Prologue

In a small cabin in the woods, snapping and snarling is heard while birds are stirred from their perches with a loud fluttering sound. There are two large wolves fighting off ten raggedy looking wolves. The rogues were covered in old blood, fur matted and reeking of rotted flesh. The two wolves who were fighting against the rogues were protecting their most prized possession. A small girl, age five, was hiding in a cellar. She had long brown hair and ocean blue eyes with a button nose. At this moment, she was hiding in a corner of the cellar with her hands over her ears, trying to reduce the volume of the fighting. She could get an idea of what was going on upstairs, by listening to the footsteps. Right now, there were way too many for her to be out of danger and the sounds she hears are sickening. The ripping of flesh and the breaking of bones is enough to turn her stomach, so she covers her ears for the majority of the fight.

Her parents told her to stay in the cellar and be quiet no matter what she hears, so she is doing just that. But when she feels part of her family bond break, she has to uncover her ears and both of her hands are grabbing her chest. She hears a heart-wrenching howl and her tears start flowing. She knows that is her dad’s howl, which means her mom has died. She is trying to keep her crying silent when she hears a yelp and then she feels the last family bond break. That was her dad. She is now alone in this world at only five years old. She stays in the cellar until all is quiet and she climbs the ladder to open the door. When she got to the top of the ladder, she opened the hatch-style door only an inch, just to see if she could see anyone. When she saw that there was no one around, she climbed out of the cellar and went straight to her room. She filled a backpack with clothes and went to the kitchen. She was able to put three waters and six energy bars in her backpack and she walked out of the kitchen and headed for the front door.

There was so much blood! It was everywhere and she knew she would never get this sight out of her head. When she came upon her mother’s body, she collapsed on top of her, crying her little heart out, “Mama! Why? You should have stayed in the cellar with me!” That was when a bright light shown over her. The warmth of the glow caused her to raise her head and gaze upon the woman with long white hair and a beautiful, slim face. The woman began, “Isabel. You are such a kind-hearted child and I know you are going to miss your mother and father. But I have plans for you, my child. You will go through many trials, but your adult life will be filled with love beyond measure. Just know that your parents are watching over you, child.” She asked, “Are you the Moon Goddess?” Selene smiled as she gently nodded, “I am. You are my chosen one to begin a long chain of generations that will alter the course of your species.” Isabel gasped, “Really? There’s nothing special about me.” Selene smiled, “And that is why I am choosing you. You are not vain or entitled. You are just a sweet child and, despite everything you will go through, you will stay that way.” Isabel was suddenly scared, “What will I go through?” She replied, “That is not a story for now. Just know that you will go through many trials. For now, you should get to safety before the rogues come back.”

She walked out of the house, stopping at her father’s body. She touched his face and cried, “I’m sorry, daddy. I love you.” She started walking toward the pack grounds. Her family is part of The Red Moon Pack in Pocahontas, Arkansas. As she navigated through the forest, she was on alert for rogues and other wildlife that could hurt her. This area has a lot of bobcat and panthers that could hurt her. Her family lived on the outskirts of the pack because her father preferred living in the woods than in town, where there were a lot of werewolves. As she walked, she kept listening for other footsteps or animal sounds. She stopped two times to get a drink of water and eat an energy bar, feeling thankful that she thought to pack them. As she continued walking after her second break, she started hearing voices and footsteps. She found a hollowed-out tree and crawled inside to hide.

As Isabel sat there, she heard three distinct voices. One asked, “Alpha, do you smell that?” Another man replied, “I smell someone from our pack. What would they be doing all the way out here?” A third voice added, “We have a family who lives in a cabin not too far from here. Maybe it’s one of them?” Isabel could hear them sniffing around to follow her scent and she nearly screamed when a face appeared in front of the opening she was facing. Isabel gasped, “I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me.” The man sighed, “Well, hello, little one. Where did you come from?” She replied, “My mother and father were killed by rogues. They made me hide in the cellar. After all the rogues were gone, I left the house to come to the Alpha.” A huge man moved to stand in front of the opening, “Little one, I am Alpha Ben. What is your name?” I am Isabel Claw. My parents were Blue and Anna Claw.” Alpha Ben nodded, “I knew your parents. Are your parents’ bodies still at your house?” I nodded with tears starting to fall from my eyes, “They are. I couldn’t bury them.” Alpha Ben held his hand out to me, “Come with us, little one. We will get your parents’ bodies so that we can give them a proper funeral.”

Two days later, Isabel was standing over two graves, praying to The Moon Goddess to bless them and ask them to watch over her. As soon as the funeral was over, Alpha Ben took her hand and led her to the pack house. He took her to his office where his Luna, Luna Kate, was waiting. Luna Kate had an evil smirk on her face, making Isabel shrink back in fear. She looked up at Alpha Ben and found that his entire demeanor had changed. She backed away from him and sighed, “Thank you for helping me.” Luna Kate growled, “Now that your parents are buried, you are officially the pack slave. Slaves do not sleep in the guest bedrooms. You have a bed prepared in the attic. I have put some clothes up there for you, also, along with your belongings. You will start working with the omegas in the kitchen this afternoon for supper.” Isabel gasped, “I thought I was going to be your daughter.” Luna Kate slapped her across the face, causing her head to jerk back and to the side, “You will not back talk. Your only answer is to be ‘Yes, Luna’. Do you understand?” Isabel answered with tears streaming down her face, “Yes, Luna.”

An omega named Gabrielle showed her to her room in the attic. On the way there, Gabrielle told her, “I know you’re a slave and everyone will treat you badly. I would really like to be your friend though.” Isabel answered, “I would like that. I don’t know what I did to deserve Alpha and Luna being mean to me.” Gabrielle shook her head, “You didn’t do anything. They just want someone to hit. The last slave escaped. If it gets really bad for you, come to me. I will help you escape too. No one should have to suffer through that. But you should be older before you escape. You need to be able to take care of yourself.” Isabel nodded, “Thank you.” When they made it to the attic, Gabrielle suggested, “The nights are starting to get colder, so make sure you put the extra blankets that I put in your closet on your bed at night, but put them back in the closet when you get up. Luna Kate will punish you if she sees them.” She nodded, “I will. Thank you so much.” Gabrielle lowered her gaze to the floor, “I only wish I could do more. Go ahead and settle in. I will come and get you when it’s time to start dinner. You will only be able to eat when they are finished.” Then she walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

She walked over to the only window in her room and looked out. Her room was four floors up. That’s a long way to climb down, so there will be no escape from there. It looked like the path the Moon Goddess set out for her would be hard to survive, but she knew she could do it. She knew the reward for surviving would be worth everything she would have to suffer.

Isabel took everything out of her backpack and found a framed photo of her parents. She sat it on her bedside table, allowing a few tears to fall, allowing her heart to break only a little. She made a decision at that moment that she would only allow herself to cry at night, when she went to bed. She would not allow anyone in the pack to see her cry. Luna Kate had already shown that she would be cruel and something told her Alpha Ben would be the same way. She made up her mind to be strong, no matter what they did to her.

She sat on her bed, back straight as a board and her chin up, “I will not let them break me.”