Forever and Always

Forever and Always: Prologue

Prologue

Violet's POV

It was the sound of frantic screaming was what woke me up that night. I was in my brother's tent, fast asleep, until the terrible sounds began. My brother Jon, who was older than me by six years, was still asleep on his bed, oblivious to everything, his snoring almost louder than the noises coming from outside. My wolf's voice resonated within me, already on edge from the danger.

Go and wake him up.

Following her orders, I shifted off my bed, pulled on a pair of boots and began to shake him.

"Jon," I murmured, my hands moving his shoulders roughly back and forth. He let out a sleepy sigh, but his eyes were firmly shut. "Jon!" I repeated, louder. It was more successful this time, and he shot up in the bed, his fist flying out. It headed straight for my face, but I moved out of the way just in time, startled.

"What the hell!" I shouted, and his eyes focused on me. They were apologetic. "Sorry," he said, sheepishly. "I thought you were a danger."

"Uh-huh?" I replied, shaking my head. "Well you need to get up. Now."

He looked up at me, confused, but listened to me nevertheless when he realised that I wasn't messing around.

Suddenly all business, he put on some shoes and looked at me without really seeing. His ears were perked and I wondered what the noises sounded like to him.

"Vi, stay here."

I began to protest. "But-"

"Don't argue with me on this. I need to assess the danger and I can't do that if I'm worrying about you."

Realising that this wasn't an argument I was going to win with words, I nodded at him. I was glad that he couldn't read my thoughts because I had no intention to stay in the tent.

HIs eyes bore into mine. "Violet, I'm serious. Stay here or you'll have me to answer to." He growled just for effect. Then he ran out of the tent, trembling with the force of the Change. So, maybe I had spoken too soon. Jon had an uncanny ability to read my mind.

Pushing a long black curl behind my ear, I decided to listen to my older brother and sat back down on my bed. Not because I was afraid of him- I wasn't. I stayed because after the death of our parents by a powerful and vindictive Alpha, I knew Jon felt like he was doing a crap parenting job.

He wanted to protect me, but I was no longer the small girl that I had been. I was a woman, and I could fight for myself. I didn't need a man to stand in front of me and fight my battles. The idea actually insulted me.

It was just a one-off, I told myself. Just for tonight, I would let Jon feel like he was protecting me. I suppose he had earned it after everything we'd been through.

That said, it was extremely difficult for me to sit back and do nothing to sate the curiosity that was burning within me and my wolf. I could tell that she wanted me to disobey Jon's orders, but I wasn't prepared to do that. As usual, defying my wolf caused an itching, irritating sensation beneath my skin, but I stood firm. I wasn't giving in.

Just look out of the tent, she urged me, and I considered it. Technically, it would sate my curiosity without actually breaking Jon's orders. And the sounds were getting louder, making me want to check it out even more.

Decision made, I stood up off the bed and walked over to the entrance of the tent. Slowly, I pulled the zip open just a crack. At first, I saw nothing, only heard the confusingly near sounds. Reassured slightly, I was about to take a step outside when two shapes jumped in front of the tent, landing on the ground with a loud thud. Wolves.

Startled, I screamed before I realised what I was doing. However, when I looked back up, I realised that they hadn't so much as glanced in my direction. They were fighting viciously, tearing at each other's throat in a clear attempt to kill. One wolf with fur the colour of sand took a bite into the other wolf's black fur and spewed the blood onto the floor as if it were spit.

It totally grossed me out until I realised that I recognised the sand-coloured wolf as the Alpha of my pack: Alpha Bennett. It surprised me that I hadn't noticed earlier. This realisation also cleared something else up in my mind. If the black wolf was fighting the Alpha of my pack, then he must also be an Alpha.

Or a rogue, my wolf chipped in. She was right.

What it also meant was that what I was witnessing was a fight to the death, something which scared and excited me simultaneously. My wolf applauded me for my observation and I rolled my eyes despite myself.

All of a sudden, a face appeared in front of mine and for the second time in a minute, I screamed, almost jumping out of my skin. Then Jon entered the tent with his hand clapped over my mouth.

"Shh," he muttered roughly, holding a finger to his own lips. "Pack your things. We're leaving. Now."

This time, I didn't bother arguing. I just packed what little I had and followed Jon out of the tent. It didn't take me long.

As we stepped out of the tent, we tried to be as stealthy as possible, but we soon realised that there was no need. Everybody was too caught up in their vicious fighting to even notice us.

The woods greeted us as if we were its children and I smiled up at the crescent moon. Jon turned to me, already quivering. "I'm going to shift and when I do, I want you to tie your bag to my back. Got it?"

I nodded. "Where are we going?"

Jon shook his head. "I've not figured that out yet."

My eyebrows furrowed. That was a good start. "So what's the plan then?"

Despite all the noises in the background, the tense atmosphere, the danger, my brother smiled. When he spoke, there was a glint in his eye and I just knew that his next words would change our futures forever.

"We run."

***

AN: Picture of Violet on the side ;P