ALPHA KADE’S POSSESSION

NAYA’s POV If anyone told me that I would wake up one morning to find all my family members dead, I would not have believed them. My eyes flowed with tears as I watched werewolves I had lived with my entire life die one after the other right before my eyes. My entire pack was on fire. I looked around, and everyone was either dead, or dying on the cold, bloody ground. The Wolfsbane Pack were here and my entire pack was being wiped off the earth while I watched from my hiding spot. “Oh goddess… what do we do?” I asked, but of course no one answered. The damn goddess never answered back. Never responded now that we needed her the most. I pressed the tiny baby I was cradling tighter against my chest. He wasn’t mine, goddess knew I was barely old enough to take care of myself. But when I saw him lying there beside his mother’s dead body, with a deep wound on his head, crying and reaching for someone who would never wake up… I just couldn’t leave him. His tiny fists clung to my torn shirt like I was the last thing he had left. And maybe I was. “Hey… hey, little one,” I whispered, voice cracking. “I’ve got you. I promise. I'll take care of you.” My words trembled almost as much as he did. “Just stay quiet for me, okay? Please… don’t make a sound.” I scanned through the chaos, searching for my dad…the Beta, but instead, I saw him. The Alpha of Wolfsbane Pack. He stood at the center of the chaos like a god. His shirt was soaked in blood, most of it was definitely not his. He was tall, built like a true warrior. His face unreadable even while wolves died at his feet and at his command. Alpha Kade. His name alone had destroyed stronger packs than ours. They said he didn’t blink when he killed. They said he didn’t feel and that his wolf was colder than death itself. I watched him as he locked eyes with someone, I couldn’t see who it was, but he gave the tiniest nod. And just like that, I heard the groan and painful howl of my father’s wolf through the pack connection… and then there was utter silence. The connection was severed. My father was gone just like so many others. Killed by Alpha Kade and his warriors. A loud sob escaped my clamped lips before I could stop myself. “Run” My wolf whispered the word from inside me with so much urgency, I knew she was sensing something. “But my dad…” I argued, even though I could not do anything about it or even save him. It was too late. “Run. Run. Run, Naya” I stumbled to my feet, even though tears blurred my eyes and my breath was ragged. My wolf was right. We were in danger. I tightened my hold on the baby and bolted through the trees, leaping over stones and branches as fast as the weight of the baby in my arms would allow me. I didn’t know how long I ran, it could could have been minutes or even hours. But I ran so far away with the baby in my arms that the war began to sound far away. I breathed a deep sigh of relief, dragging air into my aching lungs, my feet were red and bloody, and full of wounds, but at least I was safe and all alone. No one had followed us while I ran. It was just me and the baby. I looked at him, covered in blood that wasn’t his, but at least he was safe . I was safe. Broken, hurt and alone, but safe… Finally… I was about to thank the moon goddess for finally answering my earlier prayers when I heard a twig snap from behind me. It sounded too damn close to be a coincidence. Way too close to me. My pulse stuttered as I held the whimpering baby closer to my chest. Then the scent of another wolf hit me. I did not recognise the scent. It was not a Wolfsbane warrior. And it was definitely not from my pack either. The smell kept getting closer and closer as I stood still, scanning the trees. it was a very awful stench which meant only one thing... There was a rogue wolf close by. Fear gripped me, my already weak body going into fight or flight mode. I barely shifted in time. My wolf exploded out of me with a furious snarl, but I was too exhausted, too slow, and had I had lost way too much blood. But I could not wait or stop to think, not when I could hear the rogues running steps pounding on the ground headed for me. I grabbed the baby between my teeth and broke into a run again. The rogue wolf crashed into me from the side, and I looked up just in time to see the wolf grab the baby by his neck and shake. Everything around me blurred. I shifted back to my human form, angry and raging, ready to save the baby with my last strength. But then the baby fell from his lips with a deep wound, gushing out blood. “Noo...NO...” My voice cracked as I screamed, running towards the baby. “Please... please...please... no" I dropped to my knees, reaching for the tiny, motionless body even as the rogue lunged again. His teeth sank into my shoulder, ripping a scream out of me. But the pain didn’t matter. None of it mattered. The baby wasn’t breathing. His little chest wasn’t moving. I screamed, as the rogue sank his teeth into my shoulder again. The poison of his rogue bite instantly spreading in my veins. My heart banged over and over in my chest as my fear mixed with anxiety and anger. I remembered all the lessons and warnings my father had given me about encountering a rogue. Rogues didn’t just carry venom in their teeth and fangs. The pain from their venom alone had the ability to drive another werewolf to madness. This wasn’t just venom. This was madness, and the effect started immediately so no one could really fight it. My mind began to slip sideways. Everything was spinning, even in my wolf form, my vision became blurry, but I was still Naya. And I would not die without a fight. I ripped my claws across his throat again, and again. Hot blood sprayed across the trees as he fell, twitching and bleeding. I didn’t wait to check if he was dead, I began running again, staggering and loosing focus. I shifted back from my wolf form while still running, my skin steaming and burning even in the cold air which meant the poison was kicking in fully. I had no real destination in mind, but I kept running. I was naked, shaking, bleeding and slowly dying. My leg buckled and I landed back on the floor from pain and exhaustion. “No…no no please, goddess no. I can’t die like this. I won’t. I refuse to die like this. Please. Please help me” I knew it was useless to pray, but I was on my very last leg of hope, the baby died, of course she did not think I was important enough to live. The bite mark throbbed and burned my skin, making the wound deeper while the venom settled inside my blood like insects crawling under my skin. I tried to crawl. Tried to breathe. But the forest spun. The sky tilted. My wolf faded back into the dark. And I passed out beneath a pine tree with blood between my thighs and ash in my hair. “Please…” my voice croaked, slowly fading away. “… please send help. I don’t want to die…” My eyes closed instinctively, the tiredness and blood loss finally winning. I continued to wait for something, anything to come by. Even if it was the rogue who had come back to finish what he started. “Fine…you b***h…” I whispered. “…If you want me to come over there so quickly, fine. I will. But just know, I’ll be burning down your entire throne room or whatever spirit world you live in just like my pack was burnt down!” I knew it was probably not a good idea to be threatening the moon goddess a few minutes before I died, but I was done caring. If she wanted me dead, fine. But she needed to know how I felt about it. But then, in the distance, I heard footsteps coming closer, like they were slowly walking towards me. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t open my eyes. My limbs were like lead. My heart fluttered in my chest as I felt the presence come so close to me I could almost smell them. I felt a calloused hand brushed hair from my face. The fingers were cold and careful, like he was trying hard not to wake me up. “She’s alive.” “That bite wound is nasty. A rogue bit her good. Too bad she won’t last the night.” Another voice grunted. I wanted to scream and tell them I would survive, but I could only manage a groan of pain. “She’s not dying. Carry her.” I heard a shuffle of boots, meaning the person he had spoken to was deciding against it. “Never mind. I’ll carry her.” Then I felt strong arms sliding under me, lifting me up. I was immediately engulfed with the scent of war, blood, and earth, and everything him. His chest was solid against mine. His heartbeat sounded rapidly in my ears. I wanted to speak, to say thank you… anything at all, but the darkness claimed me.