Taming My Alpha

Cal POV “s**t!” the deep-brown-haired boy yelled, quickly dodging the liquor that fell to his feet. Today is Kai’s eighteenth birthday, as well as his Alpha Ceremony party. Naturally, he had spent the last couple hours drinking with his Beta, Gamma, and high-ranking members of other packs, while I had been assigned the task of keeping an eye on them. In his drunken state, he accidentally hit one of the many glass bottles on the table. As it hit the ground, it shattered into a million pieces, the remainder of alcohol pooling over the marble floor. I watch cautiously as his mossy-green eyes turn to me, and I instantly know what’s coming next. “Calliope, get someone to clean this mess, will you?” He doesn’t even bother addressing me by my title. Why would he? I was just a useless Delta anyway. “Yes, Alpha.” I nod at him. But as I was about to turn around and leave, I heard his annoying voice again. “Actually, since it seems you’ve got nothing else to do, why don’t you clean it up yourself?” His smirk caused my anger to bubble up, and as I blinked, I imagined what would happen if I punched his silly face. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. After all, I was just a Delta - his Delta. “Calliope? You deaf?” He mocked at my long silence, making all of his friends burst with laughter beside him. “I’ll go get the mop, Alpha,” I told him, but he surely wouldn’t let me off so easily. “We don’t have time for that!” he barked, eyeing me from head to toe. His sinister smile evinced he had just gotten a wicked idea. “Why don’t you use your shirt to clean it.” “My…shirt?” I raised an eyebrow at him. He couldn’t be serious. “Yeah,” he replied shortly. I blinked a few times as we stared at each other in silence. Behind my innocent mask, I felt my blood boil as a faint voice inside my head screamed fight back! But, as usual, I didn’t. Kai gives me a crooked look, letting me know he’s getting impatient. All I could do was sigh, acknowledging defeat. Keeping a straight face, I hesitantly took off my shirt in front of the boys. My plain black bra was now the only piece of cloth preventing my well-endowed breasts from getting exposed. The men in front of me howled and whistled like wild animals as I crouched next to the ground, overcome with humiliation. Thankfully, they didn’t dare touch me, so I just ignored them like I always did whenever they bullied me. After my shirt was soaking wet - and the floor was mostly clean - I rose back up. I noticed our Beta, Elliot, focus his gaze on me, licking his lips hungrily. He didn’t even bother hiding the fact that he was checking me out; he knew I wouldn’t do anything about it. Again, I turn around to leave, but it seemed like my torture would never be over. “Damn, Cal! If my mate doesn’t show up in a few weeks, you could really become my Beta Female,” Elliot chanted. “What you talking about, man? She’s just a Delta.” Kai scoffed. Once again, his disgusted gaze fell upon me. “A weak one, at that.” Without uttering a word, I left the room. I knew I could get into trouble for not excusing myself in the presence of the Alpha, but I just couldn’t bring myself to speak after the way he humiliated me. Lucky for me, it seemed he was already too drunk to care. As soon as I was out of their sights, I put my shirt back on. Although it was drenched in the stench of alcohol, I’d rather not walk through the corridors of the packhouse half-naked. This was a normal day for me in the Moonstone Pack. Ever since my parents, the former Deltas, died, I was deemed as their weak litter. They perished in battle, giving their lives to protect their Alpha after I had just turned sixteen. To me, they were heroes; they took down more than twenty enemies before they bled out, fighting until their dying breath. However, instead of recognizing their sacrifice, everyone attributed it to the fact that they were weak. Not even Kai’s father, our former Alpha, stood by their side. Not even a month after they were gone, he forced me to take the Delta role earlier than normal. Since then, I pretty much became the pack’s pet. “That’s not true, Cal,” my wolf, Nava, whispered inside my head. She had been my only friend for the past two weeks, when our connection was established upon me turning eighteen. “A Delta is one of the most important pillars of a pack. They would be lost without us.” “Yeah, but no one seems to recognize it. Not even the Omegas respect me despite them being the lowest rank.” I sighed, and this time, she couldn’t argue with me. Absorbed in my conversation with my wolf-self, I almost didn’t hear it when a familiar voice called my name; it was Berthold, our former Alpha and Kai’s father. He seemed distracted, probably busy tending to his guests while his son got wasted. “Calliope, where’s the…” As soon as his gaze fell on me, he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. He crinkled his nose in revulsion, clearly judging my appearance. “What the hell happened to you?” At first, his semblance was one of anger. However, it didn’t take long before it turned into one of pity and disappointment. I stayed silent as I tried to think of a way to explain the situation. Thankfully, I didn’t need to, as the older man soon sighed. “Just…go get changed. I can’t have the guests see my Delta like this.” His tone was one of disgust as he massaged his eyes, waving me off right after. “Yes, Alpha.” I bowed curtly before leaving. Luckily, I didn’t run across anybody else before I reached my cottage. After I went inside, locking the door behind me, I was finally able to breathe. The house where I’d been living alone since my parents’ passing wasn’t as luxurious as the other ranked members’ rooms in the main building, but it was still bigger than those of warriors, hunters, and sentinels. But most importantly, it was my safe haven, far away from the madness of the packhouse. I rushed into the bathroom, lazily tossing my dirty shirt into the laundry basket before grabbing a wet towel to clean my upper half. I didn’t have enough time to shower, so this would have to do. I threw on a simple party dress, taking a moment to examine my reflection in the mirror to make sure I looked presentable. I was taller than the average she-wolf, standing at 5’9’’ and slightly more muscular too. Due to the many hours I spent under the sun, tending to the pack and training among the other warriors, my skin was tanned. My long, wavy light brown hair fell just below my shoulders. Although quite common, my honey-colored eyes were my favorite feature; despite all the mistreatment I suffered here, they still shone brightly, full of life. “There’s nothing common about you, Calliope. You’re beautiful,” my white she-wolf chanted, making me feel a little bit better. As I watched my reflection in the mirror, I found myself agreeing with her. “Thank you, Nava,” I replied with a smile, heading towards my room to take a few more quiet breaths before I had to dive into the hellish party once again. “We’re together in this,” she reminded me. “You just have to endure the teasing and harassment a little longer. I’m working on finding our mate, and once I do, we’ll be free.” I just nodded at her. She was right. I put on my best smile and walked out of my cottage with enough confidence to make it through the night. As I made my way towards the Event Hall, where everyone was celebrating the rise of a new Alpha, I couldn’t help but think about what my wolf had told me. Ever since I turned eighteen, I considered leaving Moonstone. However, joining other packs was hard, and without a proper place to go, I’d end up being rogue. No one recognized my importance here, I was constantly underestimated. But they still gave me a home, a roof to live under. Yet, I still dreamt of the day I could run away from here. My only hope was to find my mate soon, so he could save me from this nightmare and allow me a new start in life. I held tight onto that lovely thought, easily forgetting the bottom line. What would happen if they didn’t want me either?