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Chapter 1

A/N: Hi everyone! This book is copyrighted and no longer PG-13! However, that is not the main focus and doesn’t happen until late in the story! If you would like something spicier, The Prisoner’s Princess and The High King’s bride are both for mature audiences right off the bat. I also DID NOT Change major events but there’s plenty of new scenes and such. The entire book has been redone! Enjoy!

An Addendum: Fade to Black is in the works. This book was story driven, and honestly I want to keep it as true to the original as possible…. But for the depraved masses why not have One book filled to the brim where every chapter, all 30 are just R rated, vaulted ideas.

Eclipse

I peeped out the window in my room, knowing full well I shouldn’t have, but I did anyway. I could hear the deafening snarls of Alpha Kaiden, even though we lived in the low-ranking wolf section of the housing district, meaning the Rogue he fought was close…. He was known for being ruthless, unforgiving, and cruel, but I’d never actually seen him. Curiosity killed the cat, but thankfully in my case, being nosy didn’t hurt anything. It was too dark to see what was going on out there anyway, but I could hear the screams of some poor Rogue being ripped apart by Alpha and the Warriors that patrolled the outer border of the pack.

It was close to the Harvest Moon, a special moon phase in the fall where one could find their soulmate. This meant that many wolves would enter the pack to see if their mate was here. It was so sacred that you couldn’t kill on that night, or else suffer the wrath of the Pale Lady, the Moon Goddess herself, but that wasn’t for a little while. It was likely though that the wolf out there was here only to make trouble, and entered the pack disrespectfully.

[They’re too close to the Omega District!] I heard someone snarl in wolf, but I wouldn’t know who anyway.

[Take no prisoners.] Commanded another, though whoever that was had to be in charge of the unit…

There was a scream, along with more snarls, and I’d heard enough. I left the window, opting to go back to my bed, and wait it out… I wasn’t a ranked wolf.

I wasn’t an Omega either, not officially, but I was 21, I should have shifted 5 years ago…. And both my parents were Omegas. They were unable to shift, which made them rankless. No one mistreated us in the pack for our condition thankfully, as everyone according to my mother has a place here…. But that also meant that I was somewhat illiterate on how things worked, since neither parent knew beyond their station.

With wolves, we worked and contributed to the best of our abilities, but most didn’t go beyond what they were able. If I didn’t shift by 25, I would assume the same rank, and have to go to Alpha’s office and likely work with my parents in Horizon Prison, the main source of income for the pack. There were other positions, like working at the pack shops or delivery service, but honestly, I would rather be with wolves I knew.

They would usually come home covered in blood on their uniforms and tell me of what he’d done since I was old enough to figure out that they didn’t ‘spill ketchup’ on their shirts and pants…. That was about every day they worked. When I was small, I would ask, and they would lie until I turned about 10.

At that point, they felt it was fair to explain. They also warned me every so often as well, telling me that if I ever encountered our Alpha, to be respectful. He had a reputation for punishing to the highest degree if anyone does anything, and I mean anything to make him feel disrespected, and those Rogues made that mistake…. He has an unquenchable taste for carnage, and a rage that the others, not just my parents, say you can nearly taste.

Hearing him so close though gave me doubts about him not hurting pack members….

He howled, rattling the window, joined with the Warriors, and my wolf Shimmer whined in my head. She was my inner wolf, given to me by the goddess, but that didn’t mean I’d ever actually shift. Her being active was a good indicator that I Could one day though, as most true Omegas had inactive, sleeping inner wolves.

I knew in the morning that she wouldn’t be out though, and I didn’t blame her. She was completely submitted by Alpha’s snarls, and the faint metallic smell of blood… which had to be a lot if I could smell it as someone who hadn’t shifted yet.

There was galloping past the house, along with crashing, and the bloodcurdling scream of another Rogue… He became silent with a loud crunch, and it made Shimmer whine.

Regardless of what they were doing out there… I had to at least try and get some sleep…. But I really couldn’t, I could still hear fighting, meaning that there had to be a group of Rogues Still out there not getting the hint that they weren’t welcome…. but I’d never heard the fighting so close to home. It felt like it was right in front of the house. All I’d have to do is probably twist the doorknob…


“Why don’t you go for a run while your father and I are at work, Eclipse?” Mom smiled, turning the light on in my room, making me flinch. It was already sunup, and I wondered how much sleep I got.

“No thanks mom.” I timidly said, what if some of the Warriors are still out there and think I’m human? Not shifting also meant I had almost no scent.

As if reading my mind, she said “It’s good for Shimmer, and no one will think you’re human, even if they do, tell them who we are, who YOU are, and they will leave you be like they always do.” I sighed because she was right…

“But-” She cut me off, patting my frizzy dark gray hair.

“Just make sure you don’t stay out too late, I heard Alpha was organizing a hunting party for intruders tonight too.” Mom warned.

“Ok mom.” I told her, rolling out of bed to get ready.

“Honey, I don’t like that idea…. Eclipse, maybe try one more time to bring her out at home hmm?” Dad insisted.

I closed my eyes, attempting to mentally ‘look’ for her, but she was still nowhere to be seen. She was in hiding because of Alpha. From all the screams, I could only guess what happened out there. The smells and sounds are what scared her, leaving me almost alone in my mind. I could usually ‘see’ her when I closed my eyes, as she was instinct given form. She was the part of me responsible for shifting. But she wasn’t just that, she was also beyond a best friend; she was part of me.

She was my other half, but right now all I could hear was her breathing. All of this was just too much for her, but I hoped she would come around. I took a deep breath, for Shimmer, I thought.

I really hated running, but I would do anything for her; she was my wolf, my nearly black backed, silver legged wolf. I tried to connect with her before my shower, and after I dressed, but she was still not responding, and it made us both out of sync with each other. I sighed in defeat, knowing mom was right.

In my thoughts, I wandered to the mirror to try and pick an outfit. What if I never shifted? It would make me an Omega. Those who can’t shift have no rank, and that made me nervous. It also makes other wolves think they’re human because they have so little scent. I honestly thought this would have brought her out, but she still wasn’t there. I judged myself in that mirror, I was fit, but I was small compared to other wolves. I was human height, another reason why someone would mistake me for an illegal camper if they’d never met me.

The terrible wars that began our world ended in stalemates. The humans and supernatural creatures live as separately as possible… I’d never actually seen a human before, though there were some at the prison. They thought we were only myth, and we lived in our packs far away from them, but sometimes they found us. If they got caught here, they would live the rest of their lives there, and if I was ever discovered out there, I’d suffer a similar fate. It was done to keep a tense treaty made in the 1600’s, something I’d learned about in school. If I were strong, I could be out there… but I was almost thankful that I wasn’t.

My 5-foot frame honestly didn’t compare to even the female warriors. They were tall, lean, and fearsome, standing on average at 6 feet or better. At least my hair color was a wolf’s. I took my dark gray frizzy hair, and I wrapped it in a large messy bun and adjusted my glasses, another thing I was self-conscious about. Only Omegas and very weak, low-ranking wolves needed these…. But I was only a little farsighted.

And my eyes at the moment looked human too. My blue eyes held no silver flecks at the moment, meaning Shimmer was still hiding. Every werewolf’s eye contained speckled flecks of their wolf’s eye color. My eyes are blue, and hers are silver… in the light one should be able to see her sterling flakes dancing in the light… but without her they were dull. I took my attention from that however, I still needed to put on clothes since I intended on leaving when they did. My small frame squeezed perfectly into some jogging pants and a loose fit white t-shirt, and black running shoes.

I took a bottled water, a red t-shirt and blue bike shorts, just in case, in a small purple crossbody bag over my shoulder. Dad was already eating breakfast, and mom put makeup on her coffee skin. She would always tell me that just because she was working in a prison, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t look good for dad. I would love to share something like that with someone special. The thought made me a little lonely… as I hadn’t found my mate yet… But I would hopefully this Harvest.

I left out the door with mom and dad, they locked up and reminded me of the spare key under the rug like they always do. I waved goodbye as they drove off and looked for a dirt trail, any one of them would do. Our pack territory is safe and huge, and even though I can’t shift yet, I shouldn’t hopefully run into trouble.

I was greeted by some mid rank wolves, I’d never met them before, but they seemed nice enough. No one questioned me as I was still in the housing district of the pack. However, the modern suburb of the pack eventually turned into all out forest. Huge cedar, pine, oak, and birch trees dotted the pine needle covered path. It wasn’t cold this time of year yet, though you could just make out the yellowing of the oak leaves if you looked hard enough.

My peaceful run wasn’t bringing out Shimmer. She was still afraid, and restless, as there was still the faintest metallic odor in the air. I could sense her anxiety, and for the first time she wouldn’t share why. She would not speak to me, only that I should keep running, out of the territory. That would make me a runaway, a Rogue.

No one likes Rogues. You strip yourself of whatever rank that you have or would have had once you leave to try for something better, and I could not see myself having the comfortable life I have right now if I left anything. Being an Omega until proven otherwise was also a problem, because it was well known in other packs, that they weren’t treated well. No one could explain why that wasn’t the case here though. Leaving was an option, but not a good one.

Or worse, what if I got caught and punished? Technically what really makes someone a Rogue is that they just left their duties. Their pack may have needed them, and that they just leave can cause trouble. No one wants troublemakers, even the ones who don’t directly contribute yet. I got my foot wet all of a sudden, not paying attention.

I found a secret. Getting lost in my thoughts, well, while being lost in general. I found a beautiful crystal-clear stream, with tiny fish, frogs, tiny turtles, and dragonflies. I sensed Shimmer, she seemed to like the smell of the water. I felt the sun on our tan skin, it kissed my head to my legs. I undid my hair so that it could breathe. I watched the dragonflies dance on the water and little turtles sit on the rocks to suntan with me. I sat there for what seemed like seconds, but I knew I’d been here a few hours. I could tell by the sun’s position, that there was only about 3 and a half hours before the sun went down.

Then it struck me, mom had told me to come home before Alpha decides to shift!

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