Kelly

Ten

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY SON. YOU BROKE HIS NOSE YOU LITTLE B*TCH" Aunt Charlotte's voice screamed.

I stumbled back, my hand flying to my head where she had hit me and where I had collided with the door. The world began to spin. Beta Joseph was there, moving so fast he was a blur. He put himself between me and Charlotte, a solid wall of muscle and anger.

"Do NOT touch her," he growled, his voice a low rumble that shook the floorboards. I had never heard him use that tone before. It was scarier than Alpha David's, and even scarier than the first time he told someone off in front of me.

Charlotte's face was a mask of fury. Her eyes were wild, her hair escaping its perfect bun. "She is a menace! A violent, uncontrollable little animal! She broke Caleb's nose! He could be scarred for life!"

"His nose was crooked before she got to it," Beta Joseph shot back. "And what he did, what he and his friends did, was ten times worse. They destroyed her property. They taunted her about the death of her family. Caleb got exactly what he deserved and he should be lucky the Alpha isn't considering overlooking him to replace me once he is of age. Another incident like this and his rank in this pack will be harshly reviewed." He turned and looked at Caleb over Aunt Charlotte's shoulder, "Keep that in mind son. You are supposed to be the future of this pack. Your every action reflects this pack and I am ashamed to say you are mine today."

"She is not our family!" Charlotte shrieked, her voice cracking. "She the representation of my sisters' utter failure. She should have died with her w***e of a mother and monster of a father! Thank the Goddess the other spawn were ripped apart! And now this thing brings violence into my house and attacks my son! I will not have it. She needs to go."

The world went blank. Marky and Sissy were ripped apart? I don't remember seeing Sissy in the living room, and I didn't look closely at Marky because his eyes scared me. I didn't even look closely at Mama because she was so cold. I knew she was too cold. I felt my lips tremble and I knew I needed to run. Just as I thought I needed to run I realised I was already in the forest. But I didn't slow. I didn't stop. I just ran and ran and ran.

When I did stop, it was beside the old ruins of what looked like a cottage.

The cottage was quiet. The walls were crumbling, covered in moss and ivy. Nature was reclaiming it, pulling it back into the earth. I curled up beside the one of the walls with a roof still holding on, drawing my knees to my chest. I wasn't crying anymore. I was empty. The words Charlotte had screamed echoed in the hollow space inside me. Ripped apart. Died with her w***e of a mother. Monster of a father. The words were poison, seeping into my bones. They were words I didn't understand

A twig snapped. I went rigid, my heart hammering against my ribs. I wasn't alone. I slowly lifted my head. Standing at the edge of the ruin, silhouetted against the dimming light, was a massive wolf. He was bigger than any wolf I had ever seen, even bigger than my Daddy's wolf Oak. His fur was the color of a thundercloud, a deep, dark grey, almost black. He had a scar across his snout, and he watched me with assessing yellow eyes.

I didn't move. I didn't breathe. I was a mouse, and he was looking for his dinner. I waited for him to lunge, to tear me apart like Charlotte had said my family was torn apart. But he didn't. He just stood there, watching me for a long time. My head started to feel heavy to I laid it on my knees, never taking my eyes of the pretty wolf. I wondered what his name was and what his human looked like. Did I know this wolf's human? Is that why he wasn't eating me, wasn't sinking his teeth into my skin and pulling me apart?

I watched as the wolf huffed before turning and walking into the trees again. I didn't hear him for lots of heartbeats and my eyes got to heavy to keep open. Maybe he realised I wouldn't taste good because I smelt like death? Maybe he already knew I was going to die, just like I should have with my Mama and Daddy. I really wanted to feel one of Mama's cuddles right now. Or hear her voice singing to me again. I really missed them.

"Oh, little wolf." The gravelly voice of Beta Joseph said as he settled down next to me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me onto his lap. He was only wearing some shorts and his chest was super hot and sweaty - like he had been running hard. His heart was racing too as I laid my head right over it. For a long time he sat there with me, rubbing his hand up and down my arm. I kept my eyes closed but sleep never came.

"I can't say I ever knew this cottage was around here." Beta Joseph finally said and I could feel him looking around.

"It looks like it might have some good bones. I might have to get Marcy's mate out here to check it properly but I think we could work with it." He continued. I didn't think I had ever heard so many words from him in all the time I had been living with him. Even when he had taken me to the library everyday he didn't speak this many words at once. And as he probably wanted, curiosity got the better of me as I lifted my head to look at the cottage. And then at Beta Joseph. I didn't have the words for the expression on his face. He looked sad. But also thoughtful.

"What's a mate?" I whispered. I had heard the word before, but I didn't quite know what it meant. Marky had always said that a mate was like a best friend but for grown ups and you got to be with them forever. He said Daddy was Mama's mate and Marky hoped that one day he would find someone who would want to be his mate just like Daddy found Mama. He said you had to be extra good to get a mate from the Moon Goddess because they were so special.

Beta Joseph looked down at me, surprise on his face. "A mate is the other half of your soul. The one person the Moon Goddess made just for you. They're your best friend, your partner, your everything." He looked away for a second. "Marcy's mate is called William. They love each other very much. He is one of the pack's carpenters."

"Oh," I said, thinking about that. A soul mate. My Daddy had always said that about my Mama. "Is Aunt Charlotte your mate?"

Beta Joseph tensed, his arm tightening around me for a second. "No. She is not. My mate, she died many years ago. Before you were born. She is my wife, but she is not my wife. Rummy, my wolf, allowed me to choose to marry her and we have had our pups, but he couldn't ever forget his mate."

I looked up at him. His face was in shadow, but I could see the pain etched around his eyes. He looked the way I felt inside. "I'm sorry," I whispered. I knew what it was like to lose people. I knew the ache that lived in your chest, the one that never really went away.

He looked at me for a long time. He seemed to be making a decision. "Your Aunt Charlotte… what she said. She was angry, and she said things she shouldn't have. Things that aren't true."

I looked down at my hands, picking at a loose thread on my dress. "She said Marky and Sissy were ripped apart. She said my Mama was a… a bad word." The word felt dirty in my mouth, even now. "Is that what happened? Is that why Sissy hid me under the floor?"

Beta Joseph blinked, shock blanketing his face and his eyebrows drawing down into a hard frown. "You were hidden under the floor?"

"Yes, Mama and Daddy said they built a special place under the floor for Marky when he was first born to make sure he was always safe. But that... that day Sissy said there wasn't enough space for both her and me and as the youngest I needed to be the safest. She said she was going to hide in our closest."

Beta Joseph's sigh was heavy, like a great weight was settling on his shoulders. He was quiet for so long I thought he wasn't going to answer. I was about to ask again when he finally spoke.

"The attack on your home pack, Kelly... by rogue wolves... It was… it was bad. Very bad. Many wolves died. Your parents fought bravely to protect you and your siblings. They died protecting you." He paused, choosing his words with care. "Mark… he was in the main part of the house, near where they found you. He was very brave, too."

"He and Lobo were a good warrior wolf?"

"Mark had his wolf?"

"Yeah, he was white and grey just like Daddy. But he wasn't as big as Daddy." I relaxed into Beta Joseph's chest with a small smile, remembering how annoyed Marky was when I asked why Daddy was so much bigger than Lobo. But Marky said it was because he and Lobo still had so much growing to do and Daddy was already an old man. Daddy just chuckled at Marky and messed up his hair.

But then I realised that Beta Joseph didn't say what happened to Sissy.

"What about Sissy, was she brave too? Did the rogues tear her apart?" My palms were sweating as images of my beautiful and happy sister being ripped apart flooded my brain. The world started to sway. Ripped apart. The images in my mind were sharp and brutal. Sissy, with her bright smile and her collection of shiny rocks screaming out for help as growling wolves lunged at her. My stomach heaved and I barely turned and was sick on the mossy ground next to Beta Joseph's legs, my body was shaking with dry, painful heaves. They were gone. Really gone. And they had died trying to save me. The thought was a physical blow, a crushing weight on my chest. It should have been me. I was the youngest, I was the weakest. It should have been me.

Beta Joseph held my hair back, rubbing circles on my back until the spasms passed. He didn't say anything else. He just let me break. And when I was empty, hollowed out, he picked me up again.

"We can't go back to the house tonight," he said, his voice quiet but sure. "Not tonight. We'll stay here and see just what we can do to this cottage to make it yours. That was you will always have a safe space in this pack away from Charlotte when everything is all a bit much. This way I also don't have to try and keep up with you when you run. Anyone ever told you how fast you are? I could almost swear you had your wolf already." Beta Joseph chuckled. No one had told me I was a fast runner, but it felt nice to know I was good at something in the midst of everything.