Chained By The Alpha By Jessica Hall

My scream echoes through my skull as the beast shakes its head violently, flinging me toward the kitchens. My body flies through the air, and I crash heavily on the floor. Groaning, I scramble to get to my feet, slipping on the tiled floor that is drenched in blood. Bodies are strewn across the restaurant floor, and I run for the kitchen doors just as I am tackled to the ground—another wolf is upon me

“Dad!” I scream for him before hearing his strained voice

“Samuel, get to Cleo!” I hear his gurgled cry from another room before I hear the snapping of bones again. I kick out, trying to get the wolf mauling me off while keeping my arms over my head, knowing if he gets to my neck, I am gone

Claws rake down my sides, and I scream in agony as the wolf drags me closer

I thrash, screaming and kicking when his weight is suddenly gone from on top of me. I gasp in relief only to see a massive black wolf standing over the rogue that attacked me. The rogue now lies dead at his feet. I crawl back on my hands and feet, my leg throbbing as my blood spills onto the floor, mingling with the rest of the bright red stains. I shriek when I notice another rogue lunge at my face, only to stop midair when the black wolf mauls it. I try to escape, but I am caught beneath the black wolf

He takes down the rogue, and I clutch his fur,

wondering which Alpha it is because I haven’t seen this wolf before. He doesn’t snarl as I use his body to pull myself out from under him so that I can stand, but the wolf sniffs my leg and whimpers when I notice more rogues spilling in through open windows. The wolf snarls, spinning on his feet before snapping his teeth at

me, his way of telling me to run without the mindlink

I don’t need to be told twice. I clamber to my feet, ignoring the pain and running toward the kitchen to find somewhere to hide and catch glimpses of rogues everywhere. They are going to kill everyone, I think, panicked. There are too many. Sliding along the floor, my leg throbs to its own beat, and my arm is gushing blood when four rogues come into the kitchen from the other end. I come to a jarring halt before spinning, only to find my exit is now blocked, and I am surrounded

“Cleo, where are you?” my father calls through the mindlink

“Dad, I’m…” a snarl pulls me from the mindlink

“Hold on, Bub, I’m trying to get to you!” he calls back, but my eyes track the movement of the wolves surrounding me

Looking around, I grab a knife off the counter, trying to watch them as they stalk toward me

The one at the exit I just came in from charges at me, and my eyes fly wide, a shriek leaving my lips when it too is suddenly mauled, mere inches away from me

The huge black wolf from before starts ripping it to shreds and knocking me out of the way when the other four join the fray, trying to kill him

Scrambling back on my hands and feet, I turn, looking for a way to escape, when I see one wolf

tear into the black wolf’s hind leg. Panic ripples through me at the sight, knowing that the wolf is the only thing keeping me alive

I stare at my hand and remember the knife

Getting my hands and knees, I scramble to my feet. I rush toward the one ripping at his rear leg while two try to get at him from the side, the other dead on the ground. I plunge the knife into the filthy gray wolf. It rears back and snarls then wheezes when I pull the knife out just as quickly

Only it doesn’t kill him. It only serves to piss him off. Panic rushes through me as he stalks toward me. The black wolf is busy mauling the other two when more come in. By the time I turn back, it 1s too late. The wolf pounces and tears into my shoulder, knocking me backward. I scream, pain flooding through me, and the sound rings out loudly as it shakes its head

Teeth tear through my flesh easily when it suddenly lets go. I groan, rolling on my side

Blood coats the floor, making it slick as I try to drag myself away

I crawl toward the huge walk-in freezers and grab the handle, attempting to rip it open. The savage fighting grows louder, and I hear their bodies dropping just as more come crashing into the kitchen, knocking the steel benches over and sending utensils flying. The black wolf that saved me 1s now severely outnumbered and wholly surrounded as he puts himself between me and them

Yet, no matter how many spill into the kitchen, he keeps attacking them with surprising finesse

But he’s slowing down, limping and bleeding in several places. I feel powerless, unable to shift and of no use to him. All I can do 1s watch and slowly back up, watching them

intently. Who is

this mysterious wolf? And why hasn’t he abandoned me to save himself?