The Wolf Forsaken - Juliana Haygert Page 0,1
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.
2
Wyatt
I followed the demon into the darkness.
The demon, shapeshifted as a male human in his early thirties, hadn’t realized I knew its secret. It thought it was tricking me, as it did with all of its victims. Usually, I didn’t get involved with messes like this, but when I saw the demon going for an innocent girl just outside a pub, a girl with hair so blond it was almost white, something snapped in me. I couldn’t let this fucking demon kill her.
So I pretended to be a regular human, drunk and ready for a brawl, and pushed the girl away. I noticed the disappointment in the demon’s dark eyes when it got me instead of the girl, but it was short lived. At least, it had a victim.
Or so it thought.
The moment I stepped into the dark alley behind it, snow crunching under my feet, I began stripping off my clothes. When the demon turned around, I was stark naked—what? I didn’t want to ruin yet another pair of pants.
“I know what you are,” I said, before shifting.
My limbs stretched, my muscles grew harder, and fur covered my skin. In wolf form, I bared my fangs at the demon.
It too shapeshifted. The human skin peeled away