Chapter 5

• ZARA'S POV
• I watched him recover before blocking my fist again as I aimed for his face.
• He was a difficult one to beat and I knew I couldn't beat him head-on because he was too strong but I had to try. I couldn't bear staying here forever, not when I had to get back to my pack.
• I thought as I staggered weakly to my feet.
• "Truce," I said breathlessly.
• "You can go" he declared. I paused in my tracks, raising questioning eyes up at him. My eyes narrowed suspiciously.
• "What are you saying?"I asked in disbelief.
• "I wanted to see why my wolf picked you and I must say you've proved me wrong," he said with a huge smirk.
• "I wish you good luck on your marriage. Whenever you need me, just howl" he said, giving me a boyish smirk.
• "Wait!"I called but he was already gone, leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere as the soft embers of the sun illuminated all around me.
• The journey back to my pack was a rather stressful one and I had lost my way multiple times before I arrived at the border.
• "Zara!"
• My ears perked up at the sound of my name. I let out a sigh of relief as I sped toward the voice pushing back the thoughts of the night at the back of my mind.
• "Zara!" he called again.
• "I'm here"I called back.
• I watched the bulky-looking man turn towards me, letting out a sigh of relief. He ran towards me, hitting me gently on my shoulder.
• "Where the hell have you been?" he cried.
• "We've been looking for you all night" he chastised.
• I frowned in confusion.
• "We?"I questioned but got my answer as fast as I said it.
• "Zara!"Connor's voice rang out through the forest as he drew closer to us.
• We exchanged knowing looks and burst out laughing just as Connor got to us.
• "Zara! For goodness sake, where did you go to?" he asked as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders giving me a side hug.
• I reveled in his warmth and instinctively, my mind wandered to the man in the woods. The juncture between my thighs burned in the reminder of where I had been and what had happened just a few hours ago.
• "Your father has been worried sick about you"Ethan volunteered.
• "Okay, let's go before you give him a hernia," Connor said dragging me along with him.
• "You've yet to tell us where you're coming from and what exactly had transpired while you were gone.
• "Connor commented, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at me.
• I returned his gaze with a nervous chuckle.
• I couldn't tell him where I had been or what I'd been doing. I knew that they would be worried sick about me.
• "Look at the state of you, "Ethan said dusting off my back, breaking through my reverie.
• "Thank you, Ethan, "I said giving him a grateful smile which he returned.
• Once I returned to my pack, although my father had given me an earful about straying too far past the pack's line of sight, I was relieved that I was safely back home.
• But I couldn't help but wonder about the handsome mysterious stranger I had had an encounter with a few hours earlier.
• I was curious.
• Thankfully, the scar on my neck had healed fading to a soft red underneath my skin. It was a hassle to explain to everyone that it must been a burn or something else during a fight but it was the only way I could keep the questions at bay.
• A few months had passed by after that encounter and no one was the wiser. I had gone back to my normal life, protecting my pack and its borders so that the night of the full moon was completely forgotten.
• There had been little to minimal confrontational trouble with other rivals packs but that didn't mean that the danger was over.
• I was patrolling through the woods one night when I caught a whiff of that familiar scent. I heard him call out to me in a whisper. His hands had roamed up my body to my chest. I could feel his breath fan my lips just before he pressed his lips with mine.
• "I'm here"
• I heard him whisper so close to my lips.
• But it had turned out to be a dream that I had awoken from, startled.
• I had no idea what that dream had meant but one thing was for sure. It wasn't a mere dream.
• The next morning, I had been summoned by the council and my father.
• "Yes Father, "I said as I weaved through the crowd that had gathered around the pack house.
• My eyes caught on the three dead bodies that lay on the floor. Each of them had a dagger stuck to their chest.
• I knelt to pull the knife out, staring curiously at it. It seemed so familiar.
• "Recognize anything?"
• I stared up absently towards the familiar voice and gasped stumbling back as I came face to face with the face of the stranger in the woods.
• "Are you all right Zara?" my father called, with a worried frown from behind the man.
• The stranger stretched out his hand offering it to me.
• I stared skeptically at it before staring back up at him. He was smiling widely at me, urging me.
• I masked my surprise and took his hand reluctantly. Ignoring him, I walked past him and towards the table that the council and my father were seated on.
• "Are you okay Zara, you looked like you had just seen a ghost?" my father asked.
• "Father who is that?"I asked, staring back at the stranger as he stood powerfully beside a beautiful woman who had long silver hair and the most beautiful warm hazel eyes that I had ever seen.
• She was smiling widely at me to my dismay and I found I couldn't take my eyes away from both of them.
• "Zara, I want you to meet Alpha Kane from the moon shadow pack. They have come from far away to help us against our collective enemies. The hunters.
• "Alpha Kane, this is my daughter Zara. She is an elite member of the guard here in our beloved pack and I believe she would be a great asset to the investigation. She's one of our finest"My father praised.
• He stretched out his hand in greeting giving me a huge smile.
• "Hello, Zara. It's so nice to meet you." he greeted.
• Again.