Taken by the Alpha

Clarice Mont

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Kim murmured to her daughter. Clarice lay quietly beneath her rose-colored velvet duvet, her hand tucked under a matching pillow.

“Mom...” Clarice’s voice trailed off. She bit her lip nervously, her gaze fixed on the wall in front of her.

“Yes, sweetie?” Kim paused in the doorway, turning to look at her innocent daughter.

“Who is the Alpha of all Wolfe Borne, and why is he so important?” Clarice asked. Her gaze never left the wall.

“He’s like a king,” Kim explained. “He rules over all werewolves, just like our Alpha, but he’s much more powerful. Do you understand?”

“Sort of. Is he a bad guy? Why haven’t you and dad ever mentioned him before?” Clarice’s brows furrowed, her eyes darkening with the restlessness of her inner wolf.

“Well, he’s not the best person, but I can’t judge someone I’ve never met. We haven’t mentioned him because there was never a reason to. Now, goodnight sweetheart, sleep tight.” Kim’s words were final.

Clarice didn’t get a chance to ask more. Her mother swiftly turned off the light and closed the door behind her.

Alone in the darkness, Clarice’s gaze remained fixed on the wall. Questions about the powerful Alpha danced in her mind.

“The Alpha of all Wolf Borne,” she whispered to herself. Her eyes began to droop, exhaustion suddenly overwhelming her small body.

"Greta, did you make it to the pack meeting yesterday?" Claire asked her best friend. Greta flicked a curl of her dark brown hair behind her ear and nodded.

"I did. I went with my brother and father. My mother couldn't come because she caught a bug from shifting in the wrong part of the woods. She was exposed to too much bacteria." Greta had a habit of sharing random information when she didn't know what else to say.

"I can't believe a powerful Alpha King is visiting our pack today. It's so exciting," Claire said, bouncing in her seat. Greta's face fell, and she looked at Claire as if she'd sprouted a third eye.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Claire asked, her cheeks flushing. Greta let out a sigh.

"Didn't your parents tell you about the Alpha King's hobbies and personality?" Greta asked cautiously. Claire froze, realizing she knew nothing about the man visiting their pack.

"No."

"Well, his hobbies include anything that starts and ends with murder. He's the oldest of our kind, and apparently..." Greta leaned in closer to Claire, who was both shocked and repulsed by this revelation.

"Apparently, he wasn't blessed with a soulmate like the rest of us. It's been so long, and we've never heard of him being with anyone. Also, he has a terrible personality, or so I've heard," Greta continued. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke, her voice tinged with unease.

"What's he like?" Claire asked. Her eyes were wide, her face pale. Her father had been right. She'd been sheltered for so long that she couldn't handle anything out of the ordinary.

"He's cold. Like ice. Ruthless and merciless. There was a rumor a while back that he tore a man limb from limb and left him to suffer just for giving him false information." Claire gasped, her body trembling. She laughed nervously, hoping it was all a joke.

"Maybe... maybe he's not like that. We shouldn't believe every rumor we hear, especially if we don't even know the man," Claire said, her voice shaky. She crossed her arms over her chest to stop them from trembling, but she couldn't stop her face from paling in fear.

"Claire, he's our King. The eldest of our kind. He's seen horrors. It's no surprise there's not an ounce of humanity left in him. I wouldn't expect anything different, to be honest." Claire chewed on her bottom lip, staring at her freshly painted light pink toes.

Greta saw the shock on Clarice's face and instantly regretted sharing so much with her unsuspecting best friend.

"Maybe... maybe I shouldn't have told you all of that," Greta murmured, but Clarice, with her heightened senses, heard her clearly and quickly shook her head, her eyes wide with surprise.

"No! I'm glad you did. Without you, I would be in the dark. I wouldn't have known any of what you just told me."

"Maybe it was for the best that your parents kept it from you. I don't think you were ready for all of this, Claire," Greta said, her voice filled with unease as she rubbed her best friend’s back.

"It wasn't for the best! I would have been the only one excited for his visit, and everyone would question my sanity... My parents coddle me, Greta, I don't need you to do the same."

Greta sighed, realizing that Clarice had a point—she wasn't a child anymore, and withholding this information wouldn't have been right.

"Alright, I just don't want you to start panicking," Greta said softly, her eyes taking in Clarice’s tired look.

Clarice sighed, rubbing her temples. Her face was paler than usual, and Greta noticed the change immediately.

"Too late..." Clarice joked, trying to lighten the mood. But Greta's frown was enough to plunge them back into unease.

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"What are you going to wear for the meeting?" Kim asked her daughter, who was sitting quietly on the edge of her bed.

Clarice shrugged. There was a storm brewing in her green eyes, and her mother noticed it right away.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Kim asked, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Mom... Is he coming here to hurt us?" Clarice asked, her eyes wide and her brows furrowed with worry.

"What? Who?" her mother asked, confused, as she looked at her daughter curiously.

"The King."

“What? Why would he hurt anyone?” Kim’s voice wavered, despite her best efforts to sound composed. Discussing the dangerous King was a topic that always made her uneasy.

Clarice simply shrugged. She rose from her seat, picked up the outfit she had laid out earlier that morning, and disappeared into her bathroom. Kim was left alone, her mind spinning with worry. Who told her that the King was coming to hurt someone?

After about ten minutes, Clarice emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed. She was surprised to find her mother still in her room. “Mom, why are you still here? Don’t you need to get ready too?” She glanced at her mother’s simple attire.

“I... I just wanted to see the outfit you chose. It’s lovely. Now, I’ll go... uh, goodbye,” Kim stammered, before hastily exiting her daughter’s room.

“Weird,” Clarice muttered to herself. She took a deep breath and shook her head. Looking down at her outfit, she couldn’t help but smile. She had chosen a pale blue sundress that hugged her figure just right and ended mid-thigh. She paired it with simple white ballet flats.

Turning to face her round mirror, she decided to tame her wild auburn hair into a messy bun. With her hair taken care of, she applied a touch of blush to her tan cheeks, a bit of lip balm to her lips, and a dash of mascara to her already long lashes. “That’s all,” she declared, returning the last of her makeup to its place before leaving her small room.

“Come on, girls! We have to go!” Her father’s voice echoed through the house, laced with unease. Clarice noticed, but chose to remain silent as she joined him at the bottom of the staircase.

“Well, don’t you look beautiful, sweetheart.” Clarice blushed at her father’s compliment and bowed her head slightly, causing him to chuckle.

“And there’s my gorgeous mate,” Nathaniel announced as Kim descended the stairs. Clarice turned to see her mother. Like her, Kim was wearing a sundress, though hers was red and fell just below her knees. She had paired it with nude pumps and her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail.

“Nathaniel.” Kim blushed and shook her head. Clarice remained silent, a fact that went unnoticed by her parents as they all left their house in silence.

Clarice could tell her parents were blocking her from their thoughts, a sign they were communicating through their mind-link. She felt a growl of frustration rise from her wolf. She wanted to know what they were discussing, but they kept her in the dark. Even as they entered the pack-house, filled with loud chatter and a palpable sense of unrest, they kept her out of their conversation.