I pant heavily. I am drenched in sweat and the blood of my deceased parents. Only ten minutes ago, I was enjoying dinner with Mom, Dad, Kaden and his Beta parents along with Lorenzo, now I am running as far away as I can from the only home I know. It all went wrong when Mommy started coughing and Daddy fell off his chair and onto the ground.

"Wolfsbane!" Someone had cried, but it was too late. I held my parents for the last time that evening.

A breeze tickles my tear-stained cheeks. I curl up into a ball and cry. Mommy. Daddy. Gone.

"Oh how I love seeing you cry, little one. Just a bit harder now." A raspy voice says.

I look up and see an incredibly grotesque and almost unrecognizable face. His skin was half decomposed, half burnt.

Kenneth.

"Mia won't save you this time."

His voice sounds as of two people were speaking. His eyes then flashed a bright silver grey colour.

"I'll fiind you!" A feminine voice says in sing-song.

The air gets knocked out of my lungs as a horrifying cackle leaves Kenneth's lopsided mouth.

My throat burns as breathing gets more and more difficult. I am suffocating! I gasp in a futile attempt to force air into my lungs. Blood pours out of my mouth like a running tap. I choke on my own blood.

No! This can't be the end!

"No, it's the beginning."

I lay clutching my throat with bloody hands. The hot, red liquid pools around me. I can't breathe. I'm dying.

"Chloe!"

"Your highness!"

I jolt up with a start. I am laying in a puddle of water on the training grounds.

Shoot! I passed out during combat training. The pack is going to get a kick out of this. No pun intended.

"Chloe, are you okay?" Anastasia asks as she hands me a towel.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I think I'll just be heading off to the castle to cool down." I say while wiping my face.

I slowly get up and regain my balance. I run off in human form to the ends of the training fields and shift behind the bushes. My pink tank top and black gym shorts tear into pieces.

I could get used to being let out this often.

Will you shut up, Kasey? We gotta go.

I run off into the forest, picking up speed with every passing second. The wind flies into my fur, my silvery white paws hit the ground. It really does feel good to let off some steam by running in the woods.

After about an hour, I slow down. The exhaustion from today's training finally kicks in. I find a large oak tree and sit down in wolf form. I lay my head on my paws.

I sit still, taking in my surroundings.

I watch a squirrel collect nuts and bring them back to his little hollow in a tree. I listen to the harmonious birdsong that rings in the air. I take in the refreshing smell of oak leaves and wild berries. A single browning leaf lands on my almost white head.

In a world as busy as ours, peace and silence seldom comes.

I let out a yawn and shake my head.

So peaceful. So quiet.

Too quiet.

Right you are. Kasey concludes.

I stay on the floor but keep my guard up.

Snap!

My ears shoot up and my tail wags vigorously. I whip my head to the direction of the snapping twig.

I lift my snout and sniff the air.

A single, faint scent is present.

No, not rogue. It's a familiar scent. Like the smell of someone you pass by daily, but never meet.

I get up on all fours and slowly stalk towards the potential danger.

A growl comes from behind a wall of shrubs and trees.

Suddenly, a big brown and white furred wolf leaps from the foliage. It's jaws aim at my neck, but I swiftly dodge out of the way.

The wolf growls further at me. I let out a snarl of my own. It is a male wolf, almost as large as I am, but I have Alpha blood, he doesn't. I am genetically stronger.

It's actually pretty stupid. But, hey, I love a good challenge.

The wolf lunges at me. I wait till the last second before leaping away and bite down on his left hind leg.

I go deeper till I feel the bone crack. He whimpers before thrashing around, knocking me off balance.

I was caught off guard, okay? You go train for three hours and see how your fight game goes afterwards.

He wastes no time in pouncing onto my back and digs his sharp blade-like claws into my back.

I smell blood. My blood.

I launch myself upwards and manage to stick a landing. I give him a warning growl.

No more little Miss nice princess. You mess with the bull, you get the horns. Well, wolf and claws in this case, but-

Less yapping, more fighting!

This time I am the first to attack. He tries to dodge to the right, but I anticipate his move and intercept it.

My jaws land on his throat. I sink my teeth into his flesh and give him the chance to submit.

He growls instead. I plunge deeper and draw blood. He thrashes around and tries to kick me off, but I am larger and I literally have him on a death grip.

A sharp set of claws scratch my side. I see another wolf in my peripheral vision. This one is a female, small, but speed always makes up for size. And I've learnt never to underestimate a she-wolf. She's clearly overestimating herself if she thinks that she can take me on.

I rip out a chunk of fur and some flesh out of the male wolf and move on to the red furred female that clawed at me.

My back is already healing quite fast, thankfully.

She snarls at me and aims for my throat. I dodge swiftly to my left and her snout collides with the floor.

She quickly gets up though, and dashes to my side. I claw at her. Effectively landing a deep cut into her back. She growls and aims for my front legs.

She captures my left paw with her jaws and wastes no time biting down on it. I howl in pain.

Suddenly another wolf makes an appearance. It has midnight black fur with a small patch of white on it's underside. It's a male. His coat shines as he stalks towards us, growling.

The red wolf loses focus and diverts her attention to him. I use her idiocy to advantage and manage to pin her down.

I bite down on her side, causing enough damage to temporarily immobilise her, but not enough to kill her.

The black wolf stalks near me. I stand in a defensive stance, ready for attack. He is roughly the same size as me. I can only assume that he is an alpha. Only an alpha's wolf is anywhere near as big as mine. But the only wolf destined to be bigger than mine is my mate. Enough about that! Focus!

He leaps high into the air. I am about to jump, but I notice that he is not going at me, he's going me and attacking the chestnut brown wolf that was creeping up behind me.

He tears the brown wolf to shreds, leaving blood and fur strewn everywhere. It is a horrendous sight, but not new to me.

The black wolf pads over to mine and shows his neck in submission. His eyes are a golden colour, showing that the wolf is in control, not the human part.

I bark at him as a sign of approval and lick the side of his face, which I assume is the equivalent to a thank you kiss on the cheek in human form.

He yips in appreciation and licks my face before nuzzling his snout into my neck. I purr at the feeling. It should feel weird about the intimate gestures, but strange enough, it feels relaxing.

He backs away and walks into the direction of a nearby bush. He stops and looks back at me, a sign for me to follow him. I limp over to where he was and he points with his paw at a bundle of clothes.

Oh right. I should shift back to my human form so my injuries can heal quicker.

I shift back, but I fall to the ground. My left hand is bleeding at littered with bite marks. My side wound hurts, but at least my back doesn't hurt. I manage to dress myself in a single oversized t-shirt that ended mid thigh.

The wolf lowers his head down, motioning for me to get on his back. I waste no second accepting his kind offer. I grip hard at the fur with my right hand.

The wolf races to the pack hospital not so far from the castle.

He gently lets me off his back once we get near the big, white building.

He nuzzles his large snout into my small neck. I giggle a little bit. It feels right.

"Your highness?" A nurse says from the entrance.

"On my way, Kiera."

I wave goodbye to the wolf that saved my life. He yips in pure happiness and pads off.

I smile to myself like an idiot, but I do not care at this point. I am happy and feel warm and fuzzy inside.