The Fallen Alpha

4 | Devil or A Revered Almighty

CILLIAN 

The sedative worked like a charm, and the moment her limbs stopped fighting against the binds, I threw her on my shoulder and retreated back. A small safe house was nestled amidst the thick forest, a territory under the protection of my pack. The place was pretty inhabitable due to the dense jungle and all the more reasons that no one would be able to trace us here easily. 

I carried the female into the room and set her down on the couch, which was large enough to fit her body. Cole busied himself in lighting the fireplace while Remus manned the perimeter of the house for any unwarranted intrusion.

Shrugging the jacket off, I settled down on the high-back chair across from the couch as the flames from the nearby fire illuminated the room. It was the first time I regarded her closely. And my, my…she was nothing like I had ever laid my eyes on before. 

“Her name is Kiera,” Cole’s wary voice sliced through my thoughts, and my eyes snapped to his. “The firstborn daughter to ever take birth to any alpha of the Crimson Moon Pack.” 

“Don’t they prefer sons over daughters?” I queried. “To take over the title of the alpha?” 

“They do. But it is said that she was born on a super blood moon night, one of the holiest nights for their pack. Therefore, it is considered as a divine blessing from the Moon Goddess, and her beauty is a testimony to that.”

My gaze drew back to her sleeping form, and I found myself staring back at her once again. Kiera was dredged in damp earth, her clothes soiled and her hair wild when she was single-handedly fighting three of us to earn her freedom. But even then, the color of skin was flushed. 

My lips twisted into a scowl. “I will never understand how foolish and brave they are at the same time.” 

I admired strength and power, even when it comes to my enemies, but the Crimson Moon Pack’s obsession with the Moon Goddess and their orthodox ways of life was nothing but laughable to me. 

“Her father, Alpha Jade, has already started the search party. One of our enforcers looked from the edge of the cliff and saw the forest was swarming with the pack of sniffer wolves.” 

I smiled. “They won’t be able to trace our smell or footprints, for that matter.” I had already employed one of the best specialists to take care of that problem so that the shifters could not sniff us out.

Or this little she-wolf, for that matter.

“What are you thinking?” My brother asked warily. 

“That how important it is for Alpha Jade to have his blessed daughter return to him unscathed? What will he choose - his honor or his daughter?”  

Cole was, as always, the analyst. “If he fails to protect his own daughter as an alpha of the pack, it would be difficult for him to justify his position in the pack. But, on the other hand, if he bends, he will lose anyway. You have got him on checkmate, brother. You can ask him for anything, and he will give it to you.” 

My eyes slowly dragged down to her slender hips, where the navy blue dress hugged her curves a little too tightly. I shook my head. “Not yet, not until I break this divine beauty of the Moon Goddess. Let’s see if her Goddess protects her from me or not.” 

I didn’t have to look at my brother to attest that he was positively frowning. “She is innocent, though,” he said carefully, and immediately my eyes locked with his. 

“Her clan has obliterated their enemies in the cruelest fashion for generations, and she has the same blood running in her veins. So innocent is not the term I would use for her.” 

“The women in their pack are fiercely protected. But, generally, it is the men who…”

“Cole, that’s enough,” I snapped. “If I need your suggestion, I will ask for it.” 

“What will you do now? I don’t intend to demand retribution from her father. So what’s the plan?” 

I turned to the fire in order to have my eyes dragged back to her. “The plan is to stew them for a while. They brought the war to my doorstep when they killed my enforcer and captured the lands protected under my name. And now I have taken their beloved princess. Every f*****g day they will lose their sleepover her, and only when they are exhausted with grief and suffering will I retaliate. Until then, I have her to break and hold in a way I want.” 

“Of course,” Cole muttered. “You do know how to live up to your reputation. It’s like you want to be the monster they paint you to be.” 

I smiled into the blazing flames, smirking. “I would rather be a painted devil than a revered god.” 

KIERA

My eyelids were heavy and tired…as I went into some deep sleep in one century and woke up into another. And the head throbbed like a gong against gravel. 

A moan tore out of my dry lips just as I slowly licked them. And immediately, the bitter taste in my mouth intensified. The damned wolfsbane. I attempted to blink my eyes open and felt skin chafed skin against something cold…something rough. I was chained. The knowledge piqued my temper, and flight response triggered with a good reflex. 

With a great effort, I wriggled into a half-sitting position, and a pair of grey eyes locked with mine. 

He was about six feet five inches of a figure with a broad chest and thick arms in the display. His dirty blond hair was cut short, a little longer in front, and the grey of his eyes was as dark as the stormy clouds. Something dark and lethal flashed behind his masculine exterior, and I knew it the minute I saw the tattoo peeking out of the biceps. 

A tri-headed wolf with blood dripping down its fangs. He was…the devil. The stories of Alpha Cillian were the things that nightmares were made of. A predator in every sense of the word. 

“Who the f**k are you?” I croaked, barely gathering my strength when all I could feel was fear. 

His face twisted into a smile. “What a pretty face,” he murmured, leaning down, and I immediately pushed back. “But such a dirty mouth. Tsk. tsk.” 

“Who. The f**k. Are you?” I gritted. But there was no fooling him.  

“There, I can see it in your eyes,” he said with an air of confidence. “Fear. That means you know who I am.” 

I bared my teeth and hissed. “I know you are the animal who shot me in the leg and kidnapped me.”  

A silver gleam in his eyes sparkled. “Would you rather have me take your sister as the captive?”  

“You would not f*****g dare, you bastard!” I struggled against the chains and almost fell off the couch had it not been for his firm hold on my shoulders. He dealt with me as if I were a rag doll and simply threw my weight back on the arms of the couch.  

“Relax, little wolf,” he mocked. “I have a feeling that your fiery temper is enough to keep me entertained for a while. So, I won’t be needing another captive to occupy my time.”

It was then that the front door opened, and in walked two other men. One of them shared an eerie similarity with Cillian’s features, leading one to believe it was his brother. And going by the looks of the another one, he was probably one of his pack members. 

I dragged my eyes back to the devil in front of me and seethed slowly. “My pack will hunt you down, and when they do, they will shred you to bits. And trust me, that’s the kind of entertainment I live for.” 

He shook his head and sat down in the chair near the fireplace. “I love your fantasies. Too bad it’s far from reality. The truth is, it is your honor and safety they’d bargain for, and when they do, I would love to see your honorable father c***k under my pressure.”

A shiver shot my spine, and I almost felt light-headed. But I couldn’t let him see through my fears, not when I was already at a disadvantage.  

So I tipped up my chin haughtily and looked straight into his eyes. “The Crimson Moon pack has survived for generations, Alpha Cillian. Our alphas are not the two-bit bitches to bow before another ruler. We survived because we are strong and proud and blessed by the Moon Goddess.”

My pride was the only source of power I held onto when all of me was crumbling down.

His mouth twitched. “Look around, little wolf of the Moon Goddess. You are on my land, in my domain, and bound by my chains. Do you really think you are strong now?” 

“I don’t give a f**k as to where I am,” I snarled back. “I know that I am stronger, and that’s the reason you had to keep me in chains. Let me out. I dare you.” 

He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. “I am afraid you will do something stupid, little wolf, and then I will have to teach you a lesson. But, trust me, you are safer in chains.”

It was the closest he got to me as I suppressed a shiver. Alpha Cillian was known to hold a reputation so brutal, so bloody, and it was said that his name was taken in hushed whispers among the shifters. He doesn’t just kill his enemies - he obliterates them but not before torturing them till they beg for death. 

“You are a f*****g coward! A bloody monster who killed his own father! You are an abomination, Alpha Cillian.”

The air left my lungs in a whoosh. It was only when the words tumbled out of my lips that I realized my mistake. 

I have crossed a line that I probably shouldn’t have. Wolves, especially red-blooded shifters like him, don’t allow personal comments. 

Cillian’s face hardened as he slowly moved back. The grey eyes turned another two shades darker and narrowed in slits. 

“Out! Everyone!” He told others without looking away from me. 

The two other men in the room shuffled away without even bothering to refute, and it led me to think that if men of their stature couldn’t stand up to him, where would I land up anyway?