Chapter One

Fear. An overwhelming fear for her life consumed her. She had never before experienced or could have imagined fear like this. Not until she heard the pants of the wolf running behind her.

Her body ached, exhaustion was approaching, but she continued to run. Continued to persevere as she sprinted through the snowy woods with the wolf on her trail. Her legs were clumsy, her arms and face burned as she ran through thin branches, and her heart pounded as if it were attempting to escape the confines of her chest.

She was so scared. She felt so weak and helpless. Her body was burning and her mind was panicking, she wanted to sob but she continued to run.

The wolf behind her was panting in excitement, joy for finding a kill. It wasn't a normal wolf, she had seen a glimpse of it before and it was enormous. Larger than the normal wolves she was familiar with, this was of a new species.

It didn't matter now though, what type of wolf it was. She was positive it would kill her this night.

Her face hit the snow. Claws tore into her back. She screamed as the deep red eyes lowered onto her.

-&-

Seth Fuller splashed the cold water into his face, sprinkling droplets onto the foggy motel mirror. He was exhausted; the bags under his eyes were dark and purple displaying his lack of sleep. His chin was scratchy with blonde stubble that he had forgotten to shave in his discomfort.

The nightmares were keeping him awake, nightmares of a woman's death. They were of a werewolf attack, but he'd never met the woman; he only felt her fear and pain every time he closed his eyes.

It was hell.

Seth scowled at his reflection in the mirror. How could he allow a nightmare to create so much havoc in his life? He was stronger than that. He shouldn't let the heart stopping nightmares that plague his sleep invade his life.

He snatched a slice of leftover pizza lying on his bedside table and angrily bit away. He was furious all of the time; the smallest things would send him over the edge. His brother, William, had ordered him on an assignment to keep him from upsetting their entire pack with his bad mood.

Seth snarled again, angry with his brother for caring more about his mate and their family. Never caring about him anymore, not bothering to ask him why he was so upset.

He shook his head, realizing how absurd his thoughts were. William had sent him out of the house not only to keep the rest of the pack's sanity intact, but also because he trusted Seth's abilities to follow orders.

Seth glanced at the pale white motel bed with his crumpled sheets laying in a mess and slammed the withering door behind him as he trudged out of the room and down the stairs. He was prepared for the night ahead of him and to find something more substantial to eat for dinner. His mind was set on the bar he had spotted hours before when he arrived in the small Northwest Canadian town. He licked his lips, meat and beer sounded excellent right about now, his stomach was growling like the werewolf he was.

Though his stomach was stuck on the thought of food, his mind continued to keep a look out for any other werewolves. His family had sent him to this little town in the middle of nowhere because they had a suspicion a rogue werewolf camp was set up nearby posing as civilians, as wolves in sheep's clothing. He was here as a protector for the humans and an avenger for the werewolf race.

The rogues were an abomination that feasted on the innocent and gave disgrace to their entire kind. They were the reason folktales told the horror of the werewolf race instead of the beauty; they were the reason the race could never make itself public.

Seth sauntered forward down the wet sidewalk from the frequent spring showers and into the low lit bar looking forward to his meat and beer. His eyes scanned the restaurant, searching for threats. Local townsfolk adequately filled the bar's tables and stools, none of which smelled of werewolf.

The bartender looked at him suspiciously as Seth walked up to the bar to order his drink and burger. The man with a scruffy grey beard and crinkly eyes was obviously surprised to see a newcomer in his small town, but served him his drink anyway. "Where you from?" He asked casually, as he poured the brown liquid into the glass.

"Arizona." Seth answered, attempting to appear casual and nice. "I'm here to hunt."

"Good luck to you." The man said with disbelief and mockery, he placed the beer in front of him.

Seth slid into the barstool, careful to have a good angle on the rest of the bar. "Will I need it?" He questioned the bartender.

The man chuckled. "Sure will, nobodies been getting any luck for months now."

"Why not?" Seth took a casual sip of his drink, trying to appear as a curious tourist instead of a wolf hunter.

"No one dares to go far into the woods." The bartender continued after Seth cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. "Not since the disappearances at least."

"What disappearances?" Seth gave the man his attention, barely paying notice to the rest of customers anymore.

The bartender looked solemnly at Seth. "People have been going into the woods and not returning."

"What's happened to them?" Seth knew immediately that the rogue werewolf camp was nearby and that they were indulging in human meals.

"They say the wolf population has been rising rapidly." The bartender told him. "So you don't think it's a coincidence?" The grizzly man shook his head. "Ah, well I guess I won't be going hunting after all."

"There are other locations outside of town." The bartender placed a burger in front of Seth. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Seth hungrily bit into his extra meaty burger, relishing the taste as he swallowed and gulped down a sip of beer. He ate, waiting, until the bartender finished circulating the other customers and returned to Seth's attention. "Have there been any other strange, new things, going on in town?" Seth questioned, giving up all pretenses of being a harmless tourist. He wanted to know where the rogues were and he wanted to exterminate them.

The bartender gave Seth a curious stare. "You're not a hunter are you?"

"Not exactly." Seth gave no specifics.

"Law enforcement then." The man sighed, drawing his own conclusions. "Nothing around town has changed, it's just that the forests have become more dangerous. People are becoming afraid.

Seth nodded, licking ketchup off his fingers after polishing off his fries. "So there haven't been any new faces? Suspicious faces?

The older man mused, rubbing his calloused hands over his unkempt beard. "Now that you mention it, there were some folks that moved into the big cabin right outside of town."

"Who are they?"

"City folk." The man's tone was disapproving. "Some hotshot and his son moved in, why they settled in this tiny town nobody knows."

"Where can I find this cabin?" Seth accepted the additional beer the man served him.

"Just about a mile off the North side of town, follow the dirt road and you'll spot it soon enough, hard to miss."

"Thanks for the help," Seth placed the bills for his meal and a tip. "Try to keep our talk a secret, will you?" Seth grabbed his drink and sat at a table in the back of the bar, hiding him from everyone else but giving him the ability to see the entire room.

He pondered over the new information the bartender had given him while he watched the people in the bar. He was sure that the rogue army had set up camp at the cabin in the woods and that they were slowly picking off the towns population for their meals, but what should he do? He could just storm the camp and attempt to take out as many werewolves as possible, which is what he wanted to do, but the practical option would be to return to his pack and tell them of his findings so they could all take out the camp and end the assault on the town. But while he was gone, more would die. More innocent townsfolk would be taken to the rogue army and most likely, tortured to death and eaten, if they were lucky.

He sighed; wiping his fingers on his napkin, and took out his cell phone. He dialed the number he knew by heart and waited.

"Seth?" A tired voice answered after several rings. There was a soft shuffling of sheets and the sound of a woman in the background.

"Hey William," As an afterthought Seth added, "And Jack."

"How are you?" William asked after his mate, Jacqueline, returned Seth's hello.

"Fine, I found the rogues." Seth told him quietly.

"In which town?" William was suddenly excited instead of tired.

"Ridgedale." Seth's voice was still dreary. He was upset over lack of sleep and the disappointment of knowing that the rogues had been, and were, killing humans. "They've been killing people, enough to make the townsfolk too nervous to enter the woods."

"What do they think is the cause?" William questioned, worried about the town's knowledge of their kind.

"They think they're wolves, but-." Seth began but stopped abruptly. His eyes were suddenly magnetized to a petite woman walking into the bar. She had long, red hair that framed her pixie like face. She was familiar to Seth. He felt a compulsion to get closer to her and to be with her.

"Seth? Is everything alright?" William's voice broke the trance the woman and put Seth under.

"Yeah, look I need to go." Seth began to hang up the phone. "I'll call you tomorrow with details."

He flipped the phone closed without a goodbye and stared absentmindedly at the woman. She had slipped onto the bar stool and was talking to the bartender with a casual friendly tone. She was beautiful, but that wasn't what drew Seth's attention to her. He knew her from somewhere, he felt like he was close to her but he had never met her before.

She was laughing at something the bartender said, they knew each other well, but unexpectedly, and with surprise, turned her head around to look Seth straight in the eyes.

Seth's heart nearly stopped. He had seen those crystal blue eyes many times before but he had thought their owner was dead.

Why was the woman of his nightmares alive and why was she sitting across the bar from him?

-&-

A/N: This is a sneak peak at the new story. Tell me what you think!

(This is a follow up story to "Jack and the Wolves" but it's not necessary to read "Jack and the Wolves" first.)