Denying Fate ( Moonlight Trials Series #1)

Chapter 5 – Not True Mates…

Karma’s POV

I was walking through the forest, enjoying the last of the bright sunshine and warmish weather we would have before winter. Autumn was my favourite time of the year, the crunching sound of the brown, orange and yellow leaves under my feet was glorious. The air was clear, I could always smell the difference in the air as the seasons began to change but Autumn smelt the sweetest, like burnt wood and sweet damp. My birthday was the 5th November which for anyone who knows English History is Guy Fawkes day also known as Bonfire night. We celebrate it by burning a fake “Guy” on a bonfire to signify how he tried to blow up their government buildings and we light fireworks and have hearty meals such as baked potatoes and toffee apples, as in the past it was to enjoy the last of the fresh food before winter came. My favourite thing is the smell of fire, the colours and cracking and popping logs as well as fireworks that squeal and move in the sky. Oh, and my favourite bonfire night food? toffee apples… not good for me, but I ran enough to work off the sugar calories.

I was thinking about me, and Chase, huddled by the yearly bonfire in a few weeks, celebrating Bonfire night and my birthday with food, company and fireworks. I was so deep in thought I hadn’t noticed that I was wandering out of the pack territory. I came across a stream I’d never seen before and panic set in. I realised I’d walked too far and was definitely out of pack territory. I couldn’t have been by much though, so I turned to head back. That was when I heard a crunching sound behind me and turned slowly. I scanned the area over the stream and noticed nothing out of the ordinary there. The panic started to rise further into my throat as I heard another crack of wood, causing me to gulp over and over again, trying to rid of the bile that threatened me. I pulled out my phone to call someone to keep me company but before I could dial Chase’s number, I heard a low growling sound. Suddenly something flew past my right shoulder and landed behind me, standing between the pack territory and myself, and blocking me between it and the stream. I turned as slowly as I could to see a wolf, grey fur and red eyes, panting and staring straight at me.

A Rogue? This close to the pack territory? No, the patrols would definitely have picked up on it. I tried to calm my beating heart but I knew by the fierce red eyes that this was definitely a rogue, and had been one for a long time. I was gasping for air now as the panic set in further. I could fight but the wolf had caught me off guard and if I shifted now, I would be vulnerable, leaving myself open for attack. The best I could do is fight as a human for now and hope I found a chance to shift. I slowly bent down, keeping eye contact with the wolf. I think it thought I would shift so it charged for me. I grabbed a handful of dirt and waited until it was close enough. The wolf lunged for my neck, but it must have calculated me being a wolf by now as I easily rolled out of the way and threw dirt into its eyes. I rolled onto my knees and scrambled up as I ran for the stream.

I didn’t look back as I could hear the wolf howling in frustration behind me and scratching sounds on the ground as it tried to get the dirt out of its eyes. I quickly pulled out my phone and called Chase’s number, my hands trembling from both fear and adrenaline. It started ringing but as I put it to my ear I stumbled and dropped it to the ground, thankfully not launching it into the stream. I could hear Chase answer nonchalantly, then he must have realised something was wrong as he started calling my name, getting louder as he realised, I wasn’t answering, but the wolf had regained its sight and was barrelling after me. At the last second as it leapt for me, I dropped to my stomach it jumped over my head. It was then that I noticed the wolf was a female. It wasn’t unheard of to find women rogues, however they generally hung around human territory or with other rogues. It was very unusual for one to be picking a fight near a large pack’s territory. They tended to keep out of the way.

I was shocked as the wolf slid into the stream and struggled to regain its balance. It looked hurt but I knew I hadn’t done any damage to it and saw no visible wounds. I took this opportunity to transform into my not quite silver, not quite white wolf. The colour was grey but much lighter and I had grey blue eyes. The only standout feature I had compared to other grey wolves was a small blue patch on the end of my tail. It glowed brighter blue when it saw the moon. My dad always said I’d been touched by the moon goddess, but I always laughed him off. I felt my bones moving and sliding to complete the transformation, my face elongated, and hair sprouted from everywhere. It stung but in a nice way, like ice being put on sunburn. It felt freeing. I stood staring at the she-wolf and snarled, daring her to try again.

She began to lunge forward again, then I heard it, another wolf. I was hoping for salvation but when I turned, not fully turning my back on the female wolf who was slowly bounding towards me, tie stood still as I realised how doomed I was. There was no mistaking this one was a male and, also, not part of my pack, but he didn’t seem to be a rogue... His eyes weren’t red, but then, they weren’t normal either. Then I realised, they were definitely rogue eyes but not as bright red as most rogues, there was only a slight hint of red around the brown. Could he have only recently left a pack? The wolf was huge and pure black except for… a blue patch on his nose…

I knew I couldn’t take on both wolves and snarled a warning at him, but he ignored it and ran towards me. With the female rogue coming from my left and male now coming from my right my only option was to move at the last minute and hope they collided. I was about to lunge sideways when I realised the black wolf wasn’t looking at me but at the female rogue. It leaped over me and stopped dead in front of the female rogue. I heard Chase now shouting through my phone receiver and ran to it, the male wolf was growling at the female who had retreated backwards and was now cowering in the stream. Did she know him?

I whined into the receiver to Chase then the phone hung up. I hoped he had understood I needed him as soon as possible. I continued to look at the pair of rogues and they looked like they were communicating as the male was pacing in front of the female who kept flinching every now and again as if she was being chastised. Suddenly the female wolf looked at me and snarled but stopped and whined when the male wolf growled again. Then the female was running away from us, deeper into the forest, away from the pack territory. I breathed a sigh of relief, but it was only short lived as the black wolf came towards me.

I retreated backwards away from him but realised he wasn’t poised for attack. But I didn’t want to let my guard down. The wolf seemed to huff at me, as if amused I was standing my ground then he jerked his head towards some bushes. I saw a backpack which I hadn’t noticed before. I looked at him confused but he then pointed his muzzle at a clump of bushes that still had a fair few leaves left on them. I looked at him questioningly and even more confused until he moved behind a tree and transformed. I closed my eyes knowing he would absolutely be naked behind there, and I did not need to see that.

“There’s clothes in the bag, I won’t hurt you!” A strong, gruff voice boomed from behind the tree. Why did the voice sound familiar? Maybe he wasn’t a rogue and was part of the pack. Afterall, I didn’t know everybody and still couldn’t mind link. I hesitantly grabbed the backpack in my teeth and carried it over to the bush he had indicated. “I’m sorry about that” he bellowed louder, clearly knowing I had moved out of ear shot. I could tell he had moved from behind the tree. Had he put on clothes? Gosh, I hoped so! I transformed back and worriedly looked from the bushes to make sure it wasn’t a trap. Inside the bag was a black t shirt and a pair of black comfy bottoms and a pair of slip-on trainers in my size… I looked at them confused. They were my size, well except the t-shirt which was a few sizes too large but it smelt amazing.

“Who are you? Who was she? I’m sorry if I trespassed on your land, I wandered too far…” I shouted back, trying to sound more confident than I currently felt, naked behind a bush. I was still hoping he was a pack member but I knew deep down he wasn’t.

“This isn’t my land; we just live here. She’s my mum, I’m sorry about her, she’s…” He paused, clearly thinking of the right words to describe her. “Not well…” I heard he hesitation in his voice at this and wondered if that was true. I pulled on the clothes and walked from behind the bush bare footed. I noticed the guy and my mouth must have dropped extremely fast because he started laughing.

“You…” Was all I managed to say.

“Yep, me, I’m a rogue…” He answered, smiling, but with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

“But you got onto our lands for Chase’s birthday… How?” He frowned at this and bit his lip, clearly not knowing how to answer this question. Why was I noticing his lip? I was steadily getting warmer too despite the cold earth beneath my feet.

“I know Chase’s father. He has an agreement with my mum… You… you don’t remember me, do you?” I looked at him confused. He’d said the same thing to me at the birthday party. I recognised his smell again though. Charcoal, but I still didn’t recognise him. Why was he adamant I should? I c****d my head and smelt deep again. Once again there was a flutter in my heart, something wasn’t right, and he knew it.

“No, but I recognise your scent…” I said, confused. My brows knitting together, trying to remember. It was only then that I noticed he only had shorts on. My heart started to beat faster. This wasn’t… It couldn’t have been… I shook my head in confusion. “Who are you? You know something…” I said, a little less angry that I wanted to sound.

“I’m sorry Karma, I’ll leave now. I am your friend and I’m sorry about my mother. Please don’t tell anyone we live here. She needs to be kept safe.” He turned to leave.

“Wait…” I shouted, defiantly miffed that he was dodging my questions yet again. I ran and grabbed his arm, knowing full well I couldn’t stop him but I needed him to at least stop. However, that was a mistake I wish I hadn’t made. I lurched back in fear and my eyes opened wide in fear and awe. Id felt sparks, tingly electrical but magical sparks… sparks that I was only supposed to feel with my mate… Chase… but I was too young as well. My eyes met his, both wide in fear as well.

“Karma, go home, I’m sorry! I promise I’ll see you again and explain everything.”

“No! But…” Was all I managed to say before he turned, completely ignoring me and transformed. Ripping his shorts to shreds and running off over the stream and beyond. I was in shock and angry. That was the mate bond… I was sure of it but Chase… I dropped to my knees as tears started to leave my eyes from both anger and sadness.

KAR! I heard Chase shouting through our pack mind link. I turned to see 4 wolves heading towards me. I saw Chases beautiful strawberry blonde coat with his blue tinges and threw myself onto him, crying. I couldn’t speak so he laid down for me to get on his back. I climbed on and huddled into his fur. Crying from the shock of realising Chase wasn’t my true mate as well as the adrenaline from the attack now wearing off, plus the absolute anger I felt that the guy hadn’t stuck around to explain anything. Chase looked worried and ran as fast as he could back to the pack house. The other 3 wolves, one who I recognised as Dan, Chase’s future beta, followed us back whilst keeping a look out. I could tell that they didn’t know what they were looking for but clearly knew I had been in danger. I sobbed into Chase’s neck as he whined at me, running at top speed.