The Alphas Assassin (Complete)

The Past

*Ariella*

“Uncle V! Gabe won’t let me play with them!” I pointed my chubby hand back at the group of 11 to 13 year olds who snarled in my direction.

“No one likes a Narc Ari!” Gabriel hissed as he and his pack of pre-pubescent crones snickered and nudged one another with their elbows.

Uncle V laughed as he looked down at his steel plated watch. “Well, it’s about time for dinner anyway.”

“But… but…” I whispered as he hauled me into his arms, his sleek black hair fluttered in the wind as he placed me on his hip.

“Now, Princess…” He cooed as he rocked me. “Why would you possibly want to play with a bunch of gross boys anyway?” He turned a teasing eye to the boys, 5 of them in total and they all blushed making angry faces as Uncle V babied me in his arms. He planted a kiss on the side of my head and snuggled me close.

“Be-because… I-I…” tears started in my eyes. “I d-don’t have fr-friends.” I hiccuped with a sob and Uncle V tightened his grip and shushed me.

“Hey… Wait…” Gabriel’s eyes became wide and he came to his dad looking up to me sadly. “I am your friend Ari… but… but I have other friends and.. and…”

I looked to Uncle V as he gave Gabriel a scolding glance. “Gabriel, you know better than to cast anyone out because you have other friends.” He scolded his son.

“I’m not! I just-…”

“Gabriel, take Ariella with you to play… I don’t care what your friends have to say about it… We will call when it’s dinner time.” Uncle V finally said, dropping me to my feet. I rocked back and forth on tiny, white shoes with an itty bitty brown heel, the wind ruffled my pink dress around me. Chilling me even with my white tights and shawl.

I saw Gabe roll his eyes but he held out his hand, much larger than mine in comparison. I latched onto his finger triumphantly holding my head high as we passed his little teen goons. They followed behind Gabe, grumbling something about “spoiled princess” and “cry baby”. I caught a glance of Gabe turning and scowling at them as we moved further into the yard where the garden benches were filled with falling leaves from the early fall winds.

When I looked back I saw my mom and dad returning to the patio off the back of our house with plates and silverware before they all turned back into the house to fetch more supplies.

Gabe shook my hold of his finger and sat facing away from me on the benches, facing his friends. I pouted up to him as he talked with them about school and girls and other things I had no interest in as a 6 year old girl.

“Hey.” Armin, the oldest of the boys, sneered at me, his nostrils flaring. “Stop staring at him!”

I raised my dark eyes toward him and cowered behind Gabe as Armins fierce gaze bore into me. I whimpered, even at only 13 he was a child himself, but he was much scarier and meaner than Gabe or Esen ever were toward me. I didn’t like when the Red River pack visited. Gabe and Esen always played with me when it was just Full Moon, but any time Red River came, so too came Alpha Camilo's three sons. Armin, the oldest at 13, and the just barely 12 year old twins, Joseph and Fernando.

Though being slightly older than Gabe, Armin still followed him around like he was the alpha of their tiny pack. But he regularly remarked how much stronger his pack was to Full Moons and how one day, when he was Alpha, he would surpass Gabes pack. Gabe would always shrug, tell him good luck, or something of the sort, then move on.

But today, Armin seemed to get on even Gabes nerves.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” Gabe defended. “She just wants to sit with us, what's the issue!?”

“The issue is she’s looking at you!”

“So what!?” Gabe asked.

“So!? My dad said she’s supposed to marry me when we are adults! So she shouldn’t look at other guys! It’s cheating!”

“She's 6!” Gabe retaliated, “She doesn’t even know what that means!”

“It means she’s unfaithful! She’s a slut!”

“Says who!?” Esen cut in.

“My dad!”

“Well f**k your dad! He’s stupid!” Gabe retorted.

“What did you say!?” Armin stood, his nostrils flaring as he seethed.

“You heard me! He’s stupid!” Gabe responded, raising to meet him. Armin was slightly taller, but Gabe was about equal in physical strength already. “Ariella can marry whoever she wants! And look at whoever she wants!”

“No! My dad said she’s mine!”

“She doesn’t belong to anyone!” Gabe hissed.

“She belongs to me! It’s not my fault your stupid parents didn’t make the pact! She’s gonna be my wife and I’m gonna do whatever I want with her!”

“No you aren’t!” Gabe growled!

“Yes I am! My dad said looking at other men is cheating and that makes her a slu-…”

Before Armin could finish his sentence I heard bone crack as Gabe’s fist connected with his jaw. The impact sent Armin backwards and he landed hard on his back. Blood leaked from his mouth and lip and I saw one of his teeth on the ground beside him, blood dripped around it. Joseph and Fernando took off toward the house, but I stayed frozen on the bench as I watched Gabe jump on top of Armin, whaling his fists down on Armin's face as he tried to protect himself. I heard him cry and try to apologize through the grunting caused by being hit.

“TAKE IT BACK!” Gabe screamed as his fists connected. “TAKE. IT. BACK!”

As quickly as it started, Gabe was yanked from on top of Armin by his shirt collar and I heard Armin weep a quiet “I’m… sor…ry…” through his sobs.

Gabes Father, Uncle V, my fathers best friend, hooked his arms beneath Gabes and held him back as another man, Alpha Camilo, rushed to pull his son from the ground.

“Alpha Camilo, I am so sorry!” V said as he held his raging son back. “I don’t know what came over him!” He yanked on Gabes body.

“He called Ariella a slut!” Gabe roared as he fought and grunted to escape his fathers grip.

“You what!?” I heard my mother exclaim as she neared.

“He said looking at other people was cheating and called her a slut for it!”

I still didn’t know what that word meant…

“Alpha Camilo…” I heard my fathers smooth, even tempered voice come through, “You should take your boys and go… we will discuss again later…”

“It’s that f*****g kid of yours…” Alpha Camilo grumbled as he hauled his son past my dad.

“What… did you say…”

“It was your kid! She shouldn’t be looking at other guys!”

“She’s 6!” Gabe recalled as he settled in his dad's arms. My dad nodded.

“She’s a kid, she doesn’t even know about this stuff… Armin shouldn’t be talking like that…”

Alpha Camilo shrugged, turning back to me. I was now standing with my hands pressed together nervously as I looked between feuding adults. “Doesn’t save you from being a slut like your mother.” He hissed.

I watched my dad haul his arm back and his ringed fist connected with Alpha Camilo's face. I was now watching the same fight unfold before Uncle V attempted to tear my dad off of the other man who was fighting back.

“Take Ariella back to the house, Gabriel…” my mom ordered, “Esen, you too. Go…” gesturing to us before she turned to help Uncle V separate the two men.

Gabe grabbed my hand and pulled me along with him faster than my legs could really follow. I tripped a few times, only avoiding falling by tightening my grip on his fingers. His best friend Esen followed behind us.

When we got to the deck he ushered me inside the house through the patio door. Esen closed it behind us and stopped to watch the adults fight in the garden.

“Gabe.” I hiccuped. “A-am I-I a s-lut?”

He knelt down to me and put his arms around me, cooing a gentle shush into my ear.

“Sh… Princess, it's okay… you’re not a slut…” his voice grounded me, but I still sobbed into his chest, my wet nose wiping on his gray and blue argyle sweater. His shirt smelled of sandalwood and lavender. He pulled from me and put his hands on my warm cheeks. “You aren’t! And I won’t let Armin call you that!”

“I-I d-don’t w-ant to m-arry him!” I wept.

“I won’t let you!” He said, shaking his head. “I promise I will make sure you don’t marry Armin!”

“Pinky promise!” I ordered with a hiccup. He pulled away and held up a pinky finger.

“I pinky promise I won’t let him marry you!” He said again as we connected our pinkies together then he wrapped his arms back around me. Enveloping me in his warm embrace while I sniffled. “It’s okay, Princess…”