With my boots sodden and squelching, the leather rubbing on my damp softened skin, I ran as fast as I could for as far as I could.But my clothes were heavy with water and my legs soon grew clumsy, tripping and stumbling over the roots and branches. Half an hour of battling through the forest later, I tripped once more. This time so overcome with exhaustion that I couldn't save myself from falling and I dropped to the floor, catching my foot under the root. I whimpered, pressing my nails into the muddy floor as pain surged through my ankle. It already throbbed and when I hauled my self to my feet, I could barely put weight on it.The storm was still raging on, refusing to have mercy even as I limped, dragging my injured foot behind me.My eyes welled up and soon the rain-diluted tears dripped down my face."Are you trying to die out here, Esme?" a voice said from behind me.I flinched and spun around only to see Alpha Rivers emerging f

After he had left the Nightingale territory in a fit of rage, we didn't see Alpha Rivers for weeks and for most of the pack, life slipped back to normal. We had now saved up enough grain to feed ourselves until the next harvest, the threat to the pack that Alpha Rivers warned us of was nowhere to be seen and everybody seemed to just forget about him.Well...everybody but me.He still lingered in my mind.When I passed the lake, I thought of the time spent there together. When I went to sleep, his face was in my dreams. When I ventured out into the woods, I couldn't help but how my life would change if I stumbled across him.But I was relieved to see the back of him.This is what I wanted - to live freely and stay with my family. To lead this pack and watch it flourish. None of that would have been possible with Alpha Rivers so this is the way it had to be.But even though my routine had returned to normal, something had changed inside me. Th

I ran in silence towards the village with Alpha Rivers beside me."It's been weeks," I said eventually, breaking the quiet, "Where did you go?"He looked down at me, a sly smile creeping onto his lips, "Why? Did you miss me?" "No," I said sharply, "But how could you just vanish like that? It's unsettling.""I had things to do," he replied shortly before the silence resumed until we reached the edge of the village."How many of them are there?" he asked."Forty. There are two villages and a few lone houses around the territory," I said.He nodded, "My men will round them up."I clenched my jaw, "Pheonix men," I said, "The same ones who have killed their friends and family members? There are kids in those houses who are orphans because of them.""We can leave them to die if you'd prefer?" he asked, "Or you can round them up yourself and have your most vulnerable pack members wondering through a warzone unprotected."

As we walked, I could see the light of dawn growing brighter through the blindfold. The dewy smell of the forest came alive and the birds above us began to tweet again. It was a relief to escape what had been a dreadful night but I was under no illusion of safety. My shoulders were tense and with no vision, every sound and brush of a branch on my arm put me on edge."Relax," Alpha Rivers said after I had flinched with his hands resting on my shoulders, "I'm taking your blindfold off."He pulled the tie and it soon slipped down, allowing me to rub my eyes and reinstate a comfortable distance from him.At long last, I caught sight of Tobias."Finally!" I said marching towards my brother and hugging him.I looked over his shoulder to see the rest of the Nightingale army behind him. They all looked tired but thankfully, we hadn't lost too many and morale still seemed okay.Rose smiled warmly and squeezed my hand before she glanced over to Alpha

Alpha Rivers marched us through his territory for hours. We'd had word from the border that fleets of Alpha Kane's men had leached into the pack so our primary task was to find as many as we could and kill them.All the patrols were doing the same thing but only the most unfortunate of Alpha Kane's men were found by us. Not only were their chances of survival incredibly low against the eight strongest men in the entire Pheonix army but Alpha Rivers fought with an unimaginable ruthlessness and violence. Throughout that day I watched him mercilessly batter our enemy far beyond what was necessary and practically enjoy watching their lives slowly drain away.I had already known what he was capable of. I'd lived through years of his attacks on my people. But to actually see him in the act was a stark reminder of who he was - even if this time we were fighting alongside each other.It was after chasing a group down into a valley where they met their gruesome end at th