Chapter 2: Your worst nightmare

Kendrick jerked awake suddenly and sat up. He scanned his bedroom, searching for what had roused him from sleep.

He was alone.

Running his palm across his face, he rose from the bed and flicked his hair away from his eyes. He was shirtless, and perspiration dripped down his hard chiselled torso.

Cursing softly, he walked towards the window and stared into the dark sky. A full moon stared back at him, teasing him with its silvery glow, reminding him of yet another night without his mate.

His twin brother Kaiden, who left Lunaria a year ago, had never bothered to return. Kendrick hated to think of the day Kaiden left, because it brought back bitter memories.

After the death of their parents, they were both crowned the Alphas of Lunaria, the largest and most powerful werewolf kingdom in the realm.

Kendrick remembered how sweet his childhood was. He and Kaiden had been inseparable, promising each other to rule Lunaria together, without any rivalry. They were the perfect Alphas for Lunaria, the Blackthorn brothers as they were fondly referred to.

Until Kaiden decided to leave one day. Kendrick remembered pleading with him to stay back, but Kaiden was adamant. According to him, he wanted to see the world and find his mate.

Kaiden left, leaving Kendrick alone and broken. A year had gone by with no news from him.

Pushing the memories away, Kendrick was about to turn back into the room when he felt something in the air.

He froze, his entire body going stiff. The hair at the back of his neck stood on end, and he felt his wolf come alive.

He turned back and looked at the moon. It couldn't be, he thought. That feeling was unmistakable.

It was his mate. She was out there, somewhere. Calling for him.

Right in the middle of the room, he transformed into a massive black wolf and leaped out the window into the forest.

The moon guided his way. The mate bond spurred him on and he felt his entire being come alive. He couldn't wait to find her and bring her back to Lunaria with him.

He raced through the forest, running for hours, leaping over trees with insane speed.

Until suddenly, he heard a scream.

"LET ME GO!"

He slowed down, his ears alert, his hackles raised.

The scream came again. It was from a woman.

"HELP! HELP ME!"

Instantly, he felt a sharp pain in his head. It was her, his mate. She was in danger.

Instant fury boiled through him and he let out a vicious roar. With that rage within him, he bounded through the forest, his paws making the earth tremble.

He let out another roar, blind rage boiling through him. His mate was being hurt, and he needed to get to her, to save her.

He burst out of the forest in a fit of rage and glared at the eight lycans before him. When his eyes lowered to the unconscious girl one held, his anger mounted.

Pinning them under his hard glare, he shifted into his human form. Then he took a step forward and spoke coldly.

"Take your hands off my mate."

The lycan holding Astrid took a defensive step backwards. Without dropping her, he shifted to his human form and stared up at the intimidating man before him.

"The girl belongs to us." He said, trying to instill enough authority into his voice. "We are taking her back to our Alpha."

Kendrick took another step forward, and the lycans retreated, cowering away, growling softly.

"Stay away from us. We don't want any trouble."

In a flash of movement, Kendrick appeared behind them. Before they could realize what was happening, a sharp painful howl echoed and two of the lycans dropped dead.

The other lycans whipped around, staring in horror at the dead shifters. There were two gaping holes in their chests, where their hearts had been ripped out.

Realization dawned on the remaining six shifters and they slowly looked up at Kendrick.

"Take your hands off my mate." He repeated in the same bone chilling voice. "I won't ask a third time."

The man holding Astrid turned furious. He turned to the remaining lycans and roared at them.

"Take him out! Now!"

Kendrick didn't move a muscle as the lycans all charged at him, growls filling the air, the glint of sharp claws and teeth flashing in the darkness.

One by one, they all dropped dead.

Astrid's captor looked on in horror as Kendrick slashed at them, ripping out their hearts brutally.

A few seconds later, Kendrick stood before him, his face shielded by the shadows of the forest, his red eyes glowing eeriely, his claws dripping with blood.

"Who are you?" The man asked in a trembling voice.

"Your worst nightmare." Kendrick snarled and charged at him in blinding speed.

The man quickly lowered Astrid to the ground and lifted his hands to defend himself, but Kendrick was quicker. He knocked him off with a hard punch to the chest, and his body flew backwards before crashing into a tree.

Wiping the blood off his hands, Kendrick crouched and lifted Astrid in his arms.

"Mine." He whispered, feeling the sparks of the mate bond. He gently pushed the wet strands of hair away from her face and cupped her cheek. She was still unconscious, but he could feel her steady heartbeat.

Cradling her close, he straightened and turned towards the man who had captured her.

"I should kill you for laying your hands on my mate." His voice had a deadly chill. "But you're going to take a message back to your Alpha. What pack are you from?"

The man coughed loudly, blood spluttering from his lips. "Iron Claw Pack." He wheezed.

Kendrick's eyes hardened when he heard it.

"Kael Dawson." He growled. He knew Kael, the man who killed the Alpha of Iron Claw Pack and took the Alpha position for himself. "Return to your pack and tell Kael his death is on the line. I will destroy him, for daring to hurt my mate this way."

Without another word, he turned and started walking away.

The wounded shifter lifted himself on his elbow and called after him.

"Wait... please... who are you?"

Kendrick stopped and looked to the side. "One of the Blackthorn Brothers. The name should tell Kael what awaits him." Then he turned and disappeared into the forest.

The man's eyes widened in realization as he clutched his chest in pain. The Blackthorn Brothers. The entire werewolf realm knew who they were.

The most powerful Alphas in the entire realm, who single handedly massacred the entire coven of vampires and witches.

He struggled to his feet and raced back to Iron Claw Pack, to tell Kael all that happened and to warn him.