Alpha's Claimed Enemy

Chapter 1 Selene’s POV “Run, Selene!” My voice echoed loudly in my head, a reminder to take charge of my body as I sprinted through the woods with the strength in me. I could feel death tugging at my skin with every step. Dying in these woods contradicted what my mother’s stories promised… “an old wolf in her bed, surrounded by all the people she loved,” No. I was going to die torn apart, smeared across wet barks and pine needles. “Moon Goddess, please save me,” I whimpered as my bare feet continuously slapped against the wet earth. The cold torturous air adding to my pain, ripping my lungs apart and dashing my hopes. Behind me, the howls and steps of the humongous wolves were closing in. Their eyes spelled no thought as they crashed through the bushes like they owned every root and rock on this godforsaken forest. In the blink of an eye, a claw caught me by my shoulder and spun me sideways. I hit a tree trunk hard enough to shatter my bones. Blood ran down my arm into the soil like I was already being buried. My wolf Vesper snarled in my chest. “Fight!” But what was I supposed to fight? Three wolves, each the size of a horse, and me with nothing but my bare hands and a shredded shoulder. My transformation would be useless in this case. I was supposed to be a peace offering. At least that was what I was told by my father. “Walk into Ashveil territory and deliver the letter. Listen my precious, you are the bridge. You can’t afford to mess it up.” With a kiss to the forehead which I rarely got from my father, he ended saying, “You’re the answer to a prayer, Selene." A prayer. Right. The only prayer being answered tonight was theirs, the wolves whose howls split the sky like they were already celebrating the kill. My legs got caught in a branch, causing a hard fall onto a thorny root that tore my palm open causing more blood to pile on. That didn't stop me. Vesper was relentless as it kept edging me on. The grounds leveled into a cleared space with moonlight cutting through the canopy in silver shafts and for a split second, the trembling sounds behind me seized and I thought they stopped chasing after me. Before I could draw in another breath, a shadow dropped from the ridge above me with jaws that could crush my skull in one motion and his massive body in full view. It landed two meters in front of me and the impact shook the ground under my feet. I slid to a stop so fast my ankles nearly snapped. Two more wolves flanked from the tree line and they kept increasing in number. I could swear I was in a trance seeing more wolves join in. They formed a circle around me, making a total of nine wolves, all enormous and watching me with the particular stillness of predators who knew the hunt was over. I didn’t stand a chance. My back hit a tree and Instantly knew it was a dead end. Either way, I took my stance with my bloody fur. Though struggling, I wasn’t ready to be intimidated. I looked at the one in front. He was the biggest with a black fur, old scars crisscrossing its snout and even with the way Vesper was snapping within, the way every cell in my body trembled, I knew that was him with no introduction necessary. His wolf's form rippled, with cracked bone sounds echoing through the woods. Fur receded and skin stretched over muscle, causing a reform from animal to man. His transformation was brutal and loud. It looked wrong, especially when you watched them happen to someone else. He finally stood up. He wasn’t just tall, he was towering. His shoulders blocked the moonlight behind him due to how broad they were. Dark hair cropped close to his temple. A body carved like it had been built for war, lean muscle under skin that carried more scars than any one man should survive. He was beautiful the way a fountain was beautiful. But something about his eyes seemed amiss. They were amber-gold, bloodshot and distant. The kind of eyes that looked at you and stripped your soul. This was the man my father sent me to? The supposed peace offering's destination. This was the Alpha of Ashveil. I swallowed hard as the realization dawned on me a second time. The crippling fear, greater than the pains around my shoulder and palm. “Did you come alone?” His voice was hoarse like sandpaper over gravel as he stared right into my eyes, the other wolves on guard with their deadly sights fixed on me. “Yes.” That single word came out steadier than I felt. He tilted his head with a curious but mocking look. "Why would they do that?" He scoffed as he took a step closer… his face had changed to one of mockery and he seemed to have passed that ok to the others because they laughed too, sharing glances at each other. He took a step forward and the wolves behind him shifted, making more room for their Alpha like the grounds were closing in. “I never imagined your people to be stupid enough to send one woman into an enemy territory without an escort.” I refrained myself from reacting to his distasteful choice of words… not that it would help if I did. He took yet another step and his smell kept on infiltrating my nostrils. It was of smoke and iron mixed with an unknown scent that made Vesper pace in my chest like a prisoner. “I don’t accept any peace offering in this form. Maybe they sent you to be executed. That would explain why they didn't bother sending anyone to watch.” My jaw tightened as I stared at the ground to avoid his gaze. He was both right and wrong and I couldn't explain which part was which because I didn't know either. I was beginning to feel betrayed by my father as it seemed more like a setup. “Look around,” he said. I didn't want to but slowly I raised my head and saw that the number of wolves had increased. There were a dozen of them now, some still in their wolf form, some shifted and all watching me with the raging expression of someone who should have been long dead but someone receiving a premium card for extra minutes. “This isn’t even a full part.” he wore an evil smile. “You came alone. What does that tell you about how important you are to the pack that sent you?” The way he said it made me feel dumb for not already knowing. All I could do was clutch my shoulder and pray my father didn't actually send me down here alone. He leaned closer, making me see the flecks of black eating into the amber of his irises, close enough that his breath grazed my bloody shoulder. “Are you even the Alpha's daughter?” The question landed like a slap as I heard mild chuckles erupt from the back. I opened my mouth to answer and his hand closed around my throat. He drove me back into the tree so hard the bark bit into my spine and my teeth clicked together in agony. His grip locked with a thumb on one side of my windpipe, fingers on the other, applying just enough pressure to remind me that he owned the next breath I took. “You speak when I give you permission to do so.” My hands came up instinctively, grabbing his wrist with a twist to break the hold according to Renn's training; a thousand drills to ensure I never let someone control my airway. And then the bond hit me. MATE. Before the feeling could surge through my body, The Alpha slapped off my hand that tried to release his grip around my airway and flung me to the ground. I coughed out blood with the impact and was stunned by what just happened. “How the f**k is he my mate?” I thought to myself. No one told me this… and I was pretty sore my father didn't know this either. Vesper felt broken within. I was chosen for nothing. The bond chose him, but he didn't choose the bond. Was that even possible? Then just as I lifted my head up, he called out to the rest of his party, asking “What should we do with her?” There was a low tormenting laughter as if they had all been waiting for this moment. Then someone came forward to the Alpha's left with a head shorter but built almost as wide, dark-skinned, a white scar running from his ear to his chin like someone had tried to open his face and failed. I assumed he was the Beta. “Kill her! You’ve given her far too much time.” He muttered angrily. “Send her body back to Ravenmark. Let them see what their peace offering bought them. It'll be the first honest thing that RavenMark has sent across this border in twelve years.” The Alpha looked back at me and for the first time that night, he smiled with content. “They like to be heard don't they?” He said with a wry smile. And just as my lips parted to plead my case, I heard a loud thud and warmth trickled down my face…slowly. I was dead.