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Chapter 1
I sneakily found my way down the vast hallway, keeping my back pressed against the wall. I could hear them in the kitchen and I had a fairly large open doorway ahead, so if I were to get by unnoticed, I would have to time it right.
Peering around the corner, I noticed the group of teenagers facing away from me. So, taking a deep breath, I braced myself before leaping across the two-meter gap. Catching myself from stumbling, I internally cursed when the clothes I wore rustled as I staggered. I held my breath in anticipation and just as I thought I had got away with it, a pair of black shoes came into my eye-line.
Gulping, I looked up to find the snooty grimace of Lizzie. She slicked her dark Black hair back against her head into a straightened ponytail, blue eyes sneered down at me as she chewed on the gum in her mouth. Her curvaceous hip was poised, arms folded with her phone loosely in her grip. She was stunning, an accurate picture of everything a werewolf woman should be and the future “mate” to the Alpha. But she hated me, with every single passion. The two girls and three random guys behind her had the same feelings towards me, too.
“Oh my gosh, it's you.” She squealed. “What are you doing? Think you can sneak around, huh?”
Her voice was sultry as her lipstick-encased lips parted in a chuckle. “Well?”
I stayed where I was on the floor, looking away from her eyes to stare at the floor. “I-I… I just wanted t-t-to go to my room.”
“I-I-I just wanted t-t-t- what? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you through that rubbish.” Her current best friend, Lucia, chortled.
Lizzie pouted at her, an action that may seem innocent to others, but I knew different.
“Aw, Lucia, don't be like that. It's not Embers fault that she was never taught proper English after being abandoned.”
They all laughed in unison before Lucia grasped me by my Auburn hair. I winced as a few hairs snagged in her grip but chewed on my lip, knowing if I made a sound, I would get hell from her group. I stood in time with her, her gum smacking against her tongue as she titled her head at me.
“Now… I just got my makeup and nails done all pretty, so why don't you run along and go hide in your room for the rest of the day?”
I nodded, my emerald green eyes meeting hers warily. “Oh-okay.”
Her hand tightened on my roots before she dropped me. I turned to scamper off when a well-manicured foot encased in Chanel darted out beneath me. I tripped, smacking into the floor with a groan. They all burst out laughing, and I glanced behind me to see Lizzie just smirking at me as she examined her nails, walking away.
“Oh, my gosh, did you see the way she stuttered?” Her other follower, Lulu, giggled.
Tears brimmed as I hurried my way into my room. Slamming the door shut behind me, I collapsed into my bed, crying once more for the people who constantly made my life miserable. Today I got off well, but who knows what is coming late.
*******
Floating in a river, my body marred with marks and burns. I have no recollection of how I ended up in that river and clinging to a tree branch, but Alpha Darien and his men were out on patrols when I washed into their sand bed.
After hearing that a resistance pack took down a pack in the mountains, he immediately took me in. I never did, and still never, know the full extent of the situation. I was told that there was no longer a pack there. Otherwise I would've gone exploring a long time ago.
People did not accept my type well. I was an outsider who took up Alpha Darien’s time, so he left me in the trust of an omega family. My adoptive parents were lovely, but even they did not realize the extent of the torments I awaited just for existing. It didn't help that I was twenty years old and still haven't shifted.
Most female wolves shift when they turn fourteen, usually after they have gone through human puberty. Male wolves turned at sixteen years old, since they went through puberty later than us. It was always a celebration when a normal wolf shifted; a hunt typically followed by a BBQ and a night of partying.
When I turned eighteen, no one seemed to care apart from my parents. We weren't exactly sure of my age, so we went with my “GOTCHA” day for my birthday celebrations. They estimated me to be shy of three when they took me in, so we just went with it. Along with being an outsider, I had not shifted, hence the bullying. In a pack's eyes, I was not normal, and most did not want me here.
Alpha Darien has two children, a daughter called Rose, and a son called Stephen who had yet to take over since he had not found his mate; a soul mate, that is.
Every single wolf had a soul mate, another half made just for them. We find our soul mates at eighteen years old, and a wolf born into alpha status like Steven cannot take the position until they have a mate or the old Alpha dies. They can challenge the position, but that is to the death. That is why Lizzie is his to-be mate. If he does not find his true mate by twenty-five, he gets betrothed to a female worthy of the position. Pack politics.
(Copyright – Amelia Blackmore)
The elders always said that a wolf's true potential is achieved through mating. That's why he cannot take over his father's leadership. He was twenty-four now, still mateless. His sister Rose was turning eighteen this week, hence why the wolves were running about cooking and cleaning. It's not every day your alpha pup turns eighteen.
Strolling through the woods, I followed the stream I was lost in so many years ago. If I had just kept drifting, maybe I would've found a better pack that accepted me more. One that didn't harm me, both mentally and physically.
I rubbed the faded white marks that adorned my skin. The burns I had received as a child were so severe that even enhanced wolf DNA could not shift the scarring. I was thankful that the pack doctor could skin graft and save what he could, but most of the scars were on my arms and legs. I must've been crawling through the fire or something; nothing about my childhood makes sense. But I remember the pain and the needles, and I have hated hospitals ever since.
I longed to find out my history and my heritage, but it was all burnt to the ground and destroyed. From what I was told, no pack inhabited that land anymore; they left it for nature to take over.
Glancing at my worn watch, I was astounded to find it was six-thirty am already, so I made my way back to the pack house in my constant daydream. Most wolves were up at eight for breakfast and training, so I hurried so that I could confine myself away from their hate-filled glares.
Chapter 2
Someone was pounding on my door.
Taking off my headphones, I was unaware of who it was since I did not have the heightened wolf's senses or mind link yet. Merely human, with just the hint of wolf DNA waiting to come to life.
“Who is it?” I asked politely.
“It's moi.” The deep voice chuckled.
I was surprised, but nonetheless smiled and spun around from my desk. “Come in Dad.”
He entered with a cheerful smile. His warm chocolate eyes glanced around until he found me sitting at my desk in the corner.
“Working hard?” He wondered, stepping in and shutting the door behind him.
I chuckled. “D-Dad, even y-y-you know I'm not d-d-doing anything.”
He sat on the edge of my bed, fluffing my pillow. “Yeah, I know, Dad. This is my only day off in the week!”
I gaped at his imitation. “I do-do n-not sound like that!”
He hummed. “Okay Emmy, sure, you don't.”
I grumbled at the use of my nickname but turned back around and continued with my drawing. My parents had named me Ember Hope, which translated to new hope, rather corny, if you ask me. But Dad insisted on calling me Emmy.
Dad jokes.
“Reggie,” I grumbled.
“That is father to you, Emmy.” He chuckled, not bothered by the use of his name. “Ah well, best be off. I just wanted to see if you wanted to go for the pack run.”
I shook my head. “Dad, you know I can't sh- shift, and they'll just b-b-bully me about it.”
My father knew of the torments to a certain extent; though it was just name-calling. But he persisted in me joining in on the pack fun even though he knew I never would.
“Okay Emmy, if you change your mind, I'll be the most handsome wolf there.” He chortles before leaving the room.
I blew my fringe from my face with a roll of my eyes. Dad was so cocky, even as an omega; he was proud. With wavy, chin-length blonde hair that he always curved behind his ears, he was proud of his appearance and still caught the eye of many women, even though he was mated.
He met my mother on a hunt when they were both only seventeen years old. She was from a neighboring pack when he caught her scent across the border. Many moons later, they were mated and expecting their first child; my older brother, David.
David was a twenty-three-year-old blonde, much like my father, with the same deep chocolate eyes. I joined the family when I was four, and he was five, and the close age gap between me and David meant we had a good bond.
My parents were omegas, but they enjoyed the graft. My mother was always in the kitchen as one of the head chefs, and my father was often out on patrols. Our pack did not discriminate against omega wolves, but we were not as privileged as the in-between and higher-ranking wolves. David had gained a warrior status at only eighteen-years-old and travelled to another pack to 'help, but I think it was really searching for his mate. He dreams he'll make it as a gamma, a third in command, even though it wasn't in his blood.
Mates were getting harder to find as females seemed to dwindle in numbers around here. Especially since higher-ranked wolves usually had male offspring. It was easier for those in higher ranks to find mates, as our Moon Goddess made sure packs were running strong. Wolves like me take longer to find them, often having to marry on. And females could not travel, as it meant they couldn't leave the pack. Since we were dwindling in numbers of one in five, most packs didn't want to lose us. Absolute crap if you ask me.
Anyway, thousands of years of history have led to a population like this. This contributed to numerous wolves finding their mates in other species or genders, or some not at all, like I said.
The pack life could be sexist. They expected women to go around cooking, cleaning, etcetera and wait for the day a mate shows up and sweeps us off our feet. The thought made me sick. I don't see how a mate could be so welcoming, particularly when people who are supposed to be my pack family were so hate-fuelled.
To me, it felt as though women were mere possessions. A man could not be an alpha without a mate, after all. Male wolves with mates gain more respect than those without, making me feel like women are objects of power. Hence, why David had gone on his search and I had not. He had left home just over two years now. Last I heard, he was in a pack south of here, helping them protect themselves from rogue wolves.
Without realizing, I ended my drawing. Putting down the pencil, I studied what I had created.
When drawing, I went into a trance-like state and time passed around me too quickly. Today, I had drawn a vibrant forest, with a huge black wolf lurking beyond the tree line, its eyes as black as the night. It was intriguing; I had drawn a wolf I had never seen before, yet he seemed so familiar.
Humming to myself, I placed it in my sketch folder, under this week's date. I drew a new picture every week on my day off, last week was also a picture of a forest, but it had a small river and waterfall that poured into a lake.
Chapter 3
Glancing at the clock, I sighed as I realized dinner was just finishing. Most wolves ate and finished by six, and it was ten past now.
Sorting out my mess of a hairdo, I quietly made my way out of my room.
The pack house was like a hotel. Four floors containing over three hundred en-suite rooms. The omegas were lower level with small, necessary single or double rooms. Middle wolves filled up the second and third floors with many spare for the future. And the forty higher-ranking wolves, warriors, and families were on the top floor in larger rooms. The Alpha has his own room and floor with a kitchen/lounge that was secured and private on the top floor, only accessible by fingerprint. It was the norm for plenty of packs.
As I approached the dining room, I heard voices. Wishing I had a wolf's sense of smell to work out who it was, I settled for my hearing. They sounded agitated, whoever it was. I stepped closer, trying to control my breathing so that they wouldn't hear me. I hoped they couldn't smell me because of their agitation.
“Stephen!” Lizzie’s whining voice met my ears.
Ah, my wonderful tormentor…
“Not now!” Stephen growled. “I need to think before that bastard of a pack comes here!”
“Baby, you're worked up. Why don't you sit and have a drink? Tell me what's going on.” She cooed.
He must've complied as the sound of a glass hitting the table empty crackled through the air “The Dark Moon pack is coming to Rose's party.”
I froze in my steps; Rose's party was tomorrow. And I had heard of that pack name before. Why did it seem so familiar? My curiosity increased, and I stepped closer in confidence.
“What!” she squealed. “Why didn't you tell me?”
“He works with the king. I've been told they're doing this random travelling crap to make sure packs are running as they should.” He huffed. “I'm going to my office to arrange the staff.”
His footsteps sounded through the air and I chewed on my lip, keeping myself square against the wall as he walked straight past me. I watched him turn left. His face was hard in concentration as we made eye contact, and I sucked in my breath. His cool brown eyes merely blinked before glancing behind him as he disappeared, his hand grabbing at his light-brown hair.
Exhaling loudly, I ran my hand across my arm in comfort and pulled away from the wall. Just as I did, I felt sharp claws rip into my scalp as they yanked my head backwards.
“Were you just listening to my conversation there, sweetie?” Lizzie pouted. “That's quite rude.”
"N-n-no, I-I wasn't-
“Oh, hush, no use lying to me, sweetie. I could smell your nasty perfume a mile away.” She laughed.
Her other hand pulled out some gum from her pocket, and she released her hold on my hair to unwrap it. I quivered slightly when I noticed her 'gang approaching from the dining room.
Lizzie sighed in contentment, smacking the gum in her mouth before pulling my hair from under her nail. “Now, eavesdropping is definitely a no-no thing, okay, sweetie? I'm sure you understand, after all.”
I whimpered and wrapped my arms around myself as she went to walk away. Her two girlfriends came up to me next, both smirking from ear to ear. They both had brunette hair and brown eyes. The only difference was Lucia’s hair was always curly, and her makeup was dark to complement her olive skin tone.
Without time to think, Lucia swiped my head to the side as she smacked me across the cheek. I felt my spit fly out of my mouth as I staggered. Another hit my face, and I was against the wall, where my heart raced as their claws dug into my skin. I tried to push them off, but their wolves helped somewhat, and I was defenceless.
There was a pause, and I took a moment to regulate my breathing as the sound of their designer heels clicked away. Daring to open my eyes, I soon forced them to shut as a larger, warmer hand pushed me down.
“Don't go poking round in everybody's business, Omega. Learn your place.” The man spat.
I nodded frantically, tears pooling in my eyes as I curled in on myself. My rare appetite was now gone as I cried in pain. I didn't heal like the wolves; didn't block out pain as they did, either. I felt it all, and it will show for weeks to come.
Not only that, but I sat there for another ten minutes before frantic footsteps running down the halls startled me. Quickly pulling myself up, I ran into my bedroom. Slumping into my sheets, I let the tears flow, crying myself into slumber.
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