Chapter 1 - The Beginning

Nero was only a young Boy when the Pack was attacked. One dark night when his mother had already put him to sleep. He heard the Bells ringing and climbed back out of his bed curious as to what is happening. His mother managed to get to him before he was spotted by anyone. Scared and frightened she grabbed hold of the little Boy with dark curly hair and hid him quickly in a Chest of blankets, putting clothes on top.

“Nero, listen now darling, whatever happens, don’t come out. We have prepared you for moments like this, do you remember?” she questions him, trying to stay as calm as she possibly can.

“Yes, mummy. I will stay here till my tummy grumbles and even longer after that. I remember.” He answers in his sweet voice.

“You need to be brave now, and remember that we love you so, so much.” She strokes over his head as tears start to roll down her cheeks. One last kiss on his forehead then she closes the chest. She opens a window, throwing some books over the floor and walks quickly out of the Room leaving her little Boy behind with a last look over her shoulder... 

Nero hears a lot of noise and screaming outside. People running past his window, at one point he thought he would be found when someone searched the room. Even sat on the chest, that he was hiding in. Like he was trained to do, he kept quiet, hoping he will make his mother proud. This Game they used to play where the children had to hide and they would see who hid the best. Sometimes Nero would come out because he felt hungry and then his Mother would scold him. This would not happen today. He would be the last one to come out, he promised himself.

The screams are now getting less and the noise around him has died down, still Nero isn’t budging. A while ago his tummy started to grumble. It must be time for breakfast yet He can’t even smell any food being prepared, like usual. His mother would always make Eggs and Bacon with some fresh baked bread in the morning. She was pregnant with another Child, so made sure they both was always very well fed. Nero couldn’t wait to meet his new Brother or Sister, He was sure he would be an amazing big Brother. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore his stomach and the feeling of thirst. If he tried to sleep for a short while maybe his Mother would come and get him soon.

His tummy was grumbling so loud, surely everyone within a mile radius could hear it. Awoken by the noise he felt pretty rough. Never did he have to hide for this long. Carefully he lifted the lid of the chest. At first, he only opened it a small bit, so he was able to look around his parents room. Only when he felt satisfied, that he couldn’t hear anyone or pick any scents up of intruders, he would carefully and quietly started to climbed out. The only thing he can sense is the smell of metal in the air. He smelt this once before but it was only when his father had been attacked by a Rogue and he had to defend the Pack. Aldric, his Father was the Alpha of the Pack and everyone around was looking up to him. That day, He explained to Nero how important it is to defend what you love and to fight if your Family is in danger. It was the Day his Mum taught him how to hide and many of the Pack children had to do the same.

Nero stuck his nose into the air, double checking that there was no one left around. He climbed out of the window, his Mother had left open, from the chair over the window frame and slowly down the other side. He was really good at climbing and was very proud of being one of the fastest runners in the pack. He could even outrun some of the older Wolves.

As Nero, starts to walk towards the front of the house he notices the blood splatters all around him. Fearful he remembered what his father told him before…

”If you ever notice anything out of the ordinary, run, run far and fast. Never look back.”

Visibly shaken, Nero turns around as he bumps into a person who is stood behind him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

“Nowhere to run Boy.” The stranger says as he carries him away by his neck.

Kicking around , struggling he tries to free himself.

“Let me go, you horrible Man.” He shouts trying to impress with the strength in such a small body. The only thing it earns him is a punch in the face which sends the small boy into a deep sleep.

Packed away into a cage, like some of his friends, he is transported away.

For hours, the cages have been left covered with no sunlight, never even knowing where they had been taken but the only question Nero had on his mind was, What has happened to his Family. Whispers from the other children were that they had been taken from their Families.

His Father wouldn’t allow anything like this to happen, not without a fight. He was sure his Father would come looking for them as soon as he could.

The cover were pulled of the Cages at once, now for the first time Nero was able to see who was left of his friends. The bright light blinding him for a moment before he could start to look around. It looked like a big warehouse with lots of other boxes around. There was only four other children caged, just like he was. Rocco, Ally, Jean, and Gabriel. Nero is by far the smallest one of them.

The Man who caught him walks past, his face has a scar going across his face, it looks still very fresh. He kicks against Nero’s cage at once as he notices him being watched. All the children gasp in fear cowering on the opposite side of the cages. The man turns around with his attention towards the door as another two strangers walk in.

“These are the ones we could find hiding away after the Pack had been taken down.” The Man with the scar reports to the other men who joined him.

Nero’s jaw dropped hearing the words. “Taken down? What does that mean?” He wonders as he tries to listen harder.

“All dead, I trust. We will sell these on but why did you not put that small one out of his misery right away? He looks frail and dirty.” One of the men points towards Nero.

“He was the last one to come out and put up a fight. I had to knock him out but yes, they are all dead.” The words from the man with the scar hit Nero like a brick over the head.

“Dead? My Family? My Father? My Mother and even my Baby Brother or Sister? Everyone is just gone.” Tears running down his small face as he holds on to the cage and his chest to steady himself. One of the Girls starts to cry. Ally was in as much of a shock as Nero was. Her cries made it all real. The Pack had been attacked and every adult had been Killed.

“These will be sold as slaves on the market tomorrow. Make sure you clean them up as we will not get any money for any of them in this state.” The Man gestures with his hand then turns to walk away. The door falls shut with a bang; the only thing left now is the small whimpers of the children trying to come to terms with what they had just been told.

Cage by Cage the Kids are dragged out into the open. One after the other made to undress then washed off with a bucket of ice-cold water. The Man with the scar hands each one clean clothes to cover up. Nero doesn’t fit in any of the clothes, he is too small to fit anything so they just hand him an oversized white shirt and they tie a rope around his waist.

“There that will work, you look like a little girl now, but who cares.” He huffs as he already feels the young boy is not worth the hassle.

Nero doesn’t care what he is wearing, the pain over having lost his family sits deep cutting open wounds into his small heart. He lost everything in a blink of a moment, blaming himself for hiding when he could have helped his father. He should have fought, his mother told him to be brave. “What was brave about hiding?” he asks himself over and over again.