Prey and Predators

LEILA'S POV ~

The steady beeping of a machine jolted me awake. I tried to sit up, but two strong hands held me down, causing me to scream in terror. My heart jumping and my heart racing.

"Shh! It's alright, dear. You're okay," a warm, soothing voice reassured me, and my racing heart began to slow.

I turned to see two nurses peering down at me, their faces etched with worry. The tears I had been holding back spilled over.

"You're safe," the nurse repeated, but I found it hard to believe. Safety had never been something I could rely on in this world.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice cracking.

"You're in the school's clinic. The principal brought you here, and you're alright now. You fainted," one of the nurses explained, taking a step back and releasing me.

My throat tightened, and I struggled to form words. "What school am I in?" I asked, my brows furrowed.

"I'm sorry, dear, but the principal wants to explain things himself. It's an order," the other nurse spoke up while the first nurse started writing on her notepad.

A whirlwind of emotions swirled inside me—anger, confusion, and self-hatred—as I thought about my sister. Where could she be?

How could we be separated after all the years I fought for a better life for her? I was still alive because I wanted to see her live.

I sighed, then nodded. "Can I see him? I need to ask him some questions."

"He's busy at the moment, dear. He'll come by once he's done," the nurse said, but life had taught me never to trust someone else's words.

I jumped off the bed and began to storm out when the nurses stopped me, their expressions full of shock.

"W-What are you doing?"

"I need to speak with Principal Dominick. It's urgent, and I feel like I might pass out again if I don't." I gave them a resolute look.

The nurses exchanged glances before nodding. "Walk straight, take a right two blocks from here. That's his office."

I thanked them with a nod and started moving. My mind raced with thoughts of what to tell him.

I needed to let him know I was quitting school. I wanted my sister back, and I didn't mind working tirelessly to get paid to regain her custody. But my footsteps faltered as I remembered what I had seen before losing consciousness.

Goosebumps rose on my skin, recalling my father's figure appearing in the room where Dominick had kept me. It felt so real that I almost believed my father had come to kill me. His eyes were cold and crazed.

He had started approaching me before I screamed in terror. I had killed him. I was sure I had killed him, just from the sickening twisted sound from his neck which had been twisted, which made me become a murderer at a young age.

My breath caught in my throat, and my hands trembled and turned clammy. I gulped several times, casting nervous glances around the large, empty halls as I walked barefoot through them.

There were no signs of life, and I wondered what kind of school this was, without any sign of a student.

My eyes darted around every corner, and my legs nearly wobbled from panic as I made my way to Principal Dominick's office. I wished I were a shifter, able to use heightened hearing abilities to detect sounds, but the eerie silence surrounded me.

As I reached the large black door, I raised my fist to knock, only to pause when I noticed the door was already unlocked and slightly ajar.

But it wasn't the open door that got me, it was the slurping sounds coming from the room that made my breath hitch.

The sounds were familiar and I should have turned back, walked away immediately, listened to the nurse and waited for him to visit me but shit! My legs had their own mind and were leading me into the large office.

My eyes widened in shock at the sight before me. Principal Dominick's massive figure towered over a lady, his large fingers encircling her throat. Her face was bright red—I couldn't tell if it was from suffocation—as she squatted right in front of him, while her mouth was filled with his cock as she kept sucking and bopping on his cock. The sounds reverberating in my ears.

I wasn't a pervert but… he…he was so big. I've never seen anyone with such size of…

Leila, snap out of it!

I should feel irritated or something but instead I felt a strange hotness hit me.

I had no idea how many times I swallowed, perhaps I had swallowed my brain or perhaps my voice because I couldn't clearly think anymore or voice out. It was like a cloud had overshadowed my brain.

“Fuck!" His loud gruff voice resounded, and I felt a dirty little shudder run across my body.

Perhaps he sensed my presence or the spike in my heartbeat, because Dominick turned to me with a dark look in his eyes. My body weakened, and my hand tightened on the door for dear life.

As I took in the scene, I recognized the young lady's uniform—it was the same as the nurses' at the clinic. My stomach twisted in disgust as I glared at him. Here I was, lying on that bed, nearly going insane from fear and anxiety, thinking about my sister's well-being and my father's ghost haunting me, while he indulged in his own pleasures.

"What the fuck! Get out!" he growled, but I remained still, unfazed by his words, my glare only intensifying. "Shit!" he cursed, pulling away from the girl’s mouth, and the nurse quickly spun around to tidy herself up.

"Don't you know how to use the fucking door? Are your hands broken, Leila?" he hissed.

My lips pursed, and my eyes narrowed. I folded my arms and began walking into the room.

"Don't you know how to use a hotel, Principal Dominick? This is a school; I didn't expect to see this," I grated out, receiving a death glare in response.

"Leave!" he barked at the nurse, whose face was flushed with shame. She scurried out of the room, leaving me to focus on Dominick, who was bare-chested.

I know I shouldn't let my eyes stray but I couldn't deny how handsome this older man was. He was very huge, his chest so solid, and strong. His arm muscles were ripped, which could make any woman drool for him.

"Fine! Now get out!" he snapped, quickly turning to grab his shirt from one of the expensive sofas in his office.

My dreamlike state shattered, and I couldn't help but wonder how a cold-hearted person like him could be so handsome. Perhaps the myth about the devil's good looks held some truth.

"Please," I repeated the words I had rehearsed on my way to his office, watching him pause as he was about to light a large cigarette. "I'm leaving. I'm quitting school since I'm an orphan, but I want my younger sister back. She's my life now, and I'm ready to work tirelessly to provide for her. Please, give her to me."

A strange darkness crossed his expression. "Excuse me?"

"Please just—"

A dark, mocking chuckle filled the room, cutting off my words. My shoulders slumped as I watched him slowly lower the cigarette.

"You," he said, pointing at me, "a nineteen-year-old orphan with a criminal record, jobless, and no hope of survival, wants to take custody of another individual?" His smile grew wider, and my heart constricted.

My jaw clenched, and my chest heaved.

"Tell me, Leila. If you're set free, what will you do? Turn into a whore? Surrender to the cops and council members searching for you for killing your father? Or confess to attempting to assassinate a wealthy Alpha's son in your previous school?"

Tears threatened to spill as pain flooded every part of me.

“Lost your tongue now? If more people found out that you're a witch, you're dead!"

"I'm not a witch," I snapped, my vision blurring.

He chuckled and slowly stood up. "What can you tell people, killed your father? There were no wounds, no injuries, just suffocation, and a twisted neck—not enough to kill an Alpha like your father. Tell me. Or was it the other Alpha who suddenly blanked out, as if someone invisible seized his breath while you levitated in the air?"

I took a step back, alarm widening my eyes.

No! This couldn't be happening. He knows the truth!

"Stay where you are!" The mocking smile disappeared from his lips as he stood like a predator, watching me.

If they found out… they would hurt my sister!

No! No!! Heavens please!

Before I could reach the door, Dominick was upon me, pinning me against the wall and causing me to cry out in pain.

"Let go of me, you asshole!" I yelled, thrashing, but he wouldn't budge or step away.

"Do you have mental problems? I said it's unsafe to leave!" he snarled. I gritted my teeth, fighting the urge to spit saliva in his handsome face.

"I don't need your protection! I'm okay! I don't mind turning myself in, as long as I know justice will prevail!"

"Justice? In this world?" He chuckled. "Baby girl, do you realize that only the wealthy have a say in any situation? You're just a scrawny prey with loads of predators on your back. And don't forget what your sister said—that you slept with your father, which implies consensual sex. She's a tangible witness and would testify against you." He made a disgusted face and abruptly released me. "What justice are you talking about?" His mocking tone returned, and my heart sank into the pit of my stomach.

The feeling of being dirty and wanting to die slowly crept back into my mind.