My Devil Alphas of Crimson Moon

-Anya’s POV- I couldn’t comprehend the emotions running through me as I was forced to stand in line with other children next to a curtain in a brightly lit room. My parents left me last night, and I didn’t understand why they said they couldn’t be with me anymore. Why did they choose to leave me? My mommy had tears streaming down her face and my daddy looked scared. They didn’t seem like they wanted to leave me, so why did they?! I was quickly pulled away from my thoughts when a man grabbed my arm and yanked me onto the podium in front of a large crowd of people. Immediately it became quiet, and then murmurs began to ring through the crowd. The man standing off to the side of the podium began to speak so quickly that I couldn’t keep up with what he was saying, and while this was happening, people in the crowd kept shouting and holding up these weird cards.   Even with all the commotion in the crowd, the only thing I could hear was the sound of the shackles shaking against my ankles. I hadn’t realized till then that my whole body was shaking. I slowly looked up when it became quiet again and noticed that a large man was standing in front of me. He had this nasty smirk on his face as he pulled me off the podium and dragged me backstage. Goosebumps ran over my entire body as I got the eeriest feeling coming from this man. I tried to pull my arm away, but his grip kept a hold on me, and before I knew it, a blood-curdling scream came from my lips as a black bag was shoved over my head, and the darkness consumed me.   My body jolted upright as the same scream from my nightmare escaped my lips, my breath coming in short and ragged gasps. I forced my eyes shut as the darkness from my room invaded my senses. After a few minutes, I willed myself to open my eyes so I could turn on a light when my breathing became less erratic, and my mind wasn’t so scattered. I tightly wrapped my arms around my chest, reminding myself that nightmare was no longer my life. It happened a long time ago and I had been saved from it. I never had to face those horrors again. I let out a long sigh after looking at my alarm clock and realized I needed to get ready for work. I sat on the edge of my bed for a few moments collecting my thoughts and dropped my feet to the floor. I figured a shower couldn’t hurt, even though I took one last night, but since the memories of my past paid me a visit, it was desperately needed. I turned the shower handle almost all the way to the left because I love scorching hot showers. A moan escaped my lips as the water fell on my face and body, and I stayed motionless with the water falling on me before I realized that my alarm clock was going off. I quickly washed my body, turned the water off, and wrapped the towel around myself. While toweling off, I caught a glimpse of myself in my tiny bedroom mirror and frowned. Ever since I was taken as a child, I’ve never been able to put weight on properly due to malnutrition and starvation for those many years in captivity. Being a whopping five foot six inches made me feel even worse about my weight because it made me feel weak and tiny. The only thing that I love about myself is the color of my eyes, which are a striking blue color and are practically unheard of in Japanese women. My intense blue eyes contrasted nicely with my dark black hair, which fell to the middle of my back in soft, natural waves. I was brought back to the present when my phone started ringing and when I answered the call, I was taken aback. “Where the hell are you, Anya! Your shift started five minutes ago, and we need the coverage!” I heard my boss, Alexander, scream through the phone. “I’m sorry, Alexander, I will be there in five minutes!” I didn’t even have a chance to say anything else since he decided to hang up on me abruptly. I sighed and put my uniform on, which consisted of a tight tank top and a skirt that barely covered my ass. I grabbed my wallet, phone, locked the door and ran into the dimly lit street. Thankfully the bar that I worked at was only a short walk from my apartment, and I could get there quickly. My eyes bulged out of my head when I saw how busy we were, thinking that maybe Alexander had exaggerated it since it was only a Thursday night, and our busiest nights are usually Friday and Saturday. “Anya! Thank god you’re here because I was drowning with all these people!” Missy gave me a look of relief as I ran behind the bar to clock in and help her with all the patrons waiting to be served. “I am so sorry, Missy; I got caught up with something at home and didn’t even realize what time it was!” I honestly felt terrible; Missy is one of the few people that was friendly towards me. I was shocked that Missy was still single; she has the most beautiful features and a bubbly personality. Her long caramel hair was always pulled into a ponytail, with a few strands of hair framing her olive skin, accentuating her brown eyes and plump lips. Her body was to die for, with curves in all the right places and long, toned legs that brought all her features together. She smiled at me, and we started with all the patrons seated at the bar, getting their drink orders and a few appetizers as well. We were so busy that people from other tables were collecting around the bar to get new drinks, and I could tell this would be an overwhelming night. I tried to put the thought out of my mind and focus on the tasks in front of me. Thankfully, most of the people here are regulars and understand how busy things can get. Alexander would occasionally check in and help us if we got overwhelmed, and I couldn’t thank him enough for it. When I first started working here about six months ago, I was intimidated by him, and we barely spoke to each other. But as time went on, we were able to create a great working relationship. His actions confused me, though. Occasionally, he would walk by me and run his fingers along my thigh, my waist, and lately, he’s been bold enough to pinch my ass or grab it when no one’s paying attention. I shoved those thoughts aside and continued to help Missy with the crowd of patrons in front of us, and Alexander came over to help, seeing how frantic we were running around. Once everyone was pleased, I started cleaning up the empty drink glasses and walked into the back to load them into the dishwasher. Before I had the opportunity to walk back to the front, Alexander appeared before me and blocked my path. I gave him a confused look. “What are you doing? We have to go back and help Missy.” “She’s fine for right now, Anya.” He grinned and pulled me against his body, causing me to gasp loudly. Alexander pressed his finger to my lips, silencing me. He leaned down, running his nose along my jaw while his hands glided down my body, firmly cupping my ass with both his hands. I wasn’t sure what to think. Don’t get me wrong; Alexander is attractive; any woman would agree with me, but I wasn’t sure of his intentions. His hands trailed back up my body, up to my waist, trailing to my shoulders, and finally, his fingers ended up tangled in my hair. He lightly tugged, pulling my head back, so I was looking up into his hazel eyes. “I guess we should go back before someone becomes suspicious.” He whispered to me, trailing his thumb over my bottom lip. Before I had the opportunity to say anything, he released his hold on me and walked back out to the bar. I took a moment to compose myself, detangled my curls, and walked back out front. Missy shot me a questioning look, and I just shrugged, quickly getting back to my patrons. Alexander looked at me and gave me a quick wink before going back to his office. We finally started to get in the swing of things when a large group of men walked in and sat at the other bar in the more luxurious area, also known as the priority lounge. I was relieved when Alexander had Missy take the new group because I was overwhelmed by how many people were packed in the bar. I was in the middle of making a drink when I felt like I was being watched. I looked up from the drink I was pouring and met eyes with one of the men who just walked in with the large group. He had this dark demeanor about him, and his facial features were sharp and pronounced. His hair was cut into a fade, and he had a scar across his right eyebrow that made his dark brown eyes appear even more menacing. I immediately felt myself tremble with anxiety and looked away from him, trying to focus on the patrons in front of me. I could feel him staring at me throughout the night, and it made me uncomfortable, but I tried my best to focus on the drinks that I was making. Eventually, Alexander said I could take a break when things died down a little, so I went out back to get some fresh air and look at the stars and moon. In the middle of taking a drink of water, I heard the voice. “Well, what do we have here?” My body froze, and I didn’t dare to look up at the eyes I knew were awaiting mine. “Look up, Titanya.” My eyes shot up to his when I heard him say my full name. Only a select few people knew my full name since Anya was the shortened version I preferred. “How do you know my name?” I couldn’t help but ask. “Our bartender Missy was more than happy to answer any questions me and my men had.” I looked at him suspiciously since Missy doesn’t know my full name. Something wasn’t right about this, and I could feel my anxiety starting to build. “So, why is someone like you working in a place like this?” His eyes went dark while looking me up and down. “I’m not sure what you mean?” How is it possible for someone’s eyes to look so aggravated? “What I mean is why is an exotic beauty like yourself working in a place like this?” I froze when I heard him use the phrase exotic beauty because that’s what I was referred to as by the men who took me away when I was little. Before I even had the chance to answer, the door swung open, and Alexander was about to yell at me for taking too long when he saw the man I was talking with. “You can’t be out here; this is for employees only; sorry, man.” The man smirked at Alexander. “Not a problem, I was just leaving anyway,” he said while giving me an eerie smile. He turned around and disappeared into the darkness, and Alexander walked over to me, pulling me into a hug, seeing that I was visibly shaken. He ran his fingers through my hair and rubbed my back till I felt calm enough to go back inside. I couldn’t shake this weird feeling that I knew this man, but he appeared to be in his late twenties, and there was no way he was there when I was taken because I’m twenty-two now, and I was sold when I was six. The rest of the night went reasonably well, despite the man from earlier staying my entire shift and continually glancing over at me all night. It was the strangest thing because anytime someone complimented me or tried to get handsy with me, he seemed to get physically agitated. I brushed it off, though, because it’s just part of my job that I’ve come to accept, especially working with drunk patrons. Everyone left, and we started to clean up the tables and bar top when Missy came over to me. “Hey, did any of those delicious men catch your eye?” She winked at me and giggled. I paused for a second. “Uh, not exactly. What exactly did you tell them about me, Missy?” “I just told them that you’ve worked here for a while now and that you don’t have a boyfriend or anything. They asked for your phone number, but I told them they had to get that directly from you since we have so many creeps that come in here.” I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that man didn’t have any extensive information about me. “Thank you for that.” I said goodbye to Missy and Alexander, opened the front door, and was about to walk outside to go home when Alexander yelled my name. “Anya! Hold up!” I turned around and saw him walking towards me. “Let me give you a ride home.” To say that I was shocked would be an understatement, but after the way things went this evening, I wasn’t going to turn down the offer. “Thanks, Alexander,” I said with a smile. He just shook his head and grinned. “I’ve told you countless times to call me Alex, Anya.” “It’s just habit; I’ll work on it, though.” It was nice to see the playful and friendly side of Alex versus his strict, bossy side. My mouth dropped when I saw Alex’s car, and I couldn’t help but think of how he could afford it. “Alex, this is such a beautiful car!” I opened the door to his maroon Audi R8 sports car and gasped at the luxurious feel of the interior. “Thanks, Anya; she’s my pride and joy.” He said while grinning at me. I’ve never seen Alex smile this much, but it suited him. He got in the driver’s seat as I put on my seatbelt and told him how to get to my apartment. It was such a short drive, and when we pulled up to the main entrance, he frowned. “Why do you live in a place like this?” He asked while giving me a disapproving look. “What do you mean, a place like this?” I shot him a glare, knowing his friendly behavior wouldn’t last. His expression softened, and he let out a sigh. “I didn’t mean it like that, Anya. All I meant was, why do you live on this side of town? It isn’t safe, and I know you make enough to live in a nicer area.” “It’s close to work, and I don’t want to overpay for something that works just fine already. I don’t need fancy things to be happy, you know? I like things simple.” The simplicity gives me consistency, which helps with my anxiety from the trauma from all those years. But I couldn’t tell Alex that because no one knows about my past, and I planned to keep it that way. After a few moments, Alex broke the tension by saying something I never expected. “I’m sorry for giving you mixed signals. I haven’t been able to make up my mind about getting close to you. I’m just worried about getting attached to someone and something happening to them. Even if it’s just a friendship, I’ve lost a lot of people close to me, and I haven’t been able to process it well.” He looked down while his grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” I asked softly, unsure of how to feel about his confession. “Honestly? I wasn’t going to until I saw that guy at the bar wanting you and realizing that I didn’t want to regret never trying to have a relationship with you. I just want you to be in my life more, not just coworkers, you know?” He finally looked up at me and gave me a soft, but sad smile. His sadness confused me for a moment, but I shook it off. I reached over and cupped his cheek. “Thank you for being honest with me. It’s refreshing to see this side of you and not as my uptight boss.” I glanced at my phone, realizing we had been sitting in the car for over half an hour. “I’m going to go inside, and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He grinned and nodded his head before giving the back of my hand a soft kiss. I felt my cheeks get hot and quickly got out of the car and made my way up the steps. I turned back, waved, and went inside. I couldn’t help but think about this sweeter side of Alex as I walked to my front door. I could get used to his sweet side and felt myself smile at the thought of it. I wondered if he just wanted to start off being friends or if he wanted something more. I had to admit, Alex was attractive. He’s about six feet tall, with light brown hair and gorgeous hazel eyes. Not to mention he was physically fit since he seemed to work out frequently. He had a defined jawline and a five o’clock shadow that suited him. I was grinning from ear to ear when I unlocked my front door and walked inside. I wasn’t expecting to find a light on in my kitchen with a note taped to the fridge. I slowly walked over and ripped the letter off and suddenly couldn’t move; my breath hitched in my throat as my eyes scanned over the paper. You’re quite the tease, making me wait for you after your shift. Little did I know that you were spending some quality time with your boss. It seems you didn’t get the hint that I wanted you to spend time with me, not some other man you decided to put your hands all over. I’ll see you tomorrow evening, and I wouldn’t recommend keeping me waiting again.