Chapter 5

Five

ALANA

H e stopped and turned around slowly to gaze at me. He was quiet for a moment with a thoughtful look in his red eyes. The paleness of his skin made the red in his eyes and the darkness of his hair more vivid.

"I'll be back," he said gruffly- ignoring my question. Which meant he remembered who I was …

I watched as he left the hut, and I was more confused than ever. Why was I here if he was willing to save me that night? I suddenly remembered the phone I was clutching in my hand with the flashlight still on. They must not have seen my phone, and if they did, they probably didn't know what it was.

I gingerly sat on the blanket cross-legged, wishing I didn't wear such skimpy denim shorts. My thighs had goosebumps from the chill in the air. A nice pair of jeans or even leggings would have been better. There was no sun in this area of the island, and their chosen place was so isolated. Even if I screamed bloody murder, no one would hear me. My screams would be covered up by the sounds of the ocean, and there was a long way back through the cave system.

I noticed the battery on my phone was almost dying. I dialed for help. When the phone started ringing, my heart was in my throat the entire time. Hoping against hope he didn't come back at this moment.

Please pick up. Hurry up .

When they finally picked up, it felt like an eternity.

"Howl's Edge Protection Services," greeted the operator. "May I get your name and location, please?"

"I'm Alana, and I've been kidnapped by vampires," I whispered harshly into the phone, hoping they could hear me above the whispering. When the words left my mouth, it sounded ludicrous even to me.

"Haha, we don't do prank calls," said the operator loudly, and I could hear her comrades laughing in the background as she whispered ‘vampires ' to them.

"No! This is real," I shouted.

Just then, the vampire walked into the hut, and upon seeing me talking on my phone, his eyes widened. He rushed over to me, snatching the phone from my hand.

"Hey!" I yelled, running after him as he walked outside with my phone. He hurled it against a boulder, and the phone smashed into a million pieces before me. My heart sank, and my hopes dashed. That was it . My last line of escape. The other vampires lingering around stared at us as I screamed at him. "You didn't need to do that! You're such a fucking monster."

I dashed back inside, away from the other vampires' prying eyes, my eyes burning with impending tears as James came inside after me.

"You should never have done that," he said, his eyes hard as he sat on the edge of his straw bed. "I will hand you over right now to Volgriff if you keep acting like this."

"You wouldn't," I said, out of breath and sitting on the blanket again. The hard floor was hurting my bottom, and I wished I was at home on my soft, cozy bed at my grandparents'. A wave of homesickness washed over me.

"What makes you so sure?" he asked.

"You saved me that night from my attackers," I said. "That's why I'm so sure."

"It's only because I hate your kind," he said with a disgusted curl to his lips. "Don't think you're so special, sweetheart."

I bit my lip with uncertainty now.

"Well, I hate vampires," I retorted. "Gross, blood-sucking creatures."

"You werewolves think you're perfect, huh?" he said. "How disgusting is it that alphas share one female? I would never share my female with anyone. Ever."

Rage boiled within me at his insult.

"It's normal for an omega to have more than one mate," I said. "She needs it to survive during her heats. It may seem weird to you, but it's completely normal to us."

"Then it's normal for vampires to feed on their natural prey," he countered. "Your people are arrogant."

"We're not."

"Really?"

"Well, I'm not," I said, now realizing how volatile my situation was. He could toss me to the vampires at any moment. "I don't care that you drink blood to survive. I just don't want it to be me."

"Get some sleep," he said, gruffly nodding to my makeshift bed on the floor next to his straw mattress. And that was the end of that.

I didn't want to talk to him anymore as I lay on the ground, trying to get comfortable. But this was feeding time for the vampires, and it was hard to fall asleep. I closed my eyes, listening to the betas cry out when they were bitten and the murmur from the vampires, followed by slurping sounds. My stomach twisted and turned as I fell into a restless sleep.

I opened my eyes to see myself surrounded. Four pale vampires surrounded me, crouched over my body. Red eyes shone with excitement as they stared at my naked body.

"I want her juicy thighs."

One of them leaned down to my thigh, cold breath grazing across my skin before puncturing my skin with his teeth. Then they swarmed all around me, ready to bite every place on my body.

"Please stop!" I screamed.

James

"Wake up, omega," I said, gently shaking her by the shoulder. She was lost in her dream world, shaking and crying. "Omega."

She finally opened her eyes and looked at me with bloodshot eyes, tears drenching her face.

"Get away!" she screamed, scrambling away from me and backing into a corner.

"Omega," I said, softer this time. It hurt me that she was so scared of me. I would never hurt her, even though she insulted me earlier today. She looked so delicate and feeble as she trembled in the corner away from me.

"My name is Alana, not Omega," she hissed, looking at me with narrowed eyes. In my heart, I knew she was ready to escape. Anything will set her off right now. But if she went out there, my people were waiting for her. It would be dangerous.

"Why are you crying?" I asked her, slowly inching towards her on my knees. I didn't want to scare her any more than she already was. The stark fear in her almond-shaped eyes was real, and I wondered what she had been dreaming about. Her long dark hair lay messily around her shoulders, revealing a beauty that had grown over the years since I saved her from the rapists.

"Please, let me go," she said, her voice breaking. "I miss my home. I have a family who will miss me."

My heart broke for her.

I wanted to take her home more than anything. But my people would cast me out, and I would have nowhere to go if I betrayed them. I knelt in front of her, not touching her - especially after what she had gone through in the past.

"I wish I could set you free," I sighed, and she looked at me with renewed hope in her eyes. "But you're safest in my home. And you need to stay here."

"So you have a heart?" she asked out of the blue.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Why don't you just feed on me and get it over with?" she asked, dropping her head to one side and moving her hair out of the way. Her beautiful golden skin glowed, her blood pulsing deliciously underneath. The scent of her was unbelievable when she was offering herself to me. My body gravitated towards her, but I stopped myself. Every moment of being alone with her in this tiny hut was dangerous.

She was temptation itself.

"No," I said gruffly, looking away from her exposed neck. "I don't feed on people."

"Oh?" she asked, her eyes widening. At least she stopped crying, and that was good. I needed to keep her distracted from her predicament, and all wasn't hopeless like she thought it was. Maybe I could negotiate with Volgriff and keep her instead as my mate.

"I only feed on wild animals," I said. The fear and emotions of the beta made their blood taste bitter and sour. But when an omega offered herself up freely, that blood was richer and sweeter than any other blood on Howl's Edge.

My nostrils flared as I tried to breathe normally, being so close to her. I swallowed when she let out a small smile.

"Then let me go," she said. "I'm useless to you, right?"

"To me, yes," I said. "But not to the others. It's not my place to take you out of here. They are trusting me with keeping you here until the full moon."

She laid a small hand on my bare thigh, and my cock hardened, barely covered with the loincloth. Her hand was small, but her touch was powerful. It sent shockwaves through my body, causing every inch of my body to awaken. My breathing quickened as I placed my hand over hers, pulling her hand off me.

"Sorry," she whispered, seeing my primal response to her touch.

I clenched my teeth to keep from pouncing on her. To feed and ravish her all for myself.

"The reason I saved you that night," I said- realizing she needed to know to feel safe. "The night you were attacked and hearing your muffled yells reminded me of the time my sister was murdered. Long ago, when the government persecuted us fifty-five years ago."

"Oh," she said, her eyes widening. Droplets of tears hung on the end of her eyelashes. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"She was taken by five alphas that night," I said. "While they forced me to watch. It was the worst night of my life. Her screams still fucking haunt me to this day. I was her only family member left, and I was supposed to protect her."

"How did you escape?"

The memory washed over me like wildfire.

"When they ripped her head off her body, rage took me over," I said, still unable to believe what I had done that night. It was like another force had taken me over. "I killed the two alphas holding me. I cried over my sister's body that day before going into hiding. I had never cried any other day. Volgriff had found me and brought me here to this community. A safe haven for our people."

"Damn," she said, her eyes wide while I spoke. "That's so horrible. I'm sorry for what they did, but lots have changed now. Omegas used to be second-class citizens, but now we have even more rights than the average beta. God, I can't believe they did that to you and your family. I feel sick to my stomach."

She clutched her belly, and I lifted my arm as if to hug and comfort her but stopped myself. My gaze softened when I saw the sincerity in her eyes, her own memories of her attack coming to surface.

"Goodnight, Alana," I said, getting up instead. "There's nothing to worry about in my home. I will not hurt you."

She nodded gratefully, letting out a small yawn. My breathing quickened as my gaze focused on her plump lips, wishing she would take my cock into her mouth…

Fuck. I couldn't go there with her.