All Chapters of Past Life: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

The wind howled amongst the sparsely spaced trees. The only other sound that could be heard was the faint, soft crunching of dried leaves and twigs caused by small light feet picking their way through the dense undergrowth of the pitch-black forest. Annalise had used the cover of darkness to escape her cruel tormentors- people she had considered friends and kin. She had watched the habits of many of her pack discreetly for months and suffered at their hands before finding a small window of opportunity to flee the territory. Once the sun began to rise, Annalise knew that her absence would be noticed and that the hunt to bring her back would start. The thought of being hunted down and the punishments she would receive for running away spurred Annalise on, her breath quickened, showing in short little puffs of air. The tatty hood of the cloak she had managed to salvage and sew together again lightly billowed around her shadowed face. ‘How far have I travelled?’, Annalise wondered to

Etta was stunned. This girl who had suffered unknown horrors was an Alphas daughter? 'How could her pack allow this to happen?' she thought to herself, shuddering slightly. "Did you not have any other family? Anyone to take you in and care for you?" Etta asked, fearful of what she might hear next. "No. My aunt and uncle on my fathers side live with another pack across country and my mothers brother was also killed during the rebellion. Once Beta James became Alpha he took me in. He was my fathers most trusted advisor and friend, I had no reason to doubt that he would care for me." Annalise closed her eyes as she thought back to her childhood. "At first he was kind, telling me how missed my parents were. Then he began to change...he would ask me to help in the kitchens. I didn't mind, I loved the smells and my mother had started to teach me to bake." A watery smile appeared on her face as she remembered her younger self with flour on her nose, her mother laughing and the kitchen

"Let me run a bath for you. You can relax and take all the time you want. I'll go find some clothes and leave them on the bed for you." Etta pushed up from the bed and headed towards the bathroom. "Thank you, Etta. No one has been this nice to me in year. I still can't believe you are real." Annalise said shyly. "You'd better believe it! Just wait until you meet the rest of the family. They are going to love you." Her bright, sing song voice was slightly muffled under the noise of the running water. A short while later, Etta reappeared. "All ready. I wasn't sure what kind of bubblebath you would like so I picked one that matches your scent." She smiled and made her way to leave. "See you later, Bestie." She sang as she left. Annalise limped to the bathroom. The bubbles were almost to the lip of the tub, so invting. She gingerly stripped off the pyjamas and unwound the bandage from her knee. Lifting her bad leg first, she balanced on her song one. The heat of the water instan