Alpha Ethan

SCARLET

I run toward the noise and transform back before getting too close. Grabbing the backpack that I keep hidden in one of the abandoned corners of town, I quickly throw on jeans and a T-shirt.

I turn the corner and immediately scowl. A group of men talk and laugh, cleaning fresh blood off sharp knives. The scent of blood mixes with the stench of sweat and garbage, churning my stomach.

One of them is a werewolf named Ray Jones—he and his gang are always picking fights.

“What the hell did you do? What are the screams about?” I yell.

“Hey, Scarlet baby. You finally decide you want a piece of this?” Ray asks with an evil smirk, throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close. He doesn’t bother to answer my questions.

Some of his men chuckle off to the side. The assholes enjoy my torment.

“Definitely not,” I reply with disgust, shoving his arm away and trying to get closer to the screams. He quickly sidesteps to block my path.

“I hate this guy,” my wolf growls in my head.

“Me too,” I answer as a shiver runs up my spine. Most of the people who live in the Scourge look out for each other, but Ray and his gang of thugs only look out for themselves. They’re always getting into trouble.

It’s hard enough to survive in the Scourge without added threats from people like Ray.

“Come on, baby. Don’t be like that. I’ll have you screaming my name in no time,” he presses as he moves uncomfortably close to me yet again and grabs my hips.

“Gross. Back off, Ray. I’m not interested,” I insist as I place my hands on his chest to shove him away.

Suddenly, he’s holding a bloody dagger to my throat, the hilt still wrapped in the cloth he was using to wipe it down.

“Why don’t you make me back off?” he growls lowly.

My face twists in anger and disgust. How dare this asshole pull a knife on me! Luckily, I’m a strong fighter with fast reflexes. In seconds, I’m holding the knife, and he’s left with a dirty rag.

I shove past him toward the screams, and he roughly grabs my ass. I immediately turn around, taking the guilty hand in mine and twisting it harshly, making him flinch before regaining his composure.

“I said BACK OFF, ASSHOLE,” I growl as I allow my wolf to let her power shine through.

He immediately steps away from me as he puts his hands up in surrender.

I turn to leave but stop as screams and growls erupt from the opposite end. Several packless run down the alley, chased by men in black.

“Shit!” I hear Ray say from behind me, and I quickly spin on him.

“Is this your fault?”

He doesn’t bother answering me and only gives me an evil smirk before he and his men scramble to get out of there.

I scowl before turning to see both wolf and human forms fighting at the end of the alley. The air is thick with fear and aggression, every breath tasting like desperation.

I quickly run in their direction, Ray’s bloody dagger still in hand. I watch as a man in all black strikes down and kills one of the packless men before turning to another.

My heart clenches with rage and sorrow. I can’t help but believe the packless were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever happened tonight, I can’t imagine they deserved to die. My desire to protect kicks in.

I make a flying leap to attack and am suddenly hit with a strong, overwhelming scent of vanilla and citrus.

“Mate!” my wolf yells in my head.

My conviction evaporates and confusion hits me, but I don’t have time to think about what this means. Before I realize what’s happening, the man who was my target spins to face me.

We are mere centimeters apart, and pain explodes through my stomach. I look down to find a black hilt sticking out of me and crimson spreading out around it. The man drops his hand from the dagger, and I look up to meet his eyes.

I sense so many emotions swirling through his gorgeous sapphire eyes: confusion, shock, sadness, fear, anger. I don’t get the chance to contemplate this as I stumble backward, my consciousness slipping away from me.

And then everything goes black.