Chapter 1: The Past is Catching Up

ADRIANA and ROBERT

"You have to take her with you! I cannot protect her." Adriana had to keep herself together to not scream at Robert, her mate and the father of her newborn daughter.

"I can't. She is not safe with the pack. If they find out -"

"She is not safe with me either!" Adriana burst out, "The witches will kill her, and they will find her if they ever find out that she exists."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. A tear ran down her cheek. It had only been a few weeks since she had given birth and only a few days since the seer had found her and delivered the news of a prophecy concerning her child.

Adriana had hoped the seer would keep her word and never tell a soul what she had told her. She trusted the seer witch. They had known each other for years and were close. That was probably the only reason the seer decided to find Adriana instead of communicating her prophecy with the coven leaders. Her friendship with the seer had saved her daughter's life.

Robert took a step forward and gently touched Adriana's chin to make her look him in the eyes. Those deep blue eyes she had lost herself in. She had fallen deeper and deeper in love with him ever since he had entered her life.

Even if she would never feel how strong the pull of the mate bond was, she knew that she could never love any man as much as she loved Robert.

For him, it was different. His entire world revolved around Adriana from the moment he had laid eyes on her - his mate, even though she was not a werewolf. Protecting and caring for her was his utmost priority.

That's why he was hesitant at first when Adriana had asked him to take their daughter and return to the pack. He had tried to deny the seer's vision and convince his mate that she must have been wrong and there was no reason for them to part ways. But deep down, he knew there was no going back to their easy life, away from the pack, away from the coven. Not if it meant their daughter was in danger.

Robert took a deep breath. He had to make a decision.

"I will keep her safe. If you believe it's the only way, and if you are sure of it, I will give my life to keep her safe." He spoke with firm words, and she knew in her soul that he meant it more than anything in the world. He would keep their daughter safe and would rather die than let anything happen to her.

"I will cast a spell that will suppress her powers", Adriana said, "but I will not be able to make it last forever. The moment she meets her mate, her powers will be set free, and from that point on, there will be nothing we can do to protect her."

Robert relaxed at her words, moving his hand from her chin to her cheek. "By that time, she will not need our protection anymore. If her mate loves her only a small fraction of how much I love you, he will protect her with his life."

19 years later.

ROSE

Every single muscle in my body was aching, screaming at me to take a break, to lie down and never move again. I didn't give in. I couldn't. Not after what the Blood Moon Pack had done to my Alpha's mate, my Luna. There would be war soon, and I needed to be prepared for it.

Leila, the Luna of the Nightwalker Pack - my pack - had been like a mother to me ever since I could remember. My birth mother had passed away when I was born, and so I never got to meet her. However, when my father told me stories about her, it always felt like she was right next to us, listening and watching over us. He loved her so much, and I could feel it whenever he mentioned her name. I could only hope to find my mate one day and love him as much as my parents must have loved each other.

"Rose," my father called my name, and I looked up in his direction, "take a break. Training is almost over anyway."

Every wolf in the gym where we were training sighed loudly. My father's head snapped around quickly towards the crowd in a second.

"With this attitude, I'm going to extend your training!" he yelled, and the crowd let out an even louder sigh.

"Come on, Beta Robert, we've been here for hours. Why does Rose get to take a break?" one of the younger wolves asked. He was covered in sweat and seemed pretty pissed that I was the only one who could leave.

My father glared at the guy, and a second later, he stood in front of him, looking down at the young wolf who was at least one head shorter.

I admit my father could be intimidating at times. He was taller than the average wolf or man, had broad shoulders, and was very muscular. Even though he was in his 40s, I would not have wanted to start a fight with him.

"Rose is done for today. That's my decision. Do you question your Beta?" my dad growled at the guy.

"N-no.. I just.. I-it doesn't seem fair", the young wolf began to stutter, trying to avoid looking directly into my father's eyes.

"Fair?! Your Luna got murdered only a few days ago! And you are standing here, telling me that you don't want to train anymore because somebody else gets to take a break?!" my father yelled, almost spitting into the guy's face. "You disgust me."

He turned around and walked back to the front of the crowd. "In these last few weeks, Rose has trained much more than any of you, and I know that because I have personally monitored her training at home. When you go home to bed, she trains. When you get a rest on the weekend, she trains. And when you decide to sleep an hour longer, she's already been up training for hours."

I felt my cheeks turning pink. Why did he have to tell everyone? I mean, not that it was a lie. I was training much more than others my age. But there was no need to rub it into their faces.

"So next time you question my decision, take a moment and think about why you're here. If you would show as much dedication for your training as Rose, maybe Leila would still be alive", he ended his monologue. The crowd of mostly young wolves in their late teens or early twenties looked away in shame. It hit them right in their stomachs. They all loved their Luna. Leila was like a mother to many of them, including me. She loved everyone in our pack, and everyone loved her. She did not deserve what the Blood Moon Pack did to her.

My father swallowed the lump in his throat and breathed, "Training dismissed. I want to see you all tomorrow - with a different attitude! You all know what is coming ahead. You need to be ready."

When we got to the car, I got inside quickly. My dad started the engine and drove out of the parking lot.

"Dad, you really shouldn't have done that", I told him, and I couldn't help feeling a bit mad at him for calling me out in front of everyone.

"I'm sorry. I am just... now that Leila is dead... I don't know what to do. I need to protect you. If they can just kill someone within our pack borders, what stops them from coming and taking you?" he sounded all over the place. Leila's death had stressed him out more than I had expected. After all, she was his best friend's wife and one of my dad's best friends, too.

Although I didn't fully understand why anyone would take me away, I dismissed it as him just being scarred of an attack.

"Dad. I know she meant a lot to you. She was like a mother to me, too. But I can take care of myself", I tried to build him up.

He sighed and made a pause before he answered. "Of course you can, my little wolf. You're a Beta's daughter, after all."

I smiled at him, and he smiled back, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was troubling him. I wondered if it was only the upcoming war against Leila's murderers, the Blood Moon Pack, or if something else was on his mind.

TRISTAN

They killed them. The Nightwalker Pack killed my parents. I wanted revenge - no, I needed revenge. Their Alpha would burn for what he had done to my family.

My pack, the Blood Moon Pack, and the Nightwalker Pack have had their differences for decades, ever since the last great wolf war. Many had died back then, and even after the war, there was a lot of tension over certain territories and how to distribute them among the wolf packs. However, my parents made a deal with the current Alpha of the Nightwalker Pack and kept the peace ever since. Of course, There were other packs, but Blood Moon and Nightwalker Pack were the two greatest with the most members, territories, and allies.

If a war broke out again between our two packs, all of the packs settled in North America would be involved. My parents and Alpha Colton knew that and yet he murdered them.

"This greedy bastard.." I mumbled, trying to focus on some documents on my office desk.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door, and not a second later, it swung open.

"Alpha Tristan" was my Beta, Elijah.

"Have you found her yet?" I got straight to the point.

"Yes. We found her. The seer was right; she is a member of the Nightwalker Pack. We managed to take a picture of her." He held up his phone to show me the picture. It showed a girl getting into a black car, with an older man getting in on the driver's side. The picture only showed her from the side, but I could immediately see that she was pretty, with her long dark blonde hair and a slim but sporty body shape.

"Have you confirmed that she's the right girl?"

"Yes. She is the only girl to a high-ranked wolf in the pack with an unclear history of ancestors."

"Good. Get her", I commanded. "Do whatever it takes. We can't let Alpha Colton have such a powerful weapon."