I’m An Alpha Who’s About To Die

Chapter 5

"Let’s go!"

The wolf stands in the doorway of the boutique. His suit is torn, and his face is splattered with dark, dried blood. Before I can react, he sprints across the store, grabs me by the wrist, and drags me back out onto the pavement.

"Let go of me!" I scream, fighting against his grip, but he is impossibly strong.

We run down the block until he spots a yellow cab. He waves it down, ripping the back door open and practically throwing me inside before sliding into the front seat.

"Drive. Now," he barks at the driver.

"Where to, buddy?" the driver asks, looking nervously at the blood on the man’s face.

"Three Forest, Malvation 018," the wolf commands.

The driver pales. "Sir, that forest... folks say it's haunted. I don't go out there."

The wolf doesn't argue. He reaches into his jacket, pulls out a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills, and drops them onto the center console.

The driver swallows hard, puts the car in gear, and hits the gas.

I sit in the back seat, staring blankly out the window as the city buildings blur into grey smears. My mind is shattered. My mother is a corpse lying on our bedroom floor. The monsters she warned me about in her dying breath are real. My entire life was a lie.

The cab eventually slows down, pulling up to the edge of a dense, towering tree line. The branches of the pines look like black claws scraping against the darkening sky.

The wolf steps out of the car. He opens my door, and I step out into the freezing forest air. The cab immediately throws it in reverse and speeds away, leaving us completely alone in the creeping shadows.

The silence of the woods is deafening.

I look at him, the man who dragged me into this nightmare. The grief finally boils over, turning into white-hot rage.

"My mother is dead!" I scream at him, my voice cracking. "She's dead because of you! Because of whatever the hell is hunting me!"

He stops walking and turns to face me. "Yes," he says, his voice devoid of emotion. "But you are alive. It was worth it."

I stare at him, feeling the blood drain from my face. "Worth it?" I let out a hysterical, broken laugh. "You think my mother’s life was an acceptable sacrifice? Who do you think you are?!"

"I am the one keeping you breathing," he replies, stepping closer. "You need to accept what is happening, Linda. You are not normal."

"You’re the freak!" I shout, pointing a trembling finger at his bloodstained shirt. "Maybe you planned this! Maybe you sent that thing to my apartment so I’d have no choice but to follow you!"

His blue eyes flash with a dangerous, predatory glint. "I don't play games like that. I am not like the leeches. And right now, my pack is the only thing standing between you and death."

He turns his back to me and begins to walk deeper into the dark, imposing woods.

I stand at the edge of the trees, shivering in my thin dress. I want to run away. I want to go back and hold my mother’s hand.

"s**t!" I scream into the empty air, stomping my foot against the dirt.

But I have nowhere else to go.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I step into the shadows of the forest and follow him. High above, the moon begins to rise.