Prologue

The crisp, chilly air nibbled on her nose as night cast around her. The stars and moon gave little light through the naked trees, but it was enough to get by. Her small feet crunched against the thick snow, but other footfalls drowned them out with her own. A slender hand grasped hers, tugging her closer. She glanced up at the individual, seeing a comforting smile waiting for her.

“Everything will be alright, Amira. This will all be over soon.” The woman reassured her. The child simply nodded, but wasn’t too sure of what she meant by that. She knew at this moment that she was cold and wished to be back in the truck where it was warm and safe.

The girl looked around them, counting five others walking with them, all wearing dark clothing and their hoods drawn over their faces. Each one had a knife on their hip and a gun holstered. She knew them well. They were family, so why must they hide themselves?

“Bringing her was a bad idea, Reyna.” A man’s voice intercepted her thoughts, and she peered around the woman beside her to the man that walked alongside them. He discarded his hood, exposing his short, dark brown hair. In the little light she had, she saw the seriousness in his brown eyes, but within them there looked to be a glimmer of concern. Why does he look worried?

The woman, Reyna, squeezed her hand gently. “Don’t scare her, Jax. This will be her first gathering. It is important for her to be there.” She said to him, glancing back down at the child and smiled sweetly, “Everything will be okay.” The girl nodded, but could not smile. She felt a slight ache in her chest. Perhaps it was the Wisconsin Winter that was hurting her lungs? Or was it the pressure that this meeting contained?

“Still, she needs to stay back for her safety. If something were to happen to her...”

“Nothing will happen to her, I promise.” Reyna cut the conversation short with the sharpness of her last words. The man, Jax, fell quiet. He knew not to pursue any further. He peered out of the corner of his eyes at the girl, the hardness in his eyes fading, and he gave her a soft smile. She felt happiness burst like small bubbles in her chest, giving him a big, toothy grin. Perhaps things were not as bad as they seemed to be.

An opening came into view, a large circle of untouched snow spreading out in front of them and surrounded by trees. They all came to a stop, the woman tucking the child behind her. She peered around her though, seeing not one, not two, but several glowing eyes peering back at them from the shadows across the way. From those shadows, large fur covered bodies appeared on all fours. A very large white Wolf stood at the front and center, his coat matching the snow he walked on. The girl shrunk back behind Reyna, feeling intimidated by the Wolf’s presence. Reyna patted her head gently, but through the fabric of the hood, she felt the woman’s hand tremble.

Another pair of Wolves came up behind the white one, both black coated. One wolf was smaller than the white one, but still larger than the pup she had followed closely beside her. The pup put his nose to the air, sniffing curiously, his tail wagging just slightly. The black Wolf beside him snapped her jaws slightly, calming him down. The small pup intrigued the girl, watching his black fur shimmer in the moonlight. She had the urge to run her fingers through it. Would it be as soft as she imagined it?

Three more Wolves spread out alongside their leader, their fur rising in anticipation. Silence fell upon them all as they took in each other’s appearance and smell. She could hear the Wolves growling to one another. Were they talking to each other?

“The white Wolf is their Alpha, their leader. He runs the pack. The black Wolf behind him is his Luna. She is his Mate. The Wolf pup next to her is their child, just like you are mine.” Reyna whispered down to her, her fingers tightening around her hand. The girl looked up at her mother as she lowered her own hood this time. Beautiful white hair sprung free from the restraints of the fabric, pulling it out loosely and let it settle down her lower back.

“We have agreed to come and make the arrangements. Turn back to the West Coast, and the Hunters will not hunt your pack down.” Jax’s voice boomed through the clearing, shattering the silence like glass. The Wolves went quiet, listening to his words, and looked to their Alpha for confirmation. The white Wolf stood firm, his piercing blue eyes unwavering. His Luna gave him a nudge to his rear leg, growling softly to him. He snarled back at her, taking her by surprise.

“Something is wrong.” Reyna said, pushing the girl behind her protectively. The three brown Wolves moved forward, their teeth bare. Jax pulled out a revolver from its holster, but he didn’t aim it.

“Dammit, turn back. We don’t need to do this.” he called out again, hoping to change their mind. The white Wolf let out a high-pitched howl, signaling the brown Wolves to charge.

“Amira, get away!” Reyna turned to her, shoving the little girl away. Amira fell back, watching in horror as the Wolves closed in on them with inhuman speed. The sound of a gun firing made her cover her ears, watching as blood splattered the snow, but the Wolves moved into their space. Everyone scattered, giving a distance between them and the enemy. Amira looked through the chaos at the black Wolf snarling at the white one, the small pup cowering behind her. It was like she was arguing with him about what was happening.

“Amira, get moving!” Jax yelled at her, grabbing her arm and hoisted her to her feet. He took out a small knife, placing it in her hands.

“Daddy, I can’t...”

“There is no time. You need to run back to the truck, where you’ll be safe.” He closed her hands around the hilt. “Go, and whatever you do, do not look back.” He warned her before turning away again and released another bullet. She covered her ears again, listening to the screaming, barking and howling of the massacre in front of her eyes. She wanted to run, she wanted to move, but her feet were stuck.

Reyna glanced over to her, seeing the terror in her eyes, and stood in front of her, shielding her from the mess. She held a blade in each hand, already coated in the crimson liquid she recognized. Amira watched her mother’s back, watching her stand proudly in front of her like a warrior Goddess. She wanted to be like her so much.

A man went down ten feet from Amira, a brown Wolf standing over him with drool and blood dripping from its mouth. It looked hungry. With the knife in her hand, Amira shifted her footing and made a dash at the Wolf, bringing up the knife. It looked at Amira with crazed eyes, snarling aggressively, but it was enough of a distraction for the man below it to take out his own knife and stabbing the Wolf through the stomach. It howled painfully, shifting its weight off of him. The man rolled toward Amira, crouching in front of her. He grabbed her hand where she was squeezing the knife so tight that her knuckles turned white.

“Thank you, Amira. You saved my...” His words were cut short as a Wolf’s jaws clenched down on his shoulder. Blood splattered onto her clothes and face. The man cried out as he gets pinned down to the ground. Amira stumbled away, her eyes unable to pry away as the Wolf tore off the man’s arm. The man’s painful yells slowly receded into nothing as his blood stained the once beautiful snow.

The Wolf dropped the arm, its brown eyes meeting hers as he crept closer. The Wolf licked its lips slowly, as if already tasting her flesh. She froze up, staring into the mouth of this monster as he towered over her. She felt all of her blood drain from her face as his teeth came down, but they didn’t reach her in time. Black fur blocked her vision as the brown Wolf gets tackled to the ground by the Luna, her jaws clamped down on its neck. He yelped in pain, trying to kick her off of him, but her teeth only sank in deeper until he stopped moving.

Amira stared in awe, confusion and fear as the Luna removed her teeth from the Wolf and looked at the child. She didn’t see a monster this time. Past the fur, deep in her forest green eyes, was a concerned mother. A gun went off behind her, a bullet barely missing her. The Luna snarled at the assailant behind Amira, but she retreated carefully.

“Amira!” Reyna called out to her, running to her side and looked her over. She tried to clean the blood off her face, but she only smeared it more. “Why didn’t you run?” she asked her, but she couldn’t reply. Her eyes were no longer focused on her, but the white Wolf that had prowled up behind her.

“Mom...” she squeaked out, her eyes meeting the Alpha’s. For a moment, she saw hesitation, but a thick cloud of darkness covered his eyes. Amira pushed the child away from her, turning to face the beast with her daggers drawn to block, but his overwhelming power overruled her own as his claws slashed across her chest. Her ears rang as she stared at her mother’s collapsed body, her face pale in the moonlight. Everything around her blurred as she stared at the motionless body of Reyna. She didn’t see the Alpha get pulled away by his Luna and running off, or the Hunters gathering their wounded, or her father at her mother’s side, trying to wake her up. She didn’t see the black Wolf pup looking at her with such sad green eyes before running away.

All the noise came rushing in at once, the screaming, the groaning of pain, and the crying. She looked to Jax, who had fallen to his knees beside her mother, taking her into his arms, crying for her to wake up, but no response came to him.

“I told you to run... And now your mother...” He got out before trying to wake her again. Amira stared at her father wide eyed. Was he blaming her? Was it truly her fault? If she had run, if she had just done what her father said, then her mother would be...