Pack of the Green Hill

Gloria woke up lazily from a dreamless night sleep. She heard her older sister rummaging in the kitchen and preparing the breakfast. She was happy to have an elder sister. Most of the time… The expectations of the pack towards her as the second Alpha’s daughter was less high. With Shelia, they expected her to be well-behaved, compassionate, level-headed and not to endanger her life in any way. She was not even allowed to train! There was the chance that she could get injured. We are werewolves. We heal fast! The pack expected something entirely else from Gloria. She was the child, who was left free to do mostly whatever she pleases. Having a strict father already restricted her freedom to do whatever she felt like doing. She was quite tall and slender with a light brown hair and shiny green eyes. Being the younger, she was not scrutinized from her pack members for every movement she did. She could do activities to her liking. It did not mean that she did whatever she wanted. She thought that the difference seemed to be not clear for everyone. That did not mean that she was idly passing her time with meeting friends, going out and dating frequently. She regularly trained with the pack and had done a training to work in the nursery. She wanted to be able to help when it came to the worst. She had a reputation to be a fierce fighter, respected by her fellow pack members and disapproved by her own father. Her specialty was fighting with knifes. This was frowned upon her father so that he took her at some point aside to speak with her privately about her choice of her training. She remembered vividly an uncomfortable situation with her father saying the following: “No man, whether human or wolf would be pleased to have a mate, who can fight as you can. It is best if you give up this kind of training completely once you find her mate. You will be anyways busy enough with your children and taking care of your mate.” Her heart had ached a little bit at that. She enjoyed the times when the knifes were flying around her and people’s eyes were widened in respect and fear. It might be not feminine however having to give up on a hobby or sport only to please your mate seemed a bit too rigid, but she dared not to discuss this with her father, the Alpha of the pack. The never clearly spoken accusation that she might not find a wolf as a mate stung as well. Alpha’s were always so hot headed, easily to anger and got loud really fast. She hated the power display and the Alpha tone when he used it on her. Although, he was her father she did not enjoy having to deal with his behavior and outbursts at the slightest critic or even an opinion, which differed from his! She nodded dutifully and looked down, so that he would not see that she did not feel obedient at all by his talk. It was at times like these, that she was happy to be the 2nd daughter. Shelia- her sister- was without a doubt a beauty within the pack. Admired by many due to her elegance and how she was carrying herself. She wore mostly dresses, was wearing make up perfectly applied and was well-mannered. She had just turned 21 and there had been a big event for her birthday. Many neighboring packs, especially male wolves had joined this event, just to able to see her and dance with her. The perfect Alpha’s daughter. Unlike some other packs, they were living in a beautiful house together and not within the pack house. They had lived there before and after her mum’s death. Their home was however only a 10-minute walk away from the pack house. Not the first time, she thought that living with others would be not such a bad idea. She had made the mistake of suggesting the idea of living in the pack house to her father. He had glared at her and growled, “Mind your own business”. Well, technically it was her business, but she had learnt after a couple of similar incidents to keep quiet when she was not asked for her opinion. That did not mean that she did not think further, however silently. Sometimes she wondered if she had gotten so good at convincing herself that all the attention her sister received really did not bother her or if it really did not bother her. What really bothered her was her father’s different treatments of her versus Shelia. Shelia was without a doubt the favorite daughter. Her thoughts were interrupted by an “Are you coming down anytime soon, Gloria?”. Shelia was patient but it would be best not to test it out for a long time. “Coming.” she shouted back and jumped of the bed, rushed to the bathroom to get ready and was within 10 minutes downstairs fully clothed and ready for the day to start. Gloria looked at her sisters’ clothes and sighed. Gloria preferred comfortable clothes and did not like to play too much dress up. Whenever, she mentioned these words a discussion was to happen. So, she avoided this topic as well. Shelia turned towards the cooking herd and continued to prepare also for her father his breakfast. Gloria tried to ignore the disapproving look of her sister as much as she could. Sisterhood was a complicated thing. One day they loved each other and the next they hated each other. It was a mix of interesting feelings they had for each other. Jack, the Alpha, her Dad came downstairs with certain steps and sat down. Although, he was her father, she was never 100% comfortable with his presence. His presence filled the air and made the whole environment tense. Her mother had always managed to balance his heavy aura. This dominant behavior, which did not let room for discussion, was sometimes too much to bear. She said in a low voice “Good morning, Dad” dutifully. Not even glancing at her he responded: “Good morning, girls. Today there will be a visit from another pack, and I would like to be on your best behavior.” This time he straight on looked at her in a threatening way. “Of course, Daddy” was the prompt response from Shelia. “I am not concerned about your behavior in front of our guests, Shelia my darling”. Shoulder down, Gloria sighed and said, “I will behave, Dad.” not knowing if she could keep her promise since “behaving well” meant such a wide range of things. Shelia smirked at that and the Alpha just looked not convinced by the mere words of his 2nd daughter, who had stirred many problems in the past. He had dealt with them too many times and people admiring her actions were scolded thoroughly. He thought of her as a reckless being. Without any boundaries she would not endanger only herself but others as well. Whoever would be her mate, he wished that he would be strong enough to handle her and he would rule over her with a strict hand. The recurring thought was his desire of Gloria being more like her sister. He was grateful to have at least have one dependable daughter and ate happily the breakfast his favorite daughter had prepared. He would never say it out loud, that she was his favorite but between the two it was easy to see whom he favored more. Breaking the awkward silence were the Alpha had stared for a while at her disapprovingly, Gloria asked “Dad, who are these guests?”. “They are two different packs. Their Alpha’s are passing with some of their pack members.” That was strange! Was there an event that they were attending nearby? She did not dare to vocalize her thoughts, knowing that the second she voiced them, she would be scrutinized for them. “How strange that they are two Alphas passing our land, Daddy. Is there a specific reason for that?” Shelia had asked gently. Approvingly, the Alpha looked at Shelia whilst his upper body turned away from Gloria towards Shelia he said with pride in his voice “You are such a good observer and will be a great Luna one day” Blushing Shelia thanked him with a wide smile, which increased somehow her beauty. Gloria was sure that when she would have asked the same question, her Dad would be having been anything else than happy. Trying not to get bothered by his different reactions to his daughters, she continued to eat faster. She had big plans after the breakfast but tried to act normal. Once finished, she brought her plates to the sink and excused herself and left. The disapproving eyes of her father were following her. Once outside she breathed deeply as of the relieve the tension. Although unheard of, for the 100th time she thought how to accomplish her desire to move to the pack house.