one foot in front of the other as fear ripped through her. The Pure Crescent pack kept to themselves mostly. Only the Alpha and the Delta's stepped outside. Lana only went out once or twice when the position of the future fell on her. But, never alone. She always went with Deltas and Scott by her side, it felt safe.
Being out alone in the pitch-dark environment frightened her. She was from the low class, and people like her weren't allowed to train even if they qualified to. Alone, scared, weak, betrayed, and in pain were so many emotions to deal with.Her thinking was numb, what had happened was difficult to comprehend for her. Witnessing the backstabbing and coronation of another in place? She couldn't process all that. Before her body failed her, it was best to find some kind of refuge. Out here, stories about thieves and rogues who attacked and maimed other wolves, especially one from prestigious packs like Pure Crescent pack among others had been told before.As she kept staggering, running out of breath, she saw a bright side just a bit further from the harsh field she stood. It was freezing cold and getting to that warmth meant everything to her. As she drew near to where the source of the light had come from, she noticed fast shadows around her.Lana went cold from fear and worry. What would she do if she was attacked? How would she save herself? Unintentionally, she began to cry. Cries that she silenced so that if something was really liking around, she wouldn't be heard.She wasn't supposed to be here. Not at all. Alone, in the cold. Her place was next to Alpha Annik. Or, at least home with the people she loved. Why did Scott do this to her? Why did Marina lie against her? For Alpha Annik, she couldn't even begin to deal with his reasons. Thoughts crossed her mind. So many that her head became heavy.Quietly, she continued to walk, turning around frantically here and there, trying not to be caught by surprise. She was close enough to her refuge. At last, she breathed a sigh of relief. If she kept her identity hidden, she should be safe. But, her dressing would give her away. That was another thing to worry about.Lana, deciding to deal with one thought at a time, reached to separate the little bush that stood as a barrier between her and her refuge when a pair of strong arms grabbed her from the back.“Who are you?” a male voice questioned her.She hadn't heard them sneaking up on her. Neither did she notice when they got close. Lana's wolf was still not strong. That was one of the reasons she fell among the commoners. Werewolves who weren't fully transformed and those from poor backgrounds.“I'm a traveler!” she answered, careful to not show off her fright.“Lair!” the male voice let out. “No traveler, especially a werewolf, can afford the apparel and jewelries that adorn your body.” Her fear had come to play.Her clothing had given her away. But, she didn't have much of a choice. Undress and walk naked? Or, continue in clothing that might expose her? It was a tough choice to make.The man didn't wait for Lana to respond when he signaled the wolves to trap Lana and take her to their Alpha.Roughly, they dragged her through the bushes and tossed her on the floor. “We found her prowling around, hiding behind the bushes. She might be a spy or worse. . .”“Or worse, from the Pure Crescent pack,” the Alpha finished for his enforcer. He rose to his full form and Lana trembled at the sight of the shabby-looking man. “See the ring on her finger, it belongs to the Pure Crescent pack. A Luna at that. My. My. What a lucky day for us,” the Alpha announced. “Allow me, I'm Alpha Herrick of the Bloodmoon pack.”At his introduction, Lana felt her stomach churn. She had heard of them. They were the worst enemy of her pack. Studying the man's face, a face she doesn't know would forever be imprinted in her memory. A face that would disgust her to remember, yet, she would be unable to forget.Alpha Herrick had a rough appearance; his jaw held a stubble and a shadow was visible underneath his eyes. His eyes gleamed at the reflection of the lamps. They were darker than darkness and filed with mischief. He looked as if he had aged a thousand years because of how crooked his teeth were. The man smelled of sweat and alcohol. He was the few irresponsible Alphas that drowned themselves with wine and women while his pack swallowed with poverty, hunger, and sickness.“Strip her of all the jewelries the Alpha ordered.” His men got to work. When they were done, he ordered everyone out of the tent. They came to do business, thereby building tents to shelter them until their business was over.With a smirk, he advanced toward Lana who began to cry again. “Please, let me go. I'm. . .”Chuckling, “I haven't even done anything to you. You know that I have to hurt you to hurt Alpha Annik's ego,” he said. “You're so beautiful. No wonder that greedy Alpha made you his Luna. I wonder why he will let you out in the open without protection. It's none of my business anyway.”Lana felt like dying. Only she knew that Alpha Annik couldn't care less what happened to her. She was a lone wolf now. Anything done to her was to her. Nobody would be affected. But, she didn't confess that to the enemy. It will only anger him and speed up her death. At least, buy time and see if there was room for an escape.As Lana continued to ask for mercy, help, and redemption from the hands of the Alpha, he didn't care. Next, what followed was Lana's screams and wails. It continued until she went faint and was barely breathing.“Come take her carcass to the field. What you recovered from her, we will take back to the pack. As for her ring, wrap it and send it to Alpha Annik. That should bruise his ego,” Alpha Herrick ordered, laughing as he wore his trousers before picking his shirt.The guards who had entered saw the used Lana, naked, tossed to the corner of the tent. They thought she was dead. She was close to death, though. One of the guards reached for a sheet to cover her nakedness, but Alpha Herrick stopped him.“Take her naked and exposed and dump her on the far end of the field. The bother between the Rogue pack and the Pure Crescent pack would be better. Let all witness the nakedness of the Luna of the Pure Crescent pack. That's if the birds of the air haven't finished her carcass. She won't last the night.”One of the men carried Lana's body over his soldiers. As their Alpha had ordered, they dumped her in the field.Lana was at a crossroads between the living and the dead. The weather was harsher, her body was in excruciating pain and her strength had failed her.Lana felt darkness slowly consuming her and managed to say a prayer. “If I have ever done anything right, give me a second chance,” she said in her mind, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes, dripping onto the harsh field that pricked her bare skin. “Give me a second chance, Moon Goddess. Please. Anyone, help me,” she mumbled in a weak, shaky voice before giving into the darkness.Before she completely lost consciousness and gave way to death, she saw a face. Someone who looked exactly like Alpha Annik. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, laughing at her predicament. Or, it wasn't?The small house, built close to an offshore not far from the fields, had a little unit of the Silver pack. They had come there to attend to their yearly transaction of giving tribute to the bigger packs. “Are you going to give up soon and catch some rest?” his beta asked, eyebrows raised at Alpha Tyler's ragged appearance. There was no doubt that the handsome Alpha looked like he had aged a thousand times and could use a break. Even his wolf bitterly whined in his head at the frustration of being overused. He wanted to have fun. “Please, stop, Gael. I'm too busy for that,” Alpha Tyler scolded his wolf, Gael. His wolf howled and went silent in anger. Suddenly, the door slammed open as his Gamma pranced in as if he owned Tyler's office. Tyler grunted and growled at him quietly, rolling his eyes and jumping up from the sofa where he had been going through some files. Elijah was the head of Gamma. “They refused the tribute and said if you don't double it by two weeks, they'll see it
Tyler was still bent, wrapping his arms protectively around the dead girl, contemplating what to do. His environment and all that came with it was silent, the moment slowly fading out.“We have to leave. It will only take minutes for the Rogues to come for their own. They can sense that something is wrong,” Viktor beckoned.“Where are the healers?” Tyler asked his voice firm, as well as his gaze that fell on Elijah.“They are back at the shelter. We only came with three in case anyone gets injured.”That was the response he needed. Tyler inhaled sharply, the scent of the girl filling his nostrils as well as a pull from her. She was his mate and even though she looked dead, he felt their bond. It was weak and almost unnoticed, but he wasn't wrong.Viktor and Elijah knew they couldn't fight anymore. Therefore, they gave in. They followed, making sure their eyes and body were wary. Their intervention would surely come with a price, and it worried Elijah the most. Tyler wasn't a careless
Kaylee was quick to grip her wrist with a growl and draw her back. Most girls were infected and mesmerized by Tyler's beauty. His physique, aura, and display of understanding. Katie's happened to be one of them that had fallen under his innocent spell. For as long as she could remember, she had admired Tyler, but he never paid attention to any of them. She still had hope that her unrequited love would somehow come to an end, and she would be with Tyler. A dream free to have but expensive to achieve.“I can feel her energy. It is faint, but battling between surviving and crossing over. She might look dead, but her soul is still alive, only faint and almost unnoticeable,” Kamala the last spoke, trying to subdue the situation.“I felt it too,” Tyler concurred. “She spoke to me through her mind. Somehow, she directed me to her. It was like a magnet. I wonder how possible that is until I got close to her and realized that she was my mate.”Kaylee averted her gaze from Tyler's desperate eye
Thorns grew from the petals of roses around, forming a spiral shape. The air, husky and aggressive. Lana, clothed in white linen that stopped around her knees, barefoot walked the straight path to where she could see brightness. Jerked out of her trance, she whined in pain, reaching for her feet. They were bleeding, having been pricked countless times by the thorns on the path she wasn't conscious of.She sat, trying to pick them out. Where was she? How did she change into white, transparent linen that barely covered her nakedness? Dealing with the splinter, she heard the happy giggles of a child who soon grew into cries. Lana jolted to her feet, ignoring the harshness of her twinge. Her mind was confused.All traces of the flower withered, and it began to rain. Not water, but blood. Lana was drenched in blood, her white linen stained. She broke down in tears, sobbing, palms over her face.Determined to leave her current state and find answers that could explain where she was and why s
Katida's pupils dilated and she went static. Inhaling sharply, she saw a flash of someone getting killed, but that was as far as she saw before her mind returned. “Brace yourselves. There would be chaos shortly,” she announced, gaining everyone's attention.“Her energy force has been restored. She's about to wake up,” Kamala also said. “She made it.”Tyler's heart got excited, every nerve leaping with joy and fulfillment. His next line of attention was still unknown to him yet, he knew he just wanted her to live. This girl suffered the same fate as him, in a more brutal way. Abandoned, forsaken, and with no identity of his root.His tall, strong legs guided him to her body, which was becoming warm. She was coming back to life. Tyler's hearing sensitivity increased, and he could pick up the traces of her fragile heart, thumping, which sounded like orchestrated music in Tyler's ears. His long fingers attached to big palms reached for her, unsure of what to do next.Tyler had his gun tuck
Kamala stared at her sister in disbelief. Katida wasn't a good Samaritan. She hated being bothered by any responsibility. If she had to do anything, she enforced and made sure that Kamala and Kaylee were involved too. What was she up to? Well, it wasn't in her place to worry. Her proposal sounded great. “Okay. That would be better. Let's go wash and change. One of us going to Tyler will be quicker. Make sure you announce yourself, Katida. Don't complicate things. Say exactly what we have seen,” Kaylee warned. She had doubts about the idea, but her tired body wouldn't be able to carry her to Tyler. She needed to rest.“Sure.”Kaylee and Kamala turned and left for their room, leaving Lana's fate in Katida's hands.* * *The meal served in front of Tyler and his men looked scrumptious to all except Tyler. Others were eager to dig in and explore every ingredient that had been mixed to create what would quench their hunger. But Tyler only saw fuel to laziness. He was opportune to eat, lau
Elijah broke into deep laughter that soon came with snorting. “You got me there, Kaylee. How can you make even your jokes serious? We are not murderers.”Katida's heart sank with disappointment. She thought that he would buy her idea, but he turned out to be making a joke about it. Still, that was what Kaylee would have done, though. She would have eased the tensed atmosphere by equally laughing and waving it off as a joke. She was forced to fake a happy laugh. “You are right. We are not murderers.” Seeing that prolonging her talk with Elijah would be a waste of time, she came up with an excuse. “I have to get back to the girls so that we can check on the girl causing all this misunderstanding.”“Sure. I have been sent on probation to keep watch until morning. I might as well gladly serve my punishment.” Elijah reached for Katida's hair and removed a dry leave that has been hiding with the rest of her hair. “That doesn't fit right,” he murmured, tossing the leave to the floor.“Thanks
“Viktor, go and inform Alpha Tyler that she's awake. Grab something for her to eat from the dinner table while you're at it. I'll take her back to the sick bay, call Kaylee and Katida so that we can run a final checkup on her.”“Okay.”Viktor turned east while Kamala proceeded to lead Lana back to the sick bay. Her shivering stopped, and she eased her tensed body into the comfort of Kamala's touch. Kamala respected the fact that Lana was exhausted and didn't turn to make small talk. She kept silent, supporting her slow pace until they arrived.“Thank you,” Lana uttered. Kamala has been the first to show her kindness and patience. That was to her knowledge.“You are welcome. You are welcome and safe here. No one will hurt you again. I promise you that.”Yeah. Those were the familiar recitation of her best friend every day before he struck that dagger of betrayal into her heart. It would take more than words for her to trust another as blindly as she did with Scott. Nevertheless, she wa