She's The Alpha

Prologue

The thick clouds surround the house, and the heavy pungent smell of smoke wafts in the air. I try to cough out the smoke from my lungs and peek out, only to watch a woman looking down from the bedroom window with an expression of anguish and despair. I see her frown and sense her fear and her anger.

"My beautiful Crimson Shadow," she mumbles with a whimper.

I move closer and force myself to call out, "Mom."

The woman stares outside the window, and I notice her lips quivering and goosebumps on her porcelain skin.

I ask, "Mom, are you okay?"

She turns her head and shakes as she faintly smiles. It's warm. I don't find it in myself to even smile like that.

"Everything will be alright, sweetie! Stay put!" With that, she looks away when the painful screams bring me to reality, and I stubbornly tilt to look over as bright orange flames spring into my vision, consuming everything in their sight.

Everything is burning red and in ruins.

It aches so much in my heart, and I feel the anger as the flames flicker and tease me for being helpless, watching my people race to fight the invaders and protect the defenceless while some are injured. I shiver and subconsciously cry out, "Mom, this is —"

Shocked, I gasp and stare with my jaw open when a huge ceiling panel crashes into the ground, squashing a few people underneath it. My eyes well up seeing my people in misery.

Titus, come back safe.

I hear my mother's voice through the ability I learned when I was five. I look over and watch my mother clenching her jaw and clasping her hands with tears in her eyes, but suddenly, she falls to her knees with a thud, startling me. I move toward her when my dad's breaking voice makes me stop.

I love you, Maryanne. I will always love you. Come, meet me soon. Dad? My mother clutches her chest and whimpers, and I know something is off or horrible because my tears surprise me by rolling down my cheeks. I slightly touch and feel the dampness as I stutter, "Mom, what happened?"

She quickly looks over and moves to hide me in her bosom, holding me close. The moment my mother did that, I couldn't help but start bawling my eyes out. She caresses my head and mumbles, "Sshh, sweetie —" "What did dad mean by that? What happened to him? Mom!" Weeping, I try to shake her off for an answer.

She sighs and leaves a kiss on my temple, but seeing her so weak is heartbreaking and painful, and I know what is happening. I have been told how strong a mate bond is where you can feel every emotion of the other, read their mind or talk to each other, and if a mate dies, the other suffers a fate worse than death. So, my mother feels pain because she lost her mate... my father breathed his last.

Yet, I cry. Uncontrollably. "Mom, dad? Where is Dad? He is coming back to us, right?" My voice comes choked when she loosens her grip on me, which catches my attention, and I turn my head to notice her moving toward the window, watching the bright flames beneath us. I call out, "Mom!" only to startle her and as if to bring her back to reality.

My mother blinks and looks at me with a horrid expression and cries, "Emmy."

She caresses and cradles my face, sobbing. "Sorry, sweetie! How could I think of dying when I have you." I shake my head and cry my eyes out when she wipes my tears and says, "Sshh, dear! You shouldn't cry. Your father wouldn't want you to cry. Alphas don't cry. You must protect our world from those who mean harm —" but the woman pauses and freezes on her spot as I notice her shudder at a deep voice behind her.

"Haha, here you are!"

I confusingly frown and try to tilt my head to see, but my mother hides me in her bosom and literally growls at the newcomer, "Oh, is she your daughter, my beautiful Maryanne?" I take a peek and see a tall figure with long luscious white tresses and delightful eyes filled with evil and wickedness.

She growls, and I turn to look over at my mother, whose red eyes glow, and she forms a protective shield around the two of us, "Not in hell, you are going to harm this child."

"Oh, my beauty. I have no intention of keeping a child when all I want is you." He kneels and lifts a hand to grab her face, but she yanks, growls, and spits at his face.

"You never had me, and you will never have me, Count."

"Aww." His face twitches in rage, but he pretends to smile as he wipes off the spit and looks at her. "You have always grossly underestimated me." he then forcibly grabs her chin to make her look at him. She glares, and he continues, "Look around, my beauty, your pack is in ruins, and your mate just died. I ripped his heart out. I saw him whimper and his soulless face."

She cringes and shudders when he twirls a long lock of her brown hair in his finger. He leans in and takes a whiff as he smirks, "No one can stop me from having you, now. You have no pack, and if you want —" he glances at me hiding in my mother's arms and continues by looking back at her face, "— your child to see the world, you will be coming with me."

She yanks his hand away.

Ignoring her feistiness, the man gets up and looks around. I notice two more people in the room when someone speaks through the mind link.

Luna, we're here.

Beta?

Yes, Luna. The Count seems to have deliberately created a situation on the territory borders to separate most of the warriors from the base.

Alpha — Titus is dead.

My mother growls in pain and glares at the back of the man who caused this nasty situation.

Oh, my. Where are you? And Ember?

The woman takes her time while she controls her emotions and her mind.

Take her away. Either I compromise and go with the bloodsucking sponge, or I die fighting. I don't want her to suffer, so take her away. She glances and sadly smiles at me.

But Luna?

Titus and I knew if such a situation arose, we wouldn't want Emmy to be a part of it. It's your turn, Beta. Teach my little girl everything she needs to be a benevolent leader like her father. Don't let her blind to anything that would destroy our pack, and make sure she is focused on the bright future she is destined to have.

Luna, please, don't do anything rash. Reinforcements are coming right up. Please endure.

I can no longer endure, not without my mate. Titus died fighting for us. I will gladly accept my death if it means killing this son of the b***h. I have never been a damsel in distress, so let my daughter be — the woman cradles me, and I faintly smile, but in a blink of an eye, I find myself flying in the air.

An involuntary cry escapes my lips, and I stare at the smashed window, horrified.

Before I fall on something cushiony, the last thing I see is a great big white wolf with blazing sad red eyes looking back at me before turning away.

In and out of consciousness, I can hear faint voices.

"What is the meaning of this, my beauty? Did you really throw your child out the window?"

Don't you dare, you f*****g leech!

The fire crackles, and there is the ugly stench of blood in the air and horrifying screams as the background score.

An annoying chuckle as someone says, "You really think you can win against me, you mutt?"

I can.

"Well, even if you die here, I can use that child. In fact, I even have a —" Not a chance. I won't let you, of all people, use my daughter. So let's get this over with, Count. Let's end it together.

With that, there is a loud smashing sound, and something plops nearby as the fire crackles and sizzles, and the wolves howl and growl. The stench of blood makes me feel weird, and I grimace as I open my eyes and realize the atmosphere feels chilly and deadly. I look around, but my eyes widen after locking them with those of my mother.

"MOM!" I scream immediately after and run to her, but a pair of big arms grab me by the waist, lifting my feet off the ground.

"Let go! Let me go! It's my mother —" I look over, struggle, and cry as I watch my mother burn.

"Sshh!" someone warmer whispers into my ear as I shudder and sob, still struggling to escape that tight grip until I lock my eyes again with her mother.

A lone tear rolls down that wolf's face, and there is a faint smile before the fire engulfs her.

"MOM!!!" I allow myself a loud cry and then slump down on the ground, lifelessly staring at the crackling fire that took my mother away. The time stops as I look around and find lifeless bodies. Among them is my dad's. They are all dead, and if only I were stronger, I would have saved them.

I weep and stare until I feel a strange strong aura radiating from me, and the air howls like never before. The person holding me had to let me go.

These beings are monsters. I can't let them leave in peace after creating so much chaos. I can feel my brown hair turn silver, and I dance with the wind as my eyes glow red. They ruined my pack and murdered my parents. They don't deserve peace— "Emmy!"

I ignore desperate calls and pleas but notice how everyone else looks at me in a daze as they smell my strength and dominance. They shudder in fear when they lock eyes with me. I have no emotions left. I don't care about anything except ripping out hearts and drinking the blood of my pack's killers.

A frightened vampire stumbles forward, and I sneer at his foolishness.

In a blink of an eye, I growl and leap at him. I yank his heart from his chest, relishing his screams before he dies. The members stare in shock, and the remaining gulp in fear, but none of them stops me from tearing our enemy limb by limb.

Blood splatters on my face, and my eyes glow in rage and a hard countenance as I look over at the pack members when familiar people kneel in submission and yell, "Alpha!"

Everyone else follows suit.