Chapter 1 - Cherie

The sound of falling anchor chains doesn’t send a shiver of fear through my body anymore, neither does the sting of the cattle prod or the sliding of that barrel bolt lock on my cage.

“One slip-up and Marie will take your place.”

“Fail tonight; Eva looks strong enough to take over from you.”

They figured out that using my sisters' lives works better than violence, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stop the whippings or physical torture. What makes it even worse is that these are the people who should be taking care of us, the ones who should love us unconditionally. They chose us to fill the void of not having their own children.

I mean, it used to be like that until I accidentally shifted the night I got my wolf. They saw the damage I did to their cattle and decided I owed them… I was only eight years old and forced to fight in illegal dog fights.

Yeah, you read that right. And while my wolf is stronger than any pit bull, it didn’t mean I would come away unscathed. My body is littered with scars, ones I leave uncovered because I am not ashamed of them.

You would think I’d get away after eighteen years, and trust me, I would run if I could. But they have two other girls in their care, two other orphaned shifter girls who have no idea what our adoptive parents are doing to me.

And I intend to keep it that way. I just need a little more time to make enough money to disappear with them. That’s all I think about when I’m in the octagon fighting men twice my size. That’s all I think about when I start the process of slowly healing my body. 

The barrel bolt locks slide open and the face of my father appears in the doorway. “Be in the main house in ten minutes,” he says before leaving again. 

They know I won’t dare to run away, and yet they still keep me locked up in a room separate from their spacious villa. They received this wealth because of me and yet they give the credit to their farm business. 

I suppose it makes sense, since they were farmers when they took me in. It hides the shameful ways they made their wealth; one slip up and their image will shatter. 

I’ve decided that when I disappear with my sisters one day, I am sending all my documented footage and photos to the adoption agency, as well as the papers. There’s no way they’re going to get away with what they’ve done and blame me for kidnapping my sisters.

Vengeance will be mine even when I have my freedom.

After throwing my shit in my gym bag, I walk out of there and towards the villa with my mind clear. Now it's my time to act like the loving daughter in front of the other girls, and they’ll play the nauseating parent part well. 

The first thing I spot when I walk into the kitchen from the back door is Marie and Eva eating their cereal at the breakfast nook. They’re thirteen-year-old fraternal twins, so they don’t look alike at all - one has auburn hair while the other has dark brunette curls.

Our parents still think it’s odd that they haven’t shifted yet, but I’ve been training them to control their wolves since they got here. They won’t lose control as I did, and I’ll die before either of them take my place.

“Hey, hey,” I say, ruffling their hair but neither of them are talking. Sighing because I know they’re fighting again, I make my way to the fridge to grab some ingredients for my health smoothie.

I can feel my mother’s stare behind me before she even enters the kitchen and by the time I’m placing the mini blender in the dishwasher, my back is covered in a cold sweat. You would think my father is the ruthless one, but no…she’s the devil incarnate.

“Ready to go, Cherie?” she asks me in that sickly sweet voice and I grab my gym bag from the floor before turning around to face her with a fake smile of my own.

With dark hair, cold blue eyes, a head shorter than me, and the bloodlust of a Lycan; Dawn Argento is the worst kind of parent you can get. What makes things even worse is that she’s no supernatural creature…both she and my father are human.

“Yeah, I am,” I say and walk over to give my sisters their goodbye kisses. Then I follow her out to her SUV and get in the passenger seat. 

The drive to the gym is quiet, but with the way she’s humming, I can tell she’s excited about something. That can never mean anything good for me. Yeah, I’ve won the last fifty fights I was in and it made them happy for a while, but for her to not even threaten me today is ominous.

“Is there a fight lined up for me soon?” the words come out before I can stop them and her grin grows wider.

“Focus on your workouts today, baby, I have it all covered,” she says with a wide smile, and it sends a sick shiver down my spine. There’s no way this can be a good thing, not with the way she’s smiling at me.

My stomach is coiled tight with anxiety when I make my way to the locker room to get changed, and as I’m winding the wraps around my wrists I can hear chatter around the room. I roll my eyes when I hear the name everyone seems to have a hard-on for.

Creed Volkov. The Alpha who has won every fight since he established this gym a few years ago. Before that, he used to fight in underground rings and kill every opponent he was faced with. Nowadays, he just maims them completely.

I’ve always wondered why he comes here, because it’s definitely not to get stronger. He’s the son of a God, what does he need to exercise for? Once again, I’m glad that I’m a featherweight and won’t be paired against that monster.

“He’s Alpha Kai’s son. What did you expect?” One says, and I chuckle quietly.

“It’s an unfair advantage; he’s the son of a God! Anyone pitted against him will die!”

“Agreed; maybe we should bring it up with the fight committee. Creed Volkov shouldn’t be here. He doesn’t belong here.”

I roll my eyes as I do my wrist wraps. “Uh, you assholes are forgetting that whoever fights Creed is doing so willingly. It’s not like he’s out here holding a silver fucking dagger to their throats and forcing them. They’re all here to try to win the five million on his head.”

They both look my way and grin. “Is that why you’re here, sweet cherry? You want to claim the milli for yourself?” they ask, and I can’t help but laugh at the stupidity of that question. Even if I need the money, I’d never fight that guy.

“Are you insane? I’m a featherweight compared to that beast. There are still many years left in this body and I do not have a fucking death wish,” I say, scoffing, then walk towards the one who spoke and punch him in the gut. “And it's Cherie, assholes.”

Fuck, five million would make all my problems disappear, but I’m desperate, not dumb. When I round the corner to head into the gym, my heart nearly jumps into my throat, but I keep walking.

Because sitting on the opposite side of the room is the guy we were just talking about. I’ve never actually seen him in person, but looking at him now, I’m thankful for being a featherweight again.

The guy is fucking MASSIVE. Thick tattooed biceps, legs the size of tree trunks, fingers that could snap a neck if he wanted to. Not to mention his chest and abdomen - he looks like Alpha Kai in his prime with his blonde hair braided down his back. 

He doesn’t look up when I walk past and I am thankful for it, but his scent nearly knocks me out. Heady bergamot and vanilla with a base note of bloodlust to give it a kick. 

I would find him attractive if he didn’t scare the absolute bejeezus out of me.

When I walk into the gym, I feel like I can finally breathe and get to what I came here to do. I get lost in the workout, but every now and then, my eyes scan the gym for the blonde God I saw earlier. He’s nowhere to be seen the entire day and I breathe out again.

Before I leave, I head to the fixtures for the fights in two weeks. I know my mother said not to worry, but I can’t help but worry when it comes to them. 

Scanning for my name in the fixtures, I eventually find it and grit my teeth…only for my heart to completely drop to my knees when I see who I’m up against in three weeks’ time.

“Guess you do have a death wish, sweet cherry,” one of the guys from the locker room taunts and I can do nothing but stare at the fixtures in front of me.

Cherie Argento v Creed Volkov.

**BEFORE YOU READ FURTHER, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'VE READ VIKTOR: A BRATVA WOLVES NOVELLA**