One - Prey

Annora 

“P-please!”

The monster didn't leave my side, neither did he hear any of my pleas.

My voice had gone hoarse from begging for his mercy. I felt his large hand dip into my hair, yanking my head up to gaze at him, my mouth hanging open.

My breath was caught in my throat, and I winced in pain, tears flowing down from my eyes, uncontrolled. But the monster wouldn't let go of my hair, rather he grinned as he locked eyes with me. 

His orbs were as dark as his soul, but I didn't dare look away, not while my hair was tangled around his fist and he yanked it harder, with a devilish precision while his red lips still formed a satisfied smile.

My expression morphed into a wince and the tears wouldn't stop flowing.

“I want this one…” he announced, a smile snaking his red thin lips, an opening to the hell of his mouth. “I love what her mouth looks like wide open. Keep her in a separate carriage.”

Disgust bit through me and my stomach sank. I spat in his face. “Go to hell, Demon! Go to hell!”

He wiped my spit off his face. His smile made my skin crawl.

Everything they said about him was true. It was true! He was the embodiment of evil itself. The devils reincarnate.

Alpha Aegon finally looked away from me and announced, in a steeled tone. “She's defiant. Everything I love in a pet. I'll call her…Sin.”

*ONE HOUR EARLIER* 

“Sora, do you think Father would love me when I find my mate?” I asked, my eyes glued to the pulsating chandelier that hung at the top of the room. 

It was hard enough living with the disappointment of being an Omega in the family of Alphas.

Many have rumored that I was a bastard child of my father and that my mother had been unfaithful in their union, but there was no proof of that.

So I was my father's daughter, but he hated me more than he hated his enemies, for reasons I didn't know.

Sora, my handmaiden, sank next to me, the bed sinking with her weight and she propped me up, fixing the wooden brush in my silver hair, detangling the locs. We sat before the mirror, my furrowed gaze fixed on my reflection.

“Princess Annora,” Sora called out, her head bowing courtly and her lips curled into a smile, “Perhaps your mate is yet to be born. I mean, he's the god of seven seas, with eyes as piercing as fish.” 

She trailed off, noticing my face turned red from the embarrassment.

How I've hoped for a prince charming to come to sweep me off my feet in my Father's manor. A man so charming, fierce, and strong! Maybe then Father would love me as he loved my elder sister, Rowena.

That hadn't happened in all twenty years of my life, so when would it? 

“Are you waiting for me to scold you before you apologize?” I smirked. 

“I'm sorry, my pretty Princess. My lips regret uttering such pathetic words to you,” she said, her voice low and gentle. And we both laughed it over. 

BOOM!

Suddenly, a loud bang crashed through all the barriers of the castle's walls. Like the earth was angry at us, it shook vehemently! I leaped to my feet and faced Sora, who was just as scared as I was.

“What's happening!?” Without a second thought, I scurried out of my room, into the hallway where I heard my father's hurtful cries. 

My stomach sank!

“Don't hurt me, please! No! Don't do that to my wife, you bastard! I will end you!”

Never in my twenty years of being alive had I ever heard father sound so troubled!

 My father's loud voice echoed through the air, and I jerked back, staring around in confusion at the unknown voices shouting instructions and bursting into the building—a clear sign that we were under attack.

It couldn't be, right?

We, the Stormbringers, were stronger than that. My pack couldn't be easily overthrown. That beast wouldn't dare come here!

 I was confused, clutching the hems of my dress as all the maids brushed past me, running for their dear lives! 

“We must get you out of here, Princess!” Sora screeched, pulling me. I jerked away from my grip.

“Not without my family!”

As the voice grew louder and the footsteps closer, I grasped Sora's hand and asked, “What's going on out there?” I whispered, my eyes wide in fear. 

I dashed through the nearest door, my breath hitching in my throat, as I ran through the dim corridor. 

“Father?” I cried out, my eyes growing glossy and my arms pumping swiftly with each step. 

The corridor to their room seems to stretch out forever, the desperate pleas of the people sinking into my heart. 

I hesitated, seeing the intensity and fear on the maidens' faces, their feet were pounding the ground with frenzied rhyme. 

 Someone's arm grabbed me. I turned to look and it was one of my father's workers. He looked at me with unfocused eyes. “He's here! The Alpha of Alphas! Run for your life!”

Alpha of Alphas.

The title struck a bell in my head.

Only one man could attest to that title. “Alpha Aegon?” I muttered standing in the middle of the corridor staring mindlessly.

The air was thick with an acrid smell of smoke and the deafening roar of artillery fire. 

“Soldiers! More fire!” I heard the thunderous voice order from the third floor of the building, the frenzy of gunfire, screams exploding hardly, continuously!

It was exactly what I thought it was! We were under attack! The horror stared right back into my eyes. 

  “Aaahh!!” I screamed out, clamping my hand to my ears, as the earth trembled beneath my feet. I burst into the room, my legs pumping furiously as I dashed into the room.

 I was met with a sight that made my blood run cold. 

“Mother! Father!” I exclaimed, my voice trembling. Just a few steps away from me, they lay on the floor, their faces bruised and battered. My mother's hair disheveled as she cowered in the corner of the room.

I couldn't find Rowena!

What the hell was happening!?

I couldn't comprehend the tension enveloping me, and I stood frozen, fear etched on my face and tears shimmering in my eyes. 

“Stay back, Annora! Leave now!” My father struggled to say, his voice weak but urgent. That was the longest he'd spoken to me in years!

“Father! What's happening? What's—”

I hesitated, my feet rooted to the spot, as my parents' puffy, red, and battered faces gazed up at me. 

My father's eyes, once full of strength and courage, had been replaced with fear. Pure, unbridled fear!

“No, Father! I can't leave you in this state.” I rushed to them, hugging them. My body seemed to have a mind of its own.

 “Annora, the pack is invaded. Apha Aegon, that evil is here!” My mom said weakly. “I wouldn't want him to make you his captive. Please, go now!”

“I won't leave you,” I protested, my voice shaking. Bile rose in my throat and my chest was stuffed. “I won't let him take you away from me!”

“Annora please!” My mother's hand weakly grasped my arms. “You must escape. Alpha Aegon will show you no mercy! Go, now!”

I scanned the room, and my eyes could only widen in more shock as my gaze locked on Rowena, whose knees sank to the ground, her legs buckling beneath them, her eyes squeezed shut.

Rowena…

Just then, a loud growl echoed outside the room, and my heart skipped as the door burst open and a man swaggered in.

He's tall.

He's big.

It didn't take me seconds to put it together. It was him!

The evil in question.

 Alpha Aegon's towering figure loomed before us. 

His appearance attested to all the stories of him we've heard. My breath left me and I struggled to stay on my feet, legs as soft as jelly.

He lopsidedly grinned and I quaked, noticing his piercing eyes that seemed to see through me.

"Wow! What a beautiful one we have here,” he sneered, his eyes gleaming with triumph. His voice dripped wi

th every hint of malice there was in the world. “I've been waiting for you.”

He marched towards me and my heart thumped. Too late.

Too late