Blackheart

.I.

All I wanted to do was die; I hadn’t asked for this life, and yet, here I was living it. I had never wanted things to be this way, nor to be treated this way, yet it was, unbeknownst to me, my life was about to change forever.

I had been playing with my twin brother when it all took place, when my life was forever changed, the day I lost my family. Cato and I were playing, rolling around in the dirt and mud, when they attacked. The Rouge Lycans. I was to be their target, but Cato got in the way. As I backed up, a low growl sounded from behind me. Turning slightly, I saw it, an Alpha. He lunged at me but missed, as I was smaller, thus leaner than he was. As he came again, he was tackled to the ground by my father, who had already shifted. His beta pounced but was stopped by my mother intercepting him. My mother fought valiantly but was soon being crushed by the weight of the giant dog in her human form, but she wasn’t out just yet, as she fought back, clawing at his eyes, but to no avail. He tore into her, dazed by what just took place. I hadn’t noticed Cato defending me until it was too late. His blood-curdling screams sliced the air around us, breaking into my thoughts.

“Cato!” I screamed, holding onto my brother as his life slipped away. “Don’t leave me, Oz. Cato Ozymandias Apollo Marvel, don’t you dare give up! You promised!”

I jump from my sleep, sweat pouring down on me like rain. I stare up at the floorboards above me and raise a still shaking right hand up to my right eye, where a scar remains to this day. I watch as the memory falls over into my waking state. I look to my right, the rogue alpha finishes off my father, and the pack could be heard running towards us. At that moment, the alpha looked at me and smiled, the front door to my home opened, and my elder brother Phoenix stood in the doorway, disbelief marked all over his face. By the time the pack arrived, I was covered in the blood of my parents and brother, my elder brother, and I were taken into the pack house to live after that. There I was abused, ridiculed, shunned, and shamed. I was the girl who had murdered her family. I was forced to become the new scullery maid. I had to cook, clean, wash all the dirty clothes, fix broken appliances, and tend to the orphaned pups. My triplet older brothers were all given big, comfy rooms, while I had the cold, dark, dingy basement. My brothers hated me; they harmed me the most. The alpha thinks I am a disgrace, as my parents were well beloved and respected by the pack. Even Luna, who was once kind to me, gave me the cold shoulder. I had to be awake by three every morning to start my day. Everyone always found a way to throw me under the bus, literally once. The alpha doesn’t allow me to shift, and I haven’t heard from my wolf in years. I am fifteen now. She was there for a while, telling me to be strong, soon enough she faded into a whisper until she was gone.

I shake the thoughts and residual feelings from the nightmare away. Tomorrow is the crowning of the next alpha, Alpha Aaro’s son, Atto Xavier Forde. I never saw him, but I am prepared for worse treatment. I’m the one who murdered the pack’s most valued members, I am the one who killed her family. I am Ororo Niha Akio Blackheart.