Don’t move. Take a deep breath. Mommy is going to find you soon.

Seven-year-old Esme hugged herself as she hid in the alley, trembling. She could hear them meters away. Their howls penetrated through the silent night accompanied by loud screams and begging. Even the air smelt like blood.

Her heart pounded heavily against her chest as she heard them approaching. Esme wanted to cry out for her mother who had suddenly disappeared out of sight, but resorted to cupping her mouth to suppress her sobs.

Esme was sure her mother would come back soon and she didn’t want to risk getting caught by the monsters. A few minutes later, she saw big giant creatures walking ahead, growling as they paced. A startled muffled scream escaped her lips before she could stop it and the parade stopped.

Hot tears stung her eyes as the scary creatures glanced toward the alley. She muttered a silent prayer as they stared intensely at her hiding place. Relief washed through little Esme when they resumed walking.

Just when she heard a deep growl behind her and turned around quickly to see the giant red-eyed wolf. She screamed and took to her heels but she didn’t get far before the giant creature slammed into her and she lost consciousness.

By the time she regained consciousness, she realized she was in a cell with hundreds of children her age. Some were yelling, screaming, yanking the chains, pleading and crying for their parents but Esme could only stare.

Perhaps it was her brain struggling to process the fact that she was abducted and taken somewhere far away from home. Esme panicked. She was far from home!

The cell door opened suddenly and a huge man walked in.

“On your feet and follow me,” he ordered.

“No! I want to go home to my daddy and…..:” A thunderous slap interrupted the child, followed by simultaneous gasps. The boy was on the floor, barely moving.

“This should serve as a warning to you all. No one questions me. I am Commander Javier and you little pests will do as I say or I will crush you,” He threatened and the children clustered together, frightened.

“Move!” he snapped and they scampered out of the cell. No one was willing to be the last.

Commander Javier led them into a big hall filled with strange faces and several batches arranged according to age.

Javier shared them into the batches according to their ages. Esme stood anxiously in the age seven batch. She kept glancing at the door anxiously, waiting for her mother to come in with the police and rescue her.

None of that happened. Instead, a scary cruel-looking man with an ugly scar on his face stood up and introduced them as the next set of prey. Emse and the other children, of course, had no idea what that meant.

The scarred man, who was known as Alpha Zane, called forth trainers, who were mostly women to select a batch of their choice for grooming.

That was how she ended up withMistresss Arline.

11 Years Later

Esme stood at a corner, watching the new set of humanlings assigned to their families based on their skills. From her years of study, she had been made to understand that they were four hierarchies for the prey. The substitutes, being the weakest and lowest in the hierarchy, were used as replacements for either breeders and on very rare occasions, the games.

They were easily identified by the lowly attires they wore. Light materials with no footwear and short chapped hair. It was the lowest of the lowest, accompanied by severe humiliation and assault. A substitute was an easy target for wolves who were undeserving of the breeders. Esme could not imagine herself living as a substitute. She would rather take her life. Many of them did.

The third in the hierarchy were the Breeders. Exceptionally beautiful women and gorgeous men, adorned in ornaments and stylish clothing. The selected ones were groomed on the act of love-making. They knew how to please the werepeople, satisfy their wild urges and bear as many children as they were supposed to.

Esme grimaced at the thought. The idea of getting in bed with these ruthless people disgusted her. A breeder was no option for her either.

The next set was ranked second in the hierarchy. The Games. Skilled human lings who knew the art of survival. Being a game had its pros and cons. While it gave you the ability to develop your survival skills and explore the weakness of the predators, it also exposed you to the risk of getting killed for fun or as food.

As scary as it sounded, Esme liked the idea of fighting back and not feeling totally helpless even if she ended up in shreds.

The first and strongest in the hierarchy were the Protectors. Professional and highly skilled Gamers who had proven themself worthy over time. They were responsible for training the games. While the games were hunted by the Betas and Deltas, the Protectors played with the Alphas. It was usually one hell of a bloody game but interesting and satisfactory to see that neither was left unscathed. Only the Protectors could stand in the way of an Alpha. Those wolves were so ruthless and powerful that one of them could take down ten games at once.

The good thing was that the Alphas gamed once in two weeks, sometimes a month. They were too busy invading human villages and merging packs.

“Esme?” She heard the voice of her guardian and turned quickly.

“Good morning, Mistress,” She bowed.

“Why are you out here so early child?” Arline asked softly.

“I wanted to see the grade assignment. Most of the girls seem happy with what they got,” Esme said, staring at the squealing girls, appalled. “It seems we only have a bunch of horny teenagers in this set. Only ten games.”

Arline chuckled, “You too will be happy, trust me. The breeders are the most pampered in the system. You might even find someone you like.”

“What is the point? You can’t be with him anyway. Only the Alphas can make a breeder exclusive and that doesn’t guarantee love. It only makes you a sex toy and a pup-breeding machine. His Luna will always be his one and only,” Esme spat.

Arline smiled. She understood the child’s bitterness.

“Your birthday is a week away,” Arline said.

“Unfortunately. I just hope they find me skilled enough to be a game. I’d rip my hair off if I had to dress in fancy clothes and pretend to feel lucky,” Esme scoffed.

Before Arline could say a word, they heard a loud scream and in a second, everyone followed it to the blood ground. There were a few scattered people around, but no one was permitted to get closer except the Alphas, Betas, and Elders.

They already enclosed the poor girl in a circle, men holding her down securely.

“Please spare m-me… please d-don’t t-take my life….” She cried and Esme’s heart felt heavy. She already knew what this was. The man in the middle stood in front of her with a sword. “Please…”

He shut his eyes, his hands tightening around the sword as his heart tore apart. His wolf fought to break free as their mate pleaded for mercy.

“What are you waiting for? Do it and cleanse yourself from this abomination,” the Alpha commanded.

“No please… no…”

“I.. I… Delta M-Morris… refuse to…”

“Speak!” An Elder snapped.

“Refuse to b-be mated to a weak, lowly creature like you. I, hereby, reject y-you as my mate..”

Esme watched the heart-wrenching scene with teary eyes.

“Do it!”

“Nooo…. Please…” With one strike of the sword, her head rolled to his foot. A heart-wrenching scream escaped his lips as his knees dropped to the floor in grief.

Esme watched in disgust as they ignored his pain and forced him to drink the blood of his mate for ‘cleansing’, then called on the wolves to feed on her body.

This wasn’t the first, and neither would it be the last. These men were not just cruel to humans but despicable to their kind as well. If any wolf was mated to a human, then they would have to kill their mate and feed the pack.

Anyone who resisted was killed alongside their mate.

Another reason why she would rather die than get in bed with any wereman.