CHAPTER TWO

The crowd hushed with dread at the warrior’s words.

“What did you just say?” Alpha Greg demanded.

“The pack is under attack, Alpha!” The warrior stammered, “The lycans have come for war!”

The words rang out in Esme’s ears but she couldn’t understand it. Lycans? What were they doing here? After the Great Supernatural War that had occurred, a thousand years ago, there’d been a tentative peace between all the supernatural species.

So why were they attacking them now? What did they want?

“Esme!” Alpha Greg barked, dragging her from her thoughts. “Don’t just stand there like a dummy. Follow Rory and get to the underground tunnels now!”

Esme frowned, confused. “But father isn't mother and Isabella coming too?”

“Your sister and I are staying back.” Luna Catherine answered impatiently. “But you must go. The tunnels will lead you out of the pack where you’ll be safe.”

Esme raised her chin stubbornly. “If you guys are staying here, then I’m staying too. I won’t run away like a coward. I won’t!”

Alpha Greg, furious with rage at Esme’s stubbornness, raised his hand and struck her. Hard. “You think you can fight against the Lycans, girl? They’ll eat you alive! They are animals, mindless barbarians. So if you ever see one, run! Do you hear me girl, run!” He bellowed. 

Esme’s eyes filled with tears. She tried to stop it, but one fell anyway. Her father had never slapped her before. Though he usually just ignored her existence, he had never been this purposely mean before.

Ignoring her tears, the alpha turned to the warrior that had brought the news. “Rory, she’s in your hands now. Take her far away from here, understand?”

Having no choice but to obey his alpha’s command, Rory took the silent Esme and began running out of the room, towards the tunnels.  

Esme could hear the bloodcurdling screams and smell the strong stench of blood as her entire pack was being massacred. She paused, unwilling to escape when her people were in danger. She wanted to help but she knew there was no way Rory would let her go. 

“We must go, my lady,” the warrior said, urging her along.

The tunnels was a dark, damp place, infested with rats and all manner of vermin that scampered away as they ran through it.

“How far do we have to go?” Esme panted. “We’ve been traveling for an hour now. I don’t think I can take much more of this.”

“It won’t be long now, my lady,” Rory tried to reassure her. “See that light, it means we’re almost at the end.”

Seeing the light gave Esme a surge of strength and very soon, they were coming out of the tunnel. Rory came out first and after making sure the way was clear, pulled Esme out into the forest.

Esme inhaled the fresh air deeply, trying to place where they were.

“Do we have any destination or did my father just expect us to run for the rest of our lives?” She asked the warrior sarcastically.

“Your father just wants what’s best for you, my lady.”

Esme scoffed bitterly. “The only person my father loves is Isabella. Not me. He didn’t send me out for my safety. There must be another reason, something I’m not seeing…”

“I’m just an ordinary warrior. I don’t know anything. But I know we can’t stay here for long. If we delay much longer, the lycans may catch up to us,” the warrior told her worriedly.

But it was already too late.

They had hardly taken two steps when suddenly five fierce lycans lunged into the clearing. Unlike werewolves, they stood on their hind legs, dwarfing the surrounding trees with their incredible height.

“My lady!” Rory shouted just as one growled. “Quick! Get behind me!” 

One of the lycans that was still in human form, stepped forward, sneering crudely as he glanced at us.

“Well, well, what do we have here? Two werewolf runts running away from the battle.” 

He chuckled snidely, stepping forward. “But that’s hardly surprising. That is what your species are known for anyway.”

“Don’t step any closer,” Rory warned fiercely, his eyes blazing with anger. “Otherwise I’ll rip your heads off!”

The lycan paused, then laughed boisterously. “Do you hear that boys?” He looked to his fellow lycans. “The boy said he’ll kill us. Why don’t we give him a taste of his own medicine?” 

With a flick of his hand, he sent two of the lycans to attack Rory at once. Rory barely had time to shift before they sprang on him, biting and clawing at his flesh.

Rory roared, when one used his claws to tear at his thigh. He put up a good fight but the fight hadn’t been fair from the beginning. And it ended swiftly and brutally. The other Lycan took the opening and used his large fangs to bite Rory’s head clean off.

Esme screamed, when she saw Rory’s body fall to the floor, his head rolling until it stopped and stared lifelessly up at the sky. “Oh goddess, Rory, please! Wake up!” She wept.

“Shut up!” The first lycan barked, gabbing her hair and standing her up. “You and your little bodyguard have been more trouble than you’re worth.”

Enraged, Esme spat at his face. The man stopped smirking and his eyes grew dark with rage.

“You fucking bitch!” His hand went to her neck and began strangling her. Pitifully, Esme tried to break out but it was no use. He was so much stronger than her.

Maybe this was the end, she thought. But as she began to black out, something strange happened.

Suddenly, the eyes of the man choking her flashed bright blue. The blue was so bright and dazzling Esme could only stare in wonder.

The hand at her throat loosened and her flesh hummed where he touched her. Then as quickly as it came, it disappeared and the Lycan dropped her in surprise, clutching his head instead.

“Fucking hell!” The man swore, making the other lycans glance at him in concern, one shifted back to ask.

 “General Slade, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” The general growled out, straightening up. His eyes switched to Esme, holding such unrestrained hatred, she shrank back from him. “Tie the girl up and take her back to the pack. The king wants her alive.”

As they began the trek back to the pack using the forest, Esme’s mind wandered back to when the general’s eyes had flashed blue almost like another person had taken possession of him and looked through his eyes for a second.

But that couldn’t be possible, could it? That person would have to have immense power.

As they got to her pack, Esme saw for the first time the damage and destruction the lycans had wrought in it. Buildings were torn down and destroyed. And bodies. So many dead bodies littered the streets.

Then she looked up and she saw her father's body, hanging from a pole at the front of the pack house. His body was so disfigured, she only recognized him because of the clothes he had worn earlier.

“Oh goddess…”

Nausea rose up and unable to help herself, she threw up.

General Slade grunted in disgust. “Oh for fuck’s sake, get a move on, runt!”

Esme was barely aware when they got to the pack hall, so deep was her grief. She noticed the floor was stained with blood. Was any of it her mother’s? Isabella’s?

The general pushed her to her knees and she sensed someone enter into the room, someone with immense dominance and power. 

He came to stand right in front of her.

“Look up.” 

When Esme continued to look down in a numb daze, General Slade grabbed her hair and dragged her head back roughly so she could look up as commanded.

Looking up, a  little gasp escaped her as she came face to face with the lycan king.