The Apex: Ascend or Be Consumed

Prologue

I hate everyone around me, every single one of them. Not just because they hurt me though they did but because they enjoyed it.

They treated me like I was disposable. Like I didn’t matter. Like I was just something to use, to mock, to tear down whenever it suited them.

Most days, I wish I’d died in that fire with my mom.

I despised being called half-blood though I am one. I hated that my stepmother wasn’t my real mother. She was very kind but none of her children took after her. While she poured kindness into them, they drank only from the well of their father’s hatred for me.

Their father- I mean our father, hated me because I resembled my mother.

It must be his guilt.

After her death, they declared me a curse.

I was born weak and fragile in a world that worshipped strength.

I was almost eighteen, and I still hadn’t shifted. My wolf hadn’t come.

I would never become a true werewolf like my half-siblings.


I strongly loathed how insignificant I felt among my paternal relatives, how easily they overlooked me, how simple it was for them to shove me aside as if I weren’t one of the Alpha’s children. 
And most of all, I hated how I never fought back the way I wanted to.

But still… something inside me wouldn’t let go.
 A stubborn, quiet voice that unmistakably belonged to my fae mother kept whispering to me. Reminding me I was destined for more.

Deep down, I didn’t want to be weak.
 I wanted to be powerful. Respected.
 I wanted to walk into an influential gathering, steal the damned spotlight, and never feel like I had to apologize for being me.

I wanted to be so strong that anyone who gossips about me knew damn I didn’t need anyone’s goddamn protection.
 I just needed a chance to stand tall, shoulders back, chin up, beside the strongest beings in the world.

To become that person, I have to reach the Apex.


But that won’t happen unless I get a Calling to enter Blackcroft.
 And I believe that day will come.

For now, I’ll focus on opening my Mana.

Before Blackcroft<<<<>>>>

Loud chatter echoed in my head as I walked among the students of Cristobal High, down the passageway toward the Annex Library. It was the one place the school kept books on ancient magic and unrevealed supernatural powers.

I might be invisible to my peers, but I paid no attention either. I was used to being ignored unless I was stuck with my so-called chic friends and eminent relatives.

“Don’t even dream of getting into Blackcroft. You're barely a werewolf. You half-fae bitch.”

I heard a deep, degrading, and familiar voice say behind me, and I froze in my tracks.

Great. I had just reached the door to the school’s library, and he had already found out. His spies were efficient.

My chest tightened and for a moment, I couldn't move, fearing I would get dragged down to the empty classroom beside the Annex library, and they would do mean things to me again.

I didn't dare breathe either because he would count it as an insult and use that as a reason to hit me across the face.

I’d been hearing that voice tear me down for as long as I could remember.

Every harsh and insensitive word chipped away at me until I barely had enough confidence to look anyone in the eye, let alone speak my mind.

The voice belonged to my half-brother, Desmond. He was our father’s golden boy.

My worst reminder of what I could never be.

I didn't even know how he had discovered that I desired to get into Blackcroft, then I remembered that stupid truth and dare I did last night with the girls I called my friends.

They must have told him.

My hands fisted by my sides as I realized that I was deceived once more.

Did they ever stop to consider how it made me feel when they betrayed me? Did they even understand how painful it was, time after time, to feel like I couldn't even speak my truth around them?

I ignored him, trying to unlock the door to the library but I realized that someone must have locked it from the inside after they saw the Alpha’s Heir bullying me again.

I swallowed, my breath trembling as I tightened my hold on my backpack and kept walking forward.

I didn't turn around or give him the satisfaction of knowing that his words got to me.

“Didn’t know stray mutts could have dreams,” he added, and his friends who were always tagging along with him like guilt after a crime snickered. “You really think Blackcroft wants someone like you?”

I took a deep breath. I waited for it and before I could think he had grown a conscience, he yanked me by my hair and flung me inside the empty classroom.

My body hit the brick wall with a loud thud and I coughed out a mouthful of blood from the violent crash. I felt sharp pain behind my head and warm blood slid down my neck like my skull had split open but I still forced myself up.

“I never said I was trying to get in. I said I wish,” I muttered, my voice cracking with pain and frustration as I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.

“Wishes like that are wasted on your kind. If a Pureblood can’t gain entry, what makes you think you’re deserving?” He snarled.

The next thing I knew, he was at my side. His hand closed around my throat, and he spat in my face.

Shame burned in me and my heart pounded with fury as it trickled down my nose.

He should have kept his stinking saliva to himself!

I raged within as his spit dripped down my lips.

I couldn't do anything. I just stood there, frozen, helpless, unable to even bite him.

I longed to kill him for always belittling and humiliating me in public but neither I nor my wolf was strong enough to fight Desmond.

She stirred somewhere inside me as if she were protesting, but I ignored her and lifted my head.

“There’s no crime in wishing, is there?” I countered.

Desmond laughed like a maniac. His grip on my throat tightened and he had that same look in his eyes. He always has it when he's about to unbutton my shirt and let his friends gawk at my big boobs.

He's younger than I by a year, but he stands six feet two with broad shoulders.

He had a perfect shift by thirteen. He was the first boy born of two Purebred, Alpha blood.

Everyone saw him as the flawless Alpha heir, but all I saw was a monster.

“My mom said dreams come true when you back them up with real effort. You really think I’d ever let you have something I’ve worked my ass off for and still haven’t gotten?”

Desmond finally let go of my neck when he noticed that I was unable to breathe and pushed me to the stony wall. His dark brown eyes were spitting rage as our gazes locked.

“I will not allow you to keep wishing. From now on, you’re banned from doing any of your little stunts. No spells. No fire. No hope. You’ll never be anything close to a real sorceress.” He snapped his head toward his friends with a scowl.

“I do not have time to play with her today, I have the coronation to attend. Your new assignment is to make sure she stays away from the Annex and never gets to practice any of her cheap tricks. If she does, push needles under her fingernails.”

Oh, I’d completely forgotten that today was his coronation. He would be officially crowned the Alpha Heir today, and he still wouldn't let me practice. Not even for a moment. Not even on the day that was supposed to change everything for both of us.

I clenched my fists behind my back. I ground my teeth as my nails dig sharply into my palms.

I could feel magic stirred beneath my skin, wild and restless, like it always did when he was near.

I hadn't opened my mana yet but I believe my magic hated being caged. Just like I did.

I noticed that his golden crest was already clasped around his shoulders. It was difficult for me to accept that this boy who had spent all his life taking everything away from me would become the Alpha and hold my fate in his hands.

Desmond turned to me, smirking. “This is mercy, you know. I could have crushed your dream to enter Blackcroft in a more painful, and degrading way.”

Mercy. He thought he was being merciful?

A soft laugh escaped me, but it broke into a despairing sob.

All of a sudden, I felt my mana open and a chaotic energy flooded my whole being.