A dark road

Amara Eldwood

I could feel my lungs constricting as the wind drained from my chest, forcing me to brace my palm against a large tree.

Thousands of brownwood trees surrounded me with shadows curling around the base so that only the leafy branches were visible under the moonlight.

“Oh my goodness, help! Somebody help me!” I screamed wildly, gasping when my voice echoed through the trees almost eerily. 

Staying in The Darkness for too long could drive even the most hardened Alphas mad!

I was a nobody. 

I would be lost to the rogues or madness if I didn't find my way to a pack soon!

“Come on, Amara, you can't give up now,” I hedged, swaying lightly on my feet as I trudged further along the barely carved dirt path.

The fog swirling between the trees made it hard to see.

A flash of lightning bathed the forest in an odd fluorescent light for a split second and my blood ran cold.

My feet slammed to a stop and my eyes widened in the darkness where I had seen a pair of bloodshot eyes only a second ago.

“Wh-who’s there? Show yourself!” I screamed harshly, snapping up a tree branch and waving it around wildly.

If there were rogues surrounding me, then I would certainly die in this darkness.

I had to find a way out! I couldn't go like this!

“Stay away from me!” I yelled again, backing up into another fork in the dirt path and running blindly.

Thorny brambles scratched at my arms and legs, before my feet lifted from the ground, sending my body crashing through the sand at breakneck speed.

Dust filled my mouth and eyes until I rolled to a stop with every inch of my body trembling.

White hot pain buzzed through my body and temples when I managed to stand, coughing up bloody phlegm.

“Why me? Why me?” I screamed up at the faceless moon, my shoulders wracking with barely restrained sobs when something twinkled in the distance.

Another pack? It was difficult to tell from the clearing where I stood, but hope sprung in my chest regardless.

Civilization. I would make it out of the darkness in one piece and clear my name in Shadow pack.

I sucked in a hopeful breath, forcing one burning thigh in front of the other.

Any normal wolf would have started healing already, but I could still feel blood steadily dribbling onto my back.

I was dying…fast.

Tears welled up in my eyes as the chatter of distant wolves steadily grew louder in my ears.

Would I ever get to see Mother or Adrian again?

Why didn't she stand up for me? 

Was I truly a mistake?

I was close enough now that I could see the soldiers mounted on the slick black walls, their silvery-black uniforms bouncing off the moonlight.

“Stop! In the name of the Alpha!” one of the wolves roared, leveling his bow at me before my eyes swung to the motionless figure at the center.

Was he their leader? 

His brutishly muscular frame stood taller than most of the other guards.

I could feel his eyes watching me even in the darkness, raking over my body until my shoulders straightened an inch.

Power rolled off his body in waves, making my insides twist up on desire and reverence. He was a top elite, if not an Alpha. There was no doubt about it.

“Are you deaf, wolf? Scram! This isn't a fucking charity.” The second wolf’s  voice was cool as ice. 

Disinterested...dangerous. There was no doubt be was the leader of the pack.

“Help me, please don't shoot! I need help!” I managed to croak, but my voice sounded small and breathless even to my own ears.

The soldiers hesitated on the towering brick walls, exchanging glances before the hooded figure at the center leaped down.

The ground rumbled with his weight and I careened forward violently, catching myself before I could decorate the concrete with my brains.

“Please—” I rasped, but the words scattered in the wind howling between us, making my long red hair fly into my eyes and whip at my neck.

“I’m gonna need a name, Riding Hood, or I’ll cut you down where you stand!” The figure barked, but my throat closed up around the words.

I could only just see his harsh gray eyes and gaunt face hiding beneath his ruffled hair when something snapped inside me.

There was something familiar about him, but the pounding in my head drowned out everything else.

More of the strikingly handsome men poured out from the half-open gates behind him, all dressed in rich silk leather vests and loose pants.

Warriors. All of them.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

“My name is Amara Eldwood,” I panted, but my lips refused to move and I was falling before I realized it.

A flash of concern passed over the leader’s strikingly handsome face before the world went black around me.

#

My breaths wove in and out of my chest in shallow bursts, and the flash of something bright passed over my closed eyes when I came to.

Every inch of my body stung with pain when I tried to sit up, before realizing I couldn't move.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing taking in strays, Caius, we don't even know who the fuck she is!” a man’s disgruntled bark made my heart skip, and I cracked my eyes open.

He was standing next to the gray-eyed wolf who must have rescued me, his handsome, angular face a mask of fury.

His harsh hooded eyes snapped down to my face as if he had felt me watching him.

A flash of metal caught my eyes before they widened when he closed the distance between us, his sword pressing firmly against my throat.

How had he managed to move so fast?

“Dante! Come on man, she’s injured! Surely this questioning can wait until after the nursemaids see her?” Caius groaned, a hint of pity darkening his eyes, but the bigger wolf’s scowl only grew deeper.

I raised my hands instinctively, not daring to breathe and only whimpering when his sword pierced my skin and pain ricocheted in my head.

“You have three seconds, before I kill you.”