How starved you must have been
That my heart became a meal for your ego.

~Pinterest

ALPHA VINCENZO'S P.O.V.

I ran like I’d never before. My heart pounded through my ears while sweat cascaded down the sides of my face.

I pushed past every wolf in my sight, desperately trying to reach her before anything could happen.

My lungs screamed, but I ignored every ache that jolted through my body. My only focus was her screams.

I could feel her pain through the bond, her voice strained and exhausted pleas as she mind linked me.

We ran.  We ran together to protect what was ours, the Luna of Black Moon Pack.

Beta Ethan, my father, and a few pack warriors followed my relentless pace to the pack kitchen, ensuring they never skipped a beat.

I could feel the hairs on my back rise, as the tension within the pack multiplied by each passing second. The wolves were scattered around, anxiously wondering if their pack was truly under attack by the Zanton wolves.

Finally reaching the double doors, I pushed handle with such brute force the door slammed into the wall and caused a deep echo to sound through the dark kitchen.

Beta Ethan quickly pushed himself forward and reached for the light switch against the wall he flicked it on, and all wolves squinted before adjusting their eyes to the scene in front.

As I scanned the kitchen, I felt a large stone settle over my heart and place pressure on each artery, leaving me to suffer and pray to the goddess she was alive.

Ezekiel howled, in the depths of my mind, she’s gone.  I couldn’t bear to accept what had occurred, so I chose to ignore Ezekiel’s verdict.

I took two painful steps forward, scanning the kitchen further. There were visible signs of struggle as several bowls and utensils were haphazardly lying on the floor and counter. 

Ezekiel stopped howling and growled through. She put up a fight.

Yes, I finally responded.

“I want every corner of this kitchen to be turned upside down. You will find anything that will help us find the Luna,” I commanded the warriors.

I didn’t bother turning around as I spoke up, knowing the warriors could already sense the urgency in my voice.

A chorus of “Yes, Alpha” echoed through the silent kitchen before each wolf dispersed to various areas of the kitchen.

I slowly closed my eyes, allowing my senses to fully awaken and assist me with analysing the scene in front of me. 

Slowly loosening up my shoulders, I sucked in a deep breath. Immediately, I was hit with her scent of sweet strawberries and vanilla.

A grim smile settled upon my lips as an image of her face plagued my mind. Her crystal blue orbs looked upon me with sheer desperation and terror. Whilst salty drops fell upon the sides of her face.

It broke my heart. I could feel the stone lodging deeper and deeper, leaving me almost breathless.

That’s when I smelt it. I could never forget this scent. The metallic stench of blood. I felt my nostrils flare before my body automatically moved towards the source.

As I reached the area, I felt the sticky warmth of crimson underneath my dress shoes, crouching down slowly. I stuck my finger into the pool, which traced a puddle towards a step in the kitchen

I rubbed my fingers together. It was still warm and fresh, just like moments earlier in the ceremony. When she radiated with such warmth and liveliness, it was hard to look away.

“Son…” my father drawled out.

It was the first time I’d heard him speak up or perhaps he had already, but I had given into my senses my true animalistic side, which tuned out everything else.

I felt a gentle hand press against my shoulder, I looked up slowly only to witness the sorrow in his eyes.

It was like a moment of dejavu.

He, too, had almost lost his mate in an attack. My mother was a victim of a relentless rogue attack.

My jaw ticked at the reminder, whilst I felt my claws extend and pierce through the flesh of my knuckles. Each claw caused drops of crimson to fall upon the bloodied tile and mix In with Anastasia’s blood.

But she was gone. she was gone.

I promised her that nothing would ever happen to her.

My chest tightened as I recalled sealing my promise with a smouldering kiss. The first time, we had touched with such assurance in one another.

I shook my head slowly, trying to rid myself of the pain that continued to consume me. That’s when I noticed a shiny beam tucked underneath a small gap between the tile and kitchen oven.

I narrowed my eyes before standing up and walking towards the oven. I quickly scooped up the metal chain into my palm and felt the coldness seep into my skin. I turned over the chain slowly and sucked in a deep breath when I saw the dog tag that shone through the lighting of the kitchen.

My father quickly peered over my shoulder before gasping.

“That son of a bitch.” I growled aloud.

Balling my fists I slammed them onto the kitchen countertop. A quick hush fell over the warriors as they stopped to look at me.

“Do you think it’s him?” my father questioned.

I couldn’t respond as I felt my canines descend and pierce into my lips drawing my blood, looking down at my reflection from the countertop I could see my irises transcend to a dark ebony.

I felt my muscles clench and spasm as Ezekiel roared to life. He was now controlling my every move and forcing a mid-shift.

But this time, I wasn’t going to stop Ezekiel.

A ferocious growl erupted through the kitchen, rattling all the fallen utensils.

Ezekiel slowly turned to face my father and the warriors, his fierce gaze never once faltering. He commanded power at this moment, he held all the attention and wandering thoughts. The air thickened with the rising tension as

Ezekiel became a sight to behold. His charcoal irises shone through just like the black moon. Ezekiel took two steps forward and rolled his shoulders back before speaking.

“He dares to take what is ours, the Luna and my mate. We shall show them no mercy, only their mere lifeless bodies will be welcomed graciously into this pack.” Ezekiel growled through.

The warriors quickly lowered their heads in submission, accepting the chaos that was to ensue.

Whilst the Senior Alpha growled aloud “We will save our Luna, no matter the costs”.

Ezekiel turned to face him, holding his determined gaze for longer than a second. Though as Ezekiel continued to look into my father’s eyes, he saw a glance of something more, hope.

And just for now, it was enough to keep him going.

********

BETA ETHAN'S P.O.V.

  ONE DAY LATER

I quickly rushed towards the stairs, taking them two at a time, I needed to get to the Alpha’s office quickly without any delay.

The pack was on high alert after the attack yesterday, the very attack that took away our Luna. I dreaded being in the Alpha’s presence as his wolf continued to prowl at the surface, making it difficult to speak or merely breathe without feeling the suffocating tension.

Though I didn’t have much of a choice as being the beta, I had to fulfill my duties to the pack and Alpha. But during times like this, I despised it the most.

Finally reaching the door, I pushed it open and immediately caught the Alpha’s attention. As soon as I stepped foot into the office, I felt my face flush with heat as I struggled to catch my breath.

The mere power that surged through the room was all but consuming. I felt my lungs twist and struggle to facilitate a normal pace of breathing.

I quickly gritted my teeth and pushed aside all the ravelling pain that my body was doused in. Duty first.

“Alpha, we located him and placed him into the pack cells,”  I announced.

I carefully watched the Alpha as I announced the news he’d been eagerly awaiting. His jaw ticked as he narrowed his eyes, “Have you chained him?” he growled.

“He is chained, Alpha”, I answered quickly.

The Alpha grunted before he rose from his wooden desk and stalked towards the door. I quickly spun on my heels as I kept up with the Alpha’s furious pace.

The cells were in the lowest level of the pack house, so the lift was the quickest option for getting there. Reaching the lift, the Alpha mindlessly pressed on a silver button, which opened the doors.

Without a word said, we quickly settled into the lift and awaited the ding that re-opened the doors and welcomed us to complete darkness.

I felt the hair rise on my back, as I recalled the last visit to this sickening place. The rogue interrogation had taken place here, a Zanton wolf who was left at the mercy of the Alpha. Though, I had shortly taken care of him just like the other wolves the Alpha had chosen not to spare.

The Alpha stalked forward whilst I followed behind him. There were few scarcely lit torches that were nailed haphazardly into the brick walls, which provided the faintest bit of light for our path.  That didn’t deter the Alpha, though, as he continued to march forward, not once stopping.

My nostrils immediately flared as I could smell the metallic stench of blood that oozed out from the cell walls and filled the air. I could almost taste the crimson drops as it burned through my lungs. It was a reminder of what really took place here.

The Alpha finally slowed down his pace before reaching a closed cell. Before the Alpha uttered a word, a warrior appeared at the cell entrance and opened the lock.

He lowered his head in submission before opening the door further for us to enter. The Alpha walked forward not once deterred by the pools of crimson that coated the grounds.

“You have to let me out. There has been some bloody mistake.” A voice yelled out.

Now in sight, the Alpha growled out to the wolf “I don’t make mistakes.”

The wolf immediately cussed under his breath as he noticed the Alpha’s towering presence.

“Look I don’t know what you want from me, I didn’t do anything.” The wolf shouted defensively.

I could spot the Alpha’s expression from my peripheral vision, which quickly morphed into a deadly look. His eyes glistened darkly whilst his lips curled in to support a devilish smirk. The Alpha reached for his pants pocket and pulled out a pair of heavy-duty gloves.

The wolf began to cower away as the Alpha stalked towards him, the chains around him clanking loudly against the bolts that held it tightly.

“Now, I wouldn’t test me right now... I’m running on very little patience and would not hesitate to kill you.” the Alpha growled lowly.

“He’s not joking.” I deadpanned.

The wolf slowly jerked his head towards me as though noticing me for the first time.

The Alpha was merely silent waiting for the wolf to spill the truth. Though the wolf made no move at uttering a word.

The Alpha huffed before reaching out for a long chain which sat conveniently in front of the wolf, he tugged at the chain before throwing it on the wolfs legs.

The wolf immediately cried out in pain whilst his body thrashed and jerked violently against the silver. A mere reminder that the Alpha would get his answers in any way possible.

The wolf yelled out, “But you’re my brother. Brothers don’t kill each other, family doesn’t,” the wolf tried to reason.

The Alpha looked down at the wolf with a stoic expression, “Where is my mate, Malin?”.

I sucked in a deep breath as I hoped Malin would finally say something to prove his innocence.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Malin spat out.

“Malin quit playing dumb and say something that could help us out man,” I tried to reason with the fool.

I was surprised when the Alpha didn’t stop me from talking out to Malin the second time. Usually, he was in charge of the interrogations that happened in the pack.

Though I had a feeling he was trying his best to reel in his wolf, so he didn’t just snap his brother’s neck. So, I was allowed the freedom to voice out my opinion temporarily.

But Malin wasn’t making matters any easy, as he continued to taunt the Alpha with superficial remarks.

Malin simply rolled his eyes in response, not bothering to hide his displeasure with the situation.

That’s when the Alpha’s jaw ticked he quickly let go of the chain and punched Malin in the face.

Malin’s head snapped back at the force of the punch, causing a slight groan to escape his lips. Crimson streaks quickly gushed from his nose and fell upon his crinkled shirt, leaving vivid stains.

The Alpha slowly drawled back his bloody fists before he glared unflinchingly at his brother.

“Last chance,” the Alpha growled out.

I was baffled at the Alpha’s generosity. What had happened to the previous man who would kill a wolf who crossed him in a heartbeat?

“You can’t prove anything-g,” Malin spluttered through bounds of blood that filled his mouth.

“Wrong answer.” The Alpha snarled.

The Alpha halted for a moment, not once wavering his gaze from Malin as he pulled out a small silver chain that appeared to look like a dog tag.

My eyes fell upon Malin’s face, as his eyes quickly grew wide at the sight of the metal chain. He slowly began to cough, spitting out more and more blood that sprayed the cell grounds.

“Now tell me what you’ve done,” the Alpha interjected.

Malin quickly shook his head as his face seemed to take upon a fearful expression. He began to back away from the Alpha whilst shaking his head desperately. A pleading looks on his face as his brows knitted and lips wobbled.

Noticing this, the Alpha crouched down, meeting Malin at eye level. He narrowed his eyes, waiting for Malin’s response.

Suddenly, an airy laugh cracked through the cell walls and bounced around our ears. I raised my brows as I looked at the source, noticing Malin throwing his head back as he continued to laugh.

What the hell was going on?

The Alpha growled before yanking the chains and wrapping them around Malin’s neck. Malin squawked before his eyes snapped to the Alpha’s.

“It’s too late now, brother. He has her,” Malin mused.

The Alpha’s face immediately dropped as he heard Malin’s response.

“Shit”, I cursed under my breath.

“You handed my mate to the pyscho who's been hunting down all our packs and has led an attack to our borders!” the Alpha snapped.

Malin simply nodded with a bemused look. “She’s a goddamn Rogue anyways. She doesn’t belong here,” Malin spat out.

I noticed the Alpha tense at the mention of his mate, the very insult and status she was initially plagued with till yesterday.

She was now our Luna and the very person we all swore to protect during the ceremony.

She was one of us.

The Alpha’s lips were set hard and straight as a murderous glaze took upon his face. His eyes quickly transcended to that of a dark ebony, causing Malin’s jaw to slacken.

“Your traitorous son of a bitch,” he growled.

Before his fist connected to Malin’s jaw, the chains that were wrapped around his neck rattled causing more burns to his skin.

Malin groaned as the silver continued to burn deeper into his flesh causing a nasty burning smell to fill the air.

The Alpha whipped his head back and looked at me for the first time during the interrogation, “tell the others to get the car ready, we’re going to pay a visit to the Zanton pack” he growled out.

I quickly nodded and mind-linked the others to have them prepare.

“You don’t even know where he is,” Malin muttered under his breath.

The Alpha turned back to face Malin, a small smirk creeping on his face. The Alpha clucked his tongue before cooly replying, “Oh but you do…”

Malin quickly shook his head, “I won’t take you there, he will kill me…”

The Alpha blinked at Malin, before he let out an airy chuckle, he threw his head back as he continued to shake threw fits of laughter.

Malin’s eyes slowly found mine, Oh, you’re so dead now… I mindlinked him.

Malin peeled his eyes away from mine and slowly settled back to his brother, who now seemed to be holding Malin’s gaze.

The erratic beats of Malin’s heart quickly echoed through the cell, leaving him with an array of nerves.

Sweat seemed to encase his body as the crinkled shirt he wore clung to his bloodied body.

“Consider yourself dead,” The Alpha snarled. Before he charged at Malin with unwavering force.

I sucked in a deep breath and reverted my gaze to the flickering beam of light that created several shadows in the darkening cell.

Soon, the only sound that filled the cell were his strangled screams...

      ｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

                            A/N

Ding dong... let the bloodshed begin.❤️‍🔥

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