Bright lights shone down on my closed eyes, making me see the red of my eyelids. I groaned and tried to roll away from the brightness, only to cry out in pain as my neck burst into flames of agony that spread to the rest of my body. There was a shuffling next to the bed, then someone laid their hand on my forehead. I pried my eyes open to look up at my brother.
"How are you feeling, Legna?"
"Hurts..."
"What does?"
"Neck, head..." I blinked, then frowned. "Why do I hurt?"
"You don't remember the crash?"
It was as if his words opened a floodgate and the memories poured in. There was the deer, then crashing the first time- my head hitting the window. Then Tyler pushing the car back into the road. The semi-truck. The second crash. Tyler climbing into the car to get me.
"Did Tyler pull me out?"
"No, he couldn't get the door to bend back so he could safely move you. Thankfully, the driver of the semi-truck was a werewolf and he ripped the door away and pulled you out while Tyler called for help."
"We aren't in Cliff Pack territory anymore, right?"
" Correct. Legna, wel-"
"Ah, she's awake." A nurse walked into the room, cutting off Caleb. "Go find the Alpha. He wants to speak with you both."
"Yes ma'am. Where would he be?"
She gave him directions to the Alpha's office, then turned back to me as Caleb walked out. "I know that you must be in pain dear, but if I give you meds, you will be asleep before your brother talks to our Alpha."
"I understand."
"For some reason, you aren't healing as quickly as we usually do."
I frowned, not understanding what she meant. How could I suddenly not heal at werewolf speed? Before I could say anything, the door opened and my brother strolled back in, followed by the cutest boy I'd seen in ages. He had black hair, golden eyes and tanned skin. If I hadn't known that he was the Alpha, it would've been obvious due to the way he commanded a room.
"Hello Legna. I'm sorry we had to meet this way."
"With me stuck in an infirmary?"
"Yes, like that." He laughed, the sound rich and beautiful to my ears. "Anyways, my name is Camdyn White, and I'm Alpha of the River Crest Pack."
I watched him as he stepped further into the room, stopped, sniffed the air, and frowned. His golden eyes slid shut as he sniffed again, walking towards me. My heart raced as Caleb stiffened and grasped my hand almost painfully in his. At the foot of the bed, Camdyn stood, a frown marring his face, and slowly opened his eyes to stare down at me.
"You smell of vampire."
I looked up at Caleb to see him avoiding my eyes. My hand squeezed his and he jerked it away from me. Turning my eyes back to Camdyn, I caught him leaning forward over me and breathing deeply through his nose.
"Go sniff up another tree, buddy!" I shoved him back, my fingers brushing over his arm as he moved away. "I'm not a toy, Mr. White," I sneered his name, glaring at him. "If you have a question, just ask."
He was frozen, staring at me while something primal danced in his eyes. I wondered if I'd angered him enough to bring his wolf surging forward to the surface. Noticing the look in Camdyn's eyes, my brother pulled me out of the bed and safely behind him. the Alpha's eyes narrowed dangerously on Caleb and a growl filled the room.
"Mine."
The word had just barely left the Alpha's mouth when he burst into his wolf form and snarled at my brother. Reacting on instinct, my brother fell forward and was a wolf before I could blink. Ripped pieces of clothing rained down around the room as the two wolves growled at each other. Camdyn's midnight black wolf tried to circle my brother's brown wolf, but Caleb refused to move from his position before me.
There was a flurry of motion and I scrambled back, watching in horror as the two wolves clawed and snapped at each other. A whimper of pain came from the brown wolf and I gasped as I saw the blood flowing from his left foreleg. Anger filled me and I felt my canines lengthen as I shifted into a crouch, growling at the black wolf. My fingers prickled, a clear sign that my claws were about to come out.
In a second, I was laying flat on my back, the brown wolf standing over me. His muddy brown eyes glared down at me, scolding me for stepping between two battling wolves. I tried to hold his gaze, show him that he can't order me around, but he was the more dominant wolf and I had to turn my head away, revealing my bared throat as a sign of submission. I hated doing that. I hated having to submit to his more dominant nature. It was a blow to my ego that I didn't need rescuing, or help.
The black wolf flung itself at us and my claws broke out of my hands. I stared at the wolf, baring my fangs and growling. It ignored me and both wolves went rolling with the momentum of the crash. As soon as the black wolf, Camdyn, was on his feet, he ran back to me, standing protectively over me. He sniffed my neck and whined softly before gently licking at my skin. I froze and looked over at Caleb.
My brother phased back to his human form and stood up, pulling the sheet off the bed. He knew something I didn't. Never before has my brother been shy about his body. I felt the wolf above me relax and seconds later, he was human again. He stood and pulled me up with him, settling me to stand beside him. It happened when his arm settled around my waist.
The wolf in me raised her head and sniffed, then jumped to her feet, and howled longingly. I felt an overwhelming urge to press my body against the Alpha's and... I shook my head to clear it. On the next full moon I'll finally pahse, but until then, my wolf is going to be anxious and restless. She liked the feeling of the Alpha's possessive grip, but I was confused. It felt good, more than it should, and it scared me that I felt this way for a stranger.
"Legna?"
My head snapped up to find my brother watching me. "What's wrong with me?"
"I don't-"
"Stop lying, Caleb! I know that you know something! Why won't you tell me?" I shook off Camdyn's arm, ignoring my wolf's whines, and moved so that I was standing before Caleb. "Tell me, brother, why are you keeping secrets from me? We're in this together, or we're supposed to be, but I'm feeling very left out."
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to keep you safe. I thought that if you didn't know, you'd be safer. What I refused to see was that by you not understanding your lineage, you'd be careless and arrogant and risk getting caught. I should have told you, I know that, so I'm going to inform you now. But I don't want you to interrupt until I'm done, okay?"
"Okay."
He sighed and looked over to the Alpha at my back. "I guess you're not leaving because of her and because you're the Alpha and you need to know what happens on your territory and the danger we bring."
"Correct. Let's hear this."
"First, I'll start with my dad and our mom's story. You know that Mom was the Luna of the Moonlight Pack, but she was in an arranged marriage to my father so that the alliance between the packs would stay strong. She was the daughter of the Yellow Cliff Pack's Alpha. A few years after the marriage, they had me. Father was adamant about my learning to fight and taught me his tricks and skills whenever he was free. When I turned five, a bunch of vampires attacked us and a war began. After a few weeks of fighting, Mom got word that Father had died.
"She left for the battlefront immediately, and demanded an audience with the Vampire leader. The commander of the small army met with her, but they quickly discovered that they were mates, so-"
"Wait, what do you mean by mates?"
"She doesn't know about mates?" Camdyn cut off my brother's answer, his golden eyes blazing as he glared at my brother over my head. Caleb ignored him and answered my question.
"Legna, mates are what humans refer to as soul mates. They are the one person who can complete you, and make you truly happy."
"Seriously?" I looked back and forth between them. They both had a serious expression and were watching me warily. "Oh, that's wacked. I don't think just one person can make you that happy. There's no absolute need for a mate when you could just eat some ice cream and feel the same happiness. Personally, I don't see the need for one, but that's just my opinion."
Caleb looked like he was trying to hold back laughter as his eyes danced from me to Camdyn. I turned to find the Alpha who looked like he'd been slapped. "Um, Legna? Watch what you say in front of people. Especially in front of an Alpha... who happens to be-"
"Waiting for my mate." Camdyn cut into Caleb's sentence while shooting his a look. "But enough of this. Finish your story."
Caleb laughed and nodded. "Okay, okay. As I was saying, they were mates, the Commander of the vampire army and Mom. It's very unusual for a werewolf and a vampire to be mates because they are opposites. But, it's undoubtedly impossible for them to procreate, which is where you come in. After two years of meeting up in secret, Mom found out that she was pregnant. She was going to tell her mate, Gideon Smithe, but he never showed up to where they'd arranged to meet. Later, she found out that his father had been killed and he'd taken over the spot as King of the Vampires.
"When you were born, a vampire- Eric, actually- came and tried to take you. Mom was too weak to fight and so I had to. Eric ended up dropping us both, so I picked you up and ran. That's how it all started. Eric informed your father that we'd gotten away and Gideon demanded that we were found and killed. He'd been told that the daughter of a werewolf who was born on February 29th at St. Michael's Hospital would be the determining factor in a war between the two races. This child holds in her hands the possibility to wipe out an entire side- either vampire or werewolf. The prophecy refers to you, Legna. That's why we had to run. The vampires knew about you and wanted you dead.
"You are dangerous, sister, because you are something impossible. Vampires and werewolves cannot cross-breed. It's a rule of nature. Yet here you stand. You're half-vamp, half-were. That's why you could get past Eric's magic and why you heal slower and why Camdyn here said you smell of vampires."
I stared at him, not believing what I'd just heard. "That's not true. If it was that powerful, I wouldn't have to submit to orders."
"Your wolf side isn't as dominant as ours, but you came from royal blood on both sides of your family. In time, probably when your wolf fully awakens and you phase, you will be stronger than us and won't be forced into submission any longer."
Backing away, my legs hit the bed and I collapsed back onto it, staring up at the ceiling. My head reeled with all the information I'd learned. Then a thought occurred to me and I was back on my feet, angrier than I'd ever been at my brother.
"He killed her, didn't he?" I kept my voice soft, not wanting to alert the entire pack house about our lives, our drama. When Caleb looked confused, I stormed up to him and pushed against his chest, sending his stumbling back into the wall. "Eric killed Mom, didn't he?"
"Yes."
"And you just let him get away?"
"We had to-"
"But he killed Mom! We could have ended him! He was so close to us! And you just let him get away?"
"Legna-"
"He killed her, took her away from us, from me. You don't understand do you? You don't get how damn hard it was growing up without a mother. She spent seven years with you and I got less than a day! I needed my mom at time when I couldn't go to you, but she wasn't there because that monster killed her. And you let him get away?!"
"She was my mother, too! You're right, I did have her for seven years, but that makes it harder because I can remember her. I knew her and that made her death that much harder. You didn't get to know her. You don't know what it's like to have a mom to look up to, to ask for help. You're in love with the idea of her, but not her. So grow up sis, 'cause you won't ever have a mom and you need to accept that."
I gaped at him, my anger dissipating into tears. Caleb took a deep breath and tried to reach out for me, but I pushed his hands away, turned, and ran. I don't remember getting out of the pack house, but I suddenly found myself running through the woods. Shouts sounded in the distance, but quickly drew silent as I gained distance. Tears streamed down over my cheeks and wind whipped my white-blonde hair against my face.
Suddenly the ground disappeared from beneath my feet and I tumbled into a river. The current dragged me swiftly along and I relaxed, letting it take me away. My eyes closed as tears continued their journey down my face. There was the sound of rushing wind, then hands gripped my arms and hauled me out of the water. I was thrown of a shoulder and raced through the woods.
"Let go of me!"
"No can do. Just hang in there."
The familiar, cold voice sent chills racing up my spine. I tried to move my arms, but found them bound by ropes. Huh, when did that happen? My feet were also bound together, making me immobile and therefore, harmless. I looked around and notice that snow covered the ground. That can't be right, it's summer. My head lifted to look over my shoulder. A huge castle rested atop a massive hill and I gasped.
"Like it? The King's father built it two millennia befoe the King himself was born."
"Why take me here? Why not kill me on sight, Eric?"
"King's orders. He might be my brother, but he's the leader and even I can't defy him."
"Gideon's you brother? That means you're-" I bit my tongue, stopping the words 'my uncle' from slipping out. Who knows what he'd do if I'd said that.
"I'm what?"
"The baby of the family."
His hand gripped my leg just as he burst into the throne room. the fingers around my calf squeezed painfully and I squirmed out of his hold and onto the ground. I twisted until my now elongated claw sliced through the rope binding my feet. Then I hooked my legs through the loop of my arms and brought my wrists to my mouth, using my fangs to break the rope on my wrists. Once freed, I turned to Eric, eyes blazing.
"You. You killed my mom."
"She deserved it."
"No, she didn't!"
Eric slapped me when I had brought back my fisted hand, preparing to punch him. "You don't get to hit me, child."
"Nor you me. Do that again and I'll show you the literal meaning of wearing your ass as a hat."
"I'd like to see you try."
"Fine then." I stomped closer to him. "This is payback, you-"
"Enough!" A deep voice thundered in the room and Eric spun around, bowing his head. "Move, brother, so that I can see the pup that causes us much trouble."
"Hello Gideon. Nice to finally meet you. I'd like to ask you to leave me alone and stop sending your vampires after me. It's getting kind of old. Also, do you talk like you're thousands of years old for a reason?"
Gideon, my father, watched me with amused hazel eyes that shone from beneath a mop of brown hair. I gave it to my mom, she knew how to pick 'em. Handsome, but ignorant. That seemed to be her type. He was pale, like all the other vampires, but he had some color to his skin, so that it almost matched mine. But besides that, there was no family resemblance, which was probably for the better.
"Pup, to what extent do you know about yourself?"
"I know it all, thanks to my brother. Tell me something, Your Highness, do you know who I am at all?"
His gaze raked over me before he shook his head. "Sorry, no, I don't. Why don't you introduce yourself?"
"Good idea." I turned my head to grin sarcastically at Eric. "Shoo, you vamp. This isn't about you."
"He stays."
"Very well. Just don't yell at me when I say I tried to help." I shrugged, then my eyes landed on a stained glass window of a vampire standing over a dead wolf's body. "Funny thing, mates, don't you think? Sounded to me like they are always there for each other, to protect each other. But wolves and vamps die everyday, so I guess mates aren't there when they're needed most." My eyes landed on Gideon who was frozen, staring at the same window I'd been looking at.
"What are you saying?"
"Just rambling. Anyways, my name is Legna and I have a brother, well actually, he's my half-brother. So, since I was born I've been on the run. I never knew why we were chased or what had happened 17 years ago in St. Michael's on February 29th. All I knew was that there was a wolf in my head, vampires chased my brother and I, and my mother was dead. I know who my father is, but I don't know him personally. Recently I was hit by a semi-truck in a car crash and ended up in another pack's territory. Today, when I woke up, my brother told me everything. About how my existence is impossible. My brother and the Alpha fought over me and then the Alpha laid some sort of claim on me after and... Oh, I'm so obtuse! That poor fool is my mate! Ah, crap. I really messed up this time.
"Whatever, I guess. My point is that I know the whole story. You don't."
"And what is the whole story?"
"Gideon... I really shouldn't tell you. Not while Eric's in the room. You might kill kim."
"What? Why?"
"He was the one who killed my mother."
"So?"
I slowly raised my eyes to his. "My brother's name is Caleb." Recognition flashed in his eyes, but I saw that he knew the name, not the person. "And our last name... is Summers."