Elise
My life is going to change today.
I'm finally 18 and ready for the coming-of-age ceremony. I can finally be mated to the one I've loved for so long.
Jared.
The coming-of-age ceremony is the time when the Alpha of a wolf pack will formally, in front of all their friends and family, select their one true partner for life. Their mate.
In our pack, turning 18 is truly a pivotal event. Families and friends come together to celebrate this new age of their kin, because not only are they have now seen as adults it means that they are finally fit to go out into the world and carve their own path.
And create a family of theirs.
Unlike Jared, who is loved and coveted by many, I'm his complete opposite. As an Omega and flat-out outcast in the pack, everyone else looks at me like I'm a plague. Whispering and sneering at me whenever I'm around.
It doesn't help that I'm dating the Alpha King of the pack, so you can just imagine the hateful looks I get at school.
But today. That will all change. Because Jared will officially be mine, and I'll be his. Forever and ever.
With a smile on my face, I put on the best-looking outfit I have out of hand-me-downs that my adoptive parents got for me. I step out of the basement that also serves as my bedroom and walks down the hallway, adjusting my worn-out bag over my shoulder.
If I don't move quickly, I'll be late for classes at school, and I don't need to give the teachers another reason to berate me. Being a straight-A student is the only other good thing I've got going for me other than my Jared.
I'm so lost in thought about what the day holds that I bump into the last person I want to see today. My stepsister.
She sneers, dusting off her shoulder with so much disgust. "Ewwww, don't get your useless Omega scent all over me, you smelly dog." As if her words aren't damaging enough, she shoves me backward so hard that my head slams against the wall behind me.
Stars explode in my vision, but I just shake my head and take a quick step around her.
"It's your birthday today, isn't it? Great, one less year out of the ones I have to spend with your sorry ass. Walk faster, but you can't escape what comes for sad freaks like you," she adds.
Her words are like daggers that cut into my brain and my back, but she has said worse before. She'll have to do better if she expects to ruin my day.
I silently wipe away the stubborn tear that escaped from my eyes.
No one cares about me in this shithole, except Jared. I can't wait for what comes later today. That's the only thing I have been looking forward to since four years ago when he told me that he'd officially choose me as his mate when I turned 18.
Absolutely nothing can ruin my day. Nothing.
—
Hair got pulled on again. Got spitballed by childish high schoolers. Another rumor about how I bewitched Jared because 'there is no way he can be voluntarily dating an ugly piece of trash like her' got spread around in class again for the fifth time this year.
Same old stunts. Same old standard bullying. These guys can't get any more original.
I cross off the acts in my head one by one on my way back home from school. The acts are so routine now that I list them out sometimes when I need to sleep. At least today I wasn't randomly groped by one of the jocks who would then say 'oops, sorry, I thought you were a boy,' after I would curl up in embarrassment.
But . . . There's this guy that's always staring at me whenever I pass by him in the halls. I'm not sure what Pack he's from, but he's usually so quiet and minds his business. The girls are always whispering about him and about how they'd love to do gross stuff that gives me the ick with him.
I think he's really nice though. He never bullies me, and once in a while, he even stands up to the bullies. No one ever questions him, so it makes my life easier on some days, but on other days, it makes people go harder on me the few times he isn't around to help.
It's funny how they think that I actually bewitched two of the most attractive men at school. I don't even know how Jared and that guy managed to notice me. Jared's a senior, and I'm a junior, so we never have classes together, so there's little he can do about the bullying because everyone acts innocent when he's in the room.
Still, though, it's kind of strange that I've never summoned the courage to ask the other guy what his name is. He never sticks around long enough for me too.
Maybe we'll meet again soon. Who knows?
Members of the Silver Moon pack are usually tight-knit, but not to those they consider outsiders like me. Till today, I still can't understand why the Ian family adopted me since they never seem to acknowledge my presence.
I open the front door to our home and step inside, eager to just get inside and prepare for the most important event of my life. I'd even left school early for this.
Something's not right, though. Even with my lessened Omega senses, I'm still able to feel the unsettling shift in the atmosphere.
I head up to my bedroom, taking slow steps as a precaution. Could my stepsister be back from school by this time?
Sounds come from inside my room, and the closer I get to it, the better I'm able to make out what the sounds are.
Flesh slapping together. Talking. Moaning . . .
Moaning!?
A distinct feminine voice—my stepsister's—reaches my ears. "Ah, yes. Right there. F*ck! Right there. Yes. Yes. Yes!"
What the hell? Is she actually . . . doing it in my bedroom?
I inch away from the door, more out of disgust than my innate hatred for trouble. I pivot on my heel, ready to find somewhere else to chill out until she's done when someone else speaks up.
My whole body stiffens.
"Shh. Keep it down, babe."
He answered with even louder moans, followed by, "Shut up and give it to me harder!"
"I'm the boss here, not you." He grunts with exertion, and my stepsister's moan nearly brings down the house.
A lump forms in my throat, and I forcefully swallow it down because I know that if I set it free, I'll never be able to keep it undetected.
No . . . It can't be.
"Oh, Jared, you're so big. I've never had one this—ah—big."
My legs give out, and I fall to my knees, eyes wide in unbelief.
No. Please, no. It can't be him. Silver Moon is a big pack, there has to be someone else with his name . . .
But no one else can have his voice as well. That, I'm sure of.
I don't want to admit it to myself, but the person relentlessly having sex with my stepsister is none other than...
My step-sister moans again in time with my thoughts. "Jared!"
LAZARUSIf someone had told me that my day would end with my claws deep in someone’s gut, I would never have believed them. Sadly, I have no choice but to live with the consequences of my lapse in judgment.I stare down at the body beneath me, too disgusted with myself to think about anything else. How could I have made such a mistake? Even worse, I have no memory of how I ended up killing one of my own.She was . . . the last thing in my mind before I was suddenly overcome with a torrent of bloodlust and rage, and then, I found myself here.The last thing I can remember vividly is thinking about the only person that has been in my thoughts for such a long time. I'm not sure what her name is, but she's always on my mind with her beautiful brown hair and innocent face. We go to the same school, but I'm a level above her, and hence, I have little chance to interact with her. Whenever we walk past each other in the halls, it's like there's a string pulling us together, and our eyes alway
EliseI can't stop the tears from flowing, no matter how hard I try.How could he do this to me? After four years of promising to love one another for eternity. Why would he do this to me? All I ever did was love him.And why would he do this with my stepsister of all people? If it were a random girl, it'd still hurt as hell, but hearing him pound into the girl that made most of my life here a living hell makes it so much worse.With every moan and overly sexualized conversation, they have, my heart breaks even more. They both sound like something out of a poorly shot blue film.I clench my fists and step back to the door. They didn't even bother to close it properly.Biting my lower lip to stop any sobs from escaping me, I push the door open further. The haphazard pounding of my heart is loud enough to give me away, but I stare ahead.I need to see it. The anger and sadness welling up in my chest have deleted all rational thoughts from my head. I wrinkle my nose in displeasure. The s
EliseRivulets of water run down my body as I sit huddled underneath the shower this evening. I scrub my body rigorously, trying to get rid of the disgusting feel of Jared's hands on my body. My tears run down my face, mix with the soap, and settle on my lips. The saltiness of my tears is a harsh call to reality.I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all, but I'm suffering from sensory overload. This isn’t what I had planned for my life. Today was supposed to have gone far better than this, but now I was under the mercy of the Moon Goddess and her cruelty. The ceremony is probably going on without me right now, with someone else taking my place.The bathroom door swings open, and my foster mother steps in. I smell her expensive but horrid smelling perfume before I actually catch sight of her. I shrink further into the shower stall as she approaches.I'm certain she knows that I'm taking a shower, but that doesn't seem to stop her from sliding open the glass door. She glares down
LazarusThe facility already smells like hell. I wrinkle my nose instinctively as I step down from the vehicle that conveyed me and two others.I didn’t even bother to ask for their names, they seemed too closed off and hostile. I wonder how many more similar individuals I'll meet in this facility.A harsh nudge to my back propels me forward. "Move!" I refrain from shooting him a glare and opt for a low growl instead.The facility looms before me like a mountain, with sealed windows and barbed wire fences that scream 'You will never get out of here!' The peeling paint and ivy crawling up the buildings further solidify their formidable aura.We move towards the gate, where we are allowed entry after the two officers with us display their badges. They look the same, a typical inverted triangle with the longer sides slightly curved outwards. Inside the triangle, is the unmistakable shape of a wolf with its mouth open in a roar or snarl—I can't tell which because I'm once again pushed for
EliseAs I step off the transport vehicle and into the correctional facility, I can't help but feel a sense of dread wash over me. I know that the next four years are going to be difficult, and I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to survive.I'm led to my assigned room, and I'm told that I'll be sharing it with three other inmates. I try not to let my nerves show as I enter the room, but I can't help but feel anxious as I take in my surroundings. The room is larger than I had expected, with four separate beds placed in all four corners of the room. There is an adjoined bathroom and toilet connected to the room, removing my fears about having to bathe in a public space.Currently, there's no one else in the room, but the other luggages and other stuff arranged beside or on three beds, I'm likely the last person to join.My bedspace has the number given to me etched into a small rectangular metal sign above the bed. 0145.I'm just starting to unpack my things when I hear a commotion in th
LazarusI can't seem to get that girl out of my head. She's always there, lurking in the back of my mind, and no matter how hard I try, I can't shake her. It's not normal, and I know that I shouldn't be thinking about her like this. But I can't help it.Her quiet beauty stunned me at first, but her voice did far more damage. It's like warm honey: sweet, and pleasant to the ears. It did have a tinge of fear within it though, but it was a gift regardless. Her straight brown hair was slicked back into a low ponytail, and if not for self-control, coupled with the knowledge that touching people without their consent is wrong, nothing would've stopped me from running my fingers through it.She barely came up to my chest, but I think those eyes of hers can bring any guy down to his knees. She's not the conventional type of beauty, but rather the kind that makes itself obvious the more you focus on it.When she'd walked away from me, it took everything in me to not have focused on her curvace
EliseI can't shake this feeling of Deja-vu as I stand outside my bedroom. It's like I've been here before, or like I already know what I'm going to find when I walk through that door. I try to look past the feeling, but I just can't.This whole situation hits too close to home.I can still hear sounds coming from inside, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to face whatever is waiting for me on the other side. But I'm overcome with a sense of anger, and I can't resist the urge to burst into the room and confront whatever is happening.I throw the door open, shouting at the top of my lungs as I stroll into the room. "What the hell is going on here?" Heat rises up my neck as I talk, and my agitation increases with each breath.The laughing stops, filling the whole room with a thick, pregnant silence.I'm met with the same sight of two men in various states of undress, laughing and joking as they play around with a woman who's lying on one of the beds. My cheeks flush with embarrassment as I r
Elise"Hey, wait up. What's the big deal? We're not going to hurt you." The redhead says, crossing the distance between us too fast for me to comprehend."Get away from me!" I lash out, throwing an arm out wildly.He hisses when my palm connects with his shoulder. A pang of guilt rises in me at his pained expression.My mouth parts involuntarily to apologize, but the words never make it past my throat."Damn girl. You've got some fire."I step back, not liking the intense look in his eyes. "Are you going to hurt me?"He pauses for a moment, expression shocked. Then, he bursts into laughter that lasts for a full minute. He's wiping off tears from the corner of his eyes when he speaks, "Hurt you? Now that is the most absurd thing I've ever heard."He sighs, relaxing. "Look, I'm Rory, and that guy over there," he points to the dark haired guy, "is Thomas. We're both roommates, and from what I've seen so far, you're our final roommate."At the sound of 'roommate', panic rises within me ag