Chapter One

ELORA’S POV

Under the starless night sky, I heard my wolf shout inside my head. 

‘Run, Elora! I sense trouble!’

Hearing this, I wasted no time dashing through the evening breeze. The dim moonlight was the only thing that lit the whole forest so I had to rely on my werewolf senses to navigate this woody terrain. 

“Damn,” I whispered under my breath as I continue to run. I was sprinting barefoot yet the pointy stones and thorny branches did not bother me anymore. Why? Because I was used to this setup the moment I decided to live as a rogue. I had always been running ever since. It was tiresome but I didn’t have a choice. 

My life sucks and I learn to deal with it by dashing away. 

I was only eight when I was deprived of my parents’ love. They both died in a rogue attack. I could still remember the moment my Uncle Lucian stood in front of all the remaining pack members that unwanted night. With tears in his eyes, he announced the death of my alpha parents, while confirming that the alpha heir, my brother, was missing. Hence, the pack was left in his care until eventually, everyone forgot about my brother and installed Uncle Lucian as the new leader of the Moon River Pack.

Perhaps I should have been happy that my uncle was the new alpha, except that I heard him conversing with the rogue leader in the forest the morning before the attack. I told my father about it but he was too blinded by his love for his younger brother. And that mistake caused us everything.

Since then, my life was nothing but hell.

Though he was my only surviving family, Alpha Lucian showed nothing but hatred and disgust toward me. When he became alpha, he stripped me of my role to the pack. He appointed me as a slave, mocking and abusing me every single day. He was a devil in disguised. No, he was the devil himself. 

I was left alone to fend for myself. It was until my thirteenth birthday that my spirit wolf, Arwen, awakened within me. She was my only family; the one that convinced me that there was more to life than the misery I was forced to endure. It took her two more years to convince me to run away. And when I did, I became a rogue. Since then, I had been running away from my uncle’s wrath. It had been three years since I embraced this life. While it was difficult to hide from him and his warriors, I got to say that life here in the forest taught me a lot of things. 

‘Run faster, Elora! The wolf hunter is after us!’ Arwen screamed in my head. We’ve been running away from this wolf hunter for two days, and he never seemed to give up. He was relentless in his attempts to kill us, giving us no time to rest, sleep or even eat a full meal. 

Panting, I said, “Shut up and stop distracting me. I know that already!”

My lungs were running out of air, but I used all my strength to keep going. I passed through the giant trees and heavy boulders with determination. Finally, I reached the end of that terrain and crossed the river.

‘Elora, wait!’ Arwen shouted at me.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that the wolf hunter had stopped chasing me. Catching my breath, I held my chest and coughed a little. The ache in my lungs was so evident that I could feel the wounds in every part of them.

‘Damn it, Elora. You have to turn back!’

“What? Why?” I asked Arwen with a frown.

‘We’ve just stepped on another pack’s land.’

There was a rustle from the bushes. The sudden fear lingered on my skin. I stepped back, realizing that Arwen was right. However, it was already too late to turn back.

Three wolves emerged from the darkness. My face turned pale, my spirit withering seeing their eyes burning with utmost danger as they looked at me.

I attempted to step back, but the wolf leading the other two growled, which made my knees go weak in an instant.

“What is a low-life rogue doing in our territory?” he asked. His voice was intimidating and dangerous. “Answer me or I will not hesitate to cut your head this instant.”

I raised both of my hands, an indication that I will not fight. Even if I had plans to do so, it was an unwise thing to do. Not only I became weak from running nonstop, I was also not in the right shape for a fight of three to one. 

“P-Please, pardon my insolence. I… I am just lost in the woods. I didn’t mean to intrude. P-Please, allow me to leave….”

Despite the weakness of my legs, I managed to force my feet to turn. None of them made a single move, wordless with rage at seeing a rogue lingering around. I was about to walk away and was one step closer to crossing the river, but then the next thing I knew, someone had grasped my arm, almost twisting my thin bone.

“You despicable rogue,” A voice echoed in my ear. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Please…I am not here to cause any trouble!” I begged, panicking beyond words could tell.

Breathing heavily, I tried to push the wolf and punch him in the chest, but his body was like a massive rock that didn’t flinch. I aimed to strike him in the face, but something within my head just clicked, making me kneel on the ground.

There was no remaining strength in my body. I was tired and hungry.

“L-Let me g—” The ground felt like it was swaying beneath me.

‘No, Elora!’ That was Arwen’s voice in my head, the last voice I’d heard before the darkness engulfed me completely.

******

A MILD groan escaped my throat as I went back from an unwanted sleep. When I forced my eyes open, I took a sharp, inward breath.

I blinked, unable to move for a split second as I looked at the stone ceiling. My forehead creased when I sat up from the cold floor, and my gaze dropped to my arms. The bruises and wounds that were once there were now healed. Well, that’s one of the perks of being a werewolf. 

My eyes roamed around the foul-smelling, dark, and cold cage I was in.

“Where am I?”

‘We are in a dungeon,’ Arwen uttered in my head. Suddenly, she stomped her feet in utmost excitement. She sniffed, and her eyes were filled with joy. 

‘That smell…’ she whispered with eyes remaining shut.

“What is it, Arwen?” Just so, the enticing smell began flooding my nostrils. But I shook my head and tried to ignore it. This was no time to indulge ourselves with a mysterious smell.

I looked at the dreary red-brick walls and the gate with a big padlock on it. Fear threatened to wash over me.

“We have to get out here,” I said in desperation, clenching my jaw. If there was one thing I feared the most, that was the fear of being confined. It brought me back to my horrible childhood when Uncle Lucian used to imprison me in a dark, cold, cell.

I stood up and walked to the gate, trying to move the steel railing though I knew that this would be futile. Obviously, I needed the key to getting out. 

I paced back and forth, raking my fingers in my hair. I squeezed my brain, trying to come up with a plan to escape this mess. I was in the middle of my thoughts when suddenly, a guard showed up and started to unlock the gate. Seeing this, a glimmer of hope filled me.

“Well, well, well. The filthy rogue has awakened,” the guard said as he walked in carrying a tray of food in his hands. As I smelled the hot meal, I bit my lower lip to fight the urge to munch on it. I wouldn’t risk myself being poisoned even if it means I have to skip another meal. 

‘Look, Elora! The gate is open. Now is our chance to escape!’

I swallowed hard. Looks like this was the chance we were desperately praying for. I also knew that this would be a good time to initiate a fight, as I already gained my lost strength with my recent long, deep sleep. 

The guard looked at me from head to toe. A smirk escaped his lips. “Is the rogue going to cry now?”

“Certainly not. But you will,” I said, and with one swift motion, I launched a surprise attack catching him off guard. Before he could even react, my fist already landed on his face making him pass out. 

‘Bullseye!’ Arwen exclaimed. I puffed some air of satisfaction, knowing that I am one step closer to gaining my freedom back. 

I strode my steps out of the dungeon, following what seemed to be an endless hallway. But stopped momentarily, when I caught a glimpse of the little banners waving outside through a small window I passed by. 

I suck a deep breath, realizing what it was. The sigil was a wolf howling under the crescent moon. 

I couldn’t be mistaken. The logo belonged to the Royal Cavern Pack—the most dangerous pack among all packs on the continent!

Oh, shit!

‘This is bad,’ Arwen uttered. Her voice was full of uncertainty. 

“As a matter of fact, it is,” I answered. Just so, a group of werewolf guards appeared on the other side of the hallway. They all snarled, seeing that I was out of my cell. Their eyes were burning with rage. 

‘We’re dead, Elora.’ Arwen said this in terror, whimpering hopelessly in my head.

“No.” I shook my head and growled loudly. “This is not the end. I won’t allow it.”

And with that, I fought with all my might. If this would be the end, I would die fighting. I had nothing to lose but so much to gain if I came out of this mess victorious. So I gave my all and with a stroke of luck, I won every single battle with the guards.

Before I could even celebrate my victory, a sweet, addicting smell lingered in my nostrils. The smell was unfamiliar, yet my soul seemed to recognize what it was. It was animalistic and primal yet it was both attractive and sophisticated. The scent reminded me of the foggy woods and the autumn breeze.

Arwen began to act abnormally, screaming in my head as if she had found something she had yearned for over the years.

‘He is here! My guess is right, it was him!’ She screamed so hard that it made my heart ache.

“Who?” I asked, with my eyebrows meeting in the middle. 

‘Our mate, silly! Our mate is here!’

I turned around to follow the musky scent that made my wolf crazy.

My heart began to race when I met a pair of eccentric, ocean-blue orbs looking my way.

My lips then parted realizing the owner of that smell. I couldn’t be mistaken as he was the most popular alpha on the continent. 

It was none other than the Alpha King, Dominic Ackerman!