1.

ISLA

It was summer so the sun was high in the sky, beating down on us. The heat from it caused endless sweat to run down my face. I wasn’t sure if it was the sweat or the tears that tasted like salt in my mouth. 

 With the number of people gathered to watch his demise, you would think there would be a disorder of some sort. But amid the multitude, some of whom had been under the direct command of my father, who was currently facing death —it was only my wailing that echoed through the air.

“No, Alpha King! I beg you, spare my father’s life!” I cried as I held onto the Alpha King’s legs. “He would never betray you!”

Why wasn’t anyone else defending him? I wondered. They all knew that no one was as loyal to the Alpha King as my father. He had been handpicked as pack leader several moons ago and he had never been accused of committing a crime until now. I was too sure he was being falsely accused, but why was I the only one? What about all the wolves and children he’d taken care of like his own? How could no one stand up for him?!

The bitterness of the situation filled my throat and fueled the tears streaming down my face. I looked at my father through my blurred gaze. He was pinned to the ground by two warriors from the Alpha King’s army. Filled with so much sadness and regret, his eyes stared back at me. I knew what he was thinking then. My 18th birthday was around the corner and he’d spent the last few nights preparing for the ceremony. 

“It’s going to be your best one yet,” he’d promised me just yesterday with a kiss on my forehead. The last kiss I’d ever get from him.

Even in a situation like this, he was still thinking about me. That was the kind of person my father was: selfless, thoughtful, and kind. 

After all the effort he’d put into making plans, he was going to miss the ceremony. He was going to die here! In front of the very people he’d sworn to protect! Where was justice in all of this? I looked back at the Alpha King with tear-soaked eyes, but it was quite obvious he wasn’t moved. 

King Nathan’s eyes were blank as they barely glanced at me. I’d heard tales of the ruthless Alpha King since I was old enough to walk. My father had warned me never to get into trouble with him. The Alpha King had no tolerance for rebellion or even worse —treason. He’d never been known to forgive anyone who crossed his path. Their deaths were always retold as legends. I’d been able to stay out of his sight until today. And today, he’d lived up to his name. 

King Nathan laughed in my face and kicked my hands off him. My tears were no hindrance. He walked past me to my father whose eyes hadn’t seemed to have faltered from me in all this unfortunate ordeal. 

“You don’t have to-”

A sound that stilled whatever wanted to come out of my mouth filled the air. For some reason, I knew what it was but I still wanted to deny it.

That was until I heard a thud. 

My heart thumped loudly in my head and my blood raced. There seemed to be something in the air that made my blood curl. With little to no courage, I lifted my eyes up to the thing I feared the most. 

The Alpha King standing over my father’s body with his neck twisted to a very abnormal angle.  

My breathing seized, and I froze, no thoughts going through my brain as I watched my father’s eyes stare off into a far distance, and his lifeless body drop to the floor. I lost the strength to cry, the strength to scream so I just stared at him under the scorching sun as everything going on around me seemed to fade away. 

King Nathan’s loud and deep voice brought me back to reality. 

“Anyone who thinks they can betray me will die! Just like Nicholas,” his voice boomed.

I wanted to say something, to tell him that my father would never betray him but no words could gather in my head. All I could do was to look at him, hoping he would move just even a bit to let me know that there was still life in him. 

I wanted to cry but I couldn’t. 

I wanted to shout but I couldn’t.

The only man I’ve ever known who kept me safe, who gave me assurance, who protected me from the world was lying lifeless in the dirt, and I couldn’t do anything about it. 

  

My eyes drifted back to my father as one of the guards kicked his body out of the way for the King to pass through. The King made eye contact with me, smiled in a way I knew he was enjoying this way more than he was supposed to, and then stepped on my father’s stomach. 

With each stomp, my father’s body shook, his eyes still looking off into the distance. 

Suddenly, I started screaming and crawled from my position to my father’s body, lying waste on the ground. But I never made it to him because a sharp pain jolted through my calf, and I whipped my head around to see what it was.

Since I was on the ground, the figure in front of me stood tall so I had to use my hands as a shield so that I could make out who it was. The bright sun shone directly into my eyes, causing me to squint. 

“Are you deaf?” The figure in front of me crunched and now, I could see my worst nightmare standing in front of me. 

Riana, the Alpha’s daughter who was also my number one fan, had joined in on the party. I called her my number one fan because whenever I was involved in something, she always made sure to include herself. I knew she would never pass up an opportunity like this.

She had her signature smile plastered on her evil lips, one that let me know that I was doomed because now that my father was dead, and there was no one to stand up for me anymore, I was now at her mercy.