Chapter 2 The Crimson Dawn

Anna's POV

The sun was bright the next morning, and it hurt my eyes. I woke up with my face stuck to my pillow. My skin felt tight from the dried mud and tears. My head hurt very badly. It reminded me of all the mean things the Silverfang Pack said to me last night.

I sat up slowly. My clothes were still wet from the rain and had dried into a hard shell. I looked in the mirror. My eyes were red and swollen. I looked like a victim. I looked like the weak girl everyone thought I was.

Before leaving, I had to grab the only thing I had left: my grandmother's old medical kit. She was the greatest healer the pack ever had, and this kit was my last connection to her. As I threw my few belongings into a bag, the kit fell, hitting the floor with a hollow thud. A secret compartment at the bottom popped open.

Inside was a small, dusty logbook with Derrick's handwriting on the pages.

My breath hitched as I read the entries. They weren't notes on healing; they were records of a crime. For three years, Derrick had been logging the doses of "strength supplements" he forced me to take every morning. He claimed they were to help my "weak human heart," but the logbook told the truth: Wolf-Suppressants.

He had been systematically drugging me since I was twenty. He knew that as the granddaughter of a legendary healer, my wolf would be powerful-too powerful for him to control. He didn't love me; he was a jailer. He kept me "wolfless" and "weak" so I would never realize I was the rightful leader of this pack, and he could stay in power as the acting Alpha.

The sadness went away instantly. It was replaced by a cold, sharp anger that burned hotter than any sun. I was not "weak" because of nature; I was weak because of a coward's poison.

"You want a monster?" I whispered, looking at the logbook. "I will give you one."

I took off my dirty clothes and took a very hot shower. I scrubbed my skin until it was red, wanting to wash away the years of Derrick's poison. When I got out, I felt dangerous.

I went to my closet. I put on tight black pants and a dark top. I put on my heavy leather biker jacket with silver studs. I sat down and put on my darkest lipstick. It was the color of blood. I pulled my hair back into a very tight, high ponytail.

Finally, I reached under my bed and opened a metal box. Inside was the silver gun Derrick gave me. He said I needed it because I was too weak to fight. I picked it up. It was heavy and cold.

"Protect me, right?" I said quietly. I loaded the gun with silver bullets. Each click felt like a promise of revenge.

I walked outside and got on my motorcycle. The engine made a loud, angry scream. I didn't wear a helmet. I wanted them to see the face of the woman they had spent years drugging.

I drove fast toward the Silverfang palace. I didn't care about the laws. When I got to the gate, the guards tried to block me. I didn't stop. I drove straight at them. They jumped out of the way. I roared up the long driveway and stopped right in front of the palace doors, leaving a black tire mark on the white stone.

I jumped off the bike and checked the gun behind my back.

I walked through the big hall. My boots made a loud clicking sound on the floor. Some workers stopped and stared at me.

"Anna? Why are you here?" one girl asked. "Derrick said you were gone."

"He will see me," I snapped.

I went to the Alpha's office on the top floor. I didn't knock. I kicked the doors open as hard as I could. They hit the walls with a loud bang.

The room was dark. I saw two tall men standing in the shadows by the desk. I didn't look at their faces. I only saw the shapes of the men who belonged to the pack that had stolen my life.

"You should not have come back, Anna," a deep voice said. It was not Derrick's voice, but with the poison finally leaving my system, my senses were screaming too loud for me to notice.

"Go to hell," I hissed.

I pulled out my gun and shot twice into the shadows. Bang! Bang!

The flashes of light lit up the room. I saw one man move as a bullet hit his shoulder, but they did not fall. Then, I felt a heavy pressure. It was a powerful Alpha energy. It felt like a giant wave hitting my chest. It was hard to breathe. My knees started to shake.

For the first time in years, without the suppressants to hold it back, my inner wolf started to howl.

The two men walked out of the dark. They were identical twins with sharp jaws and glowing amber eyes. These were not Derrick's friends. These were the Kings of Silverfang. Ronald and Ryker Reed.

Ryker touched his shoulder where the bullet hit him. He didn't look mad. He looked interested. He licked a drop of blood from his fingers.

"You have a good aim, little wolf," he said. His voice was like thunder.

Ronald stepped closer. When our eyes met, the world stopped. I felt a golden thread connect my heart to theirs. It was a very strong pull.

My hand went weak. The gun fell to the floor with a loud clang. A voice in my head whispered one word.

Mates.

I was in shock. I came here to kill a traitor, but I had just shot at my fated mates. The two most powerful Alphas in the world were looking at me as if they had finally found the prize they were looking for.

"Well, Ronald," Ryker said with a dark smile. "Coming home is going to be very interesting".