Redeeming The Alien Werewolf

01.

(if you want to listen while you read the audiobook is linked above!)

Vanessa

Fuck, I wanted to be anywhere but here.

I pushed peas around my plate of half-eaten dinner as my date droned on about his achievements and how he thought women should be more obedient, whatever the hell that meant.

Ugh. Of course my parents set me up on a blind date with a real jerk. Every time he opened his mouth I wanted to punch his smug face but I didn't. Yet.

"Vanessa, are you even listening to me? I was just saying how your art is cute, but it's not really a career choice. You'd be better off focusing on nursing– you went to school for it after all," he said, waving his fork around as drops of food spewed from his mouth because he chose to keep talking, even with a full mouth. Gross, man.

I clenched my hands into fists under the table, nails digging into my skin. Stay calm. I forced a tight-lipped smile. "Thanks for the advice, Brody."

Yeah, I really should be taking advice from the guy who could only get a job at his dad's firm.

He laughed, his nasally voice grating on my nerves. "Yeah, well, good luck with all that. Let's face it, you're not going to make any money from it."

"Money isn't everything," I shot back, my patience wearing thin.

"Maybe not, but it certainly helps." He glanced around the restaurant, exchanging a knowing look with someone. Did he actually have his friend come spy on our date or something? Jeez, I had enough of this bullshit.

"Excuse me." I pushed back from the table, chair scraping. "I need some fresh air."

"Sure, go ahead." Dick. Like I needed his permission to leave. His eyes never left the person he had been communicating with.

I didn't need fresh air, I was ditching. I tapped my watch on the hostess' machine to pay for my meal and hightailed it out of there.

As soon as I stepped outside, I gasped, taking in deep breaths of the cool night air. I tasted the sterile hint of dust, the bitter tang of diesel, and the thick smog that never seemed to leave since WWXI.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. Why did mom and dad want me to find a guy so badly? I did what they asked and became a nurse– couldn't they just leave me alone? I grumbled under my breath. What a waste of an evening.

While I searched my purse for my keys, a sharp pain struck the back of my head. Fuck. Brody's nasally laughter rang in my ears as my world went black.

When I woke up, my senses returned gradually. My head throbbed like a motherfucker.

What? I was some kind of cell? It was dank and smelled like a radioactive sewer. I reached up to the back of my head and felt a bump the size of a grapefruit. Ouch.

Shit. Brody must've kidnapped me. The metallic tang of blood washed over my tongue.

As my vision cleared, I looked around the room. The cell was the size of a large closet, crammed with other women. Wait, not women. My heart stuttered. What the fuck was going on here?

Those were no human women. They all varied in sizes and shapes, some tall and thin, others short and round. Most had vibrant blue or green skin tones, though some had shades of yellow or orange. Some had extra appendages and antennae that twitched and some of them had multiple tails or wings.

They were... aliens?

Suddenly, the only thing that I could smell was my own fear. It was an acrid, acidic stench, like the burning of my insides. I stood, frantically looking out the bars of the cell.

No windows, no lights. Just a long hallway with a series of doors on either side.

I found myself in a cage next to several frightened-looking alien females. The room was deathly silent. The only noise was a low, weird humming. If these were aliens... was I on a spaceship? I shook my head frantically. No, no, no. This couldn't be real.

But I didn't have a wild enough imagination to come up with this crap. I gulped.

Brody had sold me out, probably for money, and we had all been abducted. Shit, shit, shit. I backed up, hitting the wall. Why couldn't I get in enough air? I pressed a cold hand against my hot chest.

"What's going on?" I whispered to the alien next to me, trying to keep my voice steady despite my fear.

Nobody replied for a long while. Did they not understand me?

"We're prisoners," one female finally replied, her eyes wide, movements skittish. I understood what she was saying, so there was some sort of translation system working. "They take us and make us fight for their entertainment."

My heart pounded, but I knew I couldn't let fear overtake me. I had to stay strong.

Just then, one of our captors approached the cage, reaching in to grab the alien who had spoken to me.

A surge of adrenaline shot through me. I instinctively stepped between them, shielding her as best as I could.

"Leave her alone!" I yelled, glaring at the creature. It looked like a giant bug– an insectman. The insectman hesitated for a moment, taken aback by my defiance.

As the tension grew, a low growl sounded from the shadows. A massive wolf stepped into the dim light cast by the cell. Someone whimpered.

The beast stood taller than a man with matted, patchy, and scarred black fur. Blood dripped into his eye and from the wounds I saw on him, not all of that was his blood. I gulped again, throat dry. Whoa.

His muscles rippled with power and his sharp teeth glinted in the light as he snarled and growled. His eyes were a deep gold with a burning intensity that spoke of an ancient power.

His golden eyes met mine, filled with both ferocity and a hint of understanding.

I couldn't help but feel a spark of hope amidst the darkness.

✶ ☾ ✶

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thought's on Chapter 1? Do you like Vanessa? Are you gonna keep reading? Are you curious about the mystery wolf?

Comments and votes are much appreciated (and keep me motivated to write the next chapter).

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Virtually yours,

Ro

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