Rivers
"That decision is final," my uncle, Alpha Anthony, blared, his voice cold and sharp.
"There is no point keeping you in this packhouse, being useless, when you could serve a greater purpose, strengthening the pack's bond and increasing its wealth."
My heart lurched violently against my ribs as tears blurred my vision. "Uncle, please…"
He cut me off with a dark-edged glare, and I stiffened, immediately corrected myself, as my words tangled together.
"Alpha Anthony, please give me more time. I promise I would be strong. I would be useful, anything but being a bride to an Alpha who would suck my blood. I would die and not survive it," I pleaded desperately, but like always, his mind didn't hold any sort of pity, compassion, or the slightest emotion when it concerned me.
"I have given you more than enough time already," he replied flatly. "Eight years is far beyond what was necessary. This decision stands, unless the council of elders chooses to intervene. If not, you leave in two days."
With a dismissive wave of his hand, the guards stepped forward, their presence final and unyielding. They escorted me out of his chambers while my tears remained trapped behind my eyes, refusing to fall, as though even they had grown weary of my suffering.
I had foolishly believed today might be different.
With the Alpha summit approaching and the entire pack in preparation, I thought, just maybe, things would change.
But once again, I was wrong.
I didn't realize how cruel my life had truly become until now… how completely devoid of peace it had been ever since everything fell apart eight years ago, when I was only ten.
That day had broken me.
Shattered me.
Reduced me to nothing more than a servant in my own father's house.
A girl whose fate was no longer hers to decide, but instead controlled by a circle of elders who saw me as either a curse… or worse, an illegitimate child unworthy of my father's name.
And then there was my uncle… Alpha Anthony.
It hurts pretty deep when the very ones you call family and think would protect you are the very ones who ripped every shred of life, dignity, worth, off you like you were never even a living being.
And now…
He intended to marry me off to the infamous Alpha King Benjamin of Stonecave, a man whispered about in fear, rumored to be cursed… a monster whose brides never survived more than three days before dying under mysterious circumstances.
That was the height of all cruelty.
I somehow made it back to the kitchen, wiped my tears clean, and prepared the coffee as my daily morning routine. When I finished, I carried it on a tray and headed towards Fiona's room, while my mind hovered on the council of elders' decision.
Would they show even the slightest bit of mercy and give me more time?
And speaking of time, what if I was never destined to have a wolf, or ever be strong?
In our werewolf clan, Alpha blood got their wolves and shifted at twelve. But I was eighteen already with no wolf, no shift, and even to worsen the cruel injury, I was weaker than the lowest of all omegas.
"Five minutes late," Fiona's voice snapped me out of my thoughts cruelly. I didn't even realize how I had made it into her room.
"I'm sorry… it wasn't intentional," I said quietly, forcing the apology past the tightness in my chest as I moved to place the tray on the table.
"Would there ever be anything intentional with this silly, miserable life of yours?" she sneered.
She threw aside her thick duvet and rose from the bed, her movements slow and deliberate as she approached me. I kept my head down, adjusting the tray exactly the way she liked it.
"Eight years… and you are still as pathetic as ever," she hissed and shoved past me to take the cup of steaming coffee.
I bit down hard on my lip, swallowing the lump forming in my throat as my stomach twisted painfully.
I watched her swirl the coffee lazily before bringing it closer, inhaling the steam… then taking a slow sip.
Her eyes widened and turned towards me instantly with a deep frown.
"You added sugar?"
Confusion flickered across my face. "You told me to add sugar… did you forget?"
"Oh, how convenient," she snapped, her lips curling in fury. "Trying to poison me now? Is that it? You couldn't kill your parents properly, so now you've decided to finish the job with me?"
Her scream echoed across the room, each word striking harder than the last.
My chest tightened painfully. "I would never…"
"Oh, shut up."
The voice came like a storm.
Luna Cassandra entered, her presence alone enough to suffocate the air in the room. Authority clung to her like a second skin, cold and merciless.
Fiona rushed into her arms instantly, clinging to her like the helpless, spoiled little child she was.
"Mother… she knows sugar makes me sick, but she still added it on purpose," she cried, fake tears streaming effortlessly down her cheeks.
Luna Cassandra's gaze snapped to me, sharp, cutting, merciless.
"How dare you?" she spat. "How dare you attempt to harm my daughter? She will never be anything like you, a weak, worthless excuse of a being."
Before I could react…
Splash!
The hot coffee swept clean over my body with a searing and bruising sting that got me crying and rubbing my arms all over my body as the burn intensified.
"Next time," she said coldly, "I won't stop at the coffee. I'll break the mug across your face. Now get out, and bring her something proper."
My hands trembled as I picked up the empty tray.
This time, the tears came freely.
I didn't stop them.
I couldn't.
I don't have all the details about my life with my parents, and I don't know why, but I was ten and the daughter of the most feared Alpha of the West before the attack that claimed the lives of my parents.
Since I was still tender and without a wolf, my uncle, Beta Anthony, was assigned as leader, awaiting when I could get my wolf and strength to take over. But it's been eight years already with no sign, no wolf, no improvement, only cruelty and more weakness.
I sniffed quietly, got another coffee ready, and returned to Fiona's room. I stood at the door a little longer before pushing it open.
She was seated comfortably on the couch this time, legs crossed, her posture radiating arrogance.
Her room was massive, far larger than necessary. A grand bed sat at the center, perfectly arranged. A polished closet stood at the far end, while shelves that were once filled with books had been repurposed for laundry and expensive shoes.
Everything about it screamed excess.
Everything about it reminded me of what I had lost.
"You think you're smarter than me?" Fiona's voice rang out again, sharp and taunting.
I ignored her, placing the coffee down gently.
Then I turned to leave.
But she, being the bag of trouble she was, covered the distance, blocking my path.
"You don't walk away from me unless I say so," she hissed.
I exhaled slowly, the frustration bubbling beneath my skin. "Fiona… what more do you want? Haven't you done enough already?"
She laughed.
A soft, mocking sound that made my stomach twist.
"Enough?" she repeated. "You think this could ever be enough… while you're still breathing?"
My chest tightened.
"I thought so," she continued, her eyes gleaming cruelly. "A pathetic little thing… just like your parents."
Something inside me snapped.
"I can endure whatever you say about me," I said, my voice trembling but firm. "But do not, ever, speak about my parents like that again."
Her smile widened.
"And if I do?" she challenged. "What will you do? Hit me? Fight back?"
We both knew the answer.
The last time I tried laying a finger on her, I was given fifty strokes of the cane, and I ended up sick… really sick, for a whole week.
That was how weak and helpless I was, being born with the strongest Alpha blood as my dad, but operating even less than normal humans.
I shoved the sad thoughts away, and clenched my fists at my sides, forcing myself to remain still.
"I won't give you the satisfaction," I said quietly. "I know what you're trying to do."
"Do your worst, you daughter of a nobody. And I promise you, one week of illness would only be a tip compared with what you would face."
I didn't move.
I couldn't.
"Pathetic!" she muttered, stepping aside at last, but not without one final blow.
"At least this way, no one will blame us when you die. Let Alphan king Benjamin deal with you himself."
The words struck far too deep.
My breath caught.
So… she knew.
She had known all along.
She knew about the plan.
About my fate.
I looked at her, really looked at her, as she lifted the cup gracefully, sipping as though nothing had happened, as though my life meant nothing.
And maybe… to her, it didn't.
I turned away, my chest aching, my heart feeling like it was slowly breaking apart.
I stepped out of the room and walked down the corridor, barely making it around the corner before two guards appeared before me.
"The council requests your presence."
My breath hitched.
What if they finally agreed to Alpha Anthony's decision?
What becomes of the life I know I had?
Would I even survive past that moment?
Fear coiled tightly in my chest as I followed them in silence.
Because deep down…
I knew.
My life would never be the same again, with whatever awaited me ahead.