The Howling Heart's Forgiveness

Chapter 1

Waking up sore and disoriented, I look around the familiar room and smile. Last night I had turned eighteen. I had been welcomed by the pack as a grown adult and told my Beta training will begin soon. Taking a deep breath I breathe in Rune’ scent and grab the pillow he slept on. Rune. My friend. My play mate growing up. And now my Mate. We always tussled with each other during training with each one of us holding our own against the other. I know him. Know that even though he is dating Tanya, he will do what is right by me and tell the pack we are Mates. He already promised me as much last night as we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

My smile turns into a wide grin. Last year I became an orphan when my parents saved Alpha Valor and Rune from a pack of Rogues that snuck into Pine Moon during the early morning. Now I will be the future Luna of the pack, gaining a bigger family in the process with Alpha Valor as my father in law and Gale and Miss Asteria as my Uncle and Aunt.

Speaking of my Mate, I look to the side of the bed Rune slept on and wonder where he had gone. Nothing but a pair of boxer briefs and a t-shirt remains, the clothes smelling like his scent of mint and vanilla. Curious to learn where he went, I reach out through our mind link but come up empty. Something is blocking me. Shocked, I try again, hoping to reach my mate to see if his father knows we are fated by the Goddess, but I get the same results – nothing.

Deciding I need to find my Mate and talk to him face to face about what the next step will be, I grab the clothes he left for me and quickly dress. It is just as I am about to stand from the comfortable bed that the door is slammed open and in walks Tanya Cross and her minions.

“If it isn’t the little home wrecker.” She sneers as she takes a step forward. I bristle at her words and glare at the brunette, hazel eyed she-wolf with the fakest tan I have ever seen and scoff. If anyone is the home wrecker, its her.

“Show some respect for your future Luna. I am Rune’s Mate.” I shoot back, watching as shock, then anger crosses her face. Tanya has always hated me ever since the day she arrived at our pack ten years ago. She is not a true member of Pine Moon, but the daughter of the Alpha to the largest pack in the area Blood Claws. Alpha Valor made some sort of deal with her father ten years ago and Tanya came to live in Pine Moon when she was nine. When she turned fourteen her and Rune started dating she began bullying me for no other reason than that I was friends with Rune and Caspian.

“You will never be Luna of Pine Moon. That position is mine and will always be mine.” She screeches at me. I open my mouth to ask what she means but before I can, her minions are rushing towards me. The strawberry blonde she-wolf called Paisley grabs my hair, yanking it hard and pulling me off the bed and catching me off guard as I fall onto the floor. I can smell the scent of wolfsbane on her fingers and I snarl at her. Wolfsbane is poison to us wolves, how dare they try to use it on a high ranking member of the pack.

Kicking out at Paisley, I manage to connect the heel of my foot into her stomach. She releases me as she is sent flying towards Tanya, crashing into the spiteful bitch. Unfortunately I leave myself open for another attack and the two remaining she-wolves, a red head named Scarlet and a blonde name Ashley, take this chance to claw at me, their nails cutting into my exposed skin. I wince as the wolfsbane on their nails seep in through the wounds they made, feeling it begin to work through my veins. Doing my best to fight back, I send an S.O.S. into the pack link, but I am met with another block.

It is then that I realize something is wrong. The only reason for my pack link not to work is if the Alpha blocked me from mind linking with anyone. Scarlet makes a swipe for my face, but I dodge her just in time and she grazes my shoulder. I wince, my energy slowly being zapped by the wolfsbane poisoning my body.

“What the hell is going on?!” I sigh with relief when I hear a shout. Standing in the door way is Alpha Valor, his angry grey eyes taking in the five of us. Tanya pouts behind him, a bruise on her cheek from where Paisley crashed into her.

“Brynlee attacked Tanya.” Scarlet accuses instantly, pointing her finger at me. I growl at her, turning to the Alpha ready to explain my side of the situation but he growls back.

“I will not have anyone attacking a visiting pack delegate.” He snarls, marching to where I stand and grabbing me by the wrist. His eyes glaze over as he begins to drag me from his son’s room, ordering everyone out before he slams the door. Before I know it, he is dragging me from the third floor and down the stairs, making sure I barely have enough time to stand to my feet while treating me like a filthy Rogue before throwing me outside of the large five story building. I stumble as I try not to fall on my face before turning to glare at the man that is supposed to become my father-in-law.

By now I realized why his eyes glazed over when he grabbed me. He had sent a mind link and as a crowd begins to form, I realize he was linking the pack demanding them to come and witness a public trial. Dread fills me as I wait to see what he has planned. Rune must have told Alpha Valor about us, so why am I being treated like a criminal.