Chapter One

The sharp sweet smell of mint wafted into my nostrils as I emerged from the bottom of the lake and I breathed it in greedily. Meadow Lake was indeed a gift from the gods because no scenery on earth could match this paradise. As I floated on the surface of the water, I couldn’t help but admire its skyline's silver colour. The wide span of Tuscany-blue sky, the surrounding hills, the waterfall and the old giant Douglas fir trees gave me a eureka moment. It was here alone that I found solace. I closed my eyes to breathe the freshness in and my heart bobbed at my most cherished sound, the shimmering emptiness of space.

Exactly this day, about seventeen years ago, I lost Mother. I never got to meet her because I was the cause of her death. She died birthing me and rumour has it that that day was foreseen by pack mother to be a day of atrocity. The elders of the pack said while my mother was in labour, the pack mother(the eldest and wisest mother wolf) refused to tend to her, instead she kept howling “Katára” repeatedly while pointing at her until she put to birth.

As for my father, no one, not even the all-knowing alpha of the pack knew who he was and he never came to find me. I was alone in a pack filled with the worst mix of people who had no human empathy left in them. Each day had its own narrative whether it was humiliation or thrashing, I always got it coming. And I blame it on my physique no surprise; I mean I was a magnet for torment. My pale skin and small statue screamed “Come get me” and no matter how frivolous the incident, it will always end up in me being beaten to near death.

Everyone in the pack had at one point in time partook in this act except Tyler, our Alpha. But what’s the point of being an Alpha when you have no idea that one of yours is tortured routinely? At this point in my life, I just felt dejected and I learnt to enjoy the pain inflicted by every blow, kick or strangle. It all felt like a fit punishment for what I did to my mother. I felt very distant from my wolf since my transformation and as each day passes, I feel more distant from her.

“Look who we have here”, an annoyingly familiar voice interrupted my peace jolting me back to reality.

“Little Miss Kaya sneaked out for a Me time,” the voice added. Without looking in that direction I knew that voice belonged to Luta, beside him were Jeremy and Danni and they were all Betas. No one in our pack dared to cross the trios as they were well known for their ruthless nature. And unfortunately, I was their punching bag.

The trios dived into the lake and as they made their way towards me, I held my breath bracing for the worst. It was evident in their faces that they could sense the mixture of fear and hatred that poured out of me. The smirk on Luta’s face confirmed it all.

“Mind if we join in… Key,” Jeremy teased as they circled around me.

“I was just about to take my leave” I croaked attempting to swim towards the shoreline.

Just I as turned to make a run for it, I felt a piercing pain on my wrist followed by a vicious tug plunging me deep into the lake. My heart raced and my chest tightened as Luta’s fist squeezes my breathe out of me. I kicked my legs furiously to escape but his strong hands were safely secured around my neck. I decided that this was it for me so I calmed and waited for him to get it over with. In the darkness, head downward, while I paused, I felt a slow torrent of water going up my nose.

‘This is it Kaya’ I thought to myself as I slowly drifted away, incapable of determining whether I was breathing in or out.

Unexpectedly, I felt an unbelievable relief of being hauled upright to the water's surface causing me to forcefully cough out water and gasp for air at the same time. As I regained strength, I looked up to see the blue glow in their eyes as they stared at me.

“Don’t you ever turn your back on me you bitch”, Luta growled.

“The next time you disrespect us like that will be the last time we will breathe the same air. Get the hell out of my sight, you freak!”. Spat Danni.

I mustered the little strength left in me and swam for an exit. Every stroke towards the shoreline felt like a step towards death itself. I never understood why I was treated terribly by the people in my pack. Every passing day left a scar both physically and mentally draining the life out of me. And I believe that’s the reason I have failed to connect with my wolf side.

I made it out of the lake and dashed towards the massive packhouse situated uphill and without looking at where I was going, I bumped into what felt like a wall. Everything froze at that instant and I think I heard one of the trios curse under his breath.

I regrettably looked up to see the scariest yet intoxicating golden eyes stare back at me. It was Alpha Tyler, the first True Alpha in our clan who killed the preceding Alpha of the clan. Rumour has it that Tyler was a Beta and he single-handedly defeated, Zerx, the last remaining Eta in our settlement. Tyler was indeed feared by all wolves in our clan most especially me. This is the first I stood this close to him. He, well, was different from everyone else. He wasn't necessarily handsome in the traditional sense, but he had a look that might make him stick out in a crowd. He was light-coloured, nearly white. His light-toned face contrasted brilliantly with his unfathomable, golden-brown eyes. If you stared into his eyes for a while, you could become lost in them since they were so expressive and profound. He had that expression on his face that is indescribable in words, almost like a trace of pain in his sparkling eyes but it went away just as quickly.

"I-I'm s-sorry." I managed to utter huskily before zooming out.

Thankfully, darkness had set in and unnoticeably, I made for my room which was indeed the smallest, but to me, the cosiest of all the rooms in the pack house. Situated in my shabby chic room were a dresser, a bed and a chest of drawers; connected to the room were a kitchen and a bathroom.

Using the washstand, I splashed water on my face as memories of my near-death experience swamped my mind. In all of this, what I couldn’t shake off was those piercing golden eyes staring back at me. I splashed more water on my face and stared at the pale figure in the vanity mirror. Bright red hair and a deep set of intense green eyes stared back at me. As I stared, tears streamed down my freckled soft cheeks. I hated being me, being in this pack, being utterly alone.

I hated being Kaya Daygon.