Prologue

Synopsis

At age 10, Tara Shin watched as her Alpha father was brutally murdered by Lorez Blackclaw and what was left of the Shin clan fell under his ruthless rule. A decade later, Tara is treated just as terribly as back then, a slave to Lorez’s cronies and a whispered freak to the Blackclaw clan. With nowhere to go, she must undertake the blood moon’s ritual for wolves aging into 21. The goddess demands it as does Lorez Blackclaw. However when it all goes wrong, what will Tara do? Run away toward the feared monsters lurking in the dark wood or stay with the devil she knows?

The main character is bisexual and will have two love interests, one male and one female.

Trigger Warnings: explicit sex scenes, graphic violence, and dark themes including abuse, rape, suicide, and slavery.

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10 years ago

Fire and blood. Everywhere I turn is fire and blood, but where is daddy? He would know what to do. He’s the alpha. I have to find him. Racing past burning houses and crumbling structures, my feet take me down the cobbled Main Street, where I duck and hide where I can.

Men with large guns and wolves with claws fight all around me. Daddy has told me all my life that lycan were not to mix with humans, and these men do not smell like wolves. They are just as terrifying though, and the gunpowder smells like wolfsbane.

I see a man coming out of the nearby house and shoot to the worn wall in front, sliding in the dirt as a gunshot goes off right above me. I cower with fear as I knew I locked eyes with the man before I could hide. Footsteps approach, and I ready myself.

Be strong. Take the legs out first and go for the eyes. That’s what daddy always said during our training sessions. So I crouch and wait for an opportunity. The man comes around aiming his gun, and I roll to the side. The shot hits where I was, and I fly into his legs. HUMPH. He goes down, and I scramble up his body to get a good angle to his eyes.

He smells as horrid as he looks. His face is scarred on the whole right side, and he has a scraggly black beard. Readying my hand, his eyes pop open, and he smiles at me with a mouth full of missing teeth.

Without hesitation, I thrust downward, aiming for his crinkled cruel eyes. Another hand shoots out, stopping mine. I look up, but that was a critical mistake. I’m yanked by the wrist off the ugly man and am made to stare into soulless eyes. Eyes of the devil himself.

“Who do we have here, Krono?” The man says in a sly arrogant manner.

“A fast n’ dangerous one, sir,” the ugly man replies. “I kinna wan’ keep her.”

The man holding me considers this as I squirm for my life. He looks me up and down and smiles. Fangs. He’s a werewolf, and he’s working with the ugly human!

He squeezes my neck, his sharp nails digging into the sides. I have got to get away. Thrashing in his hold, I kick down toward his crotch. Daddy always said that’s where men hurt the most. He was right. The man drops me with a grunt, and I rush to get away.

As I run away, I hear the man chuckle and say “Yes, I think we will keep her when this is over. If she lives, that is.”

****

Hours pass, and I’m shivering in the woods. I killed a few men but never found daddy. The sounds have seemingly quieted down, and I want to venture back into the village. I’m scared. Scared to see the scarred man and the one with the soulless eyes. I have to do something though.

I take cautious steps from the safety of the forest into the outskirts of the village. I hear whoops and hollers in the distance. Someone is speaking loudly. I head in the direction of the sounds, keeping myself low to the ground.

As I get closer I see the scary eyed man on stage with… daddy?! My daddy is bound and gagged on the stage. Bloodied and bruised, he says on the floor of the stage. The soulless man smiles in vicious victory as he continues to talk.

“We have won. We have conquered. This is but a stepping stone on our journey! I will not rest til I rule this domain even if we have to slaughter each and every clan we meet. Ours will be the best there is!”

His warriors shout his praise, raising fists in the air. I didn’t notice them before but there are others from my village bound and gagged in front of the stage. Women and children to the left and men to the right.

“Get up, Alpha Shin,” the soulless man commands, emphasizing alpha in a mocking tone.

My dad, even as broken as he is, gets to his feet. He puffs out his chest and holds himself up the best he can. His dignity matters to him. He always said to hold my head up high no matter what. But, this brings tears to my eyes as I see the soulless man’s nostrils flair. I know what is going to happen next, but I don’t turn away. I stare on in horror.

The man shoves his hand straight into my daddy’s chest from behind. Before he pulls out his heart, my daddy’s eyes snap to mine, hidden way in the back. All I see is love for me, love for his pack, and utter sorrow for failing to protect us. The next moment, I see closed eyes and my daddy falling forward, skimping to the stage.

Raucous laughter erupts from the stage, and the soulless man throws my daddy heart into the audience. An audience that takes that as a sign to slaughter the rest of the men from our village. Some warriors go toward the women, and I hear muffled cries.

Turning around, I can’t bear to look at anything anymore. I move behind a nearby tree and slide down, bringing my knees to my chest. I close my eyes and lean my head down. I sobbing silently for who knows how long. I just know when I open my eyes again, I see black shoes in front of me.

Lifting my red puffy eyes up, I realize I made the same critical mistake as earlier. The soulless man looks down on me with a cruel smile full of sharp teeth. I try to shift away in a last ditch effort of survival, but he grabs the front of my shirt, lifting me off my feet. Dangling, he turns me to look at his face.

“Ah, so you do live. I guess that means we will keep you after all. Welcome to the tribe, pet,” he says. Words I never will forget.