Chapter One

Alexa's Point Of View

"Bring her out," a gruff voice instructed and the dangling of keys followed. The prison gates clanged together as they were opened by the guard. I struggled to open my eyes to see who approached me. 

"Get up, bitch!" My frail body was pulled up by the guard and I was dragged out roughly by my arm. I winced in pain as my body met with the rock-hard floor. I let out a dry cough as I breathed in fresh air for the first time in many days. For the past few days now, I've been breathing the stinky, suffocating air of the prison. 

I only managed to open my eyes halfway. I could only breathe shallowly with the little strength I had left in me. How long have I been locked in there? Three? Four days? Without food and water. All for spilling a drink on the alpha's mistress. 

"Alexa!" A male voice whispered fearfully. The male figure was blurry but I could tell who it was from his curly chestnut hair. "Roman," I whispered weakly. 

"Are you okay?" 

He came to me and picked me up gently. He carried me into his arms like I weighed nothing. He was looking around nervously, probably to see if anyone was watching. If they found him helping me, he could get into trouble. I couldn't keep my eyes open for long in his arms. I seeped into darkness as the dreadful memory appeared in my head. 

"Therefore, as the next in line as alpha of Raven Pack, I, Diaz Viceroy, sentence Drago Northwolf, and his family, to death." 

"No, mum! Dad! My father is innocent! He did not commit treason! Let him go!" 

"Someone get that traitor's daughter out of here! She is to become a slave for the pack and a bed warmer for the alpha when she's old enough!" 

"No! No! Let me go! Father! Father!" 

Before my eyes, the executioner let his knife down and my father's head rolled to my feet. 

"Father!" 

I snapped my eyes open, my chest rising and falling as I breathed heavily. I placed my palm on my chest as I tried to regulate my breath. 

"It's fine, Alexa. It's just a dream," I told myself repeatedly. I clasped my trembling hands together as I tried so hard to get the picture of my family being executed out of my head. 

It's been eleven years and it still haunts me to this day. I touched my forehead and realized there was a damp napkin on it. I brought it down and managed to sit up. I looked beside me and saw my best friend, Ivy. 

She must have nursed me all night. I looked out the window. The sun is rising. It's my birthday today. My twentieth birthday. The day I'm going to be given to that darned alpha as his bed warmer. 

I looked around. It's only a matter of time before the head maid comes in to wake us up - I mean, pour dirty saltwater on us. 

I tapped Ivy to wake her up. "Ivy, wake up, it's almost sunrise." 

She mumbled something and turned the other way. "wake up, it's morning." I tapped her harder. She groaned in annoyance and opened one of her eyes. 

"You're awake," she said sleepily. "How are you feeling?"

"Like death but it's better than yesterday." 

"Roman brought you back." 

I nodded. "I know." 

"Are you lowlifes still asleep?!" 

Like they were enchanted, the rest of the maids woke up at the sound of the head maid's voice. Anyone she found asleep would regret sleeping. We quickly made our beds and left the quarters for the first work of the day -  work on the rice field.

"Move move move!" The guard yelled angrily, lashing his whip at the nearest person to him. We were all in a single file. The guards guarded us on both sides of the line, whipping anyone who got on their nerves or slowed them down. 

"Get to work" The head guard instructed. We all dispersed to our various posts.

"Gosh, I hate working here," Ivy grumbled silently as we began to pick the weeds. 

"Shh, they might hear you," Someone cautioned. I turned and Roman's smiley face came to view. His pack was invaded by the vampires and he was taken as a slave at a young age but he still smiles every second. I wonder what makes him so happy. I forgot how to smile a long time ago. 

"Who cares?" Ivy snapped at him silently. 

"Some of them have super hearing ability, you know?" He whispered to Ivy. Ivy pursed her lips and hissed. "Forgot about that," 

I diverted my gaze forward and saw one of the guards staring intensely at me. I returned his gaze with a glare. 

Blood-sucking monster!

"What are you chattering about?" The guard snapped. 

"Nothing," Ivy quickly said. The guard turned his gaze to me. These creatures don't intimidate me. I stared back at him with my chin held high. 

"Look down you wolfless bitch!" The guard spat but I didn't flinch. Nor did I look away. I had been referred to as that for as long as I could remember so it didn't mean anything again. It didn't phase me. I was no longer hurt by these kinds of words. They've told me over and over and over again. 

Wolfless.

Bitch.

Traitor's daughter. 

Slut. 

All sorts. 

I held his glare and the monster's frown deepened. I must have made him more annoyed, not that I cared.  He came over to me and pulled my hair roughly. He spat on my face before pushing me into the mud. 

"The likes of you don't deserve to live! You traitor!" 

I chuckled bitterly. I supported my legs with my hand and stood up. 

"Venzo! (A foreign word meaning bastard)."  I spat at him disdainfully. 

"You bitch! Did you just swear at me? She just swore at me, right? Someone translate what she said!" 

"Um," Ivy quietly said, raising her hand. "She called you handsome," she said and I snorted.

"You lowlifes! How dare you! I will make sure I-" 

"Barnabas!" 

The guard flinched at the sound of that voice. He quickly turned and bowed to the owner of the voice. 

"S...sire," 

The seven-foot-tall man took off his furry coat and gave it to the nearest guard to hold. 

"Master Raga is back. When did he return?" Ivy whispered to me.

Raga went to Barnabas and hit him on his bald head with his gloves. "I believe you have other things to supervise, Barnabas, so what are you doing here?" 

"B...but master, this slave, she-" 

"Stop whining and get to work. Now!"

Barnabas bowed and scurried away. Raga hissed and turned his attention to Ivy and me. His gaze lingered on me for a while. "Get to work," he ordered before turning to leave. 

"Gosh, he's so hot," Ivy gawked at the retreating figure of Raga. Master Raga is the head of the pack warriors. 

I turned to her, "I thought you said you didn't like him." 

"I don't like him because of what he is. You can't deny the fact that he's nice."

I scoffed. 

They are all the same. All of them. They are nothing but heartless cold-blooded killers. Betrayers and untrustworthy. 

"Today is Alpha Diaz's birthday." Roman said as we walked with the others with baskets of harvested rice in our hands. 

"I don't get why that information concerns me," I told him. 

"Huh? Well, you never told me you shared a birthday with him. I never knew your birthday, Ivy just told me." 

I stopped in my tracks. I glanced at Ivy and she smiled apologetically. 

"You're going to be under me the moment you clock twenty," his words echoed in my head. No. I can't let that happen. I can't be his bed warmer. I'd rather die than sleep with the man who killed my family. 

"Keep moving!" A guard fired and pushed me roughly to the front. I resumed walking with my head filled with thoughts. I have to escape this place and I don't mind dying trying. 

***

"You all follow Barnabas to the coal mine. You, wolfless girl, follow me." That was Gander, the assistant head guard and former personal guard of the former alpha. He's one of the people who betrayed our loving alpha and followed the bloodsuckers. 

He better watches his back because I might drive a knife into his skull when he least expects it. He grabbed me by my collar and pulled me along with him. He pulled me through the garden and I sneakingly plucked a couple of Yellow hyacinth flowers I saw. Just a sniff of its pollens and a person is knocked out. 

He tossed me into a room. "Get ready for the alpha and don't leave this place," He ordered before leaving.

Shortly after, two women came in. One of them was carrying a tray filled with beautiful ornaments and the other held a gown. 

"Go into the bathroom and wash up." The pale-skinned one said. 

"No!" I deadpanned. I was basically dragged into the bathroom and forced to bathe. I hid the yellow hyacinth in one of the drawers. My ginger hair was brushed out and adorned with ruby and diamond hairpins. I was clad in a silver gown that barely covered my body. Half of my breasts were out and there were slits up each side that stopped at my waist. I wasn't allowed to wear any underwear. 

"The alpha will visit you at night," they told me before they left. I checked myself in the mirror. I hated my reflection. I hated that I was dressed up as a whore for the alpha.

I was locked in a room all afternoon. With a guard by the door, it would be impossible to escape. I brought out the flower from the drawer and dusted the pollen grains on my palm. 

I sighted a vase on the dresser and picked it up. I smashed it on the ground and screamed to gain the attention of the guard. I hurt my knee with one of the pieces and sat on the ground. 

"What happened?" The guard asked as he came rushing in. 

"My knee! It hurts so much!" I cried, pointing to my bleeding knee. He came to me. 

"How did you hurt yourself? Let me see." 

He held my leg and raised it to check out my wound. "It's just a-" the moment he faced me, I covered his nose with my palm. He sniffed in the scent as he struggled and he fell unconscious in no time. I took his knife and stepped on him as I walked away. 

I opened the door and looked left and right for anyone. When I was sure it was clear, I stepped out. I walked through the halls to the balcony. The moon was already out and I could hear noises ahead. He must be having so much fun. I hope he chokes on a grape and dies. 

There was no way I could go down without being noticed. The only way I could go unnoticed is if I climb down the walls of the balcony using the vines. I held the knife with my teeth and I gently stepped down from the balcony. 

I held onto the vines and looked down. Great heavens, it's a long way down. Gently and cautiously, I began to climb down. My heart almost fell to my stomach when my leg slipped. I regained myself and with a racing heart, I continued my climb down. My feet finally touched the cold grass. 

I got down successfully and crawled into the nearby bush. I hid there as three guards passed by. The wind blew passed me and an intoxicating scent hit my nose. It was the scent of pine trees mixed with lotus.

"What was that?" I asked myself. I tried to focus on my escape and not the strongly arousing and intoxicating scent I kept perceiving.  

I peeked out of the bush and sighed in relief when I saw no one in sight. I stood straight and ran past the garden to the stables. I'm just a little distance from the gate. I get past the guard post and I'm good to go. I can't believe I'm finally leaving here. I've tried almost fifty times but I always failed. Is this finally the moment when I succeed?

Just then, I heard approaching footsteps. I tried to open the door to one of the stalls but it was locked. I tried pulling another but it was also locked. The steps were clearer. It was only an amount of time before they reach here. I looked around. There was nowhere to hide. 

Was I about to get caught?

The shadow of the person appeared and my heart picked up its pace. This is it. Once again, my plan is ruined.

Just as the person was appearing, a hand pulled me and my back hit the wall. Something towered above me. I looked up and found a pair of silver eyes staring down at me. Then it came back. The scent. This time it was stronger. It was as if it was oozing off the person in front of me. 

"So it's you," I shivered slightly at the sound of his voice. It was very deep yet smooth, velvety, and dominant. His silver eyes peered into my very soul.