CHAPTER ONE

TWO FULL MOONS AGO. 

 

"Now the both of you will rot in hell." Beta Devon sneered as he plunged the dagger deeper into his brother's chest. 

 

Katherine froze. 

 

She could not believe what just happened in front of her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at the only person, her father has ever loved. The person, her father decided to show mercy and lift his image by making him his beta; and that was her father's brother. 

 

So how could he? 

 

At first, she wondered why her father forgot about their training. He has been the one teaching her to wield her inner strength. So, Katherine was in the training ground, waiting patiently for him. But he never showed up. 

 

She felt that was odd. Her father has never forgotten his training session with her; Not even once. Which was what prompted Katherine to go and look for him. Deep down, she knew there had to be something holding him back from coming. 

 

But by the time she got to her parent's room, she froze. Behold, her father's brother had masked her parent with a sleeping draught, making them pass out. As if that was not enough, he plunged a dagger into her mother's chest and did the same for her father. 

 

Then he placed both of their hands on each other. 

 

Katherine swallowed hard. For a split second, she gasped for air that seemed to have eluded her lungs. She quickly hid behind the large curtain draped at the entrance so Beta Devon would not notice. 

 

In tears, she covered her mouth to muffle her sobs. Various thoughts began to make her mind run amok; what the hell was going on? What was the reason why Beta Devon could kill his brother? 

 

Her father, Alpha Kilani has never done anything wrong to him. To be precise, he was a meek and gentle soul who proffered love to his pack. He hardly punishes those who offended him, rather he would just lock them up in the correctional dungeon for a few days and free them, later on. 

 

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, she fought back the rush of emotion emanating at the base of her throat. She knew she had to keep quiet. Should Beta Devon notice her, he would kill her to hide whatever reason made him kill her parent. 

 

Katherine pressed her lips into a grim line, she could not believe her parents were both gone at once. If only she wasn't a weak wolf, she thought to herself. If only her wolf and powers had emerged yet. But still, they hadn't. 

 

Her father said it would when she turned eighteen. As for her powers, ice does engulf her palms once or twice. But they've never really emerged on her own accord. 

 

Beta Devon chuckled. "You think you are better than me, huh?" Katherine watched him through the tiny hole in the curtain. He slapped her father's right cheek. "Well, Kilani.....I just showed you two can play the game. Now, it's my time to shine." 

 

Katherine's heart skipped a beat. 

 

What did he just say? 

 

To her utmost dismay, Beta Devon broke into tears and darted out of the room. When she was sure he was gone, she walked over to her parent's defuncted bodies. "No!" a loud yelp escaped her lips. "Father, mother...please wake up." tears kept on rolling uncomfortably down her cheeks. It felt as though Beta Devon has taken everything from her. 

 

She stared in horror as more blood oozed out in spurts from her father's thigh. This was so unfair, what did they do to warrant death as their reward? 

 

Just then, she heard voices coming towards the room. She quickly ran back to the curtain to hide, and she covered her mouth once more to stifle her sobs. Almost at once, the room filled with different people; the elders, the gamma, the delta, and some other important wolf figure. 

 

"I don't know why they did this to their selves!" Beta Devon's voice cracked. He broke down in tears. 

 

Katherine was too stunned to blink. She could not believe the person that killed her parents, was acting as though he was innocent. As though he knew not a damn thing that happened to them. 

 

"Calm down, Devon." one of the elders pat the small of his back. But Beta Devon broke into more tiny sobs and landed his body on the floor, wailing profusely. "How can you tell me to calm down?" He fired back at the elder amid sobs. "He is my brother for fuck sake. I just came here to bring him the pack affairs papers and I discovered he got into a fight with his Luna and they killed themselves." 

 

Beta Devon smirked inwardly. His heart leaped for joy when he noticed the elders were buying his little charade. 

 

Everything around Katherine stood still. Her ears bled for the lies she just heard. It took every ounce of strength in her not to come out of hiding and face her father's brother. 

 

This was the highest kind of lie she had ever heard in her entire life. Had it been she didn't see him earlier, she would not have still believed him. Her parents loved each other so much. They seldomly argue, and when they did, her father was always the first to apologize. Yet, this mother fucker was lying against the dead? 

 

Her pulse quickened. She clenched her fist in seething rage. Beta Devon had to pay for what he just did. Everyone has to know he was the one that killed her parents, she thought to herself. But as soon as one of the elders spoke, Katherine decided against it. 

 

"Too bad Alpha Kilani killed himself." The elder said. "He also committed a sacrilege by killing his Luna. I hope the moon goddess can forgive his sins. Let's order the omegas to pack them up." 

 

The delta darted off to get the omegas. Katherine could not believe that the elders reckoned with Beta Devon. She knew they would never believe anything she said. After all, she might just be trying to blame someone. 

 

Beta Devon kept on rolling his body on the floor, wailing profusely. "My brother! Oh no! I can't believe my brother is gone. Who will I go to for advice now?" He asked no one in particular. 

 

"Oh really?" Katherine scoffed. She bit down her lower lips, fighting the urge to speak out. How could people be so wicked? She thought to herself. 

 

No wonder her godmother always said the people closest to us are more dangerous than the ones that are far. 

 

She had to find her brother, she had to find Kelvin to tell him everything that just happened. But she waited until they had all left the room. 

 

The omegas had packed the corpse of her parents, leaving only their blood trails on the chair and floor. Everyone had left the room to go to the market square. 

 

Katherine finally came out of hiding. The once warm room she found comfort in, now became cold and depressing. Cold shivers surged through her spine as she dropped to her knees. 

 

Katherine closed her eyes at the memory. No, she would not go to the market square. She could not fathom how people could tell lies comfortably, as though there was nothing wrong with that. 

 

"Father, mother!" She clutched her chest and let the tears drop in rivulet to the ground. 

 

Slowly, she shuffled to her feet. Then with trembling fingers, she removed the emerald ring from her mother's middle finger. It was their family heirloom, and she hoped to protect it forever. 

 

With a depressing sigh, she stared at them once more. "I promise to avenge you both." Her voice cracked. "But first, I have to find Kelvin." 

 

Katherine darted out of her parent's room, to the corridor, then out of the house. She shivered though the flower-scented breeze flowing throughout the courtyard was warm. The people had already gathered in the market square, but Katherine decided to scan through the crowd for her brother. 

 

Just then one of the elders began to speak. "Alpha Kilani has killed himself and his Luna." 

 

Everyone gasped in shock. 

 

Murmurs began to emanate from the crowd. 

 

"How can our beloved Alpha kill himself?" Someone asked from the crowd. 

 

"was he suffering from depression of some sort?" Another person followed. 

 

"It is not possible, our Alpha cannot do such a dreadful thing!" Another voice trailed off. 

 

Katherine whimpered. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. At least, the pack was wise enough to know that her father was incapable of doing such a thing. So how come the Elders couldn't see that? How could they not notice this was a ploy from Beta Devon? 

 

The eldest in the pack cleared his throat and everyone managed to keep quiet. "People of dark moon pack....it is so sad this happened, believe me, I find it very shocking and depressing...." He trailed off for a split second and then continued. "We will mourn the Alpha and his Luna for a week......after that, we would crown Beta Devon as Alpha." 

 

Katherine's heart skipped a beat. 

 

For a moment, she thought she had heard wrong. The elders were going to give the title to her parent's murderer. Beta Devon killed her parents and now he was going to usurp the title! 

 

Panic surged through Katherine's veins as she frantically began to search for her brother amidst the crowd. 

 

Where was he in the midst of all this chaos? She thought to herself. 

 

"Sorry to say, but Beta Devon cannot become the Alpha!" Another voice added. 

 

"Yes, The late Alpha had a son and a daughter. There is no way the title would be moved to his brother!" someone else declared. 

 

"Yeah!" The crowd chanted in unison, agreeing with the person. 

 

"He is not like he is dead. Kelvin is hale and hearty and he is the one that we want as our Alpha!" 

 

"We want Kelvin!" the crowd chanted. "We want Kelvin!" 

 

"Dark moon pack!" The elder roared, using his inner wolf voice. Instantly, everywhere became quiet. But Katherine didn't stop looking for her brother. 

 

The elder bowed his head in deference. "I had also said the same thing. Of course, I want Kelvin to become the next Alpha....but after this whole thing we searched for him, and found him laying dead in the woods...." 

 

Katherine paused. Her head snapped in the direction of the elder in shock. 

 

Her heart began to thump rapidly against her chest. Kelvin was dead too? This was all too much for her to bear. She glanced at Beta Devon, who had an invisible smug smile plastered on his face. 

 

It seemed as though he had been strategizing how to take down her family all these years, while her father showered him with love. 

 

Her head began to spin, and her blood boiled with anger. So before she knew what was happening to her, she crashed to the floor with a loud thud and darkness enveloped her. She was dead….