Higher

Prologue

It began with a scared girl completely alone in the world and a pack of people who stared at her with digest and resentment. Everyone's eyes filed with so much hatred as she desperately tried to tell them about the monsters chasing her. The 11-year-old begged with the Alpha who's eyes were as dark as night and cold as ice. He scoffed at the idea of letting an outsider into the pack and then laughed at the ridiculousness of the proposition.

Everyone that surrounded her laughed uneasily with him as if only to please the intimidating Alpha. Everyone expect one.

The 13-year-old boy with the gorgeous blue eyes only stared with amazement for a second before returning to his full time stoic appearance. An expression that was much too old for a child to wear.

"Please, please." Tears were streaming down her face as she fell to the ground and heard the loud clicking of the monsters closing in on her.

Finally the Alpha noticed the beady red eyes of the creatures in the forest.

"We just want the girl werewolf, let her go and your pack lives." The leader of the Gashadokuro was taller than the rest and he towered over the treetops of the dense forest. His body made sounds of bones cracking which wasn't surprising since the leader was only made of bones. Skin hanged off of him at some points and the smell of rotten flesh caused the Alpha to gag.

"This is not your territory, leave." The booming voice fell over the crowd and he glared at the skeleton.

"So you have chosen the hard way, wolf." The army of Gashadokuro emerged from their crouched spots and then started walking towards the group surrounding the girl. There was about six of them. All vastly different bone structures but the same glare of hatred towards the werewolves.

In seconds a battle began as the wolves shifted and the skeletons ran towards the fight, since they were all so tall it took one step to already be in the fight.

"Come with me." The boy with the gorgeous blue eyes pulled the girl to her feet and away from the fight.

They ran through the forest before finding a house that seemed to belong to the boy. He pulled her into the house, up the stairs, and into the bathroom. He locked it, picked up the girl with ease and set her on the counter before desperately looking through the cupboards and pulling out a first aid kit.

The boy's face appeared passive but his eyes showed his worry for the girl he had just met. It baffled the girl. She had been alone for her whole life yet this boy was determined to help a stranger like her.

"What is your name?" She asked, watching as he cleaned her wounds and wrapped bandages around any openings in her skin. She had many. Running through trees cut her badly and she barely wanted to look at her bruised body.

"Theo." He stopped working and looked at the girl who was now eye level since she was on the counter. "Theo Hunt."

"Hayden." She replied, not wanting to elaborate simply because she couldn't. Not having a last name baffled many people but it seemed as if Theo wasn't one to ask questions.

He nodded before continuing to patch her up as best as a 13-year-old could. Though he had no expression on his face, which she realized was pretty normal for him, he would wince every time he did something that would cause pain to Hayden.

The comfort of being around him hit her like waves. When she was undoubtedly kicked out of this pack as soon as the Alpha returned, she at least had these few minutes of someone worrying about her. Someone who appeared to care for the girl who had nothing, even for this short time.

Once Theo was finished he leaned back and just observed the girl, his face not giving away anything he thought.

His was very good at hiding his emotions. Hayden normally was good at it as well, only having yourself to rely on does that to you, yet she knew her face showed the yearning, the fear, and the crushing feeling that had consumed her for most of her life.

She was tempted to say something to break the silence between them and hopefully stop Theo from staring at her so intently.

"I'm sorry." Her voice small as she thought about the fight between Theo's pack and the Gashadokuro which she led to the area. Normally she avoided packs, they always worked out poorly, but she didn't really have a choice in which way the Gashadokuro chased her. She still felt bad though, people could get hurt and it would be her fault.

Upon observation it was easy to see that Theo was the Alpha's son. He had many of the same features and radiated both power & secrecy. Though he wasn't a man of many words, Hayden knew Theo would make a great Alpha.

Theo shrugged, as if the prospect of someone getting hurt didn't phase him.

Perhaps, Hayden was wrong. Theo wasn't going to be the best Alpha. It was confusing considering that he had helped her but couldn't care less about those fighting.

"I hope one of them gets what is coming to him." Theo's eyes flashed with rage before he returned once again to his neutral expression.

There was a loud crashing noise as someone stepped into the house.

"Theo?" A person called out from downstairs. The voice didn't provoke the fear and intimidation that the Alpha's did but it was powerful. Perhaps the person downstairs was the Beta.

Theo got up from his spot and hesitantly grabbed Hayden's hand as he pulled her out of the bathroom and towards the Beta.

"Your father is died." Beta was blunt, as soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs he released the news.

Hayden put her hand over her mouth as tears started to come out, her other hand squeezing Theo's in hopes of comfort.

However, Theo needed no comfort, the smile on his face made him appear sadistic enough for Hayden to let go of his hand.

"It's over." The Beta looked relived as well. As if the death of the Alpha was the best thing to happen tonight.

Theo looked at Hayden and then back at the Beta, his face now clear of any emotion. "She stays."

The Beta smiled, "Of course. I'll bring her to the Willson's." He proceeded to walk out the door with Hayden following him.

Though confused, she felt as if she knew what was going on as soon as she realized the bruises on Theo when she was giving him a last glance.

He smiled at her, the tiniest but still accountable smile. As if all his fears had suddenly disappeared in these few moments.

"Thank you." He said to her before turning around and into the empty house.