The Alpha Assassin

*Trigger warnings for this book. m.urder and talk of s.exual assault, and talk of s.uicide* I stood in blackness, darker than anything I had seen or felt before. It pulsed through me. It was me. My parents' bodies under my feet were twisted and b.loodied, indicating a d.eath that was anything but painless; I knew they fought back until the very end. B.lood was the only thing that I could smell; its thick tang coated the air, coated my hands. I knew they were there, but my head was clouded, my vision blurry from the moment I stumbled upon them. I looked for them for solace, to help me, but it was too late, and I could do nothing to help them. I fell to my knees, accepting my fate. I reached for their hands, still warm from the life that was just taken from them. I couldn’t cry. I couldn’t feel. I sat there waiting to die with them, wanting to die with them. I had nothing to live for, no one else to live for. Everyone was gone. There was nothing but the hollowness, the complete emptiness that shook me to my core. Footsteps sounded, and I felt something that might have been a relief. My nightmare would be ended, and I could rejoin my family and my pack in the next life alongside the Moon Goddess. Strong arms pulled me off them, away from my parents. I s.creamed for them, but I didn’t hear it; I only knew I did because my throat was on fire. I kicked and fought whoever was taking me away with my last strength. They ripped me from the d.eath that I didn’t want until tonight, when everything I knew, everything I loved, was stolen away from me. My knees ached as I was thrown onto the cold ground, but the sense was numb and far away. I did not think anything physical could compete with the pain of the ties broken with all of my pack. “Here she is, Alpha. In one piece as you requested.” A cold hand pulled my hair back, baring my face to him. “Good, keep her that way.” I swayed even on my knees. The last thing I remembered was his cruel blue eyes, devoid of any emotion except a flicker of amusement at my suffering. The hollowness in me burst into flames and turned into raging, unshakable hate that was too soon quelled by the darkness I slipped into. Four years Later “Aren’t you looking lovely? Is that for me because you shouldn’t have.” Dominick leaned against the large entryway, attempting to block my way. I tried to brush past him, but Hudson showed up right behind him. “Going somewhere? Hudson asked and stood against the other side, a dangerous glimmer dancing in his cold blue eyes. “We wanted to have a closer look at what will be ours in a few short weeks. Oblige us, won't you?” He reached out to touch me but pulled back at the last second. I fought a smirk, looking to my feet instead. Were they not sick of hearing their idle threats? They couldn’t touch me anyway, not until I was eighteen. Commanded by their father, their Alpha, an Alpha who would never be mine. Hudson kicked off the wall and stepped towards me; Dominick followed him. Dominick might have been older, but Hudson was by far the cruelest and the most wicked of the three brothers. They both got their dad's light brown hair, dull and lifeless—like them. They started circling me slowly, like animals that had already caught their prey and were just toying with it now. I knew how this would go, how it always went, and I settled into the character I had perfected effortlessly. “In just a few months-” Hudson chuckled. “A few weeks, actually,” Dominick cut in his brown eyes, roving over my body. Hudson nodded in approval. “A few weeks, and then you belong to us. Play coy all you want. It will just make it more fun when I take you,” He took a step closer to me; although he couldn’t touch me, his hot, wet breath could. It fanned over my neck and made me shudder against my will. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, “Over and over again, you’ll be locked in my room, nothing but an Alpha’s w.hore. I hope you fight it; it will be that much more fun to break you.” “Who said that it will be you?” Nolan, the youngest, strolled in, looking bored, assessing the situation. He was the only one who got their mother's sandy blonde hair, or what I assumed was her natural color under all that bleach blonde. “It’s not going to be you anyway,” Dominick scoffed, barely taking notice of his younger brother, who was never a threat to him. Nolan crossed his arms and watched. “Whoever gets her, let's just all take a turn with her,” he suggested, not even looking at me, always the peacemaker. “I’m not sharing,” Hudson growled. To be fair, it would probably be him who became the Alpha. They did things differently here at Black River, now B.lood River. I couldn’t stomach even thinking about part of the name that they stole from my pack, B.lood Moon. Here, the title wasn’t inherited by the oldest. The Alpha’s sons fought for the title. Nothing was more important than a strong b.loodline to them. Which is why I was here. Alive. The last living direct line of the great, unbroken, and ancient B.lood Moon pack. The word ancient now had a new meaning. I was the last living pack member. I would be the next Alpha’s breeder, not Luna, never Luna, never a position of power. I would produce heirs with a strong b.loodline, and they would compete with whatever heirs were born from their mate or chosen Luna for the next title. No one even bothered to think what their actual Luna would think of this, and no one cared. She would accept it if she wanted to become Luna, and if she didn’t, then they would find another suitable alternative. “I want to be the one to break her in.” Dominick shrugged. “Once I’m done with that, I might let you guys take a turn just to see what you’re missing. That is if you live long enough.” He chuckled; it was a dark, cruel thing devoid of any real emotion. There was a chance that not all of them would survive to see who was crowned the next Alpha. The fewer of them to deal with, the better. “Our father said that he would let us be there for your first shift. Did you know that?” Hudson stopped in front of me. I didn’t. I fought the look of confusion in my eyes and tried to keep them blank, scared. “Just to see if you are actually one of our mates,” He went on. I doubted The Moon Goddess hated me that much, “But that’s not why we’re coming, of course, mate or not, you’ll belong to the next Alpha.” He curled a side of his mouth in a smile that told me he thought it would be him. “We’re coming to see you strip b.are in front of us.” My heart caught in my throat; the thought of them, of the Alpha, seeing me like that made me shake. “Now, now, don’t be nervous.” Dominick stepped up and bent to my ear, “We won’t f.uck you that night. That honor is saved for the heir.” He stepped back and crossed his arms, studying my face, “But our father did mention that we could touch.” I swallowed. I didn’t have to pretend to be scared anymore. This was happening too soon. I thought I had more time, not just a few weeks. I wasted too much d.amn time preparing and took no action. “Stop acting shocked,” Hudson tsked, he had had a mad glint in his eye that always unnerved me. I could deal with anger and cruelty but unchecked madness that was unpredictable. “You knew since the moment you arrived here you were to be nothing but an Alpha’s breeding w.hore. I’m surprised you haven’t been practicing.” “I wouldn’t want used goods,” Dominick scoffed at his younger brother. I stood there, arms at my side, looking downcast. I learned early on they would get bored sooner if I didn’t react, didn’t give them anything that they wanted besides scared submissive. “Mom wants us at the front; the visiting Alpha is early,” Nolan cut in, and Hudson shot him a glare that promised d.eath. He was a cat that wasn’t done playing with his mouse. A plaything that was all I was reduced to, something to torment out of boredom or to try to get a reaction. I noted my anger at that thought and locked it away for later when it would be useful. “You should get dressed,” Hudson crooned, “wear something pretty for me, something fit for my chosen whore.” Dominick laughed and turned on his heel, following Hudson out the way they came. Nolan gave me a wary glance, and I was left there alone. I let my shoulders sag for a split second under the weight of their words before I straightened myself up and headed to my room. I was an Alpha’s daughter, after all, and that's who I still was, even if I had no pack.