Chapter one

A warrior dragged a girl with him roughly as he walked along the dusty and blood filled streets. The girl was little, and she looked to be no more than six years of age but that was the last thing on the guard's mind as he pulled her along with him, other warriors following behind him and also surrounding he and the girl too.

There were chains used to bound her hand and feet together which was the reason her walking was slow but all the warriors paid no mind to that. There was also a thick piece of cloth stuffed into her mouth to prevent her from making even a single sound. The mission had to be carried out and completed before they could think of any other thing.

The girl with them was the only child of the vampire king and the lone survivor of the massacre which had been carried out on the vampire kingdom. There were other minor survivors, yes, but those ones had fled despite their weak state but anyway, she was the only one that mattered hence the strict orders to capture her and bring her alive to their own king, that is the Alpha King of the werewolves.

But then, the werewolves were not really to blame for the massacre. They had their reason, after all. The father of the little girl with them was a cruel man who had been terrorizing and killing the werewolves for many years due to the superior strength of the vampires. He rampaged and pillaged their pack, doing as he wanted with them until they too had decided to take charge.

They spent months training their warriors and building up their strengths until they decided that they were prepared to attack and this they decided to do on a comet which was a day that the vampires were powerless.

They struck the vampires, taking them unawares and since they were weak and powerless at that time, it was easy for the werewolves to massacre them and do with them as they liked, just as the vampires too had done to them for many years.

Before they left, they had managed to capture the vampire princess because of the orders from their king and now that they had emerged victorious, they were taking the girl to their king who would get to decide her fate.

Of what use their king had for the little girl, they did not know. All they knew was that he wanted her and he had stressed that she was to be captured and brought before him.

***

The warriors of the Malreux Wolf Pack were welcomed back to their pack amidst cheers from the members of the pack. Some wore smiles on their face, some smirked proudly, some beared traces of smiles on their faces, some were trying to conceal their smiles and some didn't even smile at all, or show any emotion. They just walked on as if nothing special happened when something of a special and celebratory nature had happened.

The werewolves had defeated the vampires but these last set of warriors acted as if nothing of that sort had happened. The most notable of all the warriors of the Malreux Wolf Pack was the head warrior, and it was only right that he was the most notable since he was the leader of the rest of the warriors and the one who had led them to victory.

He stopped in front of the Alpha and bowed, his bald head shining in the sunlight of the afternoon. Lyon, the head warrior was a big and thick hunk of a man. He was about 6 ft 6 inches tall and his head was plainly bald. His dark eyes only served to enhance his fearlessness which he carried on his person like a mantle. He was a truly brave man and even he knew it.

"We have come back with victory dogging our steps, Alpha," Lyon pronounced.

"Welcome back, Lyon, welcome back, warriors," the Alpha King boomed, his voice reverberating throughout the whole place. "You have claimed the victory that we so deserve. You have done us proud. You will all be honored."

"Thank you, Alpha," Lyon said.

"Thank you, Alpha," all the warriors chorused. They couldn't speak before their leader did, and they couldn't even speak at the time that he did. They had to wait for him to finish speaking before they spoke. Such was the respect that they accorded to Lyon.

The Alpha's gaze drifted downward and to the little girl in Lyon's hand who was still chained and gagged. He fixed the girl with a cold look, looking into her eyes with an intensity that was meant to scare her yet, the girl did not budge. He stared back into the Alpha King's eyes without any fear whatsoever as if he was just a little boy of her age.

This seemed to take the man aback as he wondered where the little girl had gotten her courage from. If she wasn't afraid now, he would show her what being in her position meant and by that time, she would lose all her courage and would begin to cower like a weak animal, which was what she was.

"Well, well, well," the Alpha King drawled out in a cool voice. "What do we have here, Lyon?" he asked, gesturing to the girl and still fixing her with one of his malevolent gazes which still didn't affect her.

What type of girl is this? The Alpha King asked himself. She seems tough as small as she is but I will break her spirit. I will make sure to do it.

Lyon responded to the question. "It is what you have asked for, Alpha. You asked and here it is. Your wishes have been carried out," he said.

"If it is so, then bring it along to my office. We have some things to discuss. The rest of you have been dismissed. Go and spend the rest of the day with your loved ones," the king ordered.

Even though they had been dismissed, the rest of the warriors knew better than to depart before the Alpha King. They had to wait for him to leave first before they did, so he turned around, heading into the pack house with Lyon directly behind him, his thick frame almost dwarfing the Alpha's.

When the Alpha King and his most trusted warrior, Lyon were out of sight, the rest of the warriors did as they Alpha had ordered and they departed immediately, as their families who were in the crowd of people who had welcomed them home, came to meet them with broad smiles on their faces and laughter on their lips.

***

The Alpha King settled down on the chair behind his large desk. He relaxed into his chair with a large smile on his face. Away from his people he could finally smile as much as he wanted. He was really happy and the only place to show it was in private. If he showed it in front of his people, they would have thought that he was weak and he couldn't allow that to happen.

And again, he was smiling for another reason entirely. He was happy that his greatest enemy, the vampire king was now gone. Everyone in the vampire kingdom had been massacred, save for this puzzling little girl in front of him. His enemy's daughter who was at his mercy now just like they had been at her father's mercy for years. Well, he would show her what true wickedness was. He vowed to do that.

"Lyon, I congratulate you once more," the Alpha started. "You have done me proud. You have done the whole werewolf kingdom proud. Your name will be forever remembered because of this war you fought with skill and bravery, claiming the victory for us. I knew it was a good decision when I appointed you as the head of the warriors five years ago. You earned the position."

Lyon didn't smile, even as the Alpha King showered praises on him. It seemed that he never smiled, not even when in private like the Alpha King. Perhaps, he did not consider the Alpha king's office a private place for him.

"Thank you, Alpha. Thank you for entrusting this position to me," Lyon said. He paused for a while, allowing the silence to fill the air before he continued. "As for the matter of this girl," he said gesturing to the girl who he had abandoned on the cold floor of the office in nothing but a thin linen material which was torn to shreds. "What are we going to do with her?" he asked.

"Oh, her?" the Alpha King asked. "I have big plans for her. She is to be kept in the deepest dungeon for now until I have need of her, or her blood since apart from her blood, she is worthless to me."

"Her blood? What about it?" Lyon asked.

"Her blood is very special. When I am done draining it for my use, I shall do away with her," the Alpha King said.