Chapter 3: Only My Sisters

Maya's POV 

I was having terrible dreams, ones that always started with the moment everything fell apart. I dreamt we were back at the pack house, right after my eighteenth birthday. Since I hadn't phased into my wolf, I was treated as lower than an Omega. They made sure I got every job they considered too disgusting for themselves. Every day, I scrubbed the toilets in the pack house. I also cleaned the public restrooms outside the dining hall, near the main living room, and the small arena used for events and meetings. Lucky me.

“Well, look who it is,” I heard Kayla sneer from behind me as I scrubbed the last stall in the women’s room. “It’s the worthless bitch who can’t even phase,” Tanya mocked. “The curse of our pack,” Emma added. “I wish your whore of a mother had taken you with her when she ran off with her tail between her legs.”

“Don’t talk about my mother,” I said as I stood up and stepped away from the toilet. I remembered the last time they caught me in here, I couldn’t fight them off, and they knew it. They always targeted my family, the one thing guaranteed to make me react.

“What are you going to do?” Kayla taunted, stepping closer. “You have no powers, no wolf. How exactly do you plan to stop us?”

They slammed me against the wall. Tanya and Emma grabbed my arms to pin me down. Kayla extended her claws, smiling that sick, jealous smile I had come to hate. She hated that Damien looked at me, even though I didn’t want him. She didn’t want to scare me today, she wanted to do real damage.

“Don’t do this, Kayla,” I said, forcing calm into my voice. “You’ll get in trouble for this. I won’t let you walk away unpunished. The Elders will hear about it.”

That bought me ten seconds. Then she smirked. “Who would believe you, Maya? It'll be my word against yours. And Tanya and Emma will back me. No one wants you here, not even your own father. You're wolfless, that only leaves one explanation: you're a witch. No one feels safe with you around. I'm doing the whole pack a favor. You won’t walk away today. You’re better off dead.”

“We would,” a voice rang out. Lauren.

I looked toward the door. Lauren and Meliza stood there. They were only sixteen and fifteen at the time, no match physically for our attackers. Kayla, Tanya, and Emma were all my age. Only our family knew that Lauren had phased early. Meliza likely would, too, thanks to their Alpha blood. Our father used that fact to highlight how much of a disappointment I was.

Kayla didn’t back down. She lunged forward, claws aimed for my neck. I felt them skim my skin before Lauren yanked her back. Lauren's right hand was clawed too, her grip iron-tight on Kayla’s arm. I saw where Kayla had been aiming, she meant to slash my neck and let me bleed out.

Kayla screamed as Lauren’s claws sank deeper into her arm, forcing her away. Then the door burst open. Gamma Bridget, Kayla’s mother, stood in the doorway, shocked. “What the hell are you doing to my daughter?” she shrieked.

“Why didn’t you help my sister when your ugly daughter attacked her?” Meliza snapped. “Or were you acting as lookout while she tried to kill her? Everyone knows Kayla wants to be Luna badly enough to kill her competition. But even if you killed her, Damien would still pine for her. We've even noticed he can’t keep his eyes off Maya.”

“Let her go! If you hurt her, I’ll report you to the Alpha,” Bridget hissed.

“Then tell your daughter’s minions to release my sister first,” Lauren said evenly. “I’ll let go of Kayla when they let go of Maya. I may be young, but I know who I can and can’t trust here.”

“You’re no better than that witch you call a sister,” Bridget said coldly. “One day, you’ll learn the hard way, you can’t trust a witch. Not even in your own family.”

“Let her go!” Kayla shrieked again, her arm still bleeding. Her wolf couldn’t heal her with Lauren’s claws embedded in her. Tanya and Emma hesitated, but finally released me, with one last shove into the wall. Lauren kept her promise and let go of Kayla.

Kayla clutched her arm, then stepped close to whisper in my ear. “It’s not just me who wants you dead. Thank your sisters for now. But I’ll get you, Maya. Damien won’t choose you over me. Not in this lifetime.” She turned to leave, but paused again.

“Lauren ,” she said, her voice sharp with rage. “You made the wrong choice today. I’ll make sure you regret it.” Then the door closed behind her.

The threat was real. Kayla wanted me dead. And she wasn’t the only one. I was powerless here, no wolf, no mentor to teach me how to be a witch. Even if someone had, the pack would have forced me out the moment I showed any power.

She was right. No one here wanted me. Not even my own father or stepmother. They didn’t even pretend anymore.

I was only still here for my sisters. They were the only reason I got out of bed, the only light in my days. I had stayed to protect them, even without a wolf. I just wanted to be the big sister they deserved, strong enough to keep them safe, just like they protected me.