“Sienna baby, listen to me. No matter what happens, don't you dare come out of hiding else mama will be very mad at you”
Cold shivers ran down her spine as she heard her mother speak with a trembling voice.
“Promise me you won't come out”
The innocent 7 year old sienna looked up, eyes wide— filled with confusion and fear.
It was supposed to be a day of celebration for them. Just a while ago, the hall was filled with happy laughter and voices, the ballroom of the ‘NIGHTSHADE’ pack was decorated with fine golden banners,and the delicious aroma of roasted meat and rare wine filled the air. Guests had filled the entire all— all celebrating the mating ceremony of her elder brother, Liam.
But now, the happy feast had been turned into a battle of survival. Screams from different directions threatened to tear the hall apart— the sweet aroma was replaced with the metallic scent of blood.
Sienna didn't understand everything at such a young age but if there was one thing she was sure of, it was the fact that ‘something was wrong’.
“Mama, I don't understand—” her tiny voice trembled as she held tight onto her mother's dress.
Her father, Alpha Darius knelt in front of her, his hand on her tiny shoulders. Sienna wasn't dumb to notice the urgency and desperation written all over the face of her dad who usually looked calm, cheerful and powerful.
“You have to listen to Mama, baby. Hide in here; no matter what happens, you have to stay in here— do you understand?”
Sienna’s sight became blurry as tears gathered in them. She glanced from her father to her mother then back at her father. The terror in their eyes made her tiny hand tremble.
“But Mama—”
“Sienna, listen, please!” Her mother cried out, voice slightly above a whisper.
“Promise us!”
The urgency in her mother's time made her lips tremble
“I– I promise”
Without another word, her father pushed open the door to a hidden compartment under the stairs, it was where she was meant to hide. The place was dark, scary and small but she had to squeeze herself in.
“Remember, do not make a sound no matter what happens”
“I love you my little Angel” her mother's shaky palm wiped away the tears on her chubby cheeks.
Her father hurriedly closed the door leaving Sienna in the silence.
*BANG*
The sound drew Sienna's attention, she peered through the tiny crack in the tapestry— what she saw next was something that would haunt her forever.
The gigantic door that Sienna had always thought was too big was already blown open. Metals kept clashing against each other as blood splattered across the room— Sienna found it hard to breathe seeing all the blood. The cramped space she was in didn't seem to help matters at all.
She watched as her father fought fiercely alongside her mother, elder brother and the pack's warriors, but the attackers were too much for her people to handle— they dropped dead one by one.
“Surrender Alpha Darius!”
Then she saw him.
A man in dark yet shining armor standing at the center of the slaughter. His voice was calm, he didn't fight— he just observed the chaos.
“It's done, Sire” a huge man stepped forward, his blade dripping with blood— the blood of her people.
The Alpha king ordered that your family and entire pack be executed” the voice rang through the chaos.
Sienna’s breath caught.
“You lie! Kieran wouldn't do that to us” her mother spoke
“You dare call the Alpha by his name? Kieran?” The man chuckled not from amusement but pure mockery.
‘Kieran’
The name glued to her brain like a brand.
“You'll regret this!” Alpha Darius who was already wounded snarled.
The other man gave a cruel laugh before giving a hand signal and in a split second, a blade was driven through her father's heart— her brother wasn't an exception.
“No!”
Sienna placed her hand over her mouth as her mother's scream broke through the entire hall. Luna Evelyne made to attack the guard but another blade sliced through her back.
Her mother fell beside her father, her fingers trembling as she tried to reach out for him.
“Mama…” Sienna broke into a sob but her voice was drowned by the chaos outside.
She couldn’t move.
She couldn’t breathe.
Her parents were dead.
She wanted to scream, but her mother's words rang in her ears— “Remember, do not make a sound no matter what happens”
Her tears fell freely as she curled up, trembling and suffocating in the darkness.
Minutes went by with Sienna still quiet as her mother warned. Soon, the hall was swallowed in silence.
Sienna slowly pushed open the compartment door, she stepped out with her hands shaking beside her. The ground was littered with bodies including headless corpses. The floor was soaked with blood no one could tell this used to be a sparkling white marble floor.
Her feet trembled as she made her way to her elder brother, Liam. He lay motionless, his head inches away from his body. Sienna fell to her knees beside her mother's corpse.
“Mom?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Dad?”
No answer.
She sobbed as tapped her tiny hands on her mother's shoulders. She hoped and prayed her family would just miraculously spring to their feet.
But nothing happened, she cried tirelessly until she heard steady tapping sounds from behind her.
They were footsteps— she turned sharply, her heart threatening to rip out of her chest.
A huge silhouette stood at the entrance, cloaked in black. From the body frame, she could tell it was a man; his face was partly covered by his hood, but she could see his piercing silver eyes; they were unreadable.
He took slow, calculated steps towards her, his boots being stained by blood with each step he took.
Sienna couldn’t move— she was too scared.
His eyes studied her as if he was trying to decide his head.
Then, he bent down so his head could level hers, and he extended a hand.
“You want them to pay, don't you?” His voice was calm— too calm, almost hypnotic.
Sienna hesitated, her eyes flew to the lifeless bodies of her family one last time.
Then, she placed her trembling hand in his.
That was the moment Sienna Nightshade died.
And something darker was born inside of her.
