I felt for her must’ve been our mating bond trying to slip through the Blessed Silver’s defences.And I had hurt her when we first met. I’d imprisoned her and tried to keep her isolated out of fear of what a rogue could do to my pack.If I knew she was my mate back then would it have made much of a difference? I tried not to think about that. Those mistakes were in the past and I was here for now, I would do anything in my power to protect her.Gradually I made my way through the pack to a dingy-looking building that had a small cross on it, one you’d see at hospitals or on ambulances. I wondered if this was their version of an infirmary. Quietly, I stepped inside, checking to see if anyone was in the room. If they were ‘d have to take them out nice and swiftly otherwise they’d aler
Elise's POVHe wasn’t dead, not yet, but he was close to it. Blood trickled from his forehead and down the corners of his mouth. His breathing was short and shallow and he lifted his head, eyes pained as he slowly realised I was there with him. Jackson made some guttural sound that I’d never heard another person make before as he slowly began to crawl towards me, no matter how broken he was.I could hear his breathing, hoarse like something was blocking it, maybe as if someone had crushed his windpipe. "Elsmmm." Was another sound he made and I was horrified to think that that was my name and he was calling it out so desperately. My heart hurt.I took a step towards him, my body trembling as I took a step forward but no matter how hard I tried to reach him, it was like I was walking in sludge trying to trap me. He was trying so hard to reach me and I wanted to reach him so badly, but I could barely move.Jackson raised his hand, and I wanted nothing more than to grab it and bring him
Elise’s POVI held onto Stella like she was going to disappear once again. I’d spent so long without her, my memory of her had been taken from me. So when this overwhelming feeling of comfort shot through my body it took me by surprise. She was my wolf. She was real. She was here.There was nothing wrong with me after all.I had waited so long, year after year as I watched other kids my age begin to shift for the first time, and whilst I knew I was in a dream, I knew that Stella was real, I knew that she'd finally been freed from the Blessed Silver.I nuzzled my face against her fur and she was just as eager to touch me too as she licked my face and nuzzled me right back. Two halves of the same soul finally reunited.“You’ve been alone for so long,” I whispered to her. Whilst I had my family, Stella was trapped in the pockets of my mind, only able to watch as I grew, was hurt and on my own too after my family died.“But I’m not anymore,” She mumbled in response.I wished she had the c
Jackson’s POVI shifted back to my human form as I got closer to the New Moon pack’s territory. I spied their routes and routines and when I thought it was safe enough, I slipped through, into the territory when I was sure the guards would be changing stations.True to Clarissa’s word, the guards didn’t seem to notice me either from sight or scent as I made my way past them. I was careful not to do anything that would bring attention to myself, even stepping on a twig or tripping over a rock felt too risky.I kept my head low and kept my senses sharp to avoid bumping into anyone and walked with my head bowed towards the centre of the pack territory.Every step I took I anticipated a fight because if even one person spotted me and knew who I was, I’d have the whole pack after me and nothing good would come from that. I needed to do this as quickly and quietly as I could. It helped that the pack members in this territory seemed content with keeping to themselves too, barely greeting or
At first, I thought I was dead, for real this time considering what had just happened. I was floating around in a sea of nothingness when my eyes cracked open and I thought “Well, this must be death”, so I closed my eyes again as if I were going to sleep.Some people say that their lives flash before their eyes right before death, but mine didn't. Mine flashed by like a whirlwind the second I entered whatever world this was. Memories of my family, of my escape, of Jackson and the rest of the friends and loved ones I had.I never had a chance in the world of the living, I'd barely lived.It didn’t feel so bad, being in this weightless world. Everything was peaceful. Nothing hurt, nothing scared me. Maybe death was a good thing, maybe it should’ve happened a long time ago. If I’d have died long ago maybe none of this would’ve ever happened. My family would be alive, Fredrick wouldn't have his hands on the Blessed Silver and the Full Moon pack wouldn't have been attacked just so Fredrick