The Salvation Trials ✔️

Prologue

Winnie Melbourne

They say that the packs down the mountain, the flat packs, look at the mountain and see different colors. They see black, blue, pink, green, white, orange, purple, and red. They say that these eight colors represent the eight packs of the mountain.

Black is death. Black Mountain is known for the amount of wolves that die at their own hands every year. The loyalty of these wolves lie with no one but themselves, never trusting one another.

Blue is calmness. Blue Mountain is known for the calm, level headed wolves they breed. These wolves will smile in your face and never attack until you make the first move.

Pink is love. Pink Mountain is known for their strong bonds. They love hard and fight even harder for their pack, the loyalty they have for one another unbreakable.

Green is envy. Green Mountain breeds greedy and selfish wolves who care about themselves. They steal from other packs and take from the weak to fill their own bellies and line their own pockets.

White is pure. White Mountain are the wolves that remain pure until they find and mark their mates. Believing that virginity is sacred and temptation should be avoided, nudity is banned to ensure that purity is retained. These wolves believe that if sanctity is kept, they will be favored by the Goddess.

Orange is danger. Orange Mountain is full of wolves that can explode at any second, turning on the closest wolf and fighting to injure or kill. One wrong word and you will have a wolf snapping jaws in your face and breaking your bones.

Purple is creativity. Purple Mountain has made large strides in technology and science. The biological advances they have bred into their pups have put them at the top year and year again, their innovations giving them the upper hand.

The temperament of these packs vary but they all can be stripped down to the harsh and jagged edges that one must have to make it on the mountain. The mountain is cold and unforgiving, it's inhabitants even more so. But Red Mountain? Red Mountain is a whole different story.

Red is blood. Red Mountain is vicious and unforgiving at all times. Breeding wolves that will fight until their last breath, their fierceness has made them a tight knit pack that will do anything for one another.

The packs down the mountain fear us. They whisper horror stories to their pups by candlelight about us.

'The mountain packs are to be feared but Red Mountain most of all.', a mother whispers to her pup as they look out their window and at the lights shining on the mountain. Near the top is where their gaze focuses, hearts pounding in fear. 'The red shimmer you see is the blood of the fallen who dared cross Red Mountain. Their Alpha is brutal and kills without a second thought.'

'What about the Shadow Wolf momma?', the pup asks.

The mother shifts uneasily in the bed and shushes her pup. "Do not mention the Shadow Wolf.', she hisses. 'The Shadow Wolf is always listening, always ready to claim another soul that dare ventures into the red rivers.'

A chuckle escapes me and I feel a shudder through the packhouse. My footsteps echo and I hear a whimper in the distance. Another chuckle as I hear the shuffle of my prey. The male glances back at me, whites of his eyes visible. He stumbles but catches himself before he hits the ground, glancing back just in time to watch my magic show.

The shadows reach out and grasp me, their coolness caressing me like an old lover. I melt into them, disappearing from view. This time when the male stumbles, he hits his knees. He clasps his hands in front of him and prays, whispering and shuddering as he cries.

"Please Moon Goddess.", he begs. "Please have mercy on me. Spare me, I beg of you."

I chuckle again, this time right behind him. The shadows deliver me with a grace that not even a king could have. "There is no mercy for the weak.", I whisper.

The male whips around and falls back before using his hands to drag himself away from me but it's too late by now. The Shadow Wolf merges with my human form, my face morphing into her wolf face. I snap forward, jaws crushing his throat. Blood spills into my mouth and down my throat, splattering across the floor. I can hear the male gurgle as he claws helplessly at my chest.

His heart beats for the last time, thudding weakly before stopping completely. I release him and straighten myself as my wolf retreats, satisfied with the kill. The stench of fear encases the house as the pack hides from the wrath of their Gamma.

Rolling my shoulders, I lazily wipe the blood off of my chin and mouth. All I do is smear it farther across my face and make a bigger mess but I could care less. I flick my wrist towards the body and the shadows dart forward, willing to do my bidding as they take the body and clean the mess.

I feel the Alpha's presence, my Alpha, as he steps out of the safety of his room. The shadows reach forward again and slowly encase me as he comes down the stairs and into the den where I had made my kill. I smile and he sees my bloody teeth and face, a smile gracing his own face. He enjoys the kill almost just as much as I do but he knows that when I'm with the shadows, back off.

I disappear from his view but address him before I leave. "Thank you for the kill, Alpha Kayson."

"You are welcome, Gamma Winnie. Give your shadow brothers my regards.", he replies back.

"They will be pleased. They will wish you to visit sometime soon."

"Of course."

We both knew how much my brothers adored the Alpha. Alpha Kayson had saved me when my brothers were unable to reach me and save me themselves. When there was nothing but light, the shadows unable to touch me, Alpha Kayson had ripped me from the sharp claws that held me. He had killed my mother.

And I owed him my life for it.