Alpha Underdog

"Breathless Agony: Luna's Struggle" As I ran the marker across the wall, counting the days in a horizontal line, I stepped back to survey my tally: two thousand one hundred and ninety days. Nearly six years had passed since my parents vanished, or rather, abandoned me. I couldn't explain why I kept track of the days, perhaps clinging to the hope that they would return. At twelve years old, it felt natural to yearn for their presence, but as I approached eighteen, I longed to break free from the pack for good. I never understood why they left, aside from the obvious reason: my status as a runt. But even that seemed insufficient justification for abandoning their own child, especially to a pack as cruel as this one. Each day brought new challenges, whether in the form of humiliation or beatings. The latter had become routine, far from surprising. Regardless of who initiated the violence, someone always joined in to ensure its completion. The alpha was the only one who refrained from laying hands on me, though his ignorance likely stemmed from our disparate ranks. When the beatings occurred, I felt powerless to intervene or retaliate. My wolf, shadow, had long been absent, leaving me feeling bereft and vulnerable. One fateful day, following the pack's loss in a football game, I became the scapegoat for their frustration. I bore the brunt of their anger, fearing for my life. It marked the last time I communicated with shadow, as she intervened to save me. "Luna, get up! One of the guys spilled milk all over the kitchen floor," a girl yelled, punctuating her words with knocks on my door. In the pack house, I was essentially their servant, a role I couldn't object to given the pack's influence. Those moments were particularly challenging, as I had to venture outside my room. Though my quarters were modest—a small space with just enough room for a bed, dresser, and attached bathroom—I was grateful for the refuge it provided. Despite life dealing me a rough hand, I found solace in having a secure place to retreat. Hurrying to dress, I opted for a black long sleeve to conceal the scars on my wrists, reminders of the damage inflicted by the pack. Some wounds were self-inflicted, borne from the daily torment compounded by the abandonment of my parents. It was a gradual erosion, breaking me down until there was little left, a testament to my lack of strength. Making my way to the kitchen, I encountered the group of guys I despised the most, seated at the counter. Without a word, I reached for paper towels from under the sink, attempting to focus on the task at hand. "Look, it's the underdog," one of them taunted, prompting me to snap the rubber bracelet against my wrist in a futile attempt to dull the sting of their words. The pain served as a temporary distraction, albeit a painful one, especially with fresh cuts exacerbating the sensation. After cleaning the spilled milk, I rose to leave, only for one of the guys, Kai, to deliberately spill another cup, a smirk playing on his lips as his friends chuckled. "Oops, mind cleaning that up for me, Luna?" he quipped, his tone dripping with disdain. Kai, Silas, Thorn, and Asher were the main tormentors in my life ever since my parents left. Their relentless efforts to make my existence a misery were compounded by their positions of power within the pack. Kai held the title of beta, Silas was the Omega, while Thorn and Asher shared the rank of Gamma. Despite my deep-seated hatred for them, fear still gripped me whenever they were near. "Sorry," Silas muttered casually after accidentally causing my nose to bleed, his indifference stark against my pain. As blood dripped from my nose, Thorn and Asher found amusement in my suffering, their laughter echoing in the room. Stunned and unsure of how to react, I stood up, hands cupping my bleeding nose to prevent the blood from staining the floor. The arrival of Kai's mate, Araidne, and her friend Selene only added to my humiliation, their disdain evident in their remarks about the mess. Paralyzed with embarrassment, I wished for the ground to swallow me whole. How could I have been so careless as to not check the kitchen beforehand? It was my fault, and everyone present seemed to revel in my humiliation. As the laughter subsided, a strong presence behind me caused me to freeze once more. Slowly turning around, I found myself face to face with someone who brought about a new wave of apprehension. Alpha Fenrir, unaware of the true nature of his pack, appeared before me as I hastily retreated to the bathroom. His gaze lingered on my bleeding nose before sweeping over the room, assessing the situation. When our eyes met again, I managed a quiet apology before slipping past him and into the bathroom. As I tended to my nose, I confronted my reflection in the mirror, finding a stranger staring back at me—black hair, green eyes, and a pallid complexion. The harsh treatment from the pack had long eroded any semblance of self-worth, leaving me unable to see beauty in myself. Upon exiting the bathroom, I was abruptly shoved back inside by Kai, the most malicious of my tormentors. His anger was palpable as he berated me for almost getting caught by the Alpha due to my spilled blood. With tears welling in my eyes, I braced myself for the inevitable as Kai closed in on me. Hatred and disgust contorted Kai’s features as he seized my throat, his grip constricting around my windpipe, depriving me of air. This was his preferred method of torment, a daily ritual that left me gasping for breath. On particularly bad days, he would repeat the assault multiple times, each squeeze draining me of what little strength I had left. Today seemed destined to be one of those days, and I steeled myself for the onslaught to come. The suffocating agony of being deprived of breath was an ordeal beyond description. During those moments, I often shut my eyes, trying to distract myself by counting silently in my head or digging my nails into my wrists, focusing on the pain there instead of the imminent threat to my life. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Kai released his grip, causing me to collapse to the floor, desperate for air. With blurred vision, I struggled to regulate my breathing, seizing every moment of respite between his assaults to fill my lungs. As his footsteps receded, I felt a sharp tug on my hair, eliciting a yelp of pain. His whispered threat served as a chilling reminder of the horrors he was capable of, even as he released me and exited the bathroom. Taking a moment to compose myself, I rose slowly, confronting my reflection in the mirror. The faint imprint of Kai’s hands lingered on my neck, a haunting reminder of his cruelty. Red blotches marred my face, gradually fading as color returned to my pallid complexion. Splashing water on my face, I ran my hands through my hair, attempting to regain some semblance of composure. In that moment, I realized the harsh truth: this place, and the relentless torment inflicted upon me, threatened to consume me entirely. My existence hung precariously on the edge, trapped within the suffocating confines of the pack's cruelty.