Chapter One

( 12 years later )

Dust particles filled the air when I slammed the large, heavy book closed. A stressful groan escaped my lips as I angrily shoved it back on the shelf with the other books. "Anything?" I heard Darian's voice from the other side of the library. I shook my head and continued rummaging through the books, reading their spines. 

"There's gotta be something..." Darian mumbled as he pulled books off the shelves, opened them, and tossed the unhelpful objects somewhere behind him, yelling profanities at them. "Dammit! This is taking forever!" 

I rolled my eyes and held back the smile that attempted to make an appearance before going back to my search. We searched for hours, but found nothing.

We really needed to find this book. I'd go insane if we didn't. 

Right when I was about to completely give up, my eyes caught sight of a book that fell over when I sorted through the books. My eyes danced over the words that displayed the title on the cover. I blew on the dusty leather, so that I could see it better, causing more dust particles to float around. 

Opening it up, my eyes skimmed over the pages, drinking in the words. My eyes widened when I realized that this was what we searched for.

'Darian!' I called out to him through a mind-link, 'I found something!' Darian was at my side before I could even blink. 

He ripped the book from my hands and began reading the words more closely. "Are you sure this is them?" he asked as he reread the page. I nodded my head. "How do you know...?"

'I slightly remember them. But the evidence in the paragraph proves that it's them,' I responded. Darian continued to stare at the object in his hands, still unconvinced. 'Look,' I pointed at a sentence in the second paragraph. 

"Alpha," the voice of someone made me turn around. I looked at the man standing in front of me by the door to the library.

I nodded my head for him to continue. "We have just been informed that the annual gathering takes place tomorrow night," Ryan stated with a respectful bow.

I sighed, not really wanting to go, but I reluctantly nodded my head again and dismissed him with a wave of my hand. "Wait, Alpha, I have more to say," he quickly said, "The Alpha of the Stormfang Pack would like to have a word with you." 

I glanced over at a Darian who already looked in my direction, book closed. "We'll be there in a few minutes," Darian answered for me. Ryan nodded before retreating out the door. 

••

"So I'll put some of my warriors on patrol at this border over here," Alpha Finn pointed at a map that laid out on a large mahogany table in my personal office located at the pack house. 

Finn slid his index finger to the west borders near his pack, "Your warriors can watch the borders more up north."

We've been seeing a lot more rogues around our west side borders, probably because a pack more inland was recently attacked by hunters, and the pack no longer existed. Anyone who survived the attack became rogues. Now they found pleasure attacking and stealing from other wolves.

I nodded, agreeing with his suggestion. "Sounds good to Alpha Kaelith," Darian told the Alpha. 

"Great," Finn clapped his hands-together, "With these wild animals roaming around, I don't feel like my pack members are protected, you know?" I nodded my head again. 

Finn stood up from the chair he sat on. 

As he left the room he stopped, "Thanks again for this alliance. See you at the party tomorrow night!" Then he left my office. 

••

'Do you think you can handle the pack while I'm gone?' I asked Darian through mind-link. Darian rolled his eyes at me as he shoved a chip into his mouth and chewed obnoxiously loud. 

"Dude, it's only a few hours. I've taken care of them before," he replied, taking another chip. 

'Yeah, but recently there have been more rogues. Just like Alpha Finn , I'm worried about my pack's safety,' I said with a frown, 'Maybe I shouldn't go...'

"You're going. You've always gone. And besides, every other Alpha will be there. Plus you need to live a little. Maybe you'll find your mate too!" 

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the word 'mate'. I didn't think I'd ever find my mate. Even if I did, she probably wouldn't want me. Who'd want a Mute mate? 

The only good thing I had was my pack. I didn't understand how they accepted an Alpha who couldn't directly give them orders. I protected them, however. I was also really close to each and every pack member. Because I couldn't communicate verbally, listening had been a great skill of mine. I enjoyed listening to my pack members talk. I guessed it was like therapy for them. I also read their thoughts if they opened up to me.

Darian helped me when it came to negotiations and giving orders, because he was the only one I actually communicated with, which was through mind-link. 

Words hadn't left my mouth since that night...

'I don't think I'll find her...' I whispered in a depressed voice. Darian's eyes softened as he saw the way my shoulders sagged. 'But I'll go.' 

Silence filled the air as neither one of us spoke. My mind drifted off to that night, and by the look on Darian's face, he was thinking about it too. It was a scary night for the both of us. Coming close to death is a very terrifying experience. 

"Do you miss them?" Darian suddenly asked. I flinched slightly at the sudden question that ripped me from my thoughts. Biting my lip, I slowly nodded my head. 

We both fell silent again. 'Well...I'll see you tomorrow,' I spoke out before leaving the kitchen to go to my room. The sound of the front door opening and closing echoed throughout the house as Darian left. 

••

My eyes snapped open as I quickly sat up in my bed. Sweat rolled down my face and coated my body in a thin sheet, my heart racing and breath unsteady. Bringing my shaking hands up to my face, I dragged the pads of my fingers over the slick skin on my cheeks and neck, closing my eyes for a few seconds. 

Pushing the covers off my body, I slid out of bed and left the room. Darkness surrounded me as I walked down the corridor to the stairs, my only light source coming from the window on the other side of the hall. 

When I reached my destination, I didn't even bother turning on the lights. The light the moon provided from the tiny opening was enough for me to know where I was. 

Curling my fingers into fists, I allowed my fist to slam into the familiar bag in front of me with as much force as I could muster. The bag swayed away from me, the chains creaking above, before moving back towards me. It was a ritual I became accustomed to. 

I remembered the figure pulling back the bow in a deadly fashion, pointing the silver arrow in the direction of my father. 

I remembered the horrified scream piercing the air when my mom saw her mate's life taken from him. 

I remembered the second the arrow plunging into my mom's skull, the crimson blood leaking from the wound and matting her silky locks. She was too young to die. They both were. My parents had a whole life ahead of them and there it was, taken away from them with the hands of someone. They didn't have the opportunity to watch their child grow up. 

A sudden feeling of anger surged through my veins the more I punched the bag. Sweat continued to drip from my hair and face, down my body, and onto the floor. I grew angrier when images of my parents' dead bodies appeared in my mind. I could just see the blood that covered their clothes. The glass from the windshield that pierced their skin. My blows became harder and swifter. 

I woke up in a hospital bed, days after the accident. I had no parents. The word "orphan" left an unsettling feeling in my stomach. 

The only things that could be heard was the sound of my skin making contact with the leather and my heavy breathing.

I could feel my wolf surface as my breaths grew ragged. 'I need to calm down,' I told myself as I threw one more punch. My hands gripped the leather bag, steadying it. I leaned forward, pressing my forehead to the cool leather. Closing my eyes, I calmed down a little. 

The last thing I ever said was my parents' names after they were killed. Ever since then, words stayed lodged in my throat. It was like my voice didn't exist anymore. I could barely remember what it sounded like. 

The air felt cool against my sweaty skin and I shivered. My fingers pressed tightly to the bag. When I found out who killed my parents, I planned to torture them just like they did to my family and me. 

And then I would kill them with my bare hands.