Alpha's Pet

EVONY

As night fell, I lay down in the pile of blankets and pillows Ethan had brought me and watched the night sky from the small window in the cottage.

Ethan went back to the pack house to take care of some things. He wasn’t worried about any rogues coming into the territory this close to winter; they would want to find somewhere warmer to be.

I sighed, got out of my cozy little bed, and stepped outside. I glanced over to where I imagined the wolf earlier. Chills ran up my spine, and I shivered. Did I really imagine it? It seemed so real.

If only I could search for a scent or tracks, but my sense of smell wasn’t very good and neither was my eyesight at night. I really was a pathetic excuse for a wolf.

Looking up at the full moon in the sky, I wondered why I was being punished while my father lived the nightlife. Was it because of the circumstances of my birth?

Probably. The so-called Moon Goddess only cared for the strong and able.

I turned back and went inside the cottage before lying in my little makeshift bed. I blew out the candle and turned my back to the window.

It must have been nearly midnight because my eyes were heavy with sleep.

I had a feeling my torment would soon be over, one way or another. I repeated those words in my head as my eyes grew heavy and started to close.

When I heard the doorknob turn, I froze. Suddenly, I was wide awake. A deathly chill ran down my spine as my stomach dropped. Who would be out here at night?! Was it Ethan?

I glanced back at the door carefully, making sure to not give away the fact that I was awake.

The door slowly opened, and a tall male figure stepped into the cottage. It was too dark to see clearly, but I could tell that this man was definitely not Ethan.

I averted my eyes and shut them while remaining as motionless as I possibly could. I didn’t want them to know I was awake.

I could hear the door click shut, but I could still sense the man in the room. However, I didn’t dare look at him.

I listened closely for footsteps, but he was silent.

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping he would disappear or leave. I couldn’t fight off another attack, not in the state I was in... That wasn’t going to happen. My luck had run out long ago.

“You’re not fooling anyone, little one. I know you’re awake.” His voice was gentle and husky. It caused a strange feeling to run through my entire body.

When I turned to face the voice, I was met with a pair of golden eyes.

The vulnerability was only the beginning of what he made me feel, and it terrified me.

I stared right back into his eyes that felt like they were burning into my soul. I didn’t understand what this new feeling building in my stomach was. However, it was similar to one I already knew—fear.

If it wasn’t for the burning pain in my back, I probably would have melted on the spot or become hypnotized by his eyes alone. But if I did, I had a feeling that something bad would happen to me, so my fight-or-flight instinct kicked in, and I grabbed the closest thing to me and smashed it across his head.

He snarled and jumped back slightly. I quickly got out from under him and onto my feet. I made a dash for the door, only to be pushed into a wall. I cried out from shock and pain.

How was he so fast?!

He held me by the shoulders against the wall and growled, “The hell was that for?!”

From the moonlight coming through the window, I could see half his face, and it was now covered with blood running down from his head. I must have hit him pretty good.

Attempting to push him away was futile because he was way stronger than I expected.

He got more agitated the more I struggled, but because of the pain from him pinning me to the wall, my back was burning and fueling my instinct to try to escape.

“Stop it!” he snarled, and I flinched before freezing in place. He wasn’t a pack member as far as I could tell, but he had dominance radiating off him in waves.

He brought his face closer to my neck again and inhaled my scent. I swear he purred before wrapping his arms around me and running his lips across my skin.

I gasped. It felt good. I wasn’t sure why. I should have been disgusted, but instead I was enjoying it.

He squeezed me tighter, and it caused my backside to sting.

This embrace felt so good that I wanted to melt in his arms, but again, the pain was a hook that drew me out of whatever death pit he had in store.

So I did the first thing I could think of and bit his neck.

He snarled and pushed me away before putting a hand to his neck and looking at the blood I drew. I could see his reaction. He was getting pissed off.

I took the chance and ran out the door into the forest. No way was I looking back or stopping; I needed to get back to the pack house as soon as possible, so I kept running.

I could hear the crack of bones and his heavy grunts as he chased me. Shit! ~He will hunt me down.~ There was no way I could outrun him in his wolf form.

Soon after, I could hear him howl into the night. Was he crazy?! My entire pack would hear him and hunt him down!

Hopefully, someone would stop the man before he reached me. But as I ran, I smelled smoke.

What’s going on?! I wondered. ~Where were the scouts who patrolled pack territory?~ ~They should have taken this man down already!~

The wolf chasing me barked, and I looked back to see him close behind me and getting closer.

I ran as hard as I could. I could hear him getting closer, but before he could catch me, another wolf jumped out of the bush ahead of me and tackled my pursuer to the ground.

I stopped myself and watched both of them quickly get to their feet, snarling and snapping their fangs toward each other. I recognized who my savior was.

“Ethan!” I shouted, both happy to see him and concerned that this was going to turn into a bloody fight.

They both transformed back to their human selves for a fight. Ethan glanced back at me during his transformation.

“Run! Get out of here, and get as far away as you can! Find somewhere safe!” he shouted over his shoulder before turning his attention back to the man.

As he stood in the moonlight, I could see just how beautiful my pursuer actually was. I was frozen in place, and when he looked at me, our eyes locked.

I could see he had a burning desire to continue his chase, but he couldn’t with Ethan in the way. His smirk gave me chills.

His body was that of a god, and his face was just as equally handsome with messy black hair and a 5-o'clock shadow any girl would fall head over heels for.

Ethan snarled at the man, grabbing his attention.

“What are you doing? Get out of here!” he shouted while crouched down, ready to fight.

I snapped out of my daze and swallowed hard. One of them might get hurt or die in this fight. I forced myself to turn and run.

I couldn’t watch, and I couldn’t help. I needed to get back to the pack house and get help!

I ran as fast as I could away from the fight. My lungs were burning, and my wounds started to ache. The adrenaline which previously pushed me started to run out.

As I got closer to the pack house, I realized just how bad our situation was.

I watched in horror to see all our pack soldiers kneeling with their hands bound before a few men I didn’t recognize. I took a few steps back.

What am I supposed to do now?! ~Who do I turn to for help?~

Two of the strange men happened to notice me and started coming toward me. I snapped out of my panic and decided to run in another direction. Maybe I could find somewhere to hide until someone came for me.

“Where do you think you’re going? Trying to escape, are you?” spoke one above me.

I tried to push myself up, but the other man pushed me back down with his foot on my back. Searing hot pain erupted from my wound.

I cried out in agony, and tears started to well up in my eyes, making my vision blurry with pain. I tried to speak, but my voice failed me.

“You're not going anywhere, she-wolf. I don’t know how you got away, but let this be your first lesson. We are faster, stronger, and better at tracking than any of you, so if you try to run again, we won’t be so kind next time,” a she-wolf guard warned me.

To my surprise, when she spoke, she had a gentle tone. “Come on, go sit down with the others and get comfortable. It’s going to be a long night.”

She placed her hand on my back to guide me over, and I quickly flinched away from her touch. She gave me a confused and not very pleased look but didn’t say anything.

I sat down near the back corner of the room and listened to what was going on outside. I could hear men shouting orders at each other, but after a while, it got quiet.

My back still hurt, and my bandages were soaked in my own blood. I could also smell blood in the house, which meant there had been some resistance from my pack members when they were attacked.

I wondered who won and who might be dead—Ethan or the strange man.

My vision soon became blurry as I started feeling light-headed from blood loss. I found myself lying on the ground like some of my other pack members who were sleeping.

Before I knew it, darkness took me under.

AXTON

“Gather all the survivors outside—men, women, children, all of them. It’s time we address ourselves and make a statement,” I instructed.

Everyone was forced to get to their feet. I noticed some of the women shooting glares in my direction and mumbling insults and profanities directed at me.

Their pack was at least three times bigger, yet we overpowered them with so few.

“You all may be concerned about what will be happening. I can assure you nobody will be harmed unless they attempt to retaliate or rebel. You’re now under the protection of Alpha Axton Nova,” announced my beta.

Some cries and shocked gasps came from those around me.

“You will all follow his command from now on. He is your new alpha!” I could hear a few growls and cries from the members of the pack.

“Go to hell!” one of our men shouted, gaining some reinforcement from the others.

“You’re murderers!” Another outcry.

The crowd became more and more riled up. I was worried there was going to be more bloodshed as they continued to protest and get louder.

I didn’t want to be ruthless, but if they forced me to, they would find out exactly why I had such a notorious reputation. They called me the heart ripper.

“Quiet!” I shouted— a wave of overwhelming dominance and power washed over their faces, causing everyone to instantly stay silent.

My eyes swept over the crowd, scanning all their faces.

That’s when I saw her…

There she was, curled up, terrified.

“Your alpha has abandoned you!” I said.

Everyone was silent.

“Your alpha has left you all here. Like a coward, he ran away to save his own hide instead of staying here and fighting. He would rather live than protect his pack.”

“My goal here today was to end your alpha’s life so that I may get my revenge, but I also wish to claim this territory. He has done nothing but lie and abuse all of you! Spilling rumors no doubt to you and the other packs about us, making you grow to hate us.

“He has left this pack in shambles... Your warriors were too weak to even defend you! And those who were loyal to him are gone. Why is that? Have you wondered why he ran things the way he did?

“It’s because he wanted you all to submit. He didn’t want anyone to try and take the pack from him! He’s done nothing but ruin this once thriving pack!”

I paused, looking over everyone.

“From now on, I am your alpha. Those of you who are reluctant to accept this fact are free to challenge me.”

There was a silent pause until their pack’s beta growled and stepped forward. He barked at the shivering hordes and shouted, “Cowards!”

Everyone watched intently as he snarled and snapped his teeth at me.

“I am Beta Jace. You’ll have to take control of this pack over my dead body.”

We circled each other, but I showed no aggression. I simply watched Beta Jace closely, waiting.

When the snap of a stick being stepped on broke the silence, Beta Jace lunged for my throat. I jumped to the side and made my own lunge, knocking into him and causing him to stumble over.

The beta landed on his side with a yelp before standing up and shaking his head, then snarling and running at me again.

We got into a bloody dogfight with barking, snapping of teeth, and yelps of pain.

In the final seconds of the fight, Jace bit into my front leg in a last-ditch attempt to disable me, but I grabbed onto him and tossed him away with little effort.

He attempted to stand but was shaking from the strain he was putting on his body.

I transformed back into my human form and stood proud with little to no injuries. “Stand down. You’ve lost the fight, and continuing will only get you killed. If you are smart, you will give up.”

For a moment, I turned my attention to the higher-ranking members of my pack. We needed to decide what to do about the beta.

Seeing that I was distracted, Beta Jace lunged at me with his fangs bared.

Within seconds, there was a snap of bone breaking, and the old beta fell to the ground, motionless at my feet.

“Is there anyone else who wishes to devote their lives to your worthless coward of an alpha?”

No one spoke. Instead, everyone turned their heads away in submission from his dominance.

“Good. Now where is Alpha Kade’s daughter?”

Every single pack member turned around to look at the girl from the cabin.

A ripple of heat rushed through my body.

I was overwhelmed with that same sweet scent.

Right then, it dawned on me.

Alpha Kade’s daughter was my mate.