by Belle Kayce
Copyright © 2021 by Belle Kayce
All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in, or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known, hereinafter invented, without express written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
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A Nevada Corporation
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www.typewriterpub.com/[email protected]
ISBN: 978-1-64434-158-2
DISCLAIMER
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While references might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
THE DEMON ALPHA
The Stryders Series
BOOK ONE
BELLE KAYCE
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
To everyone who believes in the magic of what a book brings
and who enjoys the small things in life
CHAPTER ONE
“I killed Vanessa.”
I hear the words from the room where my alpha, Trent, is in currently. The one speaking is from the Blood Tribe pack, which is headed by Trent’s cousin, Steven.
Now this isn’t such a big deal, right? Except only it is. Because everyone knows who Vanessa is. She’s another alpha’s mate from the north, Alpha Paxon. She was a soon-to-be luna until she got brutally murdered, and the news spread like wildfire. Investigations on who killed her are still going on, and Paxon said he’d kill the wolf that murdered her.
So here we are. With my worst timing possible. All I am to do here is give my alpha some paperwork about moving out of the pack temporarily for college.
Hearing those words makes me want to run and pretend I never heard them. Something like this is a serious offense, and I know my own alpha has something to do with Vanessa’s murder.
I swallow the lump in my throat, turn around, pretend I heard nothing, and walk myself home. I will think about this later and ask my best friend what to do. Plan out the next move which would be-
Creaaaaaaak.
I groan inwardly and pause mid-step. Why is it that when one is trying to be the most quiet, they only end up being the loudest?
With super wolf hearing, both alphas turn their attention to where I am.
“Ava!” my alpha’s voice booms. That is when I bolted, not thinking of anything but escape.
“Get her! Call the guards!” Alpha Steven yells after me.
I need to get the heck out of here.
My heart is racing as I run into the woods where the pack patrol wouldn’t be at. My dad’s job as a patrol officer comes in handy today. See? Everything totally happens for a reason. Here I am, thinking that my dad’s job is useless. Since my wolf has not come out yet and can’t shift like the others, I have to run. Logically, I will not be able to outrun these werewolves, or anything for that matter, but if I have a head start, it will not hurt.
Running as fast as I can to where the town is to get an Uber, I take my phone out and see texts from my dad, mom, and sister. And like a hundred missed calls too. I guess I can reply, “Sorry guys! I think I’m going to die!”.
It all sounds funny, except a text from my sister, Lisa, makes the situation scarier.
Lisa: Ava what did you do exactly for the alpha to say you committed treason and were to be brought home alive?
Yikes.
I block my mind link so my alpha will not know where I am or be able to get in my head, and so I can imagine why my parents are angry.
Forget dying by the alpha. My parents will do the job for him!
I hope no one believes the alpha. By “no one”, I mean my family and my best friend, Julia. Everyone else in the pack isn’t going to question the lying alpha.
As I am running for my life in these familiar woods, I wish for the millionth and one time that I can shift into a werewolf. It would have been so useful right now. White wolves are so overrated. Honestly, if I have a white wolf, I will not even use it. They are not special even though everyone makes them out to be. My sister is one, and people think she is the next best thing since sliced bread. She’s not here to save the world or anything because I’ve seen her do track, and she busted her face.
Like a mad woman, I am out in the streets, which is the quickest way to the nearest town. I check my phone, which is at five percent. Seriously, Apple needs to do better, especially in situations like these where I need my phone or it’ll cost me my life. The Uber driver is going to meet me at my favorite froyo place, which is the first location I thought of. My tears threaten to spill when I see her car coming towards me.
My driver stops in front of me, and I get in the car panting hard. “Just go anywhere far, far away from here please!”
She doesn’t even ask me anything. She just hits the accelerator.
After a few moments of silence, she asks me, “Are you alright?”.
I snap my eyes from the view by the window and swallow thickly. “No.”
She glances in the rearview mirror and smiles.
“If you get cleaned up, I’m sure you’ll be okay.”
If only she knows. I’m still shaking. How I am managing this is beyond me, but knowing that the car is getting further away from the pack territory is reassuring.
As if things can’t get any worse, my phone dies all of a sudden.
My mind is racing a million miles a minute. I wonder if the alpha is going to do anything to my family. The thought alone makes me want to go back. But they don’t know anything. My family is innocent in all of this.
“Uhm, do you know any hotels around here?” I ask her.
“Sure thing. I’ll just exi
t right here, and I can find you one,” she says.
That’s when I realize: money. I have none. Shoot. Shoot. Crappity crap sticks.
I run my hand through my face. How could I be so dumb and not realize I don’t have any money? Money is so important out here in the human world. Without money, you’re gone. Done for. Homeless.
Maybe I can request sanctuary in a pack?
Where am I at anyways?
“We’re here,” she says cheerfully, turning around.
We make eye contact, and I open my mouth to tell her that I have no money, but she raises a hand in protest. “You don’t have to pay.”
“Oh my gosh,” I tell her in great relief. “Thank you so much!”
“You look like you’ve had better days. I also think you don’t have any money for the hotel or food, so . . .” She digs in her wallet and pulls out a whopping two hundred dollars.
My eyes widen. “I can’t take this—”
“Nonsense. Us women have to look out for each other, you know.” She winks and forcefully hands me the money.
I’m almost crying. “I appreciate this so much.”
There are good people in this world. You just have to be in the worst situation to maybe find them. I’m sure there’s a life lesson in there somewhere.
I get out of the car and realize it’s already dark. We must have been driving for at least an hour or so. Hopefully, I am far enough from the two alphas. My alpha, Trent, is known to be tough. I know he’s trying to gain land with his cousin, a.k.a the murderer, Alpha Steven.
That’s when a brilliant plan hits me.
I have to tell Vanessa’s mate, Alpha Paxon of the Blood Hound pack, about this. He can grant me sanctuary in his pack. Only thing is, who am I going to talk to about another alpha? Alphas usually respected one another. I’m literally a nobody. I’m not even a werewolf! My wolf hasn’t come out yet. They usually do when one reaches puberty. I’m nineteen now.
My sister says I’m defective. Julia joked I’m adopted, and I would have believed her if I don’t have my father’s hazel eyes.
I sit on the curb of the sketchy hotel parking lot, and my stomach growls. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and all I ate was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I want something like a cheeseburger with extra fries and chocolate shake.
My stomach growls just thinking about it. I frown because I never forget to eat. Who forgets to eat? Food is great. I love food. I dig into my pocket, and I know the money that nice Uber lady gave me is definitely enough for food. After I eat, I’m going to make another run for it to get as far away from my pack as possible.
I get up and decide that’s my plan for now.
Suddenly, I see something suspicious.
No, not something.
People.
Two people. They are heading straight towards me.
CHAPTER TWO
“Cookies are better than brownies. It’s a known fact.”
“Brownies are better because more chocolate, more fun.”
“More fun? You mean we’ll get sick of it.”
It’s a young man and a woman, and they seem to be arguing. The guy is tall and built, with curly hair and a grinning face. The woman is a little shorter than him. She looks to be of Asian descent, with an in-your-face bubble gum pink hair.
My heart speeds up because I can tell they are werewolves. No regular human has that much of an athletic build to them.
They can be tracking me down.
I am going to make a beeline for it.
“I knew I smelled something,” the young woman says from behind me. I freeze and turn around slowly.
She has her arms crossed, and she is standing just a few feet away from me. They both seem to be around my age as I look at them more closely.
“Meg, you can’t just tell people they smell.” The young man looks at me, and there is something about his good-natured smile that makes me want to trust him. But I can’t trust anyone. Alpha Trent probably has the entire pack looking for me. Or he called other packs. I just need to tell someone of my predicament, but I can’t risk someone else being in danger also.
My life, folks.
“Shut up, Bo,” the girl, Meg, says. Bo just smiles at her and turns to me.
“Look, we know you’re a werewolf, so all you have to do is come with us since you’re in our territory. Procedural stuff.”
“W-what?” I croak like a frog. Wow, nice going for me. Two points for Gryffindor.
“You’re trespassing and you need to have the alpha’s approval to go past his lands,” Meg snaps at me.
“Which land am I in?” I ask. All they need to tell me is a place different from where I’m from.
“The Noctis Luna pack,” Bo answers.
My heart drops. There isn’t much known about Noctis Luna. In fact, the only thing I know is about their alpha who everyone refers to as a demon. This pack keeps to themselves, and no one really knows much about them. They are just one big mystery to everyone. Whether they want to keep it that way is what makes them dangerous and some packs fearful.
“Okay,” I say, giving in. It’s not like I have a choice to say no by the way they are looking at me. Or more like the way Meg is glaring at me. As long as they’re not working for Alpha Trent, I guess that is good. Maybe this is stupid to give in but I’m tired. Just so tired and hungry.
They both start walking ahead of me. I think they expect me to follow so I do.
“That was easier than I expected. Usually, rogues make a run for it,” Meg says in front of me.
I swallow because this is what I am now, I suppose. A rogue wolf. A black Mercedes is parked at the edge of the parking lot, and Bo opens the door for me. I get in, feeling helpless and lost.
Alphas usually hate rogues. No, not usually. They always hate rogues. I’m probably going to be put in some dungeon and get tortured and die.
“What’s your policy for rogues?” I ask Bo as he gets in the passenger’s seat and Meg sits in the driver’s seat. She starts the car and then starts heading to wherever they are going to do their “procedure”. The place is so foreign and strange, I have no idea where they’re taking me. I think if they are going to kill me, they would have already done so, but maybe they’re going to just kill me in the woods so no humans would see. Yup, that is probably what they would do to me. And I am the dumb person to be following.
He glances at me and smiles. “Don’t worry, our Alpha Lance doesn’t keep any prison for them.”
“What?” I gawk at him. Every alpha keeps a prison for rogues. No wolf is keen on someone trespassing their land.
Bo shrugs. “Usually, Lance asks the rogue if they want to join his pack or just roam freely.”
“That’s so . . .” I can’t put the words to it. Unheard of? Nontraditional? And can this demon alpha actually be merciful? Everyone hates rogues. They are like vermin.
Then my stomach growls.
“Bo, you just ate!” Meg groans.
“For the first time, it’s not me.”
Bo and Meg look at me.
“Sorry, I haven’t eaten in a while,” I confess. “Just . . . really hungry.” Hopefully, they’ll get the hint to stop at McDonalds. I could eat some unhealthy greasy food right now. And fries. Their fries are what dreams are made out of.
“We have food at the pack house,” Meg says.
I lean back and stare through the window. I have no idea how they’ll treat me, but hopefully someone will let me use their iPhone charger. I can’t even imagine what my family is going through right now. Maybe I am selfish for leaving. Maybe I should turn myself in. I should do that, shouldn’t I? And even if I tell Alpha Paxon that my alpha is a part of his mate’s death, I will be the instigator of a war. Wolves will die because of me.
I want to punch something.
Then I realize we’ve stopped, and it’s just in front of a very huge mansion.
Bo turns to me. “Hey, look, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Some questions will be asked
, and you just answer and then you’re done.”
I’m not in the mood to say anything because I’m so hungry, so I hop out of the car and follow Bo and Meg.
“I don’t even think anyone’s here,” Meg says, opening the mansion door.
I don’t even bother looking at the place because food is the only thing on my mind.
“Kitchen is this way.”
Bo guides me into the kitchen, and it’s not such an over-the-top kitchen. It has an island in the middle of it and steel appliances all around. Nice kitchen, I suppose.
I take seat on a stool, facing the entire kitchen. Bo opens the fridge door and grins. “Cook left some pizza.” He takes out the pizza and puts it in the microwave.
“Don’t do that,” I say automatically.
Bo freezes.
“Uh . . . why?”
“Because it’ll taste better if you put in the toaster or oven. I know it’ll be quicker, but the microwave always makes pizza mushy,” I explain. Come on, everyone has to know this. The microwave is just faster, is all.
Bo snaps his finger. “You actually are right. Thanks.” He turns on the oven and places the pizza directly on the rack. “Sorry, I don’t know where anything is.”
I shrug. “Beggars can’t be choosers.” For a second, I forget about my problem and then it rushes back to me. I’m anxious to get the meeting with the alpha over with. Hopefully then, I can just carry on my merry way to . . .
I don’t even know. That’s the scary part.
Meg walks in, then gives me a look of total disdain. What is up with her hate towards me for no reason? She looks so cool, and I would love to be her friend. I would have loved to see my best friend, Julia, with me right now. She would probably make a joke, say something funny. She would have just made life easier for me right now.
“Err, do you, by any chance, have an iPhone charger?” I ask to no one in particular.
“Who uses an iPhone?” Meg snarls.
“Androids are so bad,” Bo puts in before I do.
I grin. “Yeah, like they just need to not use Snapchat since their camera quality is so bad.”
“I knew I liked you!” Bo says and Meg rolls her eyes.
