Chapter One

Alanis POV

I hear fighting and screaming coming from outside my window. I get out of my bed quickly. I listen to my father and mother screaming as I scramble to look out the window. I know who it is, but I need to see it for myself. If I am going to die tonight, I want to know who the monster is that came calling.  I want to look him in the eyes when I die.

I look out and see Alpha Raymond and his pack of wolves running from house to house. He is killing us, all of us. For what, he wants our land. He does not like us, what? There is no reason except that my father and the council refused his offer to combine our packs. Alpha Raymond does not like being told no. He never thought my father would lash out at him and reject his offer.

"Alanis!" My mother calls to me. I can hear fear in her voice as she waits for me to join her to wait for death.

 I dash out of my room and run through the kitchen. I pass what remains of my birthday cake on the kitchen table. We celebrated my 18th birthday tonight. I am too young to die. I do not want to die, but it is here for me.

I run to my parents. My father takes his wolf form and rushes out the door to fight with the others. My mother and I hide in a downstairs closet. We huddle together. She holds me so tight I can feel the tears streaming down her face. She knows we will not survive this night.

"Everything will be okay, Alanis," my mother whispers in my ear.

I know it will not be okay. I know my mother is lying to me, but she is trying to calm me. I love her. No one on earth could have a mother as wonderful as her. She is kind, graceful, yet bold. She is the most beautiful person I know. 

The door slings open on the closet door where we are hiding. I am afraid to look up. My mother pushes me behind her and darts out of the closet as she slams the door to protect me. I know they saw me. Besides, where would I go if I was the only one left alive after the carnage? No other pack would take in a refuge running from Alpha Raymond.

I hear her screams, and then I see blood rushing under the door of the closet. The door opens, and I look up to see him. It is Alpha Raymond. He grabs me, pulling me out of the closet. His hands are rough, and he smells like the blood of my friends and family. Alpha Raymond throws me onto the floor. He stands over me as I lie next to my dead mother.

"Beg for your life," Alpha Raymond growls at me.

I refuse to beg him for anything, not even my life. I will die here silent. I look at my mother. I reach for her. I want to touch her one more time. I want to feel her skin. The tears well up and begin to slide down my cheek.

"You bastard!" I scream at him.

I lie over my mother's body and sob. She did not deserve this; none of the wolves in this pack deserved this to happen to them. We are a peaceful pack. We do not get involved in other pack's business or feuds, and look where it landed us - Extinct.

"Beg for your life, and I might let you live!" Alpha Raymond screams at me.

I refuse. I will not beg for my life. I look up at him. I am angry. I want to kill him. "Kill me, now!" I scream at him.

Alpha Raymond begins to laugh. His wolves join in laughing at me and my boldness. No one speaks to the Alpha this way, especially not a young woman. What do I have to lose? He is going to kill me anyway.

Alpha Raymond grabs me and begins pulling me out of my house. He drags me over my mother's dead body, and then I see my father. He is alive, and on his knees, wolves are circling him. Our eyes meet, and I watch as the wolves kill my father. They devour him right in front of me. I scream a blood-curdling scream that I am sure the entire pack heard if there are any of us left.

"Put her in my truck. She is coming with me," Alpha Raymond says as he pushes me into another wolf. I fall to the ground.

A young wolf helps me to my feet roughly and grabs my wrists. He pulls me toward the Alpha's truck. I look around to see if anyone else is alive. I see nothing but dead wolves everywhere. Our homes are on fire; this monster destroyed our way of life. Everything about us is either dead or on fire.

I listen to the fire crackle as the young wolf drags me to the Alpha's truck. The young wolf drags me across the field to their trucks and vehicles. They drove here, hid, and then attacked when we all laid down to sleep. They are cowards.  They were afraid to attack when we were awake and had a chance to fight them. They wanted to sneak in and kill us in our sleep or burn us alive.

The young wolf grabs a pair of handcuff out of the truck and handcuffs me, then puts me in the bed of the truck. I am the only one they took. What are they going to do with me? Why do they want with me? I am afraid to know the answer to these questions.

I lie down and wait for Alpha Raymond to come to take me away. Maybe he will still kill me so I can be with my parents. After an hour, he finally runs up to the truck. He jumps in the front without a word to me. He drives away laughing and hollering over his victory.

I lay in the back of the truck. The ride is horrible. It is hard to tolerate the bumps and banging of being in the bed of the truck. I think he is hitting every rock and pothole he can find on purpose just to hurt me. A few stones sling into the back, and I cover my face.

We finally arrive at the pack house. I wait for Alpha Raymond or someone to pull me out of the truck. Maybe they will forget about me. I can hear them laughing, talking, and definitely drinking. The same young wolf that put me in the truck comes to retrieve me.

The young wolf grabs my handcuffs and pulls me out of the truck onto the ground hard. I grunt but do not give him the pleasure of a scream or a word of pain. I do not even look up as he pulls me to my feet. I keep my head low and my eyes on the ground.

The young wolf takes me into the pack house and throws me at the Alpha's feet. Alpha Raymond puts his boot on my head and kicks me hard. I do not make a sound. Screw him and this twisted game he is playing with me.

"Cage her in the basement. Death is too good for a young woman with a mouth so fierce. She needs to learn some manners, and I am just the wolf to teach her a few," Alpha Raymond growls.

The young wolf pulls me by my hair to my feet. He grabs my handcuffs and drags me through the house to the basement door. He opens the door. It is dark, and it smells as we go down the stairs.

The young wolf turns on a small light. It barely illuminates the basement. He takes my handcuffs off and pushes me into a large metal cage. There is a small mat to sleep on, a sink, and a toilet. Alpha Raymond has done this before. The mat is bloody and smells, but I have no choice but to lay on it.

"Get comfortable, little wolf. You will never see the light of day again," The young wolf says as he leaves me alone in the cage.

I curl up on the mat and let out a cry. My parents are gone. My family and my pack are all dead. I am trapped in a cage for Alpha Raymond to decide how I live and when I die.