Chapter 1 - Alanna

The crowd is silent despite the growing violence in the fighting pit. No one is in the mood to cheer as we watch our soon to be ex alpha, Shaun, get pummeled by another. To be fair, it’s his own fault. None of this would be happening if he’d kept his mouth shut but no… he just had to go and challenge the alpha of the most ruthless pack in the area.

He’s currently paying for his arrogance.

The scent of fear is potent in the air, my fellow pack members terrified of the outcome. Me? I don’t really give a shit who our alpha is. Both are probably idiots anyway.

The huge, dark haired alpha of the Bloodstone Pack is beating Shaun to a bloody pulp. I watch on with disinterest, cleaning under my nails with a dagger. My best friend, Nina, is beside me, nervously biting her own fingernails.

“How are you so calm right now?” she asks me. “I’m literally about to pee my pants.”

I shrug. “Who cares who wins. Shaun is a shit alpha anyway.”

My comment earns me a couple dirty looks from young girls who probably have a crush on our alpha. If only they knew what a worthless, perverted pig he is. I’ll be happy to see him go, though I don’t say that out loud.

The pack has been slowly going downhill since Shaun took over from his father. He’s more interested in adding notches to his bedpost than being a leader. He spends most of his days drinking and his nights fucking anything with two legs. I can’t tell you how many times he’s tried to bribe me to spread mine.

The answer is always the same: no fucking way. Not even if we were the last two people on earth.

That got me a few slaps to the face and punches to the gut. He was lucky he was the alpha or else I would’ve ripped his throat out.

“You do realize what happens if Shaun loses, right?” She turns to me, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised. “We get taken over by the Bloodstone Pack and I’ve heard their alpha is scary as fuck.”

I flip my dagger once before tucking it into my boot. “So what? Aren’t all alphas supposed to be scary?”

“Shaun’s not scary.”

I snort. “Shaun’s a misogynistic asshole who thinks he’s the Goddess’s gift to women. I don’t think he even knows how to handle a weapon. I’ve never seen him train.”

My theory is proven correct as the Bloodstone alpha throws Shaun on the ground. He rolls over and coughs up blood onto the dirt, his body a map of bruises and cuts. I’ve yet to see him land a hit on the other.

The Bloodstone alpha is huge - well over six feet tall and packed with muscle. He’s throwing Shaun around like he weighs nothing. Despite his size, he’s quick on his feet and fights like he’s been doing this since he could walk.

I’m surprised the fight’s lasted as long as it has. Shaun is getting his ass kicked left and right. It’s obvious the other alpha is toying with him, drawing the fight out to make it as painful as possible. Our warriors can’t even jump in to defend him since this was an official challenge, accepted by both parties. Shaun’s a fucking fool to think he could win this.

“He’s really fucking good,” Nina says. “And really fucking hot.”

I laugh. She isn’t wrong. He has dark hair tied back at the nape of his neck and tattoos that cascade down both his arms and chest. He’s shirtless, only in a pair of fighting leather pants and boots, his well defined abs on full display like a piece of art. I can’t see his eye color from here but his jaw looks sharp as a blade.

The crowd winces as he kicks Shaun in the chest, the sound of ribs breaking loud in my ears. I hope this is over soon. I’m hungry.

On cue, my stomach growls. “Alanna,” gasps Nina. “How the fuck can you be hungry at a time like this? Our alpha is covered in his own blood, dying down in the pit, and you’re hungry?!”

I give her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I forgot to eat breakfast this morning.”

Honestly, who our alpha was is the last thing on my mind these days. Ever since I turned twenty-one a few months ago things have been… different and I’m still not sure what is happening with me. No one knows about the changes I’m going through or the unexplained things that have been happening to me. Nina might be my best friend but something is telling me I need to keep all of this to myself.

I’ve been alone all my life so holding a secret in and dealing with it by myself is easy.

She rolls her eyes while chuckling. “I think you’re the only one here who isn’t scared of being taken over.”

We’ve all heard the stories of the Bloodstone pack. No one’s ever seen their alpha until today but his reputation is one of nightmares. They say he keeps the skulls of all his kills and displays them like little trophies of death. They also say he likes to drink the blood of his enemies.

Who knows what’s true and what’s false. People like to make up shit all the time. I’m not one to judge a book by its cover. I like to make my own choices. I go by actions - not words.

“What’s the worst that can happen?” I ask her. “We actually get an alpha who knows what the fuck he’s doing?”

“What if he kills us all?”

I scoff. “He’d be an even bigger idiot than Shaun if he did that. Despite our alpha’s shortcomings, we have excellent warriors in this pack. If he’s smart, he’ll combine us with his and raise one hell of an army.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’d be an asset to him. You’re one of the top warriors here.”

Nina isn’t wrong. I train hard and I’m damn good at fighting. My wolf is fierce and bloodthirsty, never one to back down from a fight. She likes to make men look like pups as she puts them in their place.

Though, lately, I’ve had to keep her locked up. Things get extra strange when I’m in wolf form these days and I can’t take the risk of anyone witnessing. It’s one of the reasons I haven’t been training much with the other warriors.

“The hunters are getting cocky and it’s only a matter of time before they recruit enough members to demolish us all. Killing each other off would just be doing them a favor.”

Nina’s face falls at the mention of hunters. They’re growing ballsy and now is the time to band together to eradicate them. If accepting this brute as our new alpha is the way to win then who am I to disagree?

“The attacks have been getting worse, haven’t they?”

I nod. “They’ve somehow managed to get the rogues on their side with promises to spare them.”

We both look back down at the fighting pit right as the Bloodstone alpha plunges his claws into Shaun’s chest and rips out his heart, blood coating his arm up to his elbow.

Shaun sways once before dropping face first into the dirt.

Welp. That’s that then.