"Grab her!" one of the rogues yelled as I ran through the woods, begging my legs to run faster.
I screamed at the top of my lungs when someone caught my waist from behind, halting my escape.
"Where do you think you're going, brat?" the rogue holding me snapped angrily into my ear, making me whimper. I tried freeing myself but to no avail. He was too strong for me.
Suddenly, a thundering growl erupted through the night, making our heads turn.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw both my parents running my way before shifting into their enormous wolves mid-air and continuing towards the rogue and me.
Surprisingly, the wolf holding me didn't even flinch, and right then, I knew that something was wrong.
My suspicions were confirmed when my eyes caught onto two things glistening in the air before hitting my parents' bodies, making them fall to the ground on the spot.
Their breathing was ragged, and their hearts were hammering uncontrollably inside their chests.
I screamed loudly and called out for them until I felt my vocal cords about to give out on me.
My yells and screams increased when I saw two big wolves making their way towards them. They were snarling at my parents' fallen bodies with murderous looks on their faces.
My father got onto shaky legs when he noticed the rogues coming at them. As an alpha and father, he couldn't let them win without a fight. He couldn't fail his mate and daughter.
"Dad!" I yelled as he fought back the rogues, my mother following him.
Whatever was flowing their system now made them very weak and unable to fight off the rogues easily.
"Now you watch your parents die," the rogue holding me whispered as the other two held my parents to the ground and snapped their teeth. My screams erupted louder than ever, shaking the whole ground to its core.
I woke up with a loud gasp. Beads of sweat were falling down my face, and my breath was coming out as short pants. I could feel my heart fighting to escape its cage inside my chest. I could hear it pumping in my ears.
The nightmares. They never left me ever since that night, and I don't plan on making them go any time soon.
They made me stronger, made me want to train more and strive more to avenge my parents. They reminded me every day of the faces of my parents' killers. Reminded me of their murderous stares and how they were able to easily destroy a family in a matter of seconds without thinking.
I sighed and rubbed my hands down my face.
I looked at the clock next to my makeshift bed which was made of a single mattress on the floor and a pillow and blanket that Hugh and Gabrielle thankfully got me.
I saw that it was already six a.m., meaning that I had to start preparing breakfast for when everyone woke up.
I went to my bathroom and did my normal morning routine before going out to change.
I had to always wear something baggy so that it didn't show that I'd been practicing. I think if Uncle Adam saw my arms or any other part of my body, he wouldn't be so happy. He'd be scared actually since he'd know that I had the strength to challenge him and get my rightful place as alpha.
Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I headed downstairs and towards the kitchen.
As quietly as possible, I started getting out some pans and placing them on the stove.
After adding oil, I added beef jerky in one pan and then cracked eggs in the other while I put some toast in the toaster. I was a good multi-tasker no doubt.
After about an hour or so of running around in the kitchen, I heard the lazy footsteps of my pack members as they got up from bed and started heading downstairs.
I finished placing everything on the table right as Uncle Adam entered the kitchen.
"Move out of the way," he grumbled as he roughly pushed me. I made myself fall on purpose to show him that I was still the weak slave he thought I was.
Uncle Adam smirked when he saw me on the floor, making Rose growl inside my head at his actions. The alpha beast inside of me wasn't one to be pushed around, but I had no choice.
I fake scrambled to my feet and on hurried toes scurried to the far corner of the kitchen as all the other pack members filled up the place.
I watched them all eat as they talked and laughed together, but my mind was somewhere else altogether.
I focused back on the information that Hugh sent me about the rogues' whereabouts. It was strange how there wasn't any information about them in the werewolf database. They weren't anywhere in the system.
I was snapped out of my thoughts with the scraping of chairs against the floor as most of the pack members started leaving.
I waited for them all to leave before I started clearing the table and washing the dishes.
The day went by like it normally did. Me cleaning and cooking as the others went about with their lives. And when night came and covered the sky with its darkness, that was when human Rose woke up.
I made sure that everyone was sound asleep before heading to Hugh and Gabrielle's room.
The door opened quickly before I got the chance to knock, revealing a smiling Gabrielle.
"Hey. Come on, Hugh is waiting," she said as she led me inside.
Like me, Hugh too had his own secret room with all the computers and gadgets he uses.
Gabrielle and I made it inside the walk-in closet. Gabrielle then pulled open a drawer with what appeared to be socks inside. She slid the black one in the far corner, which caused a makeshift door behind the hanging dresses to slide open.
We entered through the small opening and inside Hugh's secret room.
I heard the makeshift door slide back as I made my way farther inside to where Hugh was sitting on his laptop while munching on a chocolate bar.
"Good evening, April," he greeted as his eyes met mine.
"Evening. Do you have my things ready?" I asked.
Hugh smiled at me as he stood up and started heading towards a box on the table in the far corner.
He pushed the black box towards me, urging me to open it.
I brought the box closer and opened it, revealing a mass of black fabric.
A small smile formed on my lips as my fingers grazed the black belt laying on top of the clothes.
I looked up at Hugh to find him smiling down at me warmly.
"Good luck, Ap."
I smirked as I grabbed the box and started heading to the bathroom to change.
Gabrielle gasped when she saw me coming out after a couple of minutes.
I was wearing black skin-tight pants and a black full-sleeved turtleneck that was tucked inside. I had on black combat boots, a pair of black leather fingerless gloves, and a black mask covering the bottom half of my face.
A black belt was around my waist. It had several small pouches, ready to hold my small weapons.
Hugh approached and started spraying me with an odourless liquid.
"This will help mask your scent but for only twenty-four hours; after that, you'll need another dose," Hugh explained before I got the chance to ask.
I nodded my head and watched as he started loading my weapons.
He placed a small pocketknife inside one of the side pockets, then placed the masking spray in another.
"This is the 'Desert Eagle,'" High stated as he held up a gun. "I loaded it with silver bullets, one shot to the head," he brought the gun to my forehead, "or to the heart," he moved it to my chest where my heart settled, "and the person is a goner," he finished as he locked it in its place inside the gun holder.
"Now those babies are the 'Dragon Swords,'" he continued as he held two long ass swords. They were beautiful, to say the least, and I couldn't deny that they'd probably be my favourite.
"Legend has it that their blades are carved from an ancient dragon's fangs. They're very sharp, April, so you need to be extra careful when using them."
I nodded my head again as Hugh fixed them behind my back.
He then placed both his hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes, his grey eyes intense and stern.
"I want you to be careful out there, April. I'm not ready to lose you, and if anything happens, anything at all, just leave, okay. Run as fast as you can," he ordered sternly.
If it were anyone else, Rose and I would've been furious by how someone dared order us, but we both knew that Hugh was only worried and wanted nothing but our own safety. He was family.
"Don't worry, Hugh," I started. "You won't get rid of me easily."
A small smile formed on his lips as his hands left my shoulders and stepped back where Gabrielle stood by his side.
"I'll always be talking to you through the earpiece, and I'll be able to hear you fine," Hugh stated, to which I nodded once again. "And remember, April, no matter what, don't you ever shift into your wolf, or else they notice your scent and know who you are."
I sighed deeply as I looked at the only two people I had in my life right now. The only ones that mattered. The people who stood by my side this whole time and never left me. I owed them a lot, and I didn't think I'd ever be able to repay them even if I tried my whole life. "Good luck, April," Gabrielle said softly as a small smile formed on her lips.
My own lips curved into a small, grateful smile even though they couldn't see it.
In one swift motion, I turned on my heels, jumped out of the window, and started on my way to find the rogues that killed my parents.