Page 5 of Alpha's Revenge Luna

“What?” I stammer, backing away. How can a council member even suggest such a thing?

Alpha Dion seems thoughtful for a second before he smirks like he thinks something is funny.

“Your suggestion is not needed, Elder. I have every intention of taking the girl.” My eyes dart from the Alpha to the Elder, panic rising in my throat.

“No, absolutely not,” my father croaks. Alpha Dion glances at me again.

“It wasn’t your choice; I lost my Luna and my son. It’s only fair I get to take from you,” Alpha Dion says. “Life for a life.”

His hands tighten on my mother’s throat, and my father gets to his feet and lunges at him, only to be grabbed and ripped back by three other Alphas.

“We can’t afford another war,” one growls at him while my mother chokes, her fingers clutching his hands as he crushes her windpipe. Her eyes bulge from her head as she claws at his arms.

He’s going to kill her! Panic courses through me, and I stumble forward. “I’ll give you an heir,” I blurt out in panic, willing to do anything to avoid watching my mother die. Alpha Dion laughs and glances over his shoulder at me.

“That was already decided the moment I laid eyes on you, but your father took two lives, and now so will I,” he growls before grabbing my mother’s head and twisting. The sickening crack makes me scream in horror, and my legs give out from under me.

He drops her body at his feet and wipes his hands on his pants. The sound of my father’s screams is deafening as he fights to get free. I can’t take my eyes off her crumpled form until I hear his footsteps growing louder as he stalks toward me.

“No!” my father roars, headbutting one Elder and escaping the other. He rushes to my mother, and the Alphas don’t bother stopping him. I watch as my father clutches her limp body in his arms. My heart breaks at the sight of him wailing and begging her to come back to him.

“You bastard!” my father screams the words, his aura slipping out as his canines elongate.

“You monster!” my father spits at him, getting to his feet. He flexes his fingers, sharp talon-like claws breach his nail beds while his eyes turn obsidian.

Alpha Dion stops. He laughs bitterly and turns on his heel to face my father. “I’m the monster? Don’t pretend you are some saint.”

“You dare come to my pack, kill my wife, and claim my daughter!” my father roars furiously. Alpha Dion remains calm and collected while taking calculated steps.

“You messed up, and now you pay the consequences for it. I lost my Luna and my unborn son!” he spits at my father.

My father’s eyes go to me. “You need to run, Emery,” my father says through the mindlink, and I shake my head in response as I inch closer to the table behind me.

My fingers touch the soft tablecloth behind my back; I feel around, my hand grabbing a dinner knife.

I hide the knife behind my back while my father argues with the Alpha, who draws closer.

“Emery, leave! ” my father yells at me through the link just as Alpha Dion turns to me.

My father attacks him, but the Alpha must have expected it because he moves so quickly, catching my father by surprise when he partially shifts.

My father makes a horrid choking sound, his eyes returning to their normal color while his face turns red. The stench of blood fills the air, and I glance down at it, dripping at Alpha Dion’s feet.

Alpha Dion twists the hand he has plunged into my father’s stomach.

My father gasps, and Alpha Dion grips his shoulder, yanking his claws from my father’s stomach, only to slash him.

Blood spews from my father’s lips and dribbles down his chin as he gasps.

His eyes bulge from his head as he glances down to watch his intestines spill onto the floor at his feet.

His hands feebly, try to stuff them back in.

Unable to contain it, I throw up, spewing down the front of my dress and onto the floor at the sight. My entire world turns upside down in the span of a few moments. Alpha Dion growls, shoving him away before turning on me. My father crashes on the floor beside my mother.

My heart races as Dion snarls, stalking toward me.

Knowing I am next, I race for the doors, kicking my heels off as I run.

He takes only moments to catch me. As he tackles me, his body crashes on top of me, and the knife flies from my grip.

The gravel digs into my skin, and my hands and knees get sliced to pieces as I hit the ground.

“You owe me an heir,” Alpha Dion snarls.

“Go to hell,” I curse as he moves above me and presses his knee between my shoulder blades. I thrash, trying to get free, but it’s pointless. I’m no threat to him when I am three days away from my wolf awakening.

The Alpha sniffs me, and I freeze as he leans down, burying his nose in my neck. He rolls me over, his legs straddling my chest. He grips my face with his fingers.

“Do you know who I am?” he demands. I glare at him. Of course, I know who he is.

“The piece of shit who just killed my parents,” I snap at him. His fingers squeeze harder, making my jaw ache as he digs into my cheeks, prying my mouth open and checking my teeth. His fingers get closer to my mouth as he tries to pry my upper lip up, I bite it hard.

Hard enough his blood washes over my tongue, and he growls furiously.

His upper lip pulls back over his teeth, revealing deadly canines and fangs, telling me the Hybrid rumors are true.

“Let go!” he growls, and I feel his aura slip out slightly. When I don’t let go, he pinches my nose, and I bite down harder. He grits his teeth and glances down at my chest before his amber eyes meet mine.

“Last chance to let go, or I will make you,” he snaps at me. I thrash, and his knees pin my arms to the ground. Still, I refuse to let go. I will bite it off if I need to.

The Alpha growls before his other hand moves to my chest. I scream as he pinches my nipple through my dress and twists.

The pain makes me thrash harder, “You’re a stubborn little thing, aren’t you?

” he snarls, twisting harder, and tears burn my eyes at his torturous grip. Any more pressure and it will come off.

Unable to take the pain anymore, I let his finger go, only for his bloody hand to whip across my face.

My head turns to the side at the force of his slap.

My cheek burns furiously and my ears ring.

I can feel the outline of each finger as my face swells.

A sob escapes my lips, not because of the pain but the sight before me when I open my eyes.

Pack members, people I know and grew up with, surround the parking lot, dead on the ground, bloodshed everywhere. Men in black clothes stand casually against their cars, and I know they are the Alpha’s warriors. They killed them; they killed my people.

Alpha Dion grips my face, turning it back to face him. “How old are you?” he demands. I glare at him, and he lets my face go. “Answer me!” he roars, so I do, by spitting in his face. He growls, wiping his face with his other hand before gripping my hair and hauling me to my feet.

He shoves me toward a black SUV, where another man grabs my arm so I don’t stumble into him, his grip tight “What are we doing with this one, Alpha?” he asks when I see a knife attached to his hip.

“Put her in the trunk,” Alpha Dion growls behind me. The man spins me around and marches me toward the back of the car. He opens the trunk and shoves me toward it.

“Get in!” the man snarls at me, and I refuse, taking a step back. He grabs me around the waist. I thrash and kick as he lifts me and tries to force me in. He growls, and I throw my head back. Pain courses through my head when it connects with his face, and he lets me go with a roar.

I hit the ground, landing on my hip, but with adrenaline pumping through me, I force myself up and run for the tree line surrounding the hall.

“Leave her. She won’t escape me,” I hear Alpha Dion call out when the man gives chase.

I glance over my shoulder to see Alpha Dion watching me as I slip into the trees.

I turn back and keep running. I can navigate these forests with my eyes closed.

I grew up playing in them, and this particular one leads to the pack house. It will just be one hell of a trek.

The forest is cold, dark, and eerily silent.

Once deep among the trees, I can barely see my hand in front of my face, and every noise, a broken twig, or the crunch of leaves makes me jump in fright.

My feet are cut to pieces, and I ache from running.

My teeth chatter from the cold, and I rub my arms, trying to warm them from the bite of the breeze that whisks through the trees.

Still, I don’t stop, knowing my brother is at home, and I need to get to him. I need to get home to find my little brother and get us out of this mess. He will be wondering where we are, I already know.

I pray he is still soundly asleep in his bed and that he hasn’t felt the sting of their loss because the void inside my chest makes me painfully cold.

By the time I am nearly home, I have run out of tears, although I am sure they are etched into my skin like deep crevices from the streams that trek down my face.

I step out of the tree line behind my father’s mansion; the first rays of the sun peeking above the trees and offering a little warmth, though it does nothing to stop the coldness settling in my veins.

The dew on the grass wets my feet as I rush across the manicured lawns; the moisture stings the cuts on my feet, making me more aware of them.

My dress is ruined and in tatters, barely clinging to my body.

Goosebumps lace my skin, and my hair sticks to my face from the cold sweat I worked up from running.

Now my father and the pack link are dead, so I am not sure if any of the pack are still alive, or if Alpha Dion only killed those of our people who attended the ceremony.

Without the pack link, there is no way of knowing for sure.