Lady Phoenix

New Beginnings: A new home, a new life.

The man crouched in front of where she was hiding. She couldn't stop her shaking and she couldn't even get any words out.

"Hello Siobhan, I'm your uncle Edward. Come out from there. I promise not to hurt you ok", he said in a gentle tone.

Siobhan just stared at him blankly. She couldn't make her mouth form the words her brain was screaming at her. She just continued to stare ahead blankly. Barely even acknowledging the man in front of her. When he realised that he wasn't going to get much of a reaction from her, Edward changed tactics.

"Ok Siobhan, I'm going to pull you out of there. Your body must be freezing" he declared trying to inject some warmth into his voice. He crawled his way into her little hiding corner and gently pulled her to safety. Edward had been expecting some form of resistance; but Siobhan seemed to be stuck in her own little world.

He carried up from the cellar into the obliterated first floor of the alpha mansion. A tall, brawny, blonde man; who had been combing the ruins for any survivors turned to gape at him.

"s**t Edward! I didn't think we'd find anyone in here. She must've been down there for ages! She's damn lucky this heap didnt collapse around her ears" , he said wiping his face.

" Language jerk. Don't forget that I have a kid with me you big i***t", Edward admonished sternly.

"Sh-- uh... I mean sorry. I'm not around kids that much" the blonde man said blushing slightly.

That had been the first time Siobhan met her uncle's beta, Josh Abrams. His language around her had not improved much over the years either.

"We need to get out of here before whoever did this comes back to finish their job", Edward said looking around worried.

They had rushed out of the crumbling house into an SUV waiting outside. After stowing Siobhan in his son's car seat in the back Edward screeched out of there. As the car drove off, Siobhan took one last longing look at the ruins of what was her once beautiful childhood home...

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A loud knock shook the door of the small room Siobhan had been allocated whe she'd finally reached Crimson River, pulling her away from journey down memory lane.

"You better not be asleep in there Siobhan! I do not feed your lazy a*s just so you can lay in bed all day! Be downstairs in 10 minutes or you will regret it!"

The person at the door walked away without even bothering to hear an answer from inside. She didn't have to wait for an answer, she knew Siobhan would obey.

Ever since the day Edward had brought Siobhan home, his Luna Allison had treated her with the utmost contempt. When Edward had refused to give her any other information on Siobhan other than that she was now his ward, Allison had jumped to the worst conclusion - assuming that Edward had had an affair and that Siobhan was the child of his mistress.

It wasn't a far fetched as Siobhan's own mother had been the result of a decade long affair between Edward's alpha father and Siobhan's maternal grandmother. The scandal had haunted Edward's family for decades and it had taken him years to try and rebuild his family's reputation. In the wolf world infedility was not looked at favourably. The mate bond was one of the few things that wolves held sacred; and to cheat on one's mate was considered nothing short of sacrilegious as it went against the Moon Goddess.

Pack members had sided with their Luna and treated Siobhan with thinly veiled contempt for the most part. While Edward had succeeded in preventing people from physically harming Siobhan he couldn't alpha command them into liking her. As such, she had spent 8 years of her life as a social outcast with no friends in the pack with her uncle and his beta being the only people who were nice to her.

13 year old Siobhan got up to quickly get dressed as she knew that if she didn't get up right away she'd face the full wrath of the lady of the manor. Fortunately she got to the kitchen and fortunately got there before the chef Elaine got there.

"Good. You're here on time today. I thought I'd have to send for you like I did yesterday. If I didn't know better I'd think you were starting to act above your station little miss Siobhan", grumbled the horse faced Elaine as she shuffled into the room rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Of course not ma'am. I apologise for yesterday, I went to bed late after serving the guests and overslept", Siobhan explained.

"The Luna had better not hear you complaining about your chores you ungrateful child!", admonished Elaine sharply. "You should consider yourself lucky that she has even given you a roof over your head; what with you being her husband's bastard and all. I swear had my Angus tried to bring a mutt like you into my home, I would've thrown them straight out onto the streets. The Luna is nothing short of a saint if you ask me".

Well no one asked you, Siobhan thought bitterly. She wanted to snap back at the beady eyed Elaine that she was no bastard; that she had Alpha blood running through her veins. However she knew that by so doing she'd be undoing all her uncle's hard work of keeping her safe and hidden from those who would have her killed. So she simply said nothing and kept her head bowed.

"Well don't stand there like a wet rag child. make yourself uselful and get the pots and pans so we can get this breakfast ready before the Luna has both our heads".

For the next hour the only sounds that could be heard from the kitchen were the clanging of the pots and pans as Siobhan and Elaine got the morning meal ready.