~3 YEARS BEFORE LUNA HANA~
Today it was cold. Hell, it was always cold. I basically lived at the North Pole. Well, I guess you could say I lived here. I didn't really "live" anywhere.
My entire life had been white – full of fluffy snow and icicles, or at least I think that had been my entire life. I honestly didn't know where I was born, but I assumed it was somewhere around here, maybe even in the Polar Moon pack. I had the same pale white skin as everyone else who was a native to the area. My hair was ghostly white as well, but that wasn't necessarily a trait that everyone around here shared. Regardless, this part of the world was all I could remember.
It was around noon now, which meant I better get my ass moving if I wanted to hunt down a good meal like a deer or elk. I guess some people might think that life as a rogue could be romanticized with all of the freedom and lack of rules and such, but really it was a lot of dirt, sweat, and elk blood.
Sure there were rogue "packs," I guess I technically ran with one, but it was like the third group of rogues that I'd associated with over the past ten years. I was fine being alone most of the time. I wouldn't say my social skills were exactly up to par, and I didn't particularly care for being around most men. There was just something about men that didn't sit right with me. Not that I wasn't attracted to men - I was, but they were frightening to me and I could never sort out why. That being said, no average male wolf could shake me to my core as much as an Alpha. Of course, I'd never been anywhere near an Alpha, but the fear of accidentally trespassing onto the Polar Moon pack territory was something I was anxious about every single day.
Suddenly, I was torn from my thoughts at the sound of a twig cracking in the distance. Wasting no time at all, I shifted into my wolf form. Bones began to crack within me as they reorganized themselves in my wolf's body, and white fur sprouted from my skin making my pale blue eyes gleam a bit brighter.
As soon as my wolf was in control, my instincts were on fire. I instantly located where the noise had come from and took off in that direction. I wasn't a very big wolf, but I was stealthy as hell. I could sneak up on and take down a full-grown elk by myself with ease.
Zooming in and out of the trees, my eyes finally focused in on my target. Unfortunately, it wasn't an elk, but a large male deer stood before me instead. I could definitely handle this. He was apparently nervous, sensing the fact that he was being stalked. His head flickered back and forth, and he didn't move his feet an inch.
Before he could decide to bolt I sprang out from behind a tree and pounced onto his back. I immediately bit deep into his neck and ripped out the flesh around his jugular, assuring he wouldn't live. He fought back, of course, thrashing his antlers around in protest, but as his blood spurted out of his neck, his energy soon faded.
After the fucker finally died off, I grabbed his neck in my jaws again and began to drag him back to the cave that I had been holing myself up in recently. Although my fire from last night was still burning hot, there was no point in shifting back to clean and cook the deer when my wolf was perfectly happy picking him clean with her teeth.
I finished off my meal in no time at all and decided it would be a good idea to make my way down to the nearest stream that wasn't frozen. I had blood all over my white fur from my kill, and if I didn't try to rinse it off soon it would surely stain. I wasn't a conceited bitch who was obsessed with her appearance, but the idea of blood stains on my fur didn't exactly suit me either.
It didn't take long to make it to the stream. I stuck my head in the water and let the cold droplets slide through my fur. This managed to rinse most of the blood out, thankfully. I sat for a moment at the edge of the stream to groom myself before I headed back to the cave.
About half way back, I decided I'd take a longer way around so that my fur had a chance to dry out. I wasn't planning on shifting back to my human form this evening because it was much easier to stay warm when you were a furry wolf with a body temperature of around 101 degrees.
I hadn't ever taken this route before, but it was very pretty. The trees seemed to have more ice on them in this part of the forest and the snow was a little deeper. I darted between the trees, allowing my wolf to fully stretch out her legs for the day. Running was a huge part of our life, and we loved it. The deeper snow did slow us down a bit, but it certainly didn't ruin our mood.
As I made my way up a hill, I caught the scent of something. It must have been my fire. I had to be getting close to the cave by now, so surely I could smell the fire from here. I sped up my pace, really wanting to get back to my warm cave. The winds had gotten gustier as the day went on, and my damp fur was causing me to shiver a bit.
Just as I could see my cave in the distance, I got the wind knocked out of me by something large and powerful slamming into my body. I yelped as my snout went straight into the ground and my legs came out from underneath me. It was only then that I realized the scent I had picked up wasn't my fire after all. In fact, the scent of my actual fire had mingled with this foreign scent, which caused me to let my guard down. It was another wolf...perhaps two or three.
He was a very large wolf, much bigger than me, and he was strong too. He had me pinned in the snow when I saw a man in his human form step out from behind a nearby tree with a set of clothing in his hands. When the man got within an arm's length of us, the wolf on top of me shifted into his human form and quickly slipped on the clothing that the other man offered him. Before I could react, one of the men slipped a collar around my throat, causing me to yelp and cry in pain - It was made of silver.
"It's a damn rogue," one of the men muttered. They were both very tall men with a considerable amount of muscle. They had pale skin just as everyone in this region did – one man with light mousy brown hair and the other with blonde.
The other man chuckled darkly. "Damn trespassers," he growled.
It had been almost a decade since the packs' war with rogues had ended. We were a peaceful group now, never wanting to start trouble, but I must have wandered onto Polar Moon pack territory. Was this a joke? I always tried so hard to keep within my known boundaries. I should've known taking a different route back to the cave was a bad idea! Even though I meant the pack no harm, Alphas always took trespassers seriously. No one, even if they were just from a different pack, was allowed in another pack's territory without notice and permission.
The blonde man began pulling the chain connected to my collar as they dragged me back to their pack. Unfortunately for them, I wasn't the type to tuck tail and submit.
I growled loudly at them and thrashed around against the collar, trying to ignore the pain. The silver was already burning away some of my flesh and it hurt like hell. The pain was steadily draining my energy, and I honestly didn't know how long I could put up a fight.
The man simply laughed at me and tugged on the chain again. This time, an involuntary yelp escaped my mouth. The pain was excruciating. I couldn't keep up the fight right now. My energy was dwindling and fighting only caused the collar to burn deeper into my skin.
"I wonder what the Alpha will have us do with this one," the other man hissed. They chuckled with each other as if my life were some kind of joke. Sadistic motherfuckers. Despite all their chuckling, it was one word that nearly made me faint right then and there. Alpha. Were they seriously going to take me to their Alpha? Oh goddess no! Alpha Elijah was known as "the cold one," and I had never intended on finding out why. I never wanted to be within a mile of any Alpha, but especially not him.
My heart was pounding in my chest and anxiety coursed through my veins. The true panic didn't set in until I noticed a massive, white building just a few yards away. Was this their pack house? It had to be. It rose beneath the trees appearing as a snowy castle. I was mesmerized for all of two seconds before I remembered these awful men were about to do who-knows-what with me once they presented me to their Alpha.
Instead of going all the way to the massive white building, the men took a sharp turn, causing the collar to dig into my flesh again. My energy was non-existent at this point, and it was a miracle that I was still up on all fours.
They threw open a couple of metal doors protruding from the ground and began dragging me down a set of stairs. It was dark, cold, and damp down - I didn't like it one bit. The only light was from several oil lamps burning in the corners of the cellar. Other than the two men and myself, the room was empty. There were bars that formed cells, but I was apparently the only prisoner. How did I manage to be "the cold one's" only prisoner?
The men tossed me into a cell and hooked my chains to something. I didn't know what it was, as I was too busy suffering.
"Shift!" the mousy-brunette commanded.
I whimpered, knowing good and well I barely had the energy to shift. That, and it would be extremely painful with this silver collar. Not to mention, once I shifted these bastards would have the pleasure of seeing me naked.
"Shift damnit! Fucking rogue!" the man growled, kicking me in the stomach. I yelped as I collapsed in the corner. I had never felt so weak and defeated in my entire life.
With the little bit of energy I had left, I finally convinced my wolf to shift back to my human form. She didn't like the idea of letting me take on all this pain, but we were running out of options. The shift was painful and left me laying naked and cold on the damp cellar floor. I wouldn't cry. I would not cry. Lena Moretti didn't cry.
As I was trying to collect my thoughts and push through the burning pain around my neck, I heard another set of footsteps come down the stairs. I was suddenly overcome with the sweetest smell. It was like spicy oranges with a hint of vanilla. What could possibly be emitting such a beautiful fragrance in such a foul place?
It took every bit of strength I had to lift my head and look over towards the stairs. My eyes made contact with another set of golden, amber eyes that almost seemed to shine in the dim room. He had pale skin, just like the rest of us, and fiery red hair. His facial hair was short and well groomed, and he towered above the other two men in the room. His large frame and toned muscles radiated a unique kind of dominance.
"Alpha Elijah," the men said in unison, bowing their heads.
No fucking way...
I felt my body begin to shake as the man who I now knew as the Alpha, the cold one, approached me at a rather fast pace. He then completely caught me off guard. He kneeled next to me and stared deeply in my eyes, causing my wolf to go wild, begging to take over again. What the hell was her problem?
His large, golden eyes were so full of emotion. Was that worry I saw swirling around his pupils?
He turned his head to face the men, his soft expression turning into one of pure hatred.
"What the hell did you do!" he screamed at them, his deep voice echoing off the walls.
The men looked completely stunned. I mean, I was pretty confused too. What the hell was going on? The Alpha was mad at them for arresting a trespasser?
My wolf would absolutely not stop thrashing around within me, begging for my attention. I was trying my best to ignore her so I could take in the situation unfolding before me, but she was being incredibly persistent. This was completely unlike her.
Before I had the chance to figure out what the hell my wolf wanted, Alpha Elijah turned back to face me, his eyes softening again. He reached out to brush my cheek, and I involuntarily flinched. What the hell? Why was he trying to touch my cheek? He smelled delightful, and I had all sorts of conflicting emotions coursing through my body, but I sure as hell didn't want an Alpha touching my face - especially not while I'm chained up in his cellar.
Slowly, he retracted his hand and gave me an understanding look.
"My mate..." he started.
Wait what?
"What did they do to you?" he whispered.
My wolf howled in my head, and I finally understood why she had been so insistent on me paying attention.
Our mate? He exists?
Our mate was an Alpha? The Alpha?
Shit.
Here it is! This is the second book in the Luna series! If you haven't read "Luna Hana" already, I'd love it if you would! However, you don't have to read these in any particular order. This one, "Luna Lena," takes place 3 year before "Luna Hana." Please continue to vote, comment, and follow! Let me know what you think. Lena is like the complete opposite of Hana, huh? ;)