Bite of Rejection

Episode1

~ Athena’s POV

Stuck on my bed, I wracked my brain.

Why did everyone in my pack seem to hate me?

No one would tell me what I did wrong, but I could feel it. They treated me like I didn't belong, like I was some kind of outsider. And it all seemed to stem from something my parents did, but I didn't even know what that was. Tears welled up in my eyes and I sobbed inwardly, feeling so lonely and frustrated.

Just then, I heard a loud bang erupted from the front door. I froze, my heart hammering in my chest.

I stood up to check what was happening, and I saw a shadow fall across the living room floor.

"Who could that be at this hour?" I muttered to myself. The approaching footsteps grew louder, heavier. I gave a nervous glance, the weight of the unknown settling on my shoulders like a suffocating cloak.

Panic shot through me as the doorknob jiggled violently. Then, flames erupted at the bottom of the door, a burning piece of wood shoved in by someone on the other side. My mind reeled. Before I could even grasp what was happening, the fire took hold in my living room. Through the haze of smoke and the crackling flames, I heard voices, taunts and cruel laughter echoing from outside. They said I deserved to die, that my burning would finally bring them peace within the pack. The words cut deep, but despair washed over me. Surrounded by smoke and trapped by the flames, I sank to the floor, wracked with sobs. I didn't even try to escape.

Flames licked at the walls, turning my living room into an inferno. The thick smoke burned my throat, ripping coughs from my lungs. Tears streamed down my face, a mixture of terror and a strange sense of defeat. Exhaustion settled over me, a heavy weight that pressed me down. Curled on the floor, I welcomed the oblivion the fire promised. Resignation painted my thoughts, maybe that was the end, the escape from the relentless torment.

Just as I was about to succumb, a voice pierced through the smoky haze. It was Relia, her voice hoarse from coughing but laced with desperate urgency.

"Athena! Where are you?!" she screamed, the sound echoing off the burning walls.

I was too weak to respond to her. I coughed out, a weak rasp that tore from my parched throat. Through the smoke-filled haze, I saw Relia's panicked form appear. Relief flooded her face as she spotted me huddled on the floor. In a flash, she was by my side, scooping me into a sitting position.

"Athena, are you okay?" Her voice was etched with concern, her eyes wide with alarm.

I could only stare at her face, tears overflowing like a dam bursting. The weight of the attack, the betrayal, the crushing loneliness, it all came flooding back. Finally, I choked out a question, my voice hoarse and barely audible, "Why are you here, Relia?"

Relia's grip tightened on my arm, her worried gaze locked on mine. "Let's get out of here first," she urged, her voice sounding so coarse. Smoke curled around her head like a menacing halo.

Desperate to escape the inferno, she tried to pull me up. But I dug my heels in, a surge of rebellion coursing through my weakened body. "No, Relia," I rasped, wrenching myself free of her grasp. Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision with a salty sheen. "I'm not leaving with you."

Relia stumbled back, brows knitted in confusion. "What do you mean, Athena? This place is going to cave in any minute!" she coughed, her voice laced with a desperation that mirrored my own.

Through gritted teeth, I choked out the question that had been burning a hole in my soul.

"Why should I escape, Relia? Why should I even try to live when I'm just getting punished for something my parents did?" The words came out in a torrent, laced with raw pain and a burning sense of injustice. The unfairness of it all threatened to consume you.

"I don't even know what they did wrong!" I screamed, the smoke stinging my lungs and mingling with my tears. I pounded a fist on the burning floor, the heat searing through the thin fabric of my clothes. "Not a single picture, Relia! No memories, nothing! I'm being blamed for something I have no control over, something from a past I don't even know!" My voice cracked, each word a shard of frustration tearing from my throat.

Relia's words slammed into me like a bucket of cold water. "Enough with this!" she snapped, her voice sharp with urgency. "We need to get out of here, now, Athena!"

I shoved her hand away, a bitter retort erupting from my lips. "Just let me die!" I screamed, the smoke twisting my words into a distorted echo. "What's the point anyway? I'm nothing but a burden, a constant reminder of my parents’ mistakes!"

Relia's eyes widened in shock. "No, Athena, that's not true!" she countered, her voice rising above the roar of the flames. "Alpha Fridolf… he needs your help!"

The unexpected announcement hung in the air, heavy with implication. "What?" I stammered, a spark of curiosity flickering through the haze of despair and anger.

“Alpha Fridolf needs your help, Athena. You are not useless,” Relia explained.

The rest of Relia’s sentence was swallowed by a deafening CRACK. A massive support beam gave way, sending a torrent of burning debris crashing down towards me. I lunged for Relia, but it was too late. The world dissolved into a fiery inferno, the weight of the burning wood pinning me beneath.

Through the haze of smoke and the searing pain, I saw Relia's face contorted in a silent scream. Her lips moved, but no sound emerged. Desperately, I tried to claw my way free, but the flames seemed to mock my efforts.

Then, darkness.