Claimed by a Stranger

How do you choose love over family? Or vice versa. Can you really separate the love of someone or your love for your family? Some choices are harder than others. Sometimes you have both, best of both worlds. You think, “Things are great.” But great never lasts long, life can’t be perfect. Life is full of hardships, confusion, heartache, and so much more. Life it confusing and so is love. With life comes loss, some loss greater than others. The loss of a friend is great, but not the same as the loss of a dearly loved one. In life, we all experience loss, whether it is great loss or small loss. Your life can change in the blink of an eye. One day everything is normal and the same crappy or great life you have, your everyday life. When suddenly your world flips upside down, your heart sinks, your stomach tightens, and fear hold your emotions and mind hostage. The only thing that comes across your fear-stricken mind is, what now? What could possibly happen next? Or even how did this happen? What do you do then? Do you have others to rely on? You wonder when you’re at your wits end, who is truly there for you? I don’t understand either of them. Men, better yet, boys. I knew my brother had entered the woods here; I could smell him and his mate. Why he drags her along, I’ll never know. My brother, Kade, and our father got into a fight. Kade decided to blow off some steam and ran into the woods with his mate. My brother, like my father, has absolutely no patience. Taking a deep breath, I was tempted to follow him but decided against it, instead, I walked along the edge of the forest, being drawn in every so often by the wonderful smells. A low growl sounded from inside the woods. I stepped back and sniffed the air. It was an unfamiliar scent, most likely a rogue. He is alone. A large sandy coloured wolf stepped out of the woods. He curled his cheeks back and showed me his teeth. I growled back at him. He took a step closer and I took a step back. “David, we have a rogue on the western border,” I informed through our mind link. Only werewolves in the same pack can talk to each other through their mind. “I’m on my way. What does he look like?” He asked. I don’t know why that was so important, but I answered anyway, “He’s tan.” “That might be the same wolf that attacked Gordon.” “He’s alone. I can take him.” “No don’t. If he defeated Gordon, I don’t think you can take him.” “I am a better fighter than Gordon,” I said “He has power and size on his side.” I blocked him out. I can take him. This will be easy. He won’t know what hit him. Glancing up, he stepped closer to me. You don’t sneak up on me like that, I softly growled, then phased into my large white wolf. He kept his eyes locked on me. I growled loudly, and he stepped back, breaking eye contact. I am the Alpha’s daughter, I smiled. He must have noticed my position in the pack. For a female wolf I am larger than most, in wolf size only. In my human form I am an average teenage girl. I am roughly five-four, and thin. All teenage werewolves, actually all werewolves, are required to be fit. The ones outside of packs, the rogues, are not required to do anything because they don’t follow under an Alpha or any rules for that matter. We began circling each other and I notice his eyes trailing over me. I don’t have a weak spot, as the Alpha’s daughter, I am trained hard to make sure no one can take advantage of me. Seconds later, he lunged for my throat. Bad move. I jumped out of the way and bit his neck before pinning him to the ground. A loud howl rippled through his chest. Whimpering, I released him and jumped back. What the heck! I had him. Why did I let him go? All of the sudden I didn’t want to attack him anymore. He lunged once more and I dodged again, where’s David? A few minutes past, he stopped walking. He stood across from me, watching me. He took a couple of steps closer to me and I stepped back, he did it again. This time, my foot bumped into a hard object and I fell backwards. In seconds, he was on top of me. Crap. He sniffed my neck. What was he doing? I snapped at him, baring my teeth. Raising a brow, he lifted his large foot and placed it on my snout, pinning my head to the ground. He licked my neck before he bit me. No. I howled. My mate was supposed to claim me. I began thrashing my legs and suddenly his weight was lifted. David was here. Oh no David was here. He can’t see my neck. Once I got to my feet I started running home with David howling behind me. What am I going to do? I am mated with a stranger, he claimed me, the sandy coloured wolf. What about my mate? If I find my mate he can’t claim me as his when I belong to another. My chest tightened. When I arrived home, I phased back into my human form. Taking a breath I headed in the house and run upstairs into my room, locking the door behind me. What if they smell him on me? What if they see that I have been claimed? What will my father think he will be so ashamed that I lost a fight and was claimed by a stranger? I let out a sigh and collapsed on my bed, soaking in all the troubles I have yet to face. “Savannah let me in,” my younger sister, Hannah, yelled. There was a hint of panic in her voice, but I had enough to worry about right now. “Go away,” I ordered. Since I am next in line to be Alpha, I can tell her what to do and she had to listen. That was a perk of being an Alpha’s daughter. “I hate you,” she said before her footsteps grew quiet. “Savannah sweetie,” my dad said. What am I going to do? Should I tell him? Standing up I stepped toward my bedroom door, “Yes dad?” I said. “Can I come in?” “One minute. I’m changing” I lied. “Okay. Hurry.” Running into my bathroom I opened the cabinet door above the sink. What am I going to wear to cover up my mark and hide his smell at the same time? I have my dad’s sweater and it stunk like him. I slipped the sweater on, made sure it hid the bite marks, and then opened my door. “Hey sweetie. David told me you were attacked that rogue. Are you okay?” He asked, his voice soft. “I’m fine,” I lied. “I tripped, and he jumped on top of me, but David got there just in time,” I said smiling. My dad sniffed. “Have you showered?” “Not since the fight.” “Please do so. You reek of that mutt.” “I love you.” I closed the door. Stripping off my clothes, I hopped in my shower. I wish I could go back in time. I shouldn’t have been wandering alone on the edge of the woods when I knew there was that rogue. How could I have been so stupid? Clenching my fists, I sighed. I am supposed to be the future Alpha and I can’t be one if I keep making careless decisions. My dad will never forgive me if he finds out I have been claimed by that sandy terror. I liked that, sandy terror. After my shower I put on my Mickey Mouse pyjamas and laid on my bed, wishing this day didn’t happen. How does life go from an average day to awful, in seconds? Before that sandy demon I was happy, content with my training, school, and friends. My life was going good. For once I had finally gotten back on track. After my brother disappeared, everyone started leaning on me more. My brother, Aaron, was going to be the Alpha after my dad. He was the oldest and wisest out of the three of us. My dad leaned on him a lot, but our pack got into a fight with another pack and ever since then we haven’t seen or heard from Aaron; the whole pack was hurt after Aaron disappeared, not just his family. Letting out a yawn, my eye lids began to feel heavy. I pulled my comforter closer before asleep overtook me.