Love Needs Loyalty

Chapter 2: The Skins

CHAPTER 2

Isla collapsed into a heap as she reached the river's frozen edge.

Sobs raked through her body, the heart shattering sound acted as though it mocked her, once the noise came in contact with the barren, winter trees.

"Why?!" she cried as she looked up toward the heavens; seeking guidance from the gods above. But her questions had never been answered before, so why would they be now?

She hated her looks, wished that the genetic make up that made her who she was, wasn't so potent.

She had taken after her father, looking nothing like the proud Luna that was her mother. From her thick, black, unruly hair to her ghastly blue-white eyes followed by her large height and toned but curvy frame, she stood out amongst the females. All thanks to her father, the people of the village joke about her being his clone, the females especially.

If she didn't tower over the female population, she wouldn't be so fussed about how she was. But the only female who was close to her 6ft height was her best friend, Mia, who had a height of 5ft 8".

She was anything but a dainty female that was submissive to males. Having her father's legendary blue white eyes just added to her misery. There have only ever been 7 other blue-white eye people to exist, they had haled from Isla's tribe and every single one of them had been male.

No one had known why she had looked like this but so the easiest way to accept it was by thanking the gods for the rarity that now walked amongst them.

The need to please them used to loom over Isla, with her every breath but now it suffocated her, she couldn't handle the pressure, she need an escape.

As she looked down on to the mirror like ice that covered the rivers surface, she saw her face, the tears that streamed down her face, leaving streaks in their wake.

With a growl, she punched the ice with all her might. The ice shattered on impact, giving her a rush of pleasure, the burn of the ice giving her a feeling of relief as the feeling of self pity was replaced with something else. Something not painful, but something refreshing.

The tears slowly started to fade away, Isla began to calm down. She now stared off into the distance, letting the howl of the winter wind and the hoot of a rebellious owl absorb her very being. It gave her a feeling of belonging, she had always been one with the winter, this was the time of the year when she thrived. It made to much sense being that she was the only one within the tribe to have been born in this harsh, cold season.

Slowly, she feel black on her back, staring at the leafless tree tops, the snow melting and seeping into her skin, as though there was an unknown source drawing the cold into her body. Lost in her own world, she lay there, oblivious to the dangers lurking close by.

~*~

Isla awoke with a gasp, a sharp pain taring its way through her chest, causing her to arch her back and let out a scream that fell silently from her lips.

It felt like an eternity before the pain slowly ebbed away, finally allowing her to gather her thoughts. But something was wrong, her mind felt...

Silent.

She had never physically felt this much silence. Her mind was always buzzing with bond that she had between both her parents and pack, but the bonds were dead quiet. In rush she stood and spun around trying to grasp the situation, to gather a plan. That was before the screams started to ring throughout the forest.

The pain started to appear once again, then it finally clicked. The pain was the loss of a bond, that could only lead to one thing.

Attack. The pack was in trouble.