Chapter 1 An Escape From Fate
"I know you resent me father, but marrying me off to that monster is just pure evil!" Fernanda tearfully protested against her father's order.
Her mind had been in turmoil ever since her father, Alpha Jordan, told her that she would be getting married to Sebastian Kozlov, the most feared Lycan king in Lunareth.
She had not finished processing what she had just heard her father say when he told her again, that the king was coming to take her to his palace tonight and wed her tommorow morning.
"You dare raise your voice at me!" He growled in anger at his daughter who still stood her ground undeterred by his fury. Her step mother, Caroline, who was quietly enjoying the drama with a smirk on, quickly rushed towards him and placed her hand on his chest to calm him down.
"Oh Fernanda, how could your father possibly be evil towards you? he only wants the best for you dear." Caroline said and Fernanda couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes.
She knew it was Caroline who urged him to take such a step. The woman was filled with hypocrisy but her father was too blinded by love to see that.
It's been ten years since Fernanda's mother passed away and her father never stopped blaming Fernanda for her death, things got worse when Caroline came into their mourning lives and seduced her father into marrying her, it took less than a year before Alpha Jordan took her in as his new wife.
Caroline's hate for Fernanda was fueled by her inability to birth a child for him because they weren't fated together as mates, it was one of the reasons why she coerced him to give off Fernanda as wife to the ruthless Lycan King Sebastian.
"It was you wasn't it? You told him to marry me off you cunning witch!" Fernanda screamed at Caroline, "Watch your tone Fernanda! how dare you speak to your stepmother like that?" Alpha Jordan yelled at his daughter once again, holding Caroline closer to him.
The woman grabbed the opportunity to burst into a fit crocodile tears, "All I've ever done was in your best interest, how can I possibly put you in harm's way?"
Alpha Jordan immediately pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry my love, forgive her Fernanda's insensitivity." He told her while staring daggers at his daughter.
Fernanda who could no longer stand the sight before her, ran into her room before letting out the sobs she had been holding in, "Please save me mother, save me from these people." She cried onto her pillow.
Thunder cackled in the sky as the rain got heavier and the wind more violent. The windows of her room flew open from the force of the angry wind, blowing off the candlelight and her hair off her face too.
Hope blossomed in Fernanda's chest as she quickly got up and went towards the window, she looked down and got scared when she saw how far down the ground was to the window.
Jumping off was the only possible way she could think of as an escape to her cruel fate.
Fernanda would rather be a slave than be his wife. She grabbed pieces of clothes and firmly tied them all together. When she was done with that, she carefully threw the joint pieces down the window and was relieved when it landed on the wet ground.
Her heartbeat raced wildly as the overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety washed over her, she had no idea where to escape to. But if escaping from the clutches of her evil step mother and her uncaring father would grant her freedom and a bit of sanity, then it was surely worth risking.
Fernanda slowly descended down from the window of her room, clutching onto the tightened fabrics for dear life. Her hands were wet and slippery, making each hold difficult for her.
She groaned in anguish when she almost lost her grip, her eyes widened with fear when she saw how far she still was from the ground. Slipping from up there could mean death for her and if at all she was going to die, she didn't want it to be from a jump off her window.
A subtle sigh of relief escaped her lips when her feet finally came in contact with the cold and wet ground, finally she had overcame the first obstacle in her way of escaping.
Her legs hastily carried her across the gates of their mansion and into the dark forest. She knew it was a terrible decision as the forest always scared her in the day moreso at night, but she didn't want to risk getting seen by anyone during her escape.
"Ouch! Oh no." She exclaimed in pain when a sharp twig pierced into her foot. She should have known this was going to happen but it's too late for any regrets as she had already gone deeper into the forest.
The rain only got heavier and made it harder for her to see through the already dark forest. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the faint sound of a howl from a far distance.
Rogue werewolves always lurked around the deep parts of the forests in the kingdom and Fernanda wasn't sure if whether or not she had trespassed into their territory. She hoped she hadn't as she hurried her steps looking for a pathway that might lead her out of the dark forest.
A rustle behind her stopped her in her tracks, Fernanda turned around to see what it was and was taken aback by what she saw. A dark figure of a man, not far from her, loomed behind the trees.
Fernanda could hear her heartbeat thumping loudly in her chest, she couldn't see the man's face as it was too dark but he had red glowy eyes and the way his chest heaved with each ragged breath told her he was dangerous.
Fernanda had no time to think, she sprang into a run as soon as the man shifted into his wolf form. She ran as fast as she could screaming on top of her voice but the Werewolf was faster and it didn't help that she tripped and fell onto the wet ground.
The werewolf also stopped running, it let out a vicious snarl which made Fernanda tremble with fear. "Please don't harm me," she pleaded on top of her voice, hoping the angry looking wolf would spare her life even if it doesn't seem like it at the moment.
Deep down Fernanda knew she had no one except for herself to blame for her current predicament, but if dying from a werewolf attack will prevent her from marrying Sebastian, then so be it.
The rogue werewolf took some few steps back, getting ready to pounce. Fernanda, after locking eyes with it, shut them as if both her and the rogue wolf had come to a mutual agreement upon her death. Hearing the werewolf steps increasing faster as it ran in her direction made her brace herself for what would definitely be a painful and unfortunate way to die.
But she felt nothing instead, the only thing she heard was another growl, one which was louder and much terrifying than the rogue's. The next thing she heard was far much worse as it sounded like the rogue was being attacked by another creature in the dark.
The horrifying sounds finally came to a halt but Fernanda didn't dare open her eyes. She still sensed danger, the presence of something far more scarier than her previous attacker. She scrambled backwards as it neared her, throwing a broken branch at whatever the entity was.
"Stay away from me! Whatever you are, stay back!" She yelled with her eyes still shut, suddenly she didn't want to die anymore. Not when she'd be getting killed by something more scarier.
When she heard nothing, her eyes slowly shifted open and immediately turn wide as saucers when she saw the largest and majestically looking beast she had ever set her eyes upon in her entire life, staring down at her.
Her stomach dropped when she realized who it was, fur as white as snow, eyes golden and gleaming like the sun, and a deep scar etched across it's left eye.
It was Sebastian Kozlov.