The Beginning of it All

{our love sneak peak}

{prologue: we will prevail}

I awake to the sound of feet thumping down the hallway. Any other day I would have ignored it, but this time it's different. The footsteps sound rushed, and given that my father has recently received word that our closest ally, the Férocien, are planning an attack on us, I choose to pay attention.

I roll over and get off my bed. I pad over to where my sister is sleeping and try to wake her.

"Rose, something's happening," I say shaking her. She groans and opens her eyes, "I think there's news about the Férocien, let's go snoop."

She rolls her eyes, but gets up and pulls on her slippers. She's always helping me get into trouble. That's what little sisters are for, right?

I open the door and peer down the hallway. It's dark, but there are lamps lit here and there allowing me to see. I can't see anyone, so I make my way towards my father's office, Rose following behind me.

We stop once we reach his office, I crouch on one side while Rose stands on the other.

"Sir, I've received word that the Férocien are moving towards our grounds. They're coming from the north, near the Cristal Waterfall; they're only an hour out. We must get the warriors into place!" My father's Beta, Marc, tells him in a hushed tone.

My father sighs, obviously worn out, "I hoped I'd never have to make this decision. Go, get the warriors together. Assign them to each entrance in squadrons of 200. Get the healers and protectors to help evacuate the women and children to the lower levels. My son and I will lead a group of 100 to meet them in the battlefield. I pray this ends before it begins."

Suddenly, the door is thrown open and Marc runs out, but he doesn't notice us in his rush. I stand, fury building up inside of me, and barge into the office.

"We must have an offensive attack father! Not a defensive one! They'll rip us all to shreds! You know how they work. Use it to your advantage!" I yell, waving my hands around for emphasis.

"Leah! What are you doing?! You know better than to question my judgement!" He yells back, shooting me a glare.

"We may know their strategies, but they also know ours! It's better to protect what we need to than to send men blindly into a war!"

"But-"

"No! Now go to your room, pack a bag, and get ready to help the healers! And your sister too!" He shouts turning around.

I groan in frustration and stomp out into the hallway like the teenager I am.

"We should do as he says-" Rose starts to say, but I ignore her and break into a sprint.

I rush towards the end of the hallway where a door leads to a balcony. I pick up even more speed as I burst through the door and launch myself off the balcony. Mid jump, I shift into my wolf and hit the ground running. I run as fast as I can towards the spot where Marc said the Férocien were coming from.

I run until I reach the top of the falls, this allows me to see everything from the pack house to the edge of our land. In the distance, I can see movement, and as I focus more I can tell that they are wolves.

I open my mind to see if I can contact any of them through the mindlink, but as soon as I do this, an incredibly loud cry fills my head.

A war cry.

My heart begins to speed up as I am filled with complete and utter terror.

I turn around and begin to run towards the pack house. I do my best to shut the noise out, but I can't make it go away completely.