Chapter 1
Scarlett POV
The world is wide filled with endless mountains, rivers, and forests. But our story did not begin in just any forest. It began in Blood Bark Forest.
I was no ordinary child.
My parents were the Alpha and Luna of the Blood Moon Pack. I had everything a child could wish for. People often called me spoiled, and even the adults treated me with fear because I was the Alpha’s daughter, though I was only 10 years old then.
Other children my age only heard fairy tales, but I was different. I had watched my mother train with a bow every day. She was skilled, graceful, and fearless. When she tucked me in, I didn’t listen to the usual nighttime stories; I listened to her tricks, her tips, and her tales of bravery. She was no ordinary Scarlett. She told me how she stood like a heroine whenever my father was in danger. She knew herbs better than anyone. Whenever someone was wounded or sick in our pack, she was the first to help. She stood side by side with my father.
My father, though he was Alpha, ruled with kindness. To him, every member of the pack was his child, and he was their protector. He carried the weight of all their lives on his shoulders, yet never once treated them as less than family.
That night, the camp was quiet. Most of the pack was settling down to sleep. Only the wolves assigned to guard the pack stayed outside. My mother was telling me a bedtime story while my father sat beside us in the tent, though his mind was somewhere else. Our peaceful night was broken when the drum rang. It was a large drum at the entrance of the camp, the one guarded day and night. I had never heard it in my life. It only sounded when the pack was under attack. My heart jumped as I sat straight up in bed.
Uncle Richard, my father’s most trusted man, rushed into the tent.
“Alpha, we need to talk!” he shouted.
My father looked stunned. I could see his face lose all its color as he glanced at Uncle Richard. Without a word, he stood and followed him outside.
My mother quickly pulled me from the bed and led me to a hidden room inside the tent.
“Stay here, baby. I need to see what’s happening outside. Be a good girl and don’t come out. No matter what!!”
I wanted to argue, but even at that age, I could feel the weight of the moment. Something was terribly wrong. I stayed behind as she left me alone in the secret room.
I was left alone in the hidden room but the tent walls could not block the sounds outside. Shouts, cries, growling I heard it constantly.
They say curiosity kills the cat. In my case, it killed my parents.
I crept closer to the tiny hole in the tent and peeked out.
The attackers carried white flags marked with the letter |Y|. One of them shifted instantly and leapt at Uncle Richard. My father was just a step behind him. The desperate look on my father’s face still haunts my dreams. His eyes were shut tight, his body trembling as he struggled to shift into his wolf form, but nothing happened. He failed.
With only a sword in his hand, he pushed forward and drove the blade into the wolf attacking Uncle Richard. But wolves heal quickly, so did he. Within seconds, the wound closed. His icy grey eyes were set straight on my father. That cold, silver gaze seemed to pierce into my father’s very soul. That look became the fire that shaped my life. I swore I would one day see those same eyes but bloodshot, broken, and lifeless.
With his focus shifted on my father, he began to circle him, moving slowly as if he were playing with him. Then he scraped his paw against the ground, signaling his next strike is about to come. My father tightened his grip on his sword and raised it high. You cannot lose unless you lose in your mind. That was his belief, and even in his weakest moment, I saw him hold onto it.
Then I saw my mother. She was surrounded by three wolves, yet she stood tall with her bow drawn. She fired swiftly, dropping two of them. She had laced her arrows with a deadly mix. Those wolves did not rise again.
But my father was still fighting the one with the grey eyes. Another wolf blindsided him, knocking the sword from his hands. He stood defenseless against them.
My mother aimed at the icy grey-eyed wolf, but her arrow struck the ground just a few inches away from his paw. His focus snapped to her. At once, the wolves across the camp froze. They lifted their heads as though they were mind linking, and then they all abruptly turned toward my parents. One by one, they closed in, circling them like a bunch of predators playing with their prey.
My father and mother stood back-to-back in the center. My father was barehanded. My mother still held her bow, but she couldn’t cover him from behind.
Two wolves lunged at my father, dragging him down. My mother spun, trying to help him, her bow lifted, but I saw the danger before she did. A wolf behind her raised its claws, ready to tear her apart.
“MOTHER!” I screamed desperately.
Both my parents turned at once. Their eyes locked on me. And in that instant, every rogue wolf’s attention shifted as well. My mother cried out, and my father’s face crumbled in horror. That single distraction was all it took. A wolf lunged at my mother, knocking her to the ground.
I blinked, and suddenly the wolf with the icy grey eyes was standing before me. In the next second, I was thrown into the circle where my parents were surrounded by countless wolves.
My mother’s knees scraped against the ground as she scrambled toward me. My father let his guard down and turned, his face pale with terror. Together, they wrapped their bodies around me, shielding me with their arms and backs. I was trapped between them.
