The Alpha and His Dancer

Prologue

TWELVE YEARS AGO

DELILAH

Thunder rumbled above us as we maneuvered through the tall trees and shrubs. The ground was moist with rainwater, and our feet left deep prints in the soil. My mother's grip was painfully tight onto my wrist as she led me through the forest, following my father closely.

We were running.

From what, I wasn't sure.

But even over the loud noise created by the skies and the storm, I could hear the occasional low growls behind us.

I couldn't understand what exactly was following us. But seeing the fear and panic my parents were in were signal enough. It had to be a wild, dangerous beast, out for our blood.

My toe banged against a stone, and scream tore through my lips. I fell to the ground, my entire foot pricking with pain. Mama stopped, and so did Papa, both croutching down before me.

"We have to go, Del," Mama said with urgency.

Hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I pulled my knee to my chest, shaking my head. "It hurts." I sobbed.

"We don't have time." Papa grabbed me by my underarms, lifting me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and my arms around his neck as he started running again. My teary gaze settled upon my mother, whose face was blanched with fear.

A loud growl resonated behind her, and I tightened my hold on my father. Mama spared a glance behind, and a scream lef her lips.

A huge black wolf tackled her to the ground the very next second, its eyes glowing a dark red, its fur shining with moisture.

"Mama!" I screamed at the top of my voice, my heart hammering against my chest as I struggled against my father. We could have tried to save her, but my father did not stop running. "Papa, we have to go back!" I cried, pulling at the material of his shirt.

"We can't help her!" he yelled, tightening his grip on me. "She'd already dead."

But she wasn't. She was moving, fighting against the beast, trying to save herself from its hungry jaws. A spray of blood erupted from her neck, and her gaze met mine. I screamed, my throat burning from the tears and the exertion. But Papa didn't stop, and soon Mama disappeared from our view.

The world started spinning around me. My tears washed away in the rain.

"Mama," I whispered, shaking with cries.

"Be quiet," Papa begged, increasing his pace. "I'm sorry, my honeybee."

I squeezed my eyes shut, sniffing. This had to be a nightmare. Mama couldn't be gone. Maybe if I'd fall asleep, I would wake up in bed again and everything would be fine. Maybe Mama would be beside me, kissing my cheeks and forehead, trying to wake me up for school.

But the beast's growl shattered the image in my head, and my eyes shot open once more. It was right behind us, the glow of his eyes being the only thing that stood out, the rest of its body camoflagued with the darkness of the forest.

It pounced again, and a claw cut through my forearm, three large gashes tearing through my father's shirt.

Papa stumbled to the ground, dropping me onto the wet soil, my head hitting the bottom of a tree trunk.

Stars floated before my eyes, my vision blurred with tears. Something hot trickled up my arm as I watched it unfold.

Papa was under the beast, and it raised its paw into the air. The points of its claws glistened, before it attacked, and blood sprayed everywhere.

Papa's screams were loud enough to shake the ground.

I couldn't move. I couldn't cry. My body was frozen.

The last thing I saw was the outline of the beast, taking slow, predatory steps towards me, before it stood up on two legs and transformed into a man.

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