CHAPTER 1

~ Ava ~

A soft rap at the door grabbed my attention just as I finished writing my daily report. Sighing, I left my desk and crossed the room, planning to open it myself since I knew for certain who was behind it.

As soon as I opened the door, the sweet smile of Little Briana flashed before me. She was a cute girl, no more than 4 feet tall, with a button nose and a generous splash of freckles across her face. She developed a routine to visit me every day, especially in the late afternoon, asking for snacks. I was sure this was the reason why she came to me now. 

"Hello sweety, how can I be of service to you today?" I asked anyway, wanting to know what kind of food she had in mind this time. I kneeled in front of her, leveling my green eyes with her beautiful sky-blue ones, and my ash-blonde head to her shiny black crown.

"I hab surpries fur you, Miss Ava," she answered using her high-pitched, but seraphic voice. For a five-year-old, she had developed a chest full of vocabulary already. However, she still needed to work on her pronunciation. She used to call me 'Eeeva' until six months later when I was able to teach her the correct diction of my name.

I cocked a brow and gave her a silly face. "Really now?" I said.

She enthusiastically nodded.

"Where is it, then?" I asked.

"Ou—outside," was her reply, playfully swaying her hips at the same time.

"Hm, lovely. I can't wait to see it then. Let's go?"

I grabbed her hand and stood. She pulled me down to the corridor that led to the outside garden of the orphanage house of our pack, but before we could step outside, she suddenly ran to the grassy part of the garden and embraced Bea, my good friend and also a volunteer worker at the Black Moon Orphanage.

While she patted Little Briana's back, Bea smiled at me, which wasn't unusual because she always looked jovial whenever we're together. I waved on her way and smiled back.

The moment I passed the folded screen door, I heard giggles on my right and left sides. Then, before I realized what was happening, shouts from the children hiding behind the walls and bushes hit my ears. 

"SURPRISE!" they chorused.

My eyes literally bulged when I saw them stretch their arms and threw raw eggs at me. Some hit me on the waist, some on my feet, and some on the ground. Michael, Bea's younger brother, suddenly appeared behind me and cracked another egg on top of my head.

"Michael! What's going on?!" I shouted while frozen on the spot.  

"Happy birthday, Miss Ava!" he shouted. The children around me followed him and greeted.

"Happy birthday, big sis!"

"Happy birthday, Miss Ava!"

With that, I understood their intention. It was tradition in our pack to throw eggs—and yes, raw ones—to the birthday celebrant. However, there was a problem. My birthday had already come and gone six months ago.

"Thank you everyone,"—I exclaimed while dripping wet with the yolk and the white of the egg—"but it's not my—"

Then I stopped when I glimpsed Violet, my older sister, among the crowd. Her arms were folded over her chest and she was smirking—the usual smirk she always gave me when she does her pranks on me.

Damn it. She was obviously behind this.

"Right." I cleared my throat and quickly smiled at the children. They were all laughing so carefree, looking genuinely happy not because they were able to throw eggs at me, but because they celebrated my—fake—birthday. I couldn't be a party pooper. I couldn't bear to ruin their smiles when they had very little reason to show it in the first place.

"Again, thank you, everyone," I stated instead.

"We always wondered when your birthday is, Ava. You kept it as a tough secret to crack." Bea gave me a sympathetic smile, feeling sorry for my 'eggy' state. "Now that we know, we just cannot let it pass."

I sniffed and bit my lip. If this was truly my birthday, I would have already spilled a lot of tears.

"You guys are so sweet, but I got to change," I stated. "These raw eggs are very sticky!"

They all laughed again. In the distance, Violet still snickered.

"Well, you should change now so that the children can start eating when you come back," Bea informed. That's when I realized they had prepared a buffet table on the playground next to the garden.

Oh, goodness. This really made my heart flutter.

"Oh, no, please don't wait for me. Let them start eating," I replied.

Instantly, the children cheered and ran to the food table.

Bea met my gaze and shook her head. "I guess they're too hungry," she said.

"I need to change now." I slowly turned to face the doorway and waved my hand. "Save me a slice of cake, will you?"

"You bet I will, birthday girl!" she shouted.

I smiled as I ambled down the corridor to my office, but seconds later, my expression turned sour. I pointed my eyes at the floor and cursed, "Damn it. Violet, I am going to get you for this."

Since we were young, she always played her pranks on me. We have a third sister, Evelyn, but it seemed I was Violet's choice of guinea pig. I wasn't a poor and helpless sister, though. I fight back and because of this, our parents always reprimand us—or mostly me.

However, I didn't really care. I may be ranked as an Omega in our pack, but it didn't let it pull me down.

I volunteered as the head of our pack's orphanage house. Here, I made beautiful bonds with the children and the staff. Here, I felt more at ease, feeling more cared for and loved than my own family.

Once I was inside my office, I went straight to the bathroom and showered off all the ickiness of the eggs away. By the time I went back out, the sun had already set. Some children were still playing in the playground while the others were already inside their rooms. Bea was busy taking care of the empty plates while her brother took care of the trash.

Violet was no longer present and so good riddance to her. She never cared about the orphaned children and she hated coming here since the time it was created by our father. I knew she only wanted to be here to see her prank done on me.

I sat on a bench near the buffet table, silently eating the slice of cake Bea left for me when I heard a commotion in the garden. One boy was laughing while another was grunting, but the sound that really alarmed me was the crying of a girl. This made me stand up immediately to investigate.

"Hey, hey, hey! Milford! Troy! Stop that!" I cried out as I saw two boys towering over a new orphan named Kitty. She was down on the ground, holding her husky stuffed toy while Milford threw punches and kicks on her shoulder and face.

I placed the plate on the bench and quickly neared them. "Why did you do that to Kitty?" I asked when the two took a step back. They looked guilty, but still threw glares at the poor girl.

"Because she's a lousy girl!" Milford shouted. "She won't give me her cupcake!"

"It is mine!" Kitty shouted while cradling her cupcake and toy. "You already ate so much, Milford!"

"You don't get the right to eat a cupcake. You are a weird girl, talking to your weird toy. Weirdos don't belong here," Milford stated.

My heart sank with what he said. I knew these orphans had a difficult life, but they shouldn't be this judgmental.

"Milford, stop it," I butted in, directing my sole attention to him and his friend. "You are not supposed to say that to Kitty. What did I teach you boys? You should respect people no matter what they look like or how they act."

"Pshh, she's not worth it," the two mumbled; their eyes cast downward.

My nostrils flared because of this. "You are crossing the line, both of you. I am going to have to ground you, then." I placed my arms akimbo and glared at them like a mother would to her children.

"Miss Ava," suddenly, Little Briana stated from behind me. My attention redirected at her as she pulled on my skirt. "Kitty..." Then she pointed to her friend already running towards the forest. 

My mouth dropped. "Oh, God, Kitty! Stop!"

After giving the boys one last glare, I ran and followed the girl's path. Bea saw me, shouted where I will be going as apparently she didn't notice Kitty leave. I shouted back a quick reply.

"Gonna get Kitty! Ground those boys for me, please!"

"I will! Be careful, Ava!" was her reply as I entered the dark forest with my sneakers breaking the twigs.

I couldn't see Kitty anymore, but I could still scent her. She ran south of the forest, sobbing. I could also hear her faint cry, and my heart bled for her. She lost her parents because of the rogue wolves and now she was being ostracized by her peers, like me, by my family. I saw myself in her, so I felt it my duty to take care of her.

"Kitty! Please come back!" I shouted as loudly as she could when the forest path got narrower and narrower, and the air got thicker and thicker, effectively overlapping her scent.

When I reached in a clearing, I stopped and looked around. "Damn it, where is she?" I muttered, a little winded, as my head snapped from one direction to another. "Kitty!"

All of a sudden, I heard a girl shout nearby. I was sure it was her, so I rushed to where I think she was. When I arrived there, a slope greeted me then. I saw bushes run over and some broken branches.

On its base, I saw Kitty lying and groaning in pain. I sprinted to her side seconds later and kneeled on the ground.

"Oh, God, sweetheart, are you okay?"

She shook her head just as her tears fell. "Miss Ava, my knees." She pointed to that said body part. My eyes rerouted to it, and I gasped.

"Goodness me." I took a deep breath and clenched my jaw. She had a nasty cut on her left knee while her right showed a protruding bone. It looked bad and she was shaking, but she still held her composure well. For a twelve-year-old kid, I truly admired her spirit.

"Okay," I patted her shoulder and brushed her hair back. "I need you to wait here, okay? I'll go get some help."

"Ple—ase be fast, Miss Ava." Her voice trembled.

I nodded and rose to my feet. "I will. Just be strong, okay?"

I climbed back up the hill and retraced my path; however, for some reason, I couldn't find my way anymore. The forest had gotten foggier and the night a little older. Worse, the moon's light didn't reach this part of the forest.

On the other side of the hill, I spotted some water rushing, so I went there. Water meant a path to civilization. Civilization meant help. Good.

However, once I arrived there, I picked up an unusual sound.

They were...grunts.

Heavy grunts.