Bonded

Chapter 1

You have to let me take control so we can shift! I hear my wolf yell at me as I continue to run as fast as I possibly can away from our packhouse and into the thick of the woods.

We can’t shift, Willow. It’s not the full moon, and we’ve never shifted. It’s not even possible.

It is! We are strong. We can do this. Even if it doesn’t work, we have to try. We won't survive this if we are captured.

I know she’s right, but my adrenaline is high from fear and how far I’ve run. I don’t stop moving until I finally trip over a tree root that is sticking out of the ground. Landing hard on my knees, I try to suppress the groan of pain that threatens to escape me, terrified of leading them straight to my location. I try to take a deep breath, but my lungs sting and all I can hear is the rapid beat of my heart.

I don’t know what to do, I tell her as I finally give in to her wishes, not rising from the ground.

Just let me have control, I can handle the rest, she tells me as calmly as she can, trying to reassure me. It’s the best chance we have to get out of here alive.

I take another deep breath and reach into my mind, in the place where I can feel my wolf and release control, or what I THINK is control. I can feel a shift inside my mind, like I’m watching and not living things directly.

Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain in my leg and turn to see who has caught up with me, butI find that there is no one behind me. My other leg begins to hurt and I feel my shoulder move from it’s socket, the other following behind it.

You’re going to survive this. It will only hurt for a little bit. You're strong.

I’m not sure I’ve ever been adequately prepared for the pain that is beginning, and it’s just the start of my first shift. My forced shift, under a moon that isn’t full for 2 more nights, after running for my life. I bite my lip in pain, trying my best not to make any noise as I shift here in the woods, alone, terrified of being found. There's no chance I can get to safety in human form, though.

My mother had spent most of my life keeping me indoors, training me to be the perfect Luna for the day I'm destined to meet my mate. Always prim and proper, the irony of it all is not lost on me as I hide in the woods, having watched my parents be killed by my father’s Beta, covered in dirt.

“If you cross the border before my men catch you, I’ll let you live,” he told me with a sickening smile on his face as he stood over me while I laid on the cold, marble floor beneath his large frame. My dress had been ripped by a man who drug me to this usurper, my shoes falling off as he threw me on the ground before him. I had been trained to look perfect, but in this moment, none of it mattered. “You carry the Alpha gene. Consider this a gift from me, because I can sell you for quite a price.”

He stepped back and walked up to my father’s Alpha throne, sitting on it, like that’s where he belonged. I know he’s telling the truth. My father had never allowed me to go anywhere alone, ever, for fear that someone would kidnap me. I looked up at Daniel, nodded at him as I scrambled to get off the floor and I took off at a run.

“Let's play a little game. Give the girl a head start,” I hear him say with a chuckle, I assume to his men that we’re in the room. “When you catch her, no one touches her. You won’t do anything to lessen the price that we will get for her when I sell her to the highest bidder.”

Finally, the pain stops and I look down to see two large, brown, furry paws where my hands should be.

You did it, I tell Willow, truly shocked that we had successfully shifted.

We need to go. NOW. she tells me, urgency clearly evident in her voice.

I stumble as I try to stand, unsure how to walk on four legs. Thankfully, Willow is able to gain our balance quickly and we start to run, though not as quickly as either of us had hoped. I know we’re just a few miles away from the border of my best friend’s pack. Her dad is the Beta there and I just know that her dad will save me if I can get to the border. It's the only hope that I have of finding safety.

Thinking of Beta Ralph being able to help me is the encouragement that I need as we take a deep breath and speed up our pace as we make our way through the trees and across the ground of the forest. The wolves chasing us are faster, but I have the advantage of knowing the land, however little it truly is. Any knowledge of the land is more than they have and they'll never suspect that I was able to shift. With any luck, they won't find me because they aren't searching for a wolf.

I hear a crunch behind me, like a branch being stepped on as someone closes in on me. Willow speeds up even faster as we reach a place where the border is finally in sight. Every part of my body already hurts from shifting so abruptly for the first time, but the new pace we are running is excruciating. I say a quick prayer to the goddess that I'll make it across the line in time, and that they'll grant me safety.

We’re so close.

I know, Willow. Someone is right behind us though.

Even in my new, stronger form, I find it difficult to pull in a deep breath. My lungs hurt with each breath of cold, night air, but we don’t stop running. There’s no guarantee they would actually sell me if they catch me. They could decide to keep me as a slave, or even a forced mate. My father always told me how important it was to never be alone with an unmated male because they could forcibly mark me, a disgusting action that could never be undone. And if they do sell me, well… I don’t know why anyone would BUY a shewolf, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be for any respectable reason.

Just a few more yards to go, and suddenly I can smell the scent of a few different wolves. They’re close to me, too close. Perhaps shifting just took too long, though they surely would have caught me miles back if I had remained in my human form. I get closer, and closer, daring to hope that I’ll make it when I feel a sudden, excruciating pain in my back leg. I howl in pain, no longer caring if anyone hears and I fall to the ground as the sharp teeth sink even deeper into the muscle.

I make the mistake of turning to look and check what has happened, and it’s all the time that this large, black wolf needs to completely tackle me to the ground. He moves his body in a way that pulls me down and flips me onto my back as he moves on top of me, effectively trapping me in place.

BETA RALPH! BETA RALPH!

They can’t hear you. We’re in wolf form.

I struggle under the wolf, trying my best to break free from his hold. He's hovering over top of me, his sharp teeth bared and gnashing before my face, drips of saliva falling on my skin as I writhe in an attempt to break free. I wiggle and claw, trying so hard to get away from him and make it the last few feet to the border, but it feels hopeless.

“Let the shewolf go!” a man bellows loudly from across the line, to where my freedom lies.

The wolf that had captured me looks up, distracted by this man just enough that I’m able to turn over and slip from underneath him, hurrying across before he can capture me again. He follows me, but three wolves appear from the trees and stand at the territory line, making it clear that they will not allow anyone else to pass into their pack.

“Wait here,” he tells me sternly, looking back at the wolf who had caught me, giving him a look that makes it clear they are not allowed to cross. “The Alpha is on his way.”