Chapter 1

Prologue:

“Mamma.

She shivers as the cold water dances around her skin. But it does not compare to the coldness that she feels coming from her mother’s stiff embrace.

“Mamma?”

She is asleep, she must be asleep. This is the thought of the child. But it perplexes. her because she won’t move, she won’t talk and she won’t k*ss or hug her. So it is the child’s thought that she must be asleep but…how does someone sleep with their eyes open?

Time passes. For the child, it seems like hours but it has only been less than one.

“Mama, time to wek up.” Her little voice could warm anyone who hears it but there is no one around to hear her, at least not anyone alive. Her voice drowns with the roar of the violent river that threatens to take the child if the child

should move further in.

The girl’s tiny finger caresses her mother’s l*ps.

“Bue.” she says. “Pitty.”

Blue and pretty is what she meant but there is no one there to correct the three-year-old.

The tiny thing shivers.

“Cold, mama. Itsh cold.”

Her b*dy’s instincts kick in and her legs lead her out of the river’s edge, tumbling through the river rocks that to a child seem massive and painful on her little bare feet.

The girl looks back at her mother with worry that she will drift through the river as they had been doing but this time without her. However, she sees that the leather belt on her mother’s wrist is tightly tied around the branch of the log that her mother so swiftly tied before they went on this adventure, as her mother so frantically called it when the fireworks started. The log is well lodged at the side of the river so the mother should be safe, right?

The little girl’s eyes start to feel heavy and now she is not even feeling the cold,

Chester 1

in fact, she can barely feel anything anymore. She can’t even feel the searing burn on her chest that was there before. She clutches the n*ecklace her mother gave her before they went on their journey. A n*ecklace with letters that she is too young to read.

What comes next is a haze.

“What…Oh…”

A young woman approaches. It is someone the child does not recognize.

“Oh my, goddess!”

There is suddenly a warm embrace for the child.

sare

The young woman watches the child slide into sleep but her eyes are captured by the n*ecklace in the child’s tiny little hand.

“C-Casseopea?” the young woman whispers and looks at the child. “How did this little thing end up here?”

I stare at the moon while I stand here n*ked. Not out of my own will. It is a bright full moon. I should be in the forest, running, but again I am punished

instead.

Another burning sting goes through my back as the whip comes down at me again. I hiss but I do not scream for I am used to this pain..

“That’s enough.” One of the guards says.

Here I am at twenty-three, and I have not learned my lesson they say. But what lesson is that? That I should stay quiet and accept insults, ridicule, and take abuse quietly? Never. I will never just take it. Let them whip me and punish me, I will not go quietly.

When the guards unshackle me from the poll I was chained to, I fall to my knees. not having the strength to keep myself up.

“Let’s go.” They grab me by the arms and pull me up, between both of them, they carry me.

As my eyes begin to close, I see them taking me to the forest trail.

They’ll probably drop me off at home like they always do.

I am in and out of consciousness as I try to hold on to my vision. When finally I

Chapter 1

see my sister, I let myself go and drift into sweet rest.

Flashback “Give it back!” I screech.

“You can’t be a weakling all of your life, Cass. Try to get it from me!”

“Colt! Give it back!”

“That should be Alpha Colt to you.” Kayce says.

“He is thirteen! He is not Alpha! Give it back!” I try to jump but my little legs and arms can only reach so high and Colt dangles my raggy doll further up though. he really doesn’t have to since he is much bigger than I am.

“But he will be, so you should give him some respect.” Kayce replies.

“No! Give me my doll back!”

“Say please.” Colt says and gives a big smile.

I stop

and look at him. His stupid smile suddenly enrages me. I pull my arm back and then swing it up his nose, punching him.

He immediately holds his nose and recoils back.

The other two gasp and then I am thrown on the ground and stomped on.

“Who the hell do

ground.

you think you are!” They shout as they kick me on the muddy

“Hey! Don’t hit her! She’s a little girl.” Colt shouts.

“So?! She punched you! She can’t do that and she is the Runt of the pack!” Ezra

says.

Kaecy nods. “Yeah! No one likes her anyway! And this is what mom and dad. would do to someone like her.”

“I don’t care.” Colt says. “It’s not like it hurt that much.”

“Dude, you are bleeding.” Ezra points to his nose.

“It’s fine.” He throws the doll at me. “Here, you can have it back.”

I look up with watery eyes but before I can clutch my doll, Ezra grabs it. “Waaa, she’s going to go cry! Hahaha!”

Kayce laughs.

Chapter 1

“Give it…” I say trying to hold in my cry.

“How about this? Kiss my feet, and I will give it back to you, Cassiopeia…” Ezra says but then mutters. “…what an ugly name…her mom must have been nuts when she named her.”

“Grrr!” My hands turn into fists and I don’t even think now. Getting up, I hurdle myself towards him and take him down. His stu pid laugh is gone as I punch him over and over. He covers himself with his arms so I am not doing much damage but I feel satisfied, especially since everyone is seeing me kick one of the Alpha’s

son’s asses.

These three brothers are bullies and if the other two younger ones weren’t so little, I am sure they would be here right now too trying to mess with me.

“Cas s…

St upid Alpha kids!

“CAS S!”

“What?!” I say with a jittery jump coming back to the real world.

“What are you doing?” Lauren asks.

“Uhm…” I look around the field of vegetables. “Oh… sorry. I spaced out.”

“Well don’t. We have to finish this before the festival tonight.”

Da n! I spaced out. And why the hell was I thinking of that?

Looking at my nearly empty basket, I speed up as I collect some of the tomatoes.

I probably was thinking of that because of the festival. It is in his honor after all.

I was eight back then and was separated from Ezra by the Alpha himself. Needless to say, I got punished. I always get punished. I can’t control my temper but I try. I have to because even though I am the one being bullied, I am still the one who gets in trouble.

I wiggle my shoulders as I feel the soreness on my back.

“How is that feeling for you?” she asks.

“Just like getting whipped.”

She narrows her eyes at me.

“It’s better. Healing pretty fast like always.”

Chapter 1

She sighs. “I know there is no use to say this but I’ll say it again, try to stay out of trouble. I always worry that they will not bring you back like they did yesterday.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m looking to make it a career out of getting whipped.”

She looks at me with that serious stare of hers. “Did I ever tell you that you are not funny?” She takes in a deep breath and shakes her head. “You need to keep that temper of yours under control.”

I nod.

It didn’t use to be like this. After I got my wolf when I turned eighteen, things changed in me. I have to control my anger now or I lose it. And even though the punishments have gotten worse, I still don’t learn my lesson. Most members who have gone through bullying like me tend to keep their mouths shut and lay low. Act like wounded animals. I can’t. I will never be the broken shy little girl everyone wants me to be who they can boss around and do what they like with. I rather take the beating that comes with standing up for myself. But I have had to learn to control my anger and the way I react. Not an easy thing to do but it minimizes the punishment.

“Look! They are back!” One of the other worker she-wolves says.

Many are excited to see the young warriors return but I am not one of them.

Putting a hand on my chocolate color unruly curly hair that flies everywhere, I look at the cars and vans that arrive in the distance.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. “I know this is going to be hard for you but please, control yourself. I am sorry that I even have to say that. I know it’s not your fault

but-”

“I know, Lauren. I know.”

She gives me a small sad and apologetic smile.

My poor sister is afraid for me. I seem to have made a name for myself as the troublemaker of the pack and unfortunately, she sometimes has to deal with the

consequences.

I am an angry soul. This is how I turned out throughout the years in this pack. It am only content and happy when I am alone.

Taking a deep breath, I go back to my task.

There are many jobs in a pack. I am a field worker, that is my job. We till the

Chapter 1

fields and tend to

the crops. As for my status, I am a Runt. The lowest anyone can be. I do not excel in much other than having a fighting spirit.

My attention goes back to the vans and the warriors that just arrived. I see people. gathering around to greet them.

These are men who have been out for months at the fort camps. A territory that is away from the pack. This is where they train the young pack members when they turn eighteen and they spend years there.

Omegas and the Runts like myself are not allowed to join. We are what they call a liability because we are weak. To the ones in charge, we are suited for the lesser jobs around the pack.

“Ignore it. Let’s just finish here.” Lauren says.

I nod and do as she says.

When our baskets are full, we head to the kitchen to hand the vegetables to the cooking staff.

I

pat my clothes trying to rid them of dirt. I have a white shirt on with a knee-high dress jumper in a khaki color that honestly looks more like a potato sack to me. It was a hammy down from one of Lauren’s friends.

Walking towards the kitchen, we can see the courtyard where rogue prisoners are on display.

I stop and look at them. They have wounds with fresh blood. It is torture If they fall asleep, they get whipped..

Even though they are rogues and most people in the pack hate them, I feel sympathy for them. We Omegas are not treated any better. We are met with harsh punishments if we step out of line.

“I am hot, are you hot?” Lauren suddenly asks.

I shake my head. “No.”

“Maybe I’m h orny.” she says.

I gasp. “Lauren! Stop! I don’t need to know that!”

She laughs. “You are going to have to stay away from the house when James gets

back.”

“Gladly!” I shout at her as she continues to laugh.

Qapter 1

Lauren is good at telling me to control my anger as if it was that easy but she can’t control her own tongue! This woman and her shameless mouth

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