Temptation: A Dark Sci-Fi Romance (Alpha Unknown Book 3) Read online

  Temptation

  A Dark Sci-Fi Romance

  Penelope Woods

  Reader: Be Warned

  If you are easily offended or under 18, please stop reading.

  Contents

  Reader: Be Warned

  This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever needed an escape plan

  1. Out Now!

  Prologue: Lucian

  2. Lilly

  3. Lilly

  4. Lucian

  5. Lilly

  6. Lilly

  7. Lucian

  8. Lilly

  9. Lilly

  10. Lucian

  11. Lilly

  12. Lucian

  13. Lilly

  14. Lilly

  Epilogue: Lilly

  15. Out Now!

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  Penelope’s Dungeon

  About the Author

  Penelope Woods

  This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever needed an escape plan

  “There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.”

  ― Mark Twain

  Out Now!

  God in the streets. Devil in the sheets.

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  Prologue: Lucian

  I tried to protect her. I tried to do everything in my power to keep her safe. The more time that passed, the more I understood the danger of this place. We were both victims of cruelty. Pain made our beds. If I was going to save her, I would have to break her. I would have to shatter her world forever.

  She is my temptation - she belongs to me.

  The dark howl of night called out to me, a siren’s song of temptation and lust. I walked through the trees, entranced by the wind. Something was changing in my world, and I was sure it had to do with her.

  Our connection. She was near. With every step I took, my heart pounded within.

  I had seen her once before. Many years ago, I’d disobeyed the rules my fucked up father set in place.

  Now I’d crossed the Great Divide that separated our homes to find her home, an old RV.

  The glowing light pouring out of the small windows put me in a trance. Heavenly and absolute, I knelt and allowed for it to wash over my eyes, my cheeks, and lips.

  Though it was marvelous to see electricity shine so brightly out here, it reminded me of what had happened. The accident.

  Unlike me, she was beautiful. I was a fucking beast. A monster. Tossed aside, I was forced to live a tormented existence. But all of that could change if I had her. With her, I could find a cure to my affliction. She was my one ticket out of here.

  I heard a voice; a man's voice, low and worn down. Her daddy. "How many times do I need to tell you? You’re allowed five minutes of light. Now, get to bed."

  Her father was my father's enemy. He was a man who would do everything in his power to keep me away from his daughter. He was still treating her like a little girl, like a petulant, rotten child, but she was old enough to make her own decisions.

  I’d spent years dreaming about her, waiting for her to answer my prayers to find me on the other side of the Great Divide, but he was too careful, and she knew nothing of my kind.

  I was a freak of nature. I was an animal. No,—I was a man made to bear the look of something unimaginably terrifying. Though I had grown in age and stature, I still didn't know how to control my powerful anger and cunt-destroying lust.

  The accident made me this way. It turned my brother and me into beasts. The accident forced our testosterone and cortisol levels to skyrocket. My muscles bulged, and my blood pulsed, heavy. I felt absolute pain, but the torment was worse than I could ever have imagined. I could take it, but my brother was never the same again.

  Scientists couldn't control us. Neither could private security. We broke free from their restraint and found a life deep within the woods. Rules were made and lines were drawn in the soil, but my desires were insatiable.

  When we found my habitat in these woods, I tried to hold myself back. I tried to be good. But a bad man can't be changed. I was who I was, and I fucking owned every ounce of evil that pulsed within my veins.

  Consumed by a violent lust, I peered into her window. I watched her sleep, smiling peacefully. Was she dreaming of a better tomorrow?

  For now, she was safe. Soon, she'd be mine.

  Lilly

  "Get up. It's time to hunt some wilder-beast."

  My dad stood over my bed with my grandfather's rifle in hand. Face severe, he nodded toward the gun rack on the other side of the hallway, and I felt my heart quicken. "Shit. What time is it?"

  I wiped my eyes open and yawned loudly. The clock showed that it was already ten. “Oh, fuck,” I cursed.

  “Language,” my dad warned.

  I rolled my eyes and fell back against my mattress. “Does language really matter anymore?” I asked.

  In my dreams, I was a different woman, living in a different world. I lived in a humble town with a hunk of a man who vowed to stay with me forever. We had a child. It seemed like we had everything.

  It was a fantasy, no doubt, but it was one worth clinging onto. Out here, things were a little different. The air was pure, but the land was harsh. Unfortunately for us, we were starting to experience changes in the animals’ migrating patterns.

  “C’mon. I said get up,” Dad growled. “The deer won’t wait around to be eaten. We don’t have much time.”

  As I struggled to get out of bed, I tried to remember the details of my slumber. I seemed to lose recollection with every second that passed.

  The dream was an illusion that my mind had tricked me into believing—because love wasn't an option anymore. Not here, at least.

  The world was struggling, but it wasn't a revelation that I relished in. Dad told me the people in the city would eventually run out of resources. Soon, we would be the only ones left with the knowledge to survive. We had our garden, the deer, and enough fresh water from our well—as well as the nearby rivers—to last us a lifetime.

  Even with the right infrastructure in place, things could go wrong. I went over those things over and over in my head. For instance, rising sea levels could have flooded us out.

  Sometimes, it was difficult to believe in our safety. Especially after what happened with my mom.

  "I'm up," I groaned and picked at a knot in my hair. I felt dirty and completely unattractive, but who did I have to impress?

  My dad ran his fingers through his unkempt beard before opening the front door. The cold wind filtered through my auburn hair. Life was supposed to be a gift.

  A gift to inhale clean air.

  A gift to smell and take in all of the natural surroundings.

  But today, that gift came with a whole lot of reluctance.

  The truth was that we were both tired of living a life built on the idea of survival.

  My dad looked out and sighed. "If you're ready, I'm going to need you to search for tracks. Heard a call coming in from the east side, just south of the Divide. Looks like they're back," he said.

  I smiled and felt a rush of relief hit my stomach. "Deer?" I asked.

  "That is correct. God has favored us this season," he said.

  "They won't survive," I said. “The weather isn’t hospitable for them here. They won’t be used to it.”

  “Don’t matter,” he muttered.

  He swung the hunting rifle over his shoulder and walked out of the RV. With every step, I could feel the interior shake.

  I ran after him and nearly tripped over the exit. In the distance, I could hear the call of an elk.

  "Don't dwell on the destruction," h
e said, breathing in deep. "We knew this would happen. Sooner or later, a flip was bound to switch. I told you, things are changing. Earth. This climate. It won’t be long, now."

  "You didn't tell me it would happen so soon," I muttered.

  He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "It's not an end. It’s a new beginning."

  But I couldn't see it as such. Most of the time, I felt betrayed by him. Betrayed by the fact that he’d brought me here.

  Betrayed by the fact that Mom was still gone, and I could never see her again.

  I didn't even know where she was buried.

  "Sure seems like an end," I said, walking ahead of him with determined speed. "Either way, it's nothing to celebrate."

  I wanted a real family. I wanted a life. Most of all, I craved a man who could take me away from this shit-hole.

  "Hey!" he shouted. "Get back here. You'll scare away all our food."

  "Maybe I don't care anymore," I lied.

  I cared. Of course, I cared. I wanted to move forward with life more than anyone in the world. Every single night I dreamt of having a family, of feeling loved and protected. But that wasn’t how things played out. I had to protect myself, and the only way I knew how was by going into pure defense mode.

  When my dad caught up to me, he didn't scold or punish. He was a good man, and he meant well, but he didn't know how to ease my fears. He too had been broken by what had happened. Perhaps he felt it the most.

  "Critter, I taught you well, didn't I?" he asked.

  "Don't call me that," I said.

  Though I couldn't remember much about my mom, I knew that was her name for me. Critter.

  All I had were his stories, but my dad wouldn't tell me everything. I had to dig for the extra details and put a story together for myself.

  I still didn't know how she died, but I could remember the hospital building. I remembered the federal agents guarding her door. The weapons they held were powerful and terrifying. I remembered how old she looked, despite being young and in her thirties.

  None of it made sense, but I couldn't ask questions. If I did, Dad would shut off. He'd go into his own mode of defense: deafening silence.

  "Over there," I said, pointing. "I think I see some tracks."

  When we’d first arrived, the land was plentiful. The forest used to be overrun with game. We didn't have to do much to survive and live in fullness.

  Back then, we used to sit under the stars and tell stories. We would light big bonfires and laugh together. Sometimes, he'd give me a small thimble of some whiskey he’d saved, and I'd feel the warmth flowing through my veins. That was what love felt like, I imagined. Warm, inviting, and free.

  That was years ago. Now that the herd was thinning out, it meant living in a constant state of rationing. Which meant hunger. Which meant conflict between family members.

  There was no more whiskey left to ease the pain. I just had to grit my teeth and take the abuse of nature, day in and day out.

  Despite the hurt, I still had hope. I still waited for someone to sweep me off my feet. I prayed to the lord above that the man who found me would fix all of my troubles. Until that glorious day, I'd keep fighting to survive.

  Running ahead of my dad, I climbed the top of the nearby hill, heels slipping on the wet slush of the forest floor. As I moved, the tracks grew bigger and less sparse, and I could see faint droplets of blood scattered across the imprinted soil.

  The sight didn't cause me to slow down in the slightest. I was used to blood, guts, and broken animal carcasses. Dad told us people in the city were afraid of those types of things. For me, they were indicators that life was still around us.

  Nature was neither friend nor foe. Nature offered all things, good and bad. We gave our thanks to the land and to the lord above every day, in hopes of a better tomorrow.

  I picked up the pace, eager to track our dinner. Still, it didn't stop my father from screaming my name.

  "Lilly! Get back!"

  I could hear the panic in his voice. I should have stopped, but I could feel a dark force pulling me in its direction. It was a presence. Perhaps, it was an animal. For once, we could eat well.

  Of course, my dad was quicker than I was. When he caught up with me, he was winded and angry.

  I stopped, not because of my possible punishment—I was an adult, and he had to treat me as such. I stopped because a realization hit my heart. He was getting older.

  Everything was changing, but not in the way I had anticipated. Soon, I would be the one leading the way. Without him. That terrified the hell out of me.

  Wheezing, he knelt down and tried his best to regain that rugged strength he’d carried with him throughout his life. "Please, Lilly." He cleared his throat and spat on the ground. "Don't run off like that. There are hunters living on the other side of these woods. You need to be careful."

  I knelt down beside him and ran my hand against his back to calm his nerves. He worked himself up too hard. I was okay. I could do this.

  “Someday, I'll be the one taking care of you. You'll have to let me wander," I said.

  He glanced down at the set of tracks and then back at me. Surprisingly, his stern face twisted into a smile. He fell into boisterous laughter. "Is that so, young one?"

  I grabbed his rifle, stood up and saluted. "Sir, yes, sir," I joked. "It's in our nature to leave the homestead."

  The smile faded from his lips, but a firm nod let me know he agreed. "A strong leader gains knowledge from the outside world," he murmured under his breath. More words of wisdom. By now, I had heard everything.

  Despite his outside courage, I could sense the worry in his voice, and I saw his eyes grow tired. Although I wanted to leave home more than anyone in the world, I wouldn't allow myself. For him. For my mother.

  I wouldn't search for the exit of this forest and the bright lights of the city. My father was right to be cautious. The world was changing into something we couldn't understand. If love was going to find me, it would have to come into the vast depths of these woods. A future family would just have to wait.

  I offered him my hand, and he struggled to lift himself up. "My bones ache, but I still have the fire in me. Don't you worry," he said.

  "I'm not worrying," I said. "Everything is going to be okay because I've been taught by the best."

  "We are survivors," he said, standing tall. "Say it with me, Critter."

  We are survivors.

  My father was my hero. He was the only person willing to do what it took to keep the family thread alive. The endpoint was coming—and when it arrived, we wouldn't be one of the people shocked by the news. We would be ready. I couldn't fully understand our predicament, but I would stand by his side until the end. Family never died.

  We followed the tracks until we were led to a small opening of trees. "Look," I whispered. "The tracks are gone."

  Indeed, as we walked into the clearing, the tracks seemed to disappear. I looked up at the trees and tried to find signs of what happened, but there were no clues. The tracks just… ran out.

  My father gritted his teeth. "Lilly, stay alert. Something isn't right."

  "Got it."

  Slowly, I walked through the opening of the forest, using all of my senses to come to a conclusion. Near to us was the line I was told not to cross. The Great Divide, as Dad called it. Who or what lived across that line, I had no idea. All he told me was that it was off-limits.

  That I’d die if I crossed the line.

  I stood, biting the inside of my cheek. A curiosity overtook me. I was going to break the rules. I was going to walk right over it.

  As I started to move in that direction, I could hear something in the distance. It was the sound of a carnivore, the ripping of flesh through sharp and penetrating teeth, and the disgusting noises of hurried swallowing.

  The hairs on my neck immediately rose, but I couldn't let myself fall into terror. Anything that lived in this forest could be felled by my rifle.

  I closed my e
yes and repeated my father's age-old mantra: "Fear is the catalyst for taking control of your life."

  As much as I tried to live by those words, I couldn't stop the sounds of the beast from growing around me. The more forest I crossed, the louder the noises became, until suddenly, a great roar rang out across the land.

  I stopped. "Oh, shit."

  In my peripheral vision, I could see my father reach out to me. "Lilly," he whispered. "We have to go home. Now. Okay, kid?"

  But my curiosity had already taken precedence. The roar was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It was powerful like a freight train, but it was also strained, like that of an imprisoned or tortured soul.

  Was it calling out to someone?

  Was it was calling out to me?

  I ran.

  I ran as fast as I could. I moved, bearing the hunting rifle in hand. Up the secondary hill, past the divide of open forest, and into the thick and sinister depth of the other side.

  I could hear my dad screaming for me, calling out my name, but nothing could stop me short of the apocalypse. I was twenty-three. I wasn't that little girl anymore.

  Whatever the beast was, I was going to catch it and put it on our dinner table. I had found something unique.

  As I ran, I came across a new set of tracks. This time, they didn't look like they came from any animal. At least, they weren't from a deer, elk, or bear. They came from a giant pair of feet, strangely anthropoid in nature but far bigger.

  I slowed, but some strange energy was still carrying me forward. Again, the roar broke through the trees, sending any remaining birds flying away. A rush of wind shook the branches and shot across my face. Chills ran up my spine. And then I saw it—the massive amounts of blood flowing across the forest soil, a growing river of filth.