[Danica's POV]
Disbelief rolled through me as I blankly stared at the spot where Bryllie had just been.
"Danica, look out!"
A gasp escaped me as Mason's warm, strong body slammed into mine, pushing me out of the way just in time to avoid having the quickly crumbling roof fall on top of me.
"We need to go." Mason growled, getting to his feet.
"But..." I whispered. "Bryllie..."
"We will find her." Mason insisted, yanking me to my feet. "But if we die here under the rubble, we can't!"
I knew he was right and that I needed to snap out of it, but my heart was screaming.
My child was gone. She was gone, and I didn't know where she was or if she was okay. How was I supposed to function knowing that?
"Danica, we need to move!" Mason roared, pulling me to my fight.
So caught off guard, I stumbled forward, crashing into his chest as a gasp escaped me.
"What the hell?" I growled, attempting to step back. "I'm not a ragdoll!"
"Fuss later!" Mason huffed, beginning to move.
Outside of our room, the pack was already on high alert and moving. Blood splattered the ground, mixing with feathers and corpses of both harpies and our pack mates.
It seemed that Rebecca hadn't come alone, and she easily sent her few followers to their demise to keep our warriors distracted.
"Alpha!" Chris boomed, rushing towards us from the opposite wing. "Where is Bryllie?"
I sucked in a painful breath at the mention of my child.
"They took her." Mason growled, letting his aura trickle away from him.
"What?" Chris' eyes grew wide as he took in Mason's words. "You said..."
"Later." Mason snapped. "We need to vacate the building before it collapses.
As if to prove Mason's point, the building began to sway and rumble. The foundation was heavily damaged, and it wouldn't hold much longer.
"EVERYONE LISTEN!" Mason called, extending his alpha abilities. "GRAB THE INJURED AND LEAVE THE DEAD! WE MUST VACATE THE COMPOUND BEFORE IT COLLAPSES!"
I braced myself as Mason's aura exploded from him, making its way to any and all warriors and pack members that were around. There would be no disobeying this command; everyone who had sworn allegiance to Mason would have to listen.
"Let's go."
Stumbling forward, I allowed Mason to pull me along.
As the building around us and the life we knew crumbled to the ground in heaps of debris and dust, the world around me seemed to move in slow motion.It was all so hard to believe.
Once we were outside, we gathered on the training grounds as warriors staggered out alone and with their friends and families clutching to them.
As I watched the building topple and then crash, Mason wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to comfort me. However, I could no longer feel his warmth. It was almost as if my emotions were left behind in that crashing building and all I had left was numbness.
At that moment, I felt something in me awaken. Something dark and all too familiar. It beckoned me with a comforting aura and hand, calling me to it to grieve the loss of my child and my home.
[Mason's POV]
Danica's body shook against mine as we watched everything we knew and loved come crashing down. How was it possible that a day that had started out so perfectly could end so horribly, even when it hadn't begun?
"Mason," Danica murmured, stiffening. "I don't feel well."
"What?"
Feeling shock roll through me, I watched as Danica began to shift right before my eyes. However, the aura and energy I was getting from her wasn't normal.
A low growl escaped her as a paw shot out, connecting with my arm.
Letting out a hiss, I released the now snarling wolf and took it in. This wasn't Danica's normal wolf. Instead, its energy and aura resembled that of a rogue. Its red eyes flicked about, taking in all that were close to it, but it was easy to see there wasn't any recognition.
"Baby," I murmured, holding up a hand. "Are you."
'Stay back.' Danica's voice growled with a hint of menace.
There was something oddly familiar about that voice. It wasn't until I looked at her eyes once more that I knew... her rogue side had managed to awaken.
"What's going on, alpha?" Chris hissed, cutting his gaze to me. "What is happening to Luna?"
"I don't know."
Turning my gaze back to Danica, I tried to make sense of what was going on. Was this due to her being unable to process the loss of Bryllie? It was similar to what Martha said happened to her when her parents were murdered.
'Try to calm down, baby.' I husked through mindlink. Maybe if I could trigger our bond, I could bring her back. 'We will find our daughter.'
'NO!' Danica snarled. 'I WILL FIND MY CHILD!'
Her words were like a slap in the face. Did she really not remember that we were both Bryllie's parents? And how was it possible that she remembered Bryllie but not me and the others?
'DON'T FOLLOW!'
Still reeling from Danica's statement, I couldn't react as she began to dash away, heading straight into the building that was barely hanging on.
"NO!" Why would she go in there? What could possibly compel her?
Surging forward, I began to chase, but stopped as Chris' arms wrapped around me.
"Don't!" He huffed as I struggled. "Look!"
Turning my gaze straight ahead, I watched as the only remaining floor of the building crumpled in on itself. Pieces of wood and dust flew out in a whirlwind of chaos, blocking the rubble from sight entirely.
Despite my attempts to break free of Chris' hold, I couldn't. I was left to helplessly watch as the last of the foundation hit the ground and it all began to settle.
Falling to my knees, I tried to process how it was possible that in the span of a few hours, everything I held near and dear was gone. There was no way Danica could have survived that. And no matter how long I watched, nothing moved from inside.
Standing, I stumbled forward, my heart hammering in my chest, anxiety clawing at my very being.
"DANICA!!!"
[Danica's POV]I searched around the quickly crumbling building for the source of energy that was drawing me. I didn't know what it was or what I was looking for, but dammit, it was like a siren's call.Extending my senses, I tried to determine the direction of the energy.'That way.' I muttered, shooting past a falling piece of roof, easily dodging it before it came crashing into my back.What I was looking for was just up ahead, and if I could just reach it, I could get the hell out of this crashing building.
[Danica's POV]I woke up to find myself in a strange room with a soft glow illuminating me. I was on a large white bed with fluffy pillows and a down comforter, but my wrists were cuffed to the headboard.There were barred windows on either side of me that allowed me to see figures roaming about."Hey!" I called, hoping one was close enough to hear. "Someone! Let me go!"Despite the urge to struggle, I remained calm. I needed to consider the innocent child in my stomach. Any wrong move could be detrimental to it.
[Mason's POV]All the lights were on when I arrived at Nigel’s shack in the middle of the forest. I didn’t bother knocking as I kicked in his door, startling both him and Ash."What?" Nigel huffed, beginning to stand."I need your help, old man." I growled, storming forward."What has gotten into you?" Nigel demanded, as I grabbed the neck of his shirt. "Where have your manners gone?""How do you locate someone when you don’t know where they are?" I demanded, ignoring his question.
[Danica’s POV]"How much longer?"A day had passed since I woke up in this strange room. A day wasted being a prisoner in a place that was claimed to be my very own. I didn’t have time for this. My daughter needed me, and I was wasting time."HELLO!"I knew that being annoying probably wasn’t the best solution to getting myself free sooner, but I was running out of options. The sooner they get the damn DNA results, the better.‘And if you are their future leader?’ A small v
[Danica’s POV]Many eyes found their way to me as I entered the small meeting room with Dax. Despite knowing that I should have felt insecure about their looks of distrust, I felt a small pull towards them, as if I had known them my whole life."Who is this?" A man with a buzzed head and blazing red eyes, set deep beneath a protruding forehead, asked Dax as we made our way towards the table. "Why have you brought an outsider with you?""There is no outsider here." Dax snapped, shooting the man a glare. "Clarence, this is my granddaughter..." For a moment, Dax paused, remembering that I currently didn’t have a name. "Her name is Xena."Xena… it had a good ring to it, but I couldn’t help wondering why he had chosen that name."Granddaughter?" Clarence repeated, letting a bark of laughter escape him. "Since when have you had a granddaughter?""Since we discovered that Xavier left an heir behind before he disappeared." Dax beamed. "And aside from that, I have nothing else to explain to yo
I fiddled with the irritating mask that sat on my face as Asher and Nigel spoke with a bored-looking guard at the entrance to the Black Forest packgrounds.Three days had passed. Three agonizing days of not having my child or my mate in my arms and finally it was the night of the ball.Despite myself, I was feeling nervous about this whole thing. Now that I was here, I wasn't sure how I would go about getting Danica to come home with me. As far as I knew, she still didn't remember me, and that meant she may not want to be with me. That thought alone sent shards of pain piercing into my heart. I couldn't and wouldn't let that happen, but I also didn't want to push her away.As I struggled internally, Ash and Nigel motioned through and we were off.Inside, the compound was decorated modestly with low glowing fairy lights and red ribbons, forming the venue area itself on the bare ground below.Two tables sat on either side of the grounds holding food and drinks for all the guests that w
[Mason's POV]Danica allowed me to lead her to the middle of the dance floor. As we moved, many eyes trailed us, and I could feel hostility trickling from the males of her father's pack who were clearly aiming to try to win her heart.Holding back my rage at another man even looking at my mate, I shot them a smirk. After all, I was the one she allowed to hold her hand for all to see."Having fun?" Danica sighed, catching me in the act. "If you want to cause trouble, you can leave.""No, no." I said quickly. "I only wish to dance with you."Stopping, I pulled her against me, letting my arms snake around her waist. Instantly I felt an overwhelming sense of relief as her warmth sank into me and my son's strong heartbeat drifted through the music that was filling my ears. "Too tight," Danica hissed, beginning to try to pull away."Whoops." Shit, I needed to remember that she didn't remember me. Otherwise, I feared I would push her away if I was too pushy."That's better." She sighed as
[Danica's POV]February 2nd, 1980A year has passed since we were brought to this forsaken island, and Rosette has disappeared entirely. The caretakers insist she ran away, but given how skiddish in nature she is, I don't believe them. I fear that she may have died due to the rejection of the goddesses blood that they have been injecting us with.I've spoken with a few orphans that have been here for a while, and they finally gave me an understanding of this island. It is a secret camp that scientists are using to create super wolves and that we were all brought here to be part of that experiment.At first I didn't believe it, but after feeling the effects of the blood in my system firsthand, I can't deny it.For now, I am only subjected to injections since they start training us when we turn twelve. That means that I still have a year before my battle training starts too.I can only hope that I can find a way to escape by then. Otherwise, I fear I will end up just like Rosette.Letti