The Black Rose Pack

Chapter One

Chapter One

11 years later

The metallic smell of blood filled my nose and my ears were assaulted with growls, howls and the sound of breaking bone. I saw smoke fill the sky like great black pillars as I started to walk in no particular direction. As I walked I saw mutilated bodies line my path; a semi decapitated wolf, it's head being held on by a few scraps of skin and muscle; a disemboweled man with his organs thrown several feet away. I shuddered and walked on.

I only seemed to be able to put one foot in front on another, taking each step with care. My raven black hair billowed out behind me as wind carried the scent of burning flesh. The cries of wolves carried through the air, the awful sounds hit me head on. I coughed and spluttered, but kept moving through the black mist that covered the earth around me; a sign of great loss. An ominous feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

My foot slipped, sending me to the ground. I got up using my hands and knees and saw, through a gap in the trees, a fight between three wolves. At first it seemed like an unfair fight because of the uneven numbers but when I looked closer I saw that one wolf was significantly smaller than the other two, obviously stronger, wolves.

Heart pounding, I slowly moved forward, listening intently for other wolves. I moved through the gap in the trees to get a closer look at the fight. I heard ferocious growls and the strangled cries of the younger wolf that made me stop to listen intently. He was bleeding, a deep wound on his neck rushing with blood. That bad feeling immediately made sense. I knew that cry and I knew that wolf. That wolf was my twin brother.

My stomach clenched as I took in a shuddering breath. One of the larger wolves caught my attention, and I literally felt my heart stop. The other one was midnight black, tinted blue, just like I would be. He was larger, showing his dominance; this wolf was my father.

The other wolf wasn’t as big as my dad, but he was an alpha and a strong one. He kept going after Phoenix, taking small, ripping bites around his neck and front legs. Dad kept trying to protect Phoenix, but couldn’t when the other wolf lunged, took ahold of Phoenix’s neck and quickly twisted. The alpha quickly turned to Dad and continued his fight. But my eyes couldn’t leave my brother, who fell, his blood pooling around him. I wanted to rush over to him, but I doubled over in pain, almost screaming out. My chest constricted, my throat closing up as I realised what was happening; my brother was dying, and I was feeling it.

I jumped up from my hiding spot, and as I moved closer, everything seemed to shift around me. My head started to pound; taking one step after another started to get harder, like my feet weighed a ton. The area around me started to become dream like, the colours blending and washing each other out.

I couldn’t see Phoenix anymore, or my dad. Everything seemed to just... vanish.

I screamed. My heart beat fluttered wildly in my chest as I could still feel as if I were seeing what my brother saw. Phoenix. His name popped into my head as I struggled to move around my bed, my legs tangling in the sheets. In my rush to get out of the bed and check that my brother was still breathing, I fell, tumbling to the floor with the sheets still encasing my lower body.

I struggled against them, finally freeing my legs before rushing to the door, where two wolves stood, guarding my door. They gave me warning looks, telling me that if I left their sight, I’d be a dead wolf walking. But my mouth went dry when I tried to talk.

“Dad and Phoenix,” I seemed to splutter out. The two men gave each other looks, both wondering if this was another attempt to join my brother and father in the war. I was desperately hoping that they could see the panic in my eyes, the way my body trembled or, hopefully, the mark that should have scarred my neck. The one mark  that showed the vision I had, and that I had felt everything.