Athena
The troop briskly dissolved while I paced, holding on to my hair like I wanted to yank them out. I couldn't let three years of hard training go to waste. It was the time I was waiting for yet I felt scared for my life. The time to prove the Alpha wrong about us—the feminine gender. We were stronger than what they thought us to be if we were given the chance. But, I was scared of being a scapegoat. A laughing stock. Worst of it all, what if he passes a death sentence?
“Are you scared of getting your ass kicked, Styles?” One of the best at my level, Scott, scorned me as he approached the exit. It was pointless to respond to him but I was in a tense state and whatever he said made me angrier with myself. Although, he hated me for being one of his strongest contenders.
“Of course not. I'm scared of no one, including the Alpha,” I replied angrily, telling that to myself rather than the nuisance in front of me. He laughed like a snoring pig. I guess that was the right amount of motivation and frustration I needed to take the next move. I stamped out of the room as I gazed at the back view of the other students marching towards the training ground. The air suddenly became intense as I approached the rest. There he was. A tall muscular man with jet-black hair growing all over his head. He looked nothing like the last visit. His eyes were glowing red. It was obvious his wolf was awakened. What if he found out about me? I wallowed in fear, yet retained a straight face as we formed a large circle around the Alpha. The shaman walked around the circle, whispering instructions into our ears as we anticipated the first student to take on the Alpha.
“Remember, focus on blocking your opponent's hit. Sometimes, that's all you need,” he announced. My eyes were fixed on the Alpha's glowing eyes, which glistened like one on the verge of decapitation. “Who would begin the class?” the shaman asked. We all turned to face each other. The fear was apparent on our faces.
“Scott, you begin.”
I snorted along with a few others as the Shaman pushed him out of the circle from behind. The Alpha took a step forward, while Scott ran back into the crowd. Luckily, he stumbled on me. I pushed him back to the center. The Alpha leaned towards him and pulled him up.
“How would you discover your strength if you don't sustain scars?”
“Hit me,” the Alpha ordered when he got his balance. He aimed at his waist, but the Alpha missed it and flung his whole body to the ground. He groaned in pain as he crawled away. The crowd gasped at the intensity of the attack. The Alpha was brutal.
“Who's next?“ the Alpha asked. I heard the Shaman whisper behind me as I attempted to make a move, “Defend yourself first, and if the Alpha finds out, at least you died trying. This is your chance.” His words weren't in any way encouraging. It was enough to know I wasn't wanted in that gathering. I stepped out with my fist clenched as I positioned my good leg in front, ready for my first impact. I dodged his first hit. With my small body, I manipulated my way under the Alpha and made my first hit on his back. The crowd cheered. I guess I was carried away, I didn't see the next hit coming. I kissed the soil instantly and began to cough. Unlike Scott, I didn't crawl out. I staggered back to my feet, my eyes were beginning to water from the pain in my spine. It was as though a sledgehammer fell on me. I kept dodging his attempts until he growled loudly and pounced on me. For a split second, I thought I was dead, as my body floated in space before another painful hit on the hard soil. I groaned in pain. There were murmurings from the crowd, I wasn't sure what it was about as my reasoning was temporarily stalled. I looked up to get a view when I found my blood splattered on the ground. I was surprised. There was no cut on my body. The look on the Shaman's face gave me a hint of what had happened. I quickly grabbed a sharp stone and stylishly scratched my lap. I bit my lips so hard as I inflicted pain on myself until there was enough bleeding from my lap. I leaped back on my feet and noticed the confused look on the Alpha had dissolved. “You seem stronger than most around here,” he said with contempt rather than encouragement as I kept leaping on my good leg. It would have been my chance but puberty was betraying me. I knew I couldn't continue fighting. The truth would become apparent as blood kept dropping. I had to walk out of the wrestling ground.
“Who's next?“ I heard the Alpha's voice fade behind me, as I was assisted out of the training ground. “Good work, Styles” the Shaman complimented as I rushed myself to the bathroom immediately I approached the locker room. My tracksuit was drenched in my blood. I washed the blood stains and switched outfits. It was the second time I would be seeing my period so I wasn't as scared as the first time when my mother had to convince me that I wasn't bleeding to death. I slashed open a knee pad in my locker and used it to suck in the flow until I could get back home. “Do you have your wolf?” One of the medical instructors asked as I got out of the locker room. He was surprised to see little to no bruises on me. “Yes, I’m fine now,” I lied, as I joined the rest. More than half of the crowd were wailing on the floor with the Alpha laughing hysterically while he spoke with the Shaman, “I don't know what you're breeding here anymore.”
“What about him?” the Shaman pointed at me as I approached the grounds.
“Average. Who's he?”
“Styles”
“That sounds very familiar,” the Alpha responded as he walked towards me. He halted in front of me and lifted the tag from my jacket.
“I've seen this somewhere. Am I missing something?” he shot me a suspicious glance. He tried to read into my mind. My heart clanged in pain as he sniffed the air around me. He flapped the hood off my head as he gave me a close look. I tried to avoid the intensity in his eyes when a cry broke out. I exhaled heavily, backing away immediately as the Alpha turned towards his beta.
“We captured two of them, Alpha. They were spies from the Lycans!”
“Why then are you worried? I hope you locked them up properly this time. I want them slaughtered immediately. We can't keep giving them wrong signals of being weak”
“Yes, Alpha, but…” there was suspense as the Shaman directed the rest of us out of the premise. I hung around to have the news drop freshly to my hearings while nursing the injury I inflicted on myself.
“…Zack was taken. We're not certain if…” The Alpha growled so loudly that made a flight of birds vacate the trees in the area. “And you have the guts to relay such a message to me, Lamarck?” Other warriors rushed into the scene and forced everyone out. It was obvious there was a pending war. The Alpha had only one son. Only one legitimate heir, Zack.
AthenaAlthough I hadn't met him, I knew he would be just as heartless as the Alpha. I limped out of the school's premises hating my legs and the terrible pain in my abdomen. A random reptile crossed my path. It ran over my worn-out shoes. What a mistake it made. I crushed its head with my heels, stamping my feet aggressively until it was impossible to recognize its form as a once colorful spiky lizard. Countless times my mother had thought I needed a therapist after killing a stray cat the last summer. No one accepted the fact that it ate my pet fish, Goldie—the only loyal friend I ever had. How could I let that slide? I turned to continue my journey home, leaving the dead carcass for the swarm of flies settling on its bruised body. I strode down the almost deserted streets. It was one of those days I enjoyed the bliss of freedom and what it felt like to be part of a learning institute, though unwelcomed. I should be sorry for the Alpha's potential loss of his only son, but I wasn't.
Athena “What’s the whole noise about?” he roared. I paused, still facing the white wooden walls that were oozing out termite eggs on the floor due my impact as the voice probed behind me. I gulped down my dry throat. The sight of my mother’s pain had clouded my reasoning. “What is that thing you’re wearing?” he asked with his usual monotone. I could feel every sound of his footsteps as the aura in the room intensified, but I stood still without the slightest attempt to face him. My heart raced, ceaselessly as I remembered his last warning. I looked down at my training suit and realized how screwed I was.“Are you deaf? Where did you get that!” he roared behind me. At this point, I was beginning to tremble but I fixed my gaze on the three-year old me smiling at me from a picture frame sitting on the shelf in front of me. I smiled back at my younger self and turned to face my father, I mean, Mr. Styles. I retained the smile on my face as I looked into his eyes. All my aim was to make
(an omega curse)Athena I blinked rapidly unable to fathom what was before me. The girl that responded to me earlier left my side as soon as a hefty-looking man approached me. His chest was bare. The only clothing on him was the hide of a leopard around his waist, such that a flimsy view of his muscular lap was exposed. The beards on his face were so much that his mouth was almost invisible.“When did you arrive?” the husky voice inquired. I used to think my father had the scariest voice but I was proven wrong right on the spot. I began a tireless palpitation as I struggled to crawl away from him, moving on my already-bruised elbows. Sporadic coughing flew out of my mouth in replacement for an answer to his question. He pulled me by my hair towards what seemed like a thatched house in the midst of forest ground. The chaotic noise diminished as we approached the onlookers—a large group of young females and a scanty number of males. All looking unkempt and scrawny. I could tell I was t
AthenaI ran into one of the scrawny-looking souls scattered at the front of the building. Surprisingly, he was a male. “Watch where you’re going,” he protested as some others grumbled from the impact as I unintentionally made a few of them trip.“Who are you?”“she’s one of us now,” the fat woman responded for me as I pulled myself back to my feet.“In that case, you need a change of clothing. You cannot hunt dressed as a clown. The man who seemed to be the leader stepped close to me as the crowd surrounding me dispersed. I saw a heap of old clothing drop before me. They were faded camouflage trousers and a bralette.“Hurry up,” the man commanded as I picked up the piece of cloth that looked like my perfect fit. Maybe this was a chance to finally get to learn the martial arts without having to hide, I said to myself, as my new outfit resembled the ones used by the warriors, except that they looked old. I crawled until I got to my feet. I searched around for a place to change when th
AthenaWe retired back to the omega’s quarters, which had soon become a home I was not ready to accept. We all marched along in our numbers into the thatched house. I didn’t acknowledge the massiveness of the house until that night. There was a large hall behind the masters’ lodge. Old rusty bunks with tattered beds were scattered all over the place. It was like a heap of organized mess, with a stench of rotten food hanging painfully in the air. Everyone slumped onto his or her bed. I looked out for an empty space for myself. Luckily, I found one at the extreme corner, close to the only tiny window in the room. It was no surprise that everyone took off their clothes immediately after they got in—there was only one source of ventilation. I was still fully dressed, still in shock that such a place harbored living beings. It looked exactly like an abandoned store room for unused household items. I slumped on the bed, as my body wanted. I sneezed for a minute stretch before I could adjust
Athena“Who else knows about this?” I whispered eagerly, looking around to be sure there were no eavesdroppers around.“Just you and I, for now.”“What do you mean for now?” I asked desperately, already losing my cool. Her smile was sickening. “Answer me,” I urged.“I don’t know either, but I’m sure they will never find out soon if…” she looked around her before leaning forward. I could feel the warmth from her mouth as she whispered hurriedly,“…if you help me.”She lost me at that point. It was as though there was more she wasn’t saying. Something I had to find out soon.“Follow me,” she said. At first, I felt infuriated to be ordered around by a small girl, but I was ready to let go of my pride. The unknown can be too scary to be left to chance. I followed her out of the thatched house. We headed towards the back, very close to the blacksmith that made the nametag.“I know how to get us out of here and we both need our help.”“What on earth are you talking about?” I questioned alre
AthenaI had to stop. It felt like I was reliving my nightmare. The same cry. I looked around in search of the young girl until I heard the cry again. I was convinced she was the one. She needed me. I ran back towards her. Not because I felt strong enough to overcome the attacker but because I wanted to do something different. I always ran from the scream in my dreams. I chose to face it. I didn't consider the fact that I could lose my life in the process. She was laying helplessly on the ground when I found her. The attacker didn't stop hitting her even as he pulled her towards the route where we came. She seemed too weak to defend herself from the slightest hit. It was clear that he was one of the guards. I pounced on him with all the strength I could muster and yelled at the top of my voice,“Run and don't look back!” He wasn't in his wolf form but his human form was hefty and strong— just the right size to snap my bones into pieces. I sustained several injuries until I fell weak.
AthenaI was surprised to see her sit on the ground in her cream royal outfit.“Why would anyone choose to die this way?” I asked as she brushed her palm over the grass around.It was obvious that she was the Alpha's daughter.“You've got a perfect life. You have everything you need. You are not treated like the omegas. Don't rub your title on my face,” I spitted angrily.She heaved a heavy sigh. After what seemed like an awkward silence, she replied, “When I heard of your presence here, I knew we had something in common.”“What do you mean?” I asked, anticipating her next words as she continued digging her fingers into the wet soil.“You sneaked your way to school, killed a warrior, and even fought with my father. It takes a lot of bravery to do that. Your story is all over the town.”I bit my lips as she spoke. Mr. Styles must be proud of how bad I turned. But, I felt ashamed when I remembered how disappointed my mother would be. I was living the exact life she feared. The life she