Kidnapped & Mated

The sky displayed an intense shade of azure, untouched by any clouds that might have disrupted its boundless grandeur. The wind engaged in a fierce struggle with the trees encircling the enormous rock where Eva found herself, peacefully gazing at the breathtaking vista of her mountainous domain, cradling the valley below with its untamed and timeless might. As the sun dipped beneath the horizon, Eva marveled at the enchanting transformation of colors and the encroaching embrace of darkness.

Since as far back as her memory reached, she had shared this place with her pack, growing up in a child's paradise, surrounded by the wonders of nature and vast open spaces. Her family was loving, and her friends were incredible. The sporadic rogue attacks were the only real danger she had encountered, and she had never engaged in personal combat due to her father's strict orders. Nevertheless, she was aware that her father, Alpha Grate of the Full Moon pack, paid special attention to her because he knew she would one day lead the pack. Eva knew her innate power, and she was mentally preparing to utilize it, to put into practice the years of arduous training and effort.

"Patience is a virtue to hone, and every true leader must master this skill," her father, Alpha Grate, often reminded her.

However, as demanding as life and training at Full Moon could be, it couldn't hold a candle to the practices of the Black Devil pack and what its members endured from a young age or immediately after shifting.

Black Devil was a neighboring pack, notorious for its fearsome "Black Alpha," the savage Killing Machine, the Beta, and the Cunning Fox, their crafty Gamma. Full Moon and Black Devil had a shared history marked by bloodshed and tears, and they coexisted with an uneasy understanding, with few fatalities in recent years.

Eva took pride in Full Moon, recognized for its bountiful territory, cheerful members, compassion, and mutual respect. Nevertheless, it had its own history of imperfections, with incidents of brutality and assassinations.

After all, it was a harsh world where respect was earned through violence and the shedding of blood.

Her father, the current Alpha, had always maintained zero tolerance for trespassing and showed no belief in the concept of forgiveness. Once trust was lost, it was lost forever. Besides that, when people were in need, Alpha Grate and Luna, Eva's beloved mother, provided warm shelter and protection, fighting against injustice and unfairness.

Black Devil operated on an entirely different plane.

Eva couldn't help but shudder when thinking about their inhumane training, such as enduring wretched conditions for an extended period without food or other basic survival necessities, relying solely on their newly awakened wolf-side. Apparently, the higher one's rank, the more brutal the training. She remembered stories her grandmother used to whisper in the night, tales of their future Beta and Gamma who, at the tender age of ten, were sent to confront grizzly bears near their territory, or the Alpha's son, destined to be Alpha, who was abandoned for a whole year, even before shifting, in the unforgiving Alakasian woods, considered the wildest, most treacherous, and inaccessible place on Earth. There, storms and ice were constant, and hungry beasts and wild wolves lurked in every dark corner.

The stories said that their former Alpha forbade his own son from having a single tool, weapon, or even a piece of clothing, leaving him completely exposed, armed only with his instincts and Alpha blood. Years later, when this so-called father returned, he found his son in his wolf form, leading a peculiar pack consisting of rogues and genuine wolves. At such a young age, the boy's wolf was already as massive as the rogues'. It had a formidable set of fangs and eyes as cold and dark as the storms that raged in those remote territories forgotten by the Goddess.

The tales of the Black Devil Alpha's son continued during Eva's childhood, growing increasingly stained with blood. Some elder in her pack declared him to be an eater of raw meat from creatures still breathing, and parents used him as a boogeyman to frighten misbehaving children.

Eva suspected that her granny and others might have exaggerated some details to prevent her and her friends from venturing to the Black Devil pack border to spy on their notorious children. This was especially true after her little cousin mysteriously disappeared. Rumors suggested that a Black Devil patrol had killed the little girl simply because she accidentally crossed the border. Some even believed they had consumed her alive.

The Alpha of Black Devil at the time consistently denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the little pup's disappearance as unimportant. The most plausible truth was that rogues had abducted little Melisa, and Eva couldn't bear to contemplate what those rogues might have done to her innocent cousin.

Melisa, her beloved cousin and a sweet, innocent child, had always been her shadow as children. The pain of her loss still cut deep within Eva. Silently shedding tears for the umpteenth time, the memory and the wounds felt as fresh as if they had just happened, even though many moons had passed since her disappearance.

As more tears rolled down her red cheeks, Eva recognized the familiar scent of Herculi, her pet lone wolf. At first, her father had been hesitant to allow her to stay with the giant wolf who refused to shift back into his human form and couldn't be communicated with in any language, not even through a mind link. It was as if he had rejected his human side, and Eva was convinced that something terrible from his past had shocked his human side to the point where his wolf took over, possibly indefinitely.

Eva affectionately stroked Herculi. "Hey, my friend," she whispered. "These mountains always bring back painful memories."

Herculi barked in response to some movement among the nearby rocks and then bounded away with a mighty leap. Eva didn't pay it much mind, knowing that Helin had always been hyperactive. He returned a little while later with a large rabbit in his mouth, and she chuckled softly, picturing her future mate in his wolf form, providing her with food.

She couldn't even begin to imagine what her mate would look like. Two things were certain: he didn't come from her vast territory or her school. Speaking of school, hers had been temporarily transformed into a refugee camp for rogues and pack members who had fled Lord Skull's territory and the surrounding areas.