03| Rogue.

Mira set out racing through the woods, dodging trees and leaping over jutting roots, while fervently hoping that Alpha Bastion wasn't chasing after her.

The wind was cold against her bare face as it mercilessly swept through the atmosphere. The suffocating air smelt like burnt grass, and death. It was potent, and it stung the back of her throat thanks to her heightened senses from the Lycan blood that was coursing through her veins. 

Too afraid to turn back to check whether she was being followed, she pumped her legs faster despite the scorching sensation that was permeating her muscles. She chastised herself for having been born in June rather than April. Because there wouldn't be any reason for her to run.

She could have Alpha Bastion and his Beta pinned against a tree with a simple sweep of her fingers.

Nevertheless, she did not stop until she reached the edge of the woods that led to the town's outskirts. She looked first to her right and then to her left as her heart pounded so loudly that it temporarily rendered her deaf.

She dashed across the small bridge that guided her towards the empty road. "Don't fail me now..." She sighed, touching the pendant that hung loosely around her delicate neck. "If there is a time for you to work, now would be a viable time." She pleaded with trembling limbs.

The second Mira had reached the other side of the road, she turned around and looked back towards the woods. She was hesitant to enter a town she had no knowledge of, but it sure as hell bet the cold, damp and scary woods that had wild animals lurking through the shadows. 

She took a minute to herself and gazed up at the heavens where she longed to be.

With her estranged mother. 

The moon shone brightly in all her splendour as she ventured forth into the night, and the stars she spawned dispersed over the night sky like little specks of hope struggling against the turbulence of the pitch-black sky that surrounded them.

While Mira calmly tried to elevate her breathing, a niggling headache was slithering up the side of her neck and it circulated through her temples.

She had a hunch that the spiralling headache was a side effect of her using her source of energy, and not an ounce of regret licked her pulsing flesh as she could not stand to witness an old man being set alight for the crimes of his menacing sons.

Especially by the big bad wolf, Alpha Bastion who is meant to protect his pack, not burn them to the bone.

A howl reverberated across the woods, forcing Mira to flinch, and she stood motionless as a massive black wolf ran straight passed her. She prayed fervently that the pendant had worked and that the wolf would not turn around and return for her.

~Child, be quiet! The pendant will render you invisible, however, it is not soundproof.~ 

Mira bowed her head, wishing her father was by her side and silently cursed him for not teaching her the skills necessary to survive outside the Midnight Pack on her own. 

However, her father could not stress enough how important it was that she not utilise her source of energy unless she was in a life-or-death scenario. She has drawn from her energy source more in the past twenty-four hours than she has in the previous twenty years when her father pushed her to do so during the freezing nights that threatened to freeze her into an ice statue.

Her father consistently refused to shapeshift into his wolf. The life of a Lycan King was in his past, and when he allowed his wolf to take control, he did things he was not proud of. Tobias was a vicious wolf; he took anything he desired from the pack whenever he desired. Regardless of the repercussions, her father would endure as a human in the aftermath.

He warned her that she was a one of a kind hybrid. A powerful being that can leave a trail of devastation behind her. She was half Lycan and half Light Oracle. Her mother was from another planet, seeking refuge on planet Earth and somehow her parent's paths crossed and they fell in love. They were mated and as a result of their unusual bond, Mira was born and it alerted the council on planet Morzovia of her mother's location. 

When a Light Oracle is born, it lights up the willow tree in the secret grove and gives out the destination of the newborn Oracle's location. Mira's mother Clove only had the pleasure of spending Mira's first week with her before a ship descended from the sky, hovering over their Packs territory before a Nightengale Warrior exited the ship and demanded that her mother returns with them to their home planet and for her immediate submission. Mira was not harmed and was granted to stay back with her father until the time aroused when her mate will come back down and claim her. 

Though Mira isn't your average witch, where she doesn't need fancy spells, potions or herbs, and that's what makes her very dangerous in the supernatural world.

Mira sucked in a large breath, willing her statue-like stance to fade and as she took a step towards the town, firm fingers wrapped around her wrist stilling her once again. 

She turned her head and looked over her shoulder. Her breath caught in her throat, her pounding heart ceased, and no matter how hard she tried to tear her gaze away from the man that was imprisoning her with his claws digging into her feverish flesh, she couldn't. 

Instead, she felt drawn to him like a moth to a flame. A ripple of awareness shot through her body compelling her to take her bottom lip in between her teeth to muffle the throaty whimper that threatened to escape past her lips. 

ALPHA BASTIONS' grip tightened around Mira's wrist.

~MATE!!!~ His inner wolf howled. 

Gulping, Bastion couldn't believe his eyes. The red-headed vixen standing in front of him had the power to bring him to his knees as white rings shone brilliantly in her eyes. They were mesmerizing and daunting at the same time, and he couldn't tear his gaze away from her. 

"What are you doing here?!" He growled, sobering from his infatuated compulsion.

Mira touched the pendant around her neck with her free hand.

~No... It can not be...~ The panicked voice whispered in Mira's head.

A scowl stained her features as she looked at him with confusion this time around."Yo... You can see me?" Her voice slightly trembled.

"Of course, I can fucking see you, princess." 

"But..."

"I asked you a question." He barked, sniffing the air as the sweet smell from the woods returned, making his mouth water. "You aren't from my pack." He said harshly. 

MIRA averted her gaze, she was never good at lying and when she was swimming in his captivating forest green irises, she wanted to tell him everything. She had a sense that she could trust him with her life, but at the same time, she feared him. 

And she had every right to. Dominance oozed off the Alpha effortlessly. He was dressed in a suit that looked very expensive with oxford shoes that didnt have a trace of dirt on them.

He didn't shift and it made her wonder how he had caught up to her so quickly. 

"Rogue!" The Alpha snarled with disgust. "You're a fucking rogue." 

Mira turned away as she attempted to break free from his clutches. But Alpha Bastion wasn't having a piece of it and he tugged on her arm, pulling her flush against the hard wall of his chest.

She began to panic, and when she panicked she could not control her source of energy. "Please... let me go." She pleaded with a whisper. "I...I can't contain it when I'm scared... or upset."

"Show me your wolf!" He demanded with his large eyes glowing a devilish red hue. "Show me how small and pathetic it is."

Mira's breathing grew shallow, and a feeling of emptiness filled the pit of her stomach making it harder for her to control the energy that was bubbling inside of her. "I'm not what you think!" She cried out. "Please..."

"You are wolfless?!" The Alpha spat out with disgust. "The Moon Goddess wouldn't do me dirty like that." He glared up at the moon and his lips drew into a thin line.

"Where the hell did she come from?" Another deep voice washed over her. "I searched the town and she was here the entire time with you?" Beta Daniel growled.

"She's a rogue and she is wolfless." 

Mira's feelings of rejection were again triggered by the cruel comments from the Alpha. Her entire life, she was seen as an outsider, a phoney, and an impostor.

"What is she doing on our turf?"

"I don't know. But I have a feeling that it won't be too hard to force her to speak." Alpha Bastion snarled with a smirk on his face.

"No!!!!" Mira screamed until silence fell upon her. 

Her spine arched as she cocked her head back, and a brilliant light emanated from her chest towards the heavens. Wind waves swept around her, sweeping up Beta Daniel's body and tossing him back into the woods.

When Alpha Bastion released Mira, he sprang off the ground, did a backflip, and shifted into his wolf in midair as his clothes tore to shreds. He landed on all fours in his blood-shedding stance with a savage growl erupting from his jaws.