Chapter 2 The Phoenix Family

Amethyst

Three Months Later

I can feel my humanity slipping, when you become a rogue, there is a line that you tether between full on beast or full fledge human. I'm crossing the line of beast, mainly because Jade is vengeful. Her fangs drip with venom whenever she thinks of Mason and the Stone Heart pack. Visions of that night replay in my mind and it only aggravates me. I was naïve to think that a measly mate bond would change Mason and completely helpless to his torture.

I was weak but I won't make that mistake again.

Ever since we surrendered to the forest, everything became clearer. The sky often painted a bright blue like the ocean, clouded with white cotton candy in various shapes. The scent of nature sometimes differs, the soil, the trees, the leaves, it's a never -ending cycle. Mainly, it smelt like freshness if I could describe the scent of seeping into your bones and bringing relaxation. Living in the forests has its pros but there are way more cons, I'm basically stuck in my wolf form.

Jade is a beautiful snow-white wolf; you could spot her glowing in the darkness from miles away. When I transformed, I had to give Jade control to survive. Usually we would have conflict, fighting dominance on who should take the reins, but I wasn't going to fight my only source of survival. We hunted, deer's and rabbits. I can't stomach the taste of raw meat in human form and since that's my only means of preventing starvation, I let Jade devour all the meat she could find.

We don't have a plan, nor do we have any options. I left without a trace and as soon as I left the borders of the pack – I felt it. The bond tying me to Stone Heart, severe. Like a string being cut, everything intensified, the excruciating pain that shot through my skull and heart made me feel like I was split open. I wasn't attached to them and yet I had to suffer the lose worse than them. The howl escaped my lips before I could stop Jade, gripping my hair to supress the pain but it wouldn't stop.

That's when Jade took over, sprinting away from there territory and into the outskirts of the unknown. The further we leaped, the duller the pain became. I was grateful that Jade protected us when I couldn't – not like I ever do.

Night falls, darkness seeping into my surroundings but the glow of the moon spotlights us. I wonder if the moon goddess is watching us, seeing her repercussions of mating me to a monster. Jade places her paws in front of her, resting her chin and getting comfortable.

'I'm sorry that you are stuck with me Jade' I sob, the tears flowing down my cheeks.

I can feel her next to me, her whine and her head nuzzling into me. 'Don't say that purple, you and I are one, we are meant to be' she soothes.

A chuckle cracks into a sob as I wrap my arms around her neck. In my mind, we are both two separate beings. That's how we communicate with the ability to face each other head on but our bodies are one in the human world. Hence the werewolf title, once I turn into a wolf, that's all-Jade's entity.

'We don't have a plan' I voice as she retracts and we sit side by side, watching through her eyes like a movie of the forest.

'No, we don't but we have time to decide what to do'

I sigh. 'The best option is to find another pack, I doubt they would welcome a rogue though'

'True. But we don't know about the rules of other packs, they could be different from The Stone Heart pack' her optimistic tone brings a smile to my lips.

I'm about to voice my opinion when there is a crunch of a branch, Jade immediately transitions into defence mode. Highly alert and growling at the attacker who could jump out from any direction. We can't pick up a scent nor has there been any other movement for the past five minutes. It could have been an animal but that thought quickly dissipates when a man appears in front of me.

"Amethyst?"

Kaden Throne

It's been three months since there passing, and the wound is fresh on my chest. Not physically but metaphorically. Pressing my palm against my chest to ease the ache that threatens to appear from the memory. There was so much blood, her eyes pleading with my own before she took her last breath. The only thing that has occupied my mind was her dying wish, the only thing that's kept me distracted from the assassination of the Blood Moon Pack's Alpha and Luna, there daughter.

To say I was surprised would have been an understatement. Founding families are required to have an heir but its general knowledge that the Phoenix bloodline couldn't reproduce. No one mentioned that they couldn't have children, it was forbidden to be discussed in the manner. Sometimes I found it a blessing because the Blood Moon pack is ranked top tier for their assassination and money laundering that they bring into the council. The Phoenix bloodline is ranked number one in the founding family's council, they are constantly under attack because everyone wants their spot.

They lived with targets on there back for years and three months ago, they couldn't stop it any longer. I thought my life couldn't get any worse, I have already been through enough tragedy that I thought it would be over. The moon goddess isn't that gracious, she decided that another bleeding heart is what I deserved. Alpha Jeremy was already gone when I arrived, his throat slashed, and blood coated his naked body. The putrid taste of vomit threatening to release, his veins the colour of black from a poison I didn't recognize.

My mind was flooded with anguish until her cough rang through the deathly hollow of the room. Racing to her body, the white nightgown she always wore, tainted with blood. Pulling her onto my thighs, mind-linking with the pack doctor but he's thirty minutes away and won't make it in time.

"It's okay Kaden" her angelic voice calms me down as if she isn't dying.

My vision becomes distorted as I attempt to hold back the tears, a crushing weight in my chest as I analyse her broken smile. Her eyes the unnatural colour of lavender, it always baffled me that she was gifted a unique colour that couldn't be found anywhere. They were usually filled with sadness and a hint of light but now, they are glossy with fear and peace. A blend between the unknown but the weight of being a Phoenix finally slipping away.

"You can't leave me Luna" I cry, tugging on my lip.

Her small hand intertwines with mine, her delicate touch reminding me of a feather. "I need you to do something for me Kaden" a pleading tone that I've never heard her use.

"Anything, anything"

"You have to find her" the Luna voice peering through with dominance.

I furrow my brows. "Find who?"

"Our daughter, Amethyst"

My jaw drops, the racing of my heart drowning out the silence. They had a daughter, an heir that everyone believed either didn't exist or died along time ago. "You and Alpha Jeremy never told me"

She casts me a sorrowful look. A tear slipping from her eyes, she never cried and at her last moments, she sheds tears for her daughter and not herself.

"She wasn't safe, we couldn't keep her safe. It was the only way" Luna Sofia cries.

Holding my breath, calling the pack doctor multiple times and he ensures me that he isn't far, but I know its futile. Luna Sofia wont last much longer, her heartbeat becoming slower with each passing moment.

Luna Sofia yanks with every ounce of her strength against the necklace, the chain snapping. It's the key she always wore around her neck, no one ever knew why. Placing it in my hand, "Behind the bookshelf in his office, everything you need to know about her"

Sucking in a breath as I stare at the silver key, a plain silver key with nothing special wrapped around it besides the Luna and Alpha's daughter. "I'll find her" I promise with every fibre in my body.

She smiles. "We were so sad about losing her and then we found you and you made us happy. We aren't blood related, but you are our son"

The declaration tares my heart apart, the crushing force in my chest feels like I can't breathe. The tears taint her skin as I watch her surrender to death. A roar and a cry bleed through my vocal cords as I stare at the two people who gave me a home, gave me love while everyone believed them to be monsters.

I will avenge them.

I will find Amethyst.

I will make everyone pay for destroying The Phoenix Family.