Prologue (S)

Fire and smoke. Ringing in my ears. The rubble of the house pressed down onto my legs, dust and smoke suffocating the air and my lungs. I'm dizzy, my vision is not focusing.

It was all sudden. The first thing I heard was the bell from the pastor, swinging it wildly as he ran through the village like a madman. Yelling 'attack' and 'run', the rest of his words mumbled by his unstable breathing. Passing wolves froze, the family I was cleaning for growing silent, shocked that the respected pastor, persona all went to for some security and confession, would be spilling such words. I had only looked out the kitchen window when a propelled boulder fell from the sky. Pastor’s last, squealed word was 'Salvalor' before he was crushed by it.

Panic struck fast, my feet moving towards the living room from the kitchen, the family I was cleaning for was still there. A blast through the roof reeled me back, another boulder crashing through from the sky. I was on the floor as the ceiling collapsed, losing consciousness seconds after.

I woke up to the smoke. Both ears were ringing, building pressure in my head, and pain in my legs. Shock set in quickly afterwards, along with renewed panic that took away from my effort to dislodge my legs from the stone. Trapped, under a burning, destroyed house, it took me precious time to gather myself. Now, still, I'm unable to move my legs. Time seems to be going by, and I have less and less of a chance to survive. My head swivels from left to right as I search for something to use as a lever. Finally, I spot a broken piece of floor floorboard to my right. Reaching for it, I grab the wood, tugging and pulling until I rip it out completely. The rubble shifts, stone on top of me coming an inch closer to my body.

"Okay, okay," I breathe out, trying to keep myself as calm as can be. Shifting a bit, I aim the wooden board at the little gap by my right leg and shove it through. Wiggling and turning, until I can feel the pressure being relieved. I pull my right leg out, and the debris shifts. Using the now free leg, I stomp on the stone that's trapping my left one, while trying to wiggle it out towards the small space. It becomes free suddenly, causing the stones to shift again.

The entire thing is creaking, stones above beginning to fall.

Adrenaline rushes through my veins as I twist myself onto my belly and begin to drag myself, shimmy, in any way I can, towards the light. The sounds that leave me are snuffed out, I know even if I call for help, no one will hear. Or come.

'Keep going. Almost there, cheering myself in my head as I struggle. When the light is near, my hands find the edges of the stone. I pull myself out as hard as I can and crawl the rest of the way, just in time for the debris to completely collapse. Fresh air burns my lungs, and I take big gulps as my body lightly shakes. My eyes stare at the ground, sweat dripping down my nose. I can barely keep myself aware. As my breathing finally slows down, the ringing in my ears recedes.

Screams echo around me. I lift myself off the ground, my eyes adjusting to the light of the day. The sun is in the west, which means it's starting to set. I was unconscious for hours. The village is ruined, burning, pillaged. Dark furred wolves moving around, others, men, dragging away screaming women and men. To my left, where the small square is, the children have been lined up. 'Salvalor', the priest's last screech comes to mind. The Tyrant's army is here.

Staggering on my feet, away from the crowd of killer wolves, the instinct to run takes over. I swivel around and slam into what feels like a solid wall. Warm skin against my face causes me to stagger back in shock. The dark skinned man grabs my arm, practically lifting me up and slinging me over his shoulder. I scream, which causes my ears to ring again, wriggling against his hold. His arm around my waist doesn't budge. He walks, my chance of escape disappearing.

Some seconds later, he throws me down and into a metal cage. He shuts the door and locks it. I groan, my body already fairly beaten up. As I sit up, I see three other girls huddling in the corner of the large cage. All of them I recognize. I begin to shake as I realize the rumors that were hushed through the pack village are true. Looking out the cage, the gruesome scene of other villagers being slaughtered, executed, makes sickness rise from my stomach. I swallow down what threatens to come out and look away.

Salvalor pack has made it this far into the mountains. My village is the last one between the East and West Wolven territories. The people had hoped the Tyrant would go through the other passage. Unfortunately, fate has different plans.

Mine seems to be sealed. Captured, I have a faint idea of what waits for me. Seeing the condition of this cage, the dried blood and vomit, the girls huddling together, I'm forced to accept that fact. I have to look away when I see the Alpha and Luna of our small pack being dragged to where the rest had been executed. Their fate lies solely in their obedience. Either they surrender and survive, or they die. Or perhaps, they won’t even be given the gift of merciful, quick death. I can’t watch it. But I can hear everything.

With the adrenaline passing, and my body being too exhausted to fight off the oncoming, feverish state and pain, my eyes slowly closed. The last thing I see is a giant Lycan landing by the cage, rattling the very ground beneath and the metal, deafening the scream of Luna.