CHAPTER 3

Calista’s POV

"Ouch," I winced. My foot hurt from all the walking. Thanks to my human speed. It was afternoon now, and it's hot. So, so hot. It didn't help with the fact that I'm in the woods. It only made everything worse. I changed into a black tank top, hoping it would help. My hair is a mess. My face, arms, and legs had small cuts.

By now, I know the pack must be aware of my runaway. Heck, they're probably celebrating already. Who cares? I don't. I decided it would be better if I found a no man's land so that no packs would come hunting for me.

Finally, I took a break. I was exhausted. I was starving. I lay down in the shadow of a big oak tree. It's time to take a rest. I thought about my life as I slowly fell into a dreamless yet peaceful sleep, for the first time in 5 years.

I heard voices. They were saying something, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. It was as if they were whispering to each other. "Why is she in a wolf pack?" one of them said. The sound was feminine. "I don't know. She is human. Humans shouldn't be here," another voice said.

I'm in a wolf pack? As in a pack?! Well, shoot. I flinched and jumped away from them in a panic as I felt their hand on my shoulder. I hate it when people touch me. I looked at the two girls. One of them looked around my age, or maybe younger. The other looked about 18 years old. They both had bright green eyes. The younger one had dark blonde hair while the older girl had soft blonde hair. They had the same facial features. I think they are related, maybe siblings.

The older girl was wearing a jam-colored jacket over a moss-green top with denim jeans which were ripped below the knee. The younger girl was wearing a white t-shirt covered in dirt with black sweatpants. "Hey, calm down," the younger girl said. "You're a wolf," I said, looking at her. Great, I just met a werewolf. Life, goodbye! Death, here I come! What else can I say? I'm at the line of death. "How do you know about our kind?" she asked. "I was born into werewolves too, but I didn't get a wolf. It doesn't matter; I'm going to die anyway," I said.

I was so scared, but I didn't show it. "You are a werewolf? With no wolf?!" she looked at me shocked. "What do you mean you are going to die?" the other girl said. "I trespassed into your territory," I said. Maybe they will let me live. It's worth a try. "Look, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to trespass. I was just passing by. I was tired. I needed to get away. Please, don't kill me," I looked at them pleading.

The older girl burst out laughing. "Don't laugh! You are scaring the poor girl," the younger one slapped the older one's back firmly. "I'm sorry about my sister," the younger one said. I just nodded, gulping.

Once the laughter died down, the older girl looked at me. "Girl, don't worry! We are not from this pack. Me and my little sister here are rogues too." "Oh. But, but, how? I mean... How come you are in a pack if you are rogue?" I asked, confused. "Oh honey, this is us. We live like this. We go from one pack to the other. Once the alpha or beta gets suspicious that there are rogues, we go to another pack. Now we are in the 'Greenwood pack,'" the younger one said.

"Anyways, my name is Alessia Bree Quinn. I'm 17," the older one said. "I'm Esmeralda Andrea Quinn. I'm 14. It's a pleasure to meet you," the younger girl bowed, grinning. I let out a laugh. "I'm Calista Vale. I just turned 15. It's nice to meet you too," I said.

"Calista? Wait. Wait a minute. Are you Vale as in Vale, I mean, the White Ray Pack?!" Alessia asked. "Yes, I am," I said, looking away as I felt a stinging feeling in my chest. "You are Alpha-blooded?! Oh. My. God!" Esmeralda exclaimed. "But, why are you not with your pack? Why are you a rogue?" Alessia asked. "It's a long story," I said, looking down in shame. Why aren't they disgusted by me? I told them I don't have a wolf! "I have all day," Alessia said. "Me too. If you tell your story, maybe we will tell you ours." Esmeralda said.

I noticed a hint of pain in her eyes. I sighed.

I'm the youngest in my family. My father is the Alpha. My mother was the Luna. I had three siblings: a loving sister, a brother, and then there's my twin brother. He was my best friend. My family was the perfect family. Everyone loved me. Even the whole pack. From what I remember, I was sarcastic, made witty comments, and was sassy. I loved to make people laugh," I smiled at the memory.

Everything was perfect. Nothing was out of place. Then there came my 10th birthday. As you also know, every Alpha child will shift for the first time on their 10th birthday. I was excited. The thought of having a wolf was thrilling to me. I was jumping up and down, practically yelling in excitement. But there was a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. I ignored it, pushed every negative feeling aside. When there were 5 seconds left, the feeling only increased.

Finally, when it was 12:00, I closed my eyes. I waited for the pain, the tearing of my princess dress, the burning feeling that everyone described, the breaking of bones. But it didn't happen. Instead, I heard my twin brother screaming. I opened my eyes to see him clutching his chest, his shirt ripped, the sickly sound of bones breaking. I watched it all. My twin brother shifted into his wolf in front of my own eyes. But I didn't. That's when my parents realized I couldn't shift. They sent me to the pack doctor. The doctor said I don't have a wolf, that I have a human gene. That was when everything started.

I became the pack disgrace, a burden. My ranking changed to omega. I was treated badly. My mother, father, brother, sister, and even my twin beat me. Even people in school. My best friend stayed by my side all the time, until my brother asked her out. She had a crush on him for so long, so she betrayed me. She became one of those bullies. The only person that loved and cared about me was my grandma.

"What the heck?! That's unfair! Wait till I meet them. They should be praying we don't meet. If I do, I will skin them," Alessia gritted out.

"They are fools! Just because she doesn't have a wolf doesn't mean she isn't their pup! Who knows, she might be a late bloomer!" Esmeralda yelled.

"Hey, calm down. I'm not going back to them," I mumbled.

"Great, then you are coming with us!" Alessia said.

"But, I... I don't want to be a burden to-"

"Nonsense!" Esmeralda said. "You are not going to be a burden! You are like us. You may not have a wolf, but you are one of us."

"You don't have a choice. You are coming with us!" Alessia smirked.

"You are not alone, Calis," Esmeralda smiled.

"Calis?" I asked.

"Yep, a nickname for ya!" she grinned.

"Oh. My siblings used to call me that," I mumbled.

"Then we gotta get a new nickname!" Alessia said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"We are your new team. New family. We want to have our own nickname for you, babe!" Alessia giggled.

Oh.

"Hey, you have necklaces like ours," Esmeralda pointed at the onyx and moonstone necklace on my neck.

"My grandma gave it to me," I said.

"Here is ours," Esmeralda showed me a stone necklace. Alessia showed hers.

"A labradorite stone," I said, looking at Esmeralda's.

"An alexandrite," I said, looking at Alessia's.

"Beautiful."

"You know the names? We never knew," Alessia said.

"My pack has a history about stones, crystals, and diamonds, and many others. My grandma taught me the names," I told them. "This black one is onyx. And this one is moonstone," I told them. "Our necklaces have the same design. I mean, not the onyx one, but the moonstone, labradorite, and alexandrite," Alessia said.

She was right. They all had the same design, only different stones.

"We were from Blood Moon pack. We all lived so happily," Alessia started their story.

"Wasn't Blood Moon pack attacked by rogues 3 months ago?" I asked.

"Yes," Esmeralda said.

"We had a little family. Me, Esmi, Aaron, Mom, and Dad. Ron was our little brother. We were happy. Everything was perfect. A month before the attack, I found my mate, Daniel. He was a sweetheart. Little did we know that he is pure evil," Alessia frowned at the night sky. It was nighttime. We were in Flower Wind pack.

"It was the day we got attacked. It was the day of our future Alpha, our cousin, David's Alpha ceremony. We were so happy that he finally is going to be our Alpha," Alessia continued.

"The ceremony was very colorful. I realized that Daniel was acting weird, but I ignored it. I thought he was too happy. Just when David vowed and cut his palm and claimed the title, an arrow was shot. It pierced through his heart. That's how we got attacked. Later, a man in black came. He had his face covered. He called his army, and they all came. The man in black showed his face! I still remember that moment. The man was Daniel. He... he..." Alessia started crying. Then Esmeralda continued.

"Daniel was like a brother to me. He was so kind. Everyone in the pack respected him. But after seeing his face behind the black cover, I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to believe, but it was the truth. He killed David, our new Alpha, our cousin.

That's how everything started. The pack was furious. They all tried to attack him, but he called his army. That's when we got to know he is not the leader. The leader was someone worse, Duncan. Duncan is the rogue leader. Daniel was Duncan's beta. We were all put in the pack cell. We were beaten so bad, no mercy. Kids, teens, adults, older people, no different. Women were treated the worst.

"They used women. Every time a woman was taken before, she would be brought back, badly beaten. Some barely survived, some didn't, some went mental. It was bad, very bad," Esmeralda sniffed.

"Daniel mated another person. I felt it. It was painful. I almost died, but I stood my ground," Alessia said.

"We were in no shape to fight. We were beaten and bruised. Any men who tried to fight back would be killed or beaten. Our other cousin, David's younger brother, Darren, stood up for the pack. He was beaten badly, very badly, but he never gave up, never. The former Luna, our aunt too. She also stood up for the pack several times.

"It was then one day, Daniel came. He told me to come. I knew what he was going to do to me, of course, rape me. So, I refused. He beat me, not only me, but Esmi and Ron too. I couldn't watch it. So I at last gave in. He took me to some place, but I punched him. He wasn't expecting it, so he was taken by surprise. He was so mad, so, so mad. He almost killed me, but he sent me back to the cell.

"Once I was back, I got to know that my little baby brother didn't make it. He was only 2. He was too young," Alessia's voice cracked. Tears flowed down her face.

"Next day, before the sun was up, our parents woke us. They found a way. We all were going to go rogue, because one of the guards left our cell door open. However, before we all could make it, they got to know what was happening. They attacked," Esmeralda sighed.

"It was only us who made it, only me and Ale," Esmeralda looked at her sister, who was crying silently. It must be really bad for her. Alessia's mate is a bad guy, and he mated another. He even killed her brother. That guy is sick.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. That's when I realized I was crying too.

"It doesn't matter anymore. We are not alone anymore. Now, we have you," Alessia stood up.

"What? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Cali! Now we have you. Me and Ale are not alone anymore. We got a partner, a friend, a good one," Esmeralda smiled, standing up.

"Umm... thanks, guys! That means a lot," I smiled back. I had never felt like I belonged in 5 years, and this feeling is new. I'm loving it. I love this feeling. Belonged.

"Come on, girl! Stand up! We want to do a group hug!" Esmeralda and Alessia said. I laughed and stood up. We wrapped our arms around each other. We pulled away and looked at the sky, our arms on each other's shoulders, Esmeralda on my left, Alessia on my right. We saw a shooting star. They say we should make a wish when we see a shooting star.

"This is our new family," Alessia said with teary eyes. She had a bright smile on her face.

"A new family," Esmeralda nodded.

"A new family it is," I smiled.

"Every story has an end," I heard Alessia say.

"But in life," Esmeralda said.

"Every ending is just a new beginning," I smiled, looking at the moon. The moon. It was so bright, as if it's smiling at us, agreeing with what we just said. 'A new family. A new future. A new beginning,' I heard the voice from before say. The voice was right. I had to leave the pack for the better, for a new future. I looked at the girls who were fast asleep.

Fate made me meet these two beautiful souls..