Rage

Chapter 1

REAGAN’S BIOLOGICAL PARENTS were not Paula and Eliza, obviously, but they were the only family she had left. Her parents died in an attack to their pack seven years ago. She was the only daughter of the alpha of the Silvers Pack and was the next in line to rule. Her parents were the most loving and caring, and despite her father being known as cruel and strict, he loved his daughter more than anything. She looked more a lot like her father, the only thing she got from her mother was the form of her lips. If not for it, she would be a carbon copy of the former alpha.

Their pack wasn’t that huge, but they were peaceful and treated everyone as family. Everything was running greatly and smoothly, and everyone liked the way how Reagan’s father ruled them. Their lives were almost perfect that they didn’t expect a brewing storm that would change everything.

It was the 23rd of December, in a freezing and dark night when nothing was visible outside, when the attack happened. What supposed to be a peaceful night was filled with cries and howls of torment, the smell of death lingered on the pack’s place and the stench of blood. Many fought and most of the soldiers died. And along with those werewolves who died were Reagan’s parents. The alpha and the luna died fighting for their daughter, for their people. She was just a ten year old kid that time, a pup who hadn’t shifted yet, that made her defenseless and not strong enough to fight. She watched in the shadows, hiding as per her parents’ order. She concealed her howls of despair when everyone else did at the lost of their alpha and luna. And everything was taken away from her by a rogue who now had her pack.

Paula was one of the rogues who attacked, she was the one who took care of Reagan after a new alpha, whom the litte girl refused to acknowledge, took over. The woman who became her mother took pity on her after finding out she was the former alpha’s daughter. Worried what fate she might have if the new alpha knew about Reagan. When she found her mate, Eliza, she decided to leave the pack, bringing along the little girl. They became a family, away from Reagan’s former pack. They started to live a fresh life.

Reagan, even if she was a young girl, was never oblivious of their true nature. She knew from the very beginning that they were shapeshifters, they were werewolves. She used to ride her father’s back to run through the woods and come back home to her mother’s warmth and a strawberry crepe cake. She, at first, was mad at Paula. She knew she was one of those rogues who took over their pack. She hated her, she hated them, she hated him. If she wasn’t just a helpless child, she could’ve fought to protect her pack, but she couldn’t. But when she was twelve, she started to shift. It was too early than the usual werewolves who would shift on their sixteenth birthday. They speculated that it was because of her alpha blood. She started training since then, letting herself grew stronger until the time would come and she would be prepared to take back what rightfully belonged to her: her pack, her people.

Just as Paula said, she didn’t attend school and went with her mother to their shop. Paula needed her help in the first place because she had an important client who wanted to get their jobs done as soon as possible. Riding their truck, they dropped Eliza off into the hospital and drove to their shop. They both got ready to start their work so they could finish early. At four in the afternoon, they had their job done. The customer, who happened to be the town’s richest man, picked his car and thanked them, giving a huge extra payment for their service.

Reagan was clad in her black tank top and old blue jeans. Her body was covered in sweat that she was wiping with what supposed to be a white towel that now had traces of grease. She sat outside of their shop, watching the people walk and pass by. Paula was back inside the shop and went out with two canned beers on both of her hands. She sat beside her daughter who immediately received the beer after she stretched her hand out to her.

“Thanks, Ma,” she whispered and opened the can, drinking the liquid in big gulps. She sighed, refreshed at the drink.

“You know you can talk to me or to your Mom,” Paula spoke as she sit beside the girl. “I know it’s hard to move on with what happened seven years ago, but I don’t want you to linger in the past.”

“You said it yourself: it’s hard. And I will just forget about what happened when I finally take my pack back.”

“You’ll be a great alpha. But like your mother, I also don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Reagan leaned her head on her mother’s stiff shoulder. “I won’t, I promise.”

“Have you talked to the Blood Moon Pack’s alpha?” Paula asked.

She nodded in response. For years, Reagan was contacting different alphas from different states. She had told them her story and seeked for her help on getting her pack back. Many denied to give her what she needed, they didn’t want to include themselves with her trouble. But there were a few who wanted to help, those alphas who used to be her parents’ friends. They were just waiting for Reagan’s decision to attack into her old pack to take it back. A new addition of those alphas who were willing to help her was Alpha Jamie from the Blood Moon Pack. The alpha was also a woman, a few years older than Reagan, who instantly became her friend. She agreed to help her with everything she could when time comes.

“Do you want to have a run?” Paula offered. They still had time before Eliza’s shift at the hospital to end. She thought that her daughter needed to release the tension she was feeling. And it had been three days since she last shifted into her wolf, she, too, needed the release.

“I would love to,” Reagan smirked. They closed the shop and drove home. They changed their clothes into a pair of boxers and sports bra. Paula wrote a note saying: ‘We’ll be out for a run,’ in case Eliza went home and found no one at their house.

The mother and daughter looked at each other before they raced through the woods. They leaped over a log, pushing a force on their feet and landing on four legs. Paula shifted into a huge brown wolf with golden eyes, while Reagan was a black wolf, larger than her mother, with the tip of her ears, paws, and tail in grey. Her left eye was entirely jet-black, like an endless abyss of darkness, and the other was grey, which would seemingly look silver under the glint of the moon. They raced in an unbelievable speed that no human could follow. They felt free, feeling the wind brushed their thick fur. They felt one with nature as the earth rumbled beneath their paws. They were the child of the earth, the child of the moon.

A mischevous idea flashed on Reagan’s mind. Instead on continuing to run ahead of her mother, she came into an abrupt halt, putting force on her hind legs and jumping from the ground to meet her mother’s wolf halfway. She tackled her into the ground and made a growling sound. Her jaws threatening to snap on Paula’s neck.

Paula knew what her daughter wanted to happen. She used all of her might to throw the massive black wolf off her, making Reagan’s back to meet a huge tree behind her. Sure, her daughter was a great fighter, but she was her mentor. But she knew it was only a matter of time before Reagan could exceed her skills, given that the blood of an alpha was pumping through her veins. She wasted no time and got up on four, running in full speed to blow an attack to her daughter. That sent the both of them rolling into the ground, snapping some twigs, their furs covered with soil that they shook off afterwards.

“Are you feeling better now?” Paula asked through their mindlink. This communication could only happen between members of a pack.

“Yes, Ma.”

“Then we should go home before your Mom does.”

They ran out of the thick part of the woods and into their home. Eliza was waiting for them on the porch with clothes on her hands. They shifted back into their human form, walking towards Eiza in their glory. She threw the clothes on their faces after seeing the smug look on her wife’s face when she saw her looking at her naked body. Her face warmed as she looked away. Her wife still had the same toned body like it was before.

“Hello to the most beautiful woman in the world,” Paula greeted her, attempting to give her a hug that she denied.

“Don’t touch me, you dog. You reek of sweat.” Eliza scrunched her nose in disgust. But it was just an act, her wife never smelled disgusting, in fact she liked her scent: she smelled like the earth.

Reagan sighed at the sight of her parents. Her mind started to wander, thinking what would it be like if she met her mate. Mate. A soulmate, the other half of her soul. She remembered the story her biological mother used to tell her. The story on how she met her mate, Reagan’s father. She said it felt magical—no, there would be no right words to tell how it felt like. But there were sparks, there was a connection that was threaded between the two souls. Reagan wanted to meet her mate, to feel how it felt like to be in love. But she was scared as well, scared to have not just a strength but a weakness. Scared to feel the love without the security of not feeling pain in the process.

She remembered how her mothers met. She was there, witnessing how it all started. Eliza was having a camp with her colleagues near the pack’s territory. Paula was asked to drive the humans away and she insisted to come with her. Paula scared the humans as she watched hidden between the trees. The humans with Eliza had ran away, leaving her mother behind. It turned out, she was injured after running and running. Paula had stopped chasing her only to realize that the woman was her mate, her other half. Without thinking, her mother shifted back into her human form, scaring every fiber of Eliza’s body. A loud scream erupted from her mother’s throat and she fainted after throwing a huge rock on Paula’s forehead. Reagan remembered how she laughed at the scene.

And her mind wandered about her mate again. How she wanted, craved to meet her but at the same didn’t want to. She wanted to smile like how her parents smiled while looking at each other. But she was scared. She was feeling something strange inside her when she thought of that matter.