CHAPTER 2

ZARA

The days of my childhood slipped by like sly snake and before I knew it, I was no longer the babe who cried under a red sky, but a young woman with blades in her hands and fire in her blood. My father taught me to wield a sword, my mother to wield grace. 

In the pack, I was cherished, shielded, and loved by many, yet always watched. The council’s words never faded. To them, I was the cursed child, a reminder of the night the moon bled.

Still, in my heart, I believed I was safe. Surrounded by my family, my people, my pack… until that night.

I remember it clearly. The night that stripped everything away.

Sleep had just begun to sink deep into me, yet it was not peaceful. My wolf stirred restlessly, my chest felt tight, a strange heaviness pressing down on me. I twisted under my blanket, fighting a nightmare that hadn’t yet begun. Then suddenly…

“Zara, wake up!”

I jerked upright, catching my breath, the weight of dread pressing down even before my eyes opened. “Mother? What—?”

Her hands clutched my arms tight. “No questions, now listen to me.”

I blinked at the glow behind her. Fire. Screams in the distance and my chest tightened in fear. “The pack—”

“We’re under attack.”

I shoved the blanket off and leapt to my feet. “Then let me fight!”

“No.” Her voice was sharp and firmer than I had ever heard it. She gripped my shoulders. “You must hide.”

“Hide?” My chest burned with anger. “Mother, I’m not a child anymore, I’ve trained. I can help. 

Where’s Father?”

Her jaw clenched and she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“Where is he?” I demanded.

 “I can fight! Where’s Father?”

“He is out there, holding them back. But he will not hold them for long if I don’t go. Zara, you must stay hidden, do you hear me?”

“No!” I shook my head violently, tears threatening already. “I can help him. I can help you—”

“There is no time!” she snapped. Her voice cracked like thunder, the Luna in her slipping out. Then softer and trembling, she brushed my hair from my face. “Zara, please, listen to me. I need you alive. Your father needs you alive. Our pack needs you alive.”

Her words pierced me, and before I could argue again, she dragged me toward the far corner of the room. She pulled down a thick shawl and wrapped it around me, forcing me to crouch low behind an old trunk.

“Stay quiet. No matter what you hear.” Her lips brushed my forehead. “Promise me.”

My throat burned. “Mother…”

“Promise.”

“I… I promise.”

Her eyes were glassy, her hands shaking. For the first time, I saw fear in my mother’s face, and it tore me apart.

“Mother…” My voice was small and breaking. “Don’t leave me.”

She cupped my cheek and kissed my forehead. “I will come back. Be strong, my light.”

But her promise shattered in the very next breath.

The door slammed open.

Wolves burst inside, shadows with fangs, and in their hands…my father.

“Father!” I almost screamed it out loud, but I bit my lip until blood filled my mouth.

He was broken, dragged in by his arms, his chest bleeding, his body lifeless but for the faintest breath. My mother froze, her entire frame shaking,

“No…” Her voice broke. Then, like lightning, she launched herself at them.

“Drop him!” she screamed, claws flashing.

One rogue snarled. “The Luna dares bite?”

Her claws extended, her roar filled the room, and she tore into one of the intruders with feral strength. Blood splattered the walls, but there were too many.

“Run!” my father choked, his voice barely audible, his eyes finding me even as his body sagged. “Zara…run…”.

They struck him down before he could speak again. My father…the strongest alpha I knew…fell to the ground and went still.

My heart ripped.

“No!” My mother screamed, her attack now was wild and desperate. She fought like a wolf possessed, but one blade, cruel and sharp, caught her side. Another slashed her across the chest.

“Mother!” The scream broke from me before I could stop it.

Her head whipped toward me, her eyes wide, and in them I saw everything, her love, her fear, her farewell.

“I love you,” she whispered. Her voice trembled. Her eyes held mine one last time and then they took her head.

Something inside me shattered. My scream shook the room and tore my throat raw. The wolves turned, and in that instant, they saw me.

“The cursed pup lives!” one shouted.

I ran.

The shawl slipped from my shoulders, my legs carrying me with a strength born of terror. I burst through the door, the cold night air biting my skin, fire burning all around me. My pack…my home…was in flames. Screams choked the night, smoke blinded my eyes, and behind me the wolves pursued.

Branches cut my skin as I fled into the woods. Flames fell, burning the earth, licking my arms, and searing my legs. Every breath was agony. My chest felt ready to tear apart, but I could not stop. I could not look back.

“Faster, Zara! Faster!” my wolf screamed inside me.

I ran until the howls faded, until the world turned to silence and snow.

When at last I stumbled beyond the burning edge of my town, I saw nothing but ashes behind me. My pack, my people, my parents. Gone.

Alone.

I collapsed. My knees hit the snow, my hands trembled, blood staining the white ground. The cold bit into me, but I barely felt it. My body shook, my breath came ragged, and I knew…I was breaking.

Then… I felt it.

The shift in the air.

Someone was near.

Footsteps crunched softly in the snow, steady, and deliberate. My heart thrashed weakly in my chest. I forced my head up, with my vision blurred, and through the haze I saw him.

Tall, dark, and cloaked in a black thick veil. His presence rolled over me like a storm. His eyes gleamed red in the moonlight. I knew instantly, he was not one of mine. He was something else and he was dangerous.

I tried to move, but my body refused. Pain chained me down.

He stepped closer. The snow hardly dared to crunch beneath his boots. His gaze locked on me, deadly and full of kill might.

And then it struck me, like fire tearing through my chest, like claws ripping my heart apart. A bond, fierce and undeniable, surged to life inside me.

My wolf stirred, awakening fully for the first time.

Her voice whispered in my mind, soft and trembling, yet certain.

“Mate.”

My breath hitched and my eyes widened.

Mate.