Stolen

Crystal opened her eyes slowly before shutting them down quickly as the glaring light hurt her eyes. Trying to recollect what had happened, she slowly thought back to everything that had taken place and her surroundings.

She tried to move her hands and legs and could feel them tied up. The faint sound of breathing told her that there was someone next to her as well as the smell of excitement that lingered in the air made her know exactly who it was.

She tried to open her eyes again but they had somehow turned sensitive to light making her let out an involuntary moan of pain that caught the attention of her captor. Lashley looked sideways at her best friend and spoke in a gloating whisper," Unable to open your eyes? Don't worry, this is a common side effect of the drug that I gave you. It will wear off soon."

The careless gloating, made Crystal's fingers itch to slap her face. But first, she needed to figure out a few things...

"Why did you do it, Lashley? I slowed down for you. I did not abandon you and yet, you betrayed me."

"Betrayed you? You call me your best friend and you never told me that you were a werewolf! It was a good thing my mate found me and revealed your true nature! There is a prize on your head, did you know that? The last heir of the reverent Snowheart pack!"

Crystal smiled as she nodded. So her best friend had fallen in love and believed the first random guy who had spouted nonsense. A prize on her head? Of course, there was. After all, they wanted to have everything from her. Not an easy feat they would soon know.

"So, you are going to hand me over to the person who has put a price on my head? Tell me, Lashley, it would have been so easy to trick me into coming with you. You were my best friend. So, why did you do this? Why burn down the entire village?"

"My mate is a denounced wolf. Only by handing you to the Council of the Werewolves can he be reinstated. But if it was known that he made use of me-his human mate, then he would be punished. So, we have not yet revealed that we have known each other. As such, I will be the victim as well."

As Crystal stayed quiet, she started to think of a way to escape. The weakness that invaded her body was not simple. Whoever this person was that called Lashley his mate, he was very cruel and shrewd. He had injected liquid silver into her.

While the world believed that silver was the perfect way to kill a werewolf, the truth was that it was a form of torture and slow death. The silver obstructed a werewolf's self-healing properties, making them weaker and weaker until their organs simply stopped functioning.

Thankfully, the amount of silver injected into her was not much and she would be able to get it out of her system in time. Did they think that she could be tamed using silver? Ignorant fools! But she would make her dear friend suffer for it, that was for sure. There was no friend who was more loyal than Crystal Snowheart and there was no enemy as staunch as her. Lashley should have known better!

As she laid back her head to be able to save her strength for the upcoming battle, she heard a faint whisper in her mind and stilled.

"Crystal...Listen to me.."

It was her human mother. Or rather her guardian who had protected and loved her after her pack had been wiped out. The truth was that they were not actually humans but had been born to werewolf parents. However, with no abilities, they had been the lowest of the pack. It was the reason why they had been able to save her life. No one had thought that the Alpha's daughter would be having a sleepover at the 'scum' of the wolf's house. They had sacrificed their own daughter in her place and escaped safely with her. She was not going to let them die so easily even as the faint voice in her mind made it clear that her mother may not survive.

Crystal had always been obedient to her parents, aware of the sacrifices they had made and not wanting to disappoint her adoptive parents or regret sacrificing their own child. But at this moment, she refused to accept that her human mother was going to die.

The older woman repeated again, this time insistently trying to break into her mind and when she would have slammed the barrier back into place, her mother spoke," Luna Crystal Snowheart. Please listen to my plea. You need to go from here and look for Moon Hunter territory. Ask them for asylum! They are the only ones who can now help you!"

"Luna Crystal. Please listen to me. You are the only Snowheart wolf left. You cannot avenge your parents and the pack by letting yourself come to harm. Your abilities are already affected. Please listen to me. You have to run away from here at any cost."

"But mother", she spoke in her mind, protesting and letting the agony she felt at the thought of abandoning them at such a time pass through her mind to her mother's. But her mother refused to listen, "Crystal. We made a promise to your parents. Please listen to me. We won't give up on living but if something were to happen to you, we will perish. Crystal, our daughter, please let us help you escape so that we can face the future with ease."

Even as Crystal knew what her parents said was the truth, the thought of leaving them behind made her heartache. She tried to think of a way to take her parents with her but she knew it was almost impossible. With her current ability, it was impossible.

"Luna, listen to me. Your body has already started pushing aside the silver inside. Soon, you will have enough strength to make your escape. In a while, I will create a distraction so that you may escape. Lashley and the rest of these wolves believe that you will not leave us and so this will be the perfect opportunity. Once you have recovered, travel in the direction of the Appleby Mountains. If the Bloodshadow pack has been weakened, then there is only one pack which can help you and keep you safe. Go to the MoonHunter Pack and remind them of their pledge."

Why could these people not leave them alone? After all, they had eradicated the entire Snowheart Pack! Did they think that by capturing her, they could create a strong pack again? They really would be foolish if they thought this. As she closed her eyes and tried to think of another way, her father's weak voice echoed in her mind. "Luna Crystal, we know what you want. But this is not your destiny! Your destiny is to rule the wolves and no one can change the will of the Moon Goddess. So stop hesitating and take these words as your parents' last will- Let the Snowheart Pack become the strongest and rule every other pack with justice and kindness like in the past. Luna Crystal will bring back the pack to it's past glory."