1. VANYA

“Smile,” Joy, my stepmother, hissed from my left.

I forced a smile onto my lips, even though smiling was the last thing I felt like doing. The straps of the shoes Joy forced me to wear were digging into my skin; I was sure that by the time I got home, my feet would be covered in blisters.

I hated dressing up, but I had no choice since my father was a public figure—the Mayor of Ottawa, to be exact.

When my mother was alive, we would’ve stayed at home and watched movies because she wasn’t very fond of parties, either. But it all changed when she died and my father married Joy. She had him wrapped around her finger, and I hated that.

I hated her.

My eyes darted around as we walked further into the grand room. People were everywhere; dancing or standing in groups—probably gossiping—or sitting at the tables enjoying the buffet.

I’d rather be at the library, sorting through all the new books that were delivered earlier the day.

My hand shook as I grabbed a glass of wine from the tray of a passing waiter. Ignoring Joy’s whispered order for me to put the glass down, I took a sip, nearly spitting it out; I’ve never been a fan of alcohol, but I drank the wine anyway—anything to help me get through the damn night.

I glanced around the room as I started following Joy again. She stopped every few seconds to greet someone she knew. Joy made sure to turn and point me out whoever it was.

I managed to smile and utter the right things, even though my mind wasn’t really focused on what was being said.

The air got lodged in my throat when my eyes fell on him. He stood a few heads taller than anybody in the room—not that it was his height that was drawing attention.

It was who he was.

He was one of them… one of the hybrids.

The man was sex on legs, and I had heard enough women whispering about him in the library to know that most of them lusted after him. However, they would never act on those feelings or desires because of whom, or rather what he was.

The Alpha of his Pride.

Alpha, you ask? According to island history, the Hybrids arrived on the island a few days after Halloween, years ago. It was way before I was born, but they made sure that we learned about them in school.

Nobody knew exactly how they came to the island. They were discovered by chance. Since we’re only human, the first reaction was to kill them. They had managed to kill some, but then it changed. How, no one knew. That part wasn’t included in our history lessons. But somehow, two sides came to an agreement; and as they say, the rest was history.

The Hybrids mostly stayed in the woods, so we didn’t see them all that much, but every now and again, my father would invite them to these big social events. Only two of them would show up, and from what I gathered by watching them, they seemed pretty close.

I was snapped back to reality when Joy dug her nails into my arm. Flinching, I pulled my arm from her hold and rubbed the bruised skin.

“Pay attention,” she hissed, “and stop staring. You’re making a fool out of yourself.”

“I’m not staring.”

She gave me a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Someone like him would never be interested in you.”

“W-who?” I questioned.

“John. You’ve been staring at him.”

I bit back a laugh. “Whatever you say, Joy.”

She glared at me silently for a few seconds, then turned to continue her conversation with the woman whose name I forgot.

Staring down at my glass of wine, I pretended to be listening until I knew Joy was no longer watching me from the corner of her eye.

My eyes automatically darted back to where he stood, but he was no longer there. I glanced around, searching for him with no luck. Disappointment hit me hard.

The only reason I attended these gatherings was to stare at them. My shoulders slumped. Had he already left? 

After one last sip, I placed the glass down and silently excused myself. Thankfully, Joy was too engrossed in their conversation to notice when I slipped away.  

I headed towards the bathroom, but changed direction when I was sure that Joy wouldn’t see me if she happened to glance around.

I smiled politely to a few people my father was acquainted with as I passed them.

Only when I reached the patio doors did I breathe a sigh of relief.

Making my way over to the stairs, I walked until I reached the stone path that led into the big garden at the back of the building. There weren’t many lights, which made it harder to see, but luckily, I knew my way around.

Once I made it to the bench, I glanced around to make sure that nobody was around before I pulled my dress up and reached underneath to tug the scrap of underwear back in place. The piece of clothing was so small that the slightest movement made it pull up between my butt cheeks which was very uncomfortable. Joy had made sure that the underwear matched the dress. God forbid I embarrass her in public.

It wouldn’t do to have a fashion scandal printed in the local newspapers.

A sound from behind me had me spinning around. I could just make out the silhouette of a figure a few feet away. At first, I thought that it was one of the guests who had wandered off, but when the person moved, the moonlight reflected off something he held in his hand.

It took me all but two seconds to realize what it was. But by the time my fight-or-flight instinct kicked in, it was already too late.

My scream got cut off when a sweaty hand clamped down over my mouth. The cold tip of the blade being pressed to my throat made me freeze.

“Make a sound and I’ll slit your throat,” he muttered against my ear. “You should’ve stayed inside, princess.”

My instinct to fight finally kicked in when he started pulling me backwards with him, deeper into the darkness. I whimpered. If we made it into complete darkness, he would kill me. He could do anything he wanted to me because nobody would hear me scream.

“You smell good,” he said, rubbing his nose up and down my neck.

He stopped moving, but his hold only tightened. I shuddered in disgust when he licked the side of my neck.

Surely Joy would’ve noticed me missing by now? If not Joy, then my father. Someone would’ve noticed, right? But as the seconds ticked by, nobody came to my rescue.

“I’m going to have fun with you, and then I’m going to kill you for ruining my plans.”

I wasn’t going to let it happen. I silently screamed at him. All I had to do was wait for the right moment. But what if it was too late?

His hold on my mouth loosened. I held my breath when he reached up and groped my breast. The knife was still pressed to my throat with his other hand, but I’d rather risk having my throat slit than having him rape me.

Before he could do anything else, I slammed my elbow back into his ribs. The man gasped and his body jerked, but my action didn’t have the reaction I was expecting.

He spun me around so fast that I didn’t see his hand flying toward my face until it connected with my cheek. I fell to the ground from the force of his hit and cupped my cheek. His next hit was just as unexpected; the man kicked me in the stomach before he straddled me.

“Help!” I screamed.

“Shut up!”

Another slap had my head snapping to the side. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I could feel the sting of my lip where it had split.

“You’re not worth it,” he sneered.

He raised his arm, and for a second, the moonlight once again reflected off the blade of the knife he held in his hand before he lowered his arm. I waited for the pain, but it never came.

Something suddenly slammed into the man, knocking him off me. There was a low growl that sounded so scary that shook me from head to toe.

The pain slowly started to penetrate my shocked brain. I moved my shaky hands down my stomach and then froze when my fingertips brushed against the handle of the knife.

“Oh God,” I gasped in panic.

He had stabbed me! He had actually stabbed me before he was tackled, but I hadn’t felt a thing. My hand slid a little lower. Blood was already starting to soak the material of the dress, making me feel faint.

I was panting. It was a struggle to suck enough air into my lungs to breathe normally, and the darkness was there too, at the edge of my vision, waiting to suck me in.

I’m going to die. I’m not ready to die. I have so many things I still want to do.

My body jerked when someone suddenly leaned over me. I thought it was that man again, but it took me a few seconds to realize that it wasn’t a man or human at all.

It was an animal—a very large one—with skin that felt velvety soft.

Some of the panic inside me started to fade when he started purring. He lowered his upper body until it was pressed to my chest and he purred a little louder. The vibrations from his body and the sound he made had a calming effect on me.

I never wanted it to stop, but he did. A whimper fell from my lips when he pulled away. I wanted to reach for him, but my arms wouldn’t cooperate.

“N-no.”

A cold, wet nose nudged my cheek before he moved away. Something snapped loudly a few feet away, over and over, and then it suddenly stopped.

“Vanya?”

“Y-you know my name.” I opened my eyes and stared up at the figure hovering over me.

It was too dark to make out who it was, but he somehow seemed familiar.

“Of course I do, sugarplum.” He moved slightly before he pushed my hands that were pressed to my stomach away. “The knife’s not that deep, but I won’t risk pulling it out.”

“S-sugarplum?”

He chuckled. “It fits you because you like eating sweets.”

“W-who are you?”

“Your knight in shining armour.” I heard him say before I was swallowed up by the darkness.