CHAPTER 4

My eyes open unwieldily, and for a single second I can pretend

that none of this has happened. I feel my heart release its tight

clench inside my chest because in that space of time, I am home.

In just a moment, I will break through the forestry and be

welcomed by my father, laugh with Sage as I tell him about the

most absurd dream. The nightmare in which I became a panther.

An enemy. Hunted.

But then I see that scars of all those memories surrounding me.

Imprints of history, actions, life. The rotten smell of death smacks

me in the chest; a pungent, foul odour that has bile rising in my

throat. Bloody remnants of small animals surround my bare, naked

body. Light shines through the cracks between overhanging

branches, and I know morning has risen.

There's a terrible sensation crawling along my spine. That instinct

within that tells me there are eyes watching me with a scrutinising

heaviness I cannot shake. One step, one crunch of dead leaves,

and a body reveals itself. Others begin to follow like a pattern has

triggered, and I'm surrounded by two men and a single woman. I

freeze where I lie, and I do not cover my body. Cowering away

from their gaze will only suggest fear and weakness.

I must be strong, for the sake of my survival.

A man with auburn hair catches my attention first as he looms

toward me, dagger held in his hand and suspicion etched across

his face. Though his stature menaces above me, the thing that

truly has me staring is the scar on his throat. Three clear, deep

slashes on the left side – this man will definitely not be eager to

have the daughter of the Lupina leader on his territory.

"Who are you?"

I don't look at the others though I feel them all around me, each

awaiting my answer. Who am I? Even I do not know anymore. I've

heard identity crisis is quite a common thing with teenage girls,

but this was ridiculous. A shuffle behind me – I dodge a blow I

know is coming, rolling backwards and latching onto the arm that

dared try to hit me. An automatic instinct of defence, an incredibly

idiotic one at that.

A pair of hands grab my arms then, yanking them behind my back.

Pain spirals throughout the socket of my shoulder but I restrain

the groan. It's the woman that has me now, I can see her vibrant

red hair hanging down above me. Suddenly, the cool touch of metal

bites at the skin of my neck.

"Let's just kill her, Godric," the woman hisses. The man with the

scar leans in and meticulously scans my face. I hold my breath and

grit my teeth together as I weed the fear out of my body, even

though I am millimetres from certain death. A younger man steps

infront of me then. The breath I have been holding catches in my

throat in that moment, and I almost suffocate.

With raven-hair so dark and opaque eyes that imprint itself onto my

mind, it's clear this man does not belong in the grasps of morning

light. He is a creature of the night, with danger burning like a red

haze in the depths of those pupils.

"Fiesty thing, isn't she?" Godric questions the other man, who

doesn't seem amused by the comment. Fire flashes in my eyes, a

loathe I cannot fight or weed out. It may be my detriment, the one

thing that leads me to my own demise. I can't forget the eighteen

years of my life that I've spent learning to hate the Pantera, the

history of all their monstrous acts against my clan.

But it is not my clan any longer.

"He asked you a question, wolf," the woman spits mockingly. I

can't take my eyes off the man before me, the one who I do not

know yet somehow feel chilled by his presence. He shakes his

head slowly.

"She is no wolf," he says with a voice that falls as liquid honey and

rolls like thunder. Godric leans back, and I can almost touch the

atmosphere as it grows so thick from those spoken words. The

raven-haired man won't cease staring at me, and the only thought

that erupts in my mind is that he will kill me.

"Human?" Godric asks.

Dubiety fills the Raven, that slight shake of the head puzzling the

minds of the others. He inhales my scent, shutting his eyes as it

allows to travel throughout his body. It is my moment to speak and

already I can feel the words corrupting the world.

"My name is Kadence Riley."

A sharp intake of air sounds from the woman pressing a blade to

my throat, meanwhile Godric simply hangs his jaw open in

astonishment. There is confusion in the Raven's eyes, but an

undeniable curiosity which he hides well behind those black orbs.

His gaze finally leaves mine as he quickly flicks it up towards the

red-headed woman. He nods once, and it is then I feel a heavy

smack to my temple.

I'm drowning, drowning, drowning...

Until the sea of unconsciousness consumes me whole.

* * *

Voices bounce and blur together. A haze of sound, rising vowel by

vowel as they fly freely through my mind. It's chaos inside, until an

elastic band snaps and draws me back to reality. And so, for the

second time today, I wake. This time I do not wake to light but

darkness and a throbbing ache throughout my skull. My eyes

flicker open lethargically to stone walls, distorted faces and a cold,

dampness to the air.

"She's waking up," a familiar voice says above me. Image becomes

crisp until I see Godric, the woman, and the raven-haired man

accompanied by an older, stocky brute with a gold pendant

hanging from his neck. I recognise it at once; the Leader's prize.

From what I've learned about the Pantera, they do not choose

leaders based on blood ties. The clan's loyalty to their master is

born from fear, though at any moment one could challenge him for

the position.

That pendant is a marking of challenges that have been won, and

each battle ended a single man's life. Though judging by the many

pale scars etched across his body and the darkness to his eyes,

this leader has killed many. My mother might be included in that

number, the thought churns my stomach as loathe seeps in once

again.

Fight it.

I try to lean forward but realise that I am seated on a chair with my

hands bound by rope. A prisoner, I huff. My eyes scan the room

and I wonder where it is that I am. Underground? There's a chill to

the air, I can taste the icy bitterness falling on my tongue.

"And you're sure this is the daughter of Aaron Riley? This twig?"

the Leader snorted with a patronizing smile etched across his face.

My own lips curved mockingly

"If I'm so harmless, then why am I tied up?" I reply. Godric laughs,

but not before the brute flashes him a deathly glare.

"Raegan." He nods his head at the Raven, and it is then I finally can

place a name to this cold stranger. Last time I saw a nod like that I

ended up smacked across my temple and diving into

unconsciousness. Raegan stalked towards me then, peering into

my eyes with distaste and bitterness. I don't shy away from his

gaze, won't give into the temptation to cower away in fear.

Because in truth, I am afraid. I do not want to die, I do not want my

final memories to be that of cold, callous eyes, or the turning

backs of my Clan as they disregard me into a life of being hunted.

"Keep your mouth shut," Raegan whispers harshly as he throws a

fist against my face. Red clouds my vision with a searing hate that

pulsates along my spine. My entire body is thrown by the force,

and the crack of bone against bone. I can taste blood in my mouth

at once, which I quickly spit out, glaring into the eyes of Raegan

venomously.

"Get other people to do your dirty work, is that it?"

Shut up, shut up, shut up Kadence. I can't stop the words from

spilling from my lips, it's a habit of defiance that will not break. In

the end, it may kill me.

"The bitch has a mouth, Alarik. Gotta give her that much," Godric

mutters. Alarik fumbled his pendant then, considering Godric's

words.

"Can we just kill her already?" the red-head woman whines.

"Shut up, Orla," Godric snaps.

My eyes fall on Raegan then, who almost blends into the darkness

as others bicker around him. He doesn't look at anyone, but I can

see a thousand emotions spreading across the angles of his face,

buried in the shadow casting over it. His mind is a ticking

clockwork, a stream of mechanics turning and turning. And I

cannot place a single one.

"What should we do with you, wolf?" Alarik stands before me,

kneeling down as he reached eye-level. He wipes a hand over his

shaven head, scratching his palm against his stubble as he

ponders the question. Under a low-hanging light, I can see that one

of his eyes differ from the other. A jagged scar travels from his

eyelid down to his cheekbone, another battle mark no doubt. While

the Lupina clan certainly has scars, they paled in comparison to

Godric and Alarik.

"I am not a wolf."

Godric nods then, "Yes, Raegan told me that bit. You see, though it

fills me with joy knowing the Rileys are probably turning in their

graves right now at the thought that one of their own is in fact a

panther, you're leaving me in quite a predicament."

"If my people knew of your existence, then they would be begin to

question exactly how it is you are the way you are. Pantera and

Lupina... mating? " He reaches out to brush a strand of hair from

my face, and I recoil from the touch as I would to poison.

"It's disgusting." His hand falls and that gaze turns ice-cold. A

sinister smile creeps up on Orla's lips before she releases a

cackle. My jaw and fists clench in rage.

"I bet she has a lot of information we could use," Godric offers.

Panic fills me at once, though I knew it would eventually come

down to this. Turning in my clan's secrets, my family's, in order to

live a little longer? Sage's words echo in my mind. You must do

what you can to survive, at all costs. No matter what it takes, you

have to promise me you will try to live.

My Clan might've turned their back on me, but Sage never did. My

sister was innocent in all of this, can I simply throw away all our

secrets and risk her safety?

"She won't tell us anything willingly. Look at her, she hates our

kind, and she's still loyal to the wolves," Alarik replies.

"Exactly, so why are we wasting our time with the bitch? She has

no use to us, let's just kill her already," Orla takes a dagger out and

licks her lips as if I am nothing but prey to her. Raegan leans

against the stone wall and rolls his eyes.

"I'd like to see you say that when I'm not tied up," I mutter,

daggers and fire flashing in my eyes towards Orla. To my surprise

and Orla's annoyance, Alarik laughs. It distorts his face into

something entirely different, something still holding the very same

light of humanity.

"You're tough, I like that. Question is, can you fight?"

A thousand thoughts roam through my mind; this is my

opportunity. This is the moment where I will have to fight for a

place in the epicentre of my own hatred. I will not give up or face

whatever gruesome death awaits me easily. Instead, I will look

Death directly in the eye as I run from it. A hazardous chase that

my survival relies on. Alarik clasps his hands together.

"I will make a deal with you, Kadence Riley. You will fight Orla,

should you lose I will let her toy with you, kill you, but if you win...

I'll just allow you to go. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to keep

the wolves chasing after you long enough until they give up."

I consider his offer as all eyes rest on mine, including Raegan

whose curiosity instantly piques. Thing is, I don't want to be let go.

I don't want to spend my life running, striving for survival every

single millisecond I exist. One day, I hope to see Sage and my

sister again. That is what I will fight for, even if it means seeing

them on the other side of the battlefield.

"No," I reply. Raegan steps from the darkness to join the others. I

settle my gaze upom him as an idea erupts from my mind.

"No?" Alarik asks, but my eyes won't leave Raegan. I quickly

remember the piercing ache pulsating from my jaw and the imprint

of his fist. He is a true fighter, Alarik's right hand man.

"I will fight him. Only when I win, I don't want to be let go. You will

accept me into your clan, as one of you. "

The room is silent from the shock of my words, the atmosphere

thickening from my declaration. Raegan's body turns rigid.

A low rumble of laughter escapes Alarik's lips, "Very well, Kadence

Riley. You're a mad woman, but I will agree to your terms."

Raegan leaves the room at once, slamming the door shut behind

him.