Blessed Luna Rising

Living in the Silver Mountain Pack has never been easy because, like his father before him, Alpha Arthur hates the Omegas. Our little one-bedroom house is as far from the pack house as possible without leaving the territory because he doesn’t want “our stench” near his home any longer than our working hours. Mama and daddy stay up late at night whispering bad things about him and how they wish we could leave this place. I don’t like our Alpha, but I love the mountains and the forest around us; it's all so pretty. I would live here forever, but daddy says that Alpha Arthur only pays the Omegas five dollars an hour and makes them work all day long. Today, mama and daddy told me to stay in our bedroom while they have grown up guests out in the living room. I don’t have any toys or games to play with so I sit at the window and watch the rain fall outside. “Iris! Come here, please,” my mama calls out after I hear the front door close. I climb down off the bed and run to the living room to find my parents sitting on the couch with tears running down their cheeks. “Mama? What’s wrong?” I ask innocently as I round the end of the couch to sit on the table in front of them. My daddy pulls me into his lap and bear hugs me tightly against his chest while my mama holds my hands in hers. “You know how much we love you, right baby?” my daddy asks, sniffling back his tears. “And that we would do absolutely anything in the world for you.” “Yeah, I know. Why are you crying? Why is mama crying?” I ask, my little eight year old heart beginning to race in a panic. “Sweetheart, mama and daddy have to fight against the Alpha with the rest of the Omegas. I know this is scary, but we need you to run, baby. Pack your backpack with clothes, snacks, and your blanket. Run until you find a new pack and tell that Alpha you need help,” my mama says, looking me right in my eyes as both of our hearts shatter. “I don’t want to leave you. I want to be with you,” I cry, tears sliding down my face in agony. “Baby, there’s a real good chance mama and daddy won’t make it and if Alpha Arthur or his team catch us, they’re going to hurt us. Please, Iris. Please just run,” my daddy pleads with me until I agree. “Okay… When?” I ask, wiping my tears and snot on the back of my hand. “Everyone wants to fight tonight. You’ll need to get packed now,” he says, his own voice becoming a sob as he says it. I nod my head, getting up from his lap and walking to my bedroom. I grab my backpack from the closet and stuff my only clothes in the bottom of it. Three pairs of pants, three shirts, and three pairs of underwear. I fold up my favorite blanket real tight and stuff it in on top of the clothes before walking to the kitchen for a couple water bottles and whatever snacks I can find. “Okay. I’m all packed. Now what?” I whisper, holding my backpack tight to my chest. “Now you just come sit with us, baby,” my mama replies, reaching out for me. I fall into her arms and sob against her chest, my body shaking violently as she holds me. “Bug, we have something that we want you to have,” my daddy says behind me, his hand rubbing my back in an attempt to comfort my breaking heart. I turn to face him and see him holding a small book. He places the book in my hands and I open it slowly. “I saved all the money I could to get some of these pictures printed out for you. Now you’ll always have a piece of us with you. No matter what,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “I love it. Thank you, daddy,” I say, unzipping my backpack and putting it safely between the blankets and clothes. I sit back on the couch, snuggling between my parents. “Remember that time we all went rabbit hunting together?” “You were barely holding onto Serena at all. You were so brave,” my mama replies, a small smile on her face. “And then you cried when Duke killed a rabbit,” my dad laughs, making mama and I laugh along with him. We sit and talk until the sky turns orange, a knock at the door signaling our time is over. “No! No! No! I’m not ready! I don’t want to leave you,” I scream through my tears as my parents walk toward the door. Both of them are sobbing as they drop to their knees and hug me close to their bodies. “We love you so much, Iris. So very much. Grow up and live a good life, baby. You deserve it,” my daddy whispers into my hair as he cries. “You’re such a good girl, Iris. Live the life we couldn’t give you at Silver Mountain, baby,” my mama says with a final squeeze before rushing out of the front door, my daddy following right behind her, leaving me on my knees weeping in the living room. I don’t know how long I lay there before the sounds of wolves snarling and fighting outside grabs my attention. I snatch my backpack, throwing it over my shoulder and sneaking out of the front door. The fighting wolves aren’t near the house so I take off running into the woods, not sure which way will get me out of Silver Mountain. One long howl into the night ceases the fighting and the silence in the forest is unsettling. “SILVER MOUNTAIN,” Alpha Arthur’s voice booms through the trees, sending birds and wildlife fleeing. I creep through the brush of the forest, making my way through some bushes to see what is happening. Looking through the leaves of the bush, I gaze down at the crowd in front of the packhouse. Tears fill my eyes as I see a line of people on their knees, warriors holding them in place as the Alpha continues shouting at the rest of the pack. I don’t hear anything he says as I stare at my worst nightmare. My mama and daddy on their knees with so many of their friends. Their tears from earlier replaced with looks of defiance in the face of death. “Now you will see what happens when you try to fight against me,” Alpha Arthur shouts and, all at once, the warriors move, snapping the necks of every person and dropping their lifeless bodies to the ground. “NOOOOOO,” I scream, catching the attention of the Alpha and every other wolf on the ground. I turn around and sprint through the trees, hoping I can make it to the border and find another pack. “GET THEM,” Alpha Arthur commands the warriors, sending a stampede of wolves chasing after me, a wolfless child. In a matter of seconds, I slam into the side of one of the wolves, falling flat on my back. Two men grab me roughly by the arms and drag me back to the packhouse, throwing me on the ground beside my dead parents. “Who do we have here?” Alpha Arthur taunts as he walks around me, kicking the limbs of my dead parents and neighbors out of his way. “This is Iris Lancaster. Her parents are Patrick and Jane Lancaster,” Beta Christopher says. It is the Beta’s job to manage the pack member registry, so I’m not surprised he knows who I am. “And where are her parents?” Alpha Arthur asks menacingly standing in front of me, my eyes resting on his feet, “Beside her on the ground, Alpha,” Beta Christopher responds and Alpha Arthur laughs in response. “The daughter of traitors. How nice. What should we do with you?” he says, crouching down in front of me. “Arthur, darling, might I suggest bringing her to the pack house? You may have just killed most of our cleaning and kitchen staff,” Luna Drea says as she joins her mate in the center of the circle. Alpha Arthur grabs my chin roughly, bringing my face up to meet his eyes. “Well then, it looks like we have ourselves a new pack house slave,” he says in a low voice, a sinister smile on his face. “What do you say, pup? You gonna come work for me or die with your treacherous parents right now?” My heart races and I hesitate. “I’ll come work for you, Alpha,” I sigh turning my face down in defeat. My parents told me to run and live a good life. Now, I’m here as the new pack slave and their deaths are in vain. ***Ten Years Later*** I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock blaring in my ears. The sound piercing through my ear drums and echoing in my brain like the siren on a fire truck. I turn it off and let out a heavy sigh before dragging my aching muscles out of the bed and walking to the bathroom. I stayed up late doing homework and 3am came way too early but if I don’t want to be punished for breakfast not being ready when morning training is over, I have to get moving. I gingerly stretch my soreness away before I get to work on my appearance. I brush my teeth and check the clock before deciding to just shower when breakfast is made so I’m not late. I throw my long, red hair up in a bun and make my way down to the kitchen as quickly as my body will allow. Thankfully, it is still dark and quiet in the packhouse which means there is nobody to bother me. I put on the mandated hairnet so none of my hair accidentally ends up in the food. Goddess knows Alpha would beat me worse than he did last time if that ever happened again. I shudder at the thought, pushing away that specific memory. I pull out everything I’ll need for breakfast and proceed to make seven hundred and fifty pancakes, thirty pounds of bacon, six hundred pieces of toast, and six hundred scrambled eggs. The food smells so good and my stomach is growling viciously as I inhale the scent, but Omegas are not allowed to eat the hot food. I’m only allowed peanut butter sandwiches and water most days. Occasionally, Alpha gives me an apple or orange, but there are also days where he withholds food and water altogether. It’s only 6am when I finish making the food and there’s still an hour before the pack warriors come in from training so I put together a bowl of fruit with ten pounds of blueberries, ten pounds of sliced strawberries, and ninety six sliced bananas. I also whip up a huge bowl of cream cheese fruit dip and scoop it into a serving dish. That sounds like a lot of food, but there are one hundred and fifty warriors. Each one of them eats anywhere between three to five servings of everything at every single meal and I do not want a repeat of the one time I accidentally did not make enough food for all of them. *Flashback* “IRIS!” I heard Alpha Arthur yell my name with a terrifying boom. I came out of my “bedroom” to the kitchen to see a line of ten warriors standing by the buffet and there was no more food. s**t. “Yes, Alpha?” I said with my eyes to the floor. “What is wrong with this picture?” he says with his hand gesturing to the empty buffet. “There’s no more food, Alpha.” and I know things are going to be ugly by the rage on his face. “Why is there no more food for my warriors, Iris? Aren’t you supposed to feed ALL of the warriors?” he asks with venom in his voice. “Yes, Alpha. I made -“ SMACK! I fall to the floor holding the side of my face and I can taste blood. Alpha Arthur is towering over me and as he grabs me by my hair he screams, “GET YOUR ASS IN THERE AND FEED MY WARRIORS!” before throwing me to the kitchen. I pick myself up off the floor and make fifty servings of everything with tears running down my face. Once I serve the remaining ten warriors, I go back to my “bedroom” and cry on my cot. I am immediately scared to death when the door flies open and there stands the Alpha and his son, David. “What do you think her punishment should be, son? She didn’t make enough food for ten of our warriors this morning. They had to wait for her to make their breakfast after training.” Alpha Arthur says with a sinister smirk on his face. David slowly pulls his belt through his belt loops and looks at his father with the same evil grin on his face. I know what’s coming. It has happened before and I feel the tears start flowing again. “How about ten lashes with the belt? One for every warrior that had to wait for their breakfast.” David responds to Alpha Arthur. “That’s all?” Alpha Arthur says mockingly and David let’s put a chuckle laced with evil. “The rest of her punishment will be a bit more private.” he says as he licks his lips. “You know I never kiss and tell.” They both laugh, David raising his arm to whip me with the belt and —— *End Flashback* I am brought back to reality by the loud sound of a throat clearing and I jump, nearly dropping the condiments I was carrying. The warriors are on their way in and I am standing in the kitchen spacing out while I hug coffee creamer and syrup. Great, that’s not embarrassing at all. I let them know there are ten pots of coffee made and ten gallons of orange juice ready. I set out the creamer and sugar for the coffee plus softened butter, jelly, peanut butter, and maple syrup for the pancakes and toast. I bow out of the kitchen and return to my “bedroom”. Leaning against the door, I look around and feel an overwhelming sadness consume me. This was never meant to be a bedroom. It was a storage closet that Alpha Arthur and Luna Drea cleaned out and put me in when my parents were killed for treason when I was eight years old. “How kind of them.” I think to myself as I take the few steps over to my cot and sit down. School starts at 8:30am so I grab my last set of clean clothes from my box they gave me for all of my personal belongings, my only towel, and the travel size shampoo and body wash I have been stretching out for the last month before heading to the bathroom to shower. Once in the shower, I wash my hair and then gently scrub my body so I don’t push too hard on the bruises. Everything is sore. If it’s not punishments for minor mistakes from the entire Alpha family, it’s bullies delighting themselves with the pleasures of my pain and tears. I try to stay in the background at school otherwise I get shoved into lockers or walls, beat up by other she wolves, or tripped and shoulder checked by the male wolves. I literally never get a break from the abuse. Once I’m out and dried off I go back to my room and look at myself in the broken body length mirror they so graciously gifted me. My long, curly hair was once a vibrant and radiant red. The kind that makes people question if it is actually natural. Now it’s lackluster and looks dry, stringy, and dull. My green eyes that used to be as bright as pure emeralds and full of life now look grey and lifeless. I am way too thin and can see most of my bones. There is no way I am more than 100 pounds and I stand no more than 4 feet 11 inches tall. It has been years since I went to the pack doctor so I am actually not sure about my height or weight, but I know my growth has been stunted from starvation and abuse. Alpha Arthur always makes a point to tell me I’m probably not even a wolf and won’t have a mate, but I don’t believe that. I remember my parents shifting into their big cream and brown patterned wolves as a child. I’m just waiting for mine. I hope when I find my mate, he’s not repulsed by the sight of me. I want to get out of this pack so bad and if my mate rejects me, I don’t know what I will do. I will have to go rogue or end my life. I let out another sigh and pick up my backpack with the few school supplies I have in it. “Let’s get this day over with so we don’t have to worry about school for a couple of days.” I say to myself and walk out the door. As I walk, a plan starts to formulate in my head. My 18th birthday is just one week away. I know that I don’t want to stay in this hellhole, so if my mate is in this pack, I will reject him and leave. I’ll run away until I find a different pack and seek shelter. “1 more week.” I think to myself as I walk down the stairs out of the packhouse. “1 more week and I’m out of here.”