Doing my best to ignore the shooting pain in my side, I limped through the forest, trying to stay hidden. The creaking noise of the leaves beneath my feet would usually make it harder for anyone to go unnoticed, but the rain covered the sound of my steps; something I was thankful for. I hid behind one of the enormous trees and looked down at my hand. The gash on my side did not stop oozing blood and its pain did not cease.
My body strongly shook as my torn clothes did not help with keeping me warm. My clattering teeth affected my ability to think clearly. I wiped the blood dripping from my nose with the back of my hand: the punch was so strong. Maybe it broke my nose.
“Come out come out wherever you are.” The menacing voice taunted me, making me squeeze her eyes shut as my tears rolled down my cheeks. My head was pounding and I was getting more exhausted.
I struggled to make my way through the darkness, not knowing if I would be able to survive the night or not. If only I were a werewolf, maybe my chances of survival would have been better, but I wasn't eighteen yet. The hope in me was almost nonexistent. My pace was getting slower, yet I tried to pave my way amongst the tall trees. I pushed my aching body to keep moving forward despite how lightheaded I was getting.
I looked around me and I realized that I was lost, but my whereabouts were my last concerns. I just wanted to stay alive. There were so many things I wanted to do in my life and I wasn't ready to give any of that up.
“Stay where you are!” A male voice yelled at me from the high tower that appeared among the trees. Had I reached another pack? Were they going to help me out? Were they going to consider me an intruder? Too many thoughts rushed through my head.
“Help me, please!” I desperately cried out, quickening my pace although the pain in my body increased, but I was just a couple of steps away from the borders.
“You can't get away from us,” the voice I dread spoke and before I could grasp what happened, another type of pain found me as a solid object made contact with my head.
The little strength I had was slowly being stripped away from me. Dark dots blurred my vision as I felt death nearing me.
“Do not approach her! She is in our territory!” The voice was so far and I could barely distinguish what was said.
Failing to stay on my feet any longer, my knees buckled and hit the ground and once my head made contact with the muddy ground, I closed my eyes as I tried to make peace with whatever fate would throw at me.
******
Slowly, I could feel myself gaining consciousness. My head throbbed that I wanted to cry out in pain. Not just my head was in pain, but my whole body. Even wiggling my toes ached me.
Fighting the heaviness of my eyelids, I opened my eyes. They wearily travelled around the place I was in and I realized that I was somewhere I didn't know. I tried to sit up, but a harsh wince escaped my lips. I rolled down the blanket that covered my body and found myself in a hospital gown.
“Is somebody here?” I thought I had the ability to raise my voice, but the moment I spoke, I harshly coughed, which intensified the pain in my body. My side was on fire.
What happened to me? What was this place?
My thoughts were interrupted by two people opening the door and walking inside the room. A very tall man with broad shoulders and a muscular body walked inside first followed by a girl who seemed to be so small compared to him. I did not know any of them.
“Hey, it’s fine. You're fine. Calm down.” The girl gently placed her hands on my shoulders and made me lie down on the bed. “You shouldn't be moving a lot. You're hurt.” She tried to ease my nerves, but they were all over the place. I had no control over myself.
My lungs were getting tight as I tried to fight her despite the shooting pain in my side, but she was much stronger than I was.
“She's bleeding, again. She opened the stitches.” That was the first thing the male said since he walked inside with the girl. Who were they? “Allow me,” he spoke, but I wasn't sure whom he was talking to.
The girl released me and before I was able to breathe out in relief, I felt two strong arms gently engulf me, preventing me from moving frantically without causing me any pain.
“I don't want to hurt you. Nobody here wants to cause you any harm.” I was restrained by his arms, yet his hold wasn't rough or painful.
“Who are you? Where am I? What are you going to do to me?” Many questions rolled out of my mouth in hopes that they would be answered.
“I'm Xander. The Alpha of Silver Moon pack. You sought help at our borders, and you were in a terrible state. You have been asleep for three days because of your injuries,” he dumped the information upon me, and my mind failed to process what came out of his mouth. Terrible state? Three days? What happened to me?
“Promise me that you're not going to hurt me,” I uttered the most pathetic sentence I could ever think of. Wait. Alpha? Pack?
Who were these people?
“I promise that nobody will touch you or cause you any harm as long as you're in our territory.” He sounded promising and he made me feel… secure? How could a stranger make you feel secure? “I’m only holding you like that because you have stitches and you’ve just opened them. I don’t want you to hurt yourself more.” He was sweet and his tone was soft. I found myself nodding to his words even though I shouldn’t be this meek.
“I have so many questions,” I blurted, taking in a shaky breath. I hoped that his patience with me would not wear thin.
“Let us fix your stitches first, then I will gladly answer whatever you want to ask.” His smile was gorgeous and assuring. For some odd reason, I didn’t want him to leave.
“Can you stay?” I requested. Why was I speaking my mind so freely like that? “I mean… while they check the stitches. I’m sorry if I’m asking for too much, but I’m scared and you’re… you make me feel safe,” I foolishly said. I was making an idiot out of myself.
“Sure.” The warm smile did not leave his face, which only increased the sense of security he provided me with.
The girl approached me again and he moved away, but I found myself reaching for his hand, not wanting him to be far.
“I’m right here,” he mumbled, rubbing small circles with his thumb on the back of my hand.
Attentively, the brown-skinned girl raised my gown and I blushed. I was basically half-naked in front of a stranger. A wince came out of my mouth once she touched the wound, causing her to immediately apologize.
“It’s fine.” I sighed. Looking at the nasty wound on my side, my eyes widened. This was definitely going to leave a scar.
“You opened two stitches and I’m going to need to redo them, okay? I will do my best to make it less painful,” she informed me, and I found myself nodding.
She brought a spray bottle close to the wound and I found myself scooting away out of instinct.
“Don’t be scared. This is going to numb the area. I don’t want you to be in so much pain,” she attempted to relieve any sort of doubt I had in me.
It took her five minutes to finish up her job. I must admit that she was very skilled. Yes, I did feel some pain, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Once she was done, she left me alone with Xander, probably giving us the space to talk.
“Drink this,” the man, whose name I had just learned was Xander, said, handing me a glass of water. I was really thirsty and famished, but I wasn’t going to ask for food now.
“Thank you.” I offered him a small smile as I gulped down the whole glass of water.
“Do you want more?” I shook my head, turning to place the empty glass on the table beside me.
“Who hurt me? Do you know?” My voice was barely audible as I fiddled with my fingers.
“Unfortunately, we don’t know. One of the patrols saw you from the watchtower and you were being chased. Your attacker hit you and you fell. Luckily, you literally fell inside our borders, so they couldn’t trespass. You were then brought to my house and seeing how you looked, I had to take you to the pack’s clinic to treat your wounds,” he filled me in with the details he thought I might need, but that only increased my sense of loss.
So many things did not make sense in my head and I didn’t know how to voice that out loud.
“You seem bewildered,” he observed, and I slowly nodded. I was grateful for his patience.
“What do you mean by borders, watchtower and all of that?” It was his turn to be confused.
“The borders of the pack?” He made it seem more of a question than an answer.
“What pack? What’s even a pack?”
Baffled as he was, he did his best to appear composed before her. She could see the struggle on his facial expressions.
“Let me ask you one question. Perhaps it may clarify things to the two of us,” he said, running his head through his black hair.
“Go on.” I nodded, waiting for his question.
“Who are you?”
“I am…” I stopped, unable to answer his question. I tried to squeeze my memory, hoping I could give Xander any information, but I couldn’t. That was when it hit me. I didn’t know who I was. “I don’t know.” My eyes went wide out of shock and I bet anybody could sense the absolute fear that coated my tone.
Here's the first chapter! Do you like it? Vote and comment your thoughts! Published on April 1st, 2021 Sara
“There’s no need to panic, yeah? I’m going to bring a doctor to check on you.” He stood up and walked out of the room, not giving me the chance to reply. Thoughts raced in my mind. I didn’t remember anything about myself or even the attack they told me about. I didn’t even know who I was. Fear took control over my body, making tears brim in the corner of my eyes. Xander came back with another man who had a white coat on. He was probably the doctor. “Welcome back. Xander told me you can’t remember anything, so let’s just talk for a little bit, okay?” he spoke, and I nodded, knowing that there was nothing else I could do. “Let’s start with a near event. You were attacked three days ago. What do you remember about the night of your attack?” the doctor asked me. I took a heavy breath and tried to recall the events of that night. They said I was covered in blood, and the wound on my side proved that. I tried to remember how I got that wound, but noth
“The food is great! Thank you so much for your hospitality. I don't know how I would have survived without you.” I was truly thankful for everything he had done for me so far. “It's my pleasure. I really hope you like your stay here,” he said. “So, Florence told me this pack is the strongest. Tell me more about your pack. I would love to know more if you don't .” My curiosity was getting the best of me and a part of me hoped that he wouldn't mind. “We are the strongest pack in the USA, but definitely not the whole world,” he started and I straightened my back, ready to learn more about everything. “But being the strongest doesn't mean you don't have rivals.” “So you've got rivals?” If he was strong, then this was expected. “Indeed, but the strongest one is called Crimson Pack. Ten years ago, there was a war between us and luckily, we won, which meant that we got to control the lands of Juliet Rose, but like any war, eac
Everything about this mansion was elegant. The stairs were white and the handrails were made of transparent glass. I placed one hand on the rails while Rowena held my other one. Just like her brother, she was really helpful. I had to repay them one day for their kindness. “You're the younger sibling, right?” I asked her once we reached the top of the stairs. “ I am. I'm twenty. Xander is twenty-four,” she replied as the two of us made a right turn. She was only ten years old when she lost her mother and fourteen when she lost her father. She was too young to go through that. I silently wondered if I was the same. Had I also lost my family like them? Did I have any siblings? Was there anybody out there looking for me or was I nothing that nobody bothered to search for me? “What about you?” she asked. “I wish I could answer,” I mumbled. “Why can't you? This is my room, by the way.” She pointed to one of the doors. “And this is your
“Did you find out who she is?” Jorah, my Beta, asked me. Ever since Priya was brought to my house three days ago in the middle of the night, he had been asking me about her. He did not like outsiders and to him, she was dangerous. “We don’t know who she is. She is definitely a werewolf, but she hasn’t matured yet. She most probably is seventeen. Apparently, she suffers from a complete memory loss, so she doesn’t even remember her name,” I filled him in. I was taken by complete surprise when the patrol brought her to my place. She was covered in her own blood, her clothes were barely covering her body, she was freezing and completely unconscious. Her state had me baffled. If her injury was minor, I would have taken her to Jorah. He had knowledge regarding stitching and cleaning wounds, but the amount of blood she shed on my sweatshirt when I took her from the patrol to my car was enough to make me take her straight to the clinic. “And you actually believe she’
“Promise me that you won't fear me.” His request had me startled. Why would I fear him? He had been kind and sweet to me. What would make him scary? “I promise,” I said as the strong wind brushed my hair, causing me to shiver a little. Maybe I should have brought a jacket with me, but the excitement I felt when he told me he would show me his wolf form made me forget everything. “ Wait for me here,” he told me, and I nodded, smiling a little at him. Cautiously, I sat down on one of the chairs in the backyard. The vast pool in front of me made me wonder if I knew how to swim or not. The water was intriguing that I almost approached it, but I was scared. I didn't want to fall. Not knowing anything about myself was frightening. “It's going to be colder in the forest.” Xander's voice pulled me away from my thoughts, making me look at him. He was holding a huge hoodie for me. My heart warmed at the gesture. “Thank you.” I slowly got up and took the
I pulled the pillow close to me as I kept my eye closed. I could feel the sunlight hitting my face, but I didn’t want to wake up. The soft mattress beneath me made getting up an impossible task. Did I need to get up? Memories of last night played in the back of my mind and the corners of my mouth turned up a little when I recalled how Xander looked as a wolf. A realisation came to me that I didn’t get back to my room and that was enough to force me to open my eyes. Everything seemed familiar. This was the room Xander gave me yesterday. How did I get here though? Had I fallen asleep against him last night while we were in the forest? The mere thought caused heat to rush to my cheeks. I had a light grey duvet over my body; it was so smooth that I didn’t want to push it away. I looked down at my clothes and I found myself in the same outfit I had on last night. I even still had the sweater on. Carefully, I pushed myself up and got out of my luxurious bed. I needed to sh
Almost twenty days had passed since we found out that Priya was allergic to milk. After that incident, I left the pack for three days to finish off some business. When I came back, I was hoping that she would have remembered anything, but that did not happen. Her allergy was the only thing we were able to find out about her. She couldn't remember anything and as the days passed, I could tell that this was taking a toll on her, frustrating her. At first, she was taking the matter lightly, doing her best to get accustomed, but for the past few days, it was obvious that things had been different. She politely refused to spend time with Rowena and she stayed in her room most of the time. I suggested taking her to the forest for a walk, knowing that her wound was in a better state, but she said no. I kept thinking that maybe she was scared of seeing me in my wolf form again, but the look she had in her eyes the night I took her there told me that she wasn’t scared at all.
“Where are the logs I will be moving today?” For the past three days, I had been moving logs and organizing them under the small wooden awning attached to the cabin in the training camp. “We’re going to make your job a bit harder today,” Xander informed me, and a shiver ran down my spine. What did he plan to do? When Xander told me I had to either work or leave, fear controlled every cell in my body. I was even scared of asking any question because I had a feeling that if I annoyed him too much, he was going to kick me out. The first time I came to the camp to work, I was frantic and it took every ounce in my body to prevent myself from crying. When he was cleaning my wound, I was on the edge, because I felt that the safety he provided me with was being stripped away from me and I wanted it so badly. I had to hold onto it tightly. I felt pathetic for crying in front of him, but I couldn't prevent myself from crying. I wasn't do