Elena
The trip to Silver Pack takes more time than I expected. We were on a lonely road when a group of vampires and rogues attacked us. Between Mark, William, and I, we killed them fast. After we got rid of the bodies, I saw that one of my bolts got stuck in one of the car tires. While Mark and William changed the tire, I thought of the slave. The rest of the way to Silver Pack, I keep thinking about Max and the phone call, and it makes no sense.
Slaves have been a commodity for many generations and were usually humans, members of enemy packs, or rogues. In the beginning, the slaves were treated like Omegas, but with time, Alphas and other werewolves started mistreating the slaves. Females were given to warriors and used for pleasure and breeding, while the males were put to do most of the work inside the pack. After many years of suffering, an Alpha and Luna Supreme decided enough was enough and abolished slavery. Of course, there were still Alphas that chose to do the opposite and continued to enslave people and treat them worse than mere animals. When the Alpha Supreme found out, he stripped all those that disobeyed him of their titles and exiled them from Romania. The packs have been disbanded, and the werewolves that were not sent in exile were sent to live in other territories.
It is late afternoon when Mark stops the car in the small parking lot belonging to the Silver Pack. Before I open the door, I touch my dagger to make sure I still have it. It is a silly habit I have, and I can’t get rid of it. I get out of the car and look around. The pack is unusually quiet. Normally small pups run around while teenagers flirt and adults work. But around the Silver Pack territory, I don’t see any movement or hear any sounds. I am certain no one attacked the pack because I don’t smell blood, and there are no bodies in sight.
“Where do you think everyone is?” William asks me.
“Maybe they are inside,” Mark replies before I have a chance to say anything.
Something about the atmosphere around the pack makes me uneasy. “Let’s go to the Pack House,” I say in a cold tone.
We walk as quietly as we can in case the pack has been attacked and the attackers are inside. We go straight to the Pack House, and before I enter, I listen carefully. When I don’t hear anything strange, I open the door and go inside. Mark and William follow me.
The Pack House was probably built around a hundred years ago when the Silver Pack was established. It has not only many rooms but also a spacious entrance, and in the middle of it, seven pups play with toys. One of them notices me and looks at me with scared eyes. I put my index finger on my lips, letting him know he should be quiet, and I crouch next to him. Mark and William stop next to me. While I have little to no patience with adults, I enjoy the pups’ company. Mark often laughs and tells me that when I find my mate, he will reject me because I am scary and I will never have my own pup. I usually roll my eyes because he knows I don’t want a family. A child is a weakness I can’t afford to have.
Mia huffs. ‘A pup is many things, but never a weakness!’ she tells me, and I try my best to ignore her.
“Is everything alright with the pack?” I ask the pups.
One of them shrugs. “I suppose.”
I tilt my head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Mrs. Radu always makes our breakfast, but today she was not in the kitchen, and we had to eat leftovers,” another pup says, pouting.
“When was the last time you saw her?” I ask.
“Last night, when we celebrated Alpha Max’s birthday.”
“Maybe she is in her room,” I suggest.
“We looked for her, but she’s not there. And not only her but also Mr. Radu and Ana are missing as well,” a pup says.
“Don’t forget about the Worm,” the last pup adds.
I frown. “The Worm? Who is that?” I ask because I find the name unusual.
The pups shrug. “We don’t know his real name, but he is the pack’s slave. He does all the work around here,” one of them replies.
I clench my jaw. “I suppose you last saw the slave last night?”
“Yeah, and since this morning, the adults have been acting weird and ignoring us. We came here to play because our parents told us not to go outside.”
The pups nod, and I ruffle their hair before I stand. “I am going to look for Mrs. Radu and Alpha Max,” I tell them before I go to look for the office. Mark and William walk behind me.
We find the dining room—the tables still have plates with leftovers and glasses half full with drinks, and confetti covers a great part of the wooden floor. All packs have Omegas which keep the Pack House clean, not because someone forces them, but because Omegas love to have everything shining and sparkling.
I pass the dining room, and several meters ahead, a male comes out of a room. His eyes are red, as if he had been crying for a long time.
“Who are you?” he asks. His voice is hoarse.
“Elena Albu. I received a phone call, and someone informed me about a slave being kept in this pack,” I reply.
The male nods. “It’s all my fault,” he says, and I am not sure what he means by that. “She came to me, asking for my help, telling me she wants to run away with Alpha Max’s slave.” The male rubs his face with his palm. “Like a stupid idiot, I informed the Alpha about the plan because I was afraid Alpha Max would catch them before they got away from the pack, and he would kill them. The Alpha told me he would spare her since she is my mate, but he lied to me and he took not only her and the slave to the dungeons but also her parents.”
I have an idea of where this is going, but I still ask. “Who is them?”
“Ana and Mr Radu and Mrs. Radu—her parents.”
“Where is Alpha Max?” I ask because I need to find him fast.
“In his office,” the male answers. “But he locked the door, and no one can get inside.”
I nod. “What about the other adults?”
“We felt the passing of two dear pack members, and everyone is still in shock,” he replies.
“Where is the office?” Mark asks.
The male explains to us how to get there.
Once we are in front of the office, William tries to open the door, but like the male says, it is locked.
“Alpha Max?” I shout, but no one replies. “I know you are inside, so open the fucking door!” I demand. When Alpha Max says nothing, I look at William. “Break the door!”
Elena William does not waste any time, and with a strong kick, he breaks the door. Inside, two males are behind a desk and are staring at a laptop. I am positive the one with black hair is Max, while I don’t recognize the one with brown hair. They are so absorbed by what they see on the laptop they don’t hear the noise caused by the broken door or me getting inside. Close to the desk, sitting on a chair, is a young female. From her scent, I know she is an Omega—not that I care about ranks. Her palms cover her face, and her shoulders are shaking. While no sound is coming from her, I know she is crying silently. Her clothes are ripped and torn and full of blood, and she has injuries all over her body. “Morţii mă-sii,” (His/Her mother’s dead relatives) William swears before he removes his jacket, walks over to the female, and puts it over her shoulders before lifting her in his arms. It is only then that she notices us. Her eyes fill with fear and more tears. Her mouth parts, and her bo
Elena Stefan is out of my reach; otherwise, I would have slapped him into the next week. William growls so loud I hear his chest vibrating, and Stefan takes a step backward. “Let me guess, that is the slave. Call off the wolves and have the male brought here!” I ordered Max and snap my fingers. Anger flashes in his eyes before he does as I ask him. “Stop the chasing!” he yells into a microphone he has on the desk. The wolves obey, and from what I see on the laptop, the male falls to his knees as soon as the wolves stop running. They shift into their human form and drag the slave after them. I watch the laptop a moment more before my attention turns to Max. “I want the slave’s file!” I say. I know Max does not want to give it to me, but he puts a hand in his right pocket, takes out a set of keys, unlocks the top drawer of his desk, and reluctantly gives the file to me. I open it and look at the only page that is inside. My eyes scan it fast, and I have a strange feeling, but I shr
Vladimir When Alpha Max told the wolves chasing me to stop and take me to the office, all I could think about was to kill him for what he did to Mr. and Mrs. Radu. I try to get free from the males dragging me to the office, but they are stronger than me. I am thinking about freeing Derayu from the prison I built around him when I entered the office, my lungs filled with the most beautiful scent I have ever smelled—lilac and hyacinth. My blood roars in my ears, and I stop fighting. Derayu howls inside my head and slams against the invisible walls surrounding him. I often wondered if the girl I loved with all my heart had been my soulmate. After that day, when I took her innocent life and became the slave of the Silver Pack, I accepted it because it was my punishment for what I did. Every time Ana would mention my soulmate, only the face of my princess—how I often called her—would come to my mind. But the Moon Goddess has another plan for me. I turn my attention to the source of that
Vladimir The male with white hair scratches the back of his head and looks around him, scanning the hallways. The Pack House is unusually quiet; there are no pups running around or teenagers shyly glancing at those they like. While I have never been a real member of the Silver Pack, I know there is a special bond between a werewolf and his pack. They can mind link, a thing I could never do since, technically, I am still a rogue. When Ana's parents died, everyone felt it. From what I understood, when a pack member returns to the Moon Goddess, a part of the pack's heart goes with him. I might not feel that pain, but knowing Mr. and Mrs. Radu died because they wanted to help me hurts so badly, and I want to claw my heart out of my chest. But Ana needs me, so for her sake, I must carry on. She rejected Mikael and has no relatives left in Romania. A cousin of Mrs. Radu lives in Paris, but Ana doesn’t want to move there. My eyes fell on my hands. Ana is smart and works hard, but since she l
ElenaThe sun is about to disappear between a line of trees, and there is so much to be done before me and my team can return home. But all I can think about is Vladimir telling Mia his wolf is feral. No wonder he is full of welts and cuts. His wolf should have been able to heal them.The tip of my fingers touches his chest. Beneath all the dry blood that covers Vladamir's body, I can tell he has many scars. Max has abused my mate for a long time and subjected him to torture, and that is unacceptable! When I get my hands on Max, I will show him what torture really means!Vladimir gazes at me with pained eyes, and I know rejecting him will hurt like a motherfucker, but as a vampire huntress having a weakness can result in many people dying.Mia huffs her disagreement. 'Vladimir is not a weakness!''Think about it! His wolf is feral and he can't rely on him! What will happen when Mihnea finds out that I have found my mate? Have you stopped to think that Mihnea can use Vladimir to get to
Elena Growing up, I was never alone. There had always been family or friends over at my house, or I was visiting them. But right now, sitting in the backyard of the Silver Pack, I feel more alone than ever. In addition, I deliberately hurt my mate and made my wolf angry with me. And Mark told me he would stop working with me if I rejected Vladimir. I don't give a shit about most things, but I care a lot about Mark. At some point during my teen years, things changed, and I became less social, and I stopped speaking to most of my friends. Except for Mark. He had always been there for me. He has always been my BFF, and I love him more than anything in this world. When my first crush broke my heart, and I called him in the middle of the night, he came running to my house with a big tub of ice cream and a collection of stupid old movies. When Mark suffered because of a female, I made him his favorite dinner and stayed with him until he was better. Mark leaving the team is not an option.
VladimirAna takes me to her room and locks the door behind her before wrapping her arms around herself. I pull her into a tight hug and stroke her hair while I whisper reassuring words to her, but I know that no matter what I say or do, it won’t bring back her parents. She knows I will always be by her side, that she will be the sister I never had.I swallow hard and let go of her.“We should hurry,” I tell her. “I don’t think Elena would like it if we made her wait for too long!”“I don’t like her! Each time she visited the pack, she acted as if she were better than anyone else!”I frown because I didn’t realize that Elena had come here before. I would not have known anyway because each time someone visited the pack, I was taken to the lower parts of the dungeons and stayed there until the guests left.“It does not matter if you like her or not; we will have to go with her,” I say before heading towards Ana’s closet. “Get inside the shower while I pack your things!”Ana’s bottom lip
HiIf anyone is waiting for updates on this book - they will happen, but I have some plans for this book, and this is the second story of the series - Rain and Ashes. I am currently working on the first story, and then I will get back to this one - in a few weeks.No, no need to read the first one to understand this one, but probably some details will make sense if read in order.The other story - I am not sure if I will publish it here, but it can be found on another app - free - I.N.K.I.T.T - A pack of Rain and Pain. This story should change the name to - A Pack of Ashes and Hope - but on this app will maintain the same name.I am sorry for the delays, but the story will be completed.Have a great time everyone