Bound To The Ruthless Alphas

The Beginning

VESPERA

Blood. It’s all I see.

Even with my eyes shut, the haunting image of their blood soaking the ground haunts me, seared deep in my mind. And then those crimson eyes--watchful and ominous-- staring deep into my soul.

A sharp gasp ripped from my throat as I jolted awake, my heart hammering against my ribs. My fingers grasped at the sheet beneath--except there wasn’t one. Instead, damp soil crumbled between my fingers.

Soil?

Dread coiled in my stomach as I pushed myself to my feet. A piercing headache pierced through my skull, almost making me lose my balance. Regaining my balance, I looked around. The sky was dark, and the air thick with the scent of leaves. I looked around me and my gut wrenched.

I was standing at my parents’ gravestone.

This was the third time this week.

I’d fall alseep in my apartment, and the next morning, right before the sun rises, I’d wake up here, with no memory of how I got to the pack’s cemetary. My knees would be bruised, my fingertips aching with dirt underneath my fingernails.

This was starting to get frustrating. It didn’t make sense to me. I was starting to think bullies were pulling a prank on me. But at the end of the day, I was still left without answers.

Sighing, I walked away from the cemetery and headed back to my tiny apartment. I washed the soil out of my hair and body, the bruises on my skin burning as I scrubbed myself clean.

After I was done, I mentally prepared myself for my freshman year as I headed to the Academy.

“Hey, you,” Ronan’s voice snapped me out of my intrusive thoughts as he walked out of his place. We walked together to the campus.

This was our little tradition we stuck with since we were kids. We always went to school together, me stopping by his place and him tagging along. Ronan was my only friend, and that was unusual because everyone in the pack avoided me like a plague. Why he’d stuck relentlessly by my side was still a mystery to me.

“It happened again today,” I said, keeping my gaze forward so I don’t see the concern etched on his face.

“What!?” he exclaimed, his tone worried, “This is the third time now, Vespera. Don’t you think it’s high time we meet the Elder?”

“No!” I responded too sharply, my voice taking on an edge that surprised him. “Sorry for yelling. It’s just… you know how much I try to avoid the Elder.

He understood. Losing my parents at a very young age had placed a target at my back. Where people should’ve helped an orphaned kid, instead they turned against me. My memories of the night my parents died was vague, but the haunting image of their blood soaking the ground, splattering on the walls was still engraved in my brain.

I was found at the scene, untouched, not even a scratch. They couldn’t fathom it, and seeing no one to hold accountable, they put the blame on me, painting me as a bad omen, a curse to their pack.

“I’m just worried, Vee. Waking up at a cemetery is not a joke.”

“Maybe I’m just sleepwalking,” I tried to shrug it off, “I don’t think it’s that much of a big deal.”

But deep down, I know this was not something to be taken lightly. But I didn’t want to worry Ronan. Being my friend was already much of a burden on him, and I didn't want to bother him with my problems.

We stepped into the academy, and I was in awe. Ravenwood Academy was just as the name implied. It’s architecture was a gothic masterpiece, it’s spires extending to the sky just like a castle.

This was a school for the elite, the rich and powerful. And then there was me, who stuck out like a sore thumb. My presence here was an anomaly only made possible by a scholarship and a recommendation from the Luna herself, for some reason I didn’t understand.

This was my first day, and I had no idea what awaited me.

We’d already done the screening few weeks ago, so everything we needed to know and had already been provided. My schedule didn’t align completely with Ronan’s, but we’d make time to be together in school.

We walked to my new locker, where I kept my belongings secured. Just when I was about to shut my locker, something obstructed me. I turned to see what it was, and my blood instantly ran cold.

“Look who joined us today.”

My senses stood on alert as I stared at Raven. Raven wasn’t just your typical bully--that was not a fitting title. She was the devil’s incarnate, with blonde hair and innocent blue eyes that were deceiving.

She was the only one who’d come close to driving me to wipe myself off the face of the earth. And now, here she was. It’d been barely ten minutes in the academy, and my arch nemesis was standing right in front of me.

“What do you want, Raven?” Ronan asked as he stepped in between us.

“Still the bodyguard to the useless mutt, even after all of those years,” she seethed, her voice dripping with so much disdain. "Who even let you in here? People like her don’t deserve to breathe the same air I do.”

Coming into the academy, I had made my mind to do one thing--never let anyone control me.

I was nineteen now, an adult. If I wasn’t going to fight for myself, no one would. Ronan wouldn’t always be there. After everything I had endured, I was done being weak.

Stepping out from behind Ronan, I met Raven’s gaze head on, refusing to shrink beneath her intimidating gaze.

“I’ll let you know one thing, Raven,” I bit out, my voice steady and unwavering. “ This academy is big enough for both of us. I’m not the little girl you bullied anymore.”

She tilted her head, eyeing me with thinly veiled disgust.

“You can’t even shift,” she sneered. “How dare you insult me like that? What can you possibly do?”

I felt an unavoidable pang in my chest. She was right about the shifting part. Even when I’d passed the mature stage, I still hadn't gotten my wolf, or felt its presence within my soul. But I didn’t let her see how much it bothered me. I was a late bloomer, and that was nothing to be shamed for.

“I’m done talking to you. I have classes to go to,” I said, and slapped her hand off my locker. I shut it with a loud thud, and grabbed Ronan’s arm. “Let’s go.”

Her jaw dropped, shocked to her core that I’d stood up for myself. As we walked through the hall, she spoke, her tone venomous, holding a threat.

“You’ll regret ever stepping foot in this academy. You’ll wish you had died years ago!”

I froze, as the words cut through me, sharper than any blade. My breath hitched as memories came flooding back to me.

Hiding in the janitor’s closet. A rope tied to the ceiling fan. My feet barely balanced on the stool.

I had been ready to end my life, but Ronan had found me, saving me. But someone had recorded it all, exposing my weakest moment to the whole of high school.

That was part of the darkest moments of my life. Losing my parents was the first.

But I was done living miserably, while everyone who sought to make my life a living hell lived freely. I wasn’t the weak Vespera anymore.

After classes, I was on my way to Ronan at the cafeteria. Just as I walked down the empty staircase, a sudden yank forced me backward, disrupting my balance.

My heart leaped.

“Hey--” my scream barely escaped before a but rough hand clamped around my mouth, and another over my eyes, plunging me into the darkness.

What’s happening?

Panic surged through me as I kicked and thrashed, but the grip around me tightened as I was dragged roughly. My heart pounded as I heard a door creaked open, then I was shoved forward really hard.

I hit the ground with a loud thud, pain exploding through my spine down to my ass.

“Ouch!” I cried out.

Disheveled and out of breath, I scrambled to my feet, mu pulse hammering. I looked around me and realized I was in an auditorium. It was dimly lit and eerily empty. My instincts screamed at me-- I shouldn't be here.

I hurried to the door, turning the knob, but it was locked. My stomach churned.

Frantic, I ripped my phone from my pocket, my fingers trembling as I dialed Ronan. I heard it ring continuously, the coil in my gut tightening each grin.

Ronan always picked on the first ring.

Unease prickled beneath my skin. Something was wrong. Someone had planned this--had dragged me here and locked me in, but who and why?

Footsteps suddenly echoed behind me, slow and unhurried, cutting through the silence.

A chill seeped into my bones as I turned, my breath hitching as I tried to make out the three silhouettes walking towards me.

“Did you plan this?!” My voice was firm, but the slight tremor betrayed me. “Why am I here?!”

Silence.

They got closer, then they stepped into the dim light for me to see.

The blood in my veins turned to ice.－

No.

No, no, no.

I rushed to the door, forcing the knob and slamming my fists against the wood, but it didn’t budge. Their shadows loomed over me, and I was forced to meet their gaze.

The Vaelrik brothers.

Thevron, Kairon and Zavian.

The three ruthless alphas towered over me, backing me into a corner like I was their prey.

“You walk in here like you belong?” Thevron’s voice cut through the silence, razor sharp.“You have guts”

Then he spoke again, just one word.

“Murderer.”

The word struck like a blade, cutting through my heart.

A tremor raked through my bones as my lips parted, but no words came.

Because he was right. I was a murderer.

The one responsible for their sister’s death.