CAGED BY THE ENEMY ALPHA

chapter one I lifted the glass bottle to my lips, looking forward to a cold drink after a long day. A piercing scream shattered the quiet of the palace. It came from my room. The bottle slipped from my hand, crashing against the stone floor that I didn't even feel the glass shards cutting into my bare feet as I burst into a dead sprint down the corridor. "Eli? Eliora!" I shoved the door open, my hand freezing on the handle. She was lying in a her own pool of blood. Eyes wide, staring blankly at the ceiling. The beautiful braids we had done together just hours ago were stained completely red. "No, no, no! Eliora, wake up! Open your eyes!" I collapsed beside her, leaning all my weight into her chest. "Hey, hey, stay with me," I pleaded, my voice cracking. Blood was pumping fast from a jagged wound across her chest. I pressed both hands down hard right over the source, desperately trying to hold the life inside her. My hands shook so violently I could barely maintain the pressure. Beneath my palms, her breathing was short, shallow, and uneven. She looked up at me, her eyes wide and unfocused, before her gaze drifted past me. Her lips parted, trying to form a word, but only a desperate puff of air came out. I pressed down harder, crying out, "Come on, please! Stay with me!" And then, her breathing changed. It slowed. Her chest stopped fighting against my hands. Her head turned slowly to the side, as if she were simply too tired to hold it up anymore. Her eyes remained open, but the light behind them vanished. My hands were still buried in her chest, but there was nothing left to save. Suddenly, a massive explosion shook the palace. Through the window, I watched in horror as a nearby tower collapsed in a cloud of dust. Distant war horns sounded, a deafening blare that echoed through the night. Outside, servants ran screaming, desperately calling out the names of their loved ones. I forced myself to my feet, my legs trembling so badly, they felt like they would betray me. Leaving the room, my bare feet slapped against the cold hallway stone as I ran straight to my parents' quarters. I burst inside, finding my mother, my father, and my younger brother, Caleb. "Wake up!" I cried, grabbing my mother's shoulders and shaking her frantically. "Mama, please, we have to go!" Before she could answer, another explosion ripped through the adjoining wall. The storage room next door had been set ablaze. Violent orange light flickered under the doorway, and thick, choking smoke began to pour into the room. "They are here," Papa whispered, his face turning deathly pale. "Looks like they came to wipe us out." Shadows of heavy boots blocked the light under the door as the invaders began to throw their weight against it. BOOM! BOOM! The heavy oak door began to splinter. "You need to leave. Now," Papa muttered. His knuckles turned white as he dragged his heavy iron war axe from underneath the bed. "To where exactly? We cannot leave without you, honey!" Mama cried, grabbing his arm, her tears tracking through the soot on her face. "Yes, Papa," I added, my voice breaking as I pulled Caleb close to my side. "We fight together." Another massive blow struck the door. It wouldn't hold for more than a few seconds. Papa looked at Mama, then at Caleb and me, and his expression crumbled into pure agony. "Please leave and take Caleb with you. I will buy you time. I promise." Papa charged toward the splintering door just as we scrambled toward the back window. I pushed Caleb out first, then Mama, before throwing myself out into the dark courtyard below. But we didn't make it past the courtyard wall. We didn't know the palace was completely surrounded. Rough, armored hands clamped onto my hair, yanking me backward onto the stone before my feet could even find traction. Warriors threw Mama and Caleb down beside me, forcing us onto our knees. A massive shadow loomed over us. It was Alpha Kieran of Nightbane. He was larger than any werewolf I had ever seen, with shoulders as broad as a war axe and predatory gold eyes that swept over the corpses of our pack without a single blink. All around us, the courtyard was a graveyard. Servants. Pups. Warriors. Most of our pack's buildings were engulfed in roaring flames, and the intense heat licked cruelly at my face. Two guards dragged Papa out of the shattered door, tossing him into the dirt right in front of Kieran. "Good to see you, Haakon," Kieran whispered, barely louder than the fire. He drew a massive, gleaming broad sword from his hip. Papa looked up, his gaze locking onto mine. His lips moved, forming a final silent phrase" Don't look, baby." The sword went down his throat.