Chapter 1
Ava's Pov
The first thing that I felt was cold. A breeze so brisk it was almost painful enough to numb me. I flickered my lids and was immediately forced into shutting them. The cold had pierced into the whites of my eye, it was close to unbearable. My teeth shook inside my mouth as I clenched and unclenched my jaw. My body began to shake as an attempt to keep itself warm. This was beyond torture, I could not speak, only moan. Painful shrieks uttered from the back of my throat. It felt as if my skin itself had dissipated and left me bare with nothing but bones and blood.
Please, I thought but I wanted to scream, please get me out of here!
As time passed, I began to become aware of my surroundings. I was inside of a box, a thick one made of glass. Even when I dared to open my eyes for a second, I could not see anything. Chunky gray smoke lived inside making it close to impossible to see anything beyond the glass. I never grew used to the cold, although every passing minute felt like I was inching closer to death.
Finally, the cold began to ease. The glass box began to lift and release the icy smoke. Warmth flooded inside but I could not stop shivering. When the glass had opened all of the way and most of the smoke disappeared, I could make out the room that I was in.
A lab, with large computer screens and dozens of boxes just like the one I was in. The walls were made of thick glass, a futuristic like setting that felt as if I had stepped into a different dimension. I sat up and jumped at the sound of something. Memories began to flood into my brain, flashbacks of my life. I shut my eyes as a vision of my father had came into it.
"You can't have her, you dirty wolves!" he was outraged. A short and slender men, he'd gone gray years before the memory. I could feel arms on me, forcing me away from him. In my memory I was beyond scared. I kept thinking over and over again, what will they do with me?
"Dad please," I screamed out," don't let them take me, please!"
But we were no match against the group of men. I remembered that they all shared the same thick black tattoo, tribal art that began at their forearm and traveled to lick spirals of their neck and chest. They held down my father and tore me away, the sounds of his gutting despair had been the theme for the rest of all that I could remember.
"Oh my lord, I can't believe it," this time, it was a different man's voice, not a memory but in real life. I turned around and stared fearfully at the tall man hovering to the right of me. I did not speak, I waited for him to," how is this even possible?"
He stepped closer and closer to me until he lifted his palms and cupped my cheeks. I felt his thumb glide across my bottom lips and he breathed out full of smoke," you're stunning. Quite possibly the most beautiful doll to ever exist."
I shrunk under his intimidating touch. I was still cold. I looked down at my pale skin, I was completely naked. I reached up to cover my breasts but he was still staring as if dumbfounded. His eyes studied me from head to toe and it felt as if the seconds had turned into minutes. I wished that I could disappear, I wished that I had something-anything to cover myself up. I used my long black hair to cover my chest and my lower abdomen. I crossed my legs and stared down at my thighs. The tall and built man seemed to discover pleasure in my discomfort, almost as if my vulnerability turned him on. I could not meet his gaze but I wondered if he was part of the pack of wolf-men that stole me from my father.
How long has it been? Where is my father?
"You probably have some questions," he began, tearing his eyes away from my bare breasts and looking into my eyes. I examined his arms, he had the same tattoo as the wolf- men from my memories.
I swallowed a wide lump in my throat and squeaked out," where am I?" I needed water, I didn't realize how thirsty I was.
"You're at the Doll Lab at the Losten Pack Reserve, you've been frozen for about a decade."
What the hell?
"What do you mean frozen?"
"You were put to sleep, not by me but my uncle -may he rest in peace- exactly 10 years ago when your human village was found by some of our pack members."
I recalled briefly, my time at the village with my father. We were the only two left of our family, we'd been surviving for years before they finally found us. My memory was hazy, it hurt to try to remember more.
"Do you mean when the wolf-men took me away from my father, they froze me?"
"Yes."
"Where is he now?"
"Your father? No idea but you will have a new identity now, you're still, however , 20 years old."
"How is that possible?"
The man fiddled with some paperwork in his hands,"your name was Anna? Fitting, quite pretty .....actually according to your birth certificate, it looks like today is your birthday."
I shut my eyes. Images of a cream cupcake, vanilla, a single candle in it, in our small one bedroom apartment. My father wore a happy smile, he apologized that it was all that he could do for me this year. I couldn't be more thankful. A knock on the door, someone who did not bother waiting for us to let them in. Images of terror flooded in and I shook them out of my head.
"What do you want with me?"
"Today is your lucky day, we've found you a mate."
"A mate?"
"Yes, you now belong to one of the big bad wolf-men," he widened his eyes in mocking horror.
"How could that be possible-"
He did not seem to be listening to me, he continued to say,"None other than the alpha of the Losten Pack himself."
He marched to the back of the lab where a cell phone began to ring and held it to his ears," yes she's ready....more than perfect, she's brilliant...shes ready for transport, oh and bring some clothes, the alpha wont like finding out that we've seen his doll naked."
