Alpha King’s Favorite

Hush, Fieryball

Being the freak of the pack was exasperating but so was it intriguing. I could dissolve into any space and dissolve out without anyone detecting my presence. I was there at every pack gathering, every christening, every wedding, every hunt, every attack, and every mate-mooning, however, I was merely a wallflower- I hid in the shadows and observed since I was officially forbidden to attend such occasions- perks of being a social pariah.

The point was, in all my years of hiding in the shadows I have never met this man hovering over me. I literally knew everyone by their first and last names in this pack, even their blasted family history!

That only meant one thing; he must be a threat!

I hunched in my weak limb and began growling.

To my greatest chagrin, this hot devil scoffed, leaned down and patted my muzzle. "Oh, hush little fiery ball, you almost sound like a cat."

I flushed, my eyes widening in embarrassment. I jumped back, hunched again and growled louder to show I wasn't scared of him. I might be weak, still, I will rather die than let him enter my pack and cause any harm to my people without putting up a fight.

He suddenly burst out laughing and at once like an i***t, my growls ceased--I was dumbstruck by his outlandish beauty. His voice sounded like a bolt of lightning, and the features of his face at that moment would forever be etched in my memory. I knew people like me could only dream of being with people like him- whoever he might be. He might very well be my enemy, but at that very point, standing there knowing I was a weak and stupid werewolf without even a scent and unable to perceive the scents of others, he swept me off my feet.

This face surely belonged on the covers of the highlight column of a New York Times fashion Magazine!

"Natalie!"

Shit! I whimpered and whipped around at the sound of my name from the back. I've been caught. How did they?...

I twisted around again to look at the stranger but to my shock, the space where he once stood was currently vacant. It was as if he wasn't even there in the first place. No footprints, nothing to show he was ever there. I shut my eyes and opened them. Surely I wasn't daydreaming. He was there. He-he called me a fiery ball!

"Come here, you stupid bitch." I whimpered and jerked away as Jack, Philip's designated bodyguard and henchman caught up with me. "Philip was right. You are an i***t and have no common sense. Who permitted you to leave the packhouse, huh?!" He grabbed my wolf by the nape of the neck and started tugging me away. I was whimpering because Jack was a Betawolf and much more powerful than me and I couldn't transform and try to fight him because then it would be worse.

I tried to sneak a look back at the spot of my encounter with the handsome stranger but saw nothing. I needed to warn the pack. Who knows, we might be under attack and here I was lusting after my enemy.

"Get in there and shift," Jack snarled, stoning me into a dense tree. "You better don't waste my time, loser. As it is you have wasted enough of it and any minute you will be dead meat!" He made to hit me but I was fast to run off. I managed to shift back to my human form and ran back out.

"Did you see that?" I stammered when I joined Jack. He was walking ahead of me, making me run to meet up. He gave me a forced side glance and continued walking, not responding.

"Look, I know you hate me but you have to listen to me. I think we are under attack."

Jack grabbed my face and slammed against a tree and pinned me to it, pressing my face in. I squeezed his hand, my breath increasing in fright. Just like Philip, Jack sometimes took liberties with me. And now I have provoked him. In the middle of the forest.

"Unless you want me to rip out your throat in this woods, do well to zip your stinking mouth, you hear me?" I was nodding frantically. My face stung. He didn't let go immediately until a tear fell down my face. He grunted loudly and let go. I let out a whimper as I crumpled to the ground.

"Like I said don't waste my time, Scarface," He hurried on. I stood and raced after him. So much for a quiet run. I looked back, somehow hoping to see the stranger. I wasn't surprised that Jack was not listening to me. Who would? No one took me seriously here. To them, I was a stupid weak shewolf with no power and no scent. I was even shocked they found out about my absence in such a space of time.

We entered the packhouse and Jack didn't say a word to me as I sprinted to my room to change my clothes and head down. By now they would be done with dinner, and I have to do the dishes and scrub the floors again.

I didn't make it to my wardrobe before my door was slammed against the wall and an angry Dinsel walked in, fury fuming in her eyes.

"You pathetic wretch!" She cried, reached me in a flash and delivered a resounding slap. I yelped and scurried further into the room with my hand to my face. "I told you to tell them less mayo in my sandwich!"

"I did!" I sobbed, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. "I swear I did," I stammered.

"You are worthless, Natalie!" She screamed. "You should ask yourself what good you are to us in this pack! Just one thing," She gestured with her forefinger. "Just one thing I asked of you, and yet you have failed woefully! Do you realize how bloated I am right now?!"

"I am_"

"Do you realize how pale my skin looks?"She cut me off. "Do you realize how stupid and shapeless I look?" She took my hair pulled me to the window, threw them open and pushed me halfway through.

"Please, Dinsel, I am sorry...y…” I was bawling. I knew she could throw me to my death and no one would bat a lid. She was the Alpha's daughter and I was the motherless child. My father hated me so much for killing my mother at birth and still not being like her. I was weak, clumsy and stupid. According to him, I was a disgrace to this family and should be treated by every pack member as one. This was why he didn't give a f**k what his wife and children did to me. So, so what if Dinsel tossed me out of the window to my death just because I didn't follow through on her diet orders? I would die lonely and wretched.

Yes, that would put a stop to all my sufferings, however, they would win. And I didn't want that.

"Shut your sewage-stinking mouth, freak!" She began letting go. "I want to kill you so badly right now! Why must it be today of all days when the Alpha King would be coming in the morning? What do you want me to_"

"Dinsel!" Someone screamed from the door. It was Lottie, our governess. "Dinsel, stop!" She was coming closer. My face had gone white and I was convulsing from cold. Even my tears had frozen.

"I will kill her."

"Please, Dinsel," Lotie begged. "She is your sister_"

"She would never be my sister!" Dinsel fingers kept slipping but even as I fought with fear, my fingers didn't leave her wrist. "I hate her so much! She pretends to be the victim so everyone would think we are maltreating her meanwhile she is the villain! She is a shame to this family! Do you know how much it cost me to be affiliated with someone like her?"

"We can talk this through," Lotie was within an inch from us now. "For now we have to go down and meet with the Alpha King."

"W-what do you mean?" I watched the expression shift on Dinsel's face just as the tone of her voice. "Speak!"

"The Alpha King just arrived, Dinsel!"

"What!" She let me go and out of fright, my hands flayed in the air. I shut my eyes and said my prayers only to realize I wasn't flying. I opened them. Lottie was peering down at me. Smiling.

"Not under my watch, baby girl," She said. I have always loved Lotie as a mother, but at that moment, I knew I would die for her.

She pulled me back into the room and hurriedly shut the window.

"Is the Alpha King truly here?" I asked in a trembling voice as I struggled to sit up.

"Yes, Nat," Lotie brought the duvet and wrapped it around me. "And guess what?"

"W-what?"

She assisted me off the ground. I winced from pain in my ankle. "Your father said I should prepare you to compete with the other girls."

My mouth fell open. Talk about a real surprise. What was my father up to?

...