Prologue

( 12 years ago )

The road passed by in a blur as the car sped down the road. Rain pelted the windshield, making it difficult to see the road ahead. 

I slumped in my chair as uneasiness consumed me. "Mom, when are we going to get there?" I asked as I watched the trees sway in the wind. My mother turned in her chair and sent my father a quick glance before looking back at me. 

"We'll be there in a few minutes, Kaelith," she assured me with her warm voice. 

My parents took Darian, my best friend, and I to their meeting in a different pack located on the southern part of the coast. The pack was pretty nice. Darian and I had the opportunity to visit the beach with some of the other kids in the pack while the adults discussed. We built sand castles and swam in the ocean. 

"There's someone on the road!" my dad exclaimed as he honked the horn, slamming on the brake pedal in the process. I looked up and saw a person standing not too far in front of the car. 

The vehicle jerked forward, causing me to fly forward in my seat, but the seatbelt yanked me back into place. The strange, shadowy figure continued standing in front of the car, frozen in its spot. I couldn't see their faces because of the lack of sunlight and moonlight. The hood on their head created a shadow. 

My dad honked the horn again but the person didn't move. It was like his feet were glued to the dirt road under him. 

Turning the steering wheel, dad maneuvered the car around the person. As the car drove by, my eyes caught a glimpse of something shiny. I opened my mouth to shout, but it was too late. 

My mother shrieked when the glass shattered as the arrow flew through the windshield and sunk into my dad's heaving chest. He cried out in pain as blood pooled out everywhere. His head lolled forward and he fell into the steering wheel, causing the car to swerve and increase in speed. 

My mom screamed when she saw what happened and tried reaching for the wheel, but the sound of an arrow soaring through the air filled my pounding ears. It plunged into the side of my mom's head. The sound of her screaming caused bone-chilling goosebumps to crawl up my arms. Her wild, horror-filled, brown eyes stared back at me before rolling to the back of her skull as she slumped forward, red painting her face. 

I could hear Darian cursing next to me as he cried. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I began to panic when I didn't know what to do. The guy was still behind us so Darian and I threw our bodies onto the floor of the car for protection. Darian and I stared at each other with wide, panicked eyes. 

The car continued to race down the road, passing trees. "Are we going to die?" Darian cried out. I didn't answer. My parents were gone. Dead. And their lifeless bodies sat right in front of me. Now I had no one to take care of me. 

'That's not true! You have me, Darian, and your whole pack!' my wolf tried to assure me. 

I sobbed, burying my face into my knees. Why does the moon goddess hate me so much? Why is she punishing me? And what did I do to deserve this?

"Kae! What are we going to do?" Darian shouted at me as he peaked out of the back window. Rain poured into the car through the area where the windshield was supposed to be. Shattered glass scattered everywhere in the front, shimmering like glittering crystals. 

Both of us looked around but we didn't know what to do. Then I looked straight ahead. My eyes widened when I saw the ending of the road. I quickly grabbed Darian's arm, tugging on it. He turned and saw it. Darian closed his eyes and started shouting prayers to the moon goddess. 

Suddenly the car shifted away from the cliff. It was a miracle! "Oh thank the Moon goddess..." Darian mumbled. But before either one of us could blink, the car slammed into something big and hard and the both of us jolted forward, unprepared for the collision. 

My head slammed into the middle console. Pain surged through my veins and colors splotched my vision. The last thing I remembered were the shouts and cries escaping Darian's mouth, and the blood painting my shaking fingers before I slipped unconscious.