The Beast

Prologue

"Get into formation!"

  Roars of fury echoed through the clearing as fangs clashed and chunks of fur were ripped from our defending warriors.

  For as long as I could remember, our kingdom had been at war within itself. Our king, Alpha Barlowe, was a cruel man. The day he took over the title, he announced the removal of all Alphas under his command.

  This sparked riots within the packs, as no one was willing to give up their generations of work and dedication to their communities.

  This sent Barlowe into a fit of rage. He, along with his warriors, traveled to all lengths of the kingdom, taking out leader after leader until none were left—none, except my father and his land.

  "Juniper! Get inside!" Mark Elsher commanded as his large, oaky brown wolf wove through the crowd of attackers. "Now!"

  His Alpha command had no control over me. I just shrugged him off as I took out an oncoming, snarling enemy.

  This fight seemed easy—too easy. Something was missing; something that Barlowe always used to abolish his competition. Something we referred to as his secret weapon of destruction.

  We'd heard stories of what it could be—most claiming it was too fast and powerful to make out before their packs were decimated and left in shambles. Others swore it was a strong and larger-than-life wolf that was the sole perpetrator and easily took down their Alphas and any that was in its path.

  Its absence had to be the reason for our success in pushing back the king's men to our borders and out of our lands.

  I let out a shuttered breath as my aching muscles quivered under my wolf's body, each sore from the waves of wolves that swarmed us and attempted to take over.

  We were strong enough this time to keep them at bay, but Barlowe would return. He always returned to finish what he had started. It was only a matter of time.

  Members of our pack cheered as the enemies tucked their tails between their legs and scurried back toward the direction from which they came. All, but a loathing man that towered within the tree line with fire ablaze in his stormy black eyes.

  I caught his attention, and the hatred that radiated from him in waves made my body shiver. With a final growl as if promising to return, he followed after his fighters and vanished from sight.

  I shifted back into my human form and dropped my shoulders, releasing the built-up tension from the fight. If it weren't for my extensive training, that situation could have deescalated rather quickly.

  There wasn't much time for me to celebrate my ability to keep myself alive for very long before a calloused hand gripped my forearm and spun me with an aggression that made me stumble on my bare feet.

  My father glared down at me, his eyes fading to black with the unexpressed rage he was struggling to contain. "You should have listened."