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I went to grab the one Joaquin and I picked out for us and the twins, but Kao snatched it before I could get a grip on it. "Nope, we got this," he said. "Why don't you go take a run to clear your head."
I shook my head. "No, I'm okay, I can do it."
I tried reaching for the tent, but Kao yanked it back in defiance. "I'm serious, Rosie. We can do this."
"Kao's right, Rosie. Let us do this," Kai added, standing next to his twin with our sleeping bag resting on his shoulder.
"Are you guys sure?" I didn't like the idea of leaving them to do all the work, but my wolf was eager to go on that run. It sounded tempting.
"Yes," they said in unison.
Well, how could I argue with that? Rather than trying to, I gave them both a quick kiss to their cheeks. They walked past me to set up our tent for the night while I began undressing. Once I removed all my clothing and set them off to the side, I relaxed myself into the shift, slowly dropping on all fours and feeling the fur, tail and snout sprouting out. When the shift was complete, I shook off the access tingles before my wolf took hold of the reigns and bolted through the wall of trees. It felt so good to burn through all the pent-up stress and heartbreak with a run. Having the cool breeze on my fur and hearing the faint whistling in my ears invigorated me. I ran, I hunted, I fed on a little rabbit, and for a few moments, I forgot about the clusterfuck that was my life.
I found a small pond that I was able to quench my thirst from. Once I felt satisfied, I shifted back into my human skin and plopped down on the grass. I felt more at ease, but it didn't alter the reality of my situation. Seriously, what was I going to do? Was I going to simply run from Pierce for the rest of my life? Travel the world, having to watch my back with every turn? Nobody could possibly live like that. Maybe I could change my name and move to some small town that Pierce wouldn't think to look for me at. Okay, that might work for the short term, but what about after? What would happen if I did that, and Pierce found us?
"Ugh, why me?" I asked to no one in particular, lifting my knees and wrapping my arms around them, then rested my head on top. All this trouble for a lousy gift from Mother Moon. A gift that I had no idea how to use. Why couldn't I have been born a day after the Wolf Moon? Then I wouldn't have been the chosen one. Weren’t there other wolf shifters born on the same day as me? Did that mean they also have the Wolf Moon's gift, or was it just me? If so, why was I chosen? Why give me the responsibility?
Ironic how I was mad at my mom for keeping me in the dark about all this, but now I was starting to wish I remained oblivious to it all. Once again, life was about the choices we made, and I made the choice to come back to Kingsrose. I was meant to face Pierce, and meet Joaquin, Kai and Kao. That felt more like fate than being fated to Pierce. I huffed out a long sigh before I got the sense that I was being watched. My back straightened as I unwrapped myself and whipped around, hoping to spot... something.
"Who's there?" I called out, but no response. Maybe I was losing it. "Anybody out there?"
No verbal response, but I did pick up on the sound of a twigs snapping off to my left. I gasped and jumped to my feet. Thanks to my lupine bloodline, I was able to see perfectly in the dark, but even then, I couldn't pinpoint anything out of the ordinary. I was about to chastise myself for being so paranoid when a white blur flew past my line of sight. I shrieked and jumped back. Don't fucking tell me that these woods were haunted by ghosts. October just began, so it was the perfect time of year for all things haunted, but I really didn't need to deal with ghosts right now. I had enough on my plate to worry about.
Another twig snapped behind me, and I whirled around in time to see someone turning away and walking deeper into the woods. Whoever it was had long white hair that wisped when the stranger turned away.
"Hey!" I called to the person in question, but they ignored me. "Hey, wait a minute!"
I jogged after them, not sure why, but there was something in my gut telling me I had to. A pull of some kind. Whoever it was strolled away at a normal human's pace, so I should've caught up to them by now. Then how did I lose sight of them? Maybe it was a ghost. Ugh, my life.
"Rosie," a voice whispered my name somewhere off to my right. I looked and saw someone stepping out from behind the trees. A girl who looked to be about my age wearing a long black ball gown. It was paired with a lace choker and gloves that went up to her elbows. Her complexion was as alabaster as her silver hair. Her eyes were a stunning shade of gold, which seemed to match the gold thread she had wrapped around her left hand. I was transfixed by her. She wasn't human, that much I could tell. What she was exactly, I couldn't figure out. Something I'd never come across before.
"Rosalinda Mendoza?" she asked me, her voice smooth and airy.
I eyed her cautiously, not knowing if she was a threat or not. "Yes? Who are you, and how do you know my name?"
The woman giggled like me asking her questions was comical. "You've been a very naughty she-wolf, Rosalinda."
As she took tentative steps towards me, I matched with taking steps back. Whoever she was, my creeper radar was going haywire. My wolf also seemed bothered by her, feeling a growl forming in the base of my throat. My fingers curled and shifting to claws.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked with more bite in my tone.
The woman kept her eyes trained on me as she moved closer. "Why don't I show you, instead of telling you."
Before I could so much as speak out a retort, she lifted her left hand with the thread wrapped around it, waved it in front of my face and snapped her fingers. There was a brief flash of white light before everything went dark.
ROSIE
I didn't know what happened to me. The flash nearly blinded me, and it took a few moments for the colored spots to stop dancing in my line of sight. When I could see again, I noticed something must've happened. I wasn't in the same place I was at a second ago. I was fully clothed in the outfit I wore during the full moon run. I was no longer in the middle of the woods where my mates and my brother's pack were setting up camp. Now, I was mere inches away from the rose field back in Kingsrose.
No fucking way! How did I get here? Did that bitch somehow teleport me back?
A surge of panic rushed through me. If I was here, that meant Pierce could get to me. Where was Pierce anyway? And where were Kai and Kao? My brother? Del and her mates? I closed my eyes and tried searching for that mental thread that connected me to the twins, but to my horror, I couldn't feel them. My heart tightened at that. That was impossible, how could I not feel them? I then tried finding my connection with Joaquin. Now that I was here in Kingsrose, the pull should've been stronger, right? Apparently not because I couldn't find him either. Okay, now I was hyperventilating. What the hell was going on?
With not a lot of options, I ran through the field until I spotted the lodge up ahead. I held on to hope that maybe the twins were there waiting for me, or at the very least, I could make sure Joaquin was safe. The run seemed to last forever, but when I finally made it, all the strength in my legs gave out, and I screamed at the horror in front of me. Bodies laid scattered across the yard. Blood splattered and pooled as far as the eyes could see, painting the grass in dark crimson. I felt as if all the air was punched out of my lungs. I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at. Was this the result of my escape plan? No, something in my back of my head was telling me this was different.
Finding some ungodly strength, I picked myself up and shakily walked toward the carcasses. The first couple of bodies I couldn't identify, but I did recognize them enough to know that they were pack members of Kingsrose. Their lifeless bodies looked as if some kind of animal had decided to use them for a scratching post. Thankfully I had an empty stomach, otherwise I would've thrown it up. The first three bodies hadn't hit me as hard, but by the time I got to the fourth one, I felt sick. I covered my mouth to hold back my scream as I stared down wide-eyed at Byron's body. His eyes devoid of color and life. His normally tanned features were an ashen gray and there was a giant hole where his stomach used to be. His organs in tatters.
I barely knew the man, other than the few altercations I had with him when I first moved to Kingsrose. He was strict, and loyal to Alpha Pierce, but he didn't seem like a bad guy. It was a shame that I never had the chance to really get to know him. Now it looked as if I'd never get that chance at all. My eyes squeezed shut as grief hit me hard. Tears running down my cheeks with no end. I didn't expect his death to hit me that hard, but of all the wolves whose death I fantasized—Pierce being at the top of the list—Byron was one I hoped would stick around. Maybe he could've been reasoned with into helping us. Why was his life cut short?
