King Luka

1.

My feet pound on the ground as I thunder down the hill on my packs' territory. Underneath me leaves, twigs, and moss get crushed or snapped by my sneakers. I narrowly avoid a branch that is sticking out of a bush. By doing this I nearly trip and fall onto my bottom. Keep running head up. Long strides. I stumble when my foot gets snagged on a sturdy root. Not being able to hold onto my balance, I take a fall.

Standing up, I brush dirt and leaves from my hands and knees. I swallow lungfuls of air as I look around at my surroundings. Nothing around me looks quite familiar. I hear a twig snap to my right and almost instantly I'm off back towards my packs' boundary. Towards safety.

I heave the air in and out of my body as if my life depended on it. I mean it does, but right now I am more focused on my running and getting back home. My lungs constrict. I choke on air and dive past the border. I recover with a roll and look around my surroundings. Maybe I was just paranoid. Probably just paranoid.

Walking back to my pack I begin to see slight changes in the atmosphere. The birds aren't chirping. There are dark clouds rolling in from the west. I haven't seen one other creature out in the woods besides myself.

Once I walk into the main clearing of houses where everyones' homes are I see that no one is outside. Not even the little children who usually are playing hop-scotch on the dark asphalt.

I hop up the steps of the biggest home here; the Alpha family. The Alphas' family consists of my mom, dad, twin brother, and myself. I know. Typical perfect family right? Not really. I hate being praised for being the Alphas' daughter. If I were in any other position then you know just as well as I do that I wouldn't.

Not to mention that my family is the farthest thing from perfect you could think of. We may appear that way to everyone else, but you don't know what goes on inside. My mom is an alcoholic. My dad thinks of my brother and I as mistakes and he treats us that way too. My brother is the only one I can really talk to. Everyone else who wants to be my friend is mainly in it for bragging rights. 'Oh I'm best friends with the future Alpha. Cool right?' It's depressing, I know.

I grasp the cool metal of the doorknob in my hand. Squeezing my eyes shut I twist the knob and push open the door. I prepare myself for the smell of alcohol and the sound of shouting. But instead I find that it smells something like pumpkin pie and only soft murmurs greet my ears. I step inside and click the door shut. I silently prance up the stairs to get a shower. Once finished I get dressed and quietly walk downstairs.

I stride into the kitchen to see my mother pulling a pie out of the oven. Opening up the refrigerator, I scan the contents. It's finally been restocked. Pulling out a water bottle, I sneak a glance at my mother. She's cutting out three pieces of pie and placing them on small plates.

"Hey mom...who are those pieces of pie for?" I ask her while taking a sip of water.

"They're for King Luka, his Beta Elias, and your father," she responds, concentrated. When the words stumbled out of her mouth I choked on my water and spewed it onto the floor. King Luka?!

King Luka is known for being ruthless. Angry. Vengeful. Hateful. Why in the world is he here of all places? King Luka his the king of all alphas and he comes here. To a small town in Nowheresville. I've only heard stories about the guy. But, they're stories you don't tell your children at night. So obviously my father told me and my brother these things at night when we weren't any older than six.

"I need your help with these, Vee. Can you grab that piece? It's King Lukas'," she says while nodding her head to the plate. I gulp and grab the plate with shaky hands. Never in my eighteen years of existence did I think I would be meeting the King Luka. Chills run through my body at the thought.

I walk with unsteady feet to my fathers' office. My mom opens the door and enters with me close in suit. Nerves boil at the surface of my skin as I walk towards the room. An unfamiliar smell assaulted my nose. It smelled like teak wood and the outdoors. It smelled good. I parted my mouth on instinct. My pupils dilate and my posture momentarily slumps. The breath gets knocked out of my lungs at the scent.

"Excuse me for interrupting gentlemen. My daughter and I brought you all pie," my mom says with a false smile plastered on her face. My posture recovers and I keep my eyes trained on the floor.

"Just put them on the table Eileen and Venus," my father says dismissively. Mother places down the pieces on the table.

"Actually. I would like mine." A delectable voice states. I feel a shiver run up my spine. I shuffle over towards the voice. I raise place the plate in the awaiting hand. I follow the hand up the arm clad in leather. I stop my gaze at his neck for a second. Then finally to his face. This man is an Adonis. His pitch black hair is perfect besides the single streak of white in it; his eyes are a bright blue, yet they calculate every move I make; and he has the perfect amount of stubble gracing his skin.

I nod my head in respect and begin to leave the room. I can feel his eyes burning into my backside.

"I think I've come to a decision, Deryl," the god says.

 "Oh yeah and what would that be?" my father scoffs at him.

"Either you agree to my terms, or I take your daughter," the guy says. I intake a sharp breath and snap my eyes to my father, knowing that he  is a hard headed man and will do what it takes to get what he wants. Then he utters the words that could alter my life forever.

"Take her then."