Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
“In this part of the city, you hear something like that you stay away from your windows and turn your television up. You don’t call the cops.” Clara shook her head, searching with her eyes as she caught her breath. “We can’t run from them, they’ll find us before long…oh, I knew I should’ve called out today…”
“You’re a witch too. Why don’t you do something?” Brandon asked Clara, who frowned.
“My magic doesn’t work that way.” She shook her head. I caught the reluctance in her eyes and knew she was holding back when she tacked on, “…I have to be up close to do anything, and they’ll k**l me before I get the chance.”
“Why can’t we run from them? What is an elemental?” I asked a bit harsher than I meant to, but I could hear the manic quiver in her voice and knew that it would only get worse the more flustered she became.
“It’s a rare type of magic…so rare that any witches able to use it are taken as kids…sent away to train.”
There was more to the story, I could tell from the tone of her voice but now wasn’t the time to ask. “…
and they wouldn’t send elementals after you if they didn’t have another witch tracking your location.”
They were just trying to tire us out, wear us down until we slipped up and eventually got caught. She was right, running only bought us a handful of seconds.
“If we can’t run, what can we do? I…can’t use my magic right now.” I could feel panic bubble and threaten to rise, but I had kept my cool too many times to give up now. “We have no weapons, nothing at our disposal. Only our wolves and…”
The word slipped past my lips as I caught sight of the writhing tendrils of darkness slithering down the alley way, “…the shadows…”
I’d realized too late that they weren’t running towards me, but away from the sudden ball of flame that shot down the alley, illuminating every crappy backyard and rat-infested dumpster it passed. At the other end of the alley, the second stranger stood. There was no flaming projectile thrown away, only the sickening snap and crack of the asphalt splitting open, making the ground tremble as it neared closer.
“Through the backyard!” Brandon shouted, and without warning he grabbed Clara by the waist and tossed her over the chain-link fence to our right.
I felt the dull sting of metal digging into my hands as I flung myself over and grabbed Clara’s arm before she could fall. We avoided the scattered toys that littered the backyard, jumping the front fence just as another flaming projectile was thrown our way.
This one hit the fence we had just hopped over. We stood so close that I could feel the heat lick at my cheeks and forehead. Wasting no time, we took off again, turning corners and darting down alleyways to throw them off.
I felt Clara’s hand brush my shoulder as we ran and turned my head to glance at her.
“Shadows…you can control the shadows.” She panted; her voice held just a flicker of hope. “…use them, use them before they catch us.”
“What? I can’t do that. You have no idea what you’re asking me to do.” My surprise slowed my pace, and my legs groaned miserably as I pushed them harder, forcing us to keep up.
“They’ll want something in return, right?” She huffed, continuing without waiting for an answer. Her voice cracked, desperation bleeding through. “Don’t use them to k**l them, just to get us away a distraction or something that’ll help us get a head start. I assume you’ve got somewhere safe to go?”
I nodded, “there’s no way they’ll mess with us once we’re back in pack territory.”
“Good, because you’re taking me with you. I was safe and sound until you two busted into my dressing roomfor the most part, anyway. What matters is I was out, and you two dragged me right back in.” I had no clue what she meant, and neither did Brandon from the confusion that creased his eyebrows and made his pace slow. “You have to use them to get us out of here, or we’re not going to live past tonight.”
Frustration crackled and spread throughout my chest like a sparkler, and even though I was sure it was my imagination, I swore I could feel the shadows waiting-eager to hear me ask for their help after months of ignoring their presence.
I skidded to a stop, spotting a couple dumpsters surrounded by a wooden privacy fence. It was meant to keep the rats and racoons away but judging from the scraps of trash piling up in the drainage ditches, it wasn’t working. Brandon grimaced from the smell but followed Clara and I into the small area without complaint.
I no longer had to try; the darkness was apart of me as much as my Vampire side. The ability to control the shadows would never be a good one it would never be one of pure intention or without temptation.
There was always that knowledge that anythinganything I wanted was within arm’s reach. All I had to do was pay the price.
I felt their cold wash over me first but gave them no reaction. Clara shuddered, and the shadows hidden within every corner of the alley and trash area we stood in writhed. A thousand voices, a thousand razor blades slashing across the gritty surface of a chalkboard, all coalescing together into one ear-piercing voice.
‘…now you call on us…’ ‘…to free you from danger…’
‘…to vanquish the puppets that hunt you down…’
I paused, “puppets…why would you call them that?”
Brandon gave me an odd look, and Clara began to before she looked down. Anyone could see the shadows. It was something I realized a long time ago, back when Mason’s mate had lost her life to a deal I’d made. Only the Vampire monarch could use themhaggle with them, but anyone could see them. Tristan had claimed that working with my father, always being in such close proximity to them, over time he found himself able to see them. The same had happened for Breyona and Nolan, even though I hadn’t called on them since.
‘…the puppet master pulls the strings…’ ‘…meddles with fate…’
‘…hides from us…’
I shuddered; I couldn’t help it. Whoever-whatever was behind this, they were hiding from the shadows.
Immortal, ancient, all knowing and the mastermind behind all of this was somehow avoiding their gaze.
“What’s your price for concealing us from the elemental witches long enough to get a car, and get the h**l out of here?” I asked, knowing anymore information given on their part would come at a price.
They would give those little slivers of information to tempt, to entice me into making another deal. It was what they thrived on, the sacrifices made in the name of shadow and darkness.
‘…our price is blood…blood from the alpha’s second-born son…’
‘…enough to temporarily sate our thirst…’
I looked up at Brandon, “they want your blood.”
“No way, not happening…they’re not getting my blood.” He shook his head; his voice left no room for argument.
Three minutes later, the pavement surrounding the dumpsters glittered from a coating of fresh blood.
Since there was no direct lighting on it, the thick metallic substance almost looked black.
“Uh, I’m gonna be honest with you…I’m getting a little woozy here.” Brandon grumbled, holding his arms out so that the blood trickled down his hands and onto the ground. He dipped his head and instantly jerked back. It was more than refreshing seeing something other than cockiness on his face, even if it was fear. “…those things, they’re taking my blood.”
I glanced down at the tendrils of shadow, each taking their turn as they slithered through the puddle of blood on the pavement, taking more and more with each pass.
“Alright, that’s enough for you all. Now it’s time to hold up your end of the deal.”‘ I told them, knowing
Brandon had given more than enough.
He stood there, only partially green in the face as I left wound after wound on his wrists. Thanks to our advanced healing, I had to reopen the slashes every few seconds.
They devoured the rest of his blood, leaving the pavement cleaner than it had been before. They were bloated as they circled our feet, fulfilling their end of the bargain with whatever ancient magic they possessed.
“It’s like ice water, but worse.” Clara’s teeth chattered, wrapping her arms around the robe she wore.
This time the cold pierced deep, past flesh and muscle until my head ached with a pain similar to brain freeze. Suddenly, the colors around us faded, becoming muted and washed out. The green of the dumpster now looked like muddy water, but the shadows behind it- I could see every one of them. Not only that, but they clung to the three of us like an aura void of all color.
We emerged from our hiding place; onto the alley we had been running down. As we reached the end of the alley, Brandon flung his arm up at the last minute. I realized why as I ran into it, stumbling backwards and out of the way of the elemental witches as they turned the corner.
There was no seeing their faces beneath those hoods. All I could make out was the curve of their chins, and how their physiques appeared thin beneath the layers of blacked out clothing.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?