My heart was pounding in my chest as I tried to slow my breathing. The hunter was near; I knew he'd be able to sense my fear.
"Shh... Anya." I whispered to my little sister, who was sniffling right beside me. "If you don't stop crying, we will never be able to find mom and dad.""I'm trying, Mary." My sister clung tighter to me.The wind shifted, and I felt the breeze blowing in my hair. A low howl sounded. I knew then the hunter had caught onto our scent."Run, Anya!" I screamed at my little sister, "Run to the river. Quickly Now.""What about you, Mary?" Anya asked, a worried look on her face."I will make a false trail; I'll circle back and meet you at Silver Stone Lake. Float the river to the lake Anya. Don't get out until you make it to the bottom.""Mary, I'm scared," Anya whispered to me, clinging tighter.I knew the hunter would be on us in a matter of minutes. If we had any chance of freedom and finding mom and dad, we had to leave now.I grabbed Anya's head, holding her face between my hands."I know you are scared, Sissy, but I need you to be brave. I need you to run as fast as possible and don't stop for anyone.""Promise me; you'll meet me at the lake?" Anya asked a look of desperation on her face.I swallowed loudly, not wanting to make a promise that I couldn't keep."I promise, Anya. Now Run."I watched as Anya took off, running towards the river.The hunter's howl was growing closer; I knew he'd be here within minutes.I grabbed a sharp stick off the floor and plunged it into my hand, leaving a deep gash that began to fill with blood; I clenched my hand in a fist and took off running in the opposite direction, towards the old village, hoping my blood trail would be enough to keep the hunter off of Anya's trail.I slowed down as I neared the village, feeling my strength beginning to wither away. Anya and I had been on the run for a week, searching for Mom and Dad. We had started running low on food about halfway through the week, and I had begun rationing my meals so that Anya could eat more. She was only ten years of age to my eighteen, and I knew she needed the food more than I.I tore a strip of material off the bottom of my dress and wrapped my now throbbing hand, hoping to get the bleeding to stop. When I wrapped my hand, the material was drenched in my blood, but at least now, I wasn't dripping blood everywhere. I walked into the abandoned village, looking for a place to hide from the hunter. I tried every door on every house and almost gave up until I came across a small shack. I twisted the handle, and to my surprise, the door opened. I quickly scanned the inside of the shed, looking for anything threatening, as well as food and possibly a weapon. I knew I wouldn't be able to fight the hunter off if he caught me, but I could try my hardest to weaken him. I spotted a screwdriver that I grabbed and shoved into my smock pocket.The hunter let out three loud howls, signaling to the pack that he'd caught our scent. My heart was beating uncontrollably in my chest. They'd find me soon. But at least Anya was safe. And then I heard a scream, the terrified scream of a little girl. My stomach churned."No." I cry before shoving my hands against my mouth, muffling my cry. How was it possible? How did they manage to capture Anya? I thought I had managed to lead them away from her."Come out, girl." The voice of the hunter was nearby. "We have your sister. There's no use in hiding. We will find you. If you come out now, we might spareI watched from the corner window as they walked past the shed. There were two of them. The one talking was the leader. He was double the size of the other, and he looked to be about twice his age. I held my breath and imagined my heartbeat slowing. They continued to walk past me. As the second one came into view, I noticed he was dragging a little girl by her hair, her mouth gagged so she couldn't cry out. It was too dark to tell if it was Anya; she seemed to be the right size and age."If you come out now," the leader spoke, "we will take it easy on your sister."Lies. The hunters were relentless. The ones they chose to keep alive ended up as slaves to the Vampire lords. The others were given to the Alpha of the Wolf Pack to do as he pleased. Anya was too young. If they kept her, they'd send her away to their "Orphanage," where she would be held until she came of age. The witches who governed the orphanage would train Anya to be obedient. They would teach her that she was at the bottom of the food chain and that she had no free will... If she disobeyed and fought the witches, they would end her life. "Euthanize her," they call it, "like she's a damn ferocious animal that came be tamed.No, I wasn't going to let that happen. I reached into the pocket of my smock and tightened my grip on my screwdriver. If I could take out a least one of them, the other would be distracted, and Anya or whoever the little girl might be could slip-free. I would risk the chance of losing my freedom and perhaps my life, but at least she would be safe from the nightmare that was to come.I decided there would be a greater chance of taking out the smaller one than the leader. I didn't give myself a chance to second guess the plan. I acted out it immediately. As the hunter dragged the little girl passed the shed door, I burst out of it; the screwdriver held high in my hand. I could see the girl; clearly, it was Anya; she must've traced her way back, intent on following me. I slammed my screwdriver into the hunter's chest with as much strength as possible. His eyes filled with shock as he released his grasp on Anya's hand. I watched as hair began to sprout out of his arms."Run, Anya," I screamed as I removed the screwdriver from the hunter's chest with the intent of stabbing him again."If you run, girl," came the voice of the elder hunter. "we will find you. Our beasts will see you as prey, and we will let them devour you."Anya started crying in fear, and the smell of urine drifted into the air. Anya stood perfectly still, absolutely terrified of the beasts around us."Anya, don't listen to them. Run away as fast as you can. Don't let them send you to the orphanage." I screamed as I once again plunged the screwdriver into the hunter in front of me; he was already more beast than man at this point, his entire body almost coated in fur. He let out a strangled howl as his bones crunched and his body began to shift into his wolf form.Anya seeing the man transform, took off running towards the river. The elder hunter grabbed me and pulled me away from the wolf."Levi," he commanded, "After the girl, don't let her escape."I began flailing my arms and legs and thrashing my head back, trying to get the elder hunter to let me go."No," I begged. She's just a baby. Please just let her go." I prayed as tears started to fall down my face.Levi, the wolf, let out a howl, closing in on his prey. I heard a heart-wrenching scream, the snarl from a wolf, and the crushing of bones before I began to lose consciousness, the world turning black all around me.When I woke, my eyes were heavy and swollen. The events of the night before came flooding back to me. "No, Anya." I whimpered, clutching my knees to my chest. A loud bang startled me, pulling me from my memories. I took in my surroundings and noticed I had been locked in a small cage. There were ten other small cages in the room, each filled with a human woman, more exotic than the last. I'd heard enough about it to learn that I had landed in the slave trade. I was to be auctioned to a vampire. I would be his walking blood bank. I felt a shiver run down my spine; I wish they would have killed me; I wish they would have ended my life the same as they ended Anya's. No, I'm glad the hunters left me alive. It would give me the chance to avenge Anya. I would make them pay. I swear to you, Anya, that I will avenge you. I thought to myself as I watched the women in the other cages. The woman closest to me had tanned olive skin, and her hair was pitch black and curly; she must've felt me sta
Nevaeh looked at me oddly, as Beta Daniels put me into my cage. I knew she wanted to know why I was in a robe. My face flushed red with embarrassment. I didn’t want her to know that the wolves found me sexually appealing, and viewed me as a conquest. It was bad enough seeing Nevaeh get groped by Diego, I didn’t want her to think I was getting special treatment. Beta Daniels locked my cage, and walked out towards the front of the office. The auction was about to begin. I could hear him speaking to a crowd over a microphone. Nevaeh looked at me questioningly again.“I’m too big for my bikini.” I whispered to her, opting into telling her a half truth. “Oh.” She mouthed. I reached down into the corner, where I had hidden my locket, and put it back around my neck.“I promise you Anya, I will get chosen today, and. I will avenge you.” I whispered to my self bringing the locket to my lips.There was a loud banging noise and I knew the auction had begun. The capture had grabbed the first
"I have already told you, time and time again, that I do not need a Queen. Having a woman by my side will not make me stronger," I growled out at my council, feeling my anger rise. "If anything, it will make me weaker; my enemies will have something to target. "But Nikolai," One of the Elders said, "You need an heir." I could feel my anger rising with every mumbled agreement from the council. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. "I am a vampire, not just any Vampire. I am King of the Vampires. I have been around for a Millennia now; I do not plan on dying anytime soon." I stared down at my council, letting my eyes flash red as my aura surrounded them, "Unless one of you is planning on taking me out and becoming the next King, I suggest you heed my words right now. I will not be forced to take a Mate by anyone."The council stayed quiet. No one dared to speak; they knew better when my mood was like this carnage followed if anyone dared to speak against me. I turned and walke
I opened the doors to my bedchamber and beckoned the two guards waiting outside into the room. ‘Sire.” They both bowed in unison. They were twin seers from the Dragon troupe. I had rescued them when they were just hatchlings from human hunters and they swore their fealty to me as my protectors. I brought them back home to my kingdom and had them trained by my strongest warriors. They were now my personal guards, and I trusted them almost as much as I trusted Kade. “Take Martha’s body and bury it in the gardens. Near the Willow tree.” Martha always loved the willow tree, it reminded her of her daughter, Willow, who was killed in the first war. The twins didn’t need to know that part though. The both bowed at me, before going to Martha, Draq, the taller twin, picked her gently and carried her bridal style in his arms. Dru, the smaller twin, looked around seeing if anything else needed to be removed from my room, before he followed Draq out, closing my door behind them. I sat on my
“Did you just roll your eyes at me.” I growled feeling my beast rise once again. This infuriating woman knew how to provoke me. I could hear the quickening speed of her heartbeat as I approached her. The closer I got to her the more enticing her smell became. What was it about her, that intrigued me so. As stopped right in front of her, reaching out, grabbing her chin in my hand tilting it up towards me. “Human, I asked you a question.” “My name is Mary damnit.” She said her eyes filling with unshed tears. Mary, the name was fitting for her. “I did not ask your name,” I sneered. “ I asked if you rolled your eyes at me.” I added a little pressure to my grip on her chin.“Yes.” She said her tears now rolling down her face. “I rolled my eyes at you.” “Ive already given you your one and only warning.” I growled.She gulped. “Im sorry. It wont happen again.” She responded through teary eyes. I leaned in closer to her, her scent calling to me. H
My heart was pounding in my chest as I ran towards the bathroom. I can’t believe I had almost thrown up on a Vampire, and not just any Vampire, the Vampire King. I reached my hand out and grabbed the door to the bathroom, swinging it wide open and slamming it shut behind me. I dived for the toilet, thanking the Heavens the seat had been left up, and emptied my stomach of its contents. I continued to drive heave, not knowing if I had a case of severe motion sickness, or anxiety, probably a little bit of both. Once I felt safe to get up, I slowly picked myself up off the bathroom floor, and made my way to the sink, to wash my face off. I turned the water on cold, and ducked my head under the faucet, gathering water in my mouth so I could swish it around, cleaning out my mouth. Afterwards I gulped down some water from the faucet, hoping to ease my stomach, Once I finished cleansing myself up, I peaked around at the bathroom. It was amazing. The bathtub looked like a lap pool, and
“Did you just roll your eyes at me.” I growled feeling my beast rise once again. This infuriating woman knew how to provoke me. I could hear the quickening speed of her heartbeat as I approached her. The closer I got to her the more enticing her smell became. What was it about her, that intrigued me so. As stopped right in front of her, reaching out, grabbing her chin in my hand tilting it up towards me. “Human, I asked you a question.” “My name is Mary damnit.” She said her eyes filling with unshed tears. Mary, the name was fitting for her. “I did not ask your name,” I sneered. “ I asked if you rolled your eyes at me.” I added a little pressure to my grip on her chin.“Yes.” She said her tears now rolling down her face. “I rolled my eyes at you.” “Ive already given you your one and only warning.” I growled.She gulped. “Im sorry. It wont happen again.” She responded through teary eyes. I leaned in closer to her, her scent calling to me. Her beautiful emerald eyes sparkled wit
As soon as we exited the King’s room the servant, Elizabeth looked at me with content in her eyes. “I don’t see what’s so special about you,” Elizabeth snarled, “But know this, his special treatment wont get you anywhere. If anything it means you’ll die quicker.”I narrowed my eyes, at her trying to figure out why she was being so mean. We continued to walk down the long corridor, walking all the way to the end. Elizabeth pressed against a panel on the side on the door, and the door opened, I realized it was an handprint scanner, one of the first things I realized was that everything in this castle was so high tech, almost futuristic compared to how things were back at my village. It made me feel even more out of place, than I already was. “Don’t lag behind.” Elizabeth called out already a few steps ahead of me, “There’s bigger monsters in the castle besides the king.” Her eyes flashed a lighter shade of red. I took a small step back, her warning making me shiver. It wasn’t a goo