Chapter two

We only slowed down when the house disappeared from sight, but we didn't stop moving.

She pulled me between trees, never letting my wrist go as she stepped over fallen branches.

Her fingernails were digging into my skin.

My face was stiff from dry tears.

"What are they?" I asked softly, blinking hard. It was hard to see what was in front of me. The large trees didn't allow the moon much room for entry.

"Don't stop walking," was all she said.

"They turned into hyenas, mum."

"I know."

"They're going to catch us, aren't they? They'll eat us or do terrible things to us. Did you hear what Father said? He told them to... to..."

"Wren!"

She stopped so suddenly that I nearly collided with her. She turned and held my shoulders. I was shaking.

"I need you to listen to me carefully."

I nodded frantically, even though I knew that I couldn't focus on a single thought. None of this felt real. It was a nightmare. A horrible nightmare.

"Your father has been working with shifters for years."

Shifters?

"Those animals you saw," she continued. "They are called shifters. He's been helping them operate their businesses so they could keep their true nature hidden from other humans."

So every company my father owned... belonged to them? He was just their cover?

I shook my head. "No."

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"Because I knew the truth." Her voice was strained.

"Your father was supposed to protect you from this part of the world. He was supposed to keep you away from it."

I stared at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wanted you to have a normal life, Wren. But the reality is this. There are monsters more powerful than humans. They live amongst us, even if they have their own laws. They are the ones truly in control."

She looked towards the darkness behind us.

"Very few humans know of this. The ones that work for them. Now that those hyenas are aware that we know of their existence... it doesn't matter if your father gets the money. We're dead."

Her face crumpled. She wanted to cry, but she was trying to be strong.

My lips wobbled as she pulled me into her arms.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

I held onto her, tears once again flowing down my cheeks. "What do we do? Where do we go?"

We didn't have another family. There was no other home.

She pulled back, her eyes angry. "I won't let them do anything to you."

She reached for her neck, straining to pull a necklace off. I watched as she held it out to me.

It was a simple leather cord with a dark, polished animal tooth hanging from it.

She placed it in my palm and pointed forward. "If you run straight, you will eventually come across a manor."

I looked in the direction she was pointing.

"Go there," she said sternly.

My head whipped to her. "What?"

"When you get to the gate... knock, scream, and bang it. I don't care what it takes. Make sure the man inside hears you and comes out."

She closed my fingers around the necklace. I shook my head, realising where this was going.

"He owes me a favour. He gave me this necklace so he will recognise it. Tell him you are my daughter. Tell him to take care of you with his life."

"You're coming with me, right?"

The sound of barking and laughter suddenly filled the air, trees rustling. I turned to look, but she cupped my face to stop me.

"Promise me you won't give up until you get there."

"We can go together, Mum," I begged her. "Please. I can't live knowing they have you and they're hurting you."

She shook her head, reaching for something in her pocket. My eyes widened when she pulled out a small knife.

I shook my head. "It won't work against a pack of hyenas."

Through the trees, I could see movement. My heart hurt from how hard it was beating.

She smiled at me sadly. "It's not for them, Wren. It's for me."

I grabbed her tightly. "Please, no."

"I'll run in the opposite direction and have them follow me. When they catch me... I'll..." She gulped, looking at the knife. "They'll come after you as soon as I'm dead, but you would have gotten a head start. So please use it."

She kissed my forehead, prying my hands off her. "I love you, Wren. Always."

I began crying.

"Please don't leave me."

Her expression broke. For a moment, she looked just as frightened as I felt.

Then she shoved me forward.

"RUN!"

I stumbled backwards. The laughter got louder around us.

"Mum!"

She turned and ran in the opposite direction. Massive figures dashed behind her, growling and cackling.

I stood frozen.

Run.

Run.

Run.

I don't remember how many times I thought that before I finally listened.

I only remember the trees blurring past me and the necklace digging into my palm.

And the sound of my heart breaking.

●

An hour must have passed before the trees parted and a manor finally appeared.

The headstart mum gave me helped, but I knew they were behind me. I could hear the occasional laughter. Behind me, next to me, and a few times in front of me.

They were taunting me.

There was no way I outran them. I had moments where I tripped and stumbled, yet they always remained behind me. This was all a game to them. My life was entertainment.

I stumbled out of the woods, reaching for the massive metal gate in front of me. I grabbed onto the bars and fell forward, pulling it with me.

It didn't open.

"She's over here!" A voice shouted.

I planted my foot on the floor, trying to stand, but a searing pain made me kneel. My chest rose and fell hard. My vision was blurry. My head was spinning.

I was tired.

"Come on, little human! You need to do better than this."

They laughed again.

I smiled, though my brain was too fuzzy to know why. Perhaps it was because I understood now. Why did they laugh so much, even back at the house? Because it was hyena nature to do so.

They were really animals. This wasn't a dream.

"Your mother decided to off herself before we could take her. I guess she thought living with us was worse than death."

I pressed my face against the metal of the gate, sitting down. The hyenas appeared in front of me slowly, eyes glowing and teeth bared. The one in front was drooling, and I looked away.

I should scream, but my lungs hurt.

Sorry, mum. I don't know if I can do this. Its just... too much. Everything that's happened tonight is too much for me.

"You think her bastard of a father was telling the truth about her being untouched?" One of them asked, his tail whipping in the air.

"Does it matter?" Another one responded boredly. "She's dead either way."

"We should at least have some fun before we kill her."

"Have you forgotten we have a meeting with the Wolf Clan? You want to ruin an alliance we haven't even formed by being late?"

I leaned back and laughed, coughing loudly from being out of breath. The hyena in front looked at me in confusion.

"What's so funny?"

I shook my head weakly. "Nothing. I just can't believe this is real. Are you telling me there are wolves who turn into humans too?"

He blinked. "There are all kinds of shifters, little one, but hyenas are the first and last you'll get to witness tonight."

I closed my eyes. "Fine. Kill me then."

"What the hell is all this noise?"

My eyes flew open at the sound of a deep voice behind me. I turned around, watching as golden eyes blinked at us in the darkness.

The hyenas turned towards the eyes. "Nothing of your concern."

The eyes darted to me. "It's my concern if it's happening in front of my property. Leave before I get angrier than I already am."

The hyenas laughed. "And what's a lone shifter going to do to a pack of us? One with no family or clan."

I blinked. Was this who Mum was talking about?

I clenched my fist, feeling the tooth necklace.

A new burst of energy filled me as I shoved my hand in between the metal bars of the gate. A low growl vibrated from the dark figure, but when I opened my hand, he paused.

His eyes stared at the necklace in my hand for a second, then he looked at me.

"Where did you get that?"

"My mother's name is... was Sarah Price. She said you gave her this for helping you. I am her daughter, Wren."

He seemed to think for a second, then his eyes flashed with recognition. His figure slowly stepped out of the darkness, and my eyes widened when an animal even bigger than the hyenas came out of the shadows.

A lion.

"Oh my God," I breathed out. I was in hell, wasn't I?

He stepped to the gate, effortlessly pushing it open and sliding out, a huge dark mane framing his face. The hyenas growled, stepping back slightly.

The lion approached the hyena in front, hovering over him. "Bentley, if you leave peacefully, I promise to forget about hunting and killing you for waking me up from my nap."

The hyena named Bentley snarled. "Not without the girl."

"She's mine now."

"She's the daughter of a thief who stole from us," he snapped back. "And she knows of the existence of shifters. She must die either way, whether by our hands or yours."

The lion turned his back on them, looking at me. "Get inside."

I didn't waste a second, limping into the property with my painful feet. The lion quietly stalked behind me.

"You really want to start a war with us, lion?" The hyena asked. "You remember what happened the last time your clan did. Oh wait, that's why you're the last member of your clan!"

He pushed the gate closed with his head, then looked up at them.

"I'm not as weak as my clan was." He said calmly.

"Come at me with all your forces if you want."