Chapter 1: The beginning

My eyes swept over the dark green forest with steady ancient majestic trees standing tall on the ground. The deep-sea of dark green plant life had a calming effect on my eyes, mind, and soul.

I always spent most of my free time in this particular part of the forest, away from the prying and judgemental eyes of my pack members. It was my perfect getaway from the busy life in the pack.The treetops swayed in the wind, crashing and bumping against each other.

I lifted my face, staring at the canopy that only allowed afternoon scattered sun rays to filter through. The minimal mellow sun rays penetrated through the different shades of green leaves, lighting up the ground with polka dots.

Most pack members didn't like me obviously because I was not of their kind. I was the only witch amongst them, and it had remained so since my parents passed away.

What the pack didn't know was that I could tell each one of them what their hearts harboured. Their characters were made visible and clear only to me by small clouds that hovered over each and every one heads.

I saw through each of their facades, but never once did I let them know. It was my secret, a secret that mum had begged me on her death bed to guard and protect. She had made it clear that my mate would be the only person that I could trust.

I had learnt how to block the clouds images over time. I had mastered the art of switching off the part of my mind that projected all these images.

I only switched it on once in a while, usually when I wanted to put my mind to work.

I watched as birds twittered and flew from tree to tree, landing gracefully on the branches. I enjoyed listening to their dulcet songs, the melody always brought forth a smile on my face.

The woodsy smell of the forest floor was unique, obviously caused by the fallen rotting tree branches. I drew in a long breath, breathing in the earthly scent as I enjoyed the gentle caress of the cool breeze on my cheeks.

I was so lost in my thoughts when I heard the crunching of the crinkly leaves and grass. Listening in closely, I could determine the number of footsteps padding on the ground. There were at least two people moving towards my direction.

I didn't want to risk anything, It could have been a bad person and there was no way I was waiting there to find out. I could have held my own and defended myself but I always avoided such situations. I hated confrontations with my whole being and today wasn't going to be the day where I suddenly liked them.

In an instant, I jumped on the lowest branch, gripping it with the right hand. The left hand was on the trunk with my thighs on either side of it. I had done this so many times with my late father, I had no problems using my upper body force and calves to push myself up the tree. I climbed up gracefully and quickly to avoid being seen by the approaching party.

The tree was bushy, it's dark green leaves were so big making it easy to hide in between them and go unnoticed. I always masked my scent, so nobody would detect me up here, werewolf or not.

I made myself comfortable on one of the branches, behind the leaves, once I was further up from the ground and on the tree. I was confident no one would see me here unless they were specifically looking for me.

Even before I looked down to the ground, I heard weak despairing feminine whimpers. The sounds were so soft feeble, they were barely audible. When I finally looked down, my eyes grew wide as they fed on and took in the scene. The shock however wore off quickly though and was replaced by uncensored anger.

Below, on the ground was a petite girl, quite around my height, maybe 5ft0. She was a sobbing mess, with her arms tied behind her back with what seemed like a rope.

Her clothes were torn and tattered clearly by claws. Her brown hair stuck on her face, some strands caught in between her thin pale lips.

A stench of dried blood hit my nose, my eyes confirming by just looking at her bruises on her arms and legs.

A large hand with a venous arm was gripping her right elbow, holding her in place. Her feeble attempts to break free from the monster of a man were futile. She was firmly held and clearly, there wasn't going to be a miraculous escape for her. The owner of the hand was a tall individual, 6 feet or more.

Even from this height, I could see how his eyes bulged out of their sockets. I could tell that his nose was slightly crooked even from this angle. His hair was surprisingly kempt, but the menacing smile his lips formed was clearly that of a dangerous person.

His presence commanded a dark evil power that sent chills down my spine, but I wasn't one to back down. I had an advantage over him because he knew not of my presence.

The girl wouldn't look at him, she only kept on begging. She was barely audible, her voice so hoarse from maybe crying so much or screaming.

I needed to help this girl and I needed to do it fast. I watched as he pushed her to the ground, hands still tied on her back.

He didn't utter a word, his expression didn't falter even at the girl's cry for mercy. He had a determined look on his face, he was on a mission. A mission that he was set on completing, but not in my presence.

He tore the girl's torn dress completely, leaving her bare for him to do with, as he wished. But again, not when I was watching.

My fingertips were burning, ready to light up this evil man and burn him to ashes. But I couldn't allow myself to lose control, otherwise, I'd end up lighting up the entire forest and hurting the poor girl even further. I needed to try and climb down the tree as stealthily as possible.

I wanted to look him dead in his eyes as he gasped for his last breath. Goddess, here I was thinking about killing him when I had never taken any life before, not even that of an insect. But the girl's appearance stirred something in me.

His actions disgusted me, the helpless girl lying on the leafy forest floor ignited rage in me. As much as I tried applying implacable patience, the need to protect overcame my control and without thinking twice I jumped down, landing gracefully on the ground.

His frame turned in my direction as my landing finally caught the man's attention. He was surprised at first but it quickly turned to something different and sinister. His nose flared up before a series of loud sniffs from him filtered over the sound of the birds and other small creatures.

'No smell on you, masked it? ' His menacing voice filtered over the girl's cries, stirring a feeling of infirmal revenge in the pit of my stomach.

'hmmmm' He hummed before continuing.

'Doesn't matter, more pussy for me. ' He uttered in a sick grave voice that cultivated even more rage inside of me.

I snarled in return, looking deep into his very unblinking dark eyes. They were just two balls of nothingness, except of course malicious intend.

I had no use talking to him and right now my fingers were letting out small sparkles. Either he couldn't see the sparkles, or he just ignored them.

I cast one look at the girl, she was still sobbing but looking at me with terror in her eyes. She was afraid for me, afraid for my life and not hers.

Her cloud was pink, this girl was kind, selfless, loving, caring. Even when her life was in line, she was still terrified for my own life.

'I'm going to enjoy fucking the two of you. ' He snaked his tongue over his shrunken dry lower lip.

'And I'm going to have fun killing you.' The voice was deep, commanding, powerful than the one the evil man had just used. The thunderous, crippling cold sound of it certainly captured our attention.

As our heads turned almost at the same time, Alpha Ryker, the god among men emerged from the trees. His long strides were calculated and heavy on the forest floor as he approached. I hadn't even heard him approach and by the look on the man's face, he hadn't either. How had he managed to be so stealth?

His aura was like a powerful storm, it alone forced us to kneel on one knee, eyes cast down on the ground. Our beings recognised him as the Alpha, the leader. His boots clad feet finally came to a halt in front of the captor.

'We meet again, ' there was a pause in his cold statement as his face twitched in pure unfiltered anger.

' Jax. ' He addressed the man, his lips pulling into a malicious smile.

The man, who clearly had been referred to as Jax by the cold Alpha was utterly terrified. His empty black eyes now showed raw fear. I swear I could visibly see his frame shaking in the Alpha's presence.

I had never felt such relief in my life as the Alpha towered over us, his unwavering fiery gaze fixed on the man on his knees. Another whimper from the girl had his gaze turning to us, briefly looking at the girl before he finally looked at me.

His expression wavered briefly before he blinked then turned again to look at Jax.

'Let the fun begin. ' Alpha Ryker smirked.

And then he lunged.