Chapter 1

Tara

My whole life just scrambled to ashes.

This morning my life was perfect aside from the fact that I was missing a mate but it was alright. I was happy and everything was perfect. My life was perfect. I had loving parents, a sister who troubled me so much but I loved her terribly, and a whole pack that was loving and caring.

And now.... Well, now I have nothing.

From the time I crossed the border of our territory, fear consumed me. What I saw with my naked eyes was hard to believe. It was gruesome.

We had been attacked.

My pack had been attacked.

There is much blood, all the way from the border to the packhouse. Blood and bodies everywhere. Men, women, and children including all the warriors, their necks are slit, and some snaped. Everyone I love is gone.

Everything is destroyed.

My whole family is gone.

Maybe someone in the packhouse is alive. I try to convince myself. I make my way to the packhouse running as fast as I can on my two legs. Tears are falling along my face as I run. My heart is beating very fast.

More fear consumes me when I reach the packhouse. At the entrance are two dead bodies of our guards. This is bad, it's too quiet. I can't hear a single heartbeat. From the time I became of age, Ruby and I have been able to hear and feel heartbeats but right now we can't hear one.

Maybe they escaped. Says Ruby.

"They couldn't have left without me," I say in a muffled voice.

Let us check the family room and then their rooms.

"Okay."

I move through the packhouse that has bodies everywhere. My heart stops when I see my father's lifeless body. I rush to where he is and bury my head on his chest.

"Noooooooooooooo this can't be happening." I cry out in pain.

I look at his body which is now already pale. He has a lot of claw marks all over his neck and chest. I know he put up a good fight.

I gently lay his body down and then start searching, looking for two others. Where is Tessa, where is my mother?

Tara, over there.

Tessa's small body, in mom's arms with both their throats slit with claw marks.

Who did this?

"I have no idea, Ruby." More tears fall.

I fall to my knees and cry out in pain at the sight of all the bodies covering the ground in the family room.

Why?

All the energy I have left in me leaves my body. I crawl to my mother and sister's bodies and hug them both. Why...….why kill my family and leave me all alone?

How did everything change so fast?

I left everyone alive yesterday and today, everyone is gone.

When I woke up this morning in Allison's room everything was normal, it was a beautiful bright day. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the weather was awesome.

I wish I had enough time to go to the beach with Allison. We both love the beach, toes in the sand, the relaxing sound of waves, our bodies getting a natural tan, and of course taking hundreds of photos for us to upload on Instagram later.

Unfortunately, I needed to get back home because I promised my mother I would be back before dad realized I was gone. Dad was never going to allow me to leave the territory. He has been so protective since I turned 18 years old.

Everything happened so fast on my 18th birthday. I was counting down to my birthday because I was going to finally meet my wolf. Anxiety was killing me for so long as I waited to turn 18. While I was impatiently waiting, my mother was planning a huge party. She said it was a great opportunity for me to meet my mate as well.

That's the part I was not looking forward to. Being the oldest child of the Alpha and Luna of the Lotus Pack, I trained a lot and prepared to be Luna one day. My late uncle's son Scott was ready to take over as Alpha when my father was ready to step down.

Scott may be my cousin but my parents raised him as their son from the age of 5 after his parents were killed during a raid. I was only a year old then, I don't even remember my aunt and uncle but we have a lot of their photos in the packhouse.

My 18th birthday came and I finally met Ruby. A beautiful ginger red wolf with brown eyes. I was so happy I shifted an hour after midnight. Scott and Allison were with me and I was very excited. My parents woke up due to the nose, they were both happy and congratulated me.

Allison and Scott are as close as I am with either one of them. I thought they would be each other's mates at some point, but unfortunately, they aren't. Scott is 22 years old while Allison is 3 months older than I am. When they both turned 18, neither one of them found their mate and is still searching like me. Although I am not searching.

The party my mother planned went on and so many people were invited. A lot of young and suitable young men were in attendance and my mother made sure I interacted with all of them but ruby and I never found our mate that night. I guess my mate was either dead or from a faraway pack.

After that, my life went on. I graduated high school and started planning for college. Of course, my father did not want me to go to college, so I made a deal with him. The deal was that if I didn't find my mate after 4 months, he would then allow me to commute to a nearby college.

It's been 3 weeks and 5 days since we made that deal and I still haven't found my mate. Last night I left home after asking mom if I could visit Allison in their town. Allison is my best friend and she is part of another pack that is more than 200 miles from our pack. I left home just before the sunset to catch the last train. Allison was waiting for me at the train station. After she picked me we went to one of our favorite restaurants in her town and had a quick snack although we both knew that her mother was preparing something for dinner.

We drove home right after in her red mini cooper. Her parents were excited to have me over although I didn't mention to them that only my mother knew about my visit. I called mom to let her know about my trip but she never picked up the call and so I sent her a message telling her how I moved and that I missed and love her, dad, and my little sister Tessa.

Little did I know that was the last time I would be telling her that.

Allison and I stayed up all night chatting and preparing for her departure to university. Her parents allowed her to apply for school while she was still searching for her mate. She is leaving in a week. Allison wants to study medicine. After both of us got tired, we eventually fell asleep after 3 in the morning and slept until 10 am.

I panicked when I woke up because I needed to get back home before Dad was really angry. I bet he noticed I wasn't home this morning at breakfast. I said my goodbyes to Allison's parents and then we rushed to the train station with Allison.

My train was on time, and I was back in our town before noon. The moment I left the train station, I wanted to pass through a supermarket and get Tessa her favorite chocolate, but then something was off. The edge to get home was growing and I rushed home to get there as soon as possible.

And here I am, hugging Tessa's lifeless body while laying on my mother's chest. Perhaps it's a bad dream and I will wake up from it,

Or not…..