1. Captured

Amber

“Amber you should be careful, entering another pack’s territory means instant death” Aunt Kelly would always tell me.

After our pack was attacked seven years ago, Aunt Kelly and I have been living as rogues.

My dad was the beta of our pack and he died when I was only five during a war.

My mum and brother protected me while Aunt Kelly and I fled when our pack was raided. They both promised to come look for us when everything was over, but little did I know that it was the last time I was going to see them.

I crouched, hiding between the grass, while aiming at the rabbit who was chewing on a leaf, without a care in the world.

My stomach grumbled thinking of all the dishes we could make from this.

Living as a lone wolf was difficult, but Aunt Kelly always tried her best to make it adventurous and fun.

We stayed in a small cottage which was exposed to different climates, with less food to eat.

Although sometimes it was hard to keep on living like this but my goal kept me moving, remembering how I lost everything in just a day made me more determined to avenge all the lives that were lost.

My mouth watered as I stared at the rabbit waiting for the perfect time to pounce on it.

Taking little steps forward, I mistakenly stepped on a broken branch.

The rabbit's ears perked up sensing he was in danger, it hopped away, realizing that I was going to lose my lunch, I reacted immediately.

Standing from my crouching position, I chased the rabbit trying not to let it out of sight.

I underestimated my opponent, the little creature was really fast and everytime I decided to catch it, I always seemed to miss.

I kept on running after, chanting the same words in my head to keep me determined.

‘Rabbit stew’

It was as though I had been running for a while, suddenly the rabbit stopped, and without hesitation, I jumped on it bringing my hands forward to hold it.

‘I caught it’

Taking a deep breath, I laid on the moist ground with the rabbit still in my hands, as I tried to catch my breath.

“For making me run after you, I am going to eat you” I said to the rabbit who wriggled in my hands.

Well, I was planning to eat it right from the first time I saw it, you can call it food at first sight.

Laughing at my silly thoughts, I sat up on the grass and suddenly realized where I was.

I was in another pack’s territory.

I quickly got up and hoped they had not sensed that someone had trespassed their territory because I was going to have the punishment of a rogue who trespassed a pack’s territory which was death.

I was about to make a run for it, when a wolf suddenly appeared in front of me.

Shit.. busted….

I turned around and noticed three more wolves were closing in on me.

What a turn of events.

I was just chasing my prey and now I was their prey.

“I am not a threat, how about you just let me go” I smiled at the wolves who had encircled me, but they growled back at me.

The ferocious look in their eyes said it all, they will only let me leave here when I am dead.

“Your stew will have to wait” I said to the little creature, who snorted in response.

Pulling my jacket, I tied the rabbit to my back.

I could not lose the rabbit when I kept on craving for rabbit stew.

I have been training for years because of my goal, my plan was to kill the alpha of the pack who had attacked my pack.

I have been training everyday just to be able to kill an Alpha, and fighting off some wolves would not be hard for me when I have fought many rogues over the years of staying as a lone wolf.

Taking out two knives from my boot, I took a fighting stance.

I have always kept my hunting knife with me, because living in the woods no one knows what might happen.

I know that right now you might be wondering why I don't shift to fight the wolves, but shifting to fight them would be troublesome. Firstly, my dinner is going to flee and secondly, I will have to rip my clothes when I don’t even have much clothes at home to begin with.

Surprisingly, the little rabbit did not wriggle or try to escape, it just stayed still like a behaved kitten, which made me less worried about losing my dinner.

Just as one of the wolves was about to pounce on me, I slid to the left and kicked it with my heel before doing a three sixty on the floor, using the knife in my hand to slit his knee, making it hard to get up.

Realizing that one of their wolves was down, the three wolves attacked me at the same time.

I smirked ‘let’s dance’

Jumping and spinning upward, I stood on their back and with a back flip I landed on the ground, now I was not in the middle giving me a better chance of fighting them off.

The second wolf lunged at me and I sidestepped the attack with lightning speed.

My small physique always gives me an advantage in fights, I was swift and quick on my toes.

I continued trying to fight them off and at the same time making sure I didn't kill them, although it would take a long time for them to recover because the knives were coated with wolfsbane.

There were two down and one more to go, I hoped that I would be able to leave here before dawn, I did not want to make Aunt Kelly worry.

Sensing the plight of his comrades, the third wolf launched itself at me.

His claws were just a breath away from my skin.

I stepped back, holding the knife. I aimed it at the wolf and it hit his back.

He growled, clearly it was mad and was fed up with me.

I ran towards a tree, and he ran after me. Climbing the tree, I jumped backward, landing on the ground and shoving my knife deep into his side, dragging it upward, and blood splattered.

I heaved a sigh of relief that it was over.

I was about to retrieve my knives from the wolf who was still on the floor, not because of the cut but because of the wolfsbane.

Touching the hilt of the knife and trying to pull it out from the wolf’s body, I felt all the hair in my body stand.

There was a menacing presence behind me, and the person had a deadly aura.

There was something strange about the presence and I could feel it.

Turning around slowly, I raised my head and it seemed the wolves I had fought had mindlinked for backup, and some of the pack warriors were here, four of them were in their wolf form while the rest had not shifted.

But what caught my attention was the man in the middle, his presence demanded attention and as wide as the forest, it became really suffocating to stand in front of him.

There was no doubt that this was the alpha of the pack.

His brown eyes shifted to the wolves writhing in pain on the ground and then they rested on me.

Why does it feel like the temperature in the forest just became more cold, was it because of his cold demeanour.

His piercing gaze was enough for me to writhe in fear.

I have always trained myself to be able to avenge my pack but standing in front of this alpha made me realize that I was not ready and I don’t think I ever would be.

I tried not to let his presence intimidate me.

I made a quick observation, calculating what I was going to do next.

I could not make a run for it, because I was sure he would be able to catch up with me in minutes.

My only decision was to shift and fight.

Removing the rabbit from my back, I did not care if I was going to rip out my clothes or lose my dinner.

I did not want Aunt Kelly to worry and I was scared that if I didn't go back to her she wouldn't have anybody to protect her. She was old and too weak to fight.

I prayed silently that I would be able to go back, but I knew deep down that this was going to be my burial ground.

I could feel my bones breaking and my fur sprouting out from my skin.

I howled as I shifted, as every bone rearranged back, and instead of being a human, my white wolf stood elegantly.

I needed to make the first attack and run.

I lunged forward at their alpha, aiming for his face , but in a swift movement, my wolf was pressed against a tree.

He held me by my neck, pushing me against the tree.

I clawed at his hands which were around my neck but he did not flinch, his unwavering gaze was on me.

It was so hard to breathe not because of his hands which held my neck, but it was his intimidating presence.

“Alpha Kai” I heard someone say his name, I did not even have a chance to process who he was before he snapped my neck.

The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the little rabbit who was a few feet away from me.

I was sure it would be laughing at me right now.

From hunting my prey to being the prey.