CHAPTER ONE
Amanda could smell them before they smelt her. Ten years of being a rogue meant she had trained herself to be able to smell a threat before they became a threat, it was a trick which had gotten her out of many certain death situations.
She shifted before they had emerged from the clearing and was preparing herself for an attack. She wasn't going to go down easy, and it sure as hell was going to take more than a couple of male-wolves to take her down. She may not look like much to the eye, but looks can be deceiving. She was more powerful than people had ever given her credit for, which is part of the reason any pack members who managed to find her had always ended up dead at her hand; she wasn't someone to be messed with when she was pissed off.
It would seem that people were determined to find that out the hard way, though. Not that you would ever catch her complaining. Killing those who were supposed to be some of the best fighters in the pack always brought about a sense of happiness, knowing she was one step closer to being able to seek her revenge.
In the ten years, Amanda had been living as a rogue, the thought of actually meeting her mate was something which had crossed her mind on a couple of occasions, but they were brushed to the side as quickly as they came. At almost twenty-six, she had pretty much accepted that she was never going to find her other half and, even if she did find him now, then she would be sure to reject him.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the infamous rogue," one of the males chuckled when they finally came to a stop where Amanda was readying herself.
"It looks like someone is planning on killing us," the other laughed in response.
"That's a shame because I don't know about you, Peter, but I really don't feel like dying today," another one replied, clearly amused that Amanda was considering attacking them when she didn't have anyone to actually back her up. But that had never bothered her in the past, and they must have known that.
"I would agree with Johan. What about you, Edward? Do you want to die?" Peter remarked.
Internally, Amanda was laughing to herself and decided she would use this time to attack but, just as she was about to jump, a wolf came flying at her out of nowhere.
His brown fur covered her eyes, making it damn near impossible to know what the hell was going on, but she had never been one to give up without a fight, and this wasn't going to be an exception to the rule.
Amanda used her hind legs to kick him in the stomach, forcing him off her and sending him flying into a tree. To say, he looked pissed off would be an understatement. But that simply made the situation all the more amusing for herself.
He ran towards her again, but she was quicker than he was and managed to duck before he could actually hit her. Amanda made sure not to miss him, sinking her teeth at the point where his shoulder and neck met each other; refusing to relent until she had the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.
"Damn. . .she's good!" Amanda heard one of three idiots stated. She didn't know which made the comment, so she growled at all three of them, running towards them, which only resulted in herself now being surrounded by three more wolves.
She was in the middle and the four wolves were surrounding her, growling at her as they each made awkward eye contact with her. Amanda dared to be brave and ended up taking a swipe at the black and white wolf which was closest to her, her claw cutting deep against his skin.
Amanda was about to make another move, only a voice of authority put a stop to the show before it could go any further. "Enough. I want her alive," a baritone voice commanded.
Amanda looked over to see a well-dressed man, walking towards the five of them. The four wolves around her quickly transformed without so much as a word and, when they had done. She could see the damage she had done to two of them. And she couldn't help but feel proud, knowing they were injured and that she was the one who had done it.
"Shift. Now," the baritone one attempted to use his Alpha command on Amanda, only it didn't work, and she did nothing but continue to glare at him. "I said, shift."
Amanda turned her back on him and walked over to a tree, remaining in her wolf form as she decided that she was going to lay down and close her eyes. Her wolf never had been any good at taking orders, she didn't even listen to her half the time so she wasn't going to force her to do something she didn't want to do.
"Either you shift or we'll make you shift," the Alpha demanded.
"Alpha Mathew, is she the rogue who has murdered so many?"
Amanda looked up at the guy who she quickly recognized as Peter. He had a huge gash across his cheek, his blond hair was all over the place and his green eyes almost looked like they were trying to see into her soul. He even had a pretty good body on him if she was being honest.
"I believe her to be, but I was her back on our territory where we can question her properly," Mathew replied firmly.
"Understood, Alpha," Peter bowed his head politely before walking back over to the male Amanda had injured during their fight. Amanda couldn't see him, but she could smell that he was losing a lot of blood and she hoped he would die; she hoped his family would feel the same pain she had been forced to feel for the last ten years.
"Johan. . .Edward, I want you to take Lewis to the pack doctor and then inform our guards that we shall have a new prisoner joining us," Mathew ordered.
Amanda saw the other two men pick up the practically lifeless body and run through the forest.
While Mathew had been busy giving his orders, Amanda had taken the opportunity to shift back and pull on some clothes. Jeans and a vest top with some sandals. She was used to travelling light these days and it was pretty much the same outfit she had worn for the last ten years.
"Oh, the famous Alpha Mathew. . .we met at last." Amanda smirked.
Mathew was feared among all packs and was known for his ruthlessness, but Amanda was more feared and had caused more trouble in five minutes than he had done in his entire seven year reign as Alpha of the Shadowfall pack.
"I would say it's a pleasure, but I guess I'd be lying," Mathew muttered back distastefully.
"How many of your pack have I killed now in your bid to capture me? I lost count after the first forty men." Amanda found herself laughing. She, a single rogue, had killed some of the most experienced and trained fighters in the country.
"Now, I have you and I have no intention of letting you leave alive," Mathew remarked and Amanda knew what was coming the moment Peter walked over to her. Her wrists were bound with silver handcuffs and, though it stung like a bitch. She wasn't going to let it show that she was in pain.
"There was me, thinking we could be friends," Amanda replied. She did love to push her limits, especially when she was being taken to the territory of the pack who mercilessly murdered her pack as they slept. Though Alpha Mathew only inherited the title of Alpha after he murdered the man who had the power before he did, the man who had given the order to invade and insisted that there were no survivors.
Alpha Dimitri Greene, the ironic thing being that his son, Lucas Greene, was now Mathew's Beta, and Amanda was pretty sure Peter was his third in command. There wouldn't be any other reason for Mathew to make him stay behind while he sent the other two ahead.
"I intend to torture you until you give me answers and then I will ensure you have a slow and extremely painful death," Mathew seethed as he walked in front of Peter and Amanda
"Yes. . .Guess that means I get to live for another couple of years before I die," Amanda replied as she fist pumped the air. She knew she was being childish and that it was only serving to piss Mathew off further, but she also knew he wouldn't kill her until she told him what he wanted to know.
"I don't play games," Mathew snapped.
"Really? I kind of pegged you as a guy who would sit down to play something like Monopoly after a stressful day."
You are really pushing your luck now. He will kill you where you stand. Her wolf so kindly decided that was an appropriate moment to speak up but, just as her wolf never listened to her, Amanda also didn't listen to what her wolf had to say. Not even when it was speaking the truth.
"You have killed my men, many of them had mates and children, and you even had the audacity to remain at the border of my territory. Forgive me if being nice to you isn't exactly high on my list of priorities rights now," Mathew snapped, coming to a stop in front of Amanda and sizing her up.
Being six foot one did hold his advantages, such as the fact Mathew couldn't make her feel inferior to him, even if he tried. She was only a little shorter than he was and she could look directly into his eyes as he tried to show her who the boss was.
"Life is bitch. You live and you die. You should get used to that," Amanda stated with her teeth gritted. She had to learn that one the hard way.
Mathew didn't say another word. He didn't look like he had enough cells in his brain to think of a reply, instead he settled for storming off in front of them, hitting any tree he came across; he even managed to split a couple in half.
Amanda smirked to herself while she allowed Peter to pull her along beside him. She enjoyed the fact she had managed to get right under the skin of Alpha Mathew and that he knew she was going to be one tough cookie to crack so he was going to have to do more than torture her for information.
Even when they reached the underground prison, Amanda was going to be stored in and the smell of rotten blood hit her, the grin didn't leave her face and she couldn't help but laugh as Peter demanded the guards open the doors. Amanda continued to laugh as he dragged her down the poorly lit corridors, taking several twists and turns, before he came to a stop at a metal door.
"Ah. . .Is this where you're going to unsuccessfully question me for answers?" Amanda found herself grinning.
"You know, for a rogue, you don't seem particularly worried about what is going to happen to you," Peter stated as he pulled the door open and marched her inside, forcing her down on the chair in the corner of the room.
"Do you really think Mathew is the first Alpha to capture and torture me?" Amanda asked in amusement. She could see that Peter was considering the answer to the question she had just posed and that only made her smile even more. "Besides, I think Mathew has more to worry about than I do."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter raised his eyebrow at her suspiciously.
"I guess time will tell." Amanda grinned smugly. She loved knowing she had the upper hand and there was nothing Peter or his pack could do about that. She had been planning her revenge for years now— and it turns out Shadowfall has a lot of enemies, enemies who were willing to help her out.
"You won't be able to do anything. You are one and we are many," Peter replied confidently. If he was worried then he certainly wasn't showing it, or at least he wasn't showing it in front of Amanda.
"You are dismissed, Peter. The Alpha wants you in his office," a voice called from across the room. Amanda looked up to see the voice, standing beside the door. His eyes suddenly met hers and she had never seen a man move quicker than he just did.
"Lucas?" I heard Peter call but his eyes were trained on Amanda.
"Tell the Alpha he needs to get here now. There is no way I am letting him torture her." Lucas growled and it would be sweet that he wanted to protect Amanda if she didn't hate his guts. It was due to his father that she had no family or pack so he could go to hell if he thought she wanted to mate with him.
"He is never going to agree to that. She's killed close to eighty of our men!" Peter shouted.
"Eighty? Damn. . . I'm good," Amanda said, cockily. Her eyes never leave those sinister green ones of Peter.
"And you are going to die for what you have done to this pack," Peter replied quickly. Amanda hated to admit it, but the guy was growing on her and she almost smiled at him. He was the first male to not be intimidated by her and that in itself was an achievement.
"No one is killing her. If they touch her then they will have to deal with me." Lucas growled again. Amanda could tell that his wolf was begging to come to the surface, so he could rip Peter to shreds for what he was saying.
"Luca, she is the reason your uncle is de-"
"I don't give a fuck, Peter! You go and get Mathew, and you tell him if he touches my mate then I will personally see to it that he dies," Lucas shouted, and Peter pretty much backed out of the room in complete fear of what Lucas would do to him if he didn't get Mathew.
Truth be told, torture sounds like a better option right now to Amanda. It would be far better than knowing her mate was the son of the man who killed her entire pack. Funny, right?
The son of the man who had killed her family, and left her with nothing.
Great. . .just great.
*****