Chapter 4: First Encounter

ROSE

When I woke up, I felt I was lying on a bed. For a moment I was sure this had all been a bad dream and that when I opened my eyes I would be back at home. My dad would be already waiting in the kitchen for me. I should hurry and get ready. We wanted to go for a run this morning…

Then I remembered.

I was not at home. This was not my bed. I had passed out in the basement of a place that was unfamiliar to me. I was kidnapped and had been beaten up by a monster for information that I couldn't give him.

In less than a second, I was awake, and my eyes opened in shock at the realization. It didn't take long to get them used to the bright light falling into the room through the windows. Light? Windows? I was no longer in the underground prison where I first woke up. Was I saved?

I was staring into a pair of dark blue eyes, the color of a deep ocean. They belonged to an incredibly handsome man with dark brown, full hair. He was tall, had broad shoulders, and could've been a model. At that moment, I realized he was stretching out his hand in my direction. My heart skipped a beat, and I turned pale white. This was my kidnapper!!

Without a second thought, I started screaming as loudly as my lungs could. I pushed my body to the corner of the mattress, trying to grab anything near me that I could use to defend myself. My hands and feet were still chained so that I couldn't shift into my wolf form. I found a lamp on a nightstand beside the bed and ripped it out of the outlet. I admit, this was not the best weapon I could imagine, but it would have to do the job.

"Stay back!" I shouted at the guy, trying to put as much power into my words as possible. Who was I even trying to convince here. Anybody could have easily seen how terrified I was, but I had to try.

The illegally good-looking guy pulled his hand back and crossed his arms over his chest. He first started smirking… and then he laughed! It was so loud that the entire house must've heard it. What the hell?!.. This guy was making me look like a joke!

"I mean it!" I was desperately looking for anything in my mind that I could use as a threat, "I'm a Beta's daughter!"

He stopped laughing but didn't even bother to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

"I know." his voice was as beautiful as his appearance. What was it with this guy that made him stand out so much? "That's why you're here. Your name is Rose, correct?"

I looked at him suspiciously, then I nodded carefully. He seemed more likable than the first monster that I met in this hell house, but his pretty appearance could be a trap. He was much more powerful than the other wolf, which meant he had to be…

"I'm Tristan, the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack."

My jaw dropped. His words had confirmed my worry. This guy was the evil and disgusting monster that had ordered to assassinate my pack's Luna. My father told me stories about him and his parents, how they didn't stop at anything to gain power and influence, hated Alpha Colton, and wanted to start a war for our territories. I heard that his parents had died in an accident not too long ago, and he held Alpha Colton and our pack responsible. Was that why he kidnapped the Beta's daughter? For some sick revenge, he was plotting?!

My father had assured me our pack had nothing to do with his parent's death! If I told him that, maybe he would let me go. No, he would never believe me. If he went to such an extent to kidnap me, he must be determined to hurt our pack. After all, his men most likely killed everyone at the northern border when they took me. He was a monster, and I had to end him.

"You can put that thing down," Tristan pointed at the lamp that I still held in my hands, ready to throw it at him or hit him with it - anything would ease my mind a bit, really. "I'm not here to hurt you."

I couldn't help but letting out a snarling laugh. "You're too late for that", I hissed at him.

His brows furrowed at my words, making him look… hurt? But it only took him a second to regain his composure and erase any hint of emotions from his face.

"I would like to know why you have not used your powers against us yet." his words were cold. He was monitoring every move I made. Was he expecting me to attack him?

I felt the anger boil up inside me. Was he f***ing serious?!

"Listen, big wolf," I tried not to shout the words at him, "whatever moronic obsession you and your hellhound have over me being a witch, let me assure you, I AM NOT!!" My grip on the night lamp was so tight that I could swear I heard a 'crack.' "You got the wrong girl!! Now let me go, or I swear Alpha Colton and my father will find you and rip you to pieces!!" I was so angry that my nostrils were shaking. Tristan had no idea who he was messing with. My father and our Alpha were probably already planning how to invade this guy's home and get me out of here. At least, I hoped so…

The corner of his lips moved up, forming a nasty smile on his handsome face. "I hope they'll try."

My face turned pale white. Did he plan this? Was I the first stone to be moved for war to break out? Was he already prepared for any rescue attempt? My stomach turned around, and I felt like I wanted to throw up.

If he had this whole thing planned out, I would not leave here alive. He would kill me before my father could even get close to me. So what was he waiting for? Was he trying to get some more information from me?

"Why am I still alive?" the words spilled out of me before I could give them a second thought.

He turned around and sat on the armchair at the other end of the room while casually ignoring my question.

Tristan leaned back in the armchair and stared at me like I was some sort of caged animal he was studying. I had never felt more uncomfortable and angry at the same time.

"Are you not going to answer my question?! What do you want with me?" I made another attempt to get a reaction from him. He could probably hear the frustration in my voice.

He stared at me, took a deep breath, and began talking slowly. "You are the daughter of Robert, the Beta of the Nightwalker Pack, and Adriana, one of the leading witches of the witch coven." He made a brief pause and let the information settle.

"When you were born, a seer of the witch coven delivered a prophecy to your mother. It spoke of a child born from the union between a powerful witch and a powerful wolf. This child would decide the fate of all supernatural beings." He was still staring deep into my eyes. Was this a joke? Was he actually believing this crap?!

"You can't be serious", I was shocked. This couldn't be the true reason why he had me kidnapped. "Nobody has seen a witch in years!"

"Just because nobody has seen one in a long time doesn't mean they don't exist", he cut me off. "Your father told you that your mother had died after your birth and probably that she was a wolf from another pack, correct?"

I furrowed my brows. My father had told me that... but that didn't prove anything. I stiffly nodded my head.

"Then explain something to me," he continued, "It is custom in our wolf culture that the Alpha of a pack collects the remains of a deceased wolf ten years after the wolf's death to return them to the earth they came from. Every Alpha knows that a wolf must return to its birth pack after the family has time to mourn. You should have been old enough to witness that happening. Who came to collect your mother's bones?" His tone was calm.

I held my breath momentarily and thought about what he had just said. He was right. Nobody had come to take her bones. My father had prepared a gravestone in our backyard and had told me he had buried her there not long after my birth. I never asked any questions. Whenever he talked about her, he seemed happy, but I could tell that thinking about her also hurt him a lot, so I didn't want to push him to talk.

"I…" I stammered; my thoughts were racing through my head. Was he right, or was I just letting him get inside my brain? "That doesn't prove anything!" I suddenly burst out the moment I could catch a clear thought, "Maybe her old pack didn't know she passed away, or the Alpha died, and nobody remembered her."

"Maybe," Tristan crossed his arms over his chest, "Or maybe your mother was not a werewolf, and she never died."

"This is nonsense! Take me home!" I screamed at him.

"I can't", he shrugged, "Not as long as we don't know how dangerous you are." He sounded so bored and passive that I wasn't sure if anything I said would matter. I finally lowered the night lamp. He didn't have any proof for his stupid story about my mother, and as long as I didn't give him any, he would just keep me here. If I stayed alive long enough until my father and Alpha Colton would arrive, I could maybe make it out of this alive. I just had to survive a little longer…

I took my chances and imitated the way he was sitting on the chair: arms crossed in front of his chest and utterly bored of this crap. I looked out of the window and said, determined: "You're not going to get anything from me."

From the corner of my eyes, I saw how his aura changed. He jumped up and was standing next to the bed faster than I could turn my head. I had angered the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack by mocking his attitude, and I could see it in his eyes that had now turned black - 'There go my chances of making it out of here alive…', I thought while he grabbed me by the chains on my hand and pulled me up.

"If you're not going to talk, I may as well throw you back in the dungeon", he started dragging me towards the door, "and don't think for a second that we will not find your father and do even worse to him."

No! I could feel my heart pounding. They would kill him! I would not let them hurt my father! I started kicking and fighting the Alpha as much as I could. "Don't you dare touch him!! NO!!" In a moment, I felt all the hair in my neck stand up, and suddenly, everything in front of my eyes became chaos…