Smoke and Mirrors {Completed}

Chapter Thirteen: Pawn

Sapphire Nightborne

I took my first breath expecting it to be befouled with the stench of blood and rust as what I have been accustomed to the past few days. What I did not expect, however, was the fresh familiar scent of pine and honeysuckle to fill my lungs. The sun's glare caused me to shield my eyes as they were too accustomed to the dimly lit room that I had been locked away in, the discomfort was only temporary, but the relief was not. I let out a laugh as I started to run through the forest. I was finally free.

The wind whipped through my hair as I sprinted through the trees, laughing with happiness before a large log, shifting in mid-air, landing on all fours.

The feeling of grass beneath my paws instead of dirty cold concrete was a welcome change, I howled as I ran deeper into the forest, jumping over large exposed tree roots and boulders. All those days of being cooped up in that small room was just torture. I was never meant to be locked away, that was what my father used to tell the elders when I was a child, he often joked that my future husband would have his hands full due to my wild spirit whenever they suggested the best decision for the pack was to be married off. That did not bother me now, all the pain of the struggles I faced flew away with the wind as it swept past my face. For the first time in days, I laughed as I charged through the forest.

It seemed like an endless journey till I saw a white strip of cloth tied to a branch of a tree, lazily fluttering through the air. I stopped and looked closer, and it seemed like time stopped with me. I closed my eyes as when they opened, I saw two young girls running through the forest, one laughing while the other kept looking left and right as if she had committed a crime and was about to be caught.

"Lia, if you continue at your current pace, you are going to be an old hag by the time we finish exploring this forest."

"Sapph, are you out of your mind! Do you know how close we are to the pack's border? We are not even allowed to be this deep in the forest!"

The younger girl promptly rolled her eyes at her sister's rambling and ventured on, a bird's squawk caused the older one to jump and to cling on to the younger one which earned her another eye roll.

"Fine!"

The younger one relented before tearing a strip off her shirt, tying it on a branch near them."

We can go, but next time we find this and continue."

The older one nodded her head frantically before dragging her sister along.

I watched them run off before disappearing. That promise was never kept, Lia was soon swept away to be trained as Alpha Female and I was too busy trying to become someone that no one thought I could be.

That piece of white cloth used to represent to me hope and adventure and now, all it represented was a broken promise. I ran that piece of cloth across my hand, remembering another promise that was broken at the other end of this forest.

I watched as a black wolf was pinned by another, the wolf below frantically gesturing for the little boy that was once on her back to run, I saw the look of pure horror and terror on that boy's face before he ran, his sobs could be heard as wolves chased him. This cloth in my hand reminded me of my failure and the broken promise to my sister to keep her son safe. I was so absorbed in my memories that I failed to sense a presence behind me.

"Times do change, don't they Sapphire Nightborne?"

I whirled around with my claws extended and teeth bared, I expected to see Damien or one of his little minions, not a woman with a motherly smile. She looked a few years older than me and was my complete opposite with her soft features and light hair. She wore a simple white gown bound at the waist by a gold sash, its simplicity enhanced the grandeur brought by the gold tiara that set on top of her fair hair.