Chapter One
Izzy's POV
"Isabella, you lazy good for nothing girl!" My mother screeched, as she stomped her way up the stairs.
I jumped out of bed, attempting to look like I had been up for hours, knowing damn well she wouldn't believe me even if I had been. I don't know what she and my father expected, when they constantly kept me up every night well past midnight.
"Have you been asleep this whole time?" She shouted, throwing open my bedroom door.
"No." I lied, " I was just looking for my uniform for work."
She glared at me. I could feel her anger like sharp razor blades pointed at me, fill the room and consume me. Jessica, my mother even though I was forbidden to ever call her that, hated me from the moment I was born and placed into her arms. I never understood what a child could do to cause their own parents to completely loathe them, but nevertheless mine did. From the moment I could remember, my mother and father insulted me, hit me, manipulated me, and more. When I turned six, I officially became the family wretch. I cooked, cleaned, ran errands, and waited on my parents hand and foot. Some days, if they were feeling generous, I was allowed to spend an hour or two alone in my room, or be allowed to sleep for longer than a couple of hours.
"You're lying!" She growled, smacking me across the face. "You didn't make or serve your father and I breakfast. You also forgot to iron my clothes for work last night. You came up here to sneak a nap, hoping we would sleep in after last night's party "
"I'm sorry Jessica. I honestly was looking for my uniform, then I was planning to get breakfast going." I pleaded, holding my hand to the obvious red mark staining my cheek.
"You deal with your s**t on your own time. Your father and I already graciously allow you to live here and eat our food. Do you expect us to also maintain our lives based on your schedule? she hissed; her claws flexing as she raised her hand to strike me again.
When it came to torturing me, I couldn't tell you who was worse Jessica or her wolf, Oliva. I shuddered at the thought of Oliva gaining control. Jessica may be evil, but Oliva was purely unhinged. There were a couple of times she broke my arm. If we weren't werewolves, I probably wouldn't have healed from most of their attacks, or at least I would have been left physically scared from them. I only had one scar, thankful and the memories of it made me never speak of it. Luckily, my healing factor helps the majority of the time, but the pain and trauma are still there all the same throughout my body. Jessica glanced at her watch, before turning her attention back at me.
"You're lucky I don't have time for this. When I get home, I better have dinner and a clean house, or I swear to Goddess, I will let Oliva play with you until you are nothing but a puddle on the floor." She growled through gritted teeth; her fingers sliding under my chin, forcing me to look up at her.
She laughed, throwing me to ground, turning on her heels and leaving. I stayed there, my hands clenched as I thought about how she only abused me because I was wolf-less. I was the only one left in the Mountain Moon pack who had yet to receive my wolf. I was a loner before, but once I turned sixteen and still hadn't obtained my wolf I was a pariah in the pack. No one would let their kids near me, afraid I could potentially be their mate or just because they didn't want to face Jessica and Oliva's wrath; either way, I was a vagrant. My father, Chadwick, was indifferent. He didn't help Jessica, but he never interfered either. He believed that only the strong deserved to survive, and if Jessica could break me, then I didn't deserve to live anyways. It seemed to be the whole pack's attitude against me He could hear my screams and pleads, everyone could hear from our house, as it wasn't that far away from the pack house; however, Jessica never bothered to soundproof the house either. No one ever thought to pry or even question what was being done to me.
I was breathing after all and that seemed to be the bottom line for everyone. It used to be where Jessica would only snap at me and hurl insults, but that all changed when my brother, Devlin, disappeared two years ago, chasing a pack of rogues at the edge of our territory. Once Devlin was gone, it was like the muzzle Jessica had been wearing for fourteen years came off. She turned into a monster thirsty for pain, and only mine could feed her. Luckily for me, I was going to be eighteen in less than three days. Even without my wolf, I could finally leave and never turn back.
My thoughts were soon interrupted by the buzz of a text message coming through on my phone. The only person who had my number was Karma, my only friend. She had made it her life's mission to be my protector most days, willing to stand up for me when others would make my life a living hell
Izzy, where r u? I swear to Goddess if Jessica makes u miss graduation I will tear this whole f*****g house down!!!!!
Karma was the only one who ever stood up to Jessica when she would beat me. Most of the time she would see the semi- healed bruises on my body. Originally I would lie and say Jessica was simply training me herself and she refuses to hold back. I finally gave in on my fifteenth birthday, when Jessica broke my arm for the first time, and told Karma the truth about my horrible parents. The pain was so bad I nearly passed out when she and the pack doctor had to reset the bone. I hadn't realized the arm had started healing at the wrong place, thanks to the benefit of regeneration. I swear if Alpha Koda didn't order her to stand down, Karma and her wolf, Carmen, would have tried to kill Jessica. They probably would have lost, since Jessica and Oliva were the top female warriors in the pack, both in human form and wolf form. They were unstoppable on the training grounds. Karma thought that was the only reason Alpha Koda allowed her treatment of me, but I knew better. Aloha Koda and Luna Winter didn't allow Jessica to hurt me because they were worried about her leaving. They believed that I was a waste of pack resources and should be gotten rid of; unfortunately, until they could prove I didn't have a wolf, they couldn't just toss me aside. It was law.
I'll b right there. was looking for uniform. like she would break the law Koda wouldn't let that one slide. maybe all the other s**t but not that.
It was written in the laws of the pack that every members' children must graduate highschool, or risk the whole family being banished and tossed aside. Besides school, the only other time I was allowed to leave the house was to go to my part time job. While that would seem like a blessing, it was actually only because Jessica needed my paycheck to fake her lifestyle. My money went to purses and designer clothes, while their money went to bills, booze, and acting like the life of the party in the pack. Even though school was dismal and full of bullies, I was grateful to the laws for allowing me to maintain my education. I was going to need it when I left this pack, and was on my own in three days.
Later that day:
Graduation had been a bust, with no friends or family, it was only a meaningless ceremony to me. The only way I had made it through without crying, was thinking about Devlin sitting out in the audience, cheering me on like I had done years prior. Days like this is when I missed him the most. He would have made everything I endured worth it. When he disappeared, my heart turned into a rock and all emotions were disregarded. I lived my life like a zombie going through the motions. It took Karma well over six months to get me to speak again, even to her.
I pulled into the library, parking lot ready for my evening shift. I loved to read and couldn't get enough of history and legends. Most of the time, I searched for old pack books passed down from the elders and skimmed through them. It wasn't like anyone came to the library anyways; this pack was more into fighting and training then reading and studying. I would be surprised if anyone owned an actual book that wasn't provided by the school. I was yanked from my thoughts when a pair of hands reached out, throwing me against the back of the library.
I felt the air leave my lungs as my back hit the brick. My heart sank, as I stared into his blue eyes. Waylen, Alpha Koda's only son and soon to be Alpha of the Mountain Moon pack, was staring down at me. If Jessica hated me, Waylen despised me. I had made the simple mistake, my first year of school, to tell Waylen he was cute. Ever since then, it has been his life's mission to make my life a living nightmare He saw me as nothing, but a stain in his pack. If it was up to him, I would have been killed to save money and space for the pack without a second thought or glance spared for me. What he and the rest of the pack failed to realize, was that I paid for what little I owned myself. I never took handouts from anyone. I refused to rely on anyone, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of proving their words right. Education was paid by the Alpha and Luna of the pack as was law, but Waylen only saw value in strong, while weak wolves, humans, or whatever I was, was nothing more than a parasite.
"You have got to be f*****g kidding me. It's you!" Waylen roared, his hand grabbing around my throat and pinning me against the wall.
I scratched and clawed at his grip, my lungs burning for air. My eyes began to tear up, as I saw him trying to gain control of his wolf, Spencer. When he finally came out in top, he dropped me; my knees scraping against the asphalt.
"No way a worthless wolf-less slut is my mate." He bellowed.
My eyes locked with his, "What?"
"You f*****g heard me." He was practically growling at me, "Spencer smelt you at graduation and lead me to here, but there is no f*****g way I'm going to have an insignificant little w***e as the next Luna of the pack!"
I was too shocked to listen to what he was cursing at me. My vision began to blur and my heart felt like it would explode from beating too fast. My fated mate was Waylen? I never thought the Goddess hated me, but at this moment in time it was hard not to think that. Out of every wolf in the world, I was tied with Waylen. No! My mind shouted; it's impossible.
"Isabella, are you even listening to me?!" Waylen snarled.
I looked up at him, tears threatening to spill from the corners of my eyes, "You think I wanted this?"
He looked confused for only a moment before anger washed off of him. Before I could say another word, his hand smacked me across the face, sending me sprawling across the ground. He smirked down at me as he hovered above. He kicked and grunted at me, as he began screaming insults at me. My head began to swirl, as he picked me off the ground, pinning me back to the wall of the library to face him. I could smell the blood before I felt it slide down my cheek
"I, Waylen Kaji, soon to be Alpha of the Mountain Moon pack, hear by reject you, Isabella Maddox, as my fated mate " He declared.
I tumbled out of his grasp and back onto the pavement; tears streaming down my face, as my hands grasped at my chest, ripping and tugging at my shirt. My breath, trapped in my throat, suffocated me slowly, as I felt this overwhelming heat rising inside of me. My eyes locked with Waylen, no Spencer, I could see the heartbreak and anger engulfing him. The breath I took was sour and felt shorter than the last. My heart was shattering, and there was nothing to stop the pain I felt. Waylen regained control, bending down to grab my shoulders and forcing me to meet his gaze.
"Accept my rejection Isabella! You will accept it right now, or so help me I will kill you the minute you turn eighteen. I will not let you drag my pack down any further, and I am damn sure not having you as my Luna." He threatened, digging his claws into my skin.
I screamed out in pain, as they dug deeper; "I, Isabella Maddox, accept your rejection." I whimpered.
It was instant; the mate bond between us ripping, as the last fibers gave way under the knife slicing at it. I felt numb. No pain, no sorrow, no emotions at all. I looked to the moon, wondering if the Goddess was smiling down at me in such a state of humiliation and abandonment .As I questioned the Goddess's plan for me, I felt my vision darkening and my head throbbing. I could hear someone calling my name softly. I tried to look for the voice, but my eyes remained fixed on the moon.
