The Alpha's Favorite

Chapter 7

I wanted to scream and cry and the thought of letting go was very tempting, but I was too shocked at the sudden sight of death, at the feeling of blood all over me, to do anything except hold on for dear life.

The wind continued to blow in my face and the howls of the wolves surrounded me, frightening and loud, frenzied by the scent of death in the air.

Theodore’s lifeless hands finally let go, and they fell on me, the slab of flesh hitting me in the chest. Still, I did not scream. Still, I held on.

Because I didn’t know what else to do.

The wolves' howling only seemed to get louder and fiercer, a crescendo of death that was coming for me, but what the wolves didn’t know was that I had already lost before, and I was about to lose even more. Pushing on, fighting the fear in my heart, and risking it all, it’s all I knew. The only other option was to surrender, and I’ve never been very good at that.

Not even if I break every bone in my body.

Not even if my death is the price.

With a shake of my head, I clenched my jaw and continued the climb. I greeted each scrape of my arms and legs with gritted teeth, clawing and crawling my way to the top.

I tried not to think about Theodore. For one moment he was there, talking about his wife and newborn, talking about their future, and in the blink of an eye he was gone. Eaten. Taken away. Dead. Forever.

And for what?

What did he do?

Nothing.

His death is a reminder of how powerful these beings I was about to face truly are. For these are werewolves. Cursed monsters that could not be controlled.

It could have easily been me that died. And as much as that scared me, I somewhat accepted my fate the moment I left my home. If death is waiting for me at the end of this climb, then I’ll die, but I wasn’t turning back.

At least I will die knowing I’ve done everything I could and that is all I could ask for.

So I bled and my body shook, but I held it together as much as I could, as much as I physically could take, and just when I think I’ve given all of me, that there’s nothing left, the moon suddenly peaks through the clouds and the mist, shining down on me.

And just then, the ground starts to level, the thick trees start to disperse as everything flattens out. There was no time to catch my breath because when I looked up, my lips parted in a silent gasp and I saw them.

The wolves.

They emerged through the trees like shadows, terrifying silhouettes turned into beautiful nightmares as the full moon overhead shone down on them and I couldn’t look away.

At the highest point of the mountain, surrounded by tall trees, was a large open space that was directly under the moonlight. There, the werewolves gathered, their gleaming eyes already watching me.

Far too many to count, each one of them was massive and terrifying. Their hulking forms towered over the trees easily, the dangerous beasts thick with muscle and cloaked in glistening fur. Their savage muzzles, long and armed with sharp teeth, made low and guttural sounds that warned me that I was at their mercy now.

One look, and it was made clear without words: I was their prey, and they were my predator.

I’ve never been so terrified in my life.

Even the air around them felt different, dense— heavier, as if their mere presence disturbed the very balance of nature. They were feral, nightmarish and untamed but their eyes… their eyes were human. Too expressive. Too knowing. Too intelligent for mere animals.

For the majority of my life, I’ve spent it avoiding werewolves. It was what we were told to do, it was what my instincts urged me to do.

And that is what I want to do now.

Yet I stayed.

Yet I stared.

Yet I prayed and stood my ground, hoping one of them was desperate enough to take me.

I wish I had asked Theodore what the protocol was, because I didn’t know what to do except try and look at each one of them… wishing one finds me worthy.

But then I thought, what if staring them in the eye is disrespectful?

Frustration and helplessness settle in my gut and I all but sink lower to my knees, blinking unshed tears from my eyes.

I think of Silas. I think of my family. I think of my ruined career that I sacrificed everything for.

Please.

Anyone.

Absolutely anyone.

I will give anything… anything.

I just want safety.

I just want them safe from my mistakes.

That’s all I want.

Nothing else.

Please.

Suddenly, I felt movement up ahead and, through my blurred vision, I saw a werewolf with brown fur step forward.

My heart leaps.

A Gamma. A warrior. He was fierce and tall and honestly was more than I could have expected for myself— if he was approaching to bind with me.

What if he was approaching to kill me? That I shouldn't have begged?

Just as the brown wolf made another step forward, the gathered wolves’ ears twitched, and they all whipped their heads in eerie unison to the side.

A sound, short and guttural, some kind of dark understanding that needed no words suddenly befell them. The brown wolf that was coming closer to me immediately stepped back as if he had been burned, joining the others once more, their heads bowed so low it was on the ground as another wolf joined the clearing, parting the sea of wolves in half.

The new arrival is a wolf larger than the rest, larger than any living thing should be and his fur is so dark it was as if he was a shadow. There is no telling where the beast ends or begins. I felt as though I was but a speck cradled in a mountainous hold, whilst a dark ominous cloud started to approach me.

He was across the clearing, too far to touch, but his gaze might as well have been a caress. It lingered on my skin, a heat crawling up my arms and neck before settling on my face.

And then, the beast lifted his head up, the moonlight catching his grey eyes and his muzzle marred with scars.

My heart stops.

My body freezes.

I knew immediately who he was. As if to prove my point, almost immediately, the wolves that gathered behind him dispersed, running away and leaving us alone.

The Alpha.

He needed no introduction. His presence was palpable, his physical might and the silent command he had over everything and anything spoke volumes.

Our eyes met and the impact of his gaze almost knocked me down to the ground. Somehow, the air around us felt charged, as sudden and as devastating as a lightning strike. The unexpected attention from the legendary and thought to be mythical wolf has me stumbling both mentally and physically.

The heat of his gaze branded my skin, embedding himself on me.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

For fear. For the possibility that this is the end. And then maybe hope.

His scarred muzzle twitched, his sharp teeth out and a rope of saliva dripping down the ground.

The Alpha moved with the ease of someone who knew the world was his for the taking, and he was coming for me.

My breath faltered and halted completely. Every nerve ending sparked with awareness and doom, sending goosebumps down my spine and shocking my lungs out of operating.

He is sin personified.

He is danger come alive.

He is every waking nightmare ready to devour me.

And as much as I was afraid, my insides twisted with unexplained excitement.

But there was also fear.

So much fear.

For I knew of him.

Even before I was told about him.

The death he’s caused. The destruction he’s capable of and the hostility he has unleashed towards the world.

He is the reason for the curse.

And he is the reason for so much of the apprehension and fear people have towards werewolves.

I swallowed thickly at the realization.

He’s going to kill me.

I am unworthy. I am unfit, and he was going to end it all.

His eyes of storms said it all. I wasn't even a prey to him. I was a pest, and he was coming to crush me.

He dominated the space between us easily as he stopped in front of me, looming like a warlord ready to take his claim.

But I don’t look away, staring right at him. If this is the last of me, I would rather greet it with all the pride I had left in me.

While I waited for my death, I kept our eyes locked and though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t help but appreciate the sight of him.

No one has seen him. Not for fifty years.

He was thought to have died.

Yet here he was.

In front of me.

Watching me.

For however strong and powerful and dangerous he came off, he was also uniquely beautiful. His dark as night fur looked soft to touch, his scar filled face showing his history in battle, his stormy grey eyes so enthralling that it made me shiver as he stared at me. He didn’t speak, for he had no human form, but I had a feeling his voice would unsettle me.

Staring at him, it felt like I was at the edge of things… one spark away from igniting the whole world.

Even with his reputation, even with all the warnings in the world, including my own soul telling me to run and never look back, I couldn’t help but part my lips at how brutally handsome he is.

His tail brushed against my feet, almost coiling around me and his head lowered.

I knew that this was it.

But instead of the death that I was expecting, of pain like no other, of darkness forevermore, I felt the graze of his fur on my face. My hands jumped up to understand what was happening, for I only saw black, but then I felt his breathing, slow and steady, and his nose nearly pressed against my chest.

He was leaning his head on me, and I was holding onto him under his neck.

His enthralling grey eyes, orbs of sparkling silver, meet with mine and suddenly, I’m hit with a surge of emotions that overwhelm me to the point of falling on my back. It felt like an explosion within me, hurriedly creeping up my spine and into my very soul.

It wasn’t until I was gasping for breath, confused out of my mind, did I realize what it was.

It was him.

I feel his anger. His hate. His rage and resentment. There was fury and wrath and disgust so clear that I could taste his repulsion.

‘Little human.’

A voice.

Dark.

Rumbling.

But piercingly commanding and soaked in power spoke except it was all in my head.

‘What is your name?’ The voice, the Alpha, asked.

‘Lily,’ I thought, and he hummed.

‘Hello, Lily, my name is Grim.’