Rumor Has It

This was where they branded her. She could hear their eerie laughter echoing all around as she recounted the events in her mind. Her heart pounded in her chest as she spotted the abandoned cabin the wolves had been drinking in.

She was put on patrol duty on her own that day. It's something she was used to already. They spotted her from a distance and insisted she came to them. Amongst them were the son of the ruling Alpha, Nestor and Arla, daughter of the Beta.

"Look who do we have here? Come here you runt!" Arla called out to her while laughing.

She was drunk yet as cruel as ever. They said starwine could get a wolf drunk and dull their senses. But it never once dulled their cruel tendencies. Safira tried to escape their clutches, but she knew the consequences of running.

So she stayed. When the young wolf Nestor and Arla asked her to join them in the abandoned cabin, she did. When they pushed her to the ground and ripped off her shirt to reveal her bare back, she couldn't fight back.

Safira curled her hands into fists as she recalled how helpless she was at that moment. She had no shoulder to cry on, no one to call for help. She hated her past self. But the scars were like a constant reminder.

"There's someone here," a voice pulled Safira right out of her thoughts.

She still had tears welled up in her eyes as she quickly realized she was in danger. Looking around the cabin, she didn't want to take another step in. The nightmares of her past were lurking in the shadows. They were ready to sink their claws into her.

This time, she refused to bow down to them. Safira only had her trusty dagger with her, safely tucked in its sheath and belted around her wait. It never once left her side, not even when she slept.

"I smell someone! They're in here!" Another voice called out, signaling the others they were with to surround the abandoned cabin.

Safira clenched her jaw. A part of her wished she had listened to Damien. Another part knew she no longer wanted to run. For the longest time, her life had been shrouded in mist.

But having been embraced with love and warmth, Safira now had something to hold on to. More than anything, she wanted to prove to herself that living was worth it. From the corner of her eye, Safira noticed something familiar.

It was the rod that had been used to brand her. She recalled her pain screams echoing through the forest. Her own scream rang in her ears for hours after. Sometimes when she closed her eyes, she could still hear it.

Safira curled her hands into fists. Looking at the door, she moved towards it. Carefully, she stepped out of the abandoned cabin with her head held high. She exuded an aura she never knew she had before.

"My my, who do we have here?" One of the wolves teased with a grin on his face.

Safira didn't even look at him. All of the wolves that surrounded her were on high alert. None of them dared move. They all knew her, after all everyone in her pack knew of her past.

"You dare show your face around here? After what you pulled off?" Another scoffed.

The wolves were still in their human forms, but they circled her like animals. They all had the same look in their eyes. They saw Safira as an easy picking. She already knew what went through their minds.

They believed they could subdue her with ease.

But no longer was she going to be their punching bag.

She curled her fists and crouched her legs, getting into a fighting stance. Never once had she spoken a word to any of them. All she did was look at them with a fierce glare.

A shiver ran down some of their spines. They could not believe it. The cursed wolfless rut was instilling fear in their wolves. How could they let that slide?

"Are you sure you want to do this, runt?" One of the wolves growled, ready to shift to fight.

Safira glared at him and signaled him to come at her. She remembered everything her father had taught her. It was time she had put all of her training to good use. She would no longer defend herself without retaliation.

She was going to fight for herself.

On the other side, Damien was attending to his duties when Yukon grew restless. He turned his head in the direction of his cottage in the woods. It was close to the border, the place where Safira was staying. Lifting his head into the air, he took a deep breath.

Her scent was faint, too faint. It was slipping away fast.

'She's crossed the borders,' Yukon whispered in the back of his mind.

His voice was filled with worry for their mate. Damien and Safira had not spoken much. Since she was not part of their pack and they had not officially established their mate bond, they did not have a mind-link between them.

'She'll be alright, she's a smart and strong wolf,' Damien reminded Yukon in his mind.

But his words did little to settle his wolf. He could feel him pacing around anxiously. The restlessness was getting to him too. After all, man and wolf shared their emotions.

"Alpha Damien, is something wrong?" The elder whom Damien was speaking to asked.

Damien returned to his work at hand, "Everything is fine, Elder Rosalie, my wolf is just… a little restless."

The elder arched an eyebrow as she looked up at the Alpha. She had seen the boy grow to become the strong leader he was today. She also heard a thing or two about the mysterious she-wolf who seemed to have stolen his heart.

"Is it true, Alpha?" She asked. She looked around to ensure no one else was eavesdropping before she leaned in a little closer and whispered in his ear, "Is it true you've found your mate?"