Before you read this chapter...
1: thank you for voting for this book even though you voted for the other copy! It really means a lot to me! I'm surprised at the amount of votes it already has!
2: I'm running short on the chapters that I have stacked up to update (there's only like 2 left) but I don't want to stop updating for you guys all together so I'm going to start doing Votes/comments for updates just so I don't run out of chapters to give you guys. They will be posted at the end of each chapter and don't worry cause they won't be that hard to reach.
3: if you didn't already know this book will contain 100 chapters and it has a sequel! (Plus a bonus story with about 20 chapters, a prequel, and a spin off series) I know I might be getting a head of myself but I love this idea so much! There's so much to tell!
4: please know that this chapter contains mature themes and is not to be taken lightly. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable so please read at you own risk.
Crown pack: Alpha Robert
Ronan's POV
My paws hit the ground creating a soothing rhythm. It's the only calming thing going on around me right now.
Blood is covering the tips of my fur, dead bodies are lying in the distance behind me including my own sister and now smoke fills the air.
Once I get a whiff of the smoke I start running faster. In no time I'm standing in front of the burning Council cabin.
I told them having their cabin in my woods was a bad idea.
I shift into my human form when I see a distressed Isaac walking towards me. His hair is in tangles around his head and his shirt and pants are torn. There's blood splattered on his face and hands.
I let myself feel proud of him for fighting so well tonight, but only for a few seconds.
He hands me a pair of jeans while saying, "They're all dead, the humans. We carried every body we could find and put them in the basement. Even our own," he says somberly. "We turned on the gas and when you say the word we will throw the torches in. There will be no evidence this night ever happened."
"How many of ours," I ask, even though I don't want to know the answer. One death from our pack is hard enough to deal with but I know there was more than that.
"Five sir."
I take a deep breath trying to calm my wolf. We will mourn for them later. Right now I have to find someone.
"And Cora?" I can only hope that she's somewhere safe with that human boy. If he kept her safe for this long then I'll think about not killing him for kissing her.
"No one has found her sir." Isaac looks down to ground to avoid any eye contact. "But we found the human boy still alive in the basement."
I reach out and grab Isaac by the throat, maintaining eye contact. I notice people all around staring us down but they're stupid if they interfere while I'm this angry. "What do you mean you found him here? He was supposed to be with Cora! He was supposed to keep her safe!"
"He did," says a voice.
I turn to see Milo standing beside me, his arms crossed, his fingers and chin covered in blood. He looks between Isaac and I with disappointment. I huff and drop him, letting him fall to the ground, gasping for air.
"Then where is she," I roar, my claws extending. My wolf won't calm down until we hold her in our arms.
"The council was going to kill her and according to Calix, he stopped them just in time and fought them all off. He even killed a few for her," he says with admiration for the human male. "He told her to run while he fought off his father, of whom he also killed apparently. He told her to go to a bridge that crossed over the creek."
"I know the one." I turn to head in the direction of the small bridge but a hand wrapped around my arm stops me.
"Ronan," Milo says softly, "she would be dead by now if it weren't for him. You owe him."
I scoff, yanking my arm away. "And what exactly do I owe him Milo? Money? Treasure? A pot of fucking gold?"
"A chance at surviving," he whispers, looking over his shoulder.
I follow his gaze to where a figure is lying on the cold dirt, not moving, just staring up at the stars in the sky. Even from here I can see the blood seeping from his stomach and onto the ground. He doesn't have much time left.
"What happened to him?" I make my way over to the human male, noticing the stench of death coming off of him and the way his body shudders.
"Like I said," Milo sighed, "he fought for your mate with his life."
I look from my best friend down to the dying boy. "What do you want me to do?"
Milo rests a shaking hand on my shoulder. "You know what I want you to do."
"But Milo-"
He holds up his hand, forcing me to stop. "Only those turned by strong wolves stand a chance at surviving. You are his only hope right now Ronan."
"You would really want to put him through what you went through," I ask incredulously. How could he wish someone else to live the nightmares he did?
He shakes his head, looking down at the dying boy. "I would never wish that upon my worst enemy. But he will not be tortured like I was. We will not throw him in a cage and prod and poke him every day. We will teach him how to be a wolf, just like you taught me."
"This was never his fight."
"But still he fought and fought well," Milo whispers.
"Fine, I'll turn him, but there is no guarantee that his body will survive the transition." I only know how to turn a human into a werewolf because of what Milo told me he experienced. One thing is for sure, this is going to hurt like hell for the human.
I crouch beside him and extend my claws. His eyes, however dull and slowly fading from life, shoot to my fingers. I see some shock and fear written in his eyes. Good, that means he still has enough strength to have emotions, which means he might be strong enough to survive this.
I rest my claws upon his chest, smiling to myself. No I won't kill him, since he did save my mate, but I will make him feel the same pain I felt when he kissed Cora.
"This is going to hurt human," I sneer, "very, very, much."
I dig my claws into his heart, feeling his life source literally at my fingertips. His screams fill the empty spaces between the trees of the forest.
I bite my other hand and cover Calix's mouth with it, letting my blood drip down his throat as he continues to scream in pain.
"Now repeat after me," Milo exclaims, a shake in his voice. "A gharlo iao opeo. A gharlo iao opeo."
I lick my lips, trying to refrain from ripping Calix's heart right out of his chest. One wrong move and I will.
"A gharlo iao opeo. A gharlo iao opeo." I wait in stillness as Calix's body continues to shake in fear and pain. "Nothing is happening!"
"You have to keep saying it until something does!"
I growl angrily. "I have better things to do than to save this human! I have to find my mate and my father!"
"Ronan," Milo yells angrily, his face red from anger. The scar that runs along his face is flaming as his heart races in panic and fury.
"A gharlo iao opeo. A gharlo iao opeo. A gharlo iao opeo," I chant over and over again. Time flies by us in an instant and what felt like seconds were minutes. Suddenly Calix's body freezes and his eyes shoot open. I watch in amazement as the soft green of his eyes shift into bright gold.
"It's over," Milo sighs in relief. "It worked."
Carefully and slowly I retract my claws from his heart then I pull my bloody hand away from his mouth. I watch in amazement as the wound on his stomach heals before my eyes, as if he were just like any other werewolf. The holes I made upon his chest cover up, leaving only traces of blood behind.
I stand, wiping my hands against my jeans. "Well since that's over with I'm going to go find my mate. You go to my parent's house and find my father. I just know he's hiding out in his office, scared like the coward he is."
"What are you going to do Ronan?"
With all eyes and ears on me I look at Milo and say, "I'm going to kill the Alpha." No one argues or jumps at my throat in order to protect. I think they want him dead just as much as I do. I wasn't the only one he betrayed and I wasn't the only one who lost members of the pack, those I consider family.
"Isaac," I call and in an instant he's in front of me ready to take any order I give him. "Burn down the cabin. Burn it all down."
Cora's POV
It's not long before I turn around and realize that I'm lost. I was supposed to find the small clearing and the bridge that ran over the creek but it deemed harder than I thought.
What was I thinking telling Calix I knew where I was going? I had no clue where it was, seeing as how I've only been once. In my panicked haze I ran through the woods with no sense of direction. I was only trying to get far away from the cabin as I could.
Away from the murderers.
Who in this town isn't a murderer, I wonder.
I spin in circles, trying to catch any glimpse of a trail through the trees. When it's proven impossible I sink to the ground, letting my tears flow down my cheeks.
My boyfriend isn't even human. I've been living with a monster for the summer. He's killed people . . .
Every good feeling I had for him before flies out the window when I realize that the man I love is not the man he truly is. He isn't even a man.
Let Tim Drazen kill Ronan, let them burn him and his family at the stake. For what he did to those people, ripping their throats out with his teeth, he deserves it. He deserves all the pain in the world.
I pull at my hair from the roots, thinking I'm finally beginning to go mad. What did I do in my past life that made me fall in love with a monster?
"I . . . I can't," I sob, shaking my head back and forth, tears coating my cheeks and chin. "Please," I beg to an unknown force. I don't even know what I want, what I'm begging for. Maybe for my head to stop hurting, for my mind to clear, or for this town to be thousands of miles behind me?
"Shhh now child, crying doesn't get anyone anywhere in this world."
I look up, trying to find the owner of the voice. Yards away, hidden underneath the shadows of a tree is Robert Victor, Ronan's father.
Another monster.
"Get away from me," I hiss, backing up until my back hits a tree.
He steps from the shadows, letting the moon illuminate his naked body.
Why the hell is he naked? Is he going to . . . ?
He cocks his head to the side as my body shakes in fear. I should get up and make a run for it. I should scream at the top of my lungs until someone can come save me. Except I can't. My throat is closed shut in fear. My body is glued to the forest ground, not daring to move an inch as the monster nears me.
"I thought I told you Cora. The woods are a dangerous place, filled with monsters beyond your wildest dreams."
I clench my eyes shut, wishing that when I open them he'll be gone and I'll be back home in Arizona, tucked away safely in my bed.
This is all a bad dream, from the very beginning.
I feel Robert's hot breath against my face, making me tremor in horror. Why can't I move? Why can't I defend myself when I so desperately need to?
His fingers grip my chin in a tight grip. "Open your eyes Cora," he sneers, "I want to look into them as I thrust into you. How fun will it be for my son to find his mate not only killed but broken?"
My eyes snap open on their own accord. Please no . . .
A sadistic smile takes over his face right before he reaches for my hands, pinning them above my head. I'm very aware that he is angry and naked in front of me, while also pinning me down. This can't be happening.
"Help," I scream in terror, "somebody help!"
Robert laughs, shaking his head. "Nobody is going to help you sweet girl. They're all too busy right now."
This is Ronan's fault, I keep thinking as Robert's fingers brush over my cheek bones. If I never met Ronan, if he didn't let me move in with him, if he never drove me home from the carnival that night, then I would have never found myself in this situation. Robert, Tim, the strange man in the woods, they're all seeking vengeance because Ronan, finding me to be his weakest link.
"Please," I cry, trying to find an ounce of mercy within this monster. "You don't want to do this."
Robert laughs, throwing his head back. "You're so naïve and so damn innocent. How . . . sexy. Damn I'm going to enjoy watching my pathetic son's face as he lays eyes on you. I bet he'll even cry."
Robert wraps a hand around my throat then throws me to the ground beside him. Before I can even get my breath back Robert straddles my waist, pinning my arms against my stomach. I watch in horror as claws elongate from his fingertips. They're long and yellow and dirty. Disgusting.
In one swift movement he rips my shorts down the middle.
"Ronan should have mated you when he had the chance," he muses, leaning his face down to mine. I shiver and turn my head, sobs racking my body.
How did I find myself in this situation?
"But I guess I can do it instead," he cackles, swiping his tongue against my neck. The tears come tenfold as his tongue and lips attack my throat. With both my hands pinned and my legs stuck under his massive weight I can't do anything but scream in terror as his chubby, rough fingers slide into my underwear.
"Please," I sob, knowing no one can hear me. We're alone in the middle of the woods, no life around us, not even birds or critters. No one is going to come help me.
His fingers touch the most precious part of me the same time his teeth dig into my neck. I scream in pain and terror.
Please make it end, please just end this!
He lifts his head from my neck, his fingers staying in the same place, moving back and forth, making me want to puke. My necklace is placed between his red stained canines, the same necklace his son gave to me not too long ago.
He smiles then tosses the necklace aside. "My son is really missing out," he chuckles darkly removing his hand from between my legs. I sigh in relief although the pain in my neck is still there and very much real. I don't know what I should be more concerned about? My bleeding neck or my dignity.
The relief I feel only lasts a second, nothing more, when Robert strips me of my underwear as well. He maneuvers himself so he's putting most of his weight against me while being between my legs, so I'm immobile.
I shake my head, heavy tears running down my face. Am I even still crying? Am I screaming? I don't know anymore. I just want this to end.
"Scream for me sweet heart," he hisses, digging his claws into my waist. "Maybe if we're lucky my son will be able to hear you. And don't forget to keep your eyes-"
One second he's above me, one hand on my wrists, the other one on my waist, looking down at me with a chilling smile and haunting blue eyes. But the next, he's gone.
I look to the side to see him and another figure beneath the shadow of a tree. The moon does not cast down her light upon them, not letting me see my savior. All I see are silhouettes. Two men fighting, one clearly having the upper hand as he pummels his fists into the man below him. I watch in quiet wonder as the victor gets to his feet and leaves the moaning man behind.
The winner steps out from the shadows, revealing to me his face. That's the last thing I see before my vision goes black.
Ronan's POV
I don't think I've ever run as fast in my life as I did when I smelt her blood.
It was like a tsunami hitting me in my face all of the sudden. I was reminded of when I was running in the woods at the beginning of the summer when I smelt her blood. I came running, finding her facing off with a bear.
But this . . . this felt different. I didn't have to have a bond with her to know that she was in deep trouble and needed saving.
Trees blurred past me as I ran towards the smell which was coming from the complete opposite direction of the bridge where Calix told her to go to. Horrific possibilities clouded my mind as seconds, minutes passed. Who got to her? Dylan? My father? Another prisoner? A human?
I needed to get to her before anyone else could.
The scent of her blood was strong, stronger than anything I've ever smelt. My wolf was drawn to it as much as he was drawn to the woods or the moon.
Finally I came upon the origin of the smell. I didn't see my mate anywhere but for the moment I forgot about her, about her blood, and about her safety.
Staked to two trees, hanging three feet off the ground was my father's naked body. Written across his chest in blood was the word "FAMILY". There was hardly any part of him that wasn't covered in blood but the word was written clearly to read.
"Father," I whisper, taking slow gentle steps towards him. As I neared I noticed that the word wasn't written on his chest, but carved. I reached out to touch him, to make sure he was dead, when suddenly his head snapped up. I stepped back in surprise, my bare foot stepping on something soft. I looked down to see something that made my blood run cold.
I looked up to meet my father's gaze. His eyes met mine and for the first time in my life I saw absolute fear within them.
"Monster," he whispered, his eyes wild with terror. "A monster. He- he . . . monster."
I hardly tried to decipher what my delusional father was saying. I was too busy trying to make sense of what lay at my feet. I bent down slowly, my finger running over the soft pink fabric. I picked it up and held it out.
Torn underwear. Cora's fucking underwear.
"Monster," my father whispered again, his head shaking back and forth. "There was a monster. He came and-"
I didn't let him finish.
I grabbed him by the head, my hands covering each of his ears, and I pulled. His head came straight off, coating me in his blood.
I threw it to the side, letting it hit the trunk of a tree nearby. I heard a crack, probably his skull cracking as it made contact with the hard surface, but I didn't care. No, I was pissed. I was angry. I was furious. No words could describe what I was feeling in that moment.
My mate, my Cora, wasn't here. It was clear what had happened here before I came. Further proof was when I took a step back to look at my father's limp body hanging between the trees and found nothing between his legs. It explained why his legs were coated in blood and why there was an ever growing puddle beneath him.
Somebody did this to my father and they did it quickly. They also had my mate because I could guarantee that Cora would not be able to orchestrate any of this.
I left my father's body to be found by someone else while I shifted and followed the trail of her scent the best I could. But then it began to rain.
I cursed the Moon Goddess with every word I knew while my mate's scent began to wash away in the thunderstorm.
Hours passed and the storm didn't let up. I had passed pack borders hours ago and I was trekking into dangerous territory.
She was gone. Cora was gone.
Next update: 17 votes on this chapter OR 350 votes on entire book (283 now)
Oh my goddess! I have been waiting to write this chapter for so long and I'm actually kind of happy with the way it turned out! It honestly wrote it self.
the language that Ronan speaks is made up by moi. It translates to "I give you life" Simple I know but I wasn't feeling very creative lol. NOW what do you think happened to Cora? Ronan didn't save her! Who did?
I can not wait for you guys to read the rest of this book aghhh
Love you all!