Fleeing With The Alpha's Heir

KATE Almost 25 years old and wolfless. Yes, that’s me, Katherina Campbell, the hopeless and dejected orphan of the Silver Creek Pack. For as long as I can remember, I have been the pack’s slave, running errands for everyone, from Alphas to the lowliest of omegas. I had been told by my adopted parents, Shane and Shauna, that they had found me at the pack borders when I was a mere baby. Being childless then, they had been so eager to take me in, and for the first six years, life had actually not been so bad, and we were all a happy, perfect family until the Moon Goddess decided to bless them with a child of their own… Their perfect princess, who could do no wrong in their eyes, Melody. My life has taken a downward turn from then on. I cooked, cleaned, broke my back from dusk till dawn… hell, I even dropped out of school a couple of times, because according to Shauna, Melody needed me to watch over her all the time, so she could maintain her perfect skin and have someone wait on her hand and foot. I was still in high school as a result of that. I had endured all the shame, the beatings for when Melody got a tiny scratch. I was made to do all the housework at home, while she sat and watched, ever the perfect princess, and for some crazy reason, Shauna’s hatred for me just continued to grow even though I never talked back at her or did anything to deserve it. Before long, she was handing me out to neigbours when she noticed I had gotten used to my chores, encouraging them to use me as they pleased. And some, especially the male wolves tried to alright. But my defiance always kept them from going too far, although that didn’t mean they didn’t find other ways to make my life a living hell. For some crazy reason, despite the harsh treatment I went through at the hands of the Pack, I could never bring myself to leave. Not of my own volition anyway. My only consolation had been in the fact that soon enough, I would turn eighteen, get my wolf and find my mate and hopefully convince him to get out of this godforsaken place. Though I mostly wished that he’d be someone powerful… probably an alpha in another pack so I could freely leave without looking back… without having any other ties to this place… But I was almost 25 years old now, and my wolf had not even showed up, much to talk of my mate. You know, at this point, I was pretty convinced that I must have done something to offend the Moon Goddess, because why did she despise me this much? Was I destined to be an outcast, forever condemned to a life of servitude? When did I also get my happy ever after? Most of the wolves my age were long mated now, some with two kids, some with three, and yet here I was, still waiting for some luck to shine on me so I could stop feeling like I’d been cursed. Lost in the turbulent whirlwind of my thoughts, I hardly noticed the intrusion into my small sanctuary, the little garden right behind the window of our kitchen. It was the one place the members of my family never really frequented, and so I normally had it all to myself, but once the creaking door of the kitchen opened, I knew that was no longer the case. Melody, the last person I wanted to see on days like this when I was in my feelings, made her way down the stairs, her entrance accompanied by the annoying snickers of her two loyal twin friends, Mandy and Mindy, who always seemed to revel in my misery for some twisted reason. “Aww, Kate… my sweet big sis, and the pack’s little charity case,” She sneered at me, her voice saccharine sweet but dripping with condescension, her perfect blue eyes glinting with cruel satisfaction. “You must be thrilled to be graced by my presence, considering you have no one else.” Her friends laughed, adding fuel to the fire of her taunts, but I clenched my fists, determined not to let her words or their reaction to it wound me. “How old are you turning this year again? 25?” She sat beside me heavily on the bench, continuing mockingly, “I hope you’ve given up on whatever dream you had of getting your wolf and finding the perfect mate to whisk you away, because honey, that ship sailed a long time ago. No one would want someone as pathetic as you.” I smiled tightly at her, feeling the knife in my chest twist some more as the snickers of her friends intensified. I tried not to let my pain show though. “You know you turn eighteen this year, right?” I asked her, with humor lacing my tone, “I’d wait till I have my wolf and all the other things first at least, before taunting someone if I were you.” My calm, soft words silenced her almost instantly, making her go stiff in anger and irritation, but she got one of her minions to fight me on her behalf. “Melody will never be like you, you skank.” Mandy, or was it Mindy hissed at me. “I may be a skank, but if only your wit matched the size of your ego, maybe you'd be more of a leader and less of a follower,” I shot back, my tone sharp and defiant. “But I guess we can't all be blessed with both looks and brains.” “And you’re the one blessed with it?” Melody took over, hissing at me. It seemed she had found her voice again. “You are and will forever be the outsider, poor Kate... and nothing you ever do for this pack will ever make you fit in, so do remember that, darling.” I was numb, unresponsive to her painful words. My refusal to crumble under her verbal assault seemed to catch her off guard, and for a split second, anger flickered in her eyes, as she intensified her efforts to get a reaction out of me. She called me every name she could think of, and then when she was done, she rattled off a long list of things she wanted done by evening. I knew if I left a single thing undone, she’d go blabbing to her mother, who in turn would make the rest of my day miserable. And yet, I gave her nothing. Frustrated, she flicked her straight blond hair and turned away, calling out to her friends, “Come on guys, let’s go get ready. There’s no need wasting any more time on this b***h. I don’t want us to be late for Alpha Luca’s birthday s***h coronation party.” They all scampered after her, chattering excitedly among themselves, and once again, the garden was silent, leaving me all alone with my own thoughts. Only, instead of the melancholic thoughts that had been with me, excitement and joy thrummed through me. It all had something to do with the mention of the incoming Alpha’s name. Luca Kincaid. For as long as I could remember, I had always had a maddening crush on him, and it really was a crazy one, given that we had never had reason to interact. I had never spoken to him before, but just once when I was waiting tables at a ceremony that had been held in the Packhouse, he had come to my defense when I broke one of his mother, the Luna’s expensive china. And just like that, the crush had formed, growing stronger with each passing day. The fact that he was handsome as sin made it a thousand times worse. I sat there in the gardens with the tulips and petunias I had planted keeping me company as I seriously contemplated attending this party that I had initially had no idea about. I had never felt a need to want to be a part of something organized by the Silver Creek Pack, because I always knew my place… knew what role I would play. Here I was now, wanting to be. But no one had informed me of this. Shauna would definitely have a fit if I sneaked out and went, but who knew? Maybe things would be much different this time. A surge of excitement rippled through me at the thought of being in the same space as Luca, the one person I silently yearned for. This was my chance, an opportunity to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight, if only for a night. Nighttime was a few hours away. And I still had to finish up my chores. But if I wanted to go to this party, I was going to need more information from Melody and her girls. That was going to require some eavesdropping. With any luck, I wouldn’t get caught.