The Rise Of The Silver Wolf

Vanessa POV

"Scrub harder, you fool!" Liana snapped from the door, her arms crossed and her eyes full of hate.

She's a Beta and a pack enforcer, but more than that, she's my bully. And beside her was Rhea Thorn, the Alpha's sister, and my ex-best friend turned enemy.

Then, Rhea and I dreamed under the stars. She said I'd marry her brother one day, and we laughed about the moon Goddess and fate, not knowing fate could turn into a curse.

Now, her eyes shimmered with wickedness for me. Behind her stood Dren, a warrior with a permanent mark on his face.

"Oh please, Liana," Rhea said with mock sweetness. "Don't ruin her just yet, you know Caleb hates it when his toys break fast."

I kept my head down, and didn't stop scrubbing. My fingers were cracked open and bleeding, and the freezing water made each movement feel like punishment.

Maybe that's what they wanted, for it to hurt, for me to remember that I am a reject.

"I, Caleb Thorn, Alpha of Bloodhowl, reject you, Vanessa Blackstone, as my mate. A weak omega like you could never be my mate."

Those words shattered more than my pride, they shattered my faith.

At nineteen, I was still the youngest omega in the pack, but Caleb ruined me. I slept in dirty corners and hid my bruises, each one a painful reminder of the life I didn't choose.

I was seen in the pack as nothing but Caleb's discarded mistake.

"She really thought Caleb would choose her," Rhea continued, laughing cruelly. "An omega, he only ever used you to rebel against our family. You were a joke, a phase."

Then she stepped closer and kicked the bucket, dirty water flooding my skirt and the floor I had spent hours cleaning. How so cruel of her.

"No one notices you, Vanessa, no one ever will, because you are nothing!"

I bit the inside of my cheek in frustration just to the scream rising in my chest.

I used to believe in Rhea, but that was five years ago. Now, she is unrecognizable.

I still didn't know why Rhea changed, but one day, I would.

Suddenly, Liana came closer and pushed me into the dirty water, and I got drenched by it, bringing me back to reality.

"That's for slowing down," she spat.

Then Rhea crouched, lowering her voice to a cruel whisper. "You know why my brother keeps you here? Not because he pities you, but because he owns you."

I gripped the old brush tightly, and tried not to talk back to her, swallowing my pride.

"You should have just died that day," she hissed.

That did it.

"Enough," I whispered, voice barely audible. I had to say something this time.

"Oh?" Rhea's tone turned mocking. "Did the reject just talk back to us?"

WHACK!

The slap echoed through the corridor and my head turned quickly to the side because of the hit, the taste of blood filling my mouth.

"Know your place, you dirty dog," Rhea said angrily, smiling as she stood up.

"You dirty mutt," Dren laughed. "You're not even worth our cruelty."

Then they walked away, their laughter bouncing off the walls.

I sat there, wet and shaking, looking at my face in the puddle. I tried not to cry but my eyes were red. My cheek was swollen from the slap, and my hair was dirty and it smelled bad.

I was barely surviving here.

That night, thunder roared over the forest.

Rain slammed against the windows, and the wind howled at the old stone walls of the packhouse.

In the kitchen, I cooked in silence, the heat from the stove was the only warmth I knew.

After I was done cooking, with cold fingers, I carried a tray down the long corridor to the hall, walking slowly and carefully.

The smell of the cooked meat made my stomach hurt. I hadn't eaten in a day, maybe two, I had lost count but I dare not eat from it as it was not for me.

It was for him.

When I walked into the big hall, everything went quiet.

The laughing stopped, people started to sneer at me.

The whispers followed me like ghosts.

"There's the mutt," someone whispered.

"Caleb's little pet."

"Why doesn't he just kill her?"

"She's not a mate, she's a warning."

Rhea raised her wine glass in a mock toast. "To the ghost of a mate that never was."

She locked eyes with me and mouthed the words.

I lowered my head and walk, as the tray shook a little, so did I.

Then Caleb's voice came from above. "Vanessa!"

I turned slowly.

Caleb stood tall, and shirtless, his muscles cut from stone with rainwater still clinging to him like a second skin. His eyes were colder than ever.

They met mine with that same look of disdain, like I was dirt under his boots.

"You're late."

"I, I'm sorry," I murmured, holding out the tray.

WHACK!

The slap hit hard and it made my lip split. I stumbled, blood mixing with the scent of roasted meat. Still, I didn't drop the tray.

"You should never be late!" He snatched the tray with a bored glance. He didn't even care if I was bleeding. "Leave!"

"I told you she's just nothing but a warning." Someone whispered.

As I turned to leave.

"Not so fast."

At that moment, my blood chilled.

He set the tray down and walked toward me. Everyone watched him. I knew he was about to make me feel small again.

His breath warm against my cheek.

"You always pull away from me," he said, voice low. "But you'll learn, you belong to me, Vanessa. Even if I reject you, you will always belong to me."

I stood still, he leaned in and this time, his lips were brushing my ear.

"You ever try to run, I will make sure Rhea kill you herself."

Then he turned away, and thunder cracked the silence. Soon, the laughter behind me returned.

I walked out, feeling confused. My fingernails pressed into my hands, leaving small, moon-shaped cuts.

That night, I couldn't sleep, how could I?

I lay awake in my damp little corner. My wolf paced in my mind. My body hurt, and my cheek was swollen, my ankle throbbed, and I was so hungry.

Then I saw it.

The branch. It used to be too high and too thick to climb for the past years, but has now broken in the storm.

A path and a chance, was it madness? Or freedom?

My head was with thoughts that started running in.

"Run! yes run." My wolf yelled in my head.

But then Caleb's warning echoed, "You ever try to run, I will make Rhea kill you herself."

"This is your only chance." My wolf said to me, barely audible.

Then barefoot, I got up and moved through the halls like a shadow. Each step was a small hope of escape.

On my way, a door creaked. I quickly hid behind a pillar.

BAM BAM BAM

That was my heart beating fast like it was stuck in my throat.

Suddenly, laughter echoed from two warriors as they passed, talking about Rhea and Caleb's celebration. I waited until silence returned.

Then I slipped past the pack's guards, risking death or punishment for freedom.

The cold made it hard for me to breathe, but I kept going. When I got to the broken branch, I had to climb it.

Every inch up was agony, my fingers scraped raw, my knees bruised, and my ribs were aching, but I made it over.

I fell hard with pains in my ankle, and finally I was out!

Tears filled my eyes and made it hard to see as I ran through the trees, away from the lies, the pain, and the people who betrayed me.

I kept running.

After some time, I wandered into the forbidden woods, far from Bloodhowl, a place of danger and dark legends."

I felt the gentle breeze on me, I felt lost and afraid, and I felt free!

"Wait there!"

Or maybe not free yet as I heard a voice. Then a hand grabbed my leg so hard that I kicked it continuously to be set free.

Yet I couldn't as my leg was held tighter.