Finley runs from her home after discovering the shocking truth of her parents death and right into the arms of a devilish rogue who just so happens to harbor his own secrets. Through the turmoil of fate, the two manage to pursue their rocky relation...
She runs her bony fingers through the dirty blonde locks, feeling tears prick her light eyes. "He doesn't mean it," the girl mumbles between each sob. He's just not thinking because they're gone, she tells herself.
"Emma!" His voice resonates in her chest, her body trembling in response. She wished he would just go away, leave her to the sadness plunging deep into her body, cutting her abdomen, and plaguing her mind. "I'm coming up!"
She presses her body against the edge of the bed, her knees drawn to her chest. The door creaks open to reveal a man about her age, his heart-shaped face adorned with light blonde stubble and parted pink lips. "I'm sorry, Emma.." he trails on as he leans on the doorframe.
"This isn't what mom and dad would of wanted for you." He reasons, running his long fingers through his strikingly similar blonde hair. "None of this bullshit."
"Emery," Emma says softly as though fearful of how he'll respond. "I'm not mad at you." She tries to reassure him, her eyes downcast as they focus on the cracks lining the wooden flooring.
"Really?" He asks, relief flooding through his wiry body. "I didn't mean to hit you, I just get so," he cuts himself off, sighing.
Angry, he just gets so angry, she finishes in her thoughts, closing her milky eyelids. "I want to move into Aunt Olivia's." She mumbles beneath her breath, partially praying he doesn't hear her.
"What?" He asks in disbelief. "Did you say you want to move out?" His nostrils flare in anger, his heart burning from betrayal, "We're twins, Emma! You can't leave me."
Tears squeeze from her worn denim hues, "I'm so sorry," she cries, slowly pulling herself up with her bedpost, opening her wet eyes.
"No," He growls, striking her cheek with the back of his hand and she slumps back down, defeated. Emma presses the flesh of her palm to her cheek in awe, disgust building in the pit of her stomach.
"Yes," she tries again, pulling raw courage from her chest cavity. With unsecure legs, Emma manages to stand yet again but can't meet her brother's hateful gaze. "I'm leaving."
She turns to start packing, pulling out her backpack from under her bed frame. "I am the alpha!" He screams and pushes her against the wall, his breath hot on her neck.
"No," she whimpers in pain at his tight hold. "We both are." Emery yells in pure anger in front of her, dropping her wrists and backing away slowly.
"You better keep your mouth shut, Emma." He threatens in a low growl, his icy blue hues narrowing in on his broken sister. "If any of this gets out, I'll end you like them."
Emma's mouth parts open in realization, "You murdered our parents." She states dumbfoundedly.
He laughs in a cynical manner, light eyes gleaming in the bright room, "Of course I did, why else would they just die, poison in their system?"
"I thought they died because of the rogues," she sobs, fresh hot tears leaking from her tear ducts. "You're a monster."
"The rogues? They couldn't give two shits about our pack. We're nonexistent in their eyes." Emery's chest rises and falls, his body high on adrenaline. He had murdered their parents in cold blood and Emma found every part of him repulsing and it screwed with his head.
"Why did you do it?" She asks through thick eyelashes, "Why did you kill our parents?"
"Why does anyone do anything, dearest sister?" His voice was edged with something cynical and Emma realized the brother she had once picked daisies with was gone. "For power. I'm going to make this pack into something no one will forget."
She eyes the door warily, making calculations of how far each of them were from it. "You're sick," She mutters before breaking for the doorway, her heart set on escaping.
"You can't run from me, little Emma." He calls after her as she flees from the room.
Her legs pump up and down as her heart catches in her throat, the hallway of her old home fading fast behind her. Everything felt like it was in slow motion; her brother breathing down her neck, arms stretched wide to grab her, her feet going two steps at a time down the stairs, the way her throat refused to scream.
She reaches for the oak door and swings it open, hitting Emery in the jaw as she scrambles out of the house and into the shimmering moonlight. Emma forces her body to shift, thrusting her arms and legs out, their shape taking form of a wolf's thick light blonde fur.
Emma's haunches worked furiously but her brother's darker and blonde-brown wolf form follows closely behind, teeth bared and ready to nip. She pushes herself to the extremes, her legs plowing through the thick wilderness as her wolf-enhanced eyes guide her through the dense woodland.
Emery stumbles over a thick bush, his dark legs tripping on the thorn-covered vines. He growls as he muscles through their tightening hold but Emma powerhouses through it all, wracking her mind on where she's going.
If she manages to escape from Emery she can't risk going to Aunt Olivia's, he'd know that she would go there first. She continues straight and realizes he wasn't behind her anymore so she veers left, towards the underside of a creek where she nestles against the dirt wall, hiding her lighter fur behind the thick curtain of tree roots.
The light footsteps of her brother sounds above her and she holds her breath, closing her glowing amber hues as she prays for him to wander off. Within moments he does and begins trotting north towards their aunt's house.
Emma rests her body on the cold earth, her large paws dipping into the clear water. She watches crawdads dig into the mud which makes the water murky with the swirling of dirt. A simple life, she thinks softly.
She pulls her thick chest up, her haunches still resting on the floor. Emma gathers her courage and willpower, knowing Emery would send a search party for her if he came back empty handed. There was no time to stall.
Lapping up the now clear liquid, Emma plunges herself into the hip-deep water and wades across, eyeing her surroundings. The night owls hoot and the bats soar across the woods, but there were no paws padding on the forest floor.
Emma shakes her body out, feeling the flecks of water fall from her long coat. She begins her long trek south, towards the uncharted territories and away from her home pack.
