Thirteen Years Earlier
Clia ran along through the woods, her short legs working hard to get over the hills as she chased the woodpecker from tree to tree. It led her further and further into the forest that lay behind her parent's house on the edge of the Pack compound. In the excitement of the chase, she lost her sense of direction. When she finally gave up, it was starting to get dark and she was truly lost.
Back home, her mother yelled for her children to come in. David came running home, worn out from playing with the other seven and eight year olds in the Pack. When Clia did not return, she called her husband for help and she started to panic when she didn't answer. "David, run and get the Alpha. Tell him Clia is missing and to organize a search. Your Dad and I are heading west to start looking, since last time we found her by the pond." David ran off as his parents shifted into wolf form and ran off into the woods.
Clia started to panic when it got too dark for her to see. If she was a wolf she would have been fine, but you don't shift until your teen years. She started to yell for her mommy, but her screams weren't just heard by her mom. Two rouges followed her voice to her, attracted by her scent. Young girls were often stolen for ransom or into slavery by these outcasts of the Werewolf world. She screamed for help as one of the men threw her over his shoulder and started to run off.
They stopped when a furious growl echoed through the trees. Her parents thundered into the clearing, causing the man to drop her while he changed back to his wolf form. She curled into a ball, trying to ignore the sounds of violence and pain around her. She heard a sound like thunder as the men of the Pack arrived, and the rouges were soon dispatched. It was too late for her parents, though. She ran to them, their bodies cooling in the night air as their sightless eyes ignored her.
David couldn't even look at her at the funeral, it was all her fault for running into the woods.
One Year Ago
"Homework for Monday is to read Chapter 12 and write a two page essay on how the author used foreshadowing as a literary device. It's worth 50 points, so put some effort into it." I didn't even look up, I wrote the assignment in my notebook. I kept my head down and let my long blond hair cover my face, my head covered by my hoodie. It was good to stay invisible, too many Pack members were in my classes. Any one of them could get me in trouble with Alpha Mann, and any of them could beat me later. I didn't move as the teacher stopped walking at my chair. "Especially you, Miss Shay," he said in a whisper. "If you can't get your grades up you'll be spending your summer making up my class." The werewolf hearing of the girls in the class didn't miss it, I'd hear that later.
He didn't have to remind me, I knew what my grades were. I just didn't care that much. It wasn't like I was going to go off to college and get away from my life. No, I just had to find a way to scrape by until I graduated from high school and I could leave this place. As soon as the bell rang, I was out the door and heading for the parking lot. I had to get home and start getting dinner made or I'd get another beating, and the bruises from this morning still hadn't faded. A full werewolf would have healed within an hour, but I'm not a "real" werewolf as they all remind me. I'm a null. When everyone else changed for the first time at fifteen under the full moon, I did nothing. Now at 18, I'm the lowest ranked member in the Pack. I'm even below the cubs, because they will see their wolves and I'm just a genetic mistake. I'm good for nothing except being their household slave and punching bag.
I watched all the popular people heading out to their cars in the student lot for the drive to football practice. Some of the bitch squad threw comments my way in the halls. "Out of my way, you waste." "Hey fatty, you better not eat our food for tonight." "I can't believe we keep around someone who is as stupid, ugly and worthless as you. You should do us all a favor and kill yourself." She didn't know how close she was to being right. When the pain and frustration got to be too much, I would cut myself with a razor in the bathtub. I sometimes wished I would just drift away to death, but I healed faster than a human and the blood would stop too soon. Above all, I was chicken. What if things got better? Would I ever get my wolf, or find my mate? He would take me away from all this, and it was that hope that kept me going until I could escape.
Our Pack was rich, and there were lots of nice cars in the lot. My brother drives a McLeran 675LT in white with black racking stripes. He got it as a present when he was selected to be the next Beta of our Pack, the second in command. It was a two seater, and I'd never even been offered a ride since I was such an embarrassment to him. Next to his car is a Ferrari 485GTB in candy apple red with white stripes. It belongs to the Alpha's son Watson, or as his friends call him, Watty. It's a turbocharged beast of a sports car. The insurance on each is more than I will ever be worth. As I unlocked my piece of shit bike I found in someone's garbage pickup, I looked back at David. He was standing with his mate, a perfect little bitch of a wolf named Mandy, his arm around her skinny waist and skinnier jeans. I could see his hand going under her crop top and rubbing those gravity-defying tits of hers. Next to him was Watty, with his slut du jour hanging all over his bulging pecs and six pack abs. He rotated girls in his bed like T-shirts, one night and it was time to get a clean one. I pedaled past, my backpack on and hoodie up, hoping to escape their notice. "CLIA!" I turned and pedaled towards Watson, stopping a few feet away.
Respectfully keeping my head lowered, I said, "Yes, Next Alpha, how may I serve you?"
"Practice will run late tonight, so have dinner ready at 6:30. With your copious free time, I expect to see the TV room spotless and my room cleaned before I get home." I nodded and left, Fridays were ribeye roast nights and I had to get it in the oven soon to have any chance of it being done on time. There was no one in the Pack House when I got home; the Alpha pair was off at yet another meeting regarding the rouges in the area, and all the younger members had after school activities like sports or cheerleading.
I had my chores. I quickly heated up the oven, seasoning the ribeye roast and getting it in the oven before I even changed out of my school clothes. I then raced up to the attic to the storage closet that was my room. I took my jeans and hoodie, I had to keep them clean as they were the only decent clothes I was allowed. David refuses to spend any money on me, so I get whatever hand me downs or rags I can scrounge up. I put on a torn pair of skinny jeans, some beat up Keds and a stained crop top. It doesn't cover the scars on my back and stomach, but it's comfortable. It's not like I'm going to impress anyone, no wolf means no mate, and no one wants to spend time with a null.
I quickly finish the chores, working up a good sweat as I finish up. I make Watty's bed with fresh sheets and leave the windows open so the smell of last night's sex doesn't interfere with tonight's conquest. As I take the stained sheets down to the laundry room, I imagine how it would feel to be with him. His dark hair, perfect face, broad shoulders, and those strong hands holding me tight as he pounds me to yet another orgasm. I imagine this a lot, my room is above his and many a night the sounds of his activities keep me awake. He's a hell of a lover, and I'm a frustrated virgin. I'd find a way to relieve my ache, but the smell will linger and I can't afford that.
Washing up, I head to the kitchen and start working on the mashed potatoes and gravy to go with the dinner. I hear the laughing voices of the other students as they return home. At six thirty, I have dinner on the table and hide back in the kitchen. I don't eat with them, my brother says I'm not worthy. I just hope they aren't too hungry. All I get to eat is what they leave in the pans, and many nights that is just the burned edges and scraps.
It doesn't take long, it never does. "CLIA! Get in here!" I run out and stand between my brother and my Next Alpha. "Clia, how many times to I have to tell you not to put so much SALT in the potatoes. You know I can't stand it!"
"Yes sir, I'll do better next time."
He stood up, sending his chair back and pushing me to the floor by the door. My head hit the wall, leaving a dent, and I was dizzy already. "I can't eat this slop you make for me!" He threw his plate at my face, I turned my head but still caught it in my ear. Corn, potatoes and gravy splattered onto my hair and the wall behind me. My brother picked up his potatoes in his hand and he didn't miss, he hit me right in the forehead. The others at the table joined in, and soon the dining room and my entire body were covered. They laughed as I cried, wiping the food from my eyes. I got up slowly and went back to the kitchen clean up.
I was about to go clean up the mess when my brother burst in. "You're a complete waste of oxygen, Clia." He grabbed my hair and pulled my face up towards his. "You should have died that day. No one would miss you, and if those rouges had paused even a second Mom and Dad would still be alive." He bounced my face off the counter, and everything went black.
When I came to, everyone was gone. Tonight was the Full Moon, and all the werewolves were off in the woods howling to Luna and having fun. I pulled myself up, cleaned the blood off my face, and got to work on cleaning up the dining room. Two hours later, you couldn't tell anything had happened. I heard the howling, I could recognize Watty's alpha voice, and I knew it was because he'd just screwed another of his bitches in heat. I turned out the lights and walked onto the deck, raising my eyes to the moon as I cried. "Luna, please, help me. I can't take this anymore. If you can't give me a wolf, just let me die."
Nothing. I waited a few minutes, but no answer, so I went back to the door. I had almost reached it when I doubled over in pain. I tried to scream, but I had no control. I could feel and hear my bones breaking and reforming. I felt my face lengthening and watched in agony as fur sprouted over my misshapen limbs. It seemed like the change took forever, even though it was only a few minutes. I slowly stood to my feet and looked at my reflection in the window.
I was beautiful.
My clear blue eyes remained, but my fur was completely white. My mouth was open in shock. I, Clia Shay, was a white wolf, the rarest of all wolves, which legend had were blessed by Luna with incredible power and strength. In our history lessons we were told that the last White Wolf died over five hundred years ago. Wars had been fought over them, as it was said the Alpha with a white wolf for a mate would never lose in battle.
I sprinted to the woods, free for the first time in my pitiful life. I ran the trails, jumping logs and chasing rabbits, until I was by the side of the small lake on our property. The moon had gone down so it was difficult to see. I changed back to my human form, then dove naked into the cool water to cool off. My body felt different, the transformation had permanently changed me from my previous weak and pitiful form. I was now taller and my figure was fuller. I moved my hands up and down my body, feeling the definition of my new muscles. I even smelled different now that I was a wolf. I had just gotten out of the water when the wind brought me the most delicious smell ever. Pine, musk and leather, it called to my very soul. "MATE MATE MATE!" I heard my wolf's voice in my head. "GO TO HIM MAKE HIM OURS!"
