Forbidden Queen
Chapter Eleven – Captured

Alex

As we get closer to Black Moon pack territory, I have increased the sentries around our camp and have sent out more scouting parties to search for any signs that their warriors are close. The next few days of our journey are likely to be the most dangerous.

I am keen that all of our warriors take a turn in carrying out sentry and scouting duties, and Joseph has agreed with me. I am pleased with how well the warriors from our two packs have worked together. Our partnership has made it easy for the Royal and Lunar Eclipse pack warriors to train and socialise with each other. We are becoming one unit.

Tonight, I have sent out a scouting party with a mixture of Lunar Eclipse and Royal Guard wolves. I have included Daniel so that he can learn from the Royal Guard wolves their superior scouting and tracking skills. He has the making of a good warrior, and spending time training and patrolling with the Royal Guards is the best way for him to achieve his potential.

At the moment though, I want to forget about the danger we face. I want to spend time with my mate. I have loved watching her on this journey grow into her role as queen. Each night she speaks to a different group of wolves we are travelling with, learning as much as she can about them. I can see how desperate she is to be worthy of her role. I am so proud of the way she manages to put them at their ease. I can see that they are growing to love her, not just as their queen but for the person that she is.

She turns to look at me and smiles. Even from a distance she is aware of my gaze upon her. I walk slowly towards her.

Anna

I have been travelling for two days and so far, none of the warriors I know my father will have sent after me have managed to catch me. I have run in my wolf form during the night, and then stopped to replace shelter and rest during the day. I can’t stop for too long. The wolves of my pack are merciless, they can run day and night without tiring, track the faintest trail. I don’t have their skills; my only advantage is the head start I have manged to give myself. I just have to hope that they won’t guess where I am running too, and they don’t replace it easy to track me.

I have never met or had contact with my uncle and I am hoping that that will mean that my father won’t guess that that is where I am heading.

I have to keep moving, as fast as I can, there is no point in being quiet. I need to put as much distance between myself and my father’s pack as I can. This strategy isn’t without risk. The land I am running through is not owned by any pack which means I won’t encounter any pack warriors, but it is bound to be full of rogues. I shiver at the thought, vicious outlaws who would take great delight in ripping out the throat of a pack werewolf like me. The risk is worth taking though if it helps me escape from my father.

I have been running in my wolf form for a couple of hours. I still have plenty of energy left, I know that my wolf is enjoying being able to run free, to be able to explore new territory, she is far braver than me.

We run into a clearing, and then suddenly she stops. She raises her snout in the air, as she smells wolves. At least six of them, I recognise the scent they belong to my father’s pack. They have managed to catch up with me.

We start to run, I urge her to move faster; she picks up speed, as we try to put as much distance as we can between us and my father’s warriors. It is no use I am not fast enough, they are getting closer and closer, my lungs are bursting from the lack of oxygen, my legs are beginning to ache, but I dare not slow down, I won’t give up, if they catch me, I know that this will be the end of me. My father will kill me.

I can hear them behind me now, they are relentless in their pursuit. As they start to gain on me, I feel myself begin to panic. I try to swallow the feelings down and work out what to do next. I decide to move further into the deepest part of the forest. It is blacker here, more difficult to navigate with roots, bushes and dead tree trunks littering the way, but their speed will not give them an advantage.

I can hear their paws pounding into the hard ground, as they draw closer and closer. They are not far behind me now, but I try to dig deep to get one more burst of energy to pull me away, to enable me to escape their grasp but I have nothing left.

Suddenly my foot catches on a tree root, and I go flying through the air landing hard on my stomach. I try to get up again but as soon as I try to put pressure on my right ankle I collapse. I try again to get to my feet but as I do a large wolf lunges at me. Their weight pins me to the ground, claws dig into my back, and I feel their hot sour breath on my neck. Their fangs graze my neck ready to bite down and rip out my throat if I move.

I stay still, my neck bared, I submit.

Realising that he has won the wolf that has pinned me to the ground shifts back to his human form. “You have been a bad girl Anna, time to go home and face your punishment” he snarls into my ear.

I say nothing. I just lie there. I know that this is the end, that any chance I had of escape has gone.

His grip on me tightens as he pulls me roughly to my feet.

I look around to see another five wolves watching me, sneers on their faces. I have never spoken to any of them before, but I recognise them, they are among my father’s elite warriors. I know that they will have no sympathy for me.

“Time to go princess” the wolf holding my arm says as he pushes me forward.

At that moment I hear a shout from one of my father’s warriors as eight snarling wolves appear from nowhere. They are not rogues I don’t smell the horrible scent that usually accompanies rogues. I can tell by their lean but muscular physique and the scars that litter their bodies, that they are warriors. They look as though they will be a match for my father’s wolves.

They launch themselves at my father’s men, who have been caught by surprise. They were too intent on capturing me to notice these strange wolves until it was too late.

Even though they have been surprised by the attack, it only takes my father’s warriors a few moments to recover. Fierce fighting breaks out and it is clear that they are evenly matched. I watch as the snarling wolves rip their claws through flesh. Teeth snapping and biting deep as they try to tear out throats and rip open stomachs.

It is a horrific sight, and for a moment I stand there watching, unable to tear my eyes away as the fight progresses. I try to pull myself together, I need to go now, this is my best chance to escape. I don’t know these strange wolves, just because they are willing to attack my father’s warriors doesn’t mean that they will be friends to me. If I can get away without them noticing, then I still might make it to my uncle’s pack.

And then, above the noise of the battle I hear a scream, the sound goes straight through me I feel like it is piercing my soul. I replace myself turning round unable to stop myself as I desperately try to locate the wolf who made that terrible noise. When I look back, my eyes are drawn to a wolf who is gravely injured.

He has a deep wound to his right shoulder, his arm almost torn from his socket hangs uselessly at his side. He must be in terrible pain, but it doesn’t stop him, he launches himself at his attacker, fangs bared he manages to bite deep into his opponent’s neck tearing out their throat. After making this supreme effort he looks ready to collapse, but in that moment, he turns towards me, he stumbles, his face grimacing, his eyes filled with pain, until they meet mine.

The world seems to slow as we look at each other, his eyes widen as we both realise what we are to each other. Mate

I can’t leave now. I can’t leave him to die. I move forward and I watch as he tries to stagger towards me, but his wounds are too great. He stumbles, and then falls to the ground.

I rush towards him. I can’t lose him before I even know who he is. My mate the one made for me. As I reach his side, I barely notice that the battle is beginning to slow. I am consumed by only one thought saving my mate.

I kneel down beside him and place my hands above the wound in his shoulder. I close my eyes and concentrate all my energy on his injury. I feel a sharp pain course through me as my healing energy flows from me to him. His wounds slowly begin to heal. After a minute I open my eyes and notice that his injury has all but disappeared, only a slight redness can be seen where a minute before had been a terrible wound.

I move on to his arm, gently as I can I lift up the torn limb and position it close to his socket. This wound is more difficult to heal. His arm has been almost pulled clean from his body, I know that it will take all of my remaining energy to heal him, but I close my eyes, and concentrate again, pushing more energy into his injury. I feel it begin to work and after a few minutes. I open my eyes again to see his arm attached to his body.

I turn to look at him and see his eyes staring up at me. “You healed me” he says with awe.

“Yes, but it will leave a scar. I am not a proper healer”

I would have died without your help.”

“We must thank you for helping Daniel” a voice says behind me “but we need to know who you are and why you were travelling with these wolves.”

I turn to see a tall, fierce warriors whose body is littered with scars. I have to come up with an excuse that he will believe quickly.

“I wasn’t with them. I was travelling to my uncle’s pack, when I stumbled upon those wolves, and they started to chase me. They had just captured me when you came.

“You are travelling to visit your uncle, alone through rogue lands?” he asks sceptically. “There are safer ways to travel to other packs without risking a rogue attack.”

“I, I wasn’t sure what to do. My mother has just died, and my uncle is the only family that I have left.” I am a terrible liar, but as this isn’t really a lie, I hope I have made it sound believable. I just have to pray that it will be enough, and he won’t ask me anything else.

“What is the name of your uncle’s pack?”

“The North Fang Pack” I tell him. It is the truth, I won’t tell him that he is the alpha, if anyone asks, I will say he is an omega.

“Which pack do you belong to?”

“I am a lone wolf.”

He expression softens. “There are a lot of good wolves who became loners after they lost their packs during the war.”

I sigh in relief. I am not sure if he fully believes of my story but I don’t think that he considers me a threat

“But I cannot trust just your word” he continues. “You will need to come back with us to our camp, my commander will want to question you. If you speak the truth, then we can help you to reach your uncle’s pack, they border our lands.”

I nod. He doesn’t mention what will happen to me if they don’t believe my story, but I don’t have any other option. They aren’t going to let me go. I just have to hope that my story stands up to closer scrutiny and that they don’t guess who I really am.

“Daniel” the wolf says to my wounded mate. “I want you to stay with her.”

He nods, and I can see determination and what looks like suspicion in his eyes. Even though I have healed him, saved his life, and he realises that we are mates, that is not enough to enable him to trust me straight away. I know for certain that the mate bond between us will not prevent him from doing what he feels is his duty.

Who is my mate? Is he going to be my protector, my soul mate, or will he judge and punish me when he realises who I really am?