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nIt wasn't easy for Adrianna to hide her gift. Whenever she laughed, she would shine brilliantly, making the people around her gape in surprise. Her older sister had always been jealous of her, and when they were younger, her sister would often snigger at her or make nasty jokes about her. Despite the mistreatment, as a kid, Adrianna would still run after her sister and her friends. One day, they were playing hide and seek when her sister told her to hide in a cave where no one would look for her. Adrianna willingly hid there, but after a long time, no one came to find her.

nThe four year old Adrianna had tried to find her way out, but she accidentally wandered deeper inside. When she fell onto a rock and made a noise, it invited the wrath of a colony of bats that flocked around her. Screaming and ducking to save herself, she ran in the opposite direction, only to find a pair of yellow eyes staring at her intently. As the yellow eyes approached her, Adrianna became ever more frightened. She stood, frozen on the ground, her tiny hands clasping onto her frock. All bruised and aching in various places, Adriana couldn't muster a word. Adjusting her gaze, she could see that the pair of eyes belonged to an animal that was stealthily walking towards her. It came near her and sniffed her. Adrianna instinctively shut her eyes before she was hoisted onto the back of the animal, who then ran towards the entrance of the cave, bringing her along.

n---

nWhile passing through the jungle, blue moon pack chief, Pierre suddenly heard the shrieks of a small child. His heightened sense of smell pointed him in the direction of the sound, and he could sense that it was a wolf child. He entered the cave to see an injured and abandoned little girl. Walking closer, he could see that bats and all sorts of other nocturnal creatures were surrounding her. Although he had wondered why she was there, all he could do at the time was to save her. He quickly picked her up and ran outside, followed by a large number of bats.

nIt was raining outside, but Pierre ran at a very high speed, cutting through the various obstacles in the thick jungle. He was amused by the fact that Adrianna was holding onto his ears firmly while riding on his back. He stopped only when he reached his friend Ed's house. Shape-shifting back into a human, he took the sleepy and tired Adrianna from his lap and handed her to him.

nEd was aghast to see his granddaughter in that condition. Adrianna had drifted off into a deep slumber and seemed to have fainted.

n

"I found her in Alex's cave,

" Pierre said, referring to the vicious chief who stayed deep within the jungle and didn't allow his people to interact with others; any interaction with outer tribes invited death.

nEd shuddered and asked,

"How did she get there?

"

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"I don't know…

"

nEd took her inside and catered to her wounds. All bruised up, she looked so fragile in her sleep that both Ed and Pierre felt sorrowful. Being a wolf child, they knew she would heal fast, but until then, she still had to endure the pain.

nSince Pierre was very close to Ed, ever since the child was born, he had known her. Pierre really liked the child. Ed used to often bring her to his cottage to play around whenever he visited his son. Sometimes Pierre would be visiting, and unbeknown to him, he had developed a special affection for her. Ed had even entrusted him with the secret that she was the gifted one. It was a well-hidden secret with only two people knowing of it, both of whom were present in the room. He had often suggested for Ed to not send her back to her father because he knew how much her father hated her, but Ed knew that Adrianna could only get a proper home - well the closest she could get to a proper home - at her father's place, as he, himself, was frequently traveling. Pierre would have loved to take that child with him but his pack's difficulties were increasing by the minute.

nBefore returning to his pack, Pierre had dinner with Ed and brought up his concerns,

"Ed, my tribe is facing another onslaught of wolves that are not pure-bloods. It seems someone is trying to convert humans into werewolves and making them neotides. The worst part is that they are sending these neotides to us. The neotides do not have the control and temperament of the pureblood werewolves and hence they bite every human they come across, and kill pureblooded werewolves by hunting in packs.

nI'm returning for a few days in order to tackle this matter, but they're increasing in numbers and getting fiercer by the day. It is possible that I…

" he stopped.

n

"Why are you speaking like this Pierre?

" asked Ed.

nPierre looked at his friend and said urgently,

"Promise me one thing Ed.

"

nEd was shocked with the way Pierre was speaking. He looked into his eyes and asked,

"Do you need my help?

"

nPierre shook his head and replied,

"No. I don't need any help.

" No one could pity his alpha.

"But you have to promise me one thing Ed.

"

n

"Tell me.

"

n

"I want you to give my son Adrianna's hand in marriage.

"

n

"But Pierre, you know that she has already been…

"

n

"I know Ed, but you have to promise me...

"

nEd could see how important was this for Pierre. He said,

"My son has already decided things for her… What can I do? However, I will try my best…

"

n

"No! You have to promise me!

"

nEd nodded and said,

"Okay, I promise.

" He knew Pierre had his reasons for insisting.

nThey had their dinner in silence before Pierre left and merged into the darkness of the night.

nA few days later, Ed received news that Pierre had been killed in the largest ever attack on pureblooded werewolves. Pierre's family, consisting of his wife and seven-year son, were in hiding.

nOnce Adriana had recovered Ed left her at her father's place and went to search for his best friend's family.

nHe knew that nobody cared for Adrianna in the family. When her father saw Adrianna return after a long time with her grandfather, he merely glanced her from the corner of his eyes before ignoring her. It was her nanny who came to escort Adrianna inside.

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