The Fourth Mate

Lucky woke to cold stone under her instead of a warm bed and wooden walls. It was blurry in her vision, until she blinked to clear her eyes. She saw each slab of stone around her with something wet near her. Then, the bitter taste of bile and alcohol coated her tongue, making her realize that her slender face was pressed into them. That is why there was a puddle of drool near her mouth, she thought. She could tell she had slept there a while, but she was confused about how she had gotten to this place. She hoped that it was just some random room in the packhouse that she passed out in last night. She tried to rise to see her surroundings so she could figure out how to make her way back to her room. Pain lanced into her neck and shoulders, making it difficult to push up more than an inch. She panted through it hoping it would ease as she moved, but she knew that she did not have much time. So, she decided to slowly ease one of her arms to move her blonde hair. That did not work out, either. Her elbow was too stiff to move without pain, and her other arm shook like half her weight was too much to handle. She decided to settle for looking through the thick strands of her hair. She shakily moved her head while raising her narrowed, hazel green eyes to bring everything into focus. She could see very little with the lit torches casting shadows along the gray walls and a dull light shining from somewhere. This did not abate her confusion. A small shiver from the morning’s cold chill wrapped around her slender body, but suddenly, warmth filled her. It drove away the aches and pains that kept her glued to the stone floor. Strange, she thought as she managed to push herself up to sit on her knees gently. More confusion filled her over the sudden warmth and the sight of what looked like a simply made temple complete with a wooden altar. There are etched symbols or words that she did not recognize, and yet she did. There is a brown wooden door that is slightly ajar, letting in that low light she had seen earlier. It lets her see that she is in the woods with the sky turning gray-blue, and a branch with green leaves waving at her. It made her curious about where she is now. She was also curious about how she felt better after sleeping on a hardened floor. Her heart suddenly accelerated with worry. Her parents are going to be angry if she is not in bed at the Blue Crescent Packhouse, like she is supposed to be. She knows the rules her family set for her, but she did not follow all of them. There are some things she refuses to give up, like her education or her freedom. It did not matter what they threw at her or the physical blows her sister and mother gave her. She refused to let them make her feel less. But the last thing she remembered was being at the party celebrating her twin sister, Lucy, becoming Luna. She was actually having fun with the wolves instead of living in misery, while ignoring her sister and her mate - Alpha Cullen. They did not seem to mind that she was a human either, which made her happy. It was one of the few times that her parents let her do anything, but it does not explain how she got to this place. None of her memories made sense either. Lucky started to stand when her bare feet hit something that made a noise. She turned her head down to look at the ground, seeing a silver metal chalice. It is plain and etched with the same symbols from the altar that she did not recognize. Her brows furrowed curiously at it, wondering what was in it. Dread pooled into her stomach and her mind churned with the many possibilities of what it was. Nothing on the list forming in her head sounded right when she was a nobody. Why would witches want to poison her or put a spell on her? Then, someone rushed into this room, jerking her head up and a shriek from her mouth. Her fear hit hard, jolting a reaction from her. She threw the chalice at the man with her heart thumping wildly in her chest, until she realized it was Beta Ross. He is barefoot and only in jeans with messy brown hair. His bare tanned chest is shiny with sweat, and a stern look is on his lean face. His gray eyes looked hardened and narrowed on her, then they flicked to the chalice rolling on the floor. “What have you done?!” he growled with his eyes shifting to orange. “Huh?” Lucky said with her mouth parted in confusion. “What…? I just woke up here.” He curled his lips inward before saying, “Alpha Cullen will deal with you!” Ross grabbed Lucky by the arm firmly and pulled her out of the door. She swears it swung shut behind them with a boom that made her jerk and jump in his hands. She did not understand what was going on as he forced her to walk through the woods. Her breathing was heavy, and her head started hurting more as everything passed by too quickly for her. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she felt like she was in trouble for something she did not understand. Will they kill her? She was sure they would not. She is the sister of the Luna. They would not do that to her twin’s family no matter what had occurred, but it did not mean they wouldn’t do something painful to her. She tried not to think about it all the way to the packhouse, which was slowly coming awake. From what she could tell, it always starts with the omegas. Then, the gammas and deltas would follow, who guard the territory. After that, everyone else, like the alpha, the beta, and the children, wakes up to their normal routine. She was thankful that Ross chose to drag her through a hallway where hardly anyone was. This was humiliating enough while in her dirty short jean shorts and twisted rose-colored tank top. Her long hair was messy and almost looked like she had been romping around with someone. It is what she could see from the few reflective surfaces they passed on their way to Cullen’s office. However, she found that was the least of her problems as she entered the Alpha’s office. Cullen sits behind a brown wooden desk with red-rimmed, blue eyes looking mad. His lean face is hardened, and his lean, muscular body is tense. She gulped at the sight of his anger shown clearly on his muscular face. She had never seen him like that or dressed in navy blue pajama pants. He had either been in a suit or casual wear, but this looked hot and menacing to her. His aura is even hitting her hard, causing a fearful tremor through her body. For some reason, though, she did not fully feel scared like she usually does. It is almost as if a shield protected her from its force. She believes this is due to her being the Luna’s sister, which she hopes he remembers. Then, Ross sat her roughly in a blue cushioned chair in front of him. She wondered why he had nothing, not even a computer, on his brown wooden desk. Did he not do work here? She wanted to ask her curious question, but he spoke first. “Do you know what you have done?” Cullen demanded loudly. She shook her head, too afraid to speak. “You were in our sacred temple where the Elders go to meditate.” “I… I did not know,” Lucky stammered shakily. “I do not even know how I had gotten there. The last thing I remember was dancing with your wolves.” “The chalice was there,” Ross snapped as he glared at her. Cullen’s head jerked towards him, looking alarmed. That made her head jerk between them worriedly. What was it about the chalice? What was in it? Will she die? She could not help the questions firing in her head as she waited for someone to speak. It felt like forever until Cullen sighed heavily then looked at her. “Do you know if there was anything in it?” Cullen asked, easing his tone. She shook her head, hoping that it was nothing bad. “Do you feel off? Anything different about yourself that you noticed?” “I just woke a little bit ago, Alpha,” Lucky stated weakly. “I have barely had time to process anything.” “Keep her in her room,” Cullen ordered harshly. “Have an omega…” Hey, are you going to talk to me yet? Lucky turned around looking for the voice that called out to them. It was rude to the alpha, especially when he was talking about bringing a sheriff into the situation. She did not know why he was going to bring a human into a wolf pack. Although she is human and so is her family, who are being trusted not to speak about them. Lucy is the only one who is a wolf because she drank a magic potion, according to what they were told. Right now, that is not the problem. No one is supposed to talk while he is talking. She looked around searching for the culprit to tell them to be quiet. She is in enough trouble with the alpha and needs to pay attention to what he said. No one other than the three of them are in this office, though. She only saw his mahogany brown wooden bookshelves and golden lamps in the corners. It made her wonder if she was dreaming, or if she was truly awake. Nope. You’re one hundred percent awake. And I am waiting for my introduction. “Who said that?” Lucky asked, furrowing her brows. “Said what?” Cullen asked as he turned from Ross to her. “Someone said they were waiting for an introduction,” she answered, “but I only see us.” Do you not know that I am here? “Lucky?” Ross said with a curious look on his face. “Are you sure you’re not hearing it in your head?” “I’m not crazy!” she snapped angrily. “And I don’t have a wolf, like you guys. I’m human.” Ugh! You don’t know about me, then. I’m hurt. Between Cullen’s deep sigh, Ross’s saddened look, and the hurt voice, she felt like she was going crazy. She did not know if they were trying to play a trick on her, but she actually felt the hurt the voice was speaking about. It was like it was not her own feelings that hit her heart and made it thump then squeeze. This felt so strange that she did not know how to take it other than to push it away. “Listen,” Cullen said softly. He looked like he was struggling to tell her something that was difficult. She wanted to ask if he was going to tell her that she has cancer or that she was adopted. She would prefer to be told that her family is not really her family. That would be great. “We think that you took the… potion that turns you into a wolf.” “Like my sister had done?” Lucky asked, scrunching up her face. “Yes,” he nodded, which made her eyes widen in the next second. Her heart thundered at what she had been told happened while her sister was missing for a month. She did not know if she could be a wolf. She could see how much different it was than with humans. It is a whole other world that she wonders if she would flounder in, and it would be like the human world for her. Then, there is the death part for those who are not supposed to be wolves. It made her worried about life expectancy and all her plans. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?” Lucky asked, worriedly. “If we find your mate, no,” Ross huffed. “You may not even if we don’t,” Cullen stated firmly. “You will remain here in my pack so we can ensure everyone’s safety.” “What do I do?” Lucky asked, still too stunned by the news that she had a wolf. “Communicate with her,” he answered by giving her a list. “Get to know your wolf. Workout with our gammas to become strong for the shift…” “Where is she!” a woman shrieked. Lucky recognized that angry voice. It was Lucy. She burst into the office looking furious. Her eyes are orange, showing that her wolf is there and ready to tear her to pieces. Lucky had jerked out of her seat and to her feet with her head bowed and her hand rubbing her arm. Her heart thundered in her chest as she looked at someone who looked just like her, except she had smaller breasts. She is dressed in shorts and a light blue t-shirt with her hair smoothed down. She looked beautiful, but it did not make what was about to happen any better, as she felt like her soul was about to be spit on. “How could you do this to me!?” Lucy shrieked as she marched forward and slapped her sister. “Baby!” Cullen called, rushing to her. “You are always taking things from me,” she accused as she fought against Cullen to reach her sister. “You are always trying to outdo me, and when I think that you are trying to improve… You do something like this. How could you do this to me? You’re always the problem in our family…” “Ross, get Lucky out of her,” Cullen ordered. He wasted no time grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the situation. He took her all the way upstairs to her room on the alpha floor, which is the fifth level. It has guards at the entrance to the stairs but not in the red-carpet hallway. The brown wooden doors are spaced far apart, unlike the other levels, but she did not care. She could be going to the cells, and she still could find nothing in her that cared right now. She had kept her head down feeling the tears ready to spill down her reddened face. She wanted to wait until she got to her room to cry her pain. This always happens, she thought sadly. Her mother poisoned her sister into thinking that she was evil, but she is not. So, whenever something happens that is not her fault, she automatically gets the blame. If she excels at anything, then she is a problem. Only Lucy can excel, and she must degrade her intelligence to become lower. She refuses to do it and takes the pain of their abuse. The schools even gave them an aptitude test that showed she had more intelligence than her sister, which stopped her mother from calling her a cheater… in public. Still, no one does anything to stop her family from hurting her when she does well. Ross opened the door to her room saying, “I’ll bring you breakfast.” His voice almost sounded kind. She would have latched onto it, but she could not let herself. She felt too much like sludge to let someone like him get close to her. Is now a good time to introduce ourselves? The door closed, and she went to her bed, throwing herself on it and cried. She did not even hear Ross come back with a plate for her. It felt like hours of her crying before she sat up feeling hurt all over and alone. You’re not alone. I’m Star, your wolf. You’ll have me forever. “There is no telling if I will survive the shift, Wolf,” Lucky said sadly with her knees to her chest. All you have to do is talk in your mind, Lucky, and I will hear you. Try it. My name is more like Unlucky. You’re doing well, but I have a lot to tell you. So, could we start now? Please? Sure. Why not drop more bombs on me than I already had?! Well, you’re not going to die from the shift. That is one…