The Legend of the Alpha Female

I shouldn't have snuck out for a midnight run, but it had been only a month since my first shifting, and my wolf’s hunger for freedom seemed hard to sate. My father had reassured me that it was natural for all of us to go through that stage, but it was particularly hard for those with Alpha blood because our instincts and urges were much more potent. My wolf and I had spent the last hour hunting down a rabbit. It was the first time I had actually caught my prey, so I was quite pleased with myself as I made my way back to the house with my kill dangling from my mouth. I couldn't wait to show my father what I had done, though I was certain he would be upset with me for sneaking out.

A strange, unsettling feeling began to creep over me the closer I got to home. My senses were screaming that there was danger, but as I kept my eyes scanning through the trees, I could not detect anything. I slowed my speed and lowered my belly toward the ground, trying to put most of my weight on my toes to keep from making too much noise or being seen. The scent of blood was carried on the evening breeze. At first, I assumed it was from my kill, but the scent only grew stronger the closer I got to the house. My ears pulled back flat against my head, and my tail tucked itself up between my legs. Something was wrong... very wrong.

I dropped my kill and took off like a bullet toward my home, fear lighting a fire beneath my feet. The moment my feet touched the front porch, I shifted back into my human form faster than I thought possible. The door was wide open, and the smell of blood was so strong that I felt like I was going to be sick. I covered my mouth with the back of my hand as my legs carried me forward into the stillness of the house. My emotions began to swell as I noted the destruction before me; there had clearly been some kind of struggle. I could see splashes of blood on the walls and small puddles on the hardwood floor. My legs trembled as I moved deeper into the darkness, following the path of destruction.

My wolf was whimpering and whining inside me, trying to comfort me but also stressed over my rising anxiety and desperation. My vision was becoming blurry as water began to fill my eyes. I blinked rapidly, trying to will the urge to cry away. My body froze when I came to the living room. Standing over the body of my mother was the large frame of a man, his eyes glowing bright red. A sob tore from my throat, and my knees gave out beneath me as I stared in disbelief at the sight. My wolf let out a low howl of distress before snarling fiercely in my head. My attention quickly snapped to the red-eyed man who had yet to move.

He stood like a statue, his gaze fixed on me.

My wolf surged toward the surface as her desire for blood swelled. She wanted to tear this man apart, to make sure he paid for what he had done. I let myself be pulled to the back of my mind as she took control. My bones snapped and cracked, silver fur quickly covering what used to be exposed skin. I pawed at the ground and lowered my head as my lips peeled back, revealing razor-sharp teeth. The red-eyed enemy threw a sinister smile in my direction. "Oh, what do we have here? A female Alpha? This will be fun..." A vicious snarl ripped from my chest as I charged forward, ready to launch myself at his throat.

My legs were strong and sturdy, providing a powerful spring as I pushed off the ground. The man moved swiftly and smacked me down out of the air with a hand like I was no more than a fly. I hit the ground with a loud crack. Before I could shake off the attack, he had his hand gripping my throat.

His fingers were clawed and pierced through the tough flesh. I let out a pained growl as I thrashed beneath him, trying to free myself. I had never met anything like this before... he hadn't even shifted, and he was stronger than me.

"You'll have to get stronger than that to beat me, little alpha," he chirped at me, amused by my attempts to make him release me.

"Stop playing with the pup," a deep voice snapped in annoyance, causing the man above me to lose his amusement. I froze at the sound of approaching footsteps. The aura coming from the new stranger was strong and caused my wolf to whimper in fear. I peered out of the corner of my eye to see another red-eyed man, but he held the power of an Alpha. He stared down at me with an unreadable expression. "Shift!" he commanded. My body began to realign and return to its human shape against my will.

I felt extremely exposed as I lay on the ground with the man's hand wrapped around my throat. The red-eyed Alpha squatted down, keeping his gaze fixed on mine, sending a chill rushing through me. The sound of struggling and grunts hit my ears. I turned my eyes toward the sound to see two more men shuffling my father into the room. He was covered in blood, but I couldn't tell if it was his own or not. When he spotted my mother lying still, his legs gave out, and he fell forward with a mournful sound. I couldn't stop my own sorrowful emotions from overwhelming me. "Daddy---" I choked out.

My father lifted his face at the sound of my voice. His eyes looked almost dead, but he gave me a gentle smile. "It's going to be okay, baby girl," he tried to reassure me, even as the men held us captive. "Be strong."

The sound of clapping took me by surprise, and my attention sought out the source. Out of the darkness, my uncle appeared, wearing an amused expression that shocked me. I looked from him to my father in confusion, and it seemed he was just as confused as I was.

"You?"

His voice caught a bit before his eyes narrowed into a hardened look, and a low growl ripped from his throat. My father's body surged forward, and it took all the strength of the men holding him to keep him from breaking free. "You've killed your Luna, brother!"

My uncle laughed darkly. "No, brother..." he shook his head. "I killed your mate." A venomous roar of anguish and rage filled the room as my father pulled forward again, wanting to rip into his brother’s flesh. My own wolf was silent, seemingly unable to grasp the betrayal.

"Why?" my father bellowed.

"For power. Why else?" he answered simply before his eyes snapped to me, filled with hatred. "You think I could allow my niece to become Alpha of this pack over me? A female Alpha? I'd be a laughingstock..." My father looked toward me suddenly, and I could see fear in his eyes for a moment.

My uncle nodded toward the red-eyed Alpha before looking back to my father. "Now it's time for you to join your mate, dear brother." He approached him with strong, confident steps.

My heart thundered in my chest as I was grabbed off the ground by Kade, his hand still wrapped firmly around my throat. I began to struggle more in his grasp.

"NO!" I screamed as a pair of strong arms wrapped around my body from behind, caging me completely. I watched in horror as my father was held firmly in place, staring up at my uncle. "Close your eyes, Ace," he commanded in his Alpha voice.

My eyes snapped shut as a sob ripped from me, and my body shook in my captor’s arms. There was a sudden silence before my uncle let out a quick battle cry. I felt the snap of the tether when my father and Alpha died. My wolf let out a mournful cry, and so did I, but my cry was silenced as the hand on my throat tightened, cutting off the sound.

My eyes opened, staring into those sinister red orbs.

"Thank you for your assistance tonight," my uncle spoke. "As we agreed, you may take the girl with you to do with as you please." My eyes widened in horror. I didn’t want to go anywhere with these red-eyed monsters; they would surely do worse things to me than kill me. I began to thrash wildly as I called on the power of my wolf.

The arms around me tightened. "You will be strong... I can sense the power rising in you..." he whispered into my ear. "You’ll make a great addition to my pack. Perhaps after a time, you will rule beside me..." I shuddered as his nose brushed against the skin of my neck.

My uncle turned around quickly, having heard the man. "No, she will die when you’ve finished playing with her. I don’t need her coming back here stirring up trouble if she somehow gets away from you."

The red-eyed Alpha chuckled. "Scared of a little girl Alpha?" he questioned mockingly. My uncle’s eyes narrowed, but he held his lips in a tight line. The other red-eyed men let out chuckles of amusement that only unsettled me more.

"Don’t worry yourself. You will never see the beautiful Ace again. Alive, at least..." His lips whispered against my ear, sending a fierce coldness through my veins. I stared at my uncle, feeling pathetic when the desire to plead with him rushed through me. I had always loved my uncle, and I thought we had a special bond. He’d always gone out of his way for me as if I were his own child.

Yet, as I stared at him, all I saw were eyes full of hatred. My mother and father lay still and quiet on the hard floor of our home, a place that had always been warm and safe. It was all gone now... in an instant, everything had been ripped away from me by a man I had loved like a second father.

A strange feeling I’d never known seemed to eat away at the inside of me. "You’ll pay for this," the words tumbled out of my mouth without much thought. The feeling wrapped tighter around the core of my being, feeding on the grief and betrayal I felt. My pleading gaze suddenly became something else as the monster inside me grew. I strained in the arms of my captor. "I will make you pay for this. I will come for you. I will take away everything you have ever loved... then once you’ve tasted from your own cup... I. Will. Kill. You." My voice was flat and calm.

I saw a flash of fear in my uncle’s eyes for a moment, and the man behind me released a loud laugh. "She’s perfect! Let’s get her out of here... I can’t wait to play with my new toy..." Kade still had his hand wrapped around my throat, and he tightened it, cutting off my ability to breathe.

My vision began to flicker as I fought to keep my consciousness, but my struggle was futile. The darkness claimed me as I vowed to myself that I would survive and keep my word... or myself and for my parents.

I ran through the woods as quietly as I could using the shadows that the trees afforded me to cloak myself. My hand was tucked tightly against the wound at my side, "D*mn hunters!"

I swore under my breath trying to ignore the burning from the silver bullet lodged between two of my ribs. I hadn't been expecting news to travel so quickly that I had been freed but obviously I should have known. Werewolves are a bunch of loud mouth.

My uncle was making it extremely clear that there wasn't any level too low for him to stoop to. He wanted me dead and he had thought when he'd given me over to the Kellan that had been ensured.

Yet, here we were two years later.

Kellan was dead and I was still alive, wish I could have seen the look on his face when he'd heard that.

I caught the scent of the humans on the soft breeze and held back a groan as I pushed off the tree I had been resting on. I moved swiftly through the shadows keeping my senses alert to anything that m