CHAPTER ONE

Violet’s pov

The sting of Mira’s sharp nails raking down my arms still lingered as I scrubbed the floor. My back ached and my stomach growled at itself in hunger but I dared not stop. Not until she left. 

“Aww. poor, pathetic Violet. 21 years old and still no wolf? You're more useless than a human.” Mira giggled with her friends.

Those words hit so close to home. Why wouldn't they? They were right.

I bowed my head lower, hoping she would get bored and leave me alone. But no, she was far from done. 

Mira suddenly pressed her boot against my fingers, grinding them into the cold stone floor. 

I winced in pain, my right hand throbbing under her boot.

“Oops,” she giggled. “Does that hurt?”

I bit my lips so hard I tasted copper.

The other maids in the hall gasped but said nothing. They never did. Everytime Mira tormented me, they would just watch, too afraid to intervene.

“Huh? Doesn't it hurt?” Mira tilted her head closer to mine, pressing her boot harder further. 

I swallowed the whimper about to spill out of my lips. The pain stung like hell but I told myself I'd never give her the satisfaction of hearing me cry out.

“Ugh!” She gave up and removed her boot. 

A relieved gasp left my lips as I drew my hand to my chest. My hand was red and bruised from her boot.

I massaged my hand shooting Mira a glare while she rambled to her friends with her usual insults. 

“Violet's such a waste of space,” she scoffed. “I still don't know why my father keeps her. He should've put her down years ago.” 

My eyes widened. 

Put me down? 

How cruel could she be?

Her friends giggled along with her even though I could see the looks on their faces. They were also terrified of Mira. Who wouldn't? She was the daughter of the Alpha King?

Mira shrugged her shoulders. “I'm so bored. What should we do, ladies?” 

A red head among the group smirked. “I heard the warriors are training in the courtyard. Let's go cheer them on.”

“You're right. Watching a group of sexy men fight is better than looking at a scrawny slave.” Mira nodded her assent. 

“Let's go, girls.” She skipped away but not without leaving behind a punishment for me. She knocked the bucket I used in scrubbing the floor, spilling murky water all over the clean floor.

“See ya later, loser.” Her giggle echoed in the distance as she left with her friends.

The remaining maids didn't say a word. They all stared at me as I bent over to soak up the drenched floor with my cleaning rag, none of them offering to help me. They wouldn't dare. Mira told them never to.

As I scrubbed the floor, something inside me cracked. 

I couldn't like this anymore. 

I wouldn't.

So that night, after fetching dinner for the family and washing the dishes, I packed my bags and ran.

I had waited until the moon hung high in the sky, 

Until the guards slacked in their posts, 

And then, I slipped away like I was never there. 

When I realized I was out of sight, I broke into a sprint. 

I didn't know where I was running to but I knew I had to get away. 

The cold air burned my lungs as I ran through the dense forest and it hurt more when I inhaled. Thorned twigs tore at my skin and I bled against the rough earth. But I kept on running.

In the middle of my journey, my legs began to shake and my breath came in ragged gasps. 

I suddenly wished I hadn't left the pack. 

I stopped dead in my tracks when a foul smell hit my nostrils.

“What is that?” I clamped my hand over my nose when the smell became unbearable.

It was the stench of rot. 

I looked around me and couldn't find the source of the smell.

My mind screamed at me to run and I rose to my feet. But before I could move a muscle, my body locked up.

A twig snapped and crunched under unfamiliar footsteps.

I wasn't alone. 

I let out a shuddering breath when low, guttural whispers began to fill the forest air.

What was that?

Rogue wolves? But Rogue wolves don't smell like that.

I stood there, frozen, when out of the darkness, 5 figures emerged. They had sunken red eyes that glistened with bloodlust and a hunger that chilled me to the very bones.

Instinct made me take a slow step back. 

I watched the creatures chatter their teeths like they were communicating in another language. 

My eyes fell on their clothes – ragged and smeared with –

A sharp metallic smell hit my nose and I froze.

Oh no.

I stared down at my feet. They were bruised and covered in blood. Oh no. I had drawn these creatures here. 

“Fresh meat!” One of them grinned, revealing his bloodied teeth.

Cannibals!

A rush of adrenaline pushed me to turn on my heels and run. But I barely made an escape. 

Fingers like iron yanked my arm and shoved me backwards. I screamed, kicking wildly but they were far stronger than I was. 

“You smell delicious, wolf.” The smell of decayed flesh filled my nose as one of them leaned in.

I turned my head the other way, praying to the Moon Goddess to save me when out of thin air, a sharp whoops cut through the air and his body dropped. 

My blood ran cold as I scrambled away from the corpse.

What was that?

Even the cannibals asked each other the same question. “What was that?” 

Another whoosh cut through the air and another body dropped. Then another and another until all of them were put down. 

Still, it wasn't enough. 

More cannibals gathered in the forest, all drawn to me.

“Why did I have to get hurt?” I cursed the branches that tore at my skin. It was their fault I was in this mess.

I pressed my hand to the ground to help myself stand up but I couldn't move. My feet were hurting.

The guttural whispers grew closer and I whimpered. Was this how I'll end? Cannibal food?

I made a silent prayer to the Goddess, hoping I wouldn't die. I didn’t escape to be eaten by cannibals. I almost died when I heard something sharp slice through the air. 

I threw my eyes open and my eyes locked in on a figure moving through the darkness. It’s blade sliced, dominating the dark and the very creatures that ruled in it and within seconds, the ground was littered with their bodies.

It was over.

Or so I thought it was.

The last cannibal gurgled, giving a victorious yell as it aimed for my throat.

I let out a loud scream and closed my eyes. 

The silence that followed was deafening. 

“You're not very smart, are you?” A deep voice said.

I threw my eyes open and my jaws dropped.

He was tall, broad across the shoulders, and wore a silver necklace that looked like it meant something. His eyes were this crazy shade of gold, like they weren't even real. There was this smell about him,  earth, smoke, and something sharp underneath, I couldn't place it and it just wrapped around me before I could even think. I stood there like an idiot, completely lost for words 

The handsome stranger wiped blood off his blade, his gaze settling on my face. “You can't talk?”

He was right.

I mean, he was wrong. I could talk. My voice just failed me. 

He sighed, still holding his sword. “Well, dumb girl, you'll die out here alone.” 

I didn't argue. I could. If it was anyone playing hero, he would've slipped the sword into the sheath around his belt but this man was still holding onto his weapon. 

I couldn't stay with him.

“Let's go. I know a safe place.” He said. 

As soon as he turned his back, I ran.

Let's go? 

Like hell I will.