Claimed By The Lycan Executioner

LISA I jolted awake as the shrill sound of alarm bells pierced through my ears. My heart pounded in my chest, and a surge of adrenaline flooded my veins, pushing away the remnants of sleep in my eyes. I sit up for the flimsy sleeping bag that has been my bed all my life. I could hear others walking up too as I tried to comprehend what the sounds signified. I kept hearing the alarm for the past eighteen years. When I was a kid, I usually got up immediately and hid in the dark forest, even not daring to breathe, praying that it was not another attack from HIM. But now, after hearing it so often, I’ve become almost accustomed to it. And instead of feeling the urgency it was created for, I was filled with annoyance at the thought of this being another drill. Groans and mumbled came from around the tent we were in, which confirmed my thoughts. It was just another drill. I let out a sigh of relief. Our camp, which isn’t stable enough to be called a pack, consists of three other broken packs. It makes up a thousand werewolves and even Lycans alike all displaced. Thanks to the one monster of our time we now live in tents and have to rely on a few members to get us good and essentials secretly. No one is allowed out of the territory. To avoid being followed and risk our hideout from the executioner. The Executioner. Just the sound of his name makes my skin break out in goosebumps. Many have said he was the last lycan standing. The direct descendants in our community. Stronger, faster and bigger than us. He raids packs and kills every werewolf he finds present. Just because his mother was killed by one of us. He got the title for his heartless job of destroying packs and taking over them. Mostly, he executed all the members. Since he didn’t need them, nor their resources. The packs that have been destroyed flee from their lands. Forced to become displaced and homeless. In order to be safer, some of them formed camps like ours, distributed in the corners of the forest, hiding from the Executioner. I was just five when he attacked our pack and killed everyone. I had been hidden by my parents who weren’t lucky enough. He is the cause of my present predicament. And I hold him in contempt for that. When the alarm finally stopped, I got up and snuck out of the tent before the rest of the people would notice me. I didn’t want to deal with their bullying so early. I’m about to turn eighteen and I still haven’t gotten my wolf yet, while most of the people I grew up with got theirs at fifteen and sixteen. And that brought me endless abuse and bullying, because in this day and age, feeding wolfless and omegas was seen as a waste of precious resources. Every year since my disappointing fifteenth birthday, I prayed for the blessing of the Moon Goddess. I wish I could get my wolf and then no one can call me a curse again. And the bullying will stop because my wolf will protect me. But I’m faced with the torture of having to go through the same heartbreak over and over again. Today is my 18th birthday and this may be my last chance. I am not begging to meet my mate or someone to save me, I just hope that at least I can find my wolf and make my life less miserable. When I got to my usual spot in the woods, I heaved a sigh of relief. My relief didn’t last as I heard the loud laugh from behind me. I knew it was going to be a long day for me. I could identify three voices of the people that were the devil’s incarnate. And also my nightmares personified. As always, a cold shiver rolls down my spine. I stood my ground. And by that I mean, I stayed frozen in place behind the three I was hiding. Hoping they would move around it and not see me. I’m not invisible, but I’m hoping I could be for the next five seconds. Of course, my luck isn’t the best. And how I find out they saw me is by my hair being pulled. “Ouch,” I let out a small shrill of pain when the person tugs harder. “What are you doing standing over there?” The slightly raspy voice I have come to dread hearing speaks. It’s Andrian. He is the section leader’s son. Not exactly an alpha but his father leads our camp and gives out all the orders to allocate resources and protect us from anywhere the executioner is known to be. Therefore he has more power than my other bulliers, becoming my biggest nightmare. I wanted to be a smartass and mention how I’m technically not hiding any more, thanks to him. But that’ll only make this nightmare last longer so I kept my mouth shut. It is best to not instigate Adrian. “Hey b***h, I’m talking to you.” Without hearing my answer, he tugged on my hair like he wanted to pull it from my scalp. I fell from his tugging, kneeling on the ground, feeling stinging from the scratches. You would think I fell so easily because he was strong, but it’s not the right answer. It was because I was too weak, barely got any food to eat. Meals are cooked in bulk here and everyone gathers at the table to eat. Since there are very few supplies, the meals aren’t really enough for everyone. So it’s more of first come, first serve. I’m always last, which results in me not eating most of the time. I’m too busy hiding away from the likes of Adrian and his goons. “Does she speak?” He smacks the side of my head this time. Letting me know I’ve been quiet for too long. Another thing he doesn’t have is patience. “Yes.” I grit out, knowing he would hit me more if I stayed quiet. “Where are you sneaking off to? Your whorehouse?” His goons began to laugh out loud as if it were a funny joke. I mentally roll my eyes, not having the gall to actually do it. But my weak but stubborn attitude still invited more beatings. He and his goons started kicking me in the head and my side. “Stop! Please!” I cried out when Adrian kicked me hard in my belly. I knew I should stop crying or trying to block his hits. He always gets bored when he sees I’m no longer fighting back. But my body’s natural instinct always kicks in and I try to protect myself. I’m heaving and clutching my stomach. Trying to stop the bile that has risen up my throat. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday morning. Adrian and his little minions were by the dinner table all night last night. I didn’t want to take the risk. Just when I was about to faint from hunger and pain, he finally felt beating a wolfless girl was boring, thank goddess. “Now go do your work. Give me enough firewood before the end of the day. Otherwise, just wait for your death.” He spits out. Bitterness dripped from his tone. Satisfied with the damage he has caused, Adrian walked off with his tails, leaving me on the floor, bloody and barely breathing. I gathered myself up and crawled to the nearest tree where I rested my back and tried to catch my breath. Hot tears trail down my cheeks. I wince when it drops on an open wound in my cheek and burns. I wish my parents were here. Maybe they would be stronger and they’ll fight for me. Adrian and his little minions won’t ever try to hurt me. And I would know what it felt like to be loved and protected. I closed my eyes, imagining how peaceful life would have been if the executioner hadn’t killed them. I woke up much later. The sky had already done down and the crisp night air had goosebumps erupting all over my skin. I shuddered from the cold as I tried to mentally count how many hours I must have slept. Shit. I missed dinner. Again. If Adrian or all the other people in the pack don’t kill me first. I guess hunger would. Just as I said that, my stomach growled loudly. Like I needed any reminder on how famished I am. Picking myself up from the ground takes a whole effort. But I managed to stand on my feet two minutes later. The moon told me that it was almost midnight and my birthday. I didn’t know what I was expecting to happen. There wouldn’t be any fireworks or a birthday cake with eighteen candles. I don’t think I will have a wolf either. Nor a mate who can save me from hell. But I still closed my eyes and counted down from ten. When I got to one, I snapped my eyes open. Nothing changed. “Happy birthday, Lisa.” I whispered quietly, feeling disappointed. But the feeling only lasted a second before I heard a loud boom. Even the ground beneath me shook. I got up and started looking around me wildly. Trying to figure out what that sound was. I get the answer in the next second when I share shouts and screaming. Shouts of people that didn’t sound familiar. People I know certainly weren’t from our sector. Realization slams into me hard, almost sending me back to the ground. We were getting attacked. The Executioner has found us.