Profound Devotion

Chapter 1

July 01 (Present Day)
Monaia

  I sat in a comfortable silence and listened to the illimitable story that my mother had been dramatically citing to the young wolves. They squealed and hid behind their hands as she played out the surprise attacks on the Lycans with her outstretched arms and elongated fangs.

  Although she was no longer Luna of our small pack, she still enjoyed entertaining the members as if they were her own family.

  Her frosty hair, the exact color I'd been jealous of for not receiving myself, was coiled into a high bun on the back of her head, strands fawning like featherweights down her flushed cheeks. The pink tinge deepened as she roared playfully in the face of a young pup, fighting her own smile as he shrieked and scurried away from the crazed woman.

  Our eyes locked for only a brief moment, the identical, golden-brown colors shimmering with contentment as the evening began winding down.

  The story ended the same each time she insisted upon it—with two brothers barely making it out with their lives, and now destined to wander the mystical darkness of the trees in search of those responsible for their family's demise.

  We'd all heard the news of the invasion nearly six months ago. Though many didn't agree with what had unraveled, none stepped in to stop it, let alone offer solace to any possible survivors.

  My older brother, Atticus, believed in living the ways of the gods, staying out of something that he had no place being involved in. We were a small, close-knit pack, and we were led to embrace the calmness of the Earth rather than the fiery wrath that fueled many other packs' decisions. Instead of violence, discussing other ways to handle our problems was heavily encouraged.

  My mother threw a large bucket of lake water over the sizzling bonfire, watching as a large puff of smoke filled the air above it while the flames reduced to nothing more than crackling ash.

  "Alright, children. Time to turn in for the night." As she spoke, the twinkling of the stars above as well as the glow of lightning bugs brightened the crisp night air.

  Her words that echoed into the old oak trees around us were met with a chorus of adolescent groans that exhilarated cheers from the children that were all-too eager to return to the safety of their mothers' embraces.

  Their rustling footsteps crinkled the lush green grass that flourished in the mid-summer weather. The mumbled conversations carried over the melodious chirps of the crickets hidden within the soil, absorbing any other natural sounds that accompanied.

  "So? What did you think?" My mother tugged the thick elastic from her hair, letting it cascade down her back in pressed waves and brighten her fair skin. She watched my genuine smile form through her dark lashes, a single thin eyebrow lay raised as she waited for me to find my voice.

  "I don't know." My tone dripped with amusement as I did a poor job of teasing her. "You were more convincing last week with your portrayal of Raian."

  The similar smile that never seemed to leave her own lips managed to stretch even wider as she lowered onto the chopped log at my side.

  Raian, one of the two Lycan brothers that was rumored to have escaped the brutal slaughter that wiped out most of their kind, seemed to be the only one anyone knew anything about.

  According to the rumors, he was smart, strategic, and a kind of charismatic that drew others in. It was speculated that he was the reason for their safety, though I didn't know enough to understand whether or not that was true.

  As for his brother, we had nothing on him--not even a name to whisper into the night or, in my mother's case, frighten the younger generation of wolves with.