“Don’t come any closer!”

The alpha of our pack inched himself closer. He took off his shirt and began to howl like a rabid animal. Lust could be seen in his eyes as he stuck out his tongue and licked his lips in a circular and provocative motion.

I grimaced at the scene, utterly disgusted with his behavior. For a middle-aged man, the gesture was far from being hot. My mouth twitched as I took another step backward. It was a no-brainer to know what he was intending to do.

He wanted my body, that’s for sure. But I wouldn’t let his filthy hands touch my body. Not now, not ever.

“I am warning you! Don’t come any closer or else…”

“Or else what?” the alpha scoffed. “You will shout for help? Huh! As if somebody would come to rescue you. Have you forgotten? I am an alpha and my words are the truth in this place.

Terror crept into my system. The reality of how helpless my situation is was adding another layer of fear into my system. Do I really deserve this kind of treatment?

After my seventeenth birthday, I noticed that our alpha was constantly visiting Uncle Stan’s house. He began throwing me dirty stares and sometimes, I could sense that he was attempting to flirt with me. But instead of stepping into his boundaries, I found myself ignoring and avoiding him as much as I can. I couldn’t imagine being her lover for crying out loud!

Like every she-wolf who came of age, I longed to meet the man whom the goddess bestowed to be the other half of my soul. I am waiting for my mate to claim me as his. Never in my wildest dreams that I imagined being mated to a man that wasn’t destined for me. It was only my mate that I would offer my heart and body to.

So climbing to my alpha’s bed was never an option.

I stepped one of my feet backward, slightly bending my knees in the process. I balled my fists and held them up to cheek level. I know that I am no match for him when it comes to hand-to-hand combat but I got to try my luck. I’d rather die than allow him to taint me.

Before he could inch closer, I changed into my wolf form and sprinted. Yes, that was my plan. Running from him was the only chance I know in escaping his evil plans.

And so, I ran. I bolted toward the woods. I sprinted like my life depends on it. I dashed through the night wanting to get out of that place as soon as possible.

I felt that alpha, in his wolf form, had followed me. My heart beats louder. I got to run faster if I wanted to get out of this place unscathed.

I heard his terrifying howl, the one he was using whenever he was hunting for rogues. Right now, I was his prey. I was so stupid to let him bring me to the middle of the forest to check out something. My wolf Bella was already hinting to me that something was not right yet in the end, I let myself go with him still. If not for the fear that Uncle Stan would become the subject of his power-tripping, I wouldn’t give a damn. Whether I like it or not, he was our alpha and we should treat him with reverence no matter what.

I dashed into the woods as fast as I can in hope that the alpha would not be able to keep up. I jumped through the big boulders and hidden mazes. I needed him to lose my trail. I was desperate.

A few minutes had passed and his smell diminished until finally, it disappeared. It looked like I lost him. With that, I transformed back to my human form. I slowed my movement but remained vigilant of the surroundings. Big Mistake.

Out of nowhere, I felt a being jump at me making me roll violently on the ground. I saw the bald alpha laughing like a maniac as his skin brushed into mine. We were both naked, as the result of our previous shifting. When we stopped rolling, he was on top of me. His demonic desire to claim me intensified as I saw his eyes burn with lust. I am sure of it, this alpha was ready to claim my virginity by force.

He pinned both of my hands above my head using his right hand while the other was touching my face. I turned to my side, avoiding his filthy breath. He was literally drooling on top of me. I also felt his member was ready to penetrate me.

I looked up and silently uttered a prayer as I felt him kiss and sucked my neck. From there, I caught the sight of a familiar plant. I knew this type of plant, as Uncle Stan taught me, and Maggie about some herbs and medicines we could use in the wild.

It was a Nightcrawler, a leaf that could make you blind if it was put in the eyes. A plan brewed inside my mind.

With the last ounce of strength, I stretched my fingers and grabbed a handful of leaves. I squeezed it discreetly until both of my hands were covered by its juice. This plan has to work. If not, I should kiss my innocence goodbye.

“A-alpha, I surrender. Clearly, I am no match for your power and speed so I know that there was no way out of this situation. I don’t want my first to be rough so can we start over? I…I want to make the most out of this situation.”

The alpha suddenly stopped nibbling at my neck and looked at me. I tried meeting his gaze with a submissive stare. He smirked at my declaration.

“You should have done that a while ago so we no longer wasted time chasing each other. I told you, didn’t I? I will make sure you’ll enjoy every fucking second of me grinding on top of you.”

“I am a fool, alpha. So…will you allow me to touch you now?” I tried putting a bit of seduction into my words and judging by how he grinned, it looks like it worked.

I felt that his grasp was loosened, indicating that he was freeing my hands. When it finally did, he got up from my top and looked at me with anticipation. I took a deep breath and began to move my hands.

But instead of grabbing his manhood, I dug my Nightcrawler-stained thumb into his eyes, making sure that the sap would penetrate into his orbs.

“Waaahhh!!! My eyes!!! My eyes!!!!! You bitch! What did you fucking do to my eyes?!”

The alpha screamed in pain. He was swinging his head like crazy while covering his eyes like a creep. I saw blood streaming down his face. Looks like the Nightcrawler had taken its effect.

This was the chance I am waiting for.

I jumped, preparing myself to shift. When I landed on the ground, I already changed into my wolf form. I dashed into the forest, only this time, far from the place I used to call home. I guided my legs to the end of our border, intentionally wanting to step out of our territory.

What I did to the alpha was considered treason. As twisted as it sounds, any pain you inflict to the leader of the pack would mean death regardless of what your reason is. I felt that something blocked my throat remembering my Uncle Stan. I don’t want to leave him alone but the situation led me to this.

I don’t have a choice, do I?

Under the moonlight, I raced through the dark. I decided to dash south, as I know the trees would be denser in this part of our territory. Also, this was the part where the least of the trackers were assigned. This would be my best shot to get out of the pack’s territory completely.

I felt a cold brush of wind on my cheeks as I went deeper into the forest. I galloped as long as there was land to brush my feet into. I didn’t know how long I had to run so I kept going.

I already passed the boundary of our southern reach, making me aware that I had already reached a hostile territory. I remained vigilant of my surroundings. One mistake and I might lose my life.

I suddenly felt the dryness of my throat. It was only then that I realized that I needed to drink. I stopped running and tried to listen to the sounds surrounding me. My mouth grinned when I heard ripples of water from a nearby stream.

I rushed in the direction of the sound. It didn’t take long before I reached the stream. I leaned down and scooped water in my hand. The water was sweet and refreshing. My mind was celebrating this little comfort when suddenly, I felt another presence at my back.

Running in my wolf form was the only thing that reminded me of my former self.

Just like when I was still in our pack, running had been my source of release. If there was one thing that I think would never pass on me, that would be my love of sprinting. I feel connected with my wolf every time I allow her to run freely in the woods. This was my way of bonding with her. This was my way of connecting to the wolf spirit within me named Bella.

But now, running was more than just a hobby. It would become my constant companion from now on.

We were in the middle of scampering through the forest when suddenly, I felt weird. My wolf recognized the feeling and decided to stop for a while.

Moments later an earthy aroma filled the air. The spicy, aromatic wood-like smell has a warm, exotic profile to it. It was Sandalwood, the most intoxicating I had ever smelled!

The scent created a warm feeling inside. It increased the awareness of my well-being bursting with inner desires. It was until my wolf Bella emerged from my thoughts jumping up and down that I finally understood what was going on.

"Mate!" she shouted at the back of my head.

"You must be mistaken, Bella. You know very well that what you're saying is highly unlikely because we haven't come off our age yet. This isn't our mate! I'm only sixteen," I uttered, trying to make a logical explanation about the mysterious scent that had overtaken us.

“We can't be wrong, Aria. You smelled him too. He was heavenly! I can't wait to meet him and let him mark us in bed.”

“You and your filthy mouth!” I shouted inside my head. “This wasn't the time to be joking like this. We just got away from that promiscuous alpha and almost got violated by him. How could you even say this?”

Bella disagreed with me. She was hellbent on making us feel fine. “No, let's find him, or I'll take over this body and find him myself.”

“This must be a trap, Bella! We're out of the pack. This could be witchcraft or have something to do with rouges? Let's not….”

Bella was not kidding when she said she would take over my body without my consent. And so, we shifted back to my wolf form. Only this time, she was the one n charge. Using her black and delicate paws, she ran after a shadow that she quickly noticed from one of the large old trees. Her shining grey fur danced with the wind and the possible danger awaiting before our eyes.

She doubled our speed and followed the intoxicating scent.

“This moron… why does he have to make his mate chase after him? Isn't he excited to meet and pound the hell out of us?!” Bella exclaimed.

Bella let out loud growls, calling our alleged mate. However, the shadow didn't stop. He fastened his movement, and I felt more exhausted than Bella as she tripled her speed to follow him.

I didn't know how far we had run away from our pack with our speed. There was no turning back now. Remembering it again, I felt the pain kick in. However, I couldn't fully feel sad when Bella was excited to know who that shadow was. We shared the same emotions and felt what others exactly felt like we were twins.

Bella was restless. She kept running when I heard her loud howl of joy.

“Aria! Our mate has stopped! That's him! That's him, right, Aria?” She excitedly chirped. I was silent, but deep inside, I was excited to know if the shadow was really our mate.

The shadow stopped just in front of a big old tree.

Bella sprinted forward and jumped up in the air to excitedly lunge at the shadow. However, the shadow moved from the side without us seeing his face. He lunged an attack again and knocked us out close to a deep hole in the mountain ground.

“What the hell! That's rude! We are mates! Why did you do that?!” Bella growled. The shadow had become a wolf and took a step forward to us before he quickly changed into his human form.

The figure sported a proud and serious face, but that wasn't why we were surprised.

He was not a male. He wasn't our mate because she was a woman. What was more surprising was it was Maggie! Maggie Whittaker! She was my long-lost cousin who disappeared from our pack one year ago. Rumors said she abandoned our pack because she yearned for more life adventure since Maggie was one of the strongest, she-wolf warriors in our pack. Others said she turned crazy chasing after her mate and abandoned her own family.

Regardless, me and Uncle Stan believed that she would still come back. But now, I finally knew where she was. She was my closest cousin and friend, my partner in crime. I was so lost when she went missing.

I shifted back to my human form in hope of getting sense out of her. “Wait, Maggie! It's me, Aria! Your cousin! Can you still remember me?” A look of shock and recognition flashed on Maggie's face. It was more like an affirmation.

“Damn! Is that really you, Aria?! I was right! Oh, my dear cousin!” She extended her hands and offered me a hug. A tearful reunion indeed!

“I’m sorry, Aria. I didn’t mean to knock you. I am just saving you from the trap I made for some rogues by disguising my smell. Good thing that I recognized your wolf form before I lured you further to my trap.”

My eyes widened. So that was why we smelled a divine scent and thought it was our mate. It was just a trap. I ignored most of Maggie's queries and closed our distance to tightly hug her. I really missed her.

“I'm really sorry, Aria. Let's get back to business. Answer me, please. What are you doing here? It's too dangerous in the wild,” Maggie asked again.

It took me seconds to reply, so she spoke again. “Come on, I'll help you go back to the pack. You shouldn't be here.”

“Thank you for the offer, Maggie. But I can’t go back to the pack. The alpha attempted to rape me and in order to escape, I blinded him using the sap of the Nightcrawler plant. At this very moment, his men might have started to hunt me already.”

We both fell silent, thinking of the reasons why we were pushed to abandon our pack. As if on cue, my eyes began to water again, and Maggie quickly noticed it.

She swiftly went to one of the large trees and put on clothes before she handed me another piece of clothing. But I struggled to put it on. She helped me wear it and silently guided me to a hidden cave.

When we entered the cave, I saw a small hut looking like her home; she said she had lived here for a year. The things inside seemed to be all made of materials from the mountain. At the side

of the hut were spears and bows that perhaps she used for hunting. However, I could not fathom why she would use it if we had our claws and sharp canines to hunt our prey.

Despite crying for what seemed like an eternity, I managed to swallow my cries and asked her, “What's this for, Maggie?”

“I used those for hunting and training, Aria. Not at all times, you can rely on Bella to fight for you. You must learn to protect yourself even with your human form,” Maggie explained.

She handed me some water placed on a leaf-made cup before she walked to one of the spears and threw me one.

“I don't know how to use this, Maggie,” I complained.

“If you want to learn how to use it and some of my other ways here in the mountain, I will let you live with me. And remember, if you are going to choose to stay with me… from now on, you have to train until your body is sore and cry in pain. Besides, you don't know how dangerous it is to live without the protection of our pack. There were lots of cunning creatures you hadn't met yet. In case we have to go through the worst, you have to protect yourself.”

“Thank you, Maggie!”

“Don't thank me yet. Didn't you hear what I said? My favorite cousin isn't exempted from receiving a good beating. I meant, ammm... as my good training partner. It's been a long time since I had somebody to spar with. I remember how most of our pack she-wolves fear training with me.”

My smile turned to a grimace when Maggie said it. It looked like I was wrong to sign up with this. Maggie noticed it and said, “You need to be stronger Aria. In case you see that mutt again, let's make sure he'll regret doing that to you.”

A newfound determination and strength surged in my veins with Maggie's words. I wanted to be stronger, psychologically and physically.

From then, I trained with Maggie. Every day, I felt my body was going to tear because of the hellish training I had been doing with her. Maggie became stronger than the last time she was in the pack. She could be a female beta with her strength. Moreover, I could immediately use our training because sometimes we were left with no choice but to fight some rouges who wandered onto the mountain. Not a week passed that our life wasn't put in danger. Some creatures always came for our heads.

A year had passed.

With the help of Maggie, I was now adapted to our life as a rogue. And as part of our daily routine, we went out to hunt for food.

We were marching toward the traps we made when we noticed something odd. Some of the bushes were bowed down as if someone had run over them.

We move stealthily, holding our spears and bows. We followed the trail until we reach a large sycamore tree. We are almost positive that the mysterious creature was hiding behind the tree’s massive trunk.

And we weren’t mistaken.

Today was supposed to be a regular day hunting for food. But as the saying goes, “Let life surprise you.”

We were still holding our makeshift weapons when I and Maggie went to see what was hiding in the back of the old sycamore tree. To be honest, I kind of hoped it was some animal that could fill our stomachs in the following days. But alas! It was far from the awesome game we were expecting to be our trophy for today’s hunt. Instead, we were welcomed by an unknown man.

When the mysterious man felt our presence, he immediately stood on his fighting form. One of his feet was stepped backward while his fists were at cheek level. He was panting real hard, a clear indication of fatigue and exhaustion. But when he finally realized who we were, a sigh of relief escaped from his throat.

“Phew! It was just a bunch of girls,” he uttered to himself. He also let his guard down before leaning back to the tree trunk.

“What did you say, punk?” Maggie had queried. Her eyes were a bit narrowed, a sign that she was upset. “What do you mean by “just a bunch of girls?”

I tried to calm her down by grabbing one of her arms. Clearly, she took offense to the word “just a bunch of girls”. Maggie hated toxic masculinity. And this unknown man clearly gets on her nerves.

But instead of answering, the man coughed. It wasn’t a big deal except that he coughed blood! That was the only time we noticed his bloody side.

“You’re injured!”

The man twitched and I saw his wounds. It was a pretty ugly claw mark, which I think came from a wolf attack. “Who did this to you?” I asked again.

“A group of rogues,” he answered while still catching his breath, “I am doing some patrolling to the western border of this territory when I was attacked by a group of rogues. I was lucky I was able to beat them but not without getting wounded.

“Western border?” Now, it was Maggie’s turn to ask questions. She also scooted down and help me apply pressure to the man’s side. “Did you come from Grey Moon Pack?”

“Well, yes and no,” he answered while chuckling. Maggie’s eyebrows raised in yet another confusion. But before she could have reacted further, the man spoke once again. “I am not from the Grey Moon Pack originally. I came from a pack called Silver Arrow. It just so happen that our alpha was able to defeat the Grey Moon alpha so we decided to move to their lands.”

“Wait, what?” I interjected. “The Grey Moon alpha was defeated? Does that mean he’s…”

“Dead,” he responded back. “Our alpha beheaded him in a battle a month or so ago.”

I swallowed hard. The news that this man brought was clearly a surprise in my life. Never that I imagined that our fierce and ruthless alpha would come to his end this early. I mean, he was still in his prime and definitely not a weak leader. But to hear that he was beheaded in a battle of life and death really says a lot about this new alpha that was taking over our old pack.

He must be really strong to be able to do that.

“Here, much this herb. This would help your body speed up your healing ability. It would also help with the bleeding.” When I turned to my side, Maggie was putting some Krimson leaf into the man’s mouth. Good thing that Maggie always brings this very useful medicine whenever we go hunting. To her word, we might find it useful especially for some unexpected injuries. Well, she clearly proved her point now.

The man followed what he was asked. I also help him dress his wound using his torn clothes. A few more minutes and the man’s breathing seemed to become stable. By the looks of it, the Krimson plant might already have taken its effect.

“Thank you for helping me,” the man uttered a while later. “It’s Oliver by the way.”

“My name is Aria and this is my cousin Maggie,” I responded. The man nodded while exchanging his glances between me and Maggie. “Anything wrong?”

“Well, I just find it weird.”

“Weird?” Maggie asked.

“Yes, weird. You looked like a rogue but both of you seemed to be educated. Tell me the truth, are you both banished from the Grey Moon Pack? This location was very near to the pack’s border so I am pretty sure you came from that pack.”

“It’s none of your business,” Maggie dismissed him. She began fixing her things and was ready to go when Oliver spoke again.

“If you were a part of the Grey Moon Pack, then it is better for you to return to your pack. The new alpha had decreed that all of the banished or runaway wolves from Grey Moon should go back and pay respect to his leadership. Everyone was encouraged to attend his inauguration.”

“And what if we don’t?” Maggie asked in a challenging tone. She really hates controlling men!

“Then the new alpha would consider that as treason. He would hunt you down until you were both dead.”

************************

It has been an hour since we left Oliver under that sycamore tree. We decided to go back to our camp after ensuring that he was okay to be left alone. Besides, his wounds are way better than we first so them. The Krimson plant really helped him recover.

Maggie was surprisingly quiet and wearing a straight face. I didn’t know whether that was because we will go back empty-handed from our camping trip or because of the warning that Oliver had told us.

Talking with Oliver gave us some invaluable information about Grey Moon. Living in the woods meant that we were completely isolating ourselves from the outside world. So those news and important events we learned for him were highly valuable to us.

We had learned from him that instead of fighting the new leadership, the people of Grey Moon accepted the new alpha with open arms. Well, I couldn’t blame them. Alpha Casimir was ruthless, unjust, and a power-tripper. I personally witnessed how he abused his power. Isn’t that my reason for leaving Grey Moon in the first place?

But now that he was gone and the new alpha was demanding our presence, then I think it was time to go back. While I was thankful for the knowledge and useful life experiences that I obtained here in the wild, I couldn’t deny how difficult our life here was. There were times that we didn’t have some food to eat or perhaps our camp was destroyed by a storm. There were some moments when I missed the comforts and protection that our pack was able to provide. I also missed Uncle Stan.

“Maggie?” I called my cousin’s attention. “I think it was time to—”

“I will not set foot on that pack again. Ever,” she said. She sat down on a boulder while fixing our firewoods.

“But you heard what the tracker said. We need to go back or else, we are going to die here.”

“Then so be it. I am ready to die anyway.”

“But Maggie—”

“I said no!” she yelled. She threw away the firewoods she was holding while looking at me without flinching. “Please don’t push it, Aria. I said I will not go back to our pack and that is final.”

“Then give me an acceptable reason why you didn’t want to,” I challenged. “Unless you tell me the reason, we will be having this conversation until you agreed.”

Maggie stood up while putting his hands on his head. He was pacing back and forth, contemplating whether she would tell me her reasons or not. Maggie knew me very well. She knew that I would keep on opening this conversation with her until I urged her to side with me.

Again, Maggie sat down. This time, tears are flooding her face. “I just…I just didn’t have the face to see dad. I’d rather be dead instead of seeing his disappointed face.”

“What do you mean?” I inched closer and sat next to her. “I don’t understand. Why would Uncle Stan be disappointed if you will come home?”

She took a deep breath before opening her mouth again. “Two years ago, I met a vampire one night while strolling into the woods. And that vampire was my mate.”

My jaw dropped to the ground upon hearing her story. However, my mouth remained shut. Maggie was mated to a vampire? What the hell!

“Knowing that our pack would not accept our union, we decided to run away. He convinced me to come with him to their vampire coven, stating that our love would have a bigger chance to be accepted there.”

“So…that’s the reason why you run away without telling us, right?”

“Yes,” she responded. “I ran away to be with him. But when we arrived at the coven, his parents, who are the head of the coven, opposed our union. They urged him to marry another vampire who happened to be a daughter of a high-ranking noble in their place. At first, he refused. But when his parents threatened to disown and disinherit him, he…he…he abandoned me.”

Maggie’s voice cracked upon uttering the last word. I put her head on my chest and wrapped my arms around her. So this was the reason why she decided to live as a rogue.

“I couldn’t face you and my father after what had happened. How will I tell both of you that I left to be with my mate who abandoned me in the end? I was so stupid to believe his words. I didn’t deserve you or my father. I am worthless! I am dumb and useless!”

“Stop it, Maggie! Don’t you ever say that!” This time, I moved her body away from mine and faced her. “He didn’t deserve you. You are wonderful, kind, and beautiful. And besides, I know that Uncle Stan would be happy to see you back in his arms.”

“Really, Aria? What if he wouldn’t accept me? I hurt him big time!”

“Everybody makes mistakes. Uncle Stan loves you and that would never change.”

“I…I don’t know, Aria. What if you are wrong? What if he drives me away?” Her face was full of doubts and uncertainties. I heaved a sigh.

“There’s only one way to find out whether I am right or wrong,” I stated. “Let us go back to Grey Moon and see for ourselves.”