Author's Note: Hi! This is sort of a prequel to "All Is Fair", I'm pretty excited about it! You do NOT need to read AIF to know what is going on, but the lore will be the same. I know I hinted towards Andrew's story, but I decided to go in a different direction first. I will try to update regularly, but probably not as often as AIF. Also, the story takes place in the 1830s, so some of the words I use are not really "PC". I debated on this, but thought it was more important to try to keep SOME historical accuracy (I mean some because I am in no way a historian). Happy Reading and as always I love your feedback.
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The wagon stopped moving. Daphne heard her father continue to yell at the oxen to continue on, but she was certain this time it was a mechanical problem again. She stood up from the bench and stuck her head outside.
"Daphne," her father yelled. "Stay inside, you'll get all wet and catch a fever."
The rain was coming down in buckets, but after the last several weeks the wagon's covering was warn through anyway.
"Not any more wet than I was getting in there," she yelled back as she hoped to the ground.
Just as she thought the axel was broken. They did not have a spare.
"Daddy," Daphne yelled. "It's the axel, we hit a rock."
"Get back in the wagon," he yelled. "I won't lose you too."
He was right next to her, shooing her inside. Pangs of guilt hit Daphne. Leaving North Carolina to travel to Oregon was the worst idea her father ever had. They'd already lost her mother and brother to the stomach illness. It wouldn't be fair to leave her father all alone.
"We should stay here until the rain stops," Daphne said.
"Look at that sky," her father replied. "It's only 4 pm and it's almost black out. This rain isn't stopping. If we stay we will get hit with a flash flood."
Daphne glanced at the trail. Her father was right.
"Be careful," she said.
Her father finally won out and pushed Daphne back into the wagon. She grabbed the map and traced her finger along the trail. The next stop was Soda Springs, but they still had several hundred miles to go. She kept hoping her father would find a place he decided they could stay and set up shop, but she knew him better. They were going to follow the trail all the way into the Oregon Country and possibly even further. She wouldn't be shocked if they ended up at the ocean.
A loud crash of lightning flashed through the sky, followed with a quick roar of thunder. Daphne stuck her head back outside. Her father was on his back in the mud, his head underneath the wagon trying to fix the broken axel.
"The thunder is too close," Daphne yelled. "Get back inside."
"I've almost got it," her father yelled back.
Another crash of lighting came down. It was close enough to scare the oxen who took off, just as her father must have secured the axel. Daphne felt like everything was happening in slow motion. The wagon lurched forward and the giant wheels ran over her father. She didn't try to stop the oxen, instead she flung herself from the wagon, slipping in the mud at the process. When she got to her father she kneeled over him and touched his face.
"Daddy?" Daphne yelled. "Please tell me you're alright."
His eyes were wide open, staring straight up at nothing. His neck was crushed. Daphne knew he was dead, but refused to admit it to herself. She put her head next to his heart, there was no beating, no rising and falling of the chest. The tears started to flow, but the rain picked up again and Daphne couldn't hear her own sobs over the thunder.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The tiny one room cabin was starting to leak. Hugh knew exactly what this meant. If he made the improvements the Alpha would find out and take his cabin away again, pass it on to a more deserving wolf.
When the Alpha first told him he was eligible for his own home on the pack lands Hugh started designing his dream home, only to be informed his home was already built. It was the worst, most decrepit building on the property, but Hugh didn't care. They told him he couldn't neglect his duties to fix it up, so he didn't. Instead he used every free minute he hadOn that home. It took several years, but when he was done Hugh had never been more proud of himself. Of course it was short lived. Once word spread around the pack about how fine his home had become it was taken away.
"I don't understand," Hugh said.
"You're just an Omega," Alpha Garrett said. "And not even a full one at that. What sort of message does that send to the Betas if I allow you to continue living here?"
"One that says with hard work you can build your dream home," Hugh said.
"More like, I must give that halfbreed Omega too much free time," Alpha Garret replied.
"I sacrificed sleep to make this my home," Hugh said. "Worked extra hard so I would have free time, which I devoted to this."
"You should be proud of yourself," Alpha Garret said. "You've created a wonderful home for Beta Teller to live.
It was like the Alpha knew exactly where to cut Hugh. Beta Teller was the worst, least deserving member of the pack, outside of the Alpha's daughter that is. Hugh chastised himself for these thought, Alpha Garrett was right, it was for the betterment of the pack. Hugh nodded his head.
"Grab your personal items," Alpha Garrett said. "Nothing that goes with this house though and I will show you to your new home."
Hugh let out a sigh, he was scared he would be sent back to live in the barn, but at least Alpha Garrett was being generous enough to give him a new home instead.
That was four homes ago, Hugh learned from his mistakes. No matter how miniscule the fix, there was always a more deserving wolf to take his place, so for now he would have to live with a leaky roof. At least this one was on the edge of their property, and unlikely to attract a new owner in its current state. There were only one hundred and eight members in the Garrett pack, and every single one of them outranked him, so there was no way he could put up a fight with Alpha Garrett's decision.
Even though it was raining that didn't mean Hugh had a pass on his duties for the day. He worked for thirteen hours in the elements and the rain left him with a chill in his bones. He threw another log onto the fire and gave the soup he was preparing a stir.
He wondered what they were eating at the big house tonight. Probably steaks from the cows he tended too, with bread from the fields he worked. He shook his head at his own bitterness, Alpha Garrett was a good man to take him in. When his mother died, the last thing she told him was to stay with a pack, he had to trust her advice.
"A wolf without a pack will go insane," she said right before she died from her broken heart.
At least Hugh would never have to worry about that. There was no way his mate was out there, after all, he wasn't a full wolf. How could he ever have a mate?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The rain was getting harder. Pieces of the muddy cliffs around them were starting to break off. Daphne's father's warning about a flash flood was starting to ring more and more likely. She tried to move his body out of the road, but he was too heavy. It felt wrong just to leave him, but if she didn't make it to higher ground she would end up joining him.
"Rest father," Daphne said. "Say hello to mother and my brother for me."
She closed his eyelids and gave him a kiss on the cheek. When she stood up she almost changed her mind, but noticed the water level on the ground was starting to rise. It almost hit the hem of her skirt. If Daphne wanted to survive she had to get to higher ground. She ran to her right, through the mud and puddles. By the time she reached the nearest embankment the water was almost to her knees. The cliff was taller than her, but being only 5'3" she expected that. The current started to pick up in the makeshift river she was standing in. Daphne tried her hardest to jump and grab on to something she could pull herself out with. Right when she thought all hope was lost her hand grabbed a wild root. She gripped on tight and pulled herself up out of the cold water and on to the wet land above.
Her face, dress, and blond curly hair were soaked and covered with mud. She probably looked unrecognizable. Not that there was anyone to see her either way. She needed to keep moving, hopefully find a cave or a large tree she could try and stay dry in until the rain past. There was no use going after her wagon, she was sure it was long gone. Instead of following the trail she decided to move inland, to higher ground. To her death from an Indian or a wild animal would be better than drowning, at least she could have a chance of survival in one of those situations.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Daphne was stopped dead in her tracks as an arrow shot in the ground right in front of her. She spun around, trying to see where it came from. On the hill above her stood a single Indian. Daphne raised her hands in the air, hoping he took it as a sign of surrender.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hugh's internal clock woke him up well before dawn. He hoped to get out to the fields before the sun rose too high and finish with the spring planting today. Then he had to head to the big house and clean the kitchen, next he had to head into the woods to chop down some trees. The pack needed more firewood. That should take him until dusk to prepare.
He poured the rest of his soup from last night and drank it down quickly. Then he pulled on a pair of pants, they were getting baggy again. The physicality of his jobs kept him ultra slim, especially when he wasn't getting enough to eat. He knew that his cheek bones were starting to look hollow and his black hair was overgrown. Maybe he would talk to Alpha Garrett about increasing his rations, or at least having a new pair of pants made. He pulled on his white shirt and headed out for the day.
The time in the field went by fast and soon he was in the big house. The Omega cook rolled her eyes when she saw him.
"They really shouldn't let you in this house at all," she said. "It's not proper."
"I'm only here to clean," Hugh replied.
He kept his head down and walked for the broom.
"Well since you're here to clean once you're done take the bin of dirty dishes down to the stream and wash those," the cook said.
"Yes ma'am," Hugh said.
"I swear those blue eyes of yours are a gift from the devil," the cook said. "A reminder of what your mother did."
Hugh wasn't about to engage this women in a conversation about his mother. The scent of eggs and bacon was overwhelming. He gave up hope a long time ago that there would be any left over for him. His wolf hadn't accepted that fact yet and continued to claw at Hugh to go and steal some food. Hugh forced his wolf down and started sweeping the floor.
"Why don't you look where you're going mongrel?"
Hugh looked up to see Nina, the Alpha's daughter, standing right in the middle of the kitchen. Her black hair went down her back in waves, she had too much makeup on, and her bust was sticking out of a red garden dress that looked too fancy for the daytime.
