Kai POV

Royal Hunters Pack.

I go by many identities…

Some say I am ruthless and do not have blood flowing through me, other’s say I am a reincarnation of the king of death sent to live about werewolves as punishment. Some say I am a human who was punished by the universe but none of these identities stood out more than the last one…

That I was a monster – a monster who had killed his father, to claim the Alpha title.

There was a time when I used to get bothered by the rumours but the more, I lived, the more I slowly got used to these rumours. These days, I don’t bother myself trying to explain how to become a better person. I just wanted to live my life, protect my pack… that’s all,”.

I gazed out from the window of my bedroom to the expanse of my pack lands, loving the way the moon hung low and full over the dense forest, casting long shadows across the land. My pack was like an impenetrable fortress – I made sure of that.

The scent of my Beta Liam arriving wafted up to my nose. His footsteps echoed in the eerie quiet outside the hall. It was quite late; I wondered what could have brought him to my room so late at night. I heard him take a deep breath before knocking.

“Come in!” I said without turning.

Liam pushed open the doors and stepped into my study.

“Why is it so dark here?” he complained turning on the light “Are you some sort of dark lord?” he complained again, “How can you survive staying in the dark for so long? Looking at you now, I could almost believe that you killed your father to claim the Alpha title, goddess?” Liam hissed.

“I think you’re the reason why I’m yet to take a Luna. The way you nag at me is enough to make me stay off women,” I retorted, turning slightly to face him. What do you want again? And please don’t tell me it’s another list of eligible women you need me to go out on a date with?”

“Well!” he stuttered guiltily. “They’re saying that we might be in a relationship and I cannot stand that sort of rumour. You’re not even the kind of guy I’d date if I was into men,”.

“Nice try, Liam,” I chuckled leaving the window to join him “What news, Liam?” I asked, my voice a low rumble.

“Celeste asked me to deliver a message. She said the birds just brought her the information a few minutes ago and it’s from the neighbouring pack – Silver Moon Pack,”.

Celeste was my sister – twin sister. She was born with a special and rare ability to communicate with the elements. She could speak to birds, trees, leaves… whatever that has a natural existence. It gave our pack an edge over every other pack.

I leaned forward, my interest piqued. “Go on,”.

“She says the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack had driven his daughter out of the pack. He stripped her of her identity and declared her a rogue,”.

A slow, smile spread across my face. “Interesting, very interesting. And what of the girl now?” I asked.

I saw Liam shift uncomfortably. “She’s currently on the run, Alpha. Our monitors picked up her scent and it seems she’s heading in the direction of our pack. And …” he paused “She’s not alone. rogues are pursuing her,”.

“I thought we got rid of every one of them outside our territory,” I sighed “Gosh! This is so frustrating. Gather a team of our best men, I want that girl around and brought to me, Alive and unharmed,”.

“And the rogues sir?” Liam asked.

I smiled, “Kill them all,”.

As Liam hurried to carry out my orders, I turned and gazed out of the window at the moonlit forest. Was this what my mother had meant when she sent me a message earlier today about some prophecy? Saying it was going to be fulfilled today.

‘The one who bears the mark of the Moon has the fate of the Gemini and in her flows the blood of ancient Lycan King. It’ll come in an unexpected form… either as a man or as a woman but he who harbours her, shall evoke the blessings of the Universe,’.

That was the ancient prophecy… was it this girl? Could she be the one that could bring liberation to me and my people? I wondered silently. The only way to find out was to bring her alive to the pack.

While I pondered on the words of the prophecy, my phone dinged, with a notification. When I opened it, my brows clouded with anger as I stared at the pictures my mom had sent me. They were pictures of women and the data. I sighed, fighting the urge to hurl my phone to the wall, my mom was on my neck to get married but I couldn’t just find the right woman yet and she was not giving up soon.

Trying to take my mind off it, I decided to join the team going after the rogue and hoping I would also find the girl. I ran out of the pack house and shifted into my wolf. I raced through the forest, loving the way the gentle evening felt on my fur with the moon shining gently on me.

The night air felt strange, I couldn’t place my finger on it. While I stood, trying to figure out the best way to search, my car drove past. I could smell out at least ten rogue wolves chasing after the car. That must be the girl but why was she in a car for moon’s sake?

When with her wolf, she could be faster.

Ignoring my intrusive thoughts, I started running in the direction of the car. The rogues were gaining in on her by the minute and I was a bit far. I needed to do something to distract them.

As I got ready to howl, up ahead, one of the rogues suddenly darted across the road in front of her. Instinctively, she swerved, the car’s tyres screeching in protest. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought she would flip but somehow, she managed to regain control

I was gaining in on the rogues. Without thinking, I reached for the first one, slitting its throat with my claws, making it deep enough to kill it. I grabbed two more rogues at once, snapping their necks with the flick of my wrist.

The woman was driving faster than before now. I wish I could reach out to her and ask her to slow down but I was a bit far. I grabbed three more rogues and snapped their necks. I had like four more rogues to kill. They were still chasing after her like their lives depended on it.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw one of the rogue darts from the corner of the forest and slammed itself into the side of the car. The impact sent the car spiralling out of control as it went off the road, and into the dense forest.

A low, menacing growl escaped my lips and, in a flash, I reached the four rogues and in unison, I tore them apart. I was angry… and I couldn’t even tell why. I looked up to the moon, and howled… it was louder than my usual howl and carried thrice as much strength as it did before plus I didn’t know why I just did that.

I started towards the valley the car had gone into… when I was a few distance away, I noticed about 10 rogues had gathered on the upturned vehicle, looking for a way to bring her out, so they could feast on her.

Something pumped into me… the kind of burst of energy I had felt go through me, some moments ago.

“I don’t mind ripping some heads over their shoulders of these rogues,” I said as I raced towards them. When I got closer… the anger in me at the sight seemed to fill up every part of my body, until I felt they would burst.

Turning to the moon again which was strange… I howled… Lightening cracked through the sky as thunder clapped… when I lowered my face, hoping to reach out for the first rogue… but they had all disappeared and instead, staring at me with fear in her eyes…

Was the most beautiful woman I’ve seen.

Lily POV

Tears blurred my vision as Golden Moon Pack slowly disappeared behind me.

I was trying so much to be strong… to not feel, but goddess! I’ve been bottling everything up for far too long and I am tired. My knuckles whitened as I gripped the steering wheel, my mind a whirlwind of emotions.

The events of the past 24 hours played on repeat in my head like a cruel, never-ending movie.

I had sincerely hoped that my 18th birthday would be my big break. I would finally feel get my wolf – I thought I could finally belong. Instead, I’d found my boyfriend – no, ex-boyfriend now – tangled in the sheet with my sister. The betrayal cut deep… it was a wound that would never heal.

Then came the shocking truth surrounding my birth and my eminent exile from the pack – as a Rogue. The word tasted bitter on my tongue. How quickly my dad had turned on me, all because I hadn’t shifted. Because I was weak.

I knew I could have insisted on leaving tomorrow… but I was didn’t want to spend another night in the same space with them. I needed a break. Shaking my head to dispel the memories, I tried to figure out where I was.

I’ve been driving for hours; I didn’t know where to go… I knew no one, I had no friends but all I wanted was to put in enough distance between me and Golden Moon Pack. But as the lonely road stretched, Lucas’s warning echoed in my mind.

“Don’t leave, Lily. You don’t know what’s out there,”.

For a moment, I wondered if it was because he still cared or because he was under duress by Vanessa and my father but the memory of how cold his eyes were as he stood by while the Alpha – my own father- banished me, squashed the thoughts.

“There can’t be anything worse out there than what I’m leaving behind,” I muttered to myself, trying to fight the fear that was slowly creeping into my heart.

As I drove, a shrill chirping caught my attention. Sticking my head outside the window of my car to check, I noticed a flock of birds following my car. Their cries seemed almost frantic, as if they were trying to warn me of something and it was strange to see white birds at this time of the night.

Sticking my head back inside, I grumbled “Great, just what I need. Feathered stalkers,” I eyed them warily, hoping they wouldn’t leave their droppings on my car. Several times, I stuck out my hand and tried to shoo them away but it didn’t work either. Giving up, I continued driving.

Finally, I drove through the pack border and into the dense forest that laid in front of it. An eerie silence filled the night, the birds that had been following me seemed to have faded into the darkness. All that was left, was the noise of my rickety car and the eerie silence.

The hairs at the back of my neck stood on its end, my finger tightened on the wheel as my eyes darted from tree to tree, scanning for any of movement. Stories of the forest filled with Wild Werebear, Mountain Lions, Werecats or even Werefoxes and who knows what else could be lurking in the shadows and it didn’t help that I didn’t have a wolf of my own making me feel painfully vulnerable.

I tried to drive as fast at my car could go when suddenly, a twig snapped somewhere in the darkness. My heart doubled its pounding as my foot instinctively pressed harder on the gas. The car surged forward but it didn’t seem to be going as fast as I wanted. I wound up the windows and continued driving, so focused ahead that I almost missed the flash of movement in my rearview mirror. Almost…

My heart leaped into my throat as I caught the massive sizes of wolves racing through the trees behind me. I peered closer discovering they were werewolves. In the mirror, I squinted, trying to check if I would be able to identify their packs but I couldn’t pause long enough to stare. I was driving.

But they were wolves alright and they were gaining fast on me.

“No, no, no,” I chanted, panic rising in my chest. This couldn’t be happening. I’d just left our pack land and I hadn’t noticed them. So, where did they all come from?

A snarl ripped through the quiet forest, closer than I’d expected. I screamed as a hulking figure launched itself at my car, massive paw landing on the hood with enough force to dent the metal.

Time seemed to slow as I locked eyes with the beast. Its lips were pulled back in a vicious snarl, yellow fangs gleamed in the moonlight that peaked through the trees in the forest. This wasn’t a pack wolf – it had no mark on its forehead.

I froze - It was a Rogue!

And from the gleam in its eyes and sinister smile that curved on its lips and the way it was thumping on my windshield, I knew it was trying to kill me.

The windshield of my car cracked as it landed on it with the cracks spreading like spiderwebs across the glass and I knew it was only a matter of second before it shattered completely.

Suddenly, I came alive. Acting on pure instinct, I jerked the wheel hard to the left. The car swerved violently, as the tires screeched in protest. The sudden movement caught the wolve off guard, sending it tumbling off the hood and into the road.

But my victory was short-lived. The ones behind me were running almost side by side with my car. More wolves emerged from the forest, I could hear them snapping at the car’s tires, their thunderous paws and the hungry growls that filled the night air was all the indication I needed to confirm I was supposed to be their feast tonight.

Tears streamed down my face as I pushed the old car to its limits. My eyes shifted to the gas gauge – it was running low. Suddenly, the engine hissed, whining in protest, it was overheating, but I couldn’t slow down. Not now. Now when death was at my door.

“Please!” I sobbed though I wasn’t sure who I was begging. The moon goddess? The universe? Anyone who would listen. “Please, I can’t die like this,”.