The Wolf Forsaken

Chapter 1

1

FARRAH

The landscape outside looked just like my heart.

Cold, harsh, and buried underneath a ton of snow.

I clutched my mug full of steaming hawthorn tea with both hands and brought it to my lips, my eyes fixed on the view—a small valley and beyond it a mountain chain, with the sun dipping below it, staining the sky with rose and orange tints.

I knew I should have stuck to warmer places, where no one would guess a frost fae was hiding. I tried to. First, I hid in Florida, then Alabama, then Texas. I even tried hiding in Mexico. The heat in those places was too much for me to bear. Even northern California could be too warm for me.

So, over two years ago, I ended up moving north, to Montana, where the seasons were more pronounced, though it never got as hot as the south. But it got cold, too cold for the shadow fae. I was confident that here, deep into a frozen forest, hidden in a small cottage in the middle of nowhere, Prince Lark wouldn’t be able to find me.

I let out a long sigh, tired of being alone, of feeling lonely, but without a choice. If I left this cottage, if I tried to live in a normal town, I would be found.

A knock came from the door.

My heart stopped and the mug slipped from my hand, crashing on the crude wooden floor, and spilling hot liquid everywhere.

Channeling my magic, I positioned myself in the middle of the small one-room cottage. Whoever was here, hadn’t come because they were lost in the woods. They were here because they had come for me.

But how the hell had they found me?

“Open the door, Farrah, before I break it down.”

My magic slipped from my veins.

In four large steps, I reached the door and opened it. Eyes wide, I stared at my brother. “Daleigh.”

I hadn’t seen him in so long, but he hadn’t changed much. His fair skin seemed paler than before, and his white hair was longer, almost at his waist, but his blue eyes remained the same—cold and serious. Though his clothes had changed completely. Before, he used to wear his full armor, but now he wore gray pants, a thick white sweater, and a long white coat. At least the colors continued the same.

“I should give you props for hiding so well,” he said, walking past me, and examining the cottage.

I suddenly felt conscious of the tiny placed around us, and the mess I rarely tidied up. Deciding I didn’t care about his opinion, I puffed out my chest and asked, “How did you find me?”

Daleigh stopped, ran a finger over the dusty countertop of the corner kitchen, and raised his eyes at me. “I’ve been trying to find you since you ran away.”

I averted my gaze, remembering when and why I left everyone behind.

If only I hadn’t taken that dagger, if only I hadn’t made that damned deal. I exhaled, telling myself for the hundredth time that I shouldn’t cry for things I couldn’t change.

I just had to keep on walking.

“So what? You’ve come to take me?”

Daleigh’s hand clenched for a moment, before he opened and wiggled his fingers, trying to contain whatever feeling he didn’t want to show me. “Farrah, I don’t think I need you to remind you of your own deal. The three years are almost up. You have to go back now.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” I said.

I took a step back, putting more distance between ourselves. Daleigh was older than me and a true warrior. I might be a powerful fae, but he was stronger than me. If he decided to take me by force, I wouldn’t be able to win against him.

“Farrah, please, you know what is at stake here,” Daleigh said, his voice low, pleading. “If you marry Prince Lark, he’ll forgive us. His father will let us go back to the fae realm. That’s what we all want, right? That’s what we’ve always wanted.” His shoulders lowered one inch. “Can’t you do that for our people?”

My stomach knotted.

He couldn’t put this on me, damn it.

Long ago, our people were banished to the human world with no way of going back. If I went through with the plan, if I stopped running, our people would be able to return.

“You know it isn’t that simple,” I whispered, wishing my brother would stand with me just this once. “You’re asking me to sacrifice myself.”

But he only hardened. “For our people. Believe me, if I could have made a deal like that, I would have. I would gladly marry a whale if that meant my people and I could return to our home.”

“I’m not you, Daleigh,” I barked, my voice rising with my temper. “Besides, I was pushed away from our people, remember? I was handed to witches and left to die. I don’t care about our people!”

Daleigh flinched. Of course he remembered. He had been the one to send me away. And now here he was, begging me to help him. Pathetic.

“That was a mistake,” he said, his voice low. “I wish I could go back in time and found a better way to deal with all that was happening.”

And I wanted to go back in time and undo the deal I had struck. I deeply regretted what I had done for Luana, the werewolf who was now the alpha of the Starlight pack. Almost three years ago, I helped her steal the Dagger of All Hunting from Prince Lark’s fortress. However, the stealing part didn’t go too well. We ended up caught. Prince Lark, prince of the Shadow fae, whose father ruled the fae realm, had always been very fond of me, so I used that to our advantage. I promised him I would marry him in three years time.

Of course, I never had any intention of marrying him.

That was why I ran away.

That was why I left Wyatt behind.

Sometimes, I wondered how he was doing. Was he living with Luana and Keeran, helping them with the Starlight pack and the warlocks? Had he found a pretty werewolf and settled down?

My heart squeezed with the thought. Though I wanted him to be happy, it hurt me to think he had found someone.

Someone other than me.

I shook my head, sending all those troubling images away. “It’s too late. I’m not going anywhere.”

Daleigh stalked to me, towering me by an entire head. “My dear sister, I love you very much, but I won’t stand for this. You have a few days to change your mind. I hope you make the right choice.”

He started walking past me.

I asked, “Or what?”

Daleigh glanced at me over his shoulder. “Or I’ll take you to Prince Lark by force.”

I gasped. Deep down, I thought, hoped, he would never do that. But looking now at his icy blue eyes, I knew he would.

Without another word, or threat, Daleigh walked out of the cottage, slamming the door behind him.

I put a hand over my racing heart and tried breathing in and out, calming myself down. But my feelings became a turmoil and I had to sit down on the low couch to catch my breath, to process my thoughts.

My own brother would take me to an evil fae prince to save the people that once shunned me away? Was he for real?

I didn’t care about any of that.

I wouldn’t allow myself to be dragged away like that. To be handed to Prince Lark like a grand price.

I waited for about one hour, to make sure Daleigh had really left, then I jumped into action. As fast as I could, I packed some food, water, and clothes, put on a heavy coat over my shoulder, and left the cottage.

Once more, I was on the run.