Alpha, Are You Blind?

Jennifer's POV On January 15th, the year when I was 19 years old, my life took a huge turn. I don’t know whether it has anything to do with the wish I made on Christmas Eve. Standing under the gigantic spruce that guards the entrance of my pack, I closed my eyes and prayed to the moon goddess. Please set me free. I have been repeating the same plea since 15, the year when the spruce was planted there, yet not once had my wish been fulfilled. I believed that this instance would be no different, as praying seemed like a futile attempt to seek solace, and it wouldn’t make my misery any better. But I was wrong, as a miracle did take place. My name is Jennifer and I come from The Wood Pack, a warm place in the south. My father is James Swift, Alpha of the pack and my mom is Laurel Swift. I lost my mum when I was seven years old, after which my father met his second chance mate, Jade Flynn and had a son with her. And as you can expect, my life hasn’t been so peaceful since then. My little brother Justin was always making trouble and robbing me of my toys. My parents, however, always favoured him. When I complained, my stepmother would scold me. She said that we were family and that she accepted me when she married my father, so I should accept her and my stepbrother. I thought she had a point and I try to compromise and tolerate them, then I realised they don’t treat me any better for it. They just got worse and treated me as if I were their maid. Auntie Alice, my late mom’s maid, couldn’t stand it. The kind woman tried to help me with my chores but it ended up with her being kicked out by my stepmother. The reason she gave was that the maid’s self-righteousness in assisting me had ruined her plans. What plan? You may ask. Well, my stepmother asserted that to be a good Luna I shall go through the trials and tribulations she set for me, yet the maid’s interference had sabotaged her plan. I didn’t agree with my stepmother, yet I was in no position to argue with her. The day when Auntie Alice left, I hugged her and cried endlessly while my stepbrother watched happily from the sidelines. Justin looked gloating every time I suffered. It confused me and I always wondered why my stepmother never arranged some kind of ordeal for her son. As I grew older, I realised that I was deceived. It had nothing to do with preparing me for being a Luna. My stepmother hated me, she was jealous of my status as the heir to the pack so she wanted me to suffer, that’s all. And telling me she was doing me a favour was just a way of convincing my father to take her side, as well as making me more obedient. I put up with it all in the hopes that I would end all this suffering when I turned eighteen. When that day came I would get my wolf and become stronger. In addition, I would find my mate and be healed by love. But the moon goddess did not let me have my wish. My 18th birthday was indeed a turning point in my life, but in a bad way. I didn’t get my wolf, neither did I meet my mate. My father was so disappointed in me that my stepmother tried to persuade my father to sell me to the Royal Medical Academy as an item. She claimed that she had a professor friend who specialised in studying the wolfless subject. My father thought about it for a few nights, but in the end he didn’t agree. It might be out of his conscience. My resemblance to my mom made him hesitate. My eyes are light brown, and I also got my long curly hair from my late mom. Although my father didn’t love me, he loved his late wife once. In any case, my life has gotten even worse after my coming of age. My stepmother publicised the fact that I had no wolves and was very successful in making the pack consider my stepbrother the new heir, which boosted his pride and made him more cruel. He began to punch and kick me from time to time. Sometimes he would order his pals to beat me. If they refused, he would beat them. Just when I thought my life would be a repetition of this misery day after day, fate finally showed me a glimmer of hope. A week later after I made my wish under the spruce, my stepbrother got into a big trouble. At the Royal Ball, he got drunk and accidentally injured the king’s son, Prince Ryan, causing the latter to be temporarily blinded. As the King and Queen were touring the territories, the King’s brother, Alpha Hayden, who was temporarily in charge, took over the the case. The Regent gave my father two choices. One, to pluck out Justin’s eyes, making him blind. Two, send Justin to be Prince Ryan’s squire and look after the prince until he could see again. My father couldn’t bear to send his beloved son away, so he negotiated with Alpha Hayden , imploring the Regent to let me take the blame for my brother. Of course my father knew what I would go through. But compared to the son born to his second chance mate, it was clear that me, a wolfless she-wolf was a child with no future. I couldn’t fight for my pack like the rest of wolves when danger came, and it was a good deal for my father to give me up to save my stepbrother. Several days after the accident, I was brought to the royal family. The great hall was filled with dukes and earls and viscounts and their ladies. Strange enough, the victim himself was the only one who did not appear. As I surveyed my surroundings, the Regent commanded me in his Alpha voice, “Kneel.” The embarrassing fact is that I don’t have a wolf, which enabled me to ignore the orders of someone higher in the hierarchy than me - which is probably why my father and stepbrother are determined to get rid of me. My existence made them feel threatened. Seeing me still standing, the Regent narrowed his eyes in suspicion, “Did you just ignore my orders?” I immediately fell to my knees and stuttered, “I…I’m sorry. I spaced.” “How dare you!” The Regent bellowed. “So careless the girl is. She can’t serve the prince well.” The Regent’s concubine sneered. “You’re right Matilda. This won’t work. We need a servant well-disciplined.” The Regent muttered to himself as he turned to my father, “Let your son come. After all, he’s the one who hurt Ryan’s eyes.” My stepbrother blanched and the smile disappeared from his face. I looked at my father with earnest, hoping he would agree and I could get out of this horrible situation. Yet he disappointed me. “No, no, no, please give us a chance.” My father pleaded. In an attempt to save my stepbrother, he lied to the Regent, “The b***h is only seventeen, so she doesn’t have her wolf yet. She’ll be obedient after her 18th birthday. Besides, she does all the chores around the house. She certainly knows how to take care of people better than Justin.” “Is that true?” Regent asked, leering at me. Now I was faced with two choices, go along with my father, or reveal his lies. Admitting to the Regent that I didn’t have a wolf meant that my father would be punished for lying, but I would probably end up being sent to the Royal Medical Academy’ autopsy room for not having a wolf. Being wolfless in this part of the world is a curse. People feared the presence they couldn’t comprehend and they assuaged that fear by eliminating the presence. So ridiculous. “Jennifer! Answer the question!“My father hissed at me, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Yes.” I said, confronting the Regent’s examining gaze. I could tell from the Regent’s eyes that he was still a little sceptical. But my answer was a comfort to him, as he breathed a sigh of relief. He cleared his throat and said, ”Okay. So what’s your choice Jennifer, will you pay with your eyes or come and serve my nephew?” I thought about the rumours about Prince Ryan. I gulped, held back the quiver in my voice and said, “I choose blindness.” The crowd sank in silence. Among them, I saw my father, whose head turned away from me out of shame. However, my stepbrother, the one who started it all, was smiling happily. I was suffering for the mistake he had made, while he was relaxed as if he were watching a show. “Your wish is granted,“ The Regent announced, gesturing a royal warrior to pluck out my eyes. As the royal warrior approached me and raised the sharp blade, I closed my eyes. I couldn’t help but shudder as the cold blade touched my eyelids. Just then a languish voice came from the balcony on the first floor. “Wait a sec, uncle. I want this she-wolf to look after me until I recover.” “It’s not my choice!”I protested as my eyes snapped open. “Shut up b***h, you don’t have a choice!” The warrior slapped me across the face. “But-” I tried to argue, but before I could finish, I was interrupted by a condescending voice above. “Listen up, little wolf. one more word, my uncle will make you my blind servant.” So I wisely keep my mouth shut. “Are you sure you want this she-wolf, Ryan?”The Regent looked up, with a tone reminiscent of a father asking a boy if he intended to bring home the puppy he had set his heart on. Despite that, a weird sense of relief enveloped me when I heard Prince Ryan’s firm reply, “Yes, I want her.” I was confused about my emotional response, and concluded that it stemmed from my situation— I wasn’t just any pet shop puppy. I was a stray wolf abandoned by my father and his pack. Under such circumstances, whoever gave me the sense of belongingness, I would feel grateful towards that person. *** I stared aimlessly at the scene outside the window, as the black SUV slowly pulled up in front of the palace. The driver got out and opened the back door for me. I got down from it with my luggage. The cold wind was blowing, making me shiver and pull up my collar. It was my first time to go that far north, and my first time to see such an opulent building. The open door was like a bloody mouth that would eat me up and chew me to the bone. I took a deep breath and kept saying to myself, “It’s okay it’s okay, I’ll survive from this. ” “Morning, my lady,” the guards greeted me. I nodded in response, grateful for their polite greeting. It was a rare courtesy compared to how I was treated in my own pack. Taking a deep breath, I cautiously stepped into the hall, only to see a man already sitting there. “Good morning, Prince Ryan, I’m Jennifer Swift from the Wood Pack,” I said nervously. Prince Ryan was lounging on the sofa in a black robe, his strong chest visible through an open shirt. A black blindfolder covered his eyes, showing that he couldn’t see well. He didn’t move or say anything in reply to my introduction. “Can I go upstairs to put away my bags first?” I asked hesitantly. After a short pause, he ordered, “Come here.” Leaving my bags behind, I walked over to him. All of a sudden, he reached out and grabbed my sleeve, feeling his way without seeing, and touched my hand. “There are callus on your palms. Why? Aren’t you the Alpha’s daughter? Did your father mistreat you?” he inquired, his tone probing. Feeling a pang of sadness at the mention of my father, I shook my head. Realising his blindness, I spoke up softly, “No.” Prince Ryan seized my hand, pulling it forcefully downwards. Off balance, I stumbled forward as he ran his hand towards my face, gripping my chin firmly. “Do you understand how to serve a man?” he questioned. “In the pack, I cook, clean, do laundry—” I began, only to be cut off abruptly. “You won’t need to do those chores here. The servants will handle them,” he interrupted impatiently and clarified himself. “I mean s****l service.” His query sent a wave of fear through me, my response barely escaping my throat, “I...I could learn to do that.” The prince chuckled darkly. “Fine, then I’ll guide you. Get on your knees，Jennifer.” Frozen in place, I hesitated. “I know you haven't got a wolf, so you can take no orders from alphas, but there are other ways to enforce compliance. Disobey me again, and guards will intervene. Do you enjoy an audience?” he chuckled darkly. A…Audience? The chilling prospect made me tremble with horror. Sensing my fear, he smiled wilder as his hand pressed down on my neck, urging me downwards until I sank to my knees. “Good girl,” he praised, and started unbuckling his leather belt.