"SAMANTHA!" Some yells from outside my door.
"Ugh." Whoever it is, they are still knocking on the door as if it offended them.
"Samantha! Open this door this instant, what are you doing in there?" I glance at my clock on my nightstand . It's six in the morning. What am I doing at six in the morning ? What any sane wolf would be doing. By the sound of the angry female voice outside my door pounding it as if kneading bread, it must be Luna Vasti.
I begrudgingly get up dragging my feet on the floor and rubbing my eyes as I open the door.
"Yes, Luna?" I say, being careful to use a low respectful voice. Lest she believes she is being disrespected, she's a nasty shewolf. "Ahh, there you are girl I hope I didn't wake you" She coos with such a fake caring tone. "No worries, Luna. What can I help you with?" I state with much sarcasm.
"Oh lovely of you to ask. The Alpha spilled wine on his shirt last night during our feast and its stained. I didn't want to wake the housestaff. Wash it for me?" She didn't want to…. Ugh never mind. I look back at the clock. 6:04. I grimace, I have to be at the pack hospital in 45 minutes.
"Well… I kinda have to be at the pack hos…" I'm cut off by an eye roll. "No worries, I think they will understand." I blankly state.
"Oh wonderful! We do very much appreciate you dear Samantha." She spits the words out while tossing the shirt at me and walking off.
Sure you do, I thought. With an eye roll I turn around and shut the door. I'm going to be late. Again.
I should be a little less snappy. It's not like I live a horrible life. Really I'm pretty well off. Being the weakest member of the pack isn't all bad. Especially when you have other assets. Not many 26 year olds can say they have a medical degree. Not many human ones, let alone wolves. I finished high school at 15. My parents died when I was a kid. Ten specifically, they died in a pack fire. One night all the adults were out celebrating some newly bonded mating ceremony. They left all the pups in what used to be the pack house. There were about 15 kids including me and 1 adult. How they thought that was a good idea is beyond me. Anywho, somehow, no one really knows how a fire started. We lost Gin. The young she-wolf adult who was supposed to be watching us that night. Although we lost her, Goddess rest her soul, we did not lose one pup. My parents were the first to smell the smoke. Story goes as soon as they smelled the smoke they shifted and bolted to the pack house. They ran in there and took all the kids out making multiple trips. On the last trip they noticed I wasn't there. They ran in and….
Sigh I close my eyes at the painful memory. I hear a whine from my wolf, Emma.
"Its okay girl. We are okay." Ever since then the pack took me in.
Before then we weren't a respectable family. Before I was born my parents came from another pack. I'm not sure. I heard they were rogues. Those were rumors though. My mother was a pack teacher and my father a pack plumber. Bottom of the pack rank. My father, although physically strong, wasn't one to go against order or challenge another wolf. Although I always got the feeling he could. His aura always felt strong, just as strong as…. Honestly? The alpha. No, that's just the fantasies of a little girl who loved and worshipped her father. My mother though? She was the one person who my father was definitely a coward for. They were perfect. Fated mated. I looked up to them. Even our low status never brought down their spirit. Sometimes the higher ups would belittle us or look down on us but my father would always say "Sammy girl, never underestimate the little guy. He might surprise you. Treat every one with respect. From the Alpha to the weakest of the pack. The pack is only as strong as the trust and respect they have in one another." sigh. I miss you dad.
When they died the pack took me in completely. The Alphas personally, honestly how could they not? If it wasn't for my parents all the kids would have been dead. How can you abandon the kid of the two people who saved your kids? The first year everyone was kind and sympathetic. After that I became a burden. As soon as I hit 15 I asked the Alpha for emancipation papers. I homeschooled my self. For 6 months I did not leave my room determined to finish high school. I almost didn't sleep for those 6 months and I looked like a zombie but I did it. I gave myself the summer break and went straight to college on a scholarship that my best friends' dad helped me apply for. He's the pack doctor, and my best friend Cameran was one of the pups in the fire my parents saved. He never forgot, bless him. After grad school he helped me financially through med school. Now I work under him in the pack hospital.
It's not much of a hospital, shifters don't really get sick often. Small injuries during training or fighting with rouges. We do a lot of yearly physicals for the kids who have to go to human schools. Forge some vaccination papers if need be. Shifters are immune to most illnesses. Why vaccinate if we will never get it, or spread it? We have super good healing, it gets an extra boost starting around the time you first shift. Usually happens around the age of 12. Unless you are me, I shifted at 10 the same night of the fire and…..
"No no, stop. We are fine. Happy thoughts"
I shook my head as if that would remove the painful memories. Anyways, I spend most of my time helping Dirge, Cameran's dad in the pack house. On the weekends I'll pick up some shifts at the human hospital for the money. Not much but one day I'll have enough to get away from this pack. Far away, maybe bring Dirge and Cam with me.