Kieran Arrives

Lilith:

It was around eleven at night. The moon, rising from its slumber, cast its light onto the crowd of people gathered at the center of the pack village. 

It was a huge space where Alpha Zander used to host public meetings, executions and the like. The pack members were seated and right at the front was Ryder, standing so proudly waiting for me to walk down the red carpet that was laid out to be my aisle. 

The gown that he had dropped at my doorstep the previous day, clung tightly on my body. I felt like it was burning up my skin and couldn't wait to get it off of me. 

Standing at the beginning of the aisle, all eyes were on me. Seren was at the front of the crowd, with the look of disbelief on her face.

'I know, I don't believe it either.' I said to myself. That's when I realized how silent it had been for me. 

Something wasn't right in my head. Something was missing.

Tugging at the dress on the side, I wanted to bring my claw out and tear it to shreds. Just as the thought was crossing my mind, a figure appeared to my right.

"Don't even think about it." A deep voice warned. 

It was Alpha Zander!

He was stepping in as my father and godfather, ready to walk me down the aisle and hand me over to his son. I growled at him and the smile on his face disappeared.

"I raised you from birth. If it were not for me, you'd be dead. So, why don't you put a smile on your face because this is how you're going to repay me." He whispered in a low tone that carried finality.

'I didn't ask to be raised by you.’ I mumbled in an even lower voice so that he didn't hear before I put on the fake smile. 

Everyone stood up and we started walking down the aisle. Never had I wanted a walk to last forever than I did on this one. We were soon at the altar and I was facing Ryder.

He had a 'I win' look on his face as he smiled from ear to ear.

As per tradition, we were expected to look up to the moon and make a wish. Ryder did his and I did mine. He inched closer and with his ego oozing said. "My wish has already come true. What did you wish for?" 

At that moment I was on the brink of turning to him and swinging my fist at full force on his face. 

Knowing the consequences, I held back and responded. "For someone to save me from this hellhole."

My voice was clear and steady and I watched as the smile on his face disappear.

Just as he was about to say something, a howl pierced the air from a distance getting everyone's attention. We all turned to the direction it came from, the forest on the mountains. All eyes were fixed on the trees that were around fifty feet away from us. 

Looking keenly and focusing on my werewolf sight, I swore that I saw something move in the cover of the trees.

"Did you see that?" I asked out loud as the people started standing up and looking at the woods.

"What?" Someone from the crowd asked.

"That!" I shouted, pointing to two distinct glowing red dots in the darkness, deep into the woods. Some people gasped while others were still trying to see what I had seen.

The sound of branches breaking and rustling of the leaves on the forest floor confirmed that there was indeed something watching us. 

It wasn't just watching us, it was moving towards us, getting closer.

"Men! Get into position!" Alpha Zander ordered. A group of around ten men ran and stood between us and whatever was lurking in the shadows. 

They were ready.

I was still looking for the glowing dots and when I saw them, they disappeared for a second then reappeared.

"They blinked!" I said out loud to which some eyes turned to me." They blinked! It's a Wolf!" I shouted, as it added up. 

However, given the height those eyes were at, the wolf had to be huge. Around three times bigger than the normal one.

Just as I finished my statement, the creature started running towards us. The crowd behind us scattered for safety while the warriors stood their ground.

Whatever it was, its footsteps were loud and shook the ground as it came running towards us. I wasn't going to stand there and watch. I turned just in time for me to start running with Seren who had been shouting for me to run.

It was chaotic and all hell had broken loose. Running as fast as I can, the loud footsteps that had stopped for just a second and cries rang out, continued.

I could hear it getting closer and I knew there was no way I could outrun it. Before I could even think, something huge and heavy crashed into my back pinning me to the ground. I tried scrambling away but I couldn't. 

Looking in front of me, Seren was a few feet away bawling her eyes out and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Run!" I screamed at her before whatever was on top of me pressed harder on my back, knocking the wind out of me.

I could hear it snarling at everyone else as they stood from a distance and watched in horror.

After what seemed like forever, the pressure on my back was released slowly. I could hear a low and terrifying growl next to my head. Gathering all the courage I had, I slowly started turning around. In the distance, where the warriors had stood, I saw the mangled bodies in a heap. 

Some of them, still twitching.

I turned completely to see what was on top of me. My blood froze when I came face to face with the biggest wolf that I had ever seen, whose face was drenched in blood.

This monster leaned in close, looking at me like I'm sort of an ant, and roared right at my face.

I almost passed out from fright at the sight of the beast.

'Is this how I die?' I questioned as I shook fraily under the best. When our eyes met, something stood out and for some reason, I instantly knew who it was.

It was Kieran Blackwood! The Exiled Alpha.