Chapter 1 : When Wolves Come Prowling

*Constance*

“What do you mean? How can that be possible? I mean, they were so well-fortified, their numbers as great as ours. I don’t see how they could have been taken down so easily!”

My father slammed his fists against the table, the wood vibrating from the impact.

His face was red with worry, sweat trickling down his brow as he took in a ragged breath. He was right to be worried. We all were. Since we first learned of the attacks on the Western Territory, all our fears came to light.

“It is as we say, my King,” the Alpha of the Moon Pack proclaimed with shaking hands. “The entirety of the Western Territories has been demolished by the enemy forces, and most of the Northern Territories with it. It’s only a matter of time before we’re next.”

“But how could this be?! It was only a fortnight ago that we were all planning for the Gathering. This makes no sense!”

“And yet, my love, it is happening. We must prepare ourselves,” my mother, Queen Lila, spoke. Her angelic voice rang out in the Council Hall, and my father dissolved with it. He sat down in his seat at the head of the table, his thumbs twirling together with frustration.

He looked back up at the other Alpha. “Who was it? Did you see their banner?”

The Alpha nodded and swallowed back his trembling voice. “It was the Southern Territories, Your Majesty. They carried the banner of the Alpha King Lukas Redborn.”

My father’s face turned ashen, misery etched on his features, mimicking those around him at the table. He rubbed a hand through his long beard, thoughts whirring inside his head.

“Redborn. Of course,” my father muttered. “I should have known he would eventually pull something like this. How is it that you escaped?”

“We saw the fires from the other packs and evacuated as soon as possible. But I fear they were hot on our trail even as we departed. They will be here before sunrise, I’m sure of it.”

“And all the other packs in the Northern Territories are gone? All of them?”

The Alpha nodded. “Mine is the last. We came here for shelter and safety, but it may be too late for that.”

Shaking his head, the my father etched a fingernail into the wooden table. I could see his mind hard at work, desperately trying to come up with some sort of plan to help us.

My mother consoled him by rubbing a delicate hand on his shoulder. Her long silvery hair spilled down her back as she bent to him, resting her head on him. Next to them sat Wilson, my father’s Beta and second in command.

His face was set with a deep frown, his arms crossed over his chest, and his brows furrowed. The news the morning brought was something no one wanted to hear or expected.

This morning had begun as any other, with sunlight streaming through the high window and the sound of birds chirping their daily songs. I had risen early so that I could attend to my duties, being no more than a garden lesson as my mother forbade me from doing something below my station.

I wasn’t even an inch from the steps when I heard the horns of approaching visitors. At first, I was so excited to see someone new. The days had grown long and tedious since my birthday some months ago, and I grew restless.

I raced back up the steps, through the Great Hall, and out the other side of the castle to greet the arrivals. But my heart sank when I saw the Moon Pack’s Alpha clamor out of the carriage, his face bloodied and bruised.

With him was his Beta, Dax, a stately fellow with broad shoulders and a round stomach, who looked no better than his Alpha. The two had looked like they had come from an intense battle, and indeed, they had.

They and their pack had fled their territory to save themselves from the rampaging Southern Territories bent on their destruction. They didn’t know why the attack began nor how to stop it. Their only thought was to find their Alpha King, my father, and seek his protection.

But with our forces now cut in half, there was little hope we would be able to fight against the army heading our way.

In less than a day, the Southern Territories had picked the West clean of its packs and had turned North to rid themselves of us too. As the seconds ticked past, we all knew we had little time to prepare.

And that was this morning. Now, late into the afternoon, it felt as though our lives and time were already being squeezed out.

“The way I see it,” Wilson began from the other side of the table, “we either flee or fight. I say we fight. We can’t let bullies like Redborn get away with slaughtering people. He should pay for his crimes.”

“I agree,” my father noted, taking a sip of wine from his goblet. He wiped the red liquid away and set the goblet down, tracing a finger along its rim. “We need to formulate battle plans. I understand our numbers are minimal, but this castle is the strongest in the land. If we can place our warriors strategically, we should be able to take down the enemy forces easily. The castle rests on a hill, and so we would have the advantage.”

“Yes, however, these people aren’t something we can simply casually defeat. You heard what they did to the Western Territories. How are we ever going to withstand a force of that size?” the Alpha of the Moon Pack questioned.

My father was about to open his mouth to say something when we heard a loud boom shutter through the Hall.

“What was that?” my father asked, standing up.

The rest of the group looked around the Council Hall as if expecting the answer to fly from the walls.

I peeked my head around my mother, looking out the window. All I could see was the fiery red sky of the setting sun and nothing to determine what had caused the sound.

The doors burst apart, and a guard stumbled through, his face pale with shock.

“King Turmand!” he said with a shaky breath. Dirt covered his face, and his clothes were streaked with blood.

“Dear Goddess,” my father muttered, looking at the guard before him.

“The city! My King! The city it’s being attacked!”

All at once, every person in the room jumped from their seats and ran from the room. I followed closely behind my mother and father, picking up my skirts as I went.

The corridor beyond was in a state of chaotic commotion, with people screaming and running in every direction. I followed my parents toward the Great Hall and through the massive doors that lead into the front courtyard and main gardens.

What we saw as we stepped outside and into the fading light was enough to make everyone stop dead in their tracks. Beyond the courtyard and along the ridge of trees that separates the castle grounds from the rest of the city, fire burned.

I then realized that the red I saw in the sky earlier was not the setting sun but the fire that now consumed the city.

I stumbled back from the sight of devastation in the night as screams ripped through the darkness. I heard the pitiful wails of children being torn from their mother’s arms and the sound of men laughing as they burned down yet more buildings.

“What is this…?” my mother gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. I could see tears brimming in her eyes.

None of us spoke. What could we say? For all the planning we were doing, it was no good. We were too late. There in the distance, separated by a single wall, was the army that had murdered so many before us.

We were defenseless, and we knew it. The invading army had already beaten down the warriors we had left. All we had now were the soles on our feet.

“Get inside!” my father commanded. “Inside! Inside, now!” he roared, and still, people did not move as they were rooted on the spot, mesmerized by the flames soaring into the sky.

At last, I felt his strong arms grab me from behind and pull me back. I almost screamed from the suddenness of it, but when I heard another deafening explosion, my feet began running back inside of their own accord.

My heart was hammering, and my ears were splitting with the sounds of torment taking place just outside of the walls.

My world only hours before was so peaceful, almost dull. But the adventurous life I sought wasn’t what I was expecting. This, this travesty, was something awful, a coiling snake that struck at the worst possible moment.

With nothing else to do and nowhere to go, we fled down the corridor and aimed at the tunnels below. There, we could flee the castle and make for safer grounds. But the Moon Pack’s Alpha shouts from ahead of us.

“It’s blocked!” he screamed. “The way is blocked!”

And as I looked past him, I saw it. A dozen wolves or more charged at our guards who were escorting us.

“Dammit!” my father bellowed. “This way!”

He then led us back the way we had come and toward the Council Hall. It was the next most fortified place in the castle.

As soon as we were all inside, my father pushed the doors closed and locked them with Wilson’s help.

“How the hell did they get inside the city’s walls?!” my father asked.

Wilson, turning from the doors, moved toward his Queen’s side as she collapsed on the ground.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

She nodded, panting heavily. “I am. I just need to catch my breath.”

Concerned, my father knelt beside her and held her hand. He looked up at me, his lips tight with worry.

“We can’t stay here,” Wilson urged. “They’ll make it inside soon. If they could get into the city, who knows what kind of weapons they might have? You saw those wolves out there! They were huge!”

“I know that,” my father growled. “But what do you expect? We have lived in an age of peace for so long. I never thought this would happen, not now.” He paused and looked like he was contemplating something. “There is one place we can go. We just need to find a way out of the castle before the invaders find us. Does anyone have any idea?”

“I do,” my mother said from her place on the ground. “Follow me.”

She went to the far window where orange and red glowed from the fires beyond. Bending low, she pulled at one of the tiles along the floor, revealing a dark passage.

“This should lead to the tunnels,” she explained, looking back up at us.

Despite the puzzled look on my father’s face, he nodded just as the doors flew apart and a mass of wolves spilled through.