The Monster

2

Jungkook had grown up in a small pack, their village nestled snuggly just below the snow-capped peaks of the mountain. He had grown up with a great set of friends and family, it even felt like the pack was one huge family.

The village consisted of houses made from wood from the trees in the surrounding forest. To any outsider the village maybe considered shabby but for Jungkook it was home and all he knew.

He grew up as most children do, messing around with his friends and causing all sorts of mischief, but as he got older and presented as an alpha, he looked forward to finding his mate, just as all his friends did.

One by one they all eventually paired off and suddenly Jungkook found himself alone, full of love but with no one to give it to.

As time wore on the love was turning sour inside him. He felt like he had something wrong with him.

Why couldn't he find his mate?

He had even left his pack for a time to seek out other packs and see if his mate was within them, but neither his nor the surrounding packs held his mate.

It was one day not long after he turned twenty that he realised how much that love had soured.

His mother had been trying to console him, trying to tell him that he would find his mate eventually.

He had lashed out, not even realising that he had begun to turn, slashing his mother's face in anger, his claws ripping the skin on her face.

Jungkook had never been so distraught than after that incident.

Soon after his mother healed, he left, he knew it was the coward's way out, but he couldn't bear to look at the beautiful features of his mother's face marred by the scars he had caused.

Since he had cast himself out of his pack, Jungkook had been living like a passenger in his own body, his wolf taking over in their depths of despair and with Jungkook unwilling to take back control, he was staying watching from the side lines.

They had killed so many people, people who had come to try and destroy him and his wolf. He may have been wallowing in sadness and despair, but he didn't want to die and neither did his wolf.

These people came brandishing weapons at him, and none understood his pain.

He knew they came from the castle, that they were the Kings men, but that still didn't make him stop. His fight or flight was stuck permanently on fight, he would fight to live and for the small niggle in the back of his mind that stopped him from giving up on life altogether.

When the image of his mother, his friends andpackmates flitted behind his closed lids, he let out a pained howl

Jimin hadn't been aware that he'd been close to falling asleep on his horse until he startled, hearing the most chilling howl.

The horses reared up trying to buck off their riders in their bid to escape.

Thankfully they had all managed to keep their horses under some semblance of control, they dismounted if only to calm their horses.

Jimin stood in front of his horse gripping the reins tightly, his head turned to look over his shoulder. The edge of the forest could have been no more than two hundred yards away and was steeped in the shadow of the mountain behind it.

Jimin had been so lost in his thoughts and exhaustion that he hadn't realized how close they had come.

The monster wasn't far away now.

"We camp here for the night and start fresh tomorrow." He called out.

His men murmured a reply, still shaken by the howl they had heard.