What was Lost

Prologue

Set a few weeks before chapter one

The leggy blond strode casually through the undergrowth, the evil sneer on her face growing larger as she spotted the man waiting for her just beyond the tree line.

"So? Is it done?" She demanded, though they both knew she had no right to. He was by far the more powerful of the two, and did not enjoy being commanded by mouthy little whores.

Grabbing her long blond hair in his hand, he dragged her towards him and spoke into her ear, "do not think to command me, whelp. Yes, it is done. In a moon cycles time my boys will penetrate your 'Alpha's' territory. Do not fret. They will not kill...many. Then, as has been decided, you will cast the spell and sever their mate bond and tie him to yourself. After that, the pack will be easy pickings."

"Yes, yes, of course. I am sorry," she whimpered as he kept a tight hold on her hair.

"Good. Once this is over, you can have your Alpha and I can have my pack," he laughed and pushed her away from him by the hair.

Of course he forgot to mention to her that once he used her to gain power, both she and the Alpha she so loved would die. He wanted his nephew dead almost as much as he wanted power, and the girl was a liability. There was no way he would let them off.

It took her a minute to orientate herself; the push had sent her to the floor. When she did finally look up, he was gone.

Ariana's POV (at the same time)

I woke with a jolt, and stretched my arms out beside me, searching, while my eyes tried to adjust to the early morning light. My hand touched smooth warm skin and once I could see clearly, I realised it was Requiem.

A sigh of relief escaped my mouth at the familiar face. He was lying on his side facing me, his long black locks covering his eyes as he slept peacefully. I pushed back his locks so I could see his face clearly, trying to calm down.

Many nights and mornings I had woken terrified by my nightmares, only to be instantly soothed by the sight of my mate's sleeping next to me. This time however, even the sight of him could not calm me.

This nightmare was a new one. It wasn't a memory of the past like usual, as that I would have been able to cope with. After all, I had already survived the horrors of my past.

No. This nightmare made me feel a lot worse than anything else ever had. The fear it incited in me was a foreign one-not a fear of the past, but a fear of the inevitable. In the dream I knew something was going to happen. I had been running, chasing after something that was always just a hairs breath from my reach, all the while knowing that it was useless to do so as whatever I was trying to prevent would happen regardless.

"Ari? What's wrong?" Requiem's low voice, husky from having just woke up cut through my train of thought.

"Nothing," I replied quickly, then, a little hesitantly, "it was just another nightmare".

"What?! Why didn't you wake me up?" his voice grew louder, and all traces of sleep were gone. He shot up to a sitting position and wrapped his arms around me puling me closer till I was nestled into his side. When I spoke, I did so into his side so the sound was muffled, but I knew he could hear me thanks to his Were hearing.

"S'nothing. I didn't want to wake you just because of a little nightmare. Besides, it was the usual. I'm not even bothered by them anymore," I said. I didn't know what prompted me to lie to him, but I did.

He stared at me, one eyebrow raised in disbelief and I stared back.

After a while of staring, Requiem gave in and blinked. Internally, I did a little dance at having beat the Alpha in a staring competition, even though I knew he had let me win. He grabbed my head with both hands, leaned towards me and placed a lingering kiss to my forehead then placed his own forehead against mine.

"Promise me, Ari. It doesn't matter if it's a nightmare, or a good dream. Tell me. Don't keep things from me. Okay? Never," his voice was soft, almost vulnerable, and my heart hurt at the fact that I had lied to him but I knew it was for the best.

Telling him how scared I really was would only set off his overprotective instincts, and while it would mean that I would be smothered by affection, it would not be good news for the pack. When an Alpha became overprotective, he saw everything apart from his mate as a threat. Right now, with the threat of the neighbouring Alpha being in possible cahoots with the local Rogue population the Pack needed their Alpha to take charge, which he could not do if he saw them as threats.

"I promise," I whispered, tilting my head to meet his lips with my own in a soft kiss.