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02

Chapter 02 - Gathering Firewood

ZARA

There was a time when things were good. Better than good. The flashes of my childhood haunted my thoughts, and a sigh left my lips as I looked out to the water stream, pulling the T-shirt over my head and running my fingers through my messy blonde hair. The images were vague, happening in blurs, but the one constant was a baby reaching for its mother.

Family wasn't a luxury I had growing up the way I did. Not anymore. The painful reminder of my family's downfall would forever weigh down on my shoulders, a weight too heavy for me to bear. Crouching down, I looked at my reflection in the water, the woman reflected up at me almost unrecognizable.

Living the life of a rogue wasn't easy. If you wanted something, you had to take it. No questions, no hesitations. Every day it was a constant struggle, teetering on the line of life and death, never knowing if you'll make it across or come tumbling down. You had to fight for everything you wanted and you couldn't be afraid to defend yourself. You immediately realized that you could only depend on yourself.

"You almost done there goldilocks?"

Well, depend on yourself until you find your people. Your chosen family.

A small smile came to my lips as I stood, glancing back at Frankie as I pulled the tie on my drawstring bag. The fifteen year old stood eagerly as I walked over to him. He was one of our most recent additions to our family, having joined us only four months ago after being kicked out of his pack by an old, ruthless Alpha.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" I jokingly asked as I ruffled his dark brown hair. "Is Mason back yet?"

Frankie shook his head.

"Not yet but they're due back any second now. Let's hope they scored some decent food," he said.

"Yeah, we don't want to -"

"Zara!"

My head snapped up, looking in the direction that the shout came from and dropping my bag at the sight of Mason's arm wrapped around Paul's shoulders. They were both covered in blood and bruises, and I could see Paul limping as they both entered the campsite.

"What the hell happened?!" I exclaimed as I moved closer to them, aiding Mason by moving to the other side of Paul and adjusting his other arm over my shoulder. He carried him over to the log where he sat by the fire, wincing as he did so.

"They caught us, the bastards!" Paul cursed as he adjusted himself, "I don't know how they did it but they knew we were coming."

I knelt beside him and tried to tend to his wounds as best as I could.

"How? That isn't possible," I said as I furrowed my eyebrows and looked up at Mason.

"They knew Zara! They knew!" Paul continued, "and now they have Rebecca and Liam. Beth and Danny are both gone. Hell for all we know, Rebecca and Liam could be dead too."

"Frankie, why don't you go get a clean bucket of water for Paul while me and Zara have a talk?" Mason asked, nudging his head to the side.

"Aye aye captain," Frankie said and Mason pulled me by my arm and out of hearing range.

"What the fuck happened Mason? You said you were just going to get food and clothes."

"That was... part of the plan. No wait! Listen to me, Zara, things weren't supposed to get this out of control," Mason said as his defense.

"This out of control?! What does that even mean? Where did you go?"

He looked at me for a while before he answered, and the minute he gave the name I knew we were all dead.

"We went into Triton,"

The Triton pack was the largest werewolf pack in the country. They had the masses to fully take over the entire state and they only grew larger with every year. Everyone knew about their pack and their Alpha. The world knew him as power hungry and ruthless - most importantly, they knew of his hatred for our kind. He was known to kill any rogue in sight and the sadistic bastard would hang their bodies on the borders of his territory as a message to us.

"Why on Earth would you go into that territory? You know the consequences!"

"You think I wanted to cross into their territory?! I didn't even know it was theirs to begin with. But once they spotted us, did you honestly expect me to just run with my tail between my legs like a coward?"

"That's exactly what you do, especially when you don't have the resources to attack the freaking Tritons! Our family is dead, Mason! There's no coming back from that."

"How are you putting their deaths in me? I wasn't the one who killed them. If those bastards didn't attack before asking questions -"

"Wait... they attacked you first?" I growled, folding my arms across my chest, "those power hungry sons of -"

"Trust me, I'm fuming more than you are. They keep expanding and narrowing down our free lands. Their need for power, for expansion, shouldn't come at our expense! We weren't the ones to attack first, they were."

He was right. These Alphas never know when to quit, trust me I knew that first hand.

Frustrated at the entire situation, another growl escaped me as I ran a hand through my hair.

"We need to get them back, Mason."

"Something we can agree on. The thing is, Paul can't fight. The man can barely walk now. And there's no way we're bringing Frankie."

"No way! I want to come," Frankie protested behind me, making me spin to face him. He didn't even look guilty that he was eavesdropping, he just continued, "this is my family too. I know I haven't been here long, but you guys are as close to family as I'll ever get. I want to help."

"It's too dangerous," Mason said.

"I can do what I want," the boy said proudly, "and I want to fight for my family."

"Zara?" Mason turned to look at me.

I shook my head.

"Mason's right, it's too dangerous. The best way you can help now is to stay here and take care of Paul. No, no buts. Paul's your family too right? Stay and take care of him."

Frankie mumbled under his break and walked back towards the campsite.

"Let's get ready, we leave at sundown," Mason said.

-----

Hello gorgeous 😍

Are you as excited to meet Zara as I am? She's going to be a spitfire! Do you think our Alpha can handle her?

And what did you think about Mason and the gang?

Share your thoughts and don't forget to comment on your favorite lines!

See ya in the next chapter!