Rejected By One Alpha, Loved By Another

Esme's POV Did you ever feel like the outsider of a pack? Like you don't truly belong? I do, and my name is Esme West, and my life is just beginning; I just don't know it yet. Tomorrow, my brother Finley and I turn 18. I have spent the last decade feeling like an outsider and protecting him in the outburst of everything. Abused, left, alone and never felt like I belonged anywhere. The only good thing about all of this is that I should get my wolf tomorrow, and I hopefully also find my mate at the Gala that is held every year. I work in the packhouse doing jobs that no one wants to do, but I live out in a hut of a house with my brother, and no matter how many times I tell my brother that I'm okay, it gets tiring after a while because they make me do it all by hand, and then I have to walk home. Normally, I'm covered in bruises and new marks, but it's something I have to live with. If I complain, then I get worse. So I learnt not to complain. "Oi, mutt. This kitchen needs to be cleaned, ready for the ball tomorrow." That's Adeline. She's the one who boys want to be with and girls want to be. Each year, a pack will hold the annual ball, and unfortunately for this year, our pack will be holding the event. Great. Just great. My mom and dad don't care about me; they are more concerned about the other kids, except me and Fin, who are what you would call the black sheep of the family. They have never been bothered about us. Even when I picked up the courage to pull my mom aside and explain that I usually get abused by everyone at work, she showed no emotion, nothing. My older sister is everyone's favourite. She's perfect in every way possible. I wanted to be just like her. Live in her shadow, but her shadow is even darker than the tunnel to hell that I am in, I'm sure. "Ouch!" I look up to see the devil she-wolf herself, well, in human form right now, but I can imagine those claws coming right at me. She's standing with her 6-inch heels on me, pinning my ankle down to the floor. "Are you doing your job properly b***h. We have guests in less than 27 hours, and this place needs to be spotless" "I don't take orders from you", I snap back at her and immediately regret it. I don't know where that courage came from, but I don't like it. That courage means trouble, and that means that I have to face consequences. "I'm your next Luna, and you will listen to me! You'd better get used to respecting me and taking orders from me because I won't tolerate your crap once I am Luna," she sneers at me. I ache all over. I am tired, physically and mentally, but I don't dare do anything. I don't move a muscle. "What's going on in here?" Alpha Dylan says while gripping me by my work clothes and pulling me up so I'm almost standing, gripping me like I'm nothing, like I weigh zilch. Well...I'm not, and I guess I don't. "No...Nothing alpha," I say while stuttering because he makes me nervous. "No, baby. She disrespected me, telling me she doesn't take any orders from me, and I told her I won't accept her crap when I become the next Luna-" She says, but I don't care. She has never been a good person. Alpha Dylan turned 18 a few months ago, and he's been vile since he overtook from our previous Alpha. He can be the meanest and cruellest person when he wants to be. He used to be a pretty nice person to talk to. He still is, with everyone except me. The weird thing is, I haven't even done anything to upset him that I know of. "Get your job done and make sure it's a proper job that's been done. I don't want or need to have to send someone else to do it because if I do, then you will face the consequences. Do I make myself clear?" "Ye...yes, alpha," I say, looking down at my feet. Whenever Alpha Dylan or Alpha Bobby, who is Dylan's father, speaks to us, we're not allowed to look in their general direction; we have to look at the ground and wait until we are asked to look up, which is practically never. I'm halfway through the day, and the kitchen ladies have already made my day hell. I've been punched and spat at, I have been kicked and stomped on if I didn't get up straight away, and I'm not sure how much more of this pain I can handle. "Get up", Elisa, the head maid, says to me with an irritated expression on her face. "Get up and get your jobs done. We haven't got all day, and we need to start preparing for tomorrow's feast" This is how they enjoy themselves. They don't think about how they are actually hurting me; they feed on my fear, and they love every single bit of it. "Yes, ma'am," I say to her. Politely, or I'll get another beating. Everyone turns a blind eye to this. My brother tries to look after me as best he can. We both live in a run-down rut of a house, as our parents didn't want us to tarnish their reputation. "Hey... Esme. Over here, I'm almost smiling when I hear Finn's voice; it's just what I need to hear when I'm having a crappy day. "Hey, I can't stay just making sure you are okay," he says quietly, as he knows the maids don't like us talking to each other. "Yeah, I'm okay, I'm just exhausted..." "YOU! Get out of here and YOU....you get back in there and clean. That's an added hour onto your shift" "But I can't! I have to get home and prepare my clothes for tomorrow's ball" The ball is the only thing I'm excited for. I haven't got my wolf yet, neither has Finley (Finn is the nickname for him), so I don't heal as quickly as the rest of them. "There will be no ball for Cinderella this year," she says mockingly. I sigh in defeat, and I get back to work. It's 10:30 pm and I'm running towards my house. I have been exhausted all day, and every chance the maids and Alpha Dylan or his girlfriend get, they give me a good beating. I currently have a split lip, bruised and probably broken ribs, bruised ankles from Adeline's shoes and a strangulation mark from when Alpha Dylan choked me this evening over some spilt water. It's still fresh and red, but it will turn into a bruise tomorrow. "Hey, Esme. The shower is ready for you whenever you want to jump in" "Thank you, Finn. I will do it soon" I take a cold shower, as that's all me and Finn can have; that we don't get hot water, hot water is for those of a better class than us 2. Even my family gets hot water. I pick out my work clothes for tomorrow which consist of no socks because they are ruined, a pair of ruined trainers that have been worn out for months but I can't even afford a new pair and my parents won't help me either, tight jeans which have holes in at the ankles and a top that is dirty and has holes inside of it. Once out of the shower, I get some bread, which isn't a lot because we have to share and a bottle of water that we also have to share that Finn took this afternoon just to help, and I curl up on my run-down bed and go to sleep. "Night Finn," I say while tucking myself in. "Good night, Esme"