Liberty (A Barren Luna)

Prologue

I was being held captive by another pack the day my mate had found me. I remembered how there had been a burst of light in the dark area that was the cells, rubble exploding all over the place causing the prisoners to cower in fear before the scents of multiple wolves seeped in. The most protruding scent was that of pine which was intoxicating and left me wanting to know who it was behind the smell. 

I was left disappointed as the scent faded away, but soon I was released from the place I had been kept in for as long as I could remember. A large man was standing in the middle of the walkway, his eyes looking at our frail bodies which had been starved on several occasions. We looked a sight, our faces all featuring sunken cheeks and our figures almost skeletal, deprived of our wolves and ultimately our joy. The man radiated power, but he was not the one who I had smelled earlier.

"Prisoners you have been freed, you must now make the choice of joining our pack or fleeing to find the packs you were taken from," His voice boomed, echoing around the dark room as we all looked at each other with true disbelief as to what was happening. 

Most of us had been kidnapped from our packs and the others had been taking as war trophies following the massacre of our pack. I was in the latter group, but all the years of torture and being held captive made me fear being captured again. I feared this was all a sick joke and so I decided I would be fleeing rather than associating myself with another pack. 

The bulky powerful being took those who were willing to join his pack, which was about half the group of prisoners. They went through the hole which had been created through explosives and so we the deserters also crept out, most of our eyes unable to handle the harshness of real sunlight after years of being accustomed to a single amber flame. 

Our clothes were tattered and faded in the light of the sun, skins decorated with scars and welts from injuries acquired while living in unsanitary conditions. Our lanky legs tried to climb the large boulders created by the explosion while hands acted as guards against the sunlight. 

I took in my surroundings, there was smoke everywhere and the ground was black from being burnt. There were several trees all over the place which had been burnt or had toppled over. All in all it was chaotic and caused me to have a flash of memory from my past along with a headache.

I trudged along with the group of deserters trying to keep my head low. I knew I had no pack and ultimately no family from what I could remember. I would use the time spent travelling to figure out a plan, and once I had a plan I would break off from the rest of the group. 

Suddenly we were stopped by a grey wolf which was larger than usual and from the power that radiated off it we all stiffened at the presence of an Alpha. Soon in place of the wolf was a large man, larger than the one who had come to fish us out of the cells. He stood tall with his 6'6 bulky, athletic stature. His face was beautiful, his eyes a faded looking blue colour complete with dark brown hair in a Caesar cut and a 5 o'clock shadow.

"Reconsider your decisions. You've been kept captive for as long as 1 year to 6 years and in that time have lost the abilities to shift either through being imprisoned or injected with substances. This is the North, and the majority of your packs are in the East and West. The journey is long and perilous, and many of you will die without adequate food and water supply. There is also the risk of coming across hunters and rogues,"