Captive

Amari shook in fear as the men descended on her. She had a feeling they would do their worst, and she hoped and prayed that did not include robbing her of her purity. She shook in her chains wondering how life could be so cruel. How could her own flesh and blood do her like that?

All Amari could think as she shivered in her chains was how Camilla deserved whatever misery fell her. As cruel as it may sound, Amari was not the least bit moved by the announcement of Camilla’s death. The bitch had it coming. Camilla might have had her mate for a day, but Amari would have Alpha Beaumont for a lifetime. Amari could not help but wonder who else Camilla pissed off for them to hurt her as they did. Maybe it was someone from a rival pack looking for revenge against their father. Or maybe, it was a rogue, looking for a good time? Camilla fought back, and she lost. Maybe her sister would have had a chance of survival if she had taken her training seriously. That was why Camilla could never be Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. Everything was a game to her, and her blasé attitude would ill-serve the pack. If Amari died, with no heir to the Blood Moon Pack, the power would shift to Beta Marco’s family. However, if another wolf wanted to challenge Beta Marco for the position of Alpha, they would be allowed to fight to the death or until one yielded.

Amari prayed it would not go that far, but the sinister glares from the men standing before her made her realize her luck might have run out.

“You got lucky earlier, bitch. But you’re ours now,” the guard with the claw marks running down his face growled.

As scared as she was, a ghost of a smile graced her lips. She paid for the smirk with a powerful backhand to the face. She winced in pain from the backhand that cracked one of her molars. Blood flooded her mouth, making her tremble in rage.

Amari was typically a pleasant, calm, levelheaded individual, but could turn deadly when her buttons were pushed. It was almost as if a switch was flipped, and she’d become a different person.

Amari could taste her metallic blood pooling in her mouth. Instead of swallowing, she spat it in the guard’s face. She took them all on by herself earlier when they tried to capture her, and she was more than confident she could do it again.

**Flashback**

“Get her and bring her back to the castle!” Alpha Beaumont shouted causing Amari’s eyes to widen in fear. She protested, but her mate faded from her view once she felt the silver bullets pierce her flesh.

Amari felt her strength ooze out of her body just like the flow of her blood. She dropped to her knees and gazed once more at the illustrious moonlight. Before passing out, she heard a deep howl that resonated within her soul. Her wolf immediately recognized the howl as their mate. It was the most beautiful yet haunting sound Amari had ever heard. Beautiful because it was him, haunting because she knew he howled in sadness for another.

After a few minutes, Amari found herself lucid again. Her body rejected the silver bullets and quickly mended itself. It was a long trek back to the vehicles, and she patiently waited until she was almost at full strength before making her move.

“Well, that was short-lived,” one of the guards scoffed.

“What do you mean?” another asked.

“Our pack having a Luna,” he answered.

“I’m not that bent up out of shape about it,” one of them commented.

“Why not?”

“Because Alpha Beaumont’s 25th birthday is coming up soon, and if he has not secured a Luna by 25, then he can be challenged for his position as Alpha.”

“And let me guess, you are going to challenge him?”

“I am, and none of you better throw your hats in the ring. If anyone deserves to be Alpha, then it should be me!” he snapped.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Sam, but you would make a horrible Alpha.”

“Why?” Sam snarled, feeling his wolf come to the surface.

“Because you are an insufferable asshole and a hot head.”

“All Alphas are.”

“To a certain extent, but you would take things too far, and I can see your pride and ego bring detriment to the pack. You lack diplomacy, morals, and your communication sucks. Your idea of resolving a pack issue is by using violence. Violence does not solve all your problems. Under your leadership, our pack would be wiped out in less than six months. I love our pack and would die trying to protect it from you. So, if you were to step up to the plate to challenge Alpha Beaumont, then expect me to be standing right there with you.”

“Why wait? Let’s do this now!” Sam yelled.

“Guys let’s stay focused! We need to get this girl back to the castle.”

Amari was dropped on the forested floor. She bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from grunting. She cracked open her eyes to see two of the three men shoving each other back and forth. The other guy was fruitlessly attempting to break up the fight.

Amari slowly brought herself to her feet, still undetected by the squabbling men. She slashed one of the men in the back, tearing his flesh to shreds. He let out an ear-piercing scream, snatching the attention of the fighting men. They immediately jumped in to assist but were no match for her. She sunk her claws into one man’s abdomen but quickly retracted her claws to fight the deceitful one named Sam.

“I’m going to kill you,” he seethed as Amari and he circled each other.

“I won’t allow that to happen,” she snapped.

“Don’t underestimate me. Just because you killed your sister does not mean I will let you do the same to me.”

Sam launched to attack Amari and found himself howling on the forest floor while holding his face together.

“This is all the confirmation I need to know you are a cold-blooded killer,” Amari heard from behind her. She whirled around to be faced by Alpha Beaumont. He snatched her by her neck and squeezed. “On my walk, I reconsidered your punishment, but I have changed my mind. I hope you enjoy my dungeon,” he growled in Amari’s face before she passed out.