Savior of the Wolves
Prologue + Chapter 1

Prologue

Jessica only had to survive a few more days to her eighteenth birthday. She would run away with her insurance money, escape her father’s abuse, and go to college. Since her mom died and her stepmom fled, she had suffered his abuse alone. But she had hope for a life her mom wanted for her...until her father did the unthinkable.

She had no idea that evil like this existed as she felt her life slip away from her. Something dormant in her told her to fight back, and she finally did. But it was too late. As she lay on the cool forest floor, blood oozing down her head, she knew he had won.

She waited for the final blow, but instead, she heard her father’s horrified yell...and a low menacing growl.

She awoke somewhere that couldn’t exist, surrounded by caring people including two brothers who were especially interested in her well-being.

As a new world unraveled around her, she learned the existence of paranormals and that she wasn’t as far from their world as she once believed. She learned that fate had a plan for us all and that evil, human and paranormal, would stop at nothing to take it from you. She also learned that whether they were her savior, or she was theirs...was yet to be seen.

Chapter 1

Aiden’s POV

Another day, just like the last…few thousand. I was stuck on repeat. That was exactly how I had felt for ten years now...since the Scourge war.

I got up before the sun and made my way to the dining hall. There were few people in there that early and I enjoyed the peace and quiet of my solitude as I ate by the door, nearest to the outside.

As always, my mind wandered while I watched the world awake. The forest all around us seemed foreign lately. Like it no longer belonged to us. This had always been our kingdom but if that were true, my life would look very different. I quickly ate and discreetly got out of there.

I made my way across the field to “the firm” to start my training as the fog was beginning to lift. It gave my weapons a mythical appearance as the remaining fog clung to the blade and wisped around it as though it had its own purpose. Everyone saw these long training sessions at the firm as my commitment. But they didn’t know me at all. This was all I had. The anger that I kept at bay, it was the one place I could let it go.

As others made their way out, the beta sons immediately found me to spar. We shifted to our wolves, and I forgot anyone else was around. I didn’t try to hurt anyone. But like me, they healed quickly. So, no one frowned upon it. I was just stronger than anyone in the pack, including my father, and it was understood that those who trained with me would get hurt. But those who trained with me would get better and stronger too, so they didn’t shy away from the risks. I never tried to cause serious injury. I never went for a kill. EVER. I just had to be my best. I needed them to be their best too. It wasn’t personal. This was about survival now. Survival in the forest…the one just feet away from where we battled each other.

I went numb as I trained. I felt nothing. I didn’t even feel tired anymore. The other wolves seemed so impressed by my endurance. They had no idea that this numbness felt isolating. I have felt alone for a while now, regardless of how many people tried to be by my side.

After morning training, I quickly bathed, dressed the part, and hurried to my next assignment.

Mornings started on the compound with detail changes, perimeter checks, school assembly, training, and general shift changes.

Then the Alpha meeting took place. Every single day.

The scheduled Alpha meetings were always business attire and held in my father’s conference room daily. It was strategically located on the first floor of the main house with secret exits that only those members knew about. One more safeguard that was necessary.

My brother, as usual, was there before me and I patted his shoulder as I walked by him and pulled out the next chair. Josh was the oldest and therefore took the closest seat to our father.

Our jobs were to become Alphas, like our father. We may have been born into it, but our father isn’t vain like others. He doesn’t want to just hand it over one day. Goddess forbid that one day we died, and Josh had to take over suddenly. No, he wanted us to be trained. Ready. And he wanted to be the one to teach us. Not just life. Not just mistakes. His leadership and guidance would make a better pack. That was his legacy.

So we listened and learned what it meant to run a pack by shadowing him. And we’ve been doing so since we transitioned. For me, it’s been three years. Josh…five. And every day since I first sat in this chair, I have admired our father even more.

Meetings lasted between an hour or two and then everyone dispersed to their assignments.

After today’s meeting adjourned, Josh waited at the door, and I fell into step with him as we walked to the dining hall.

The hall could hold well over 1000 members, but werewolves never liked to wait for food. So, over time, certain groups picked varying times to eat, and it worked. Most of the time it wasn’t too crowded.

Except when Josh and I came.

It just so happened to be running over with pack members as we entered the hall.

Again.

We methodically played our roles as the Alpha’s sons around the others our age. We were a tight community after all. But I haven’t been feeling “it.” The connect. So, I nodded if I realized I was being addressed and smiled when I wasn’t sure. But I ate quickly.

Then I left alone…with only a lot of stares following me.

This became my routine lately. I wanted to check on mom. It’s not as though I couldn’t link to her and ask, “Hey Mom, how’s your day?” But she deserved more. She absolutely deserved my presence. It also kept her from worrying about me as much.

One less thing to weigh on my own mind.

I found her easily with her large detail following close behind.

“Busy day?” she asked immediately. Her brilliant smile was enough to calm some of the inner imbalance I have been feeling today.

“Nope. Things are quiet,” I casually confessed.

“Good,” she smiled as her detail backed up to allow us privacy. These men have known me since I was born and were like family. So much about our relationships were based on respect, kindness, and instinct. They understood our roles in the pack, but they respected our role as a family. They distanced themselves discreetly and I hardly noticed them do it anymore.

Mom sat in the grass and placed her arms around her bent knees as I sat down beside her. I filled her in on the meeting with dad. Nothing significant. We talked about everything even though she could just as easily have read my mind and known but she told me long ago that she didn’t use her gift that way. She was too kind to just randomly invade someone’s privacy. That’s why the goddess gave special gifts to Lunas. The Alpha may be the leader and protector of the pack, but the Lunas were chosen because of their heart. No one worked harder, cared deeper, or loved more than a Luna. There was no better person in the entire pack. With that love and care was the strongest trust. A Luna would never defile the trust we had in her unless it was for the safety of the pack.

Today, as though she had something on her mind, she asked about the females around the compound, and I gave her an eye roll. Mostly because I was not talking about this with her, but secondly, it wasn’t as though I would find my mate in any of them. It couldn’t be. Ever. I mean, deep down she knew this, but I think it felt like something normal to ask. Things weren’t normal anymore, so I guess we were all just feeling our way through the unknowns.

I had a lot of friends that were girls. A few made it obvious that they would accept more from me. They knew the hierarchy of the pack. They knew my responsibilities. But they also knew, just like mom, that the world had changed. This meant it could’ve changed for them. I just didn’t know enough to give anyone answers. The girls or my mom. So I avoided a lot of awkward topics with both.

“Bailey’s good?”

“You’ve seen her more recently than I have mom. You tell me?” I said, lifting one eyebrow at her.

Bailey was as great as most of the girls here, I supposed. I heard talk. The guys thought she was beautiful. I didn’t really see her that way though. Not even a little. Maybe I never let myself. We had been friends since we were born but that didn’t mean I had a clue if I could care for her. She wasn’t a female noble, so I hadn’t considered it. Not even once. I had never been drawn to her, and from what I’ve been told, it should hit me like a ton of bricks. A life-changing, unexpected need for this person. A need that couldn’t, wouldn’t, go away. There were a lot of attractive girls here. I grew up with them too. I noticed their strong arms and legs as I waited to train at times. After all, they’re wolves. Parts filled out well on the females that transitioned recently like me. Luckily, I didn’t have to suffer long with their new physiques. I wasn’t blind. Of course I noticed. But was I about to discuss my urges with mom? Hell no! I wasn’t acting on them either. If I couldn’t have them as a mate, why would I even try? I would hurt them by giving them hope. That would hurt me too. I would be disrespecting them, their families, and the pack. But more importantly if my mate was out there somewhere…one day it might hurt her.

I always had it in the back of my mind now…a strong pack would survive. A weak one…well, we heard the nightmares about those packs.

So, fulfilling a selfish urge stayed pushed away because I couldn’t just act like the young wolves. The responsibility of being an Alpha’s son was too enormous. Instead, I stayed preoccupied with the constant threat of this war going on.

Now, almost as though they rehearsed it, my dad appeared. He glanced at me briefly. The look was heavy with gratitude, but it didn’t linger. His gaze was too urgently pulled toward my mother. I often wondered if she secretly told him when our visit was wrapping up. Did he impatiently wait so as not to interrupt my time with her? I was beginning to understand that there were some things between them that I just will never know. I found comfort in that though.

I refrained from shaking my head at them in playfulness. My brother, sister, and I had made fun of them for years...ever since we were old enough to understand that they weren’t normal. They were only separated when duties called for it. They never apologized for it either. Like the fact that they were up before everyone else to spend time alone with each other. Well, except for the kitchen crew who rotated each week preparing their breakfast. It was served in their bedroom. “We always start our day together,” my father told us. Then, as soon as my father left for his meetings, Mom headed to the school.

As our Luna, Mom cared for the sick or injured, guided the school, and handled the scheduling of all the work on the compound. Once her workday began, you would seldom see her without her large leatherbound schedule book in her hands. She knew who was out and where. At all times.

Then my father found her.

It was not hard to do. She was his mate. He could find her on the other side of the world.

As I helped mom to her feet, my father reached his hand out to touch her side. To brace her.

“Emma.”

The word sounded like a release for him, as though he had been holding it in for hours. His smile grew as she stared at him. He braced her as she stood. It was delicate and something I desperately wanted.

“Thank you, Ethan,” she said in a tone that was solely for him.

What they had was rare. What they were was chosen. Their love was so deep that they could not only smell it, but they could taste it. It coursed through them like their own blood. They were so much more than lovers. It was as though they were created for each other. They were always their best self together.

And I wanted that.

Why wouldn’t I?

They imprinted almost the second that they met. It was that instant. Mom still got emotional if she talked about when they met. She had only turned a few days prior when my father was drawn to her. He was twenty-one years old and said it felt like an eternity before he found her. And he cherished every year with her since that day.

And my destiny was looking nothing like that.

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