Prologue: 25 Years Ago

Howls can be heard throughout the forest. A woman races through the trees, running for her life, but she doesn’t seem to know which direction will bring her to safety. She’s been in the woods all her life but the adrenaline, fear, and anxiety have caused her to forget everything and just run. Fight or flight in hyperdrive as she runs faster than she has in years. She knew this day would come. She’s been hiding for so long she was hoping that she might be able to avoid it, but you can’t avoid the inevitable. At least not when you’re half werewolf and half human. It was such a rare thing, but unfortunately rarity can mean power in the mythical world. The blood of a hybrid, as well as their life essence, could be used for either incredible good or incredible evil. No matter which way it was used it was still pure power, and some people will do anything for power.

She remained hidden amongst the humans since she was a young girl. It was a small town in Northern Arizona, nestled in the expansive forest most people don’t think of when they hear Arizona. Thinking she might be safe, she found a husband and had a family. No one knew what she was or what she was capable of doing. The only thing she couldn’t hide was her scent. Living and working around humans would somewhat diminish her wolf side and decrease her wolf scent, but it wouldn’t be completely gone. She still had to be somewhat close to wolves though in case something happened, or Goddess forbid her children started showing signs of wolf traits. She decided to live close to a nearby pack but far enough that she was still in human territory. Pack members were able to blend in with society fairly well so every once in a while she would encounter one at work and she could see the little nose crinkle, the tell tale sign of sniffing, when she would get close like they were trying to figure out where that little bit of extra wolf smell came from.

Usually people would give up on the smell and assume it’s something they’re putting off in front of all the humans or maybe a wolf was there earlier and the scent was lingering. One day however, someone didn’t give up so easily. Without the woman noticing he stayed around the area for 2 days until he could pinpoint the exact source of the scent. Once he knew it came from her he started to follow her and learn her routine. Then he got one of his buddies to pull a team together. If he was right about that smell, his mistress would be very pleased and he would be handsomely rewarded. He knew a Hybrid when he smelled one. The team showed up and he let them know all about her routine. The older woman would still run everyday and they decided to use that isolation to their advantage.

They caught up to her that next morning, and now she’s running for her life. All she can think about is her family and her kids. Would they be alright? Did she do enough to keep them safe? Hell she couldn’t even keep herself safe, not today. She ran as fast as she could when she finally realized she was close to the pack territory, so she ran towards the pack. Maybe if she crossed the border they would be alerted and get there in time to help. She could deal with the politics since she wouldn’t smell like a rogue. These guys definitely had that rotten spoiled rogue stench, and she would seem human at first, hopefully giving her a fighting chance. As she got closer, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, her path was cut off. She failed to see her other attacker until he jumped in front of her and hit her so hard that she flew into a nearby tree, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to lose her focus for a bit. They circled her as she got up, taunting her, knowing they had her beat. She didn’t make it far enough to alert the pack and her family wasn’t expecting her back soon, plus running had taken her away from her usual path. Even if someone were to come look for her, they would be looking for her in the wrong location. All of this flashed through her mind as she sized up the group surrounding her.

“Did you really think you had any chance at getting away from us…Hybrid?” the lead rogue asked, his voice practically dripping with venom and hate.

“Well I’ve been doing it for over 40 years so yeah I thought I had a pretty good chance,” she taunted back. He was obviously the leader of that little rag tag group and she didn’t mind getting him riled up. She needed them to be sloppy and distracted. She was already hurt and didn’t have a lot of time. As much as it pained her to do this to her family, she couldn’t let these guys get everything they wanted, and by the way he said hybrid, she knew exactly what they wanted. The rogues all growled at her even though they were still in their human form.

“Don’t worry we’ll be sure to make up for lost time,” he replied.

“I’m not worried. I doubt you would last that long at anything anyway.” That did it. He lunged at her and raked his claws against her torso as he flung her back into the tree again.

“You’re not supposed to kill her!” one of the other rogues chided.

“I’m not killing her,” he replied with a smirk. “Just having a little fun.”

It was a dangerous game, but she knew it was going to happen. She used that chance to reach into her belt area and pulled the silver knife she always kept with her wherever she went. It wasn’t enough to take down the rogues, it was 4 on 1 after all, but it would do the job she needed. There was no way to stop them from getting some of her blood, however she could make sure a lot of it was wasted into the ground. The one thing she knew she could control was how her life ended. She would do what she needed to do to stop them from getting her life essence, or spiritus vitae. As she started to get up she sliced one arm near her wrists letting the blood run freely. Since she was already injured they would already be smelling the blood and wouldn’t notice the additional cut.

“We know that there are more of you around here. Tell us where they are and you might get through this relatively pain free,” he sneered. That explains the initial hesitation. He had to know that she wouldn’t give anyone up. The rogue didn’t know this but the only other hybrids she was aware of were her kids, and they had no idea about what they were. She kept them away from the pack so that their wolf sides would stay dormant and they could stay hidden. They had to stay hidden.

“I don’t know where any more are, and even if I did, there’s no way in hell I would tell some low life like you,” she spat back as she raised her arm showing the gleam of silver in her hand. The rogues stood back shocked, thinking that she would try to attack them, and realized too late exactly what she was doing. It took all of her strength and all of her resolve as she silently prayed to the Moon Goddess, and anyone else that would listen, to keep her family safe and protected. She turned the blade in her hands, brought it to her neck, closed her eyes and slit her own throat. It was her only option to prevent them from getting her life essence and spill out as much blood as possible, stopping them from using it for evil. Sacrificing herself to save her family and those she loves. Her last thought was of her family as she fell to the ground with a small smile on her face hearing the angry growls of the rogues knowing that they had failed.