TORN BETWEEN THE ALPHA'S TWINS

There was blood everywhere, all I could remember was that there was so much blood everywhere.

A few minutes ago, the night had been still, suffocatingly quiet. It was as if even the crickets and owls were to scared to make noise. That was because they knew something I didn't. There was a monster nearby.

I had been trying to figure out where I was when suddenly, a blood curling scream pierced through the night.

"Oh God please no! Please stop!" A man screamed.

The sound was terrifying. It sounded like fear and pain and agony. I was about to react when more screams filled the air.

"Help! Somebody please help us!" People were in danger, they were dying and they needed my help.

My heart began racing in my chest, and sweat beaded my for head as I struggled to control my breathing. What could possibly make grown men scream like that?

Hot fear coiled inside me as I stood infront of the door that the screams were coming from. My hand was trembling violently as I reached for the handle.

"Get a grip Katie! You can do this," I whispered to myself but the words were barely audible over the pounding of my heart. "I'm a police officer, damn it. I can handle this." I reminded myself.

It didn't matter that I was just 5'3 and weighed 109 pounds. I was a trained police officer and I swore an oath to help and protect people in danger. It was my duty to help these people.

With a shaky breath, I pushed open the door, but was totally unprepared for darkness that quickly swallowed me whole. I seemed to have forgotten my prescription glasses so it was very hard to see at first.

It was the stench that hit me first. It was a sickening mix of blood, piss and death that threatened to choke me.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry and tight, as I stepped into the room.

I kept my senses on high alert but the sight that greeted me when I turned a corner was enough to make me vomit as my blood ran cold.

There were bodies everywhere, slumped and lifeless. The worse part was that some bodies weren't whole, it was as if some were torn to pieces and scattered on the floor like discarded dolls.

My stomach finally churned and I could feel bile rising in my throat as I fought to push the contents of my stomach back inside.

"Oh god," I whispered, my voice barely a recognizable to my ears. "What happened here?"

I forced my feet to move further into the room, my eyes scanning the walls for any clue, any sign of what could have caused such a horror. And then I saw them-the scratches, long and deep, etched into the surface of the walls as if by the claws of a ginormous monster.

"What kind of animal could have done this?" I murmured to myself.

Suddenly, a chorus of loud wolf howls echoed in the distance. The sound immediately sent more icy shivers down my veins.

My fear finally overwhelmed me and I realized that this was way beyond my capacity. Whatever this was, a tiny unarmed human like me couldn't handle it alone.

I turned around to get the hell out of there, but before I could take a single step, I collided with something-or someone-in the darkness.

I let out a scream before I finally managed to ask. "W-Who's there?"

A figure stumbled infront of me, he was covered with blood and was breathing raggedly. He looked like he was seriously injured and on the brink of collapse.

"Miss Katie?" The figure suddenly gasped. His voice was faint but I recognized it immediately.

"Tom?" I gasped. I knew him because I had personally helped to arrest he and his gang members for their violent, horrific crimes in our town.

He and his friends had attacked and killed people, just because they were bored and could do it.

We were finally able to arrest them after many months of investigation but he and most of the others were children of rich and influential men, so they were immediately released and the case was shut down even though we had damming evidence on them.

Still, he was a human being and it was my duty to help him, even now.

I took a step closer, and grabbed his arm. "We need to get out of here," I said, my voice urgent. "I think there's something out here."

But before we could move, Tom collapsed to the ground, his body shaking as more blood gushed from his side. The injury looked very bad and I honestly didn't think he would survive it.

Still, I had to help him to a hospital. I reached out to grab him again but he took one look at me and recoiled, his eyes wild with fear.

"What?-" I began but he cut me off.

"You!... It's you!" He screamed, "You did this! You killed them!"

I recoiled, shocked at his reaction to me.

"You fucking bitch! You killed everyone!"

"What? No, Tom, you're wrong. I would never-"

But before I could finish my sentence, I suddenly jolted awake.

***

When I jolted awake, my heart was still racing in my chest and my skin felt slick with sweat.

It took me a moment to recognize my surroundings, the familiar view of my bedroom, and the soft glow of streetlights shining through the curtains.

"It was just a dream," I whispered to myself.

It was the same mantra I had been repeating every other time that I had this nightmare. "It's Just a dream."

When my heart finally slowed down, I tried to lie back on the bed, but that's when I suddenly realized that I wasn't on the bed.... I was on the floor!

I was naked, and it wasn't sweat covering me,... it was blood!

My heart started pounding viciously again but I forced it to slow down. There was no need to panic. I wasn't in danger and this was not the first time that this had happened to me before.

Over the past few months, I had been having different variations of this kind of nightmare. I would see bloodied or dead bodies of some of the town's most vicious criminals.

Some violent drug dealers, murderers, kidnappers, rapists and traffickers. The one thing in common they all had was that they had been unjustly freed through their corruption and influence.

I didn't know what these nightmares meant, or why I always woke up covered in blood. All I knew was that I had to keep it a secret. No one could find out that I, a police office often woke up on my bedroom floor, covered in somebody's blood with no memory of how I got that way.

I took a quick shower and cleaned up the mess before glancing at the clock-only a few hours until I had to wake up and go to work.

I was just about to go back to sleep before my phone rang. It was Eloise, my only friend and fellow colleague.

"H-h Hello?" I answered. I stuttered sometimes, and it often made made me the target of bullies but the stuttering always got worse when I was nervous.

"Hi Katie, sorry to wake you up so early in the morning, but you have to resume work 2 hours early today."

"W-What? Why?" I asked.

"Well.... Remember Tom? The rich kid that we arrested but got suddenly bailed by his asshole dad?"

My heart skipped a beat as Tom's bloodied face from my dream flashed in front of me.

"Yea? Wh-what about him?" I asked tentatively.

"He's dead. His body was found a few hours ago, along with some of his other friends. Most of the station have been called over to investigate the site, so we have to cover their shift."

"O-okay." I gulped. But then I thought of something. "Wait! D-do they know how he died?" I asked, and Eloise hesitated.

"He was murdered, all of them, I heard that it looks like an animal attack but we're not sure. That's why more than half the station is there investigating. If he was murdered by someone, that person better flee the country because his parents will probably burn the world down looking for his killer. That means double the work for us." She joked and I pretended to laugh.

The truth was that I suddenly felt weak, like I was about to faint.

"Oh and one more thing," Eloise said. "His body was found on Grater's street. Isn't that just a few blocks away from your house?" She asked and I froze.

"N-not r-really." I stuttered and Eloise paused.

"Yes it is, I remember always passing it on my way from your house."

I felt all the blood drain from my face. This was it, I was screwed.

Thankfully Eloise only warned me to be careful of wild animals when she confirmed that my house wasn't far from the crime scene. I was relieved that she didn't suspect anything or ask any questions because I honestly didn't know how to answer her.

The memory of the blood-curdling screams, torn up bodies, and Tom's bloody, accusing gaze haunted me for the rest of the morning. But I still managed to get dressed and head to the station on time.

As I made my way to the police station, I kept my head down, intentionally trying to be invisible. This didn't even have anything to do with Tom's murder. No.

I had been hiding from everyone all my life. When people first met me, most of the tried to be kind and say hello. But when I began to stammer and stutter, the nice people would feel awkward and walk away, but the bullies would laugh and decide that I was their latest play thing.

Soon I decided that it would be best to stay quiet and be as invisible as possible. But that never stopped the bullies from abusing me though.

I was a smallish girl, Just 5'3, thin, always wearing big prescription glasses, always stuttering and had a very low self esteem. In high school, this made me the prime target for bullies who liked to hit me and push me around because they knew I could never fight back.

That's why I wanted to be a cop. To train hard, become strong and fight the bad guys that liked to take advantage of the weak.

Things didn't go the way I planned though. I still looked weak and most departments didn't want to hire me until they found out I was exceptionally good with paper work.

So now I was still weak, still timid, full of insecurities and even though people didn't physically push me around anymore, they loved to walk all over me and selfishly use me for what they wanted.

I still couldn't say no, so I tried to avoid them.

I slipped through the doors of the station, and noticed that my only friend Eloise wasn't around. She was probably assigned to the crime scene along with the others.

I made a beeline for my desk, hoping to escape notice, but before I could reach it, a chorus of voices called out to me.

"Hey, Katie! Over here!"

Shit! They noticed me! I had fucked up!.

I slowly turned around, mentally smacking myself for not hiding properly as I saw Bruce- my worst nightmare beckoning me over to where he and his friends were sitting.

Bruce was the biggest asshole I had ever met. He was totally corrupt, he would often release even the worst criminals if they bribed him with enough cash, he always abused his power by bullying civilians to get whatever he wants, and he never understood the word No.

Everyone knew that he only got the job because his father was a politician. And no one dared to question him in fear of angering his father.

Unfortunately for me, he seemed to have a crush on me. One week after I started working here, Bruce asked me to be his girlfriend.

I had heard enough from people to know that when he said girlfriend, he meant slut.

Bruce didn't care about any one but himself, and I knew that he didn't care for me at all, he just wanted a plaything he could fucked around with.

When I had politely refused, he went mad. He called me a stupid bitch and swore to revenge, then he promised to make me his slut one day.

I desperately wanted to report him to the station, but when I discovered who his father was, I painfully kept quiet. Since then, Bruce took any opportunity to torment me.

I plastered a fake smile on my face, hoping to hide my discomfort as I reluctantly strode towards them.

"M-morning, everyone," I mumbled. I didn't always stutter,

"Morning, Katie!" they chorused, their voices too bright and too cheerful for my liking. It felt as if they were planning something mischievous.

"Hey, Katie, do you mind taking care of these for us?" Bruce asked, roughly shoving a mountain of files at me with a smirk.

I opened my mouth to protest, "I -I c- can't." I was trying to explain that I already had my own work to do, but the words died on my lips as laughter erupted.

"C-c-c-ca-" One of them mocked causing them to burst out laughing again.

"What's the matter, Katie? Cat got your tongue?" another taunted, his tone dripping with mockery.

"Oh, she's such a fucking joke." Bruce laughed. "I can't believe they allowed a pathetic little thing like you work here. How are you supposed to catch any bad guys with how weak you are, Heck What can you do if one of us decides to bend you over this table huh?!"

I felt my cheeks burn with shame, the familiar sting of tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. I knew what they were doing-teasing me,

taunting me with my own insecurities. Bullies like them had been doing it for as long as I could remember, ever since I was a child with thick glasses and a stutter that refused to be tamed.

But I refused to be that wimpy helpless girl that cried just because an asshole was mean to them.

Instead I forced a smile, willing myself not to give them the satisfaction of seeing me break.

"If any of you tried to do something I didn't consent to. I'll cut of your dicks and feed it to my dogs," I declared without a stutter, "And that would be a terrible shame for you Bruce, seeing that your dick is too small to begin with."

"Fucking bitch!" Bruce roared and tried to lunge at me, but his friends held him back.

"No no, not here man, people will see us." One of his friends warned. They didn't stop him because they cared about me, they just didn't want to get in trouble.

Bruce swore at me, calling me every nasty name in the dictionary, but I pretended to be unfazed until he and his friends stormed away, leaving behind me and their paper work behind.

I sank back into my chair, trying hard to stop myself from shaking with fear and anger. I had just pretended to be bold, but in reality, I knew that I could never stand against someone as strong and as mean as Bruce.

They were right, I was a fucking joke. I felt smaller and more alone than ever.

I wished, not for the first time, that I could be any other person that was not me - That I could truly be confident, outgoing, unburdened by the weight of my own fears and flaws.

But no amount of wishing could change who I was. I was Katie-a smallish, weak awkward girl with thick glasses and a stutter that marked me as weird and unattractive. And no matter how hard I tried to hide it, the truth remained-I was alone, with no friends to call my own except for Eloise and my parents.

Speaking about my parents, it had been a while since I had spoken to them, so I pulled out my phone and tried to call them.

The calls rang but they didn't answer which was a little weird. Assuming they were busy, I decided to call them again after work.

I looked at all the paperwork in front of me, including the one Bruce had graciously dumped on me and I let out a sigh of frustration. It was going to be a very long day.

A few hours later, the fluorescent lights of the station buzzed overhead, casting a harsh glow over the cluttered desk in front of me.

Papers were piled around me, as proof of another day I had spent buried under a mountain of boring lies and nonsense. In this station, we knew that politics, power and money always won over real justice anyway.

So I didn't really serve the people or the law. I served the rich, greedy and the powerful. Gosh my life was miserable!

I rubbed my tired eyes, willing myself to focus, to push through the exhaustion that was trying hard to consume me.

I glanced at the clock-many hours had passed since Closing time at the station, yet still, the endless stream of paperwork showed no signs of stopping.

Bruce and the rest of my colleagues had long since disappeared to their homes, or most likely, a bar to get drunk and pick up some poor unfortunate girl.

With a heavy sigh, I reached for my phone, intending to check the time, only to freeze when I saw the screen-twenty missed calls, all from my parents.

My heart skipped a beat, and a sudden wave of cold panic washed over me. It was highly unusual for my parents to call me more than twice! Was something wrong?

Because I was so busy, it seems that I had forgotten to take my phone off silent mode, and had missed all their calls.

But over 20 missed calls?! What was so urgent that they called that much?!

I couldn't explain why but a sudden wave of panic surged within me.

It was so bad that it threatened to overwhelm my common sense as I began to imagine my parents in an accident, frantically trying to call me for help.

I frantically dialed their numbers back, my fingers shaking as I pressed the call button, but each try brought out my worst fear-no answer.

"Come on, pick up," I muttered, my voice beginning to fill up with fear. "Please mum, pick up."

But still, there was no answer, no reassuring voice on the other end of the line to tell me I was worrying about nothing.

Once again, my mind started raced with possibilities, had something happened to them? Were they hurt, or worse?

With that thought, I grabbed my coat and rushed out of the station, my heart pounding in my chest as I made my way to my car.

But just before I could unlock my car door, some one suddenly yanked me back, roughly covering my mouth with their big sweaty hands.

My eyes widened and I screamed into their palm.

I twisted and flailed until I caught a glimpse of my attacker.

It was Bruce, huge stinking Bruce that was attacking me.

I felt panic seize me and I screamed again.

"Shit the fuck up bitch! Did you really think I was going to let you walk away with humiliating me in front of my friends?" He growled. "It's pay back time bitch!"

I tried to bite his hand, but he turned me around and punched me right in the face. I felt my body spin as the world around me turned dark.

Was this it? Was this how I was going to die?

I had that dream again. The dream where there was a monster, blood and dead bodies everywhere. It was so horrible that I screamed myself awake.

But when I woke up, I faced another shocking scene.

I wasn't at home in bed like I usually was after a nightmare, Instead, I was on the floor of the parking lot in the police station. What was I doing there?

I looked around, trying to understand what was happening but a sudden sharp pain in my head distracted me.

Flashes of lost memories came flooding back.

Bruce had attacked me and tried to violate me.... I quickly scanned myself and realized that I was relatively safe and untouched so where was Bruce now?

As if to answer my question, my eyes suddenly caught sight of a pool of blood in the corner. It wasn't from me, so was it from Bruce?

"Oh God! Did I kill him? Did I kill a fellow police officer just like I killed Tom?!" I gasped to myself.

Cold terror seized me and I didn't think before I hopped in my car and drove off. I wasn't going to sit around and wait till my colleagues arrested me.

I only had one place to run to, the same place I was going before Bruce attacked me.-My parents house.

The streets to my parents home was completely empty and pitch black when I got there.

The eerie silence broken only by the sound of my own footsteps echoing off the pavement.

As I approached their house, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach-the lights were off, the windows shrouded in darkness. I knew it was late, but they were always up at this hour, watching Tv or nagging me over the phone.

What was wrong? Did something bad happen to them?

"M-mom ? D-d-dad?" I called out, my stammer growing worse with my mounting fear. "A-are you there?"

No response. I pushed open the door, the hinges creaking in protest, and stepped inside.

"M- Mom? Dad?" I called out again, my voice echoing through the empty house. "W-where are you?"

I made my way to their bedroom with my heart pounding in my chest and a painful lump forming in my throat.

And then I saw them-lying on the floor, their bodies bloody and lifeless, just like the dead bodies in my nightmares.

"No, No! I whimpered, my voice barely audible over the sound of my own racing heartbeat. "This can't be happening. Mom! Dad!"

I rushed to their side, my hands trembling as I reached out to touch them, but they were cold and unresponsive, their eyes closed forever.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I knelt beside them, my body shaking with sobs. Where they calling me for help? Had they been begging me to save them and I had missed it?! This was all my fault.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, my voice choking in my tight throat "I should have been here. I should have answered your calls. I'm so sorry."

But it was too late for apologies, too late for regrets. They were gone, stolen from me in a second, leaving behind nothing but a gaping void of guilt that no amount of tears could fill.

I was about to let out a scream of pain when a large, masculine hand suddenly closed around my mouth, forcing me to stay quiet.

I felt fear and panic seize me. Was this the person who killed my parents?! Was he trying to kill me too?.

I panicked and struggled against him, but he roughly pulled me back. Easily blocking my attempts to push him off.

This was the second time I was being attacked tonight. And my parents were just murdered. What the hell was going on?

The attacker suddenly started pulling me away from my parents bodies, dragging me to the kitchen. He probably wanted to stab me to death with the large kitchen knives.

I tried to scream again but he grabbed my throat. Stopping me from breathing at all. Then he bent and whispered in my ear.

"If you don't want to die like your parents, you better shut the fuck up! I'm going to release you now so you can see me, but if you try to scream or run away, I will be forced to use drastic measures. Do you understand?" He warned and I nodded.

I wanted to see his face too. I wanted to see the face of the person who killed my parents. I wanted to know why he had done it.

True to his word, he slowly released me and turned me around to face him. I didn't know what I expected a killer to look like, but I did not expect him to have beautiful golden eyes that shone in the dark.

That wasn't all that I noticed about him though. His jawline was sharp, and his hair was full. Despite the pain and panic in my heart, a be part of me noted that he was young and probably one of the most handsome men I had ever seen in my life.

I felt a shiver run down my spine as I looked into his eyes. It was as if I could feel him entering my brain. It was a weird feeling and should be quite impossible, but despite the messy situation I was in, I felt attracted to him. Not just physically though, it felt like I needed him.

"Why?" I asked, my stammering had disappeared in the face of danger.

"Why what?" He asked.

"Why did you kill my parents?!" I sobbed. "They were good people, they never hurt anyone! They never did anything wrong! Why would you do this to them?!" I cried.

The man looked at me for a moment before speaking. "Katie, I want you to listen to me very carefully. My name is Jace, and I'm here to help you. The people in that room are not who you think they are." He said and I frowned.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely confused. Was he mad? Was that why he did this? Because he lost his senses?!

"Katie." He continued. "That man and woman in that room are not your parents."

"W-what?"

"They aren't your parents, and you are not even human." He said and I realized that this man had truly lost his mind.

"Katie, listen to me, we don't have much time. I know you are not human because you and I are the same. Watch this!"

His eyes suddenly flashed brighter and deadly sharp claws suddenly extended from his hands.

I had to hold my mouth to stop myself from screaming in fear. He was telling the truth. He wasn't human!

"What-- How-- What are you?" I asked.

He looked straight at me and answered.

"I am a werewolf Katie, and so are you.'