Chapter 1

A pack. That’s what most wolves seems to have, but not us, we were free, we didn’t have to live by someone else’s rules, didn’t have to bow down to an Alpha as though he was the master of our souls. Mother took us away from that, gave us something much better, a small cottage in the woods with our own vegetable garden and no pretentious male telling us what to do. She did belong to a pack once, long before I was born, she was The Alpha’s firstborn daughter, but he was cruel and controlling, most of them were. They didn’t stand for defiance of any kind, according to mum they would lock you in a dark hole in the ground if you disobeyed, leaving you without food or water for 5-7 days depending on your size, according to her they called it ‘segregation’. I didn’t want to experience that, I didn’t want anything to do with a pack, I was happy here, our quite life was perfect, just me and the woman who raised me spending endless hours gardening, reading, sowing dresses from fabrics she would collect every so often from a city, and my favourite; cooking and baking.

I watched as the biscuits slowly began to turn brown under the fire in a small makeshift oven, we had everything we needed here, we didn’t need the safety of a pack, nor did we want it. An Alpha had killed my father out of jealousy, my mother only able to spend one night with her mate before he was torn to pieces, but that was all it took, and as soon as she realised I was growing inside her, she fled; leaving everything that she knew behind to raise me away from the sins of the world.

I had never been to a human town, nor seen them, but I didn’t need to, mother got everything that we needed once a month and always returned with two days. I asked her why I never went with her and her answer was simple, I didn’t look like the average wolf, I was different, special.

Our kind had abilities that we called our essence, it was a gift from the moon goddess, most wolves had one. But as I said I wasn’t like most wolves, instead of one, I had four. Mother said that each one would protect me and guide me through life, but that I should keep three of them a secret. She stressed that if we were ever found I would shift and run fast and far, never looking back no matter what happened, even if she died. She told me over and over that she had lived her life and would gladly sacrifice it so that I would be free from harm.

My first ability, the one she said would protect me the most was a force field, I could project an invisible wall that was impenetrable, or so mother told me.

The second was that I was abnormally fast, when I used the full use of my speed I could run for miles in less than fifteen minutes, not even my mother who had strong alpha blood could keep up with me. Not that I ever used her against it.

The third was strange and hard to explain, I could mute the world a few metres around me, so that when I walked no sound could be heard, even if branches broke or  I jumped from the roof of the cabin. It was a though I made everyone and everything within a certain area of me death, but it only work on me, I couldn’t project it to my mother like I could the force field.

The fourth was earth, I could manipulate soil and rock, I didn’t know the extent of this ability as I had only received it when I met my wolf Kayla and was able to shift for the first time.

Something else did happen when I lost my temper I could create the most destructive thunderstorm even on a hot summer day, I had destroyed an entire patch of woodland one day that had never grown back after the lightning struck it. But we didn’t know what that meant or if it was simply a coincidence. Yet, since then mother had always stressed that I keep calm. I couldn’t loose control like that again.

My mother on the other hand could conjure fire from nothing and use it to protect herself, I had seen her throw a fire ball over fifty yards and hit the dead centre of a tree with little effort. She was a good mother, probably the best woman in the world, and she loved me more than anything. All she wanted was for me to be safe, she didn’t want a mate for me, she never wanted me to feel the pain of losing the other half of my soul. She wanted me to be happy, content. I had always admired her strength and her passionate personality, if I ended up being half the woman she was, I would see it as though I had done her proud.

Mother said that I would know my mate before I saw him, his sent would be enticing and hard to resist, she said that when our skin touched it would be like a thousand sparks were sprouting from me, and kissing him would render me breathless. She warned me that if he ever marked me, I would never be able to escape, he would find me wherever I went and sometimes, though it was rare, a mate could read your deepest thoughts and feelings.

She said that if I ever noticed the smell, I should tell her and we would leave, or if I was alone to run just as I would if we were found, evade him at all costs. Wolves were possessive and brutal beings when needed and a mated wolf was much worse than that, she had known males lock a female away until the mating process had been completed and she bore his mark and his scent.

I didn’t flinch nor move from my place in front of the fire when the door opened, I knew it was her from the smell of soil and daisies, each of us had a unique smell, something that would make us stand out more than our looks. Though, my mother was a beauty to behold. She had hair that was the same shade of leaves in the autumn and eyes that reminded me of the rarest of springs, blue pools of beauty. She was petite, much like myself, though she had curves that I did not and today she wore a soft brown gown with a low cut neckline and sleeves that just passed her elbows.

She smiled warmly at me before slightly lifting her nose and taking a deep breath, “Biscuits, my favourite. However did you know.” She chuckled jokingly before joining me in front of the fire, her presence always soothing my mind.

“Don’t eat them all before nightfall this time.” I laughed, my voice filling the small open cabin.

Their were two rocking chairs by the single window with a small table between them, the books that we were currently reading nearly placed side by side, the fireplace was to the centre, with the double bed that we shared close by so that it would keep us warm on the cold nights. Sometimes blankets just weren’t enough.