ONE

One Year Ago.

“Athena!” Selena’s voice pierced through the thin walls of our home. I would never understand why she yelled when even the sound of a pin-drop could be heard from anywhere.

“Yes, Selena?” I called out softly. I heard her marching up to the attic, where I did most of my sketches and paintings. The attic had the best view of the stream behind our house, so I figured it would be the best place for motivation. It was.

She climbed up the ladder leading to the attic and shook her head with a sigh as she sighted me. I was huddled up in front of the window. It was cold, but I was making a sketch of the stream. I wasn’t done just yet.

“What are you doing here, all by yourself?” Her voice was soft and smooth, like velvet, when she didn’t yell. She had the kindest eyes I had ever seen. Take it from me, since not a lot of people looked at me kindly.

“I’m always here, all by myself,” I giggled as she sat beside me. She shut the window, eliciting a frown from me. “I was sketching the stream.”

“It’s your birthday.” Her voice hardened, but the soft motherly undertone was hidden perfectly in there.

“What’s so special about that?” I shrugged.

“My love.” She cupped my cheeks and stroked them gently. “Everything is special about it. You were born on this day, twenty years ago. You’re my blessing.”

It was at moments like that that I wished Selena was my biological mother. I wanted to feel every connection to her as possible. I wanted to look at her like she was my mother, but I didn’t know how. The nagging thought in the back of my mind always seemed to remind me that she had found me at the border of the pack with a note addressed to my finder. The note contained only my first name, my birthday, and a plea for me to be taken care of.

She would tell me stories of how she had taken me to the former Alpha of Crimson Pack to accept me so she could take care of me. She would also tell me that the Alpha had refused to allow me in four times. Apparently, he grew tired of Selena’s continuous cries and allowed her keep me.

I never got to see him, neither had I gotten to see his son, the current Alpha of the pack. By ranking, I was an Omega. People like me barely saw wolves of higher statuses, especially the Alpha.

“The best present I’d appreciate is the finished sketch work of the stream, please,” I told Selena, making my way to open the window.

Her hands caught mine as she shook her head in disapproval. “You, my dear, will go to the market and get the best meat fifty bucks can buy. That’s my gift to you.”

My eyes widened. “Fifty bucks worth of meat?! We’ve never bought that much before!”

“Exactly.” She handed me fifty dollars. “Now, go. The stream is not going anywhere.”

“I can’t—”

“Can’t what? Does a child reject their mother’s gift?” She frowned. The words tugged at my heart. I hated and felt guilty about how she saw me as her child, but I didn’t do the same. What would she do if she found out I loved her, but not as much as she loved me? I was an ingrate.

“I’ll be back soon.” I kissed both sides of her cheeks and rushed out of the house. Crimson Pack was basically a small town in the middle of a forest. I heard it turned that way since Alpha Conrad got into power, two years ago.

I liked his idea. Hunting for animals were a fun thing to do, I had to admit, but it was also nice having a market to get fresh meat from on lazy days like this.

As soon as I reached the market, I remembered why my favorite pastime was being home. People did nothing to conceal their stares and definitely-meant-to-be-heard whispers.

“Isn’t she the Omega from another pack?”

“Think she’s the daughter of a rogue?”

“How is she walking freely? I would be ashamed if everyone knew I wasn’t a member of the pack. And she’s an Omega, too!”

“Forget about her. What are you wearing tonight?”

I took a deep breath and headed for Mr. Jerry’s shop. Mr. Jerry was the second person I ever saw look at me with kind eyes. He had a large shop with varieties of meat. He was easily the best butcher in town.

He spotted me when I was close. I watched as he shot his arm up to wave at me. I grinned, skipping forward. “Hi, Mr. Jerry. Good morning.”

“Happy birthday, Thea. How’s it going, so far?” He smiled, showing rows of his teeth which displayed how old he was. I had told him my name was Thea. Nobody called me by my real name, save for Selena.

“You remembered.” I placed a hand to my chest and wiped an imaginary tear, even though he had always wished me a happy birthday every year since I had met him.

“Nonsense! How could I ever forget? I even got you something. Hold on.” I watched him waltz into the back of his shop and return almost a minute later with meat I could recognize from anywhere.

“Is that a whole buffalo?” I gasped.

“It’s your favorite. Take it,” He grunted, setting the buffalo on the table in front of me.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jerry, but I can’t take it. It’s too much. Look.” I showed him the fifty dollars. “Selena gave me fifty dollars to get meat from you. That’s more than enough.”

“You’re not rejecting my present, young lady.” He shook his head in a protest.

“I have to. It’s a lot. How about you give me fifty bucks worth?” I bargained.

“Listen here, Thea. You will take this buffalo home, as well as Selena’s money. No ifs, ands, or buts.” His tone held finality. Every single time we argued, he always won. I knew this wouldn’t be the first one I would win, so I gave up. Besides, I could use a whole buffalo for my birthday.

“Thank you so much. I love you.” I smiled at him.

“Same goes, Thea. I’ll see you tonight, won’t I?” He inquired. For a second, I thought he was handing me the buffalo for perverted reasons until I looked in his eyes and read.

Curious, innocent.

“Tonight? What’s happening tonight?” I questioned.

“Of course, Selena didn’t tell you.” He looked around like he would have his head hacked off for talking. “Today is the Alpha’s twenty-fifth birthday.”

My heart thudded wrongly for a second. “Huh. Some coincidence,” I commented.

“He invited everyone from in the pack to his dinner party tonight. They said it’s mandatory for everyone to be in attendance. I think he’s just using it as a cover-up to find his mate. You know how people talk. They find it odd that he doesn’t have a mate yet,” he filled me in.

“Okay…?” I narrowed my eyes at him. I could see mischief playing in his eyes.

“I think you should go.”

“But if Selena didn’t tell me, she doesn’t want me to go,” I stated.

“Nothing is going to happen. Everyone will be too busy trying to seduce the Alpha into thinking they’re his mate, anyway.” He waved my opinion off nonchalantly.

“I’ll ask Selena. I should get going,” I told him, hoisting the buffalo over the nape of my neck. It wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be. Judging by how awed Mr. Jerry looked when he saw me lift it, he probably didn’t know it wasn’t that heavy either. He was aging, so it was only fair that it was heavy for him.

On my way home, I tried hard not to think about the party. I wanted to go, but I knew Selena. I knew she didn’t want me to go. She wanted me nowhere near danger. As far as I knew, where there was an Alpha, there was danger. Selena’s words, not mine.

“Ask her. It’ll be fun,” Raya, my wolf, persuaded me.

“Now, you can talk.” I rolled my eyes at her.

After reaching home and explaining how I had returned with a whole buffalo and fifty bucks, Selena gave me permission to dig into the buffalo without having to cook it.

The taste of cooked meat was nice, but it would never taste the same as raw meat to me. Sick as it sounded, I loved the taste of the blood that accompanied meat. It gave me a sense of triumph, the only one I’d probably ever have.

As we stored the rest of the meat in the freezer after breakfast, I turned to Selena with an innocent smile.

“So…” I trailed off.

“What do you want?” She smiled, crossing her arms.

“Can I please go to the Alpha’s dinner party? I promise, I’ll be home before midnight,” I begged.

Her eyes flashed with something I had rarely seen in them; anger.

She was definitely not letting me go. Plan B was always there if she ever refused–sneak out.