Chapter 1 Emergency

• CASSANDRA
• “For the glory of Wegalla Empire, you must die!” Intruders snarled at me as I knelt on the floor.
• “Please let me see Asher. Please…” I begged.
• “How dare you speak the name of our king!” The soldiers growled and grabbed my hair, forcing me to raise my head. They were like shadows towering over me.
• “Please. I need to talk to him. I’m pregnant. I have his baby!” I cried.
• The head soldier snorted. “Baby? You think you’d be qualified to deliver a baby for our king? Filthy whore! He won’t come to you anymore. Don’t you understand? He’s with Lady Adalyn. Now drink it!”
• “No!”
• He pulled me harshly, gripped my face and pried my mouth open. Mysterious liquid flew down my throat.
• Burning. I began to gag.
• “Die! You wretched moron.” They spat at me before slamming the door. And I heard the click of the lock.
• I struggled to move, but my eyes felt swollen, and my legs were strengthless. The smell of smoke quickly filled the room.
• Fire engulfed me.
• *****
• My mind wandered as I stared out the window. The sky was a perfect clear blue, and the air was filled with the sound of children’s laughter. A smile formed on my lips at the sound.
• Far beyond me, the pups, accompanied by their parents, made their way toward the forest not too far away from where I sat. It was finally time for the annual hunting festival, and the pups chattered and giggled with excitement as they tugged at their mother’s and father’s sleeves.
• I remembered their innocent happiness well. When I had been a pup myself, I’d been infinitely impatient and raced far ahead of my father and brother, urging them the entire way to move faster. I’d been so excited to get a glimpse of the hunting group I wished to one day be a part of. I was eager to find my place amongst the Pack.
• I’d been grown for a long time now, and yet, these pups had more freedom than me.
• Ever since the deadly inferno, I’d lost the ability to shift into my wolf form, my life had changed completely.
• I lost everything. My wolf, my name, my identity, and all I used to love and cherish. I’d moved far away and came to the Wild Crawler Pack, where I’d lived as someone else ever since.
• Just as I was starting to feel the familiar ache of loneliness, the sound of footsteps rang out behind me. I snapped out of my stupor and turned to see Marley behind me.
• “Sheesh, Cassandra, I almost fell asleep at my desk.”
• Marley paused for a breath. She ran her hands through her thick dark hair. Her light green eyes were slightly bloodshot, but her small smile offset her tired aura. “It’s been such a crazy day. I couldn’t help but doze off after seeing patients.”
• “I understand completely,” I agreed with her. “Here, come sit down. "As soon as we sort out patients' records, today’s work will be done."
• Marley was my assistant here at the clinic. Fiver years ago, when Emmett saved me from the fire and brought me to his pack, he taught me how to be a healer. And Marley had been my first patient. Shortly after I helped heal her, she decided she wanted to help others as well, and now she was my right-hand woman.
• Marley took a seat on the stool beside me and then glanced out the window.
• “I can’t believe it’s already time for the hunting festival,” she sighed, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “The kids have been going crazy for days. I swear, they’ve been driving me absolutely insane, Cass.”
• “I’m sure,” I mused. “The village has been loud all week.”
• “So is your sweet boy also part of them?” Marley wondered with a curious expression.
• “Maybe...But I think he’s with the Luna and her children,” I replied.
• I was grateful that the Luna of the Wild Crawler Pack had been so generous as to offer to watch my son while I ran the clinic. The hours were incredibly long, and my patient list had grown endless recently. Marley and I were busier than ever.
• A sickness was running through the Wild Crawler Pack, one with an unsure origin I had yet to place. It was accompanied by a peculiar mark on different parts of the patient’s bodies, each slightly raised, red, and warm to the touch. I’d biopsied several of them, and yet, I hadn’t found an answer that made any sort of sense.
• “That’s a good place for him,” Marley interrupted my thoughts again, and then beyond us, bells rang out.
• "We don't have any more patients today..." I said with confuse.
• “Who is that-” Marley began to say, and suddenly, a tall man burst into the room.
• His dark clothing and the sword at his side indicated his rank. I recognized him immediately.
• It was Jasper, one of the Alpha’s guards. I knew him very well, as he was often sent to collect me on behalf of the Alpha’s family if medical attention was needed.
• “Hey, Jasper,” I greeted him, and I flashed him a smile, assuming it would be returned. When it wasn’t, I knew something was wrong. Jasper was always friendly with Marley and me when he came to the clinic, but today, his expression was deadly serious.
• “The Alpha needs you right away, Cassandra,” he addressed me hurriedly. “You must accompany me to the Pack House. It’s an emergency.”
• “What’s wrong?” I asked, and worry painted my tone.
• “There isn’t much time to explain,” Jasper replied. “Long story short, a prestigious guest of ours has been bitten by a viper and needs medical attention immediately.”
• Panic flooded through me. Snake bites weren’t anything to mess with, and we needed to act fast.
• “Marley, I'll go check it out first,” I directed my assistant. “Join me once you’re prepared the kit.”
• Marley nodded. “Go ahead, I’ll arrive as soon as possible.”
• I followed Jasper down the hall and through the door. We raced out into the village and toward the Pack House. We sped in silence, and after a while, I decided to ask for more information.
• “Who is this prestigious guest?” I wondered.
• “I cannot say,” Jasper said curtly. “It’s confidential.”
• “Where did they come from?” I pressed.
• He said nothing at first, and then sighed. “Anemond.”
• I flinched instinctively.
• Anemond was the capital of the Wegalla Empire. It resided at the heart of the Crescent Pack, the biggest and most powerful Pack that ruled our empire. It was also where the Alpha King lived, along with the higher-class werewolf families.
• I tried to maintain an air of normality, and yet, my heart sank in my chest.
• I hadn’t heard the name Anemond in the five years. The memories began to flood back through my mind before I could stop them. Images danced in my mind- the fire, the grins of the soldiers, and the poison that’d been forced down my throat.
• Anemond was the place of my birth, and in the end, had been my nightmare.