My second chance Alpha

One more Day.

Stella’s POV

I groan as I see the state the pack left the kitchen in. They do this every night. I glance at the clock to see how much time I have left before everyone is coming down for breakfast. My eyes widen as I groan in annoyance when I see the clock reading 2:30 am. “Jesus that a*****e really knows how to start a day…” I mutter to myself. Welp, it’s too late to be going back to bed, so I may as well get started. I roll up my sleeves and start by sorting and organizing the dishes. The relatively cleaner dishes I put into a sink of hot soapy water, meanwhile the REALLY dirty dishes that I wouldn’t be able to clean no matter how hard I tried, I put into the dishwashers.

Soon enough, I’ve gotten all of the dishes done and the counters wiped down, as well as the garbage taken out. Time to get started on breakfast. I guess the one good thing about me always making the food for the packhouse, is that I love to cook. I absolutely adore it, especially since its just about the only time I get to myself that I’m not being smacked around and tormented by the others. This kitchen is any and every professional’s dream!

It is a large open concept, with dark oak hardwood floors, and granite countertops. It has 2 islands in the center and the counter wraps around 2 walls. There are 2 top-of-the-line ovens, as well as 2 woodburning stoves. There are 4 microwaves and 6 toasters, and 3 coffee makers. There are 4 large industrial style fridges, also a large walk-in freezer, and best of all, 3 walk-in pantries.

Sounds like a lot, right? Well, you try and provide for a pack that holds over 300 wolves, with people coming in and out of the pack house morning, noon, and night. Thankfully I don’t have to cook to feed the entire pack, seeing as only 50-75 people actually live here in the packhouse. That being said, that’s still anywhere from 50-75 hungry wolves that are all capable of eating an entire Christmas turkey and feast by themselves, so I’m always having to cook large amounts anyways.

Thankfully one of the pantries is dedicated to JUST snacks, chips, candy and sodas, meaning that people are able to grab themselves something to snack on at anytime. I pull out all of the ingredients that I’m going to be needing and get started. I cut up fresh fruit and place a few large metal bowls in the freezer to cool. I start mixing up the waffle batter and get the waffle irons started on heating up. I also start frying the sausages and back-bacon.

Pretty soon I have 5 large trays of sausages and back-bacon, 6 trays of crispy and light waffles, and 9 or 10 bowls of fresh fruit and mixed berries. I quickly grab the bowls out of the freezer and set to making my homemade whipped topping. My mother taught me this recipe… Goddess I miss my family…

Just as I finish up making the last bowl of whipped topping, the large grandfather clock in the front room rings 6 am. ‘I guess it’s a good thing that Riley woke me up so early this morning’ I think to myself as the large crowd of people starts to trickle downstairs. I quickly and silently say my daily prayer to the Moon Goddess to watch over me today, and to help me get through the next 24 hours without any new bruises, and a full stomach. After everyone is done sitting down in the dinning room and starting to make their plates, I hear the beginning of praises that they will never say to my face. I silently wait just inside of the kitchen door listening for if anyone needs a refill on drinks or more maple syrup, etc.

“Stella! Stella, get out here now!” I suddenly hear myself being shouted for. I quietly walked to the head of the table and look directly into the eyes of the Alpha Richard Brookes. I know he hates it. They all do, I’m not made to easily submit, which is probably why I constantly get beaten.

“Yes, Alpha Brookes?” I ask as politely as I can, while fighting the urge to roll my eyes. “Stella, I want you to start working on Riley’s Alpha ceremony tomorrow, it takes place the day after at sundown.” My eyes widen in shock as Richards Luna- Margery -smirks at me. Luna Brookes is the one that assigns all of my chores as well as plans all of the special events. She knows that tomorrow is my birthday and that it’s my only day a year, that I’m allowed to go outside for anything other than groceries, not to mention I’m only getting a day and half to get things set up?! This is ridiculous even by their standards.

“Do you hear me Stella?” Alpha Brookes askes me in a stern tone and I can do nothing but nod my head in frustration. As I turn to walk back to the kitchen Luna Margery flashes me a wide victorious smile as she chuckles. I snap my head towards her, feeling the rage of being disrespected by this b***h for 8 years rise up and swell within me.

“What the f**k do you think you’re laughing at you b***h?”

I snap at her, making all eyes look to me as every single sound dies down. Everyone is shocked by my outburst, hell, I am too. I may be able to look everyone in the eyes without hesitation, but I learned very early on here that running my mouth made the beatings 10x worse.

“What did you just call me?!” She shrilled, her nails on a chalk board voice only matching her Smeagol wanna-be look even more. Now when I say Smeagol wanna-be look, I don’t mean she actually tries to look like the deformed L.o.t.R character, I just mean that her natural physical build makes her look that way.

“You heard me you- “I started but was cut off by Richard snapping at me. “ENOUGH STELLA! I will not have you insulting your Luna like that!” I couldn’t help but scoff, I’m getting out of here in a day or two, so what does it matter if I keep my mouth shut any longer? “Don’t make me f*****g laugh Richard!” I state making him fume in anger at being called by his first name only. “You are NOT my alpha, and she is most CERTAINLY is NOT my goddamn Luna.” I add with disgust clear in my voice. However, I wasn’t finished. This particular can of worms has been sealed shut for near about 8 full years, and it’s time to break it open and have at it.

“Neither of you have any f*****g say in my life after tomorrow. Remember? Legally you can’t hold me here any longer!” I stated as my voice was echoing in the strangely silent hall. “You never even bothered to ‘welcome’ me into the pack sealing any allegiance from me, you never even bothered to try and bind me in blood, and as far as I know it is a fact that you never even felt bothered to tell the Elders of my existence here.” I continued as I started to turn away from him and show him my back “After tomorrow, I promise to deliver as much f*****g pain and anguish upon you, as I have been made to suffer through for the past 8 goddamn years” I finished coldly speaking to him from over my shoulder. I turn my head and start walking away as Riley starts to enter the hall. I intended to walk right past him but no such luck. Just as I am about to walk past him, I’m smacked in the side of my head and knocked to the floor in surprise.

Riley’s POV

After rage f*****g the Omega this morning I feel a little better. I decide to go out for a run before breakfast to work up an appetite. I know that no-one will admit this, and especially not to her, but Stella is an amazing cook. She truly makes some of the best food ever. 2 years ago, Stella was very, very sick from an infection in her back. She got it in one of her deep cuts that she got from my dad whipping her for forgetting the fabric softener in his load of clothes. While she was sick, we had to get another Omega to make our meals. The pack Doctor had told my dad that if he made Stella work at all while she was recovering, then there was a high chance she would die from the sickness.

I make it to the woods where I step just out of sight from the packhouse BBQ area behind a tree and start to strip. After stripping I stand there and begin focusing on my wolf, Andy. As he comes to the forefront of my mind, I feel my own consciousness pushed back as my bones start to stretch and snap in and out of place, I feel my skull shift as my jaw elongates giving way to Andy’s form. Andy took off running like the wind, ducking under and jumping over fallen trees and dodging around the standing ones. I watch as Andy runs into an empty field in the middle of the forest, and lays down panting, catching his breath. I watch through his eyes as he raises his head and lets out an ear-piercing howl. I mentally roll my eyes as he huffs. He really is such a dramatic wolf.

“I heard that!” Andy says. “You were meant to” I reply. Andy huffs out again and we enter into silence watching the sky. We stay that way for several hours as the stars begin to fade. Sooner than I’d like the first rays of sunlight creep over and through the trees. Andy stands up and shakes out his fur to rid it of any dust and early morning dew. We head back towards the pack house and get back in no time. I stay near to edge of the forest and shift back behind the same tree as earlier and head inside. I get up to my room, and quickly head for a hot shower to relax my muscles before I go and eat. After I’m done in the shower, I quickly grab some clean clothes from my closet and head down.

I’m the last person arriving and I’m just looking forward to having some breakfast, it smells like Stella did a waffle buffet styled breakfast today, and my mouth is watering. I’m about to turn into the dining room, and all I can hear is yelling and shouting. I can hear Stella telling off my parents, reminding them that they have no hold on her after tomorrow. My eyes widen in horror and fear, fear that she will leave me. I don’t know why I suddenly fear her departing our pack, and I mentally scold myself for giving into those emotions from the stupid mate bond, for even a moment. I stay silent as I listen to Stella as she states full of confidence the fact that she truly isn’t an actual member of our pack. Soon, her shouts start to calm down and I listen intently for anything else that she might say.

“After tomorrow, I promise to deliver as much f*****g pain and anguish upon you, as I have been made to suffer through for the past 8 goddamn years” I hear her state in in a voice that is full confidence, and completely dripping with venom. I honestly can’t even blame her for the way she is speaking. But I can never truly let her know that, she has to believe that I truly loath her, otherwise my plan to reject her tomorrow won’t work. After a few seconds of silence, I head in and as we are about to walk past each other I take a swing and hit her in the head full force, causing her to fall to the floor in surprise.

Once she regains her composure, she glares at me, and unlike earlier she shows no fear. “The f**k is your problem you ass?!” She bellows at me. At this point I can’t help but smirk at her new-found confidence. I don’t know where she got it from, but it seems to be radiating off of her in waves. “My problem, you little b***h,” I say pausing trying to gauge her reaction to my words “Is your new found attitude. That’s my problem. How dare you raise your voice and mouth off to the Luna and Alpha. They took you in when you had nothing! I would think you’d show them some gratitude, but instead you try and rise above them when you’re nothing but a weak little Omega orphan pup, that doesn’t like the way she had to earn her keep!”

She went to say something back while I swear her eyes were showing partial flashes of her wolf. I held up my hand to silence her before she started. I look into her eyes as coldly as I can, I can’t help but notice the fact that she doesn’t even flinch, I smirk as I lean down and say quietly enough for only her to hear “Keeping running your mouth off, and I’m going to have to find something to fill it with to punish you”

Her eyes widen in horror as she catches onto my meaning, and nods her head carefully, never once breaking eye contact nor the icy cold stare that she is giving me. After she gets up and walks out, I can’t help the heavy feeling in my chest at the thought that she was just looking at me with so much hatred, and it hurt.

Stella POV

After leaving the dining hall I head straight to my ‘room’ if you can call it that. But its better than sleeping outside with a chain around my neck like when I first arrived. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I recollected the memory…

***FLASHBACK***

“Mama…? Papa…!?” I cried as fat tears rolled down my pink cheeks. I was yelling at myself mentally for not listening to my Mama and Papa about not running off too far. Now I was lost, alone and scared. I had no idea which way to even try heading in, and I crumpled to the ground in a fit of tears and despair. The bushes behind me rustled and my head snapped that way in pure terror. Soon a large brownish grey wolf stepped forward and looked down at me. It was then that I met Richard. I watched as he shifted back into his human form and pull a pair of shorts out of the bushes he had come from.

“Who are you?” He asked coldly, acting as if an almost 10-year-old girl was some kind of threat on his lands.

“S-s-stella” I whimpered out in fear as he looked mean and quite scary.

“And what are you doing here on my lands Stella? You are aware that you’ve put yourself in danger coming here, right?” He inquired a little less cold, but still just as firm. I shook my head violently, crying and shaking with no idea how I got to where I was.

“I-I got l-lost. My Mama, and p-papa are g-gone, I-I’m all a-alone” I hiccupped out quietly, but thanks to his wolf hearing he heard me. I watched as he nodded slowly talking in my words, and his eyes glazed over. I had seen my Mama and Papa doing that, it meant they we mind-linking with either each other or someone else in our pack. I was pulled away from my thoughts when I heard Richard call out to me again “How old are you Stella?” I looked at him puzzled; I didn’t know why he was asking me this but I was always taught to be honest. “I’m 9 and a half! I’ll be ten October 31st“ He looked at me intently and a smile graced his lips. Unfortunately, what I couldn’t see or realize at that age was the sinister look in his eyes that went with it. Richard then offered for me to go with him back to his home, promising me that I’d be okay, and I’d be safe…

Once we reached his pack house Margery was outside that back door waiting for us. With a chain and collar in her hands… My eyes that had been drooping from severe exhaustion, were now wide open as I cried out in fear. They left me chained up like a dog for a week, through rain storms and days of 30-degree weather without much water or food.

***END OF FLASHBACK***

I am so tired of having to serve these a*****es. I really wish I could connect with my wolf already so that I could unleash my Alpha aura. Sadly, I know that I can’t. Even after tomorrow. They can’t ever know that I’m the daughter of an Alpha. I just hope that my Mama and Papa are still alive, and I hope that they didn’t give up on me…

The rest of the day passes as usual. I do the chores, and get beaten. I work and work and practically break my back trying to get everything clean so that I can set things up with ease tomorrow, and they still find the time to beat me more. I can’t believe I’m going to have to be spending my birthday doing this crap. I can’t wait to get the hell out of this hell.

It’s around 7:30 and I’m curling up in bed really early tonight, I wanna be up for midnight tonight, I can’t wait to meet my wolf. I close my eyes and sent my silent prayers to the Mother Goddess. ‘Please watch over me tomorrow Goddess. Please ensure my success in masking my Alpha aura, and bless me with a mate to love, cherish and protect me. Please moon Goddess I beg you, please bless my path to a better, safer, and happier life’

I make sure and double check that my alarm is set for 11:50, and with that I quickly fall asleep, dreaming of my new life.