My head smacked harshly against the bars as I was shoved in the cell, the boat already swaying underneath my feet. A sharp pain shot through my head but I simply growled under my breath and hissed at the jailor when he smirked and swirled the key around his finger.

"Should've thought twice before crossing the Alpha of the Red Hills pack, boy." He gruffed before walking away. I scowled, lifting my bound hands to gingerly touch the back of my head. Rubbing over the sore spot, my fingers came away wet and died crimson, making me scowl at the floor.

Before today, I'd never think to cross the Alpha or anyone from his pack. Even though I didn't belong in it, I still had quite a bit of respect for the different rulers. I had payed respect to any Alpha, be it of a pride, herd or pack.

Letting my hands drop, I clutched the simple necklace made of a leather strip and gently traced the claw pendant. It was my sister Dana first claw and I smiled sadly as I realized I would never see her again.

"I'm sorry Dana, I did what I had to." I whispered, leaning my head back as I thought back to what happened. Dana had been talking about a boy she liked and had told me she was positive she may have found her mate before coming of age.

Her dainty little hands had fluttered through the air as she described her dream boy, Garret, and told me she would bring the boy home for a well needed introduction.

I was more than surprised when Garret showed up, a lean teenager and lion shifter. He hadn't shown any fear or aggression, instead shook my hand with respect and had asked for my sister's hand.

"I love Dana more than I love life. Without her, I don't have a reason to go on." Garret spoke softly, holding Dana's hand before gently tugging her in his arms. I smiled at the memory, hoping that Garret would be true to his word and protect my sister with his life.

The sharp sound of metal against metal pierced my ears and made me twitch before scowling at the bars. I could feel from the motion of the boat that we were already sailing away to my doom.

Footsteps approached and a pair of guards approached, making me wary before I spotted the plate of food in their hands. Narrowing my eyes, I watched as they stopped at my cell before sliding the plate through a small hatch at the bottom.

As I fumbled to my feet and nearly tripped over my chains, I noticed the guards shaking their heads with confused looks in their eyes. "Why did you attack the Alpha's son? I just don't get it. What happened?"

"Elijah, its not our concern." His buff companion growled but his partner obviously ignored him while staring at me.

The hairs in my neck pricked up as I let out a low hiss, my feline pushing more to the surface while my eyes glowed. "I got home from work and came home to find that bastard's son on top of my underaged sister. Apparently because daddy is top dog, he can do whatever he wants, including attempting to rape someone. Too bad for him I caught him by surprise."

Hunger forgotten, I dropped the plate back on the floor and stalked to the back of the cell, glaring daggers as the guards seemed confused. "B-But that's a form of self-defense. There's no way that they would give you a death sentence for that!" The younger guard stuttered, making me frustrated at his disbelieving tone.

"How many guards are on the ship?"

They blinked, both sharing a glance before the buffer man spoke up with a gravely quality to his voice. "Twenty." Confusion laced his voice as he tilted his brow but instead, I simply asked, "And how many of those are wolves of the Red Hills pack?"

Their eyes flashed as the truth slowly sank in. "Eighteen..." The younger man trailed off before shaking his head after glancing at his partner. I had no idea what kind of shifters these two were but they too realized why my case had been handled so swiftly.

I hadn't received a lawyer to defend myself, nor had I the money to pay for one. The judge was an old friend of the Alpha, who would no doubt help his friend in any way. The rest of the so called witnesses, policemen and guards had all been werewolves of the Red Hills pack.

"Your city is corrupt." I muttered before turning at the wall, no longer wishing for a conversation. "Vane, they can't...we can't do this." Elijah muttered before he was hushed by his partner. Silence pierced the room as slowly the two guards shuffled away. Even now, knowing that I was in fact innocent, there was nothing they could do.

Instead I just gazed at the small round window, watching the bright sky as it slowly darkened and with time, went completely black. I must've dozed off at some moment, because I woke to a kick in my ribs that stole my breath away.

"Wake up, hairball." I got another kick and groaned, curling in on myself as the steel tip of the guard's booth dug in my ribs once more. Opening my eyes, I glared hatefully at the wolf that took a great pleasure in trying to fracture my ribs.

He grinned maliciously, showing his canines while grabbing a hold of my neck before yanking me up by my hair. I hissed and spat, squirming while my hands tried to reach up to release my hair from his painful grip.

"What are you doing?"

The wolf looked up and sneered. "Prisoner is wanted on deck, Captain's orders." The wolf guard snapped, grinning smugly at the young Elijah. "My wolf is pretty close to the surface after our future alpha's death so get going Elijah. Vane isn't around and I might just get hungry for a piece of venison."

The young shifter flushed angrily as I looked up at him, now noticing his doe eyes in a stunning hazel. It was quite remarkable that the shifter was able to stand his ground, as wolves were his inner animal's predator.

The wolf stepped forwards, a sadistic light in his eyes while he dragged me along but he halted quickly when Vane, the guard from this morning, stepped into the room. He let out a grunt and pushed off the wall before stepping right into the wolf's personal space.

"Threaten my mate again pup, and we'll see how long a wolf can hold out against a polar bear." Vane grinned, showing off impressive canines as he pulled off his cap, showing his white-ish blond hair. "I haven't had a bit of fun in a long while so it'll be long and gruesome."

At that, the wolf let out a barely hidden whimper before dropping me and scampering off towards the deck. Vane looked down at me when I crashed on the floor, his eyes disturbingly dark before he shook his head and took a few breaths to calm down.

"I'm sorry but my hands are tied. We are outnumbered and I don't wanna risk my mate's life, even if you are innocent."

My head hung but I sighed deeply. "I understand. Would've been surprised if you acted any differently." The big male kept silent as he hauled me to my feet and guided me to the upper deck, where the whole wolfpack of guards were waiting for me.

I stumbled slightly, fear making my heart thump violently in my chest. Even though I wasn't prey, I wasn't a big predator either. I was lucky that I had taken the wolf by surprise and managed to latch onto his throat but if it was a one on one fight between me and one of these wolves...

I'd die.

And every single one of these wolves were glaring at me like they wanted to turn me into their personal chew toy.

Their noses twitched as smirks spread over their faces. Of course they would scent my fear but I tried my best to be brave and let Vane push me forwards, to where the Captain was standing with his righthand beside him.

My eyes shot past them towards the dark shape in the distance and I felt my stomach drop.

The island... we're here already.

I yelped when a hand grabbed the back of my neck, claws digging in before I felt warm air brush over my ear. "Time to get swimming furball." A voice hissed venomously and before I could react, a second hand grabbed the fabric around my lower back and grabbed it in their fist before I was tossed towards the edge

"CAPTAIN!" Vane snarled and I caught a flash of the man shifting on the deck, turning in a massive white bear as he backed his mate up to defend it from the snapping wolves. My chains rattled over the deck and I landed with a huff, a few steps away from the open side of the ship.

Trying to stand, my chain lurched backwards, pulling me down again. I frowned, letting my eyes track the chain all the way down to where a foot stood on it. As I averted my eyes to glare at the wolf, I noticed it was the guard from before...and he had attached a few heavy ball weights to the chain.

My eyes widened at his intentions but just before I was able to shout out, the wolf used his foot to shove the ball overboard. It yanked at the chain, pulling the other two weights overboard before I let out a shout, claws digging into the deck as I was dragged overboard.

The last thing I saw before I disappeared in the watery depths was Vane and Elijah jumping overboard and swimming towards the island to avoid the murderous wolves.