THE REBORN

CHAPTER ONE Dociana was blessed. Born to two natural alphas with one parent an alpha of the most influential packs in South America, she had strength and agility that could only be rivaled by the best of pack warriors. Some of these warriors were always hesitant to get hands-on with her during training cause of her strength. Then there was the beauty that turned heads. You couldn’t help but look twice when she passed.  To most people, she was a subject of envy and she hated it. Her life wasn’t the fairytale most assumed it was. Her father loathed her with every fiber of his being. Why? Well, he hated her mother when she was alive and had transferred that same loathing to the daughter she bore him after her death. From the stories she heard, her mother came from silver-crest who for generations have sired alphas, betas, and gammas. They had a wide range of influence spread across the world and were deemed one of the most powerful packs on their side of the continent. This had naturally given the members a superiority complex and they had been known to look down on any pack they deemed ‘weak’. Like the Red-moon pack, her father’s. Her mother had been next in line for alpha when she had met her mate, her father. At a time when true mates were hard to find, it was frowned upon to reject the bond as some wolves were wont to do. And so, she had had to settle for a man she saw as less than herself. After her birth, she had been said to have killed herself in hatred for the man she was mated to. And her father had hated her just the same; transferring that same hate to the daughter she bore him.  The story didn’t make sense but no one else was ready to talk about what truly had happened and she had grown up to the image of her mother being painted as an egoistic ‘b***h’. For her, it had meant being caught in a silent feud between the two packs. And it made her immensely lonely. She could be claimed by her mother’s people who were more accepting of her, but her father would never allow it, holding tight to the ties that kept her bonded to the pack. For years she yearned for the companionship that came without being saddled by her dark history. Most pack members avoided her cause of her father. It was clear to all his immense dislike for his daughter and so avoided her lest they got caught in the crossfire.  And when she came of age at 18, she had hoped that since friendship wouldn’t work, she would at least be lucky enough to find her true mate. Two years after coming of age though, she had lost all hope. True mates had to find even natural-born alphas. And most people just hooked up with anyone who made their heart flutter and had a matching ceremony bond them for life. But with most people avoiding her, she thought she was going to die alone until she found him. Well, he found her, Lyall. He was beautiful, with overly expressive forest green eyes and a sturdy build. When he held her, it felt like all the troubles of the past years simply disappeared. Though he wasn’t her true mate, what she felt for him could rival that. And now she stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom down in her white ceremonial dress, anticipating his arrival. Today was both his alpha selection ceremony. Well, the alpha selection ceremony was hers but she had agreed to abdicate to him, content to serve as Luna by his side. They had had their mate-matching ceremony a few weeks back and now, they were both mated to one another. She smiled as she watched herself in the mirror, giddy with excitement. It wasn’t just the ceremony she was happy about. Her wolf had picked up on the life growing within her this morning and she still blushed at the thought of the things they had done for that to happen. No one knew yet though. She wanted it to be a surprise. As she rubbed her still-flat tummy, a knock sounded at her door just before it was pushed open. Lyall stepped in with a smile on his face at the sight of her and she did a twirl showing off her dress. It made her look innocent and yet, it enhanced her womanly features.  “How do I look?” she asked as she stepped into his outstretched arms. “Beautiful, as always,” he said as he kissed her on the temple, her back to the door. Her step-sister had stepped in after Lyall and was scowling at the sight of them. Schooling her features before Dociana could see, “hey lovebirds, it’s time”. On the way to the ceremony, Orva had weaseled in between the couple chatting animatedly with Lyall but she didn’t mind. She was used to Orva’s antics and the closeness she shared with her fiancée. So she occupied herself with thoughts of the ceremony. Her maternal grandparents would be there alongside their members to lend support to her decision to abdicate. They had frowned against it at first but had supported her decision, albeit begrudgingly.  When they reached the meeting arena where a stage had been erected for the ceremony, she and Lyall went up to stand by her father and his beta. From up there she could see every member of the pack alongside pack members of other packs. Silver-crest pack members all raised their goblets to her in salute and she smiled. But, something felt off. They all looked…..tipsy and sort of.  She shook off the thought as it passed through. Even though it was difficult for a werewolf to get drunk, it wasn’t impossible. And it was a celebration after all. The alpha selection took place began with her announcing her abdication to Lyall. No one objected and Lyall accepted the position. He then went through all the rituals needed for a pass of power. When all that was done, he smiled so chilling her bones shook. Orva stepped on stage moving in between herself and Lyall, latching on to him in a way that even she couldn’t ignore yet, he didn’t push her away. Instead, he pulled her flush to himself and snapped his fingers. It happened faster than her mind could register. Pack warriors moved behind Silvercrest members present and snapped their necks then pulled out their spines. It was the only way to kill a werewolf and she watched as every member of her mother’s people present was killed. Even the kids were not spared.  Her vision went blurry as the sock of it all took over her. Her grandparents had fought or tried to but it looked like they were out of it and had been put down after their feeble attempt. They had moved closer to her before their spines were ripped out from behind them and she could the warmth of the blood that had splashed on her arms. “No no no no no….” she looked to her father, to Lyall for a sort of explanation, anything that could justify this m******e. They all just smiled at her, grim satisfaction on their faces. You know they will come after us right? She croaked out, hugging herself as she felt a chill come over her. “Oh, they have been taken care of” Lyall replied with glee. He looked different from the Lyall she had grown to love. She didn’t understand, didn’t understand what had just happened. She felt like she was in a nightmare but she hoped there was a valid reason. Father and Lyall wouldn’t m******e an entire pack, would they? Turning away from her, he turned to address the pack pulling Orva with him. “I present to you your new Luna”. It felt like someone had dunked Dociana into a bucket of silver as she came out of her trance. For those moments following the m******e, a sliver of thought had passed through her of her being used but she had squashed it immediately. Not Lyall. He wouldn’t do that to her. But hearing his words, seeing as he held on to Orva like she was everything to him, something in her snapped and all she saw was red. She didn’t know how she had moved so fast. How she had been able to s***h his chest into ribbons. All she registered was his head between her hands just as she moved to snap it. And she would have had it not been for her father backhanding her away from Lyall in that slight moment of recognition. She looked up from where she lay at her father and saw hate. “You dare lay your hands on the alpha???” She looked at him in disbelief. She knew he hated her. Knew he hated that she shared his blood but she never thought he would sit and watch as she was treated in such a manner. Yet, she watched as he signaled for her to be taken away, watched as he moved to Lyall and fretted over him as he would his child. She looked at all the pack members and saw no one moving to offer a hand to her. No one moved to help her. Not even visitors from other packs who all looked to her like she was some sort of plague. Something broke in her and she just allowed herself to be shackled by the silver chains and dragged up. She felt a sharp prick on her neck just before her vision went hazy. The last thing she saw was a disturbing glint in Tala, the witch doctor’s eyes before the world went dark. CHAPTER TWO She came to the smell of dampness and piss and the room was dimly lit. her hands were shackled to the ceiling above and the chains burned sapping away at the little strength she had. She felt weak. As she looked around she realized she was alone and sagged against the chains that held her upright.  Everything came back to her then. The massacres, the look on her father’s face, and the despair she felt at being betrayed by Lyall; the one person she thought would save her from all of this. At this point, she wanted to give up. She felt broken and only one thing kept her trying to stay sane. But she was scared and whoever was coming down the stairs right that moment was bound to smell that fear of her. So she masked it and heightened her senses to feel who. It was Tala. The woman always had a disturbing aura around her and even now as the old hag hobbled towards her, she felt the hairs on her skin bristle. Tala stopped by the table facing Dociana. “I see you are awake, such a shame. I was hoping I could get in a few cuts in and watch your reaction as you woke to find a few fingers missing”. Dociana stiffened causing Tala to laugh out loud with glee. She loved her reaction. “Where’s Lyall, or my father? I would like a word…. please” she added the please as an afterthought. She wasn’t in a position to be rude. Right now, she needed to do all she could to survive for the life within her.  “Well, you see those two have given me a pass to do what I like with you,” Tala said as she laid different torture devices on the table that stood in front of Dociana. “to me, I would call them cowards. They can’t stand to face the consequences of their betrayal or look you in the eye” she looked at Dociana “so much for having a heart of steel” then she cackled.  Dociana felt her stomach drop. “I need to see them, please. At least fetch Lyall. I need to tell him something important” she pleaded with the woman in front of her. At this point, she looked desperate.  “You know, I quite pity you being sired by a man who cares more about power and ego than any other thing. You should have been more observant and less trusting. Maybe you wouldn’t have gotten to this point” Tala told her. She was confused. Yes, she knew she had been naïve but how did that affect the witch? She sounded almost sincere. Until she saw her smirk that is. “But then again, if you had been careful I won’t be able to have as much fun as I will now I?” she said as she cackled wickedly. Dociana simply glared at her in annoyance. “Just get them for me, you hag”. “Oh, they won’t be coming” she answered, a wicked smile on her face as she walked towards a pair of forceps….at hand. “They know what it is you want to tell them. How you are with Lyall’s child” she came to stand in front of Dociana. Lifting her hands, she placed the forceps edge on her face. “But you see dear Dorcy, they do not care and I get to do to you whatever as long as I kill you at the end,” she said as she dragged a deep cut across Dociana’s face. A bang sounded as someone as someone came through to the dungeon. Angry footsteps were heard as they came closer. Her wolf senses picked up Orva’s scent and she swallowed. Tala smirked at her “that one was mighty pissed though and she seems to want to get her hands……… dirty” The first thing Orva did was punch Dociana in the gut severally, venting all her anger and frustrations. She was pissed and thirsted for blood, Dociana’s blood. Her torture started then. Guards were called down to release her from her chain hold and lay spread-eagle and face up on the table. The white dress she had owned that had by then turned a muddy brown was bunched up by her waist, her privates on display. Tala pushed something long into her from below that scared at her insides and kept probing at her uterus. At first, she gave the illusion of being careful until she began to probe and draw blood. They had removed the silver chains so she could heal faster but it was all part of the torture. Hurt her, she heals then hurt her again. They kept at it for hours, until slowly she felt the life within her fade away. She had tried to be strong, refusing to shed tears through the entire ordeal but hearing her wolf howl, feeling the child she would never get to know fade away, she wailed.  The sound was so heart-wrenching, that Tala took a pause and the guards present shuddered but not orva. She kept at it, shredding whatever was left within and some more. Dociana wasn’t present though. With her babe gone, her wolf went silent. So silent, she felt an empty ache within. And her mind broke. She lost track of time. Whether it was days or hours after, she didn’t know. All she knew was she was alone. Orva and Tala had grown tired of their unresponsive state and had left her there to die, slowly. Shallow, uneven breaths could be heard as Dociana stared up at the dimly lit ceiling above. Images of her grandparents reaching out to her as their spines were torn from behind them passed through her mind. The look on her father’s face, the pain inflicted by Lyall, her torture, the emptiness she felt within, and the loss of a child she would never know.  She imagined what the child would have looked like, her heart clenching at the fact that she would never know. She wept. She hated them all. Every one of them who had hurt her, who had taken everything she loved away. Her tears dried, her heart stealing as the hatred consumed her. She wanted revenge. But then it broke, as she felt her soul fading away.  With one last stuttering breath, a lone tear slipped as she mourned revenge she would never have. CHAPTER THREE She woke, pulling in a deep breath. Her skin was clammy and her neck itched something fierce. She could still see the blood spilled of silver-crest wolves; still, feel the warmth of her grandparents’ blood on her skin. The pain of everything still seemed to have her in its grips until she realized she wasn’t in the dungeon. She heard whispers of a voice that promised to be heavenly but couldn’t hear what it said.  The star stickers she had placed on her ceiling when she was 8 seemed to wink at her as the sun rays from her windows hit them. Turning her head, she saw the purple walls she had slept in for years staring back at her. She released a shuddered breath as she realized she was in her bedroom. “f**k that felt so real,” she said as she laughed to herself. The sun was bright outside and she could hear pack members on the training ground. She had overslept she realized. Getting up to go wash before her step mum came for her, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror.  She looked ghastly like she had gone through hell. On her neck though was a peculiar mark. What looked like a phoenix seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, rising from her shoulder blades, its wings spread out around her nap,e, and its beak emerging at the point behind her earlobe. It was both beautiful and terrifying. “What the actual f**k?!” she shouted. She didn’t understand how it had gotten there. She had not gotten any tattoos done. Thinking it was a prank pulled on her by Orva, she was about to go about on a rampage when a splitting headache pierced her skull. Images of the nightmare passed through and she shivered. She didn’t understand what was happening but she needed Lyall. She refused to believe she had dreamt him to be so mean. During this past couple of weeks with him, she had felt a safety she had never felt before. She needed him. Hurrying up, she went for a quick wash. She got dressed in a jean and a turtle neck to conceal the mark until she was ready to deal with it, and went to go find Lyall. At the door of the Alpha’s cabin though, she came face to face with Orva.  Orva was tall, almost the same height as she was and she was beautiful. But what most people didn’t know was she was ugly on the inside and always seemed to have it for Dociana. The past couple of weeks though, she had been going around with a smug look on her face, taunting Dociana like she knew something that she didn’t. seeing that look now, brought back memories of the nightmare she was trying desperately to forget. She remembered the torture she had put her through, how she had probed and probed until she lost her babe. In an uncharacteristic fit of anger, she slapped Orva hard and walked away leaving her cradling her face in shock. Dociana herself was shocked. Normally, when it came to Orva she ignored it. But today she had raised her hands at her. It felt good, but she was so scared of herself. She rushed with more urgency to find Lyall. He was at the training arena fighting in his wolf form. His wolf was the shade of the forest trees around them and he moved with an agility of a well-seasoned warrior. For some moments just the sight of him brought her peace and she settled to watch his sparring sessions.  She was forbidden to join in by her father, but that didn’t mean she was getting trained. She was better, faster, and more powerful than his strongest warrior. They all thought it was her genes and though that contributed largely, it wasn’t that alone. But she refused to spill her secrets lest he stopped her from any training whatsoever. She remembered the hateful look he gave her in her dream and she shuddered. She never understood why he hated her so.  Soon Lyall was done and walked over to her when he spotted her seating on the crudely constructed bleachers. “Hey, beautiful” he greeted as he sat beside her, pulling her into his side. The feel of his touch sent her skin crawling with dread and she recoiled sharply, an action that surprised them both. Lyall’s eyes flashed green for a second before he masked it with myth. She had seen it passingly but his laughter made her doubt herself even though her stomach coiled in unease. “Do I smell that bad?” he said to her. Forcing herself to suck it up, she leaned into him again smiling shyly “sorry”.  Laughing, he moved them to the edge of the forest for some privacy. There, while sitting on a tree stump, he updated her on some pack activities including the training aspect. Dociana was fidgety and scared. The scene felt too familiar except of course her cringing away from him. But she couldn’t help feeling like she had gone through this moment before. Like now, as he spoke about Nate, a pack member whom he had been training with, she could predict his next words, and just as he said “….and as he went in for the kick, I moved away just in time and he ended up….” she joined him to say “….in a split”. He looked at her shocked, just as she felt inside but she covered it up with a laugh. “I was there, remember?”. “oh, I didn’t know you had been watching for that long” he smiled at her pulling her close to himself. She hadn’t been there though. She had gotten there towards the end of the training so how did she know all that happened before he even said it? The comfort she had sought Lyall out for eluded her. She was going crazy, literally. “have you gotten around to speaking with your grandparents about supporting your abdication?”  Ah, the issue of leaving the position of alpha to him. Since she was her father’s first child, she was in line to take over. But after, a few weeks of their being together Lyall had started planning their future. He had been trying to convince her to abdicate to him. The alpha selection ceremony was coming up in a few months and he planned to have their matching ceremonies on the same day.  Though reluctant at first, she had agreed because she felt he had a better chance of leading the pack than she did. Her grandparents needed to be notified of such a decision though, lest they thought she was being coerced into it and started a war. But now, just the thought of it, made her stomach coil with unease. She remembered scenes from the dream, the vicious way they had ripped the spine out of her grandparents and she visibly shuddered, pulling away from Lyall. CHAPTER FOUR “Dorcy, are you ok?” he asked turning to face her. You have been acting weird”. “sorry, am not feeling too well,” she said, refusing to meet his eyes. “oh” he settled back facing the forest around.  “so……. have you?”. She had been thinking of the way he had dismissed her in the dream and looked confused at the question. “have I what?”. At this, he got angry wondering where the hell her head was at. He didn’t understand what had gotten into her this morning as she had been acting distant and withdrawn. He hoped all the work he had put in over the last few weeks wasn’t for naught cause he need her to abdicate. He stood no chance of becoming alpha if she didn’t hand it over to him. And he had been buttering her up for it. “Why are you acting weird?” this time for sure she saw his eyes flash and harden. A look she had never seen on him before. It was also so suspicious how he had been trying to get her to abdicate. She hadn’t thought much of it before but with the nightmare still very much present in her mind, she couldn’t just help but to see things a bit differently. Turning to face him, her features hardening she asked. “do you truly love me, Lyall?”  The question visibly threw him off. He didn’t know why she was suddenly acting different from the almost subservient manner of yesterday. Did she find out something? No, he didn’t think so. They had been very careful. Maybe it was just a feeling. One he could squash with a little acting. Allow surprise and hurt to seep through his features, he softened his eyes. “do you doubt me Dorcy?” he asked looking at her which made her heartache. “did I do something to make you think otherwise?”. Dociana looked at him warily. Holding her face with so much tenderness, guilt sapped her suspicions away, “Am sorry if I did. Dorcy, you might not be my true mate, but I love you just as much. Please don’t doubt me”. The way he said it, with so much sadness, Dociana felt so much guilt for even entertaining the thought of his hurting on over some stupid dream. She had always been wary of her pack members and it seemed she was just transferring years of distrust on the one person that didn’t deserve it. Hugging Lyall, she sobbed, am so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today”. She thought of telling him about the dream but something held her back. Instead of saying “I guess it’s almost that time of the month…?” she said it in a questioning manner. Lyall who had visibly relaxed, suddenly stiffened pulling his scrunched face away in mock disgust “Eww…. TMI Dorcy”. She laughed hard at that while still holding on to him. He hated any talk of a woman’s monthly visitor. Said it creeped him out for someone to bleed nonstop from down there. At her laugh, he smiled though and pulled her in with a peck to her forehead. He was relieved. Just then, an omega ran up to them. Her father needed Lyall. And though she was reluctant to leave, she allowed him to lift her from her sitting position and lead her back to the alpha’s cabin.  Alpha Mermort was standing outside waiting for Lyall. Hmmm, it must be urgent then, she thought as she noticed the way his eyes hardened when he saw her in tow. She scoffed at his predictable behavior.  Soon as they were close enough “I see you have nothing better to do than to wander around”. Rolling her eyes, she replied, “Good morning to you too father”. His mouth twisted. “You seem to forget that the Mate matching ceremonies begin today and we are hosting”.  She mentally smacked herself in the face as she remembered. It was a tradition observed in the werewolf world where each year, a pack was chosen to host members of packs all over the country. The ones who attended were unmated males and females and pack leaders. This was to give everyone a chance to try finding their true mates, or at least a replacement mate. Diplomatic matters were also discussed by pack leaders and as alpha-to-be, she was expected to be at her very best. She hadn’t abdicated yet. And since they were hosting, it was part of her responsibility to make sure everything went smoothly Putting up a disappointed air, he turned to move in gesturing to Lyall to follow. “Juliana needs help in the kitchen. Be a dear and go help out now would you”. With that, he walked away, Lyall in tow. She glared at the empty doorway. Always the kitchen for her. She didn’t understand what he was playing at. She was to take over from him yet, not once had he ever involved her in alpha duties. Her grandparents had to send someone to train her in secret when they realized this. A secret she kept well hidden and it annoyed him to no end to see her prove herself worthy of the alpha position when other packs visited. She realized he had been setting her up for failure long ago and had relished in his frustration. Ever since Lyall though, he had been more……amiable. He seemed taken with the man and that was what led her to accept to abdicate in the first place. Again she was reminded of the dream and the thought of abdicating only made her skin crawl.  Her stepmom Juliana came out then looking for someone when she spotted Dociana. The woman looked pissed. Before Dociana could think to escape, Juliana was there cussing her out for raising her hands on Orva. The woman never touched her. She was too scared to. But that didn’t stop her from abusing her verbally. When she was done, Juliana threw the kitchen towel that was in her hands at Docian who caught it before it hit her face. She