Sally POV"The old oak tree. 3 PM. Come alone".I frowned at my phone.Okay?My brother George usually sent cheerful texts full of emojis, but this time the text was short and cryptic. Like something serious was going on. Was he mad?Maybe he figured out that I borrowed his Netflix account yesterday. Why would he be mad about that though? I glanced at the clock and put my phone in my bag along with my notes and a textbook in advanced chemistry. The class was over anyway so I walked out of the school gates and headed for the old oak tree.Red Ridge High School was a large yellow building that was located just south of the packhouse and I was in senior year. I turned 18 two months ago, so I was just a few months away from graduation. The Red Ridge pack was one of the few packs with its own high school on the pack lands. Other packs just enrolled their kids in the human schools, but that didn't happen here. The pack held on to the old beliefs. Werewolves are more advanced physically t
Sally POVAt 6 o'clock the same night we met Alex at a local bar. The funny thing is that hanging out with humans was totally cool with the pack rules, but mating with one would basically be unforgivable. I have to say that I never really agreed with that and thought it was hypocritical. George and I were sitting next to each other with Alex on the opposite side of the table. I could see the longing in both of their eyes. The mate bond caused an insane attraction to the mate and even if it was felt ten times more for werewolves, I could tell that Alex was seriously in love with my brother. Alex seemed like a really nice guy. He was 28 years old, tall with dark hair and broad shoulders. He worked as a doctor in the local health center. I wanted to become a doctor too, and I would love to pick his brain about anything and everything. I just hoped that I would get the chance someday. "So, here's the plan." George started." Alex needs to go first. You're human so no one will notice th
I froze. My head was still spinning from the blow to my head. No one moved for a few seconds. We just stood there in the rain, staring at Tommy's body on the ground. Alex was the first to move. He carefully walked up to Tommy and turned him over. I gasped and my stomach churned. Tommy had a deep bleeding gash over his throat. Alex put two fingers on Tommy's wrist to check for a pulse. His eyes widened and he looked at George."Can you feel anything?" I asked.Alex shook his head, his eyes wide as saucers.Dread settled in the pit of my stomach. No.Oh no. This was bad. What do we do?Before I could ask that question out loud, I heard a crowd of people laughing and shouting out on the street. And they were heading our way. I acted before I could think things through. "Alex you need to get out of here. Follow the alley and get out on the street behind this building. Get back to your apartment and get ready to meet George at Fallman Lake."Alex stared at me. "Now!" I hissed
Alpha Hudson POVI sighed heavily and rubbed my forehead. Telling two parents that their child is dead is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Today I had to do it to my own aunt and uncle. Aunt Cece just screamed, making every hair on my body stand on end. I wanted to scream too. Tommy was family, but the pack had to go first so I would have to mourn later. My uncle Rob instantly demanded Sally's execution, but I don't think I ever could go through with that. After all, it was Luke's baby sister. Luke and I had always been best friends. We trained together since we were five years old. We knew that one day I would take over the pack and Luke would be my Beta, my second in command. After my aunt and uncle left, I mindlinked Luke. "Hey, you still up?""Yeah""I need you to come to the office. Bring your parents and George with you. There's something you need to know.""Actually we're kind of busy. We can't find Sally. Do you think it could wait until tomorrow?"I closed m
Sally POVTwo days later my murder trial began. I was so nervous I couldn't sleep a wink during the whole night. After Alpha Hudson left, I cried myself to sleep and spent the following day just staring into nothingness waiting for something to happen.I heard someone approach and was surprised when I saw Luke standing outside my cell."Open the door. I will escort her to her trial." He said to the prison guard. I sat in a corner of the cell with my knees against my chest, not sure if Luke was mad at me or not. Once the door was open Luke stepped into the cell and ordered the guards to leave. Then he kneeled in front of me. "How are you, Lala?" He asked. I smiled weakly at the nickname and a tear slipped down my cheek. "I'm scared." I whispered. Luke pulled me into a hug. "I'm right here with you. Every step of the way." He murmured. We stayed like that for a few minutes, until Luke pulled away. "Are you ready?" I nodded.He took my hands and pulled me up."Let's go."We w
Hudson POVI didn't like this feeling. Regret. I felt disgusted with myself for banishing Sally. She only tried to defend herself from a much larger guy and she ended up with one of the harshest punishments that existed in werewolf law. I had tried to get the council to reconsider, but it seemed like they wanted to set an example “To make sure that no one should get any ideas to challenge the higher ranked in this pack.” as councilman Jeb put it.My whole body screamed that this was wrong, but there was nothing I could do. I’ve never felt more helpless in my entire life. A knock on my door startled me and I called for whoever it was to come in. It was George. He looked like he had been crying. I understood. I felt like crying too. "Alpha." George bowed his head. "I'm sorry about Sally." Was the only thing I could come up with. "Yeah, me too Alpha." George said in a small voice. "Is there anything I can do to help you?" I asked."Could you get her back in? I will take full
Three months later.Sally POVI hunched down and eyed the rabbit sitting a few yards away from me. I had followed it for a while. It was tedious work, but I was starving and needed to eat. Since I was dangerously close to a pack border I couldn't track it in my wolf form. I would give off too much of a scent and alert the border patrol of my presence. I just hoped that the stupid rabbit didn't stray across the border where I couldn't follow it. The rabbit lifted its head and took off.Oh for goodness sake.Did it know that I called it stupid?I didn't say it out loud. I started to chase after the rabbit, zigzagging between the trees trying not to lose sight of it. Damn, it was fast. A noise to my left interrupted me and I lost focus. I smelled the air and realized that it was another wolf. I halted in my tracks and I mentally cursed myself for being so focused on the rabbit that I didn't notice that I had crossed the pack border. The wolf shifted and revealed a man in his late
Elijah POVPanting, I wiped the sweat from my forehead. I had been in the packhouse garden the whole afternoon, raking leaves. My wolf was bugging me the whole time, wanting to go for a run. I promised him that we could shift later in the evening when we were finished with today's chores. To my parents dismay, I was an Omega in the Midnight Pack. My father was the pack's Gamma, the third in command to Alpha Richard. I was supposed to inherit that title once I got my wolf at 18, but when my wolf turned out to be weaker than the average Gamma wolf, I was demoted to Omega and became a servant in the packhouse.Alpha Richard kept my father as Gamma and seemed really happy about it.Why?Because having a weak wolf wasn't the only embarrassment in my life.I had a bright red birthmark across my face. Up until I graduated high school last year, I was the constant laughingstock. They called me Ampel, because I looked like a red traffic light.The name stuck with me and most people just ca