Claimed By The Alpha Captain

CHAPTER 1

POV: SERA

"So you are saying we should just... stay out of the woods? Never go in there. Like at all?"

Mom's voice sounds normal enough. Too normal. Like she is trying to keep it together while I sit beside her in a stiff wooden chair that smells like varnish and mothballs, my backpack clutched to my chest like it is going to save me.

The mayor, a woman in a long black coat and earrings that glint like tiny blades, leans back in her chair. Her office is warm but cold at the same time. Like someone lit a fire and then forgot to actually make it welcoming. She doesn’t smile. I don’t think she knows how.

"Yes," she says simply.

"And obey the curfew. Don’t provoke the locals. Don’t go poking around old places. Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to. Respect the hierarchy."

Hierarchy??!

What the hell?

Mom nods slowly, lips pressed into a line, like she is desperate to be accepted.

I am not.

"Are you being serious?" I ask. I meant to sound sarcastic, but it comes out weird. Thin. Tight. Because something about this place already feels off. The way the street outside looked too clean. The way everyone we passed earlier stopped talking when we walked by.

I mean, I get it's a small town, but seriously? They must have people driven through once in a while? What is with the strange and unwelcoming looks?

"I am," the mayor says. "Very serious. This town has its way of surviving. You will do fine here. As long as you don’t break the rules."

Mom laughs nervously. "Right. Rules. We are good with rules."

I glance at her. We are not good with rules.

“Remember, this is an old town with old and… unusual secrets. Unnatural ones. If something stands out as too bizarre for you or unnatural, turn around and walk away. It will be safer for you.”

“Safer? Unnatural? You are starting to sound like a horror movie,” Mom says with a laugh.

The mayor doesn’t laugh. Instead, she slides a key across the desk. It lands with a soft clink in front of Mom.

"This is for the house. You are at the end of Ash Hollow. Last on the right. It backs up against the trees."

Of course it does.

Mom picks up the key. Her hand trembled just a little bit. I don't think the mayor notices, but I do.

"Thank you," Mom says.

The mayor stands. We stand too, and it feels like getting dismissed from court or something. Mom mutters one last polite thing, and I just keep my mouth shut. I look at the books on the shelf as we walk out.

All leather-bound. All old. None of them has titles on the spines.

We leave and the door shut behind us with a heavy thud.

"That was weird," I say.

"Sera," Mom warns.

"No, seriously. That wasn’t just small town weird. That was cult weird. You saw how she looked at us. Like we were stray dogs she didn’t want to catch rabies from."

"Enough," Mom says. Her voice cracks. "Just... let’s get to the house. We are lucky they are letting us stay here."

I bite my tongue. We are not lucky. We are stuck. The car broke down three towns ago. We had just enough gas and just enough lies left to land here.

Duskfall.

Even the name sounds like a warning.

The house is old. Like, creaking-when-you-breathe old. There is wallpaper peeling in the corners, and the floor groans like it’s in pain every time you step wrong. But it’s clean, and it’s not falling apart, and there’s a working stove. So. Points for that.

I drop my bag in the bedroom that’s apparently mine. The window overlooks the woods. Of course it does.

"It's... cute," Mom says from the doorway. She’s trying. She always tries.

"It’s a horror movie set," I say.

She laughs, but it dies quickly as she comes in, sits on the edge of my new bed. The mattress squeaks.

"Hey. This could work," she says.

I sat next to her. "Until he finds us."

Her face tightens. She looks away. "We don't know that he will."

"We didn’t know he found us the last two times, either."

She sighs, long and slow. "Don’t do this tonight, Sera."

"I’m not trying to fight. I just... I don’t think this town is safe. That mayor? She was hiding something. You felt it."

"Of course I did," she snaps.

Then softens. "Of course I did. But we don’t have options. This is it. We follow the rules. We keep our heads down. And we pray he doesn’t come. They promised to keep us safe if we follow their rules, Sera."

I nod, even though I don’t believe it. She reaches for my hand and squeezes. Her fingers are cold.

"Do you want to pray?" she asks.

I hesitate. Then I nod again.

We bow our heads. She starts. "God, please watch over us in this new place. Help us stay hidden. Keep him far from us. Give Sera peace. Help her feel safe."

I finish it, because I always do. "Please don’t let him find us again. Please don’t let this place break her too. Amen."

We sat there in silence after. I think we both know praying doesn’t fix anything. But it makes the panic settle, just a little.

She kisses the top of my head and leaves the room.

I changed into pyjamas. Brush my teeth. Pretend this is normal.

But when I come back into the bedroom, the window is open.

I know I didn’t open it.

My skin crawls.

I walk over, shut it, lock it. I look outside. Just trees. Just darkness.

Then I see them.

Eyes.

Glowing. Watching me from between the trees.

Not blinking.

Not moving.

Just watching.

I step back.

I want to scream. I don’t. I pull the curtains closed, heart pounding so loud it drowns out the world.

And I don’t sleep.

Because I know the rules.

And something out there just saw me.

Don't go into the woods, huh?