P R O L O G U E |  Part One

Day after day under a pale, worthless sun, my hunger grew and burned, and gnawed at my stomach. For months on end, nothing moved, the landscape frozen into a colorless panorama of absent life.

I remember as it had been the longest, coldest winter of my life; the day they found the girl, the day I fell in love.

The pack had attacked from her backyard and dragged her back into the woods; the world between man and wolf colliding once more. Her world into mine, my world into hers.

I knew I shouldn't have stopped it, but I did. I knew I shouldn't have protected her, but I did.

I remember her lying motionlessly in the snow, a puddle of warm blood beside her surrounded by wolves. Her sleeves torn, her body lifeless; her eyes distant with no signs of struggling. The scent of her blood perfume to my nostrils; the sound of her steady heart beat,her uneven breaths. She was alive but why wasn't she fighting back?  I didn't know why I cared.

She was just like any other human I've seen: spineless, weak and without purpose. But something about her seemed to speak to me, saying: Protect me. I couldn't ignore her calling.

And as much as I wanted to push through the pack, to stand by and pretend that I couldn't smell her humanness or hear her soft moans; to devour her, to eat her without a second thought, I couldn't. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen: a tiny, bloody angel in the snow. But despite my hunger and thirst, I did nothing.

I watched as my wolf mate tore open a flesh wound; my stomach twisting painfully at the sight since had been so long since I'd last eaten. I couldn't take it any longer. With a snarl and a flash of teeth, I pushed forward, showing my authority amongst the group as I shoved past the she wolf and towards the girl.

Trembling with the cold, I hung back; it was then that I saw her eyes.

Awake. Alive.

The girl looked right at me, eyes holding mine. I backed up, recoiled. In my chest, something seemed to flutter. Something about this girl was different; she was different than any other human I had ever seen. I was tearing apart, inside and out.

Her life or mine?

If I'd gone, the other wolves would cave in and devour her. But if I saved her, I knew lives would lost in the action. I couldn't risk it. I knew the fates of man and wolf were never meant to be.

I didn't care.

In one swift move, I tore her from the rest of the pack, tossed her on my back and scampered off far into the forest; the growls of my pack mates could be heard as I ran for both my life and hers.

I had done it. I had saved her.

...or so I had believed...

Time had long past since then; the young girl now a beautiful young woman. And as she continued to grow, I remained immortal, youthful, and unaging. Regardless, my feelings hadn't changed; I was still madly in love with her just like the day I had found her lying in the snow years ago.

And one day, we decided to run away together.

I thought I could protect her forever, thought I could be by her side and love her for all eternity; I had swore it. But in the end, I couldn't keep my promise. In the end, we both had perished. I couldn't protect her, and she had paid for my crime.

To pay for my offense, I was sentenced to exile and banished from the pack; the same fate that had befallen my ancestors centuries before me.

Years past, and there I was again, pushing my muzzle into her palm.And there she laid, a brilliant angel in the snow; a reincarnation of my first love.

And this time, I was determined to protect her.

A/N: What do you think about the first chapter? Please comment or subscribe and tell me what you think below. You're thoughts are greatly appreciated. ^^