Chapter 1 UNKNOWN SAVIOR
AMBER’S POV
“Don’t kill him!” I yell at the top of my lungs as tears roll down my face. Standing surrounded by blood and chaos, I have no idea what is going on.
All I can tell is that my heart hurts as though being ripped out of its ribcage, and the pain only grows by the minute.
I can’t see the faces, but I feel connected to both parties clashing swords.
I am in love with one, and I love the other. At this point, I don’t know who I am screaming for.
One slash to the arm, another to the abdomen, and I fall to my knees, unable to look away, unable to scream, powerless as two people I love fight to the death.
I let out a piercing scream when a sword is driven into a heart, and the body drops dead on the floor.
“No! No! No! What have you done!!” I wail, rushing to kneel beside the dead body.
I still can’t make out the face, but my heart breaks when recognition strikes me—he has the crest of the Spirit Pack on his arm.
I wake up instantly, panting and sweating as I stare into the darkness, disturbed by the dream I just had.
This is the third one this week, and I still don’t understand it. Each dream is significantly clearer than the last.
Now I see my pack’s crest on the arm of the dead man—a dream that comes on the exact day I am going back home.
“She’s a wolf,” I hear whispers while I remain terribly still with my eyes closed, thinking of a way out of this.
“What’s a she-wolf doing on this route?” I hear another voice ask, and it doesn’t take any more signs for me to know that they are rogues. Their scent fills my nostrils, and I make a conscious effort not to move.
I've heard stories of rogues, and none were good, only stories of how brutal they are to any stray pack member, out of spite and malice of their connection to their packs. The stories told of the agonizing torture they’d inflict before they kill the unfortunate wolf.
I’m the unfortunate wolf.
“She reeks of human, which pack do you think she belongs to?” another asks, and I zone out, now calculating my escape strategy.
Fighting them is not an option, because I can sense that I’m surrounded by at least five rogues, and worse, my wolf isn’t ready for a fight this intense after being suppressed for so long.
I'm in the middle of nowhere, and worse, I can barely find my way home. My chances of escaping feel tragic.
“What did you do that she’s still passed out?” Another asks, bringing me out of my thoughts, and I tense, hoping that they don’t find out that I’m conscious.
The next moment, a hand is wrapped around my neck, lifting me off the floor, goosebumps spread all over my body as I hang, terrified of what could happen. Immediately, my eyes fly open, and an instant glare rests on my face, masking my terror.
“Little bitch, you’ve been awake all along,” the rogue says, tightening his grip on my neck, making it extremely difficult to breathe, but this doesn’t wipe the glare off my face.
“Let – me – go,” I voice out in staccato, feeling air leave my lungs. My wolf growls in repulsion and fury, ready to fight back, and I agree, I’d rather go down breaking a neck or two.
“And why would I do that?” He asks, amused, under the scrutiny of his fellow rogues. In an instant, I bring out my claws and slash the arm wrapped around my neck, drawing blood, leading to my release. Temporarily.
“Bitch! You’ll pay for that,” the injured wolf growls in fury, and his fellows take the hint to begin advancing at me.
We are in a forest, and it’s clear that I’m surrounded, as I see that more rogues have set a boundary around the trees. There’s no way out, there’s no way to fight back, and angry rogues are advancing at me with blood-hungry eyes, claws outstretched, and canines bared.
“Don’t come any closer,” I say fiercely, contrasting the fear I feel, and they just smirk.
In the space of a few seconds that I’m to be torn apart, I think about how I ended up here, how I ditched my escort on my official day to return to my pack, deciding to stay back and party for three days, and choosing to wing it by coming back home alone, aware of the dangers.
Here I am staring at a bunch of ugly faces, which would undoubtedly be the last I see, and the next thing that comes to mind is how much trouble I’d be in if I die. My brother might just kill me again.
Without a second thought, I act on impulse and choose to launch the first attack on them. I bring out my canines and wolf ears, and I leap, owning the element of surprise, only to be distracted mid-air when a loud howl sounds through the forest, startling the rogues and taking the attention off me for a second.
A second that proves the perfect opportunity to make a run for it, and I take it. I begin running without looking back and ignoring the growls and grunts behind me until I hear footsteps closing in on me.
The sound of bones breaking indicates that the rogue is shifting, and in little time, he’s on all fours, quicker and more agile than I. Which makes catching up to me easy and in beat, he leaps and digs his claws into my shoulder, effectively pushing me to the ground.
I stare into his eyes, and his drool drips onto my face as he towers over me, impaling my shoulders with his claw, and I can instantly tell that it’s the rogue I injured.
I try moving, but the searing pain in my shoulders keeps me still and powerless as the rogue’s eyes glimmer victoriously, leaning in with his canines bared, ready to take a bite, which I’m sure will kill me.
Just when I’m sure I’d die from his scent, his ugliness, and his teeth, a fierce growl comes from behind him, and we both look at the wolf standing and staring furiously at him.
He’s beautiful. Blue eyes with white and gray fur, standing with a dominance that would make others shrivel in wariness.
I didn’t look at him when he howled earlier, but now, I can’t take my eyes off him, even as he immediately pounces on the rogue who pays no attention to me and begins fighting for his life.
I watch him intently as, with two slashes and a single bite, he puts the ugly wolf down and stands with his blood on his lips and his eyes now fixed on.
I stay still and expectant as he slowly walks closer to me, sniffing his way up my body from my toes past my thighs, my stomach, and my chest till he spots the wounds on my shoulder. Goosebumps spread all over my body as I become terribly aware of his closeness.
He lets out a soft growl as though apologizing for the injury before he begins licking them slowly.
My shoulder begins to heal, and finally, I can move my hand to do what I’ve been longing for since I saw him. I lift my hand and stroke his fur, stunned by his beauty. His wolf is even more attractive than mine, and his eyes spellbind me as I caress him.
He leans into my touch, nuzzling my cheek with his nose, and I smile, not once thinking about how he’s a total stranger and how intimate this is becoming, and mostly not of the fact that I’m sure he’s not from my pack, which means he’s from one of the enemy packs.
“Who are you?” I ask curiously, and this seems to snap him out of his daze as he immediately stiffens before moving away from my touch. Away from me.
And with a look that holds both confusion and curiosity, he turns and runs through the trees, leaving me with my wounds healed and my mind scrambled.
As I watch him leav
e, I suddenly feel… cold.
FIND A MATE