Alpha Jace’s Salvation

Victory...Horrific

ARIANA VAUGHN

How do I unsee the terror that had clashed with my memory like a parasite? I was still trying to understand how these people existed when I discovered that there was something called a traveling portal in this developed century.

The portal swallowed us before the break of the day, and the ride wasn't what I would call a comfortable flight. The landing was the worst, but it was manageable due to the man that held and carried me. We landed very early in the morning. I couldn’t withstand the effect of the rough, windy journey. I was scared and exhausted.

Collapsing wasn’t what I wanted to do, not when I was in an unknown place, but I did it anyways due to fatigue. They were nice enough to bring me back to life even though I wasn’t dead.

Alison was being kind, but Jace, on the other hand, was planning to execute the young hunter, Dave. he has to be joking, right? He wouldn’t take the life of someone because of what happened at the hotel.

I knew the answers to my dumb questions, but my mind still didn't want to accept that in this new but brutal world I had just discovered, some creatures get hunted down, and some get killed on a hunt.

“He is awake, Alpha.” One of his weird-looking men announced.

They must be archaic because why else would they keep bowing each time they address Jace? Yes, he was their Alpha, or in my human term, he was their King but were they oblivious that the world was evolving in significant parts of the world?

Where are we, anyway? I had tried to check the environment before I collapsed, but I saw nothing but trees. I was scared because the reality of my situation was dawning on me and sinking into me with total weight, and damn, it was so heavy.

“I would have loved to let you kill him, Enzo, but I made a deal with the youngster earlier.”

Jace said to the man standing beside him. The guy appeared to be close to him than the rest of the men that suddenly showed up when Alison was treating their Alpha. Their arrival made me wonder just how many of them were in existence.

How many more of these fantasy creatures do humans share the universe with?

I didn't know why, but my body shivered when I finally summoned enough courage to inspect Enzo's physique. It was a mistake to have met his eyes first, and I averted my eyes from him instantly.

Enzo looked lifeless, empty! And his eyes were calling out to my soul when he glared at me. I didn't have the gut to check him out, but I had enough time to notice that he was sturdy and muscular. He wasn’t heavily built but had muscles in all the right places.

He hated me. I could tell. But it wasn’t new. Everyone hated me—everyone except my mom.

“Such a disappointment, Alpha Jace,” Enzo responded. His voice was unusually thick and gruff. I sincerely hoped that I wouldn’t have to run into him often. Alison was beside me, and we both watched Jace walk confidently to the hunter, who had been tied up.

As if the birds in the woods realized that something awful was about to occur, most of them flew away, chittering as they went. I didn't feel alone anymore because even though the werewolves thought killing someone was expected, the birds were with me.

“Killing me will mark the beginning of your downfall, dog!” Dave, the hunter, spat when Jace pulled his head backward with his jet-black hair that had become muddy.

If Jace was affected by the hunter’s statement, he didn't show it. He laughed before striking the hunter hard across his bruised face.

Maybe I was a weakling. Despite what Dave had tried to do to me, my heart still went out to him. Seeing him suffering wasn’t making me feel any better, but I was in no position to put an end to this brutality.

“Can you stop them from killing him?” I whispered to Alison, but Enzo growled at me, scaring the s**t out of me when I saw his fangs dripping with saliva.

“Werewolves can hear every sound, even the sound of your beating heart, so whispering wouldn't help to conceal any word you say,” Alison said to me. I gasped when I realized that I had said many things, and the reality that I would never be able to hide from these people wasn’t exactly what I needed to hear.

“I can smell your fear too, Half-brid!”

That was Enzo informing me and shattering my hope into tiny particles. Can they smell my emotions too?

What the heck? I trembled but composed myself because I didn't want to fall as I thought about the meaning of what Enzo just called me. Half-Brid? What does that mean?

I was lost and had yet to move away from where we landed. What would happen when I started exploring this new world? I doubted if I would get used to all of these or if I would get lost and never find my way.

“I don't think the Alpha would appreciate you scaring her to death, Beta Enzo. Plus, your eyes might catch fire due to the intensity of your glare.”

Alison emphasized much to Enzo’s displeasure. I sensed hatred between them, but it was the kind of hate that gets accompanied by respect. It was a weird relationship, but they had respect for each other.

“There is the downfall, dog. I warn.”

“Don't disrespect the Alpha!” Enzo barked at the hunter, kicking him as well. I was amazed that the hunter could handle and withstand the brutal treatment he was subjected to.

“It will be fair if I give you the chance to teach him manners. Who knows, that might enlighten him on how to relate with people in the afterworld.” Jace announced, and for the first time, I saw Enzo laugh.

Even his laughter sent shivers down my spine—a wicked dark laugh. I wished I knew how to leave this place because I didn't want to witness a crime.

“Can I leave, Jace?”

“It’s Alpha to you! A weak Half-Brid isn't allowed to say the name of the strongest Alpha in the Dark Lands! Remember that, or I will help you!”

Enzo reprimanded me with hate dripping out of his mouth along with every word he said to me. I was in a dilemma. I didn't know if Jace was the one I should be mindful of or if I should fear his spiteful Beta more.

“Easy, Enzo, she is new to our world, and why not focus on the hunter while I talk to the Half-Brid.”

Alpha Jace said to his Beta before walking to me. It was safer to call my kidnapper the way his Beta wanted me to because who knew if they could read my thoughts too?

I didn't make the mistake of thinking that Alpha Jace would defend me against his beloved Beta, whose hate for me was visible to all. I still don't know why they despise me so much. It is a mystery. I was the one that was snatched from my life and thrown right into the middle of a new world that allowed killings.

I should have been glaring, cursing, and exhibiting my hate toward them, but it was the other way around. I was at the receiving end, like always.

“Don't act up around here, or else you'll get killed before I get what I want from you.”

Alpha Jace gritted out to my face. His fingers dug into my skin when he grabbed me roughly. This was getting out of hand. Why was he being aggressive with me all of a sudden? There was a shift in his personality, but pain clouded my mind, making it difficult to figure the Alpha out.

He was himself, but it was double the threat he used earlier. I didn't know Alpha Jace, but from what the hunter said in the hall, I wanted to believe he wouldn't allow anyone to kill me. I swallowed my fear and asked the question that had been eating me up since this brutality started.

“Can you resolve this with dialogue? Diplomacy might save both parties from the aftermath of killings and fighting.”

“Behave yourself, Ariana, and yes, I don't like to be told what to do, especially when it concerns how I govern my pack. Do you understand me?”

Alpha Jace cut me off without hiding his irritation for me. His brown orbs were glaring as he spoke, but I felt like he was struggling within himself. He was fighting for control, but he lost.

“Killing that hunter will be my way of welcoming you, my fated mate, to my pack, The Dark Moon Pack. Do not look away while I kill him.”

His fated mate sounded like I was his plaything. I was a toy created for him to use as he pleased, and I was too weak to say no.

I was under a compelling spell because I couldn't look away from the brutal scene after Alpha Jace's command. I watched every detail, even though a part of me died with every punch that the hunter received. Dave couldn't talk anymore when Beta Enzo was done with him.

Alpha Jace had to tell his Beta to leave the rest to him before Enzo left the hunter's beaten and battered body. No wonder Dave’s father had that look on his face when the portal swallowed us in the hall. He knew his son was as good as dead.

“What's a better way to welcome you to my world than to spill the blood of the hunter who tried to kill you? This is a party, a welcome party for you, Ariana.”

Alpha Jace cooed as he placed his hands around the hunter's face. I watched it all. The process was short and effortless, but he killed him just as promised.

Alpha Jace chuckled victoriously when he detached Dave’s head from his body with his bare hands. This was a victory for him and his subject, but it wasn't delightful.