PENELOPE’S POV
The eleven of us froze as we heard the snapping of twigs and branches. The sound was coming from all around us. Then suddenly, a scream tears through the silent night.“Seize them!”My heart jumps the moment someone yelled those words in my direction. My eyes dart behind me, scanning the facade for the source of the voice but the night is as black as charcoal, I can’t see beyond my nose. The voice was rough and commanding, and dangerous.“Surround them, don’t let any of them escape” the husky voice rolled off another command, making me shudder in fear. That’s when wolves start howling around us and it dawns on me that we had been surrounded by Lycans, our greatest enemies.I have always dreaded this moment, wishing that I would never find myself in a situation like this especially now that I was not prepared.We begin to hear the paws of wolves thudding the ground, approaching us from every side. My legs go jelly and I can’t think straight as I am overpowered by a strong and overwhelming confusion. A growl behind me makes me turn quickly. A very large, ash wolf jumps towards me from the darkness and I manage to duck before he crashes into me and overpowers me. The wolf crashes into one of my guards and tears his throat open.“Run!” Uther, one of my guards screamed before grabbing my hand, horror etched into his face. Another spine-chilling scream erupts behind us, another guard was already being devoured by the wolves.There was no full moon tonight, so I couldn’t shift. All we had to do was run, praying and hoping that the moon goddess got us out of this sh*tty situation. As we ran down the rocky pass that led to my Pack, I prayed that this was all a dream, that this was among the numerous nightmares I was having lately. But the painful screams of my guards as they were being torn apart and ripped open by fangs and claws told me it was real.Today was the day I turned eighteen and my father had announced, out of the blues, that I had been betrothed to Alpha Logan, a man who I despised so much. He was so heartless and cold. A man who killed his father and wiped out half of his Pack for some undisclosed reason. Soon I would be forced to put up with the boring and life-draining experience of being a Luna- being locked up constantly, attending Pack gatherings, churning out pups for my mate amongst many others.Walking out on my parents after the announcement, I decided to take a stroll, praying that it blew the cobwebs away.I had requested to stray from the boundary and a little bit into the neutral territory that seperated us from our arch-enemies, the Lycans. For centuries, werewolves and Lycans didn’t coexist. It all started after the great uprising that happened 2 centuries ago. A truce was broken and war was the only outlet, considering the fact that werewolves and Lycans never lived in peace since the beginning of time, so war gave each party the chance to redress their unhappy lot. Unfortunately, half of the population was wiped out due to the war, most of the dead being werewolves. The rest ran for dear life and vowed never to return again.A wolf snapped its jaws right behind me but one of the guards was quick to send him crashing to the floor with a cruel blow, slowing himself down and sacrificing his life for my sake. The guards warned me but I wouldn’t listen, now they were going to die because of me.“We can’t afford to get caught by these savages, you have to run!” Uther cried out, glancing behind us while huffing and puffing. The chances we would survive this was slim as the Pack was around 500 meters away.“Call for backup” I yelled, pushing through the crammed vegetation, my lungs were burning and I was running out of breath despite the loads of adrenaline that coursed through me.“I have tried, my Luna, but nobody has replied. I don’t know what’s wrong.” He replied, completely freaked out. That’s when it dawned on me that we can’t communicate through the mindlink while being outside our Pack unlike Lycans who could despite their distance from one other.The air is knocked out of my lungs the moment something trips me. The force makes me flip and I crash on the stem of a large tree. I tried to yell but no sound came out my throat, the impact it had on my abdomen was the most painful thing I ever experienced. I try to get up quickly but I fall back, limp and lifeless.“You can’t stop, we must keep running.” Uther shouted before he grabs me by the waist, lifts me and throws me across his shoulder and continues to run.“I can’t… I can’t” That was all I could croak, wincing every time his shoulders connected with my stomach. My whole senses were numbed, and my sights was getting dimmer with each passing second. Uther dodges another attack. The wolf jumped over us and crashed a few meters away but it soon recovered, licked its bloody snout and continued to chase.The moon was slowly rising.“You have been surrounded, surrender and yeild or we’ll kill you!” A husky voice commanded, which made Uther stop dead on his tracks. He tried to turn another way and run but there were wolves everywhere. He simply dropped on his knees, letting me fall from his shoulders, before raising his hands in submission.“Uther! What are you doing?!” One of my guards yelled in disbelief and grabbed Uther by the shoulder. “We should run! Not surrender, we have the future Luna and we must protect!-” That’s before his head was severed from his body. I gasped in horror as I watched the rest of his body fall while his head remained. The man who had asked us to stop appeared from the darkness.He had a smile on his face as he walked towards us, unbothered by the fact that he was utterly naked. I turned my head around and was stunned by the number of wolves around us, they were no less than twenty. Some of them were huge, with claws of black steel and saber-like fangs. Six wolves were no match for me if I was in my werewolf form, being in my human form deprived me of the special abilties I had as a werewolf.“Please don’t hurt her” Uther begged on my behalf. “I will do anything to make sure she returns safely even if it means giving up my life for her sake.”“You won’t tell us what to do.” The leader of the Lycans barked, slashing Uther across the face with his claws. Five long, deep gashes appeared immediately and blood began to ooze out of the wound immediately. He fell to the floor and cradled his bleeding face while screaming in pain.The man began to walk towards me, chuckling menacingly as he licked his lips and scanned my body in a violating scrutiny. “Who do I have here?” there was no bit of remorse in his voice, instead he was filled with the urge to do more evil. “A luna?”I straigtened up and instinctively crawled backwards on my ass, shuddering in fear as he continued to approach, a mischievious smirk on his face.“Don’t worry beautiful, I won’t hurt you” he said, stalking me like a predator. I continued to move backwards until I hit my back on a tree which halted my movement instantly. He grabbed my jaw and let his gaze flounder over my body in a violating scrutiny before he turned around to the others.“Kill the man! The girl will be of some use before we kill her” he chuckled menacingly before he began to meddle with my clothes.“No!” I scream but it is too late. Uther screams from behind as the wolves jump on him and begin to rip him to pieces. I try to run towards them and save him but the man blocks my path and shoves me to the ground. I smack him in the chest with all my strength but it has no more effect than a stone thrown at a wall. He was laughing instead, the b*stard was enjoying my fear. He lifted the hem of my dress, exposing my bare skin to the brutal cold weather, before he grabbed my neck, choking me.I flail my arms about, gasping for breath while I feel his hands on my underwear. I tried to kick him but I was trapped under the weight of his giant legs. My vision soon started to get blurry and my mind gradually growing numb.That’s when a scream tore through the forest. “Stop!!”LIAM’S POV “I won’t repeat myself again, Daemon. Stop” My wolf growled in my head again but I ignored him. He was getting on my nerves with all the growling he was doing and I was not in the right mood to find out why he was anxious. I was just coming from a meeting at the Packhouse where my father had annoyed me. He just gave me the final ultimatum - to find a mate before the month runs out or he’d force me to mate another woman who wasn’t my mate. I was looking for a place to blow of the steam but my wolf wasn’t helping matters. I was standing on the bailey, right in front of the Packhouse, gazing steadily at the dark woods. I was getting more angry and frustrated as I stood there, so I decided to go for a run in the end. I shifted, allowing my wolf take over before running into the woods. I ran straight to the boundary and was surprised to discover that there was no soul there. There were paw marks everywhere, so I discerned there had been a kind of fight or attack that had happ
The man stopped and turned around immediately when the loud yell sounded behind him. The voice was very powerful and it commanded immediate respect. A sudden hush fell over everyone as they turned in the direction, shaking. The voice made my heart jump the moment it sounded but I recovered quickly enough. We all turned in the direction of the voice and standing there was a monstrously big wolf. It had an ash fur and a scarlet underside. it was bigger than all the wolves that had attacked us so I guessed he was their leader. I watched as another dangerous growl erupted from his throat while staring at me, he filled with the intent to kill. He started approaching us, slowly dismounting the sparse undergrowth. His lips champed with fury and his eyes blazed as if the flames of hell were right behind them. I soon began to percieve a strange kind of smell each time he took a step closer. The Vanilla-like smell enveloped my senses, relieving me of my fears instantly and calming my racing he
ALPHA LIAM’S POVThe way she moaned while kissing me back hungrily intensified my arousal. Her hips were bucking toward me, which meant she wanted me more than anything at that point, she wanted me inside her. While I wanted to hold myself back and push her off because this was highly forbidden, my wolf wouldn’t let me.I ran my nose down the length of her neck before sinking my fangs into them, marking her before I could even think about it. A painful and pleasure-filled moan left her throat. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be doing this, I was forcing myself to stop but it seemed an unstoppable, invisible force was manipulating me. She arched herself closer to me when I grabbed her breasts and pinched her pink, erect nipple. She moaned when I took one of her nipples into my mouth. After that, I ran my hands down her slim waist before grabbing her broad hips and her curvy, round ass. I kneaded them roughly while slapping it at intervals.“F*ck me!” She moaned out as she began to take her
The guards scoured the forest, their eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of Penelope. Her father had ordered them to bring her back, no matter the cost.The leader of the guards, a burly man with a thick beard, signaled for the group to split up. "We'll cover more ground that way," he growled, his voice low and menacing.They continued to scour the forest, their eyes scanning every inch of the dense underbrush and towering trees. They searched high and low, calling out Penelope's name as they trudged through the thick mud and tangled vines. But despite their best efforts, there was no sign of her.Penelope's father paced back and forth in his chambers, his face twisted with anger and frustration. He had ordered the guards to find her, and yet here they were, returning empty-handed.Penelope's father, Uther, was a strong and powerful leader. He was a fierce and determined man, known for his courage and his ability to lead his pack through even the most difficult of times. He was a t
The healer was a wise and experienced figure, respected by the members of the pack for his knowledge and skill in medicine. He was an older man, with a kind and gentle face. He had a white beard, and his hair was grey and tied back in a ponytail. He was tall and thin, with a stooped posture, a result of spending hours bent over his patients. He had a calm and soothing manner, and his hands were steady and sure as he tended to the wounded. He was considered as the backbone of the pack and was always ready to help when needed. He had a vast collection of herbs, potions, and salves that he used to heal the wounded and the sick. He was also knowledgeable in the art of divination and was often sought out for advice and guidance.Yvonne's heart was heavy with worry as she entered the healer's cabin, her eyes scanning the room for her daughter. When she finally saw Penelope lying on the bed, her body covered in cuts and bruises, she was shocked. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, her m
Penelope sat in her room, staring out through her window at the beautiful woods beyond. She couldn't help but think about Alpha Liam and how much the mate bond wanted her to be with him. With every passing second, the desire became more and more intense. She knew it was impossible, considering the norms, but she couldn't shake the feeling of longing.Suddenly, her maid came into the room and told her that her father, Alpha Uther, needed her in the living room. Penelope sighed with frustration, knowing that her father would want to discuss the recent events and she wasn't ready for that yet.She told the maid to tell her father that she would be with him shortly. She needed a few more minutes to gather her thoughts and compose herself before facing her father. She gazed out the window one more time, taking in the beauty of the woods and longing to escape it all.Penelope went into the bathroom, feeling a sense of dread in her gut. She knew that her father had called her for something im
Liam crept through the trees in the boundary, his senses heightened as he made his way closer to the werewolf pack. He knew he had to be careful, one wrong move and he would be discovered. But he was determined to see Penelope, his mate. He moved swiftly, weaving through the trees and dodging branches with ease.As he passed by the guards in the boundary, he could sense their confusion. They knew something had just passed by, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it. He smiled to himself, knowing he was too skilled to be caught. The dark night was his ally and the woods were his playground.The ripped guards were a formidable sight, standing tall and imposing at the entrance of the palace. Their muscles bulged beneath their armor, giving them an intimidating physique. Their broad shoulders were adorned with the symbol of the werewolf pack, and their piercing eyes scanned the area for any potential threats. They were truly the elite guards, handpicked for their strength, speed and
As the first light of dawn crept through the window, Penelope opened her eyes and found herself nestled in the warm embrace of her mate, Liam. She reached out to touch his face, tracing the contours of his jawline with her fingers. He stirred and opened his eyes, smiling at her with a look of pure love and adoration.She couldn't help but feel a flutter of happiness in her chest as she looked at him. But the happiness was tinged with a sense of dread, knowing that they had to be careful. Her maids would be here soon to tend to her, and she couldn't risk them catching Liam in her room.She gently shook him awake, whispering for him to get dressed and leave before they were caught. He groaned in protest, but quickly complied, pulling on his clothes and giving her one last kiss, telling her en passant that he would think of a way to figure out the problem and get back to her, before climbing out the window and disappearing into the woods.Penelope watched him go, her heart heavy with long