The Price of the Luna's Vengeance

Chapter 2: Bloodstained Snow

*Kya*

“Please know that I am saying this out of love but this has to be the worst idea you have ever had.”

I looked up from the little bag I was packing for myself. My best friend, Mae, was sitting on my bed, just watching me, twirling a lock of curly black hair with her fingers. I shook my head fondly. It was a nervous habit that she had developed when we were children.

“Well, you’re my best friend so I know you’ll still love me even after I go through with this,” I said.

Mae just narrowed her eyes. At that moment, I couldn’t help but feel like no one was more suited to being the future advisor of this pack than Mae was. She was smart, cunning and had a heart of gold. We were going to do great things for this pack once we were in charge.

“I can’t let you go through with this alone,” Mae said firmly, standing up from the bed and gripping my shoulders tightly. “In fact, I feel like I should lock you up somewhere so you can’t leave.”

I rolled my eyes, knowing that Mae would never do such a thing even though she often did want to throttle me for my recklessness. It was what made us a good team, really. I had the daring ideas and Mae reigned us in when I brought us out too far.

Most of the time, anyway. She wasn’t talking me out of this one.

“I have to do this,” I said with conviction, meeting her gaze unflinchingly.

Mae narrowed her eyes at the determination in mine. “Then, I’m going with you,” she said decisively and in a tone that held no room for argument. She lowered her voice to a near-whisper, making it sound like a hiss. “The information I uncovered for you made it sound like this guy is extremely dangerous.”

That tone never stopped me before, however. I gestured around the room. “You can’t come with me,” I said. “I need you here to cover for me in case someone checks on me.”

“Seems natural since you’ve been cooped up in your dark room whenever you get the chance,” Mae muttered.

I gave her a dark look.

She quickly backtracked. “Look, I know that you’ve been going through a rough time since Riley died,” she said carefully. “But it’s been hard for us too to watch you waste away.”

I winced. “You’re exaggerating,” I muttered. “It wasn’t that bad.”

Mae scoffed. “You were a shell of yourself just a couple of weeks ago and you had lost so much weight. Are you forgetting that you were basically bedridden while the healers had to revive you for the next several days?”

“No,” I said, blushing hotly.

I couldn’t deny it because it was true. Riley’s passing had been so hard. There were times when I just wished my life would end. I hadn’t realized that I had almost manifested that wish until I was being pumped with nutrients through a needle.

“Well, I'm fine now,” I told Mae and I only slightly winced at the lie. Well, maybe I wasn't skipping through the halls singing but at least I had rejoined the land of the living.

I slipped my small bag over my shoulder and then stepped into my boots.

“I know I can't stop you,” Mae said stepping forward to grip my shoulders again. She looked me seriously in the eye. “But promise me you'll be careful and that you'll come back. This man must have a dark reputation for a reason. Promise me.”

I nodded, gripping the strap of my bag tightly in my hands. “I promise.”

The chilly autumn air blew across my cheeks, causing me to shiver. We might end up getting snow a bit early this year. If the temperature dropped much more, we could expect a thick white blanket over the ground overnight.

I felt a wistful smile touch the edges of my lips. The thought of snow brought back a rush of memories of the first winter that Riley and I spent together.

Riley loved winter. He used to tell me that his wolf thrived on the cold. He had been a couple years older than me so got his wolf first. I used to ride on his back through the snow, his warm fur surrounding me with cozy comfort even with the biting wind across my face.

There was a special clearing deep in the woods where icicles hung from the trees like garlands. It was a magical place. Riley used to bring me there early in the morning so we could watch the colorful lights from the sunrise dance through the ice.

Unfortunately, the beautiful snow also brought on a tragic memory. I gasped as scarlet blood against pure white snow filled my mind. I reeled as if I had been physically struck.

Tears burned my eyes but I willed them away. I had cried enough. It was time to stand up and start thriving again. I was done being pitied.

With that thought, I said goodbye to Mae, left home, and hopped onto a train heading north, knowing that it was my path to taking my life back. I kept the hood of my cloak up even though the inside of the train was warm. I wasn’t very far from the estate. Someone could recognize me and if they did, they would likely call on my father. It was well known that he was quite protective of me.

If he knew what I was about to do he would likely put me under house arrest until I actually married one of the suitors he placed in front of me.

I shuddered at the thought, gazing out of the window to distract myself. I squinted into the darkness, watching the shadows of trees whiz past, longing for the time just a few weeks earlier when my life was so much simpler.

People left the train car in trickles, a few getting off at each stop until it was just me left in the car. I wondered idly how many more were still on the train aside from the conductor. Probably none. There was nothing beyond the last couple of stops. I was surprised that the train even went this far. Even then, I would have to hike a while to reach my destination.

The train screeched to a stop minutes later and I quickly gathered my things. I would have to make haste if I was going to return home by sunrise.

I tightened my cloak around my body before pulling a folded map out of my bag. I smoothed it out, trying to read in the darkness. This map had been difficult to acquire. There were no accessible ways to find the place I was looking for. Mae had to do some digging and even then, she had to do so stealthily so no one would suspect where I wanted to go.

Thankfully, my wolf had a sharp sense of direction and I continued down one of the paths through the woods with confidence. After some wandering, I finally saw the dark fortress in the distance.

One would miss it if they were just glancing past since the towering manor was meant to look like the shadow of a mountain, hidden against a backdrop of hills and snowy peaks.

I was getting close. I swallowed hard. I was both excited and terrified.

The manor was said to house a powerful Alpha, the leader and protector of the Blood Fang Pack.

My breath caught in my throat as the gravity of what I was about to do truly hit me. I was actually surprised now that Mae had let me leave. I had no plan other than to just waltz up to the manor and demand to see the Alpha.

Only now, as I stood just steps from the Blood Fang border did I realize the foolishness I was about to partake in. The Blood Fang Pack was comprised of a group of rogue wolves, dangerous shifters who gathered under one community, under one fearless, cruel leader.

At least, those were what the rumors said.

I obviously wasn’t interested in getting involved with the pack itself though. It was the Alpha who I needed to see. There were rumors floating around that he possessed a magical ability that could help me.

I just had to hope with everything I was that that was the correct rumor.

My breath caught suddenly as my wolf went into hyper focus mode. She sensed something. I stopped breathing altogether as my ears perked, searching my surroundings.

I was being watched.

Keep calm, I told myself. I couldn’t let my stalker know that I was onto them. I had to keep moving. I tilted my chin up and very deliberately took a step forward.

No sooner did I make this move did a large figure burst from the bushes, moving swiftly toward me.

My wolf and I were ready and I dodged, sidestepping what I realized to be a large man all in black, clearly trying to blend into the night.

I knew immediately that he was a member of the Blood Fang Pack. This wasn’t good.

He had a scar running across the right side of his face, going over his eye. He narrowed both eyes at me. “You’d best come with me, girl.”

I stood my ground, preparing to shift into my wolf form. “Sorry, but I don’t think so.”

I was just about to shift when the man lunged at me, grasping me by the arms. I took a step back, sweeping my foot out the way I had been taught during combat training but he was unfortunately bigger and stronger than me. He also seemed to be just as if not more trained in fighting than I was.

In one smooth move, he had my arm pulled up behind my back. His other hand stuffed some kind of cloth inside of my mouth. I was lucky the cloth hadn’t been drugged or I would have immediately fallen unconscious.

My curses and screams were muffled as the man bound my hands and feet together. I glared at him heatedly as he wrapped another cloth around my eyes, successfully blinding me.

I willed myself to shift but I wasn’t physically capable with my hands and feet bound. I was also terrified so that was getting in the way of my ability to change as well.

“Sorry, Princess,” the man grunted, grabbing me around the waist and tossing me over his shoulder so I hung over him like a wet rag. “You were clearly about to knowingly trespass and that just isn’t going to fly around these parts.”

Panic immediately gripped me as I realized just how helpless I was now. The man gripped me firmly so I wouldn’t fall off of his shoulder. I writhed and kicked but it was no use. Eventually, I just hung there in defeat, knowing I wouldn't be able to do anything until we stopped and I could kind of get my bearings.

We must have walked for hours. Well, my captor did while I hung uselessly from his shoulder. He carried me like I was nothing.

I perked my head up when a door swung open and it got significantly warmer as we stepped inside of some kind of building. I was then tossed unceremoniously onto a cold stone floor.

I pushed myself up onto my knees, causing the cloth around my eyes to fall against my chest.

My eyes widened when I looked up and locked gazes with who could only be Alpha of the Blood Fang Pack.

The Prince of Passion.