Chapter 1: Prologue

I’d always been a curious, rambunctious child. I wondered what laid in the depths of the forest. When my parents would leave me to hunt I would feel this tug inside of myself. I would whimper in the corner of our thatched house and want to go with them. They would deny me and send me back to my room. We lived in a modest home, but it had all a child could want. The great outdoors surrounded us in a cove like atmosphere. A translucent mist hugged the mountainous regions as the fresh scent of pine trees wafted over the house every morning.

Our house was made of mud brick and copious amounts of hard labor from my industrious father and the Mount Hunter wolf pack which I was proud to be a part of. Some came to visit from time to time, but mostly I would see them out and about and they would nod their heads at me when I attended grocery shopping expeditions with my mother. Our house might have been modest by wolf standards, but their was plenty of one emotion; Love. On the wooden mantelpiece where photographic memories of us all together, and with the pack. I was an only child so I reveled in the chance to play with the other wolves who lived nearby. We would go to the river every summer and cool off by jumping in and swinging on old tire swings that my loving father set up for us. There were picnics and harvesting of flowers for wolf remedies that my mother taught me along the way. Although, she would get rather touchy when I put my hands on her tinctures and such.

There were old herbal remedies in special mason and apothecary jars that my mother slapped my hand away from when I tried to access them.

“Stop! You will mess up the formula. Take your hands away from that shelf.”

That was the real problem. It was always stop. It was always ‘not today Vera.’” It was ‘next time Vera.’ It was you have to learn. I got altogether sick of it and wished to run away and play chasey’s like the other wolves. When my parents would go to their secret Mount Hunter meetings across the river banks and other the other side of the mountain I would sometimes play dumb and try to follow them to the door as if they left something behind.

“No! Vera you have to stay here. That’s very sneaky of you.” My mother would reprimand me once again and wag her finger at me. “It’s not safe in the forest, there’s many creatures that you’re ill prepared for. You haven’t your abilities yet.” My mother with her jet black hair and pale features would clip me and I would think she didn’t love me. I would assume she wanted to confine me to our house lodged in the middle of the Mount Hunter forest. She would usher me back with her hand dismissively and I would slink back to my room and make up my dreams. Why they wouldn’t let me out in the forest with them to frolick was beyond me. I knew we were wolves. Werewolves to be exact and I was only a small thing. In my mind I was quite big, I could do what grown ups did and should have been allowed to go out rather than staying put in a small thatched cottage.

My father would muss up my hair with affection and I would wrestle away from him with my arms crossed. I wanted to go outside and play! I wanted to know what the other werewolves were doing. “That’s not fair! I want to go outside and be a part of things. Why must you keep me away from all the good things? Where do you go on these night hunts? I want to be on a night time adventure.”

“Never mind where we go little one, you too will go on adventures, but when it’s time. There’s many things you don’t understand about your nature. You are precious. There a specialness to you and the gifts you possess are ancient. Never forget that. It might seem painful now, but we’re doing this for your own good. You’ll see in due time.” My father spoke to me softly and carefully, unlike my mother who had a brashness with her always. My father’s eyes were kindly and full of warmth. I’d obtained his eye color which was a deep green with golden flecks, it became a monster green when I was agitated, but nonetheless - green. His hair was also dark in color, but not jet black like my mothers. It was a deep chocolate brown and he was the type of father to make me feel protected as a little girl, but he was also more indulgent with my mini tantrums than my mother.

“Hmpf. I still don’t think you should be allowed to keep me in the house like a prisoner. I want to play!” I whined. My father would simply laugh at my childish antics and promise to play with me later.

“There will be plenty of time to play. I will take you on our forest walk tomorrow morning how about that, like we often do. Does that satisfy you? Such curiosity you have!”

“Yes. I suppose so,” I would grumble and the next day my father and mother would come back and my wish to go out would come true. My father taught me about the wolf traps in the forest. He taught me about the farmhouses that flanked either side of our town and who lived where. It was almost as if he was putting out all the warning posts so I would be armed and ready when the time arose for me to live my life. Not everyone in the town of Mount Hunter was of wolf blood, and on top of that not all respected and appreciated wolf culture.

“You musn’t ever go into Beartown. This town is forbidden. We are sworn enemies to the BearTowners and God knows why. That’s not the law in these parts. All wolves are supposed to be equal in the Moon Goddess land. Unfortunately, Sigmund the alpha of the BearTown pack has no regard for this sentiment. Do you understand?” This was the only time my father had fear in his eyes. It was the only time he’d displayed a sense of urgency and fearfulness in his heart.

“I don’t get it, but that’s okay. Maybe one day I can come with you, wherever you and Mom go at night.”

My father would take pity on me a little bit and tell me. “We go to run. To let that part of our wolfness out that needs to release. We can’t stay cooped up in here. Soon it will be time to discover that part of yourself Vera. Not now. Your time will come and when it does, you will begin to understand why I said the things I did to you.”

“I guess I’ll take your word for it.”

Those days were a lonely, I did have friends and I was able to go to school, but it wasn’t like I could spread my wings as I wanted. I had a curfew and had to be back at a certain hour. I did love our house. We were in the open forest and surrounded my deep, mystical streams on either side of the woods, mushrooms, wildflowers and the call of the mystic moon were part of our life. I would sit out and watch the moon with my parents with my hot cocoa as they told me stories about how they built the hut we lived in.

“We had to run. We had to protect you. You’ve come from a line of ancients, and we will spend our lives protecting you. Mount Hunters are a powerful lineage, but they are nothing compared to the power of the Lycans. You have Lycan blood Vera. You are part of a lineage that has ancient powers, wisdom beyond the average wolf. You can outsmart any wolf, any predator, you are devastatingly ruthless. You- yourself can take on a pack of wolves on your own. You have what it takes.” My father was describing someone who was nothing like me. I was meek and mild, nothing like that. I was calm and I only wanted to play. My father had a chest of information that contained information about us. I’d seen it, but I didn’t care to know what it was. To me what he described was too much for one little girl to deal with. I only wanted to be what I was, a happy-go-lucky girl playing in the wildflowers and running amok, but no I had to be a Lycan.

“You get your ancestry from your father’s line. It skips a generation - you’re a chosen. We want you to be happy Vera - we do, you just have to wait until it’s your season is all.”

My mother cautioned like my father did and I’d grown sick of them telling me about it. Blah, blah, blah, chosen this, chosen that.

“Okay guys, all the wolves I know aren’t going to hunt me. I’m sure I’m going to be fine, there’s no need to worry. Plus, I have grandfather.” I was speaking of my grandfather who came to visit from time to time. He was tall like my father except he had salt and pepper hair. I know I should have felt comfortable around him, but I felt a little funny around him for some reason. A niggling feeling that wouldn’t leave me. I’d been feeling it for some time, I would see my grandfather studying me like a science project as we sat around the dinner table. His roaming eyes made me uneasy, but alas he was my grandfather so their was no reason to feel that way.

I got so sick of the boredom that one fateful day as my parents prepared for their journey to the training ground of the Mount Hunters to meet about something urgent I made up my mind to follow them. My mother was being wrapped up in a grey shawl by my father.

“Shh! Quiet. We mustn’t let Vera know. She can’t know. We have to be quiet. What could be so urgent that Dane would call us at such short notice. It takes over 45 minutes to make the trek over the river.”

“You know we must go Rebecca. The call came. You know we must. We have go.” My father said to her gravely.

“I know Arcadia, but I’ve not heard that call for years and the last time that call came -” my mother’s voice trembled as I cupped my ear to the door listening intently. My father interjected not letting her finish her sentence.

“Don’t, please don’t, we don’t want Vera to hear us. She’s a sensitive child, it’s likely her ear will soon be able to pick up noises soon. I know this to be true of the Lycans. Her mindlink abilities are getting stronger and stronger by the minute. She is very good already. She’s only 12. Can you imagine what she will be as she grows older? We must protect her.” My father’s voice was in a low whisper and my adventurous spirit was rising and wanted to follow. I wanted to cross the streams and water to discover what ‘the call’ was. What on earth was he talking about?

I could hear my parents coming my way so I snuck away from my bedroom door and slid back under the covers. I quickly hustled my book from the bedroom table and pretended to read. My father poked his head in the door with a warm smile.

“Hey father. What is it?”

He chuckled as he looked at seemingly innocent face. “Nothing Vera. We have to go out for a little while. We may not be back until early morning light. Stay put and take care. Lock all the doors and mind yourself. If you have any trouble connect with me.”

I pretended to look unbothered by the request, but deep inside I was itching for them to leave so I could follow. I already had my torch tucked beside me in bed and craved them leaving. To me it was going to be a secret chase. Surely Grandfather would be happy to see me.

“Sure I will. I might even brush my teeth for you as well.”

“That would be lovely if you did. You tend to forget from time to time.” I giggled at him as he came further in and kissed my forehead. I saw my mother wave in the background as I waved back to her.

“I won’t this time. I promise. I will brush them.” I winked at my father, sighing in contentment. I wanted to convince him I didn’t want to tag along. He touched my forehead as if touching it to see if I had a fever. “What?”

“You must be running a temperature because for you to be this cooperative about us leaving is not part of your usual antics.”

“Well, I’m reading a good book. It’s about an adventurous wolf.” The great of this of course was that I was about to become that very same adventurer and I couldn’t be more proud of that. I wanted them to leave as soon as possible so I could follow them in the shadows. My father flashed me a smile, but it waned quickly. There was a fear in his eyes I’d never seen. It was hard for me to watch the fear in his eyes. I admired my father so much and to see the terror made a funny funny rumble in my stomach. That feeling wasn’t enough to stop my following however. Allowing my eyes to skim over the pages of the writing I waited patiently for the door to close and the bolts of the lock on the front door to click in.

The thump of my heartbeat sounded and I waited for a couple of minutes until I heard them move away from the door. I threw back the covers, I already had my shoes on, but often I liked to roam barefoot through the fields so I could feel the breeze and the tinkle of blades of grass on my legs.

I knew that on the western plain of the hills their was a river to cross. At low tide when the river was at its slowest it was easy to cross and the water barely touched above your ankle, but when it was rushing and angry it was like a washing machine and could easily carry someone so lightweight like me downstream. That was part of the appeal. I snuck out behind my parents listening for their footsteps. I hoped they didn’t turn so I could keep up. That was a risk in itself, but I knew the land well enough that even if they did I could navigate and leave clues for myself. My father taught me to do that as well. Lucky for me I was able to see their light they shone in the dusk. I marveled at the skyline as I followed in hot pursuit of my parents.

I scratched up my legs as I stumbled through the forest lands, I let my legs run as fast as they could carry me. I climbed over and tussled with large and small boulders and slid through mud enjoying the adrenaline rush the adventure was bringing me. To me there was no danger, I was following my parents. How bad could it be?

I was about to find out I’d made one of the most life changing decisions in my life. I could hear the blood curdling wolf cries through the wind first. The crunches. Later I would discover that was crunching of bones. I heard the ear shattering howls on the back of the winds and knew why my parents told me to stay put. Gnashing of teeth, snarls and the collision of large creatures of the night played out in front of me. A battlefield was in full action and my parents were smack bang in the middle of it.

Right in the middle of the field were werewolves fighting in plain view. I didn’t dare turn on my torch. My fingers were too numb anyway for me to do that. I watched horrified as my father squirmed and tried to escape an attack, his neck was being attacked and a coyote had latched onto his throat and was going for the jugular. I had to resist the urge to run out and save him. What was I going to do? Little old me, a scrawny 12 year old with no wolf strategies that could save me. No, this wasn’t my fight, but I wanted to save my parents. I saw my mother being pinned to the ground my another wolf - one with brown fur. It’s incisor like teeth were gleaming in the moonlight and the saliva was dripping down on top of her. She yelped as I kept my eyes trained on her. That was my mistake. My father warned me so many times, but I failed to listen. The one lesson he tried to drum into my head.

Keep watch of your surroundings at all times, stay vigilant. I heard him say it so much it was like water sliding in and out, from one side to the other. I felt the hand go over my mouth.

“Shhh! You’d do well to keep quiet to ensue we don’t rip your head clean off your shoulders.” A large man pinned me to the ground with a knee in my side as I whimpered. I wanted to shout, but the words wouldn’t come out anyway. I was grateful at least they were in human form and not wolf formation. One of them stood on top of me just as it did my mother as saliva dripped onto my jacket. Four other coyotes circled around me revealing their snarls. They most definitely were not in human form. I had no choice but to surrender.

“Please don’t hurt me. I want to be with my parents,” I wailed, but as I looked out on the battlefield I could see my parents were in the middle of a frenzied ambush of an attack. Several wolves which were quite large were circling, pacing around my mother and father. They were back to back in the middle of the open field and as the night fell I could barely make out their forms. Back to back they circled working as a team. As I looked out on the field I grew more and more desperate.

“Hurt you? My darling we plan to kill you. You’re a lamb to us, fresh and ready to be slaughtered. Who are your parents?” One of the male humans snatched me up by the elbow as I felt their fingers digging in. It was uncomfortable and I wanted to remove them.

“They’re the Hunters, the Hunters,” I said to them quickly hoping it would help my parents. I saw a flash of my grandfather in his wolf form as he staved off a few of the wolves trying to attack my mother and father. He was huge for a wolf. I’d not seen him in that form and was in awe.

A fresh flood of tears rolled down my face as I contemplated the fate of my death. I was in the middle of nowhere and my parents were being annihilated. Another man dropped the bottom of my other elbow and dragged me into the battle, and right in that moment with all these vicious creatures I thought I might die. I truly did. I struggled with all my might as I wailed some more. My mother caught sight of me kicking and screaming as two men took me across the battle field to an undisclosed location. In the moment my mother met with the terror in my eyes those were the last moments of her life, or so I thought they would be. The circle closed in as my father attempted to fight off the coyotes. My mother’s hind leg was attacked first as the two men dragged me to a dingy old shed at the other side of the open field. I heard the rip as the scream pierced my ears and at moment I wanted to die. I wanted it to be over. I kicked and bucked to get out of their grip, but it didn’t help me.

I tried to look back once more, but I didn’t have a chance as I was thrown into the depths of the shadows into a barn hut. “Shut up, you mongrel scum! You’re a Hunter, you don’t even deserve to be alive right now.”

“No, no, bring her out. I can hear te call of Sigmund. He’s calling. Bring her out.” One of the men summoned for me to brought into the middle of the ruckus. At this stage I was raw and cold as the temperature had dropped suddenly. No point struggling at this stage so I let it happen. As I arrived onto the field all fighting had ceased. All werewolves were standing in a half broken circle with a large wolf in the middle and his teeth bared. A large heavy set black wolf with gray eyes that held stories of death and peril. Shivering from both the cold and fear the wolf spoke in a low, intimidating growl.

“If you want to live and protect your daughter Arcadia, I want Rebecca in exchange for Vera. Make your decision old man.” I was close enough to my parents for the Mindlink to work. I closed my eyes and pretended to droop my shoulders. My father understood I was surrendering.

“I understand what you desire Sigmund. Therefore I will give you what you want.” My father’s breath was translucent through the night air as he huffed out the answer. I knew he was hurting because I could see him holding his front paw in the air. He’d been bitten by one of the coyotes who were waiting their turn to do more damage.

We aren’t agreeing to this. We will pretend. Vera can you hear me?

My father asked me the question through telepathy and through the fear I answered him back.

I can hear you Dad. I can hear you. I will do everything you say. I’m sorry I came out. I should have listened to you. I love you, please don’t die.

It’s too late now, Vera. It’s going to be okay. Whatever happens it will be okay.

Don’t say that. Mom, please don’t say that.

The two men brought me into the middle of the grounds dumping me with my mother who was still in wolf form. She licked me on the face as I touched her fur and her kind eyes looked back at me. There was a gash on the side of her body that made me inhale loudly. I let go of the inhale as my father stood in front of me. My mother stepped forward to Sigmund offering herself in the exchange.

“Okay Sigmund you win. Please let our daughter go safely. We want to know she’s safe first before I surrender to you.” My mother was measured in her approach. She was speaking as a wolf and Sigmund for some reason was sniffing her. He backpedaled for a moment as Dane, my grandfather stepped in to grab me with his teeth and set me down behind him and off to the side far away from the field. I was out of immediate danger and there was a line of defense. I assumed the wolves which were of the lighter brown variety were the Mount Hunters and the others were from some other place.

My night vision was kicking in as I sat on the outer edges, Sigmund lied. The same coyote soldier took my mother. Since this was my fault in the first place I couldn’t just sit there. I had to fight for my family so I got up and ran at the coyote solider. Not knowing what I was going to do I propelled forward with all the rage I had bundled inside of myself. As I reached the coyote animal morphed into its animal form. I was taken aback for a moment, but quickly elevated out of it as the coyote took a chunk out of my arm. I yelped in pain as I felt the blood trickle from my arm. My mother lashed out working to defend me. I was fighting blind. My father was trying to get to me, but he was already engaged in another fight with another coyote working on his already gaping wound.

“She’s not a Lycan! Kill her. I command you to kill her!” Sigmund called out the command and the coyotes rushed to my mother. I covered my eyes as I couldn’t handle to see what was next. I saw the leg fly through the air as both tribes fought one another off. The coyote soldiers who originally apprehended me laughed through the darkness with their ugly sneers as they made me watch the slaughter of my parents being ripped apart in front of my eyes. The pain I felt was indescribable. Me being kidnapped by the enemy gave them no leverage. They had no choice but to fight for their lives. The carnage was astronomical and all I could see was bodies and limbs sprawled across the open field killing floor. I buckled over as the coyote soldier’s eyes gleamed in the wickedness of the massacre.

“Let me go- let me,” I could barely breathe and struggling to keep upright. “Let me go, you’ve killed them let me go.” I wanted to be dead. That didn’t happen. I remained burdened by the violent death of my parents.

“No! You suffer now. You came here and now you suffer. She lied to us, she wasn’t of Lycan blood.” The coyote spat at me as Sigmund howled at the full moon in the sky while he stood over a dead body. Many of those from the Mount Hunter pack were dead. I counted ten dead wolves and I carried the instaneous shame of being the catalyst for the kills. I’d done this. I caused my family to wind up dead. I would never be able to recover. Never...

I managed to shake free from the coyotes, but they didn’t care, they done the damage they’d come to do and left with Sigmund and the other pack I knew nothing about. I watched my grandfather Dane licking at the fur of my parents as he howled in sorrow. I covered my hands over my face and wept solidly for the next twenty minutes. I’d gotten my parents killed. I’d done that. Dane’s piercing eyes caught mine in the moonlight as he snarled at me as the rest of the pack stood behind him. I was scared of him. He was my grandfather, but I’d always been scared of him. I heard a soft voice whisper through the air and I perked my ears to listen.

Vera. Vera. Please hear me.

Is that you mother?

Yes.

Are you alive, please don’t leave me I’m sorry.

Vera... don’t forget who you are. You’re a Ly-” The mindlink ceased as Dane stalked towards me with the rest of the Mount Hunter pack behind him. I felt such shame I didn’t know what to do.

“I’m sorry grandfather. I’m sorry!” My stomach was so sore from all the crying, but he didn’t care.

“How could you come here! You got your parent’s killed. My children! You will repent for this. Your punished! Banished in this pack. You don’t deserve to live you stupid girl. You don’t!”

“I’m sorry grandfather. I’m so sorry!” I wept hoping he would find some sliver of compassion in his heart, but how could I expect that from him when single handedly had his children killed.

“Never! You will be a slave. A pack slave for the rest of your days for repentence. Don’t ever look me in the eye ever again. I despise you child! I told your mother and father when they had you there was something impish in your eyes.

***

Fast forward five years on...

Life was the same for me day in and day out. Reliving the nightmare of my parents over and over again. Inevitably every month I would have a breakdown of some sort, maybe it was from the countless beatings I endured I didn’t know. I’d become so numb to them I would simply tune them out as they took place. At least the pack members had the decency not to hit me in the face. Usually the blows were to the body and if I was lucky I got to keep my ribs intact. When they did cave in from the pack bullies picking on me I would pray they didn’t pierce through my heart and kill me.

The first few years of beatings were the worst. It was as if the whole pack thought I was responsible for my father and mother’s death. Dane was punishing me obviously. He was a tall man with salt and pepper hair, cold, barren eyes and revenge in his heart. I found it hard to fathom that he couldn’t pity me a little. I already suffered enough in not having my parents and having to be adopted in with him. I was rubbing the side of my ribs as I swept out the main quarters where the pack gathered for social gatherings and there was a change in the air. I could smell it and I knew there was something different about to happen. I had no idea what it was, I just knew it was about to happen.

The features of my mother were started to settle in and it irked my grandfather. “You look more and more like your mother every day. It’s a shame. I wouldn’t have to be reminded of her death every time I looked at you.” I had long ebony hair with pale features like my mother, and her emerald eyes with their golden flecks had been passed down to me. I was whippet thin and that was mainly due to malnourishment, but I liked to be light on my feet anyway, it worked in my favor to avoid random blows. Dane treated me like shit since my parent’s death and I did my best to avoid him at all costs, but given he was the one dishing out my chores and responsibilities I encountered him on a regular basis.

As I swept and stared out to the fields, the fog hung low in the air as I inhaled the smell of the pine forest that lined the open space. That was at least one good thing about my jobs. I had a nice scenery and plenty of fresh air to keep me going. I was one year away from my wolf coming out and I couldn’t wait. I wondered if that might save me from the beatings, but I doubted it.

My sister treated with a weird ambivalence most of the time and it was one she’d treated me with since I was a kid. She was older than me and got to go on the missions with my parents, and that was part of the reason I wanted in five years ago. My sister was not present at the battle that ill fated day. She was out and about at a friend’s house and word crossed the Mount Hunter hotwire fast. She received the news the next day from my grandfather who made it plain I was the one who caused the death.

“Your sister. She followed your parents to the attack. It was the BearTowners, I had everything under control and we were negotiating with them. All until your sister showed up on the scene, she ruined that.”

My sister gave me the same stink as all the other pack members, but I was growing tired of it. I was hoping my wolf powers would come sooner rather than later. There was one scene from my mother’s dying moments that always haunted me and that her trying to relay a message to me at the end of her life. She didn’t get the words out, but I ran the scenario through my head wondering what she was attempting to tell me.

My sister had her heart set on the throne of the Mount Hunters so my grandfather was putting her through her paces on reconnaissance missions and a series of tasks. My tasks were of the endless boring variety so I always got excited when Grant came back to boast about what or who she conquered. This time when I saw her limping across the field with her foot bandaged I saw another with her. A tall, but wiry type of build with olive skin and grey eyes. Grant was winching as she put her hands around his shoulders.

She grimaced as her pouty lips puckered out more than usual. “Right here is fine. Thank you Archer.” His name was Archer. They were both sitting not far from me, but I didn’t look up I sat in place and kept sweeping. I would listen to them talk, that was almost a given with Grant. She loved to talk about herself and how great she was. Personally I thought she was a little too on the snooty side, but that inflated ego was helped along by my grandfather. I stayed out of the way and faded back into the shadows as my grandfather came in.

“How did it go? You were caught or observed? I told you to lay low in BearTown.” Dane growled as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I did. I was ambushed from behind. I missed a blind spot.” I was instantly taken back to my mother and father. I shook off the horrid memory and swept up the invisible dust. I wanted to listen and not be told to get out. Most of the time I was ignored, and this time I was grateful for it. The other with them spoke.

“I managed to get to her in time. It’s not that bad, a small flesh wound on the foot. The BearTowner s seem to have a few more on ground. It looked as if they were training some new recruits. I can’t be sure, but from the drills they were being shown and their shifting in and out of their wolf forms I can only suggest that’s what they were up to.”

Dane raised a thick eyebrow at Archer as he sat comfortably next to Grant who was rubbing her foot. I leaned on my broom for a moment as Archer cast his eyes over in my direction. Immediately I averted my eyes to the ground. “I’m Archer, I’m not anyone sir. I’m a rogue wolf from the west and I saw your daughter in need of assistance, so I did the noble thing and assisted her.”

Archer’s speech was short and sweet, but it rang in as true. He was quite placid and didn’t seem like the type of wolf to be a spy, if he was I feared for him as Dane would rip him from limb to limb. Since my parent’s death and rightly so, he seemed obsessed about getting back at the Beartowners and rewriting the unjust killings.

“I have nowhere to be, but I couldn’t leave her to be killed.” Dane’s shiny shoes crunched underfoot as I admired his nobleness from afar.

“Hmpf. From the west you say? How far west?”

“As far west as the Appalachians. I’ve been there for some time, but it’s drawing close to winter so I’ve stumbled upon Mount Hunter as I’ve heard it’s wolf country.”

Dane studied Archer and whilst the moment was tense, I knew he would let Archer stay.

“I’m grateful to you for taking good care of my daughter. That’s no mean feat to be brave enough to face the Beartowners. I commend you. I want to offer you room and board. We could use another loyal wolf on our team. That’s if you don’t wish to continue traveling. You’ve saved my daughter’s life and we’ve already lost enough of our family members.”

“I’m sorry to hear,” Archer said solemnly. I liked him, he had a unique look to him. He didn’t seem to be like the other wolves and there was a certain kindness in his voice that made me automatically trust him. I was grateful to him as well for bringing my sister back alive.

I slowly made my way out of the main area and swept the back porch as the winds changed and dusk beckoned.

The next few days were the normal rounds of abuse I was used to receiving, mostly verbal, and I thanked the stars that’s all it was. Having Archer around made things brighter for me. There was a spark of hope that swirled around in my stomach when I saw him. At first it was a simple hello and then we graduated to more small talk.

“Hi, are you always relegated to the sweeping duties. I’m happy to help you if you need. You seem to be working awful hard.”

Panic set in because Dane conducted regular checks and if he saw Archer taking over my duties I would surely cop a beating.

“No, no, please. Don’t take the broom. I can handle it. These are my chores and I’m due to do them. Don’t worry about helping me, settle in and get to know the pack.”

Archer shoved his hands in his pockets with a sheepish grin. “I would rather hang around here and talk to you if that’s alright. Would you get in trouble for that? I’m new around here and you’re really nice. I enjoy talking to you.” It was strange for someone to treat me with kindness. I’d barely been able to function after my parents died and I would be lucky if any of my pack members looked my way unless it was for more beatings and serving me a fresh plate of verbal lashings.

I laughed, I actually laughed, I’d forgotten what it was like to feel my cheeks gather up into a genuine smile. The last time that had happened I was with my father and he was telling me about the wild mushrooms that grew in the forest.

I made the mistake of laughing a little too loud and Grant came in with her arms folded from the office out back. “What’s all the laughing about? Vera don’t you have a whole pile of dishes to do from the dinner last night? You are slacking on your duties since Archer’s been here.” Grant rolled her eyes at Archer who seemed uncomfortable next to her. Grant’s face was turning a tomato red in color and she was about to deliver another set of verbal outbursts. I wanted to put in a mild protest, but if I did that too loudly I knew all hell would break loose.

I guessed Archer was witnessing the cold, bare truth of how nasty my sister could be.

“Uh, there’s nothing to worry about. It was more me annoying Vera in all honesty. She’s been working really hard.” Archer smiled in my direction and I felt a part of me shrivel up inside because the conversation was getting louder.

“Ugh, Archer don’t cover for her. She’s nothing. She got our parent’s killed.” Grant delivered the cutting blow that sent me into a spiral of guilt as I moved behind the counter and Dane emerged.

“What’s going on here Vera?” I opened my eyes wide to tell him I had nothing to do with any of it, but none of it seemed to matter. Dane’s eyes glowered with rage and hatred as he marched over behind the counter.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“I heard you, I’m only washing the dishes. I’m not doing anything wrong.” I had no time for any other defenses because a blow to my ribs followed as Dane punched me there. I buckled and tried to clutch my side as he dragged me out from behind the counter which I thought was providing me with safety, but it wasn’t covering me enough. Dane pulled me by the hair and kicked me behind the knee so I fell to the ground. The next thing I heard was my ribs cracking and the heavy boot of Dane stomped on my back. “You’re lucky you have a place to stay Vera. Don’t ever defy me again. Get back to your chores immediately.” My face had been smooshed into the ground and I could feel a trickle of blood on the side of my lip. The taste of it was overwhelming. I sobbed for a moment as they all left me there broken. I saw a pair of shoes lingered, but there was no sound. My life was sucky and then some.