My lungs burn as they try to take in oxygen while I sprint as fast as I can across the rocky slope of the mountain. My body aches with fatigue and I feel faint, but I keep pushing myself as the voices behind me grow louder. I stumble a bit over the rocks but immediately get up and continue clambering over the boulders. My boot is suddenly tangled in a twisted shrub and I yelp as I fall forward. I catch myself before my head is smashed open but the skin on my arms is scraped and bloodied. I rip the gnarled branch off my foot and stand up.
My eyes lock onto a large group of men with bows and swords and I start running once again. I hear them shout and scream profanities, but I ignore them and keep running as fast as my legs will carry me.
The rocks give way to grass and I growl in frustration and pause when I see the edge of the forest. The men are still following me, so I take a deep breath before forcing my body into the darkness between the trees.
It was like plunging into the ocean. Everything is suddenly darker, colder; I can hear voices in the rustling of the trees and smell blood in the wind. Fear blooms inside my chest, making my heartbeat erratic and my skin grow clammy with a cold sweat. I shouldn’t be here.
This is claimed territory, and it belongs to someone powerful, I can feel it. My mind is cloudy, and I feel my thoughts becoming muddled. “What the hell is happening?” I mutter, slowing down. The forest floor seems to sway beneath my feet.
A sharp pain in my skull has me crying out and dropping to the ground in seconds. I clutch at the sides of my head and scream as it feels about to split open.
Through my screams and sobs of pain I feel my thumb touch something on my neck and realize that it is some kind of dart. I move to yank it out of my neck but another wave of pain slams through my skull. I scream even louder and fall onto the grass. Tears blur my vision and violent sobs shake my body.
My gaze locks onto a pair of yellow eyes before everything goes black.
***
"Lyza! What did I tell you about the forest?” My father scolds me sharply.
I flinch at the anger in his voice and quickly retract my hand, inches from the trunk of the tree. “Sorry father, I couldn’t help it. The trees are just so beautiful,” I sigh turning towards him.
His face softens and he scoops me up into his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face into his shoulder. He hugs me tightly and carries me away from the forest.
“Why can’t we go into the forest?” I ask, looking over his shoulder to see the red and gold leaves slowly disappear from view as we climb the hill.
“The forest is a dangerous place,” he sighs.
“How can something so beautiful be so dangerous?” I mutter in confusion.
“The danger is in its beauty.”
***
My eyes snap open to an orange light that makes me squint. I let my eyes adjust for a moment before observing my surroundings.
The green of the forest is gone, replaced by the cold metal and stone of a prison cell. There is a metal table beneath me, and leather restraints as well. My wrists and ankles are bound to the table, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. With a small yank they snap like rubber bands and I sit up.
I immediately grab my head, still pounding from when I got shot with the dart. My mouth is dry, and my stomach is growling. How long have I been in here? I had food and water just hours before I ran into the forest.
“Hey they’re coming!” I hear a voice call suddenly and realize that I am not alone. There are other cells surrounding mine, filled with people that are covered in dirt and blood. Their faces are gaunt, and their bones are peeking out from beneath their skin. My eyes widen in fear when I see the massive number of bruises and cuts that cover their bodies. Some have just small scrapes, but others have clawed gashes across their back and stomach.
I slowly stand, using the wall to support my shaking legs, and crane my head to see why they are all staring at. Three men are walking down the space between the cells and the prisoners reach through the bars to grab them as they pass. Some shout insults, but most of them are screaming and begging for forgiveness. Fear spreads through my body once more, and chills run down my spine as the pleading in their voices is cut off.
One man is dressed rather nicely while the other two look like guards in their silver armor. The guards hit the prisoners with wooden clubs to keep their hands inside the cells and I wince when a young man’s face is bashed in.
I involuntarily back up when the three men stop in front my cell. They smell like wolves. The first man looks at me curiously while the guards seem to completely ignore my presence.
“How did you manage to get out of those restraints?” The man asks.
“These things are a little flimsy don’t you think?” I reply, raising my eyebrow.
He narrows his eyes and looks at me for a moment before muttering something to the guards. They unlock the door to my cell and walk towards me, heavy chain dangling from their hands. I back away from the two men until my back hits the stone wall.
One reaches out to grab me and I smash my knee into his stomach. He doubles over and the other guard grabs my wrist. I shove his body to the side and a sickening crack echoes through the cells as his head hits the stone. His grip slacks and I turn to see the first guard standing up with a groan. The heel of my boot connects with his head and he slumps back down onto the floor.
I turn back towards the man at the cell’s door and run towards him. I punch him hard in the face, watching with amusement as he falls onto his butt, his eyes wide with surprise. Evidently, he wasn’t expecting me to fight back, I think with a snort.
I run past him and through the hall between the cells. I follow the path with ease until it abruptly turns into a maze of tunnels. The only light comes from torches on the stone walls, the eerie glow only adding to my fear.
I take a few guesses on turns only to find myself back where I started. I growl in frustration and kick the wall. My toes instantly scream in pain and I growl again at my own
Mitalonys, I need help! I ask my dragon.
Lyza, you need to go straight then take a right, then another right, and a left, you should be able to figure it out after that, he tells me, and I quickly follow the instructions.
When I reach the last turn, I can hear noise echoing from above. I sigh in relief and follow it until I reach a set of stairs.
I start running up, but it is not long before my legs begin to ache in protest. I grit my teeth against the pain and continue jogging up the steps. I am panting by the time I reach the doors at the top. I shove them open and a white light blinds me for several seconds. I quickly blink a few times until I can just make out green trees.
A voice shouting from the bottom of the stairs sends me running into the forest again. I feel a new energy seep into my muscles as the sun hits my skin. The cold stone tunnels drained my body and messed with my senses.
Everything comes into focus, sharper and I can hear the yelling man, moving farther into the distance as my legs move faster. I dart between the trees and jump over fallen logs with ease. I am running for what feels like hours but couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before I finally see the end of the forest. I grin happily and just as I am about to burst out of the trees, something hits my side.
My feet leave the ground and my back hits a tree trunk. I gasp when the wind is knocked out of me and collapse onto the grass. A terrible snarling sounds behind me and I shiver at the coldness of it. I turn and see a beautiful russet colored wolf with yellow eyes. He towers over me, easily the size of a horse. His teeth are bared and his fur is bristling with anger. I slowly push myself up to a standing position and face the wolf, my hands held out in front of me.
The wolf waves his muzzle back towards the prison and I hesitate. He notices this and snaps his jaws at me, nearly catching my fingers. I retract my hand and quickly start walking towards the prison. I take a deep breath before whipping around.
The wolf snarls again and moves to bite me but a circle of flames erupts around him. The wolf yelps and the smell of burning flesh fills the air. I see that his fur is singed on one of his paws and he starts growling at me.
I start running away but I am tackled once again. This time when I stand up, I am surrounded by massive wolves. I can see the rippling muscles beneath their fur and the scars that cover their bodies prove their experience in fighting. My hands come up above my head and a massive circle of flames bursts around me. The wolves jump back in fright for a moment before a few begin running towards me again.
I gasp when a wolf leaps over the wall of fire and lands just a foot from me. The wolf is black, the color of liquid ink and has eyes that must be made of melted gold. This wolf is even bigger than the others, and the power radiating off of him has me wanting to cower in fear.
The werewolf king.
“We captured the trespasser, it turns out she is female,” my gamma informs me.“Is she human?” I ask. Not many people would be brave enough to enter my territory unless they didn’t realize who it belonged to.“Not likely, she was running from a large group of men that stopped chasing her once she entered the forest. We tried to track them, but we lost their trail after they entered the Zhyden Mountains,” he tells me.“Is that all you know?”“No sir, beta Cadyn helped to capture her and is in the prison currently, he will have much more information,” my gamma says.“Thank you gamma Mykael, you may return to your post,” I dismiss him with a wave of my hand. He bows before leaving my office.Who would be crazy enough to trespass on my terri
Everything is dark, I can’t see or hear anything. I feel a small pinch near my neck and suddenly all I see is red.I feel as though I am having a panic attack, my body jerks around uncontrollably and my eyes flit across the room, seeing everything all too quickly to form a clear image.Two golden spots come into view and everything instantly freezes. I stare into the golden eyes and can’t look away. I see something flash in his eyes, it looks like panic, but quickly turns into cold fury.What is going on?I do not know Lyza, perhaps his wolf is saying something that angers him,my dragon suggests.Werewolves can talk to their wolves?I ask.Of course, all creatures can speak with their inner form,he answers, and I suddenly feel very stupid.
Mate? What the hell is that supposed to mean Madox?I growl at my wolf.What do you think it means Daerius? That girl is your mate and you are about to torture her!He snarls at me.Why would I be mates with a creature other than a wolf, especially one like a witch or oh god, what if she is a dragon?I say, disgust seeping into my words.Well then you are just going to have to get over it. The longer you avoid her, the stronger the bond is going to grow until you won’t be able to even look at her without wanting to tear her clothes off.I can practically hear him smirking.I cut off the link, knowing that my wolf is probably right, hell, he’s always right.Find out what kind of creature she is,I tell my Beta who stands in front of the girl. She is quite beautif
I gasp at the force behind his fist, it has me convulsing. The guards have my body pinned against the wall, so I am forced to bear the pain.I know he did some damage; I can taste blood in my mouth and his fist hit the bloody gash across my stomach.Pain sears across my body and I want to scream but am suddenly distracted as Mitalonys tries to take over my body. In my pain, I can’t hold him back.I slowly feel myself lose control of my body until I can just see, hear and feel the pain that still courses through my body.I let out a snarl and my chains are ripped free from the wall. I smash my fist into one guard’s face and his body falls onto the floor, completely unconscious.I take the other guard’s head between my hands and snap his neck in seconds. The last guard runs towards me, but I deliver a roundhouse kick straight
My wolf is so annoying, I am trying to think but he won’t shut up. This girl made a good point, if she stays here then I can teach her how to get along with wolves.And you can make sure she doesn’t turn into the monster that killed your mother and sister,Madox pipes in. I run my hand through my hair in frustration.“Very well,” I say, and she looks at me in shock.“What?”“You may stay in the pack,” I mutter quickly before I can change my mind. Her eyes widen and her mouth opens and closes several times.“Thank you so much! I can promise you that you will not regret your decision!” She gushes and I roll my eyes but can’t help the smile that crosses my lips from making my mate happy.“Now how the hell do I get down from here?”
Why is he finding it amusing to call you Lyza when you specifically asked him to call you Lyzaria?My dragon asks me.Because he thinks it’s funny to irritate me,I reply.How is that funny?It’s not really, he’s just an ass,I snort and Mitalonys chuckles a little.“Get cleaned up, I have to watch the warrior’s training in a half hour. The bathroom is through there and there are clothes in the closet that belong to my sister, but they should be about your size,” Daerius tells me.“Yeah okay,” I mutter, only half listening. When I hear the doors close, I groan and collapse onto the bed.Weariness and pain washes over me and I feel tears prick my eyes. My stomach still hurts where there is a knife gash and a massive bruis
To say that I am shocked would be an understatement.“Where did you learn to fight like that?” I ask, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from my warriors. She sighs a little.“My father taught me mostly. He had made a mistake that eventually led to his death. But in the time, he was alive, he trained me how to survive by fighting, and killing,” she says, clenching her jaw.“Well, I still don’t let females fight because if they were capture for any reason, they can’t withstand torture as well as males,” I explain, and she shakes her head with a breathy laugh.“Really? You tortured me, and I’m sure I held up better than most of your warriors would have,” she scoffs, and I frown.“Fine, you win. Now you are supposed to be maintaining a low profile so I suggest you shut up
“Wait so your name is Angel?” I ask Daerius’ sister.“Yeah, fits great doesn’t it?” She scoffs.“That’s because you try your hardest to prove that your name doesn’t fit,” a man says, walking up to us.“Oh! Lyza this is Gamma Mykael, he gets to hang out with us today. My brother never lets me leave without at least four guards and either Mykael, our Beta, or himself,” Angel mutters in annoyance.“Are you two ready to go?” He asks and I nod.A black SUV suddenly pulls up in front of us and I follow Angel inside. The inside is designed like a limo, with colorful lights running along the seats that are sideways.There is a cooler at one end and a TV at the other. I gape at the interior, ignoring Angel’s amused smile.