The Damned: Hunted Book 1

  D.E. Chapman

  The Damned

  (Hunted Book 1)

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Copyright © 2021 by D.E. Chapman

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by Amber Biesecker

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Vampire alphas...yum!

  The Damned

  Theo has never wanted an omega. Becoming addicted to estrous and blood isn’t appealing to him in the least. But the choice has been taken from the alpha, and now he's bonded to a wisp of a woman who only reminds him of the invisible chains tying him down. He’s determined to keep her at a distance, to treat her like an unwanted pet until he can sever their bond and free his pack from her clutches.

  Little does he know that Anna doesn’t want him either.

  Abducted and forced into her heat, this omega will do anything to reclaim her freedom from a pack that despises her. She wants nothing more than to return to her old life and forget the nightmare of their forced bond ever happened in the first place. She wants a life devoid of imprisonment and isolation.

  But she hasn’t realized yet that not everyone in the pack wishes her gone.

  Warning: This book is intended for mature audiences with its foul language, sexual dubcon scenes, and graphic violence.

  Table of Contents

  Key Info

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by D.E. Chapman

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  Key Info

  du Sang Pack - owners of the Field, Crimson Desires, Plaisirs du Sang, Blood Flow, and Iron Tower; leaders of Darva City

  Theo du Sang - lead alpha male

  Mason du Sang - alpha male; twin of Brenton

  Brenton du Sang - alpha male; twin of Mason

  Anna - omega female; mated into the du Sang pack

  Tiffany - beta female

  Stark Pack - owner of the Omega Organization

  Tilla Stark - alpha female; mother to the du Sang alphas

  Sain du Sang - omega male; mated into Stark Pack; father of the du Sang brothers

  Omegaverse - this trope features an alternate universe in which humans have a very similar biology and pack structure to wolves; there are betas, omegas, and alphas.

  Alpha - they have the highest rank, are the most dominant and aggressive, and have a strong scent; they enter rut during an omegas heat.

  Beta - essentially, they are basic humans.

  Omega - they are considered the weakest, least dominant and aggressive, and have an equally strong scent that appeals to alphas particularly; they enter heats/estrous which is not as frequent as periods; they are very fertile during their heats and can be bitten and bound to an alpha.

  Slick - this is secreted by omegas typically when they are in heat but it can also happen outside their heat in the presence of their bound alpha; sweet taste.

  Heat/Estrous - affects only omegas; their bodies are at their prime breeding time and this involves at times, three days of high body temperatures and need before it passes; omegas during their heat desire an alpha to mate them, knot them, and breed them; this is when omegas are able to be bonded by an alpha's bite and knot.

  Scent Marking - using either the scent glands on their skin or the scent of their release, omegas and alphas can warn other contenders away; it is a way of showing ownership.

  Rut - this is the alpha version of a heat; they get even more aggressive and possessive of omegas during this time; they are consumed with the need to breed.

  Knot - alphas have knots that tie an omega and alpha together during mating.

  Bonding - an alpha can bite an omegas nape and break skin during their heat, this results in a claim, a bond; pheromones are secreted into the bite that warns other alphas away.

  Chapter 1

  Theo

  Looking out into the cityscape of Darva never gets old. It’s a beautiful city, known for its nightlife and the damn Omega Organization. What I love about it most, though, is the way the sun sets against the matte black skyscrapers. It reminds the inhabitants of who owns this thriving city, whose rules they must follow to survive here.

  Every decision in Darva is made by the three alpha lords known for their savagery and cruelty, including the color paint on every fucking building. There’s not a damn thing happening in this city they don’t know about, and that they don’t have a hand in—three filthy rich brothers who are also disgustingly handsome. I’m the oldest, the most dominant, and what I say goes.

  “Did you have time to review Mason’s report on that beta-exclusive club that what’s-his-face proposed?” Brenton inquires with an annoyed sigh, cutting through my thoughts to talk more business.

  I've long forgotten what our conversations were like before we consumed this city from the ground up. Once upon a time, dare I say we had fun. Now it’s all business deals and money. I'm not complaining; I do love being rich. It’s afforded us the most expensive and lavish penthouse in Darva.

  The what’s-his-face is Dentri, one of our more prominent associates. If not for myself and my brothers, he’d have been king of Darva, but alas, he was a few million dollars short of that title.

  I scoff and turn. “I left the decision up to him.”

  His blue eyes widen. “To Mason? Why the fuck would you do that?”

  “Why not?”

  “Cause he’s a fucking idiot, is why.” My brother’s lip curls, and he takes a deep swallow of his whiskey with more force than necessary.

  “You know that’s not true, Brent.”

  I turn back around to face the darkening city, no longer in the mood to entertain this conversation. Tonight, I just want to fucking relax and not have to worry about my two brothers’ worsening disposition toward one another. You’d think as twins, they’d be thicker than thieves—and at one point, they were—but after all the shit that went down between them, peace is no longer something they’re looking for. It makes for some tense fucking dinners.

  Sometimes I have half a mind to kick them to the curb, but they’re family, and we’ve been through too much to abandon each other. They're all I have.

  We’re all we have.

  Despite Mason’s and Brenton’s near constant bickering and snide remarks, they’d still kill for each other. It’s a promise we made to one another, and one we’ll never break.

  “Speak of the fucking devil, and he’ll appear,” Brenton mutters with a snarl.

  “What the hell is your problem now, fuckface?” Mason drawls in that deep-ass voice of his.

  He's the biggest of us and looks menacing as shit. He has cropped blond hair and piercing blue eyes that somehow give him a horrifying look, or so I've heard. While that fact used to irk me, I've come to accept that size doesn’t mean shit between the three of us. While I might not be as massive as Mason, I can take him down with relative ease, and I don’t need to look like a rock troll to do it. I’m more dominant than both of my brothers, and that’s why I'm their alpha. It doesn’t matter that their own alpha statuses demand they should have their own packs to lead; they refuse to break us up. That means they consent to my rule, and concede to my direct orders when the occasion arises.

  Brenton, on the other hand, is the slimmest of us, but by no means slender. As alphas, we’re naturally stronger, and it shows in our rippling muscles. Brenton just so happens to be an inch shorter than my six-foot-five, and three inches shorter than his twin. Along with his pale blue eyes and nearly white, shoulder-length hair, he’s the prettiest—still deadly and dangerous, of course, but his looks have females and males alike dropping to their knees for a chance in his bed. Bastard usually takes them up on it too. I swear his room has a revolving door for all the betas, and the occasional alpha, prancing through our penthouse like they own the place.

  Frankly, it pisses me off.

  “You’re my problem.” His glass slams against the glass end table, and the lounge chair Brenton was reclined in makes an awful scraping noise when he stands. “Why did Theo give you the beta club to sort out? I’m the better choice here, and you know it.”

  “Why?” Mason snorts. “Because you’re prettier? I don’t need to be pretty to seal this deal, Bret, nor do I need to fuck my way through Dentri’s company to ensure the job is done.”

  Brent snarls, and I cut in sharply, “You’re giving me a fucking headache, brothers. Shut it.”

  And still, I don’t bother to turn around, even though I can practically feel the glares they level at each other. For the millionth time, I curse that stupid bitch for ever getting her claws into my brothers. If not for her and her gold-digging ways, the twins would still be closer than best friends, not whatever this shit is. Most days they can't tolerate each other, and will studiously pretend the other doesn’t exist. Then we have the days like today where insult after insult is all they can manage.

  If that bitch was still alive, I'd have gutted her a second time. Pity I didn’t make her torture last longer while she was still breathing. That was a stupid mistake made by a young alpha trying to prove to his brothers that he can protect them, and himself.

  “The Omega Organization is hosting their annual masquerade tonight,” Brenton states after a few tense moments of silence.

  “I know,” I say, and how could I forget? All my associates incessantly gossip about how many attending omegas are chomping at the bit to be... well, bitten. Nothing turns me off more knowing that as soon as I bond an omega, I'll be forever reliant on their blood, and their cunt.

  “Mother expects to see us there,” he continues.

  “I know!” I snap, teeth bared as I whip around.

  “Touchy,” Brenton tuts.

  “You know my feelings about omegas and the bond,” I say on a sigh. Both of my brothers eye me with something akin to sympathy. If anyone else wore that look, I'd tear into them, but with my brothers, it's different. They understand my aversion to omegas, and they don’t judge me for it, even if it prevents them from claiming their own. “I will do my duty and attend the event, but I'm not happy about it.”

  The woman who gave birth to us is cold, heartless, and cruel. To openly defy her isn’t something I want to deal with at the moment. She unfortunately has the means to make our lives very difficult, so if going to a fucking ball teeming with simpering omegas will keep her happy, then fine. At the very least, I'll be able to talk business with some of my associates. For instance, I know that Franc is looking to acquire a second omega for his pack as his first one passed during childbirth.

  I also know that he’s had his eyes on the Field and was making some... quiet inquiries into who his competitors are in hopes of outbidding them all. Unfortunately for him, my brothers and are damn good at what we do. He doesn’t have any more information about the Field and the coming auction than he did before. And lucky for me, he’s a desperate alpha, and it will be easy enough to coerce him into a lucrative deal that benefits us both. What better place than the annual Omega Organization Offering? He’ll be distracted by the overwhelming scents of omegas, and it will make him careless.

  I scoff. It's happened to greater alphas than Franc.

  “You’re thinking about Franc, aren’t you, Theo?” Mason asks.

  “Yes.” My smile is dark and dangerous, but neither brother so much as flinches. “He’ll be distracted, just as Randy was two years ago. He handed over everything we wanted for so little, and all it took was a room full of omegas to make it happen. At least one good thing will come of this fucking event.”

  Brenton whines. “I want to bed an omega—take one home for the night.”

  “The Omega Organization doesn’t allow casual flings,” Mason snarls. “You bed, you buy.”

  And there is no way in hell I'm buying. I’m not getting saddled with a weak omega.

  Chapter 2

  Anna

  I know the moment my life went downhill. I can remember the exact moment, what I was doing, what I was wearing, who I was with, and how it all happened. And man, do I desperately wish I had just opted to stay home that night. Maybe then this string of horrible luck would have never happened. Maybe then I wouldn't be tied up in a fucking trunk.

  Truthfully when the mandatory second gender testing happened in grade school, I wasn’t nervous at all. When the results revealed I was an omega, I wasn’t even upset. Our society has come a long way in how they treat the three secondary genders. Alphas aren’t treated as gods; they have to work for it like everyone else. Betas and omegas have just as many opportunities as they do, and it all boils down to skills and smarts. Omegas are no longer denied jobs because of their designation and their heats. Instead they are given leave to deal with their trimonthly estrous cycles.

  Best of all is that we aren’t treated like cattle like we were in the past. We have a choice in who we mate with, who we bond with, whose pack we join. As soon as the second gender results are out, all omegas are fitted with a collar that prevents alphas from biting and bonding. It prevents them from developing bloodlust too.

  There’s nothing worse than a rutting alpha salivating for an omega’s blood. They’ll turn on anyone in an attempt to sate their thirst, and they’ll leave dead bodies in their wake. Only their bonded omega can satisfy them once the bond is formed. If that omega dies, then there’s a rush to find a new bonded mate before bloodlust consumes them and they tear through their own pack, looking for relief that will never come.

  It's also why it’s uncommon for more than one alpha to form a pack. Usually the pack consists of one alpha, a handful of betas, and their omega. Too many alphas bonded to the same omega means too high a risk for the pack. This sort of dynamic is just asking for trouble if the omega dies.

  Theoretically, finding an omega isn’t an issue with organizations facilitating meetings and pack pairings, but one alpha is already at an increased risk of draining a new omega dry upon their bonding. Five of them at once is too risky to attempt. A full-grown alpha can kill their new omega during a heat if they aren’t careful. Imagine what four or five alphas could do.

  This happens more often than it should, since these organizations were created to prevent this very thing.

  I shudder just thinking about it.

  Why the hell am I thinking about all this? I don’t even fucking know. The soothing rocking motion of the vehicle and the lingering effects of the sedative lull me into a relatively calm state that has my thoughts drifting. It’s a little alarming how groggy I still feel, and how easily my own thoughts are distracting me.

  It feels like forever ago that I slowly came to in the darkness. It was frightening not knowing where I was and why I couldn’t move my arms or scream.

  It took some wriggling and kicking to deduce that I was in someone's trunk. I had tried to escape by busting out the rear light like everyone says to do, but it hurt me more than it hurt the light. I don’t know if it’s because I’m still weak from the sedative, or because they somehow reinforced the socket, but now my ankle throbs in time with the pounding behind my eyes.

  The bastard got me on my way back from the grocery store. And now my poor peanut butter cup ice cream has been left to melt on the asphalt in the alley a mere block away from my apartment.

  A jab to my arm, and it was lights out. I didn’t even get a good look at the guy who grabbed me. He came up from behind me and wrapped a hand around my mouth before I felt the prick of a needle. I hadn’t heard any footsteps, either, nor could I smell anyone coming. Between the lingering scents of other people and the horrid stench of rotting trash and potent urine, it would have been impossible to scent anyone creeping up on me anyway, so that’s one small consolation. I wasn’t that much of an idiot, I guess. Whoever nabbed me is good.

  I'm just grateful for the leather collar that extends from under my chin to the hollow of my throat. The straps wrap under my armpit to keep my nape, the most crucial part to protect, covered from an unwanted alpha bite. It's locked in place with a key only I have access to, hidden where no one will ever find it. The thin metal woven under the leather means it can’t be cut off, either.

  I've heard about omega kidnappings, but they’re about as common as wolves killing a human—which is to say, not very. I should have paid more attention to those kidnapping tips, because maybe then I’d have already freed myself from the restraints holding my arms behind my back, or found a way to remove the gag to scream for help, or at the very least, busted that fucking rear light out to signal for help.

 

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