Moon Bound

(1) The Leash Of Regret |Scarlet's POV|

Deafening.

Defeating.

Hopeless.

It was the same quiet you heard after the beat of the storm.

The storm had passed. The sun was shining, pouring cold light on my skin.

There was no movement at the window, the curtains lifeless with no billow of touch. He was probably resting—content with his victory after bringing us to our knees with his swift and crafty attack. 

Unlike him, I was a lot less comfortable. Most of my warriors were either dead or heavily wounded. The females were confined with the juveniles and I, the supposed alpha, was currently chained to one of the poles outside the house with my ass freezing against the concrete. 

After last night, whatever prospects there were for me to become a proper alpha were down the drain and my father's pack was no longer.

There was a new alpha now and the pack was left to his mercy, something I suspected he wasn't going to show me.

When a pack is taken, the alpha either bends or is quickly being disposed of. I shuddered as my father's warning rang through my mind and wondered what kind of disposal was in store for me before turning my gaze up—he wasn't standing behind the glass and observing me, but I expected him to be and soon.

And in minutes, minutes that felt like hours of post-apocalyptic silence, my eyes caught a movement behind the curtains of his window. He pulled them aside and stood at the windowpane, cold eyes glued to me like I was some kind of rare animal to him.

Put on display for his benefit alone.

I held my breath, stared right back, stilled myself in front of this man that was not a man.

Not a single muscle on his face moved during the long minutes his probing stare stayed on my skin. That face remained as glacial as the man himself. A face that could be smiling. Eyes that could be warm and filled with emotion.

They weren't.

His form disappeared. A shaky breath slithered past my lips and, with the burden of his eyes elevated, I was able to breathe again. However, my relief was short-lived.

"The men just linked me to ask what to do. Some of them are still trying to fight, Alpha." My heartbeat sped up as I picked up their conversation.

"Tell them to do what they must to get our point across, just try not to kill anyone. There's been enough death for one night as it is..." His timbre mixed with the voice of another man was coming soft but commanding from the inside of the place as he gave orders about what needed to be done in taking over the pack and securing the territory.

I let out a breath of releaf and rested my head against the pole while continuing to listen to the conversation.

Soon the voices inside the house hushed and he appeared on the doorstep, followed by his beta who'd helped him subdue me out here.

The two men regarded me with wary for a couple of moments before they started in my way. The beta carried himself like most warriors, his bulkier phisique making his steps look heavy. He looked the kind too - a narrow jaw that was tightly locked in the joints, dark eyes that looked nearly black under thick eyebrows. An ugly scar adorned his forehead, one which the man wore with pride on his chocolate skin.

A few inches taller, the alpha had a similar built to his beta's, except he wore his skin with a grace that felt unbecoming to the savage nature of the man.

With the tension in his body and his face frozen with no expression of emotion, he had a kind of lethal grace to him.

His feet carried him closer to where I sat on the ground. His strong jaw clenched, the corners of his lips tilting down in displeasure the moment his gaze connected with mine.