Chapter 3 Introduced to werewolves

The three of them didn’t order anything. They didn’t even look around. They just stood in the doorway for a moment, silent, watching everyone then, slowly, they began to walk toward us.

Their boots were heavy against the tiled floor. One of them dragged his fingers along the edge of a table as he passed, claws scraping faintly against the worn wood. The sound made the hair rise on the back of my neck.

“Nathan,” I whispered, my fingers gripping the edge of the seat. “They’re coming here.”

“I know,” he murmured back, jaw tight. “Don’t move.”

The tallest of them stopped beside our booth. His eyes gleamed red beneath the diner’s sickly light. The veins at his temple pulsed as he tilted his head, studying me.

“She’s new,” he said, not to Nathan but to the others. “I can smell it.”

The second one grinned, showing too many teeth. “Fresh.”

Nathan rose from his seat immediately but his body was rigid. “Leave my sister alone,” he said firmly, his tone low but steady. “She won’t do any harm.”

The leader’s grin widened, slow and mocking. “Your sister?” His voice was almost amused. “You think blood matters here?”

“She’s human,” Nathan said again, more sharply this time. “She’s done nothing to you.”

For a heartbeat, there was silence then, all at once, the werewolves started laughing. It wasn’t laughter like you’d hear from men. It was darker, layered with growls, echoing off the diner’s walls like a warning.

“Fellow human,” one of them mocked, stepping closer until I could smell

“You think you can walk among us and not draw attention?” His hand shot out and wrapped around my throat instantly.

I gasped, my chair screeching back against the floor as I clawed at his wrist. His grip was cold, impossibly strong and his glowing eyes burned into mine.

“Stop!” Nathan’s voice broke through the ringing in my ears. “Let her go!”

He grabbed the werewolf’s arm, pulling with everything he had, but it was like trying to move stone.

“She won’t do any harm,” Nathan said again, voice cracking now, his body trembling with rage. “You don’t need to do this!”

The werewolf’s head turned toward him, amusement flickering across his face. “You think we need a reason?”

"Don't you remember that we warned you about bringing more humans in this society?", The one who had gripped my throat, growled then, without warning, he hurled me to the floor like I was nothing.

Before I could move, before my lungs could even fill again, he turned and seized Nathan by the front of his shirt, dragging him close.

“Run!” Nathan shouted, struggling, his voice raw and desperate. “Run, please!”

I immediately stood up and forced myself to run.

"Help! Someone help me” My fingertips trailed along the grimy wall of the restaurant as blood flowed out of my mouth.

“She is trying to escape.”

I was immediately grabbed, then dragged back to where Nathan was. I kicked and thrashed against the hands dragging me, but my body was too weak compared to them.

“Let me go, I won’t  say anything!” My voice was hoarse, my throat raw from screaming.

One of the werewolves, a tall brute with a jagged scar running down his chest, turned to me with a smirk. “ Let’s first deal with this man who disobeyed us, then later work on her.”

My gaze fell on my cousin brother and tears brimmed my eyes.

Nathan was now down, beaten raw and blood dripping from his lips. The werewolves were circling around him like predators stalking prey. Their evil chuckles and scummy comments were repulsive.

Nathan cried out again as another blow landed against his ribs, the sickening crack echoing through the alleyway. He was barely holding himself up, swaying on his knees, breath coming in ragged gasps.

I struggled against the hands that held me, my own blood mixing with the grime on the pavement. Panic clawed at my throat, but anger burned hotter. They were going to kill him.

“Stop!” I screamed, thrashing in their grip.

“Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart. You’ll get your turn.”

My stomach twisted with fear, but I refused to let them see my weakness. I forced my legs to steady, my fists clenching at my sides despite the burning pain coursing through my body.

“Please,” I begged, my voice barely above a whisper. “He’s my brother.”

The werewolves only laughed.

Scar stepped closer, cracking his knuckles. “Humans like you always beg in the end. It’s pathetic.”

“You were told, Nathan,” He snarled turning to Nathan. “No more strays. No more humans.”

“She’s my sister!” Nathan choked out. “She had nowhere else to go!”

"Whatever. You disobeyed us", He growled then he raised his foot and slammed it into Nathan’s side.

Nathan let out a choked scream, his body curling in on itself. Something inside me snapped.

I lunged forward with everything I had, sinking my teeth into the arm of the werewolf holding me. He roared in pain, his grip loosening just enough for me to break free. My hands fumbled to my back pocket, wrapping around the cold metal of the switchblade I always carried.

With a desperate cry, I drove the blade into Scar’s thigh.

He howled, staggering back. The other werewolves turned toward me in shock, their amusement vanishing. My heart pounded in my chest as I grabbed Nathan’s arm, trying to haul him up.

“Come on, we have to run!” I gasped.

But before we could take a step, a deep, menacing voice echoed through the alley.

“Enough.”

Everything stopped.

The werewolves instantly went rigid, their expressions shifting from cruel delight to wary obedience. The air grew thick with tension, a chill creeping up my spine.

Then, from the shadows, he appeared.

Even before I saw him, I felt the change, the temperature dropping, the faint hum in the air, as though the night itself bowed to his presence.

I froze, my attention centered on the werewolf heading toward us.

There was something different about this one, something that made the werewolves and us freeze immediately.

He hovered over my five-foot-four frame, easily over six feet tall. He was sculpted into a weapon, a force to be reckoned with. Broad shoulders, muscular arms marked with tattoos, long legs thick with muscle. His facial features were sharp, just like the rest of him.

The dim streetlight caught his golden eyes, burning with something unreadable. He looked at the chaos before him with calm indifference, like this was all just a minor inconvenience.

Growls erupted from the werewolves lingering around Nathan. I looked at my cousin brother in regret, realizing that there was no surviving here.

There was no life here. We were dead.

“Don’t h–hurt her! She was just…” Nathan started, but his sentence abruptly ended when a fist slammed into his cheekbone. I almost burst into tears when I witnessed his eyes roll back, followed by his body collapsing, motionless. He was only unconscious, but I had never seen my brother so helpless, so broken.

The werewolf held my gaze, and before I could do anything, he grabbed the knife from me.

I was done for.

His golden eyes glinted as he tossed my knife aside. I heard it clatter against the pavement, reminding me that I was weaponless, officially pathetic against them.

"Alpha, should we kill.....",

“No, she’s mine.” My entire body froze when he stopped the three werewolves. Whoever this man was, he held power over them. Real power.

I turned my head slowly, dreading what I would see. He was still watching me, golden eyes sharp and threatening. He looked... amused. As if he was entertained by my pain, my desperation.

“Who are you to say that?” My voice was barely above a whisper. The werewolf tilted his head, studying me like a puzzle he had just decided was worth solving. Then, he smirked.

“You’re going to find out soon enough, little human.”

I stiffened as he reached out, his fingers brushing against my jaw. His touch was surprisingly gentle, a stark contrast to the brutality I had just witnessed. But there was no kindness in his gaze  only control and possession.

I jerked away, my breath shaky. “I don’t belong to you.”

His smirk widened, as if my defiance amused him. “You will.”

“I’d rather die,” I whispered.

His golden eyes darkened, the amusement fading just slightly. “Careful what you wish for, little human.”

“Your brother is going to die right now,” he said, terrifyingly quiet. “So will you later.”

His word wasn’t an order, but one of the werewolves immediately walked over to Nathan’s body. He grabbed him by the hair, lifting his head enough for me to see his bruised, bloody face. The Alpha kept his eyes trained on me, eager for my reaction.

“Don’t!” I shouted, trying to wrestle myself free. “Leave him alone!”

A painful moan escaped Nathan’s mouth, right before the werewolf slashed his claws across his throat. Blood spurted, forming a puddle on the ground beneath him.

My entire world shattered in an instant.

“No!” My scream ripped through the alley, raw and broken. My legs buckled, but the werewolf holding me kept me upright, forcing me to watch as my cousin brother’s life drained away before my eyes.

Nathan’s body twitched once. Twice. Then... nothing.

“You will also join him later.”

My eyes started burning as the Alpha grabbed my chin, turning my head to force me to look at him.

I opened my mouth to speak, but the world went black when his hand swung up, nailing me in the cheek.