Chapter 1: I Refuse! 

Thalia POV

“I’m not doing it, Papa! I will not marry that asshole!” I argued. 

“Asshole or not, you ARE marrying him, Thalia!” My father screamed back. 

“GOOD LUCK, GETTING ME TO SAY, ‘I DO’ THEN! BECAUSE THAT IS NOT HAPPENING IN THIS LIFETIME!” I screamed before running out of that fucking prison of a house. 

I needed air. I needed to breathe. I am the princess of the Moreno Crime family. My father, Diego Moreno, is the head of the family. He has never looked at me or my sister Mia as worthy of being in charge or making our own lives. For him, we are a commodity to be used to strengthen the family. For him, my brother, Rodrigo, is the only one worthy of leading the family and choosing who he wants as a bride. 

Now, I feel suffocated by his latest demand from me. He wants me to marry Armando Reyes, heir of the Reyes Crime Family. That guy creeps me out. Every time he is around, he tries to get handsy. He is a complete and utter pervert. Because I was trained early on to be a hitman, getting him to leave me alone has been easy. I could probably do the same if we were married, but who wants to have that kind of married life? Who wants a life without love and respect? Armando is no better than my father, in that he doesn’t value women. For him, women are a toy for his release. It would be better for all women if he either got a blow-up doll or got his dick chopped off. Personally, I would prefer the latter. 

I ran down to the private beach at the back of our estate. I need the ocean waves to calm me. I need to feel paradise under my feet with every grain of sand between my toes. I want to feel the cold water of the ocean brush against my ankles and retreat before making its way back, making my feet sink into the sand. I need to see the ocean wind, sway the palms, and birds flying in the sky. I need to feel their peace since my spirit is in turmoil. 

I don’t know how long I sat there in the sand, but after a while I heard the soft footsteps of my sister. Being trained to be a hitman for the majority of my life, you learn certain skills to survive. Hearing and recognizing footsteps are one of them. My sister Mia is only seventeen years old. She is smart and wants to study medicine. She has a good head for it, and she isn’t squeamish about blood and hospitals. I’m not squeamish about blood, but I am when it comes to hospitals. The last time I was in one, my grandfather was rolled out in front of me attached to various machines. He died shortly after. Since then, I haven’t been able to shake the despair I feel when I’m inside one of those places. 

“Everything okay, Mia?” 

“Yes hermana, but I heard the argument. I figured you’d come here to calm down. Do you want to talk about it?” She asked. 

“If you heard it, then there is nothing to talk about. My life has been dictated enough. I will not let papa, dictate it further. I’m not marrying Armando. He just wants to put his dick in me and quite frankly, I find him disgusting.” I said. 

She chuckled, “Sis, hermana, you always did have a way with words.” 

When I turn to look at her, I see sadness in her eyes. “What’s wrong?” 

“Papa said he wasn’t going to spend money to send me to medical school. He said that he wants me to work in the mail room of the family business until he finds a suitable husband for me. In other words, a suitable alliance to strengthen the family.” 

I feel my blood pressure rising once again. We mean nothing to him except to trade off for more power. I can’t let him get away with what he wants. We are people. We have feelings and hearts. Has he even looked at us like his daughters once in his life, instead of a bargaining chip to play, ‘Let’s Make A Deal’?

My sister sits beside me, and I wrap my arm around her. “I am going to figure this out. You know I won’t let anything happen to you or your future.” 

“If only we had our wolves, Thalia. Maybe then we could be strong enough to leave.” Mia said wistfully. 

Did I mention the Moreno Family is also a family of werewolves? My mother Blanca is a wolf-less omega. She met and married my dad; who is another wolf. He isn’t ranked by any means, but we live in the human world. In our town, we have power because we are naturally stronger. No one knows what we are, and it’s best it stays that way, or they may hunt us down. However, if we lived in a pack with other wolves, my father would be seen as weak. No rank and a weak wolf compared to an Alpha, Beta, Gamma or warrior; he wouldn’t have any power or control. He knew that too and that’s why we live in the human world. 

I don’t have a wolf. My mother told us that wolves usually come by the time a person turns eighteen. I’m twenty-four and still wolf-less, even though I am still stronger than a normal human person. My brother, Rodrigo did get his wolf, but on a dare, he drank wolfsbane right after getting his wolf and his wolf died. So now he is wolf-less and angry about it four years later. Mia is seventeen, so we won’t know if she has a wolf for another two months. 

I hugged my sister and got up. “Come, let’s get you inside. Papa won’t do anything with you for a while, so don’t worry about talking to him. I will figure things out for us, okay?” 

She held the hug and sighed, “Okay.” 

“Once you are inside, I am going to handle a job, and I will be back late tonight. Stay out of sight and out of mind, understand?” 

“Yeah, I understand. Be careful tonight, Thalia.” 

“I will.” I say as I take off. 

I’ve been hired for another hit. Some sleazy businessman that has been dealing in arms while betraying his business partners. He’s been taking money from both sides and one of them found out and ordered the hit. I put my training to good use, and I started making money on the side for myself. I’ve been saving, trying to make a clean break from my father. I need to rethink my strategy to include my sister now. I can’t leave her there. 

As I read the information from my encrypted phone, I see my target’s picture. Then the phone rings. 

“Kabar speaking.” I say. Kabar is my codename. It’s my weapon of choice, and I have several variations of my knives. 

“Kabar, we have intel that your target is staying in the Night Coast Hotel. According to his intel, he will be having drinks around seven tonight. It’s supposed to last an hour and then you will need to make your move.” 

“Understood.”

“The first half of your payment has been deposited. The second half will be sent once you have completed the job.”

“First payment confirmed received.” I hung up and started getting ready. I have two hours to become a different person.