2: Ugly Bitch

"The marriage will be held in four days, on Vivica's eighteenth birthday!"

"My Luna, are you serious?" Vivica squealed.

"Yes, my dear. At the rate you two are going, I know I'll be a grandmother soon, so why wait and risk you getting pregnant out of wedlock?"

Cheers erupted and Vivica glowed like a star while Tormund grinned like a king.

"I can't wait for you to become Mrs. Moonveil," Tormund purred as he kissed her knuckles.

The Alpha called for more wine. Kyla hurried forward with the decanter, but her eyes were focused on Tormund. Her gaze slid downward, catching what no one else seemed to notice.

His hand was hidden under the table, between Vivica's thighs. His fingers moved, and Vivica's blush deepened.

The scent hit Kyla and she could tell her father and the Alpha smelt it too, but they didn't mention it.

Kyla swallowed hard. Her hand trembled, and the wine spilled across the Alpha's lap.

"What the hell!" the Alpha growled. "You clumsy girl!"

The room went deathly silent.

"You stupid girl!" Claudia's voice shattered the silence. She leapt from her seat and struck Kyla hard across the face, then she yanked the decanter from her grip. "Why can't you do anything right?"

"You ugly bitch! You've ruined my engagement dinner!" Vivica cried.

"This is a Danny Wolfe original," the Luna said. "This is coming out of your wages."

"But..." Kyla began to protest.

"You dare back answer your Luna?" Tormund roared.

"I'm sorry." Kyla lowered her head.

"Out of my sight, you useless burnt face monster!" Claudia barked as she slapped her again.

Kyla's cheek burned, but the ache in her chest was worse. She lifted her eyes just once, hoping, begging for her father's gaze. For him to look at her with the love he used to have.

But he didn't.

Kyla wondered to herself why, since the dinner began, her father had not looked at her.

"Father?" she whispered.

"Go clean the gutters!" he barked, still cutting into his steak. "You're not needed here anymore."

Kyla bowed her head. "Yes, Father."

"Apologize to the Alpha and Luna and then get out of our sight," Claudia hissed.

"Please forgive me, Alpha. Luna." She bowed, her pride bleeding out of her like water from a cracked cup. With tears in her eyes, she fled from the scene.

******

The next morning, Kyla's wolf, Gemma, woke her before dawn.

'Wake up, Kyla.' Her sweet voice rang inside Kyla's head.

Her wolf had always been with her since she was thirteen, but Gemma rarely spoke. And ever since the fire, she had never shown herself around people. She didn't trust anyone... not a soul. Only Kyla and Wynona.

'What is it, Gemma?'

'I heard suspicious footsteps... followed by a window opening.'

Kyla groaned and rubbed her eyes. She checked the time on her clock. It was 2 a.m., just three days before Vivica's 18th birthday and wedding of the century.

'It's not even light out. I'm going back to sleep.'

But Gemma forced her upright, jerking her body until she had no choice but to move with her wolf.

'We are going downstairs to see what this is about.'

'Ahh,' Kyla scoffed.

She tiptoed down the stairs, her bed slippers dragging over the wooden floor as she stifled a yawn with her palm. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary until she saw the curtain to the living room window fluttering. It was Kyla's job to close up at night, and she was positive she had closed this window before she went upstairs to bed.

"What the hell?" she mumbled as she went to close the window.

Her eyes darted to the tree line just in time to see Vivica in her nightgown running into the woods.

'See, Gemma? It's only Vivica sneaking out to go meet with her fiancé again,' Kyla hissed bitterly.

Vivica had been sneaking out every night for the last week after she went to that party across town at another pack.

'Hmm,' her wolf hummed. 'Something still feels off to me.'

'Gemma, please forgive me. But I'm too tired to be having this conversation now. Can we talk about this tomorrow?'

'Fine.'

Kyla dragged herself back upstairs, collapsed into bed, and fell asleep.

******

Around 8 a.m., the battle horns were being blown. Kyla shot from her sleep only to see that her house was in chaos.

"What's happening?" she asked the first servant she saw when she opened her room door.

"Didn't you hear? The Alpha's son is hurt."

"Hurt?" Kyla gulped. Then she ran downstairs to see her stepmother sitting on her father's lap, crying.

"Father," she bowed, her voice trembling. "What happened to Tormund? Where is Vivica?"

Albert's face darkened, and Claudia began to snarl.

"Get away from us, you ugly bitch. This is your fault. This is all your fault."

Kyla staggered back. "What did I do?"

"You're the reason she's gone! You threatened her! Told her she wasn't Albert's real daughter. You pushed her to this. She couldn't take it anymore, so she said she was going to kill herself!" Claudia's finger stabbed the air at her.

"No! I never—"

"She left a suicide note," Albert's voice was steel. "Now just leave. I don't want to see your face right now."

Kyla couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was madness. The servants began to whisper about her. Vivica's wedding to the future Alpha was supposed to be the event of the decade. Everyone was looking forward to it.

Soon there was a loud bang, and the front door was kicked off the hinges as Alpha Morgan stormed in.

"WHERE IS SHE? Where is that filthy daughter of yours?"

Kyla gulped as she stood planted to the floor.

"Alpha! Please... calm down," Beta Albert said. He pushed his wife off his lap and walked in front of his daughter protectively.

The Alpha's wicked gaze landed on Kyla. "I am going to kill you and then let my wolf eat you down to the bone."

Kyla gulped. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"What did you do? What did you do?" The Alpha chuckled darkly.

Just then, the Luna stumbled inside, pale and broken. Her knees buckled, but Morgan caught her before she could fall to the floor.

"Luna Tabitha! What happened?" Albert demanded.

"It's... Tormund." Her lips quivered.

Morgan hugged her tightly.

"What happened to the future Alpha?" Claudia asked.