Avenge

CIANA

As I approached the pack house, bloodstains marked the path, adding to the feeling of dread that filled me. The stench of death hung thick in the air. The windows were shattered, and the doors busted open.

My steps were hesitant and my breaths shallow as I prepared myself for what I might find inside. I stepped across the threshold, the crunch of broken glass underfoot loud in the suffocating atmosphere.

Lifeless bodies were strewn about the floor, their vacant eyes staring back at me. My mind raced as I struggled to make sense of the chaos and destruction. The smell of death was almost overwhelming now, causing bile to rise in my throat.

But I forced myself to press on, scanning every corner for any sign of life. Yet there were none.

As I turned the corner, my eyes fell upon Alpha and Luna Black with their son, Andrew, by their side. My stomach churned at the gruesome sight.

The once-regal family was slumped against the wall of my father’s office, their throats brutally slit and blood spilling onto their clothes. Fear was etched on their faces, frozen in their final moments of terror.

My mate, Ethan, was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had been able to escape.

The bile fought back up my throat, and I spun, clapping a hand to my mouth. I was met with an even more horrifying sight.

My parents were lying in the living room, their bodies pierced by silver knives, protruding from their chests like macabre trophies. Blood pooled around them, forming a grotesque painting on the floor.

Tears blurred my vision as I rushed to their side, pulling them into my arms and sobbing uncontrollably.

“No. No. No… Mom… Dad…”

My wolf echoed my sorrow with a mournful howl as I clutched their lifeless bodies to my chest. My family… my entire world… had been taken from me.

A low growling sound reached my ears, and I ducked behind the door. Panic gripped me as I hid, listening intently as it drew closer.

“Stop your griping. We’re supposed to be looking for any survivors, including the alpha’s daughter. Alpha Ethan said no one lives, remember. He wants a seamless transition to power,” one of the men growled.

“Besides, you don’t want to piss him off. If he’s willing to kill his own family and the family of a prominent alpha to be in charge of the Black Rose Pack and the Primrose Pack, what do you think he’ll do to us if we fail?”

“I don’t want to guess… Hang on, do you smell that?”

I heard glass crunch under their feet as they neared my hiding spot. I had no choice but to fight. I closed my eyes and allowed my body to begin shifting.

When I opened them, I looked down and saw Aella’s reflection staring back at me through the shards of broken glass that littered the ground. Our red eyes glowed, filled with rage and determination.

We let out a fierce howl and bared our sharp fangs as we stepped out from behind the door. We advanced slowly, our large paws pounding against the earth as we stalked toward the three men.

They froze in terror at the sight, their eyes widening. I could feel the raw power coursing through my wolf’s veins and knew we could take them down without a problem.

With a fierce roar, we lunged forward, sinking our teeth into one of them. He let out an agonized scream, while the other two stumbled back. But my wolf was relentless, fueled by anger and betrayal, and tore through their bodies until they lay lifeless on the ground.

The sound of running feet made me turn, quickly jumping back behind the door.

“What happened?” someone said.

“Someone lived,” a familiar voice growled.

My blood ran cold at the sound. I peeked around the door’s edge and what was left of my heart crumbled to dust.

Ethan stood over the bodies of his family, splattered with their blood and grinning wickedly as he looked around.

I understood what had transpired here. Our mate, chosen by the Goddess to stand by us, had betrayed us.

Ethan had killed my parents, his own family, and my pack, all for the title of alpha. Aella growled. Our mate had taken something from us, and he would pay dearly for it.

“Find whoever did this and kill them!” Ethan shouted as he stomped back through the destruction. “And find Ciana! I want her dead by sundown.”

I waited till they had moved on and burst from my hiding spot, panicking and fearful for Jackson’s safety. I raced back to the treehouse. As I approached, my heart pounded in my chest, eyes watchful for any sign that someone was following me.

“Ciana? Is that you?” Jackson’s worried voice called out.

“Yes, Jackson. It’s me,” I said through our link.

He came out, concern all over his face as he took in the blood covering my fur.

“Is everyone dead?”

I nodded. The horror on Jackson’s face mirrored my own as he processed this information.

“Who did it?” he asked.

“My mate… Ethan. He killed our pack, my parents, his own family,” I replied bitterly. “~He’s claimed our territory, and he’s looking for us. We have to run.~”

“What will we do?” he asked, his voice heavy with emotion.

“Take whatever we can from the treehouse. We have to go.”

He nodded and rushed back up, tossing down a pair of old backpacks from a long-ago sleepover before meeting me on the ground.

“That’s everything I could find. Where will we go, Ciana?”

“Dark Mountain. It’s the farthest edge of our territory, and the only place Ethan wouldn’t think to look for us. Most think it’s too dangerous to climb,” I replied firmly.

He nodded in agreement and shifted, a dark-brown wolf with one white ear and golden eyes standing in his place. Through our pack link, he reached out to any survivors, telling them where to find us.

Together, we grabbed our bags and began the long journey toward the mountain—knowing that it would be days before we reached it.