Prologue
A moonless night.
The sound of a window shattering woke me in the middle of the night. The next thing I heard were my little sister's screams, followed by my mother's, and the heavy footsteps of my father in the hallway.
One, two, three. Those were the shots I heard next. The voices of strangers in my house made me get out of bed with my heart in my throat.
"One is missing! Find her and don't let her escape!" I heard someone say. "Kill her too and burn the house!"
I remember the tears burning my eyes after hearing that bastard say they had killed my family. But I didn't want to die, I didn't want to live.
Quickly, I opened the attic skylight and looked outside. Fortunately, no one was there. I could hear doors being violently opened and slammed shut, hear them destroying everything and searching for me in the huge mansion.
I didn't have time; I had to leave as fast as possible before they caught me. I grabbed my backpack and packed what I considered important. I put out a foot, then my arm, making sure not to fall, and looked up.
I smelled the bitter aroma of smoke and the blood of the people I loved most in the world.
"She's not in the house! The damn girl escaped!" a second voice shouted. "Everyone out before the dogs arrive!"
A human came out the front door. I observed his face, his hair color, his height, and the tattoo on his left hand. That man got into one of the black Mercedes a few meters from my house and drove away.
I couldn't risk being seen if I jumped. So I climbed, pushed myself with all my strength against the wall, and ended up on the roof. I could feel the intruders' steps beneath me, searching my room and pouring fuel.
I pressed my body against the tiles, which were slowly heating up from the fire below. Seconds later, they all got into their vehicles and sped away.
I jumped off the roof when I lost sight of them and got back into the house. I searched through the flames and the almost suffocating smoke for my parents' bodies and my little sister's. I could only pull out Idun's tiny body, held her in my arms, and took her outside, clinging to her, crying and swearing that one day I would take revenge on the hunters who found us and killed them as if their lives meant nothing.
The warm wind began to blow, dirt stuck to my body, and I don't know how long I was holding my little sister, but I reacted when the vehicles stopped a few meters away from me.
A warm hand rested on my shoulder and a huge shadow covered my body as he crouched in front of me, taking my dead little sister from my arms.
"I'm so sorry, darling, but you can't stay here, let's go." It was the alpha of our pack, my father's best friend, here with the Beta and their Gamma warriors.
He held out his hand, and I took it, knowing that with him I would be safe, that he would take care of me, and that his Moon would welcome me with open arms.
The first drops began to fall from the sky, as if it were crying, as if it felt the same pain I did. There was no moon, no stars. Only the horrible smell of death and black smoke.