The Highlands Wolves

Book 1: The She-Wolf

LAIKA

Pain shot through my left leg as a hot liquid cascaded down my skin. The need to scream overwhelmed me, but I bit down on my tongue, the taste of copper circling the inside of my mouth.

Faint footsteps sounded in the dense woods of the Northern Province. Without wasting any more time, I started running, my damaged foot slowing me down. Pain ricocheted up my left leg each time it touched the ground, but I continued on.

The smell of blood in the air was a surefire way to get caught, but I kept moving. I needed to run. I had to get away before they found me.

I could hear them, could smell their menace in the air. Their need to draw blood and kill was palpable in the silent woods. Light from the moon illuminated the forest with a faint white glow.

“Running won’t help you!” The cold, smooth voice of Alaric Payne vibrated in the still night.

I picked up my pace only to stop when someone jumped in front of me. The glinting black eyes of Conan Murray locked with mine. He took a step in my direction, and I took one back.

Conan Murray was worse than his friend Alaric Payne. If it was just Alaric, I might be able to escape. But together, the two liked to cause mayhem and hurt. There wasn’t a day of peace at the Northern Province boarding school because of them.

“Don’t run, little girl,” Conan said in that husky voice of his. His face gave nothing away, unlike his eyes which gleamed with evil in the dim light.

“There you are,” Alaric said from behind me. I turned toward him, trying to keep both Conan and Alaric in my sight. Light glinted from the sword Alaric held in his right hand, and I knew I wouldn’t escape untouched.

Nora Brooks joined Alaric, and I flinched. The smile on her face caused a tear to run down my cheek. Everything happening right now was because of her. Because of her hatred for me.

“Get this over with before someone at the school discovers we’re missing.” Her overly sweet voice only made her more despicable to me.

“She’s right,” Conan agreed. “Get it done.”

“Kneel,” Alaric said, using his alpha voice. He wasn’t an alpha yet, but alpha blood ran thick in his veins. At the school he was the king, and anyone not in his inner circle was a mere peasant.

His command brought me to my knees without any fight. I was the weakest wolf in the pack and unable to deny a direct order from him.

“Just look at you. And you desire to be my mate?” he mocked. Nora and Conan laughed as Alaric circled me. The sword in his hand gleamed as it caught the light from up above.

“How can such a weakling become the next luna?”

“I will leave and never come back,” I said through my chattering teeth. The only possible thing I could do to save myself was to promise never to set foot in the Northern Province again.

“And become a rogue?” he asked.

I nodded in agreement.

“Oh dear, you know we hate rogues, and you think I’ll willingly make you one?”

My eyes caught Nora’s face as she snickered at me.

I heard Conan step closer to us. “Just do it already. No one will catch us, and if they do, they won’t spit a word. After all, you run this place.” The arrogance in his voice was thick.

“Enough of this playing around. If you can’t do it, allow me.” Nora extended her hand, reaching for the silver sword. If that got anywhere near me, I was done for. Alaric was only able to hold the thing because of its wooden handle.

“Fine,” he said, coming to my front. “Look at me,” he commanded, and I did just that. His deep brown face blurred with all the moisture in my eyes.

“No matter how unbearable the pain becomes, don’t move.” That alpha voice boomed again, freezing me in place. The hand gripping the sword moved, and the sharp point touched the side of my cheek. He trailed it down, drawing blood.

A line of fire chased the tip of the sword, and the pain threatened to overwhelm me. If not for Alaric’s order, I would have passed out.

“Don’t scream,” he said in that voice of authority.

My mouth closed as my teeth bit through my tongue.

The fire continued to my neck, then to my cleavage. The sword cut through my clothing, making contact with my skin. My body vibrated with pain, but I couldn’t move; his command wouldn’t allow me.

Alaric stopped when the tip of the sword reached the underside of my breast. Time stopped. I held my breath as I begged him with my eyes to let me be, let me live.

“Do it,” Nora urged.

Alaric shook his head, his face twisted in pain. I was his mate, after all. If I hurt, he hurt too. It made me wonder how he was capable of torturing me like this. Maybe it was the alpha blood in his veins.

We both knew that rejecting me wouldn’t sever the tie between us. Because of who he was, the son of the alpha, we were bound together for life. Only with my death would he truly be free of me.

One minute his eyes were concerned, the next, animosity bled through them. Before I could blink, he drove the sword inside my chest, piercing my heart.

Pain exploded through me, making me shake. The silver of the sword burned my flesh, causing immense agony throughout my whole body. My mouth opened but no sound came out.

Alaric pulled the sword out, and I collapsed on the dirt.

As pain radiated through me, I heard indistinct voices speaking around me. I felt someone lift me, and then the feeling of falling, falling, falling, until the sound of cracking bones as the world turned black.