Chapter2

#Chapter2

The rogues rushed around us with full force; I began taking them out one by one, our pack fought with as much strength and courage as they could conjure up. The copper smell of blood filled the air and pooled on the ground beneath me; blood-curdling screams flooded my ears from every direction.

As I readied myself to fire another arrow, I noticed multiple rogues were ambushing Gunnar. I know he is a ruthless, strong fighter, especially when he was in his wolf form, but he was slowly becoming outnumbered at that moment.

Without further hesitation, I leapt down from the tree, firing arrows left, right, and center at the numerous rogues surrounding him. As I came closer to him, I dropped my bow, began to discard my clothes and shifted into my wolf, lunging at the rival wolves, shredding them to pieces and fighting alongside my brother.

As the odds began to turn in our favour, the rogues started to retreat. Gunnar then mind linked with me, and he was furious!

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING, FREJA!" He boomed at me.

My wolf snarled at him, "SAVING YOUR ASS." I yelled back at him.

He huffed. "I didn't need your help! I had it under control. Now get your ass back up that tree, where you are supposed to be."

I reluctantly shifted back into my human form with a loud chuff, threw on my clothes, and grabbed my bow.

I began to jog back to the tree when I heard a noise come from my left. I stopped dead in my tracks and listened to everything that surrounded me.

I continued to listen and scan the area when I heard a male voice. "Well, well, what do we have here."

I looked around, searching for who the voice belonged to, but couldn't see anyone.

I aimed my bow, ready to fire, and my eyes roamed the trees around me. Then, behind me, I heard a faint chuckle. "What do you think you are going to do with that?" They questioned with amusement.

I remained silent, listening for footsteps and looking for a figure in the shadows, but there was nothing and no one. Then, as I stood there, my heart began to beat out of my chest. I tried to slow it down by taking slow breaths, but it felt like my heart rate only picked up in speed.

Behind me, I heard another noise and then the same deep, gruff voice "I can hear your heart beating erratically, love, are you afraid? Because you should be." He said in a calm yet eerie tone.

I turned around, looking for the man that belonged to the voice, but again he wasn't there. Moments passed by, and things were silent now. I almost thought he was gone for a second, but I was wrong!

I was taken by surprise when my bow was ripped from my hands, and I was slammed into a tree. A large, rough hand wrapped firmly around my throat while the other held my hands together and pinned them above my head against the rough bark.

At first, the impact from my head colliding with the tree made everything blurry, but I blinked rapidly, and the face that was mere inches from mine came into view. He was a tall man who stood at least a foot taller than I.

He had the most vivid and intriguing green eyes, short, wavy black hair, with hints of gold in it, that shined from the moonlight. He had high cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and plump lips. This man was so handsome and intimidating; he made my core tingle.

As he held me against the tree, my heart rate peaked immensely, but I did everything I could to remain calm and not show any emotions, as I knew he would use that against me. I scanned the man's face, looking for any visible emotions, and the only ones I picked up were confusion, then surprise, but he quickly masked those emotions, hiding them under that dark façade. But why was he surprised? The man's features turned cold and angry now.

He looked deep into my eyes, and a grin spread across his features, “Aren’t you a brave little wolf out here fighting with the big leagues. Shouldn’t you be at home, like a good little bitch.”

Even though that comment made me want to tear his face off, I maintained a blank look and didn’t answer him.

He raised a brow. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” The man said with a mischievous smile.

He continued to observe me with those hypnotizing green eyes, searching for emotion. His eyes began roaming all over my face, then slowly wandered down my body, which only intensified the tingling sensation between my legs.

His grin became impossibly wider, “Let me introduce myself, love. I am Alpha Cain of the Dead pack.” At that, my eyes widened in surprise and also in fear.

My father and our elders told tales of Alpha Cain, how ruthless he was, that he killed his father and mother just to gain power, that his heart was not made of flesh and blood but made from the fiery pits of hell itself.

Fear began to creep up my spine, my breathing became erratic, and my heart pounded within my chest.

His eyes bore into mine. “There’s the fear I was looking for.” He then let out a hair-raising chuckle.

I mustered up what courage I had left and asked, “What do you want?” He bent down a little, bringing his face even closer to my own and cocked his head to the side. Cain’s soft lips brushed against my ear, sending a shiver up my spine and whispered, “To instill fear within you and to make you squirm beneath my hold.” I squeezed my eyes, fearing what his words truly meant, and all I could think was, I am going to die.

An ear-splitting howl sounded, catching both our attention. Cain whipped his head in the direction of the roar and remained still, staring into the woods for a second, before turning his attention back to me.

His eyes sparkled, and he grinned. “Until we meet again, love.” He then let me go, backed away from me and shifted into his wolf. A massive yet beautiful black wolf, his fur glistened under the light of the moon, it looked so silky smooth, with hints of silver in it, his eyes were a bright and deadly yellow.

His wolf turned towards me and snarled, which caused me to back myself into the tree even further. I closed my eyes, and after a few seconds, I opened them, only to realize I was alone and he was gone.

I let out a shuddering breath and collapsed onto the mossy forest floor. As I sat there, I tried to think of what in the hell had just happened. From the stories I was told as a child, Alpha Cain never let anyone go, and he sure as shit had never let anyone survive his wrath during a war. So why me? Why did I feel slightly attracted to him? The proximity of his face to mine made me want to ravish him, his lips were so close to mine, and for a second, I prayed he would close that distance and dominate me. So what the hell is wrong with me? Especially when he was threatening me.