FALLING FOR THE WRONG ALPHA

Lightning crackled violently through the sky and the little red-haired child clung fearfully to her father's left leg. Boris Rynders, her father, looked down at his only daughter, with her wide hazel eyes and the innocence that was like a second skin to her beautiful frail face. How could he possibly believe the words the Diviner had just told him? That his daughter was a curse to all werewolves? It was impossible!

Angrily, Boris glared straight into the Diviner's white eyes, watching the elderly wolf carefully as he made chants into the night air. They were in the woods of Silver Dawn pack with the moon subtly illuminating the whole area, amidst the charcoal fire they'd made between them.

"You're a liar!" Boris thundered. "My daughter is sick and she needs your healing. I didn't come all the way from Whitefang pack to waste my time with your nonsense talk on a nonexistent curse. She's dying, Daqen! My daughter is dying and I need you to save her." He cried out, letting out more emotions and desperation than he'd willed.

Daqen suddenly fell quiet, the raging wind hushing instantly with the tone of his voice. "Don't be a fool, young man. Your girl is fated to belong to darkness. Look into the fire."

At the moment, the fire had began to burn furiously, vivid more than ever. Boris had an argument right on the edge of his lips but when he looked into the fire, the words disappeared. The flames began to morph, forming pigments of ash-filled silhouettes. In it, he saw a girl, one he assumed to be his daughter.

"Why are you showing-"

"Your daughter has been cursed to fulfil an ominous prophecy, one that will lead to her own destruction and ours as well. At the age of 19, she'd meet him, a man born of pure evil and chaos." Right there in the fire, Boris saw his grown daughter in the arms of a handsome man. He watched as a certain darkness seemed to envelop them in the fire. "She has been given the cruel fate of falling in love with this monster and believe me when I say that it never ends well when you dance with the devil." The fire began to burn more turbulently, rising higher into the sky and spewing ashes. "Death. Blood. War. This darkness is doomed to consume her and everything else that lies in the path of their cursed love. The damned prince and his cursed princess, a story that must never be told. Do you understand this, Boris?"

By then, little Venus was crying, the sight of the growing fire was terrifying. She hid behind her father. And Boris, stunned to silence by what he'd just seen, dropped to his knees, his heart constricting in pain. "My daughter is not a curse! Venus is not destined to be a problem. She's an angel!"

"For now. Wait till she's of age. Wait till she meets him. Wait till the curse consumes her." The Diviner threw a single stone into the fire and it dissipated instantly, smoke fading off quietly into the wind. "But, there is one solution."

Hopeful, Boris looked up with eager eyes. "What? A solution? I-I, tell me. Anything at all to stop this from happening to my angel."

Daqen pulled out a dagger from within his garment. The razor-sharp edge glowed, even in the darkness - causing Boris to draw back cautiously. "We have to exorcise your daughter to death."

"What!" Boris shot up from his knees and was quick to grab Venus protectively. "I will do no such thing, Daqen! You expect me to kill my daughter. How does that solve anything? She's all I have left!"

"You will be doing the world good by killing her right here, Boris. Trust me on this. It's a full moon, the dagger of truth is here and I'm here to seal this chapter off for good. There's nothing stopping us."

"Never! I would never let you lay a finger on my girl! How could you think of killing off a little child that easily? You're the real monster, Daqen! You are!"

The Diviner cackled wickedly into the night. He shook his head at Boris in sheer pity. If only he knew what the future held. "What a coward. You just have to make one sacrifice for the sake of our general good, but you'd let your pathetic emotions get in the way. Very well then. There's another way but hopefully, I pray bitterly that I wouldn't get to live long enough to see how this ends."

Boris only paid mind to a single part of his words. "What...other way is there?"

Daqen sighed exhaustively and shook his head one more time. Right there, he began to utter chants and soon, the fire was back to life, roaring violently with the wind. This made Boris eye the Diviner, his guard up. What was the man doing again?

The Diviner shot his hand into the fire and took out what looked like a forged talisman.

"Take this," he said gruffly, stretching out the strange ornament to Boris.

He took it, staring at the charming necklace that seemed to be thrumming with power, confusion washing over him.

"It will absorb every supernatural power in her, including that of the curse, as long as she wear it. However, it's only a temporary answer to a permanent problem. Venus is just one side to the hideous tale. There's no telling what would happen if she meets the other part of it." His white eyes seemed to darken in torment. "Put it on her. And for your daughter's sake and for the rest of our kind, make sure she never takes it off, or lest we all bear the consequences of your catastrophic actions."

Boris' heart thrummed in relief and hope as he clenched his fist around the talisman and gazed at his beautiful daughter. She wasn't a curse. She was his little angel. "I'll try my best."

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be the original family disappointment? The black sheep? The rejected? The hated? The bullied? Well, I'd be the first to let you know that it sucks. Big time.

Being the daughter of Whitefang pack's former Beta, you'd think that I'd have a life of beautiful roses and twinkling stars in my night sky. However, all I'd ever gotten was abuse, torment and literal hell. I guess it was easier to bear when my father was alive, he used to protect me from the taunts of the mean kids in my class. He protected me from those who laughed in my face for being the only she-wolf in Whitefang pack who couldn't shift, even at the age of 19. He comforted me even more when I'd found out that I also happened to be the only she-wolf in our pack who wasn't blessed with any form of magic from the moon goddess. Father had been my solace, my safe house amidst the storm of bullies. However, just like every other good thing in my life; he didn't last long. He died nine years ago, leaving me in the hands of Ivy Rynders, my step-mother - also known as, bitch from hell.

I rolled my eyes bitterly and just the thought of Ivy left a sour taste in my mouth. I hated her with every bone in my body. And sometimes, the lines between hatred and fear blurred. However, ironically, that had never stopped me from going against her annoying orders. Maybe that would explain why I was here, at the West Crescent Unity Banquet, even when Ivy had specifically warned me to stay home and scrub the floors till her reflections were clear on it. Call it rebellion, but everything I did at this moment stood for spite. Spite for the cruelty she'd served me in these past few weeks.

However, above spite, I wanted to be here. The Unity Banquet only happens once a year and it was one of the few times West Crescent Valley could be brought together in one place. I'd longed for this moment for years now, the very time of my life when I could walk into these same banquet halls where my parents had met years ago. Dad used to tell me so much about it. He'd delve into the charming details of the beautiful skip of his heart when he saw my mum for the first time. On how he asked her to dance and how, he knew in that moment, that she was the one for him. I wanted to be here because it was on these grounds that my parents found love.

For the nth time in one night, I adjusted the red and gold elegantly designed dinner gown I'd stolen from Winnie's closet. I'd picked red cause it went well to accentuate my fiery red hair and hazel eyes, and because it was the only dress Winnie never seemed to wear. She was Ivy's daughter and my stepsister, and hell knows she'd skin me alive if she saw me in her dress.

As agreed, my best friend - Renee Walter - waited for me expectantly by the entrance door of the grand banquet hall. Her mouth fell open on spotting me.

"Damn girl! You look like a freaking queen in that dress." She pulled me into a hug and I returned it with a genuine smile. I hardly ever see Renee cause Ivy had placed a ban against me seeing anybody - well, specifically Renee, seeing as I had no other friends.

"Well, I'd be a dead one if Winnie sees me tonight," I responded as we walked into the glittering banquet hall. My eyes grew large at the expensive suits, gorgeous dresses and pieces of jewelry being worn by all sorts of respectable wolves from the three packs that made up West Crescent Valley. The hall was buzzing with music, champagne and laughter. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

"I still can't believe you've never been to one of these before, and close your mouth, I swear you're drooling." Renee nudged me with a laugh and I shut my lips instantly, embarrassed.

"Not all of us are privileged enough to be the Alpha's daughter, Renee. While you get to be the princess of this pack, I get toilets to wash. Everyday."

Renee laughed, her green eyes sparking up. Perhaps that's what I loved about her, how easy it was for us to get along although she was the Alpha's daughter and one of the most important wolves around here.

"Luckily for you, my sweet sweet friend, tonight you get a jail-free card to be anything you want." Renee had navigated us to the food table. We stuffed off our mouths, trying out different meals we'd both never had before and everything else that came after that point was a blur. We laughed, giggled at our silly jokes and danced our worries away with the buzz of the music. For the first time in a while, I wasn't looking over my shoulder to know if someone was going to shove me to the ground or call me useless or even laugh mockingly at me. I felt free and alive and happy.

However, it didn't last long cause the second I stepped away from Renee to get us both a glass of wine, I walked into a part of my life that I couldn't take back. It was the beginning of my ruin.

I picked up the glass of drinks from the waiter, after dutifully letting him know I was 19 and of age to indulge in alcohol. On returning to find Renee, my eyes trailed over to the group of show-stopping gorgeous girls that stood by a corner, gracefully dressed in class and prestige. Just a glance at their remarkable stance of superiority was all I needed to know that they were from Silver Dawn pack, the most advanced and strongest of the 4 packs in West Crescent Valley. Well, excluding the Black Bane pack. Rumors have it that those monsters rival Silver Dawn in strength and numbers. But that was a story for another day.

Too glued to my thoughts, I'd lost track of my surroundings and where I was going, leading to me bumping carelessly into a solid wall - or man? I lost my footing and almost fell right there on my butt, if not for the strong set of arms that snaked instantly around my waist and pulled me away from my own eternal embarrassment. My drinks spilled on his immaculately white inner shirt, before crashing to shattered pieces on the marble grounds. Everyone turned to stare at the unfolding chaos.

"Oh my god, I'm so so sorry!" I was quick to say, allowing my eyes to trail up the defined body of this man that smelled so intoxicatingly good.

The second our eyes locked, a clash of hazel brown against icy blues, time stood still in the banquet hall. Something that burned fiercely and electrifying surged straight into my body from the spot he had his hands on and into my heart, where it ignited a strong feeling of passion in me. It was beyond anything I'd ever felt before.

His face was carved out from granite, perfectly chiseled and impeccably attractive. I had to remind myself to breathe the more I stared into his shades of blue. Stern as they were, something about their intensity invited me in. I was captivated, hooked beyond comprehension and had my heart skipping a beat for this domineering man standing tall before me.

"Mine," he whispered, yet it felt like a strong vibration through me. His voice was deep and even though I'd just heard it for the first time, I wanted to listen to it forever.

We stayed like that for a while, before the clearing of a hoarse throat yanked me painfully back to reality. That was all it took to make me realize that the entire banquet had their eyes on us. On me.

Instantly, I pulled away from him, making my skin itch for his warmth again, and his words from earlier sank in finally. Mine? My eyes grew wide and my heart began to race. Mine, as in, he was my mate?

"Alpha Alexander, is there any problem?" The equally noble-looking man who'd cleared his throat earlier questioned, subtly throwing me a disdainful glare.

Alpha Alexander.

My heart stopped for the nth time in one night as realization smacked me painfully on the head. I took in the intimidating aura of the man that stood before me. From his perfectly tailored suit, that I'd now tarnished with the drink stain, to his polished brogues and expensive cufflink and wristwatch. He looked every bit of how you'd imagine the authoritative leader of Silver Dawn pack would look. Like a god.

Alpha Alexander Ashford was my mate.

"Hey! Were you blind or just stupid? How dare you-" The other man began, taking threatening steps before me while I staggered backward, heart racing.

However, Alpha Alexander, in all his compelling glory, yanked him backward in what looked like irritation and instead, placed himself before me. His blue eyes, clear as the ocean, searched mine intently. Much to my surprise, he lifted his fingers and caressed my cheeks softly.

"What's your name, Red?" He demanded.

I opened my mouth to speak, but words failed me by the second. I was aware that everyone was staring; speculating and judging. My eyes drifted through the crowd until they landed on furious brown eyes that I knew so well. It belonged to no other than Ivy, my stepmother. She disintegrated me with the bitter glare in her eyes and that was all it took to steal every nerve of confidence I'd felt for the evening.

My heart pounded into my ears and I didn't waste another second before I pushed the Alpha off with everything in me, before sprinting through the crowd and getting the hell out of the banquet. But I knew my fate was sealed already; Ivy was going to kill me.

I was dead.

Utterly and inherently ruined.

My chest constricted painfully when I heard the sound of our door bang shut at the entrance of people. A shiver went down my spine as I paced around in absolute fear in my room. I was dead. Ivy would kill me and disguise my murder as an accident.

"Venus!" She called out loudly in her sickenly sweet voice. "Venus, honey! Come down here for a minute. We have so much fun things to talk about."

My heart thudded and I was certain that they couldn't beat any louder. As I gradually left my room with cold fingers and trepidation, I met Ivy downstairs, seated cross-legged on the couch and waiting patiently for me. The devious look in her eyes contradicted with the sweet little smile painted on her lips and for the nth time, I couldn't help wondering what my Dad ever saw in marrying such a cruel woman like her.

"Good evening, Miss Ivy," I said, bowing slightly like she'd always told me to whenever I saw her.

"Good evening? I'm curious, Venus, what exactly could be good about the evening? The fact that you willingly disobeyed my instructions or the fact that you went out there to embarrass our household? Which is it, dear?" The smile had left her lips then and the ire in her eyes were the very same I'd seen at the banquet; they reeked of pure displeasure.

"I-I...I've never been to the banquet before and I was curious. Father had always told me how he'd met my mother there, and I guess...I was- I just wanted to see it myself?" My fingers trembled 'cause the more I spoke, the more I could see her eyes darken - her wolf was on the surface.

However, she laughed yet nothing about it comforted me. Instead, it dug at the possibilities of what this crazy woman would do to me. The last time I'd been in trouble like this, she'd almost left me to die in the well behind our house. She'd pushed me into it and using her gift of controlling waters, the magic associated to Whitefang's wolves, she kept filling my lungs up with water to the painful extent that I went unconscious. I hated water now. Renee called it hydrophobia.

"And you had the audacity to wear my dress? My dress! Do you even have the slightest idea how much it cost? I swear to the moon goddess, I'll make you pay!" Winnie, who'd been here all this while, made an attempt to dive at me with her sharp claws protracting. But her brother, Grayson, pulled her back, a smirk on his face as he winked at me. For some reason, it made me shudder.

"I'm sorry, it'd never repeat itself. Never! It won't, ever again." I swore vehemently, feeling myself take gradual steps back as Ivy rose from her seat, emotionless eyes set on me. My heart pounded into my chest. Before I could take another step backward, she was before me in a flash and sent a severely deafening slap to my cheek.

My ear winced but before I could recover from that, another came and then another, followed by a truck load of brutal hits to my face. The pain shook through my body, like a spasm of unending hell and suffering. Ivy showed no mercy as she dug her claws into my cheeks and forced my bruised and battered face up to stare into her cold eyes. My eyes stung and I knew by then that my face was streaming with hot tears.

"Now, listen to me you little ungrateful brat, your father is dead, which means you're my problem. Do you know how shameful it is already to have you bear the family name when you're basically just a waste of space? You're under my roof and you will do what I say!" She spat to my face and dug her claws even deeper.

I cried out in agony. "Please, stop! It hurts. Please!"

"Oh, does it? That's how much it hurts me everyday I wake up to see that you still exist. Did you really think you could live a fantasy life for one night? Did you think you could be Cinderella?" She laughed without mirth in her eyes. "Well, this is your life and you'd always be the useless little wolf from Whitefang who was an embarrassment to her father, to her mother, to her stepmother and to her pack. You deserve nothing but filth and agony for being this much of a disappointment."

I sobbed painfully, my heart splitting into a million pieces by the second. In that moment, Ivy's words dug deeper into me than her razor-sharp nails. They pierced at my vulnerability and I wished, prayed furiously, that this one time I could fight back. I could shove her backwards and claw at her face for being the worst mother in history. But, as usual, I was left to her wiles - defenseless and alone.

I took more hits after then but ofcourse, Ivy wasn't done until she used her favourite number on me, that is making my blood boil from the inside. It was the worst form of torment she'd always put me through. After the number of times she'd done it, you'd think by now I'd be used to the brutality of it all. Yet I didn't. I cried every time. Hated myself even more every single time. Why was I this way? Did the moon goddess hate me so much that she couldn't give me at least one thing to make me special? No wolf. No magic. No nothing.

By the end of it all, Ivy locked me up in an empty room and as routine called, she left me without food or water for the next hours that followed. It was impossible to count the number of times I'd cried. However, at some point, I know I stopped. My tears stayed dried to my cheek and I played with the Yin and Yang necklace my Dad had given me when I was younger. It was the only thing left that reminded me of him. As for my mother, I never met her. Father told me she died of an illness after she gave birth to me.

Sometimes, I wondered what life would have been like if they were both still around. I wondered what life would have been like if I wasn't such an atrocity. I wondered bitterly. But what had wondering ever done? Afterall, if wishes were horses, even beggars would ride.