Chapter 1
*****This book will have trigger warnings. I will not be posting them on each chapter. Read at your own risk.*****
*****TRIGGER WARNINGS consist of SA, abuse, SH.*****
Juniper's POV
"RUN!"
I could hear my mother's voice scream from behind me. I looked around for her but could not find her. All I saw was dense smoke and flames. I could hear screaming from all directions as I turned about. I stumbled my way through the smoke and fire that was consuming the pack house. I searched frantically for an exit but my lungs and eyes started to burn. I dropped to my knees as I started coughing and my vision blurred. I started to crawl my way to what I thought was an exit, be it a window or door. I was excited when I reached up and found a handle.
"Mommy! Mommy where are you?!" I cried out as I tried to turn the handle but found it was locked. Tears burned my eyes as I began to really panic. The door suddenly became hot and I could see the glow of the flames, licking their way up the door from the bottom. I turned and crawled my way to the far side of the room and found the window. Standing up, I tried to pry that open but my arms were not strong enough. I started banging my hands on the glass and screaming for help. I could not see what was going on outside and all I could hear was the crackling of the flames that were getting closer to me. The smoke was really hurting my lungs the more I screamed. Growing weaker by the moment, I dropped to my knees again, coughing harder. The door was fully ingulfed in flames and the heat licked my skin, threatening to blister. It was hard to stay awake and everything grew blurry. As I started to slip in and out of consciousness, I heard the sound of shattering glass. A pair of strong arms picked me up and jumped out the window with me tucked tightly to them. I had been stuck on the third floor of the building. The cold air hit my face and lungs, making me gasp deeply. I couldn't get enough fresh air into my lungs fast enough. Panic set in as I looked around after being set down on a log in the forest. I could not hear anything other than the flames eating their way through every building. There were bodies all over the place and nothing moved. I turned and looked behind me as I felt a pair of eyes on me. I stared into the piercing yellow eyes before they vanished into the shadows of the trees.
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I woke up coughing up a lung, or so it felt like. Whenever I had dreams of that night, it felt like my lungs were filled, once again, with smoke and I was struggling to breathe. I always slept with a cup of water next to my bed to help ease my breathing when I wake up to them. Sitting up, I took a huge gulp of water and caught my breath. I looked around my room that was almost pitch black, save for the alarm clock. I groaned when I saw the time. I hated when I woke up sooner than the alarm. I rolled out of my make shift bed and stood up. My bed was only made with a pile of old blankets that were no longer wanted by the Alpha's daughter. I turned and stumbled my way to the tiny bathroom that was attached to the room. I was thankful for that, at least. I looked in the mirror and groaned at the mess I was in. My long silver hair was messed all over the place and knotted up. My silver eyes wore last nights dream heavily as the bags were prominent. I turned the water on in the shower to let it heat up while I brushed the tangles and knots out of my hair. After cursing a few times, I set the brush down and slipped into the shower and washed up. The water didn't get very warm and that was normal for me.
I was an omega. At least that's how they treated me. Actually, it was a bit worse than an omega. I was the pack 'charity case'. I lost my home to a rogue attack. I also lost some of my memory. Juniper is my name. This I remembered. My mother used to tell me I was named after her favorite tree; an evergreen that used to grow where my pack was located. I remember her sweet voice and the strong arms of my dad. How they used to take me out and parade me around. I was their miracle. My mom struggled to conceive me and then had a hard pregnancy. I remember everyone loving me and treating me like a tiny princess but that was it. I some how ended up here. The Starwoods Pack. The pack is ran by Alpha Atticus and his Luna, Evaline. They passed me over to the cook, Cheryl, to raise since I was only 8 years old when I arrived. Cheryl did her best and raised me like her own. She did not have a mate. I was all she had. As I got older, chores were assigned to me to do around the pack house. Most were in the kitchen with Cheryl so she could keep an eye on me. However, the more I got older, the more chores were added.
Growing up in the pack house wasn't as bad as one would think, or so I thought. Hannah, the Alpha's daughter, was a brat. Her and her friends were horrible to me growing up. If I was serving dinner, she would trip me and make me spill dishes of food all over. Luna Evaline would see that I would be punished for being so clumsy and wasting pack food. Hannah's friends would bully me in school. Being covered in blood and bruises was their favorite thing to do to me. Luna Evaline would tell me to suck it up and not complain. At least I didn't have issues with my grades.
9 years have gone by and here I was now, standing in my small mirror. I looked over my small body. I had the hourglass figure with a bust that made most girls jealous and the men, pigs. I got lucky to be given Hannah's hand-me-downs. So, at least I had some style. I put my under clothes on and stood at the dresser and looked for something at least cute. It was Wednesday, which was laundry day for me. I picked out a pair of black jeans and a baggy grey shirt that I tied up at the hem so it was a bit more fitting. I braided my long wet hair, knowing that once it dried it would have a nice crimp in it and I could style it for the next day.
I gathered my laundry that I had scattered all over my bedroom and made my way to the laundry room. On my way, I could hear some of the omega's in the kitchen starting up the day's breakfast for the Alpha and his family. I entered the laundry room to find it a complete mess with Hannah's laundry all over the place. With how things were thrown about, I knew this was done purposely. Guess she didn't want me waking her up to get hers tomorrow. I gathered her clothes and threw them into her hamper and started mine first, out of spite. I would do her laundry after school.