BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha's Little Demon

LUCY. I was on my way to the main kitchen from the main floor of the house when I heard Manuel’s voice looking for Stella as he entered the kitchen from the exit door, making me stop in my tracks. I never liked Manuel. He was lazy as a pig but mated to a wonderful female. And I tried to avoid him as much as I could because we always clashed. And I was sure, if Stella was not around, I would have been kicked out of this orphanage a long time ago because of him. "Lucy is ready for the Omega Feast. Make sure she has the proper clothing to attend the ceremony." Manuel blurted out as his footsteps sounded on the kitchen floor. Stella was preparing dishes for the night’s dinner and I was supposed to come and help her. But instead, I hid in the walk-in cupboard so I could listen to more of their conversation. "What? What did you do?" Stella asked, and I could only imagine the frown on her face. "I listed her for the Omega Feast. They just checked her photo and she got accepted right aw

***FLASHBACK.***Underworld.Lucy - 13 years old. LUCY. My hands were too red and itchy now. I’d been doing target shooting using fire for the last hour and I was getting tired of it. I blew up the whole line of target range before I walked out of the pit where I was practicing. I reminded my mentor, Gargon, not to say a word to my father, or I would blow up his face next time. No. I was not scared of anyone. Despite my stubbornness, I was my father’s favorite. He doted on me and no one was allowed to touch me. But I didn’t say I didn’t get punished - I did. But only he was allowed to punish me. I jumped over the hurdles of fire before I was able to reach the fields that smelled like burned coals and grounds. Demons take pleasure in smelling anything that burns, especially flesh being burned, and although I didn’t fancy it, I was getting used to it by now. Another boring day. I wondered when my father would take me to see other creatures again. My father’s capacity to travel in

LUCY. My eyes locked with the darkest blue eyes I had ever seen in my whole life and I felt my whole world stop spinning. His eyes were mesmerizing, and despite the frown on his face, he looked like a god, frowning at me, making my core throb all at once at the fierceness on his face. "Move…" A female hissed behind me, pushing me forward, and I just realized I had stopped dancing. I jolted out of my reverie, my eyes darting around the stage at the other females, trying to figure out where we were in the dance. My heart was thudding loudly. I had never, in the life of me, lost focus, even in a time of danger, but seeing this man, in a split second, all my senses went out the window. My cheeks burned, not out of embarrassment but because I didn’t like the way that the attention was all on me now since I was just standing, not knowing what part we were dancing to. Until another Omega danced her way through me and took my hand, swaying it with her before she twirled me around, whisper

LUCY."I just want to know if you’re worth the fucking 1.5 million and worth putting my life on the line!" He growled at me.Instead of being terrified, something in me snapped. My eyes squinted and before I could stop myself, I was already yelling back at him. "But who the hell told you to accept the duel? We could have just walked away!"My anger surprised him, but I had no idea if it left him speechless or furious, because his face turned stoic as he stared at me.My hands clamped over my mouth before I was able to gather myself and apologize. "I’m sorry, Sir…""Alpha." His tone was too cold."I’m sorry, Alpha."He bought me on impulse, and now that he was given a chance to back out, he wanted to know if I was worth the 1.5 million. I needed to do something. I think I could tolerate his anger versus that perverted man out there.He was still not saying anything and was just looking at me. And I knew I should be acting terrified, but I was not acting this time. My hands were really

LUCY. My hold on the Alpha’s jacket tightened as we entered the indoor arena. The place was deserted except for us and five more people. Alpha Stone and Ethan, who Beta Collin told me was also an Alpha, were standing in the middle with a man between them. "What are they doing?" I asked in a soft voice. "Discussing an agreement." Beta Collin replied as he crossed his arms against his chest. "What kind of agreement, like rules?" "I think they set no rules. Human or wolf form is okay. They are discussing now if the duel is a fight to the death…" "Until death?" I gasped, cutting his words. He chuckled before he continued. "Until death or submission." "And what have they decided? If they will fight to the death, then they’re both stupid! And I will walk out of here, run away, and they will never see me again. They’re wasting their lives for nonsense. Who even duels for a female these days?" "Hmmm… Alpha Stone and Alpha Ethan…" He answered, and I knew he was mocking me. I rolle