ROSE
When I woke up the next morning, my muscles still felt sore. I took a hot shower and went downstairs into the kitchen. It was only 7 AM, but my father had already left the house. I found a note on the kitchen counter: 'Urgent meeting with Alpha Colton. Had to go. Stay inside the house. Don't go anywhere without me.'
I rolled my eyes. Why was he being so overprotective? I was not a child anymore, and we were on pack grounds. I was nowhere safer than here. Then again, Leila was also on pack territory when she was murdered. I pushed the thought out of my mind. I was safe here. They had increased all security measures ever since Leila's death. Nobody would enter the pack's borders without Alpha Colton and my father knowing. And if my father knew, so would I.
I threw myself on the couch and turned on the TV. My father had promised me we would go for a run this morning. I had not shifted in a few days, and I could feel that my wolf was getting impatient and restless.
The first time I had turned into a wolf had been over three years ago. Back then, the shifting process hurt like hell; every bone in my body cracked, and every muscle moved. Eventually, a wolf would get used to it, and it would only be painful for a few seconds before it was over. It would also happen a lot faster the more a wolf shifted.
I zipped through the TV channels, but nothing caught my attention. Instead, I stared at the ceiling, and yesterday's training session came back into my mind. I had to think of Leila immediately. I missed her so much.
Alpha Colton and his Luna did not have children of their own. Since my mother had passed away before I ever got the chance to meet her, Leila had personally taken care of me and raised me whenever my father and Alpha Colton were out on pack duties.
I realized that a tear was rolling down my cheek. I dried it with the back of my hand and stood up. I had enough of sitting around, waiting, and drowning in my thoughts. Any distraction was very much needed, so I decided to let go of my troubles for a while and go outside.
The entrance to the forest was right behind our house. I walked for a few minutes until I reached the tree where I usually hid my clothes. I took my clothes off and stood naked in the woods. It didn't take more than a second for me to close my eyes and let my body transform. Before I even realized it, I was already running.
It felt terrific just to let go. The wind blew through my fur, and the sun eventually broke through the trees, making my silver fur look like it was sparkling.
Yes, my wolf had silver fur, which was quite uncommon, if not even unique, for us werewolves.
After running for almost an hour, I reached the forest's northern end. It was not far from the northern border of the pack's territory, so I was expecting to find many pack members guarding the borders, but nobody was around. I stopped and raised my head to sniff the air for the smell of other wolves and listen to any noises. There was nothing.
Suddenly, I had a bad feeling in my stomach. I turned around, careful not to make any noises, but it was too late.
The frame of a colossal wolf emerged from the shadow of a tree. Was he an Alpha? Or a Beta? No matter what and who he was, I could feel he didn't come here to chat with me. I started growling at him and slowly stepped back, scanning the corners of my vision for an escape route. Then, I realized that he was not alone. Other wolves were surrounding me, at least 10 of them. I had no chance of getting out of this alive, but I would at least try to take some of them down with me.
In less than a second, I spun around and attacked the wolf that was closest to me. My fangs sank into his neck. For a moment, I could feel him resisting until he collapsed on the ground. The other wolves were already on me. I managed to scratch the leg of one of them, and he howled, jumping away from me. Instinctively, I turned around to face another attacker. My father's training lessons were paying off. I bit into the wolf's shoulder and threw him off of me with all my force. He didn't get back up.
Before I could turn around again, I felt a wolf piercing his fangs through my skin into my back. I didn't even have to turn my head entirely to see which one it was. He picked me up like a feather and slammed me against the closest tree. My head started spinning, my vision got blurry, and I blacked out completely.
TRISTAN
"We captured the hybrid" Elijah was back inside my office. He stood in front of my desk. "But she took down two of our guys and injured Kay pretty badly."
"She's a fighter. Did you see her use her powers?" I asked. She must've used magic if she managed to kill two of my wolves.
"No, Alpha Tristan. I don't think she used them. At least not that I noticed..", he said hesitantly. I raised an eyebrow. Maybe she was just a good fighter? Or Elijah didn't realize that she used her powers.
"Either way, secure her in the dungeon. I've seen one witch performing magic before and never wish to see it again... Many of our men died back then because of that beast and her inhumane powers."
"I remember…" Elijah spoke quietly and lowered his head. We were both just young children during the Great Wolf War, but we witnessed the deaths of many people. Good people. Our pack members. Elijah's parents were among the victims. Back then, a single witch had joined forces with an enemy pack, ending in a blood bath. All of that happened because my father had gotten involved with one of them, but he rejected the witch when he found his true mate, my mother. He broke the witch's heart, and she was determined to eradicate our entire pack in her rage. Luckily, we had enough allies to get through these dark times, and finally, my parents defeated her.
"We need information about the girl. Even though the prophecy only mentions one hybrid, we must be sure of it. Maybe she has any siblings, or her witch mother had more offspring", I thought aloud. "I want you to question her. Use force if you have to. But expect that she will resist and probably attack you using all the forces she has."
I stood up from my chair and walked around the desk. I put my hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Don't forget Elijah, whatever happens, don't let her get inside your head. These witches are dangerous."
ROSE
I woke up on a cold stone floor, covered with a thin blanket. I was wearing only a loose T-shirt and shorts underneath that somebody must've put on me. I must have shifted back into my human form when I got knocked out.
It hit me like a slap in the face. I got kidnapped! Where the hell was I?! I jumped up and stiffened when I saw someone sitting surrounded by the shadows at the other end of the room. The room was small, and the only light source was a bulb dangling in front of a door on the other side.
I tried to cover my body with the small blanket when I realized that my hands and feet were chained to the wall. What the hell?! We're they afraid I would shift again and kill even more of them?
I moved closer to the wall behind me. There was no way out. It was only me and my kidnapper.
"Who the f*** are you?!" I spit the words in his direction, trying to cover my fear. I was scared he would probably kill me, but I couldn't show him that. Not until I knew what he wanted from me. He didn't kill me back in the woods, so he must have kidnapped me for a reason.
"You're not the one to ask the questions here, witch." His voice was deep and calm. He was still sitting in his chair, leaning backward and staring at me with his cold, ice-blue eyes.
"What the…" I began, obviously confused, "What are you talking about? Let me the hell out of here!!"
He stood up and slowly moved towards me. Every step that he took made me shake a bit. When he stopped right in front of me, he grabbed me by my throat and pushed me against the wall.
"Stop denying it. I know the truth. We found your seer witch and tortured her. She gave us the prophecy in return for her freedom."
I still had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. This must've been a colossal mistake. They were looking for somebody else!
"Look, I don't know what prophecy you're talking about, but you got the wrong girl!" I managed to say while trying to breathe. "I'm not a witch!"
He pushed my neck only tighter, almost causing me to black out again. "Stop lying!"
His words sounded louder than before, and my head started spinning again. Then he let go of me, and I sank to the ground, coughing and gasping for air.
He kneed down to get his face closer to mine and narrowed his eyes. "And if you don't start talking now, I will make you talk."