HER GRACE... (king of Alphas)

Chapter 2 *SHIFTING 2*

||*ALLISON*||

**

It’s a miracle that no one in this household has gone deaf yet. Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder if Mom needs a reminder that everyone in this house is a werewolf. Yet, she yells at the top of her voice every damn time.

Born into a family of purebred werewolves, I am my family’s little angel. I have an older brother, Aiden. My dad is the Beta of Diamond Crest pack. Oh, and sorry for being this cocky, but I must add that he’s also the Alpha’s best friend.

My mom is the Gamma, the third in command and friends with Luna, more like cousins. I know little about the whole family relationship. I remember once when Mom tried to explain to me how it all worked, but, of course, I wasn’t paying attention.

While growing up, I went to a few shape-shifting ceremonies. I know how amazing it is. The pride and joy of parents witnessing their young ones shape-shift for the first time, to feel the wholeness and the power it gives the bearer. I witnessed it during Aiden’s shape-shifting ceremony, too. I saw the happiness in his eyes when he met his wolf.

I’ve been longing for a day like that, and it is happening tonight! I turned thirteen today, which is the official age for those in my pack to shape-shift for the first time, a tradition to celebrate this special day in our lives as it marks a significant journey of who and what we indeed are.

I don’t know what my wolf will look like, which is why I am a nervous wreck right now. But I hope she is beautiful and fluffy; I have always loved fluffy things. Like duh, who doesn’t?

I snapped out of my thoughts and hurried from the bathroom to my room, picking up my pink floral dress sprawled on the bed. It was a gift from my mom for this occasion. After putting on my dress, I packed my hair in a ponytail and rushed down the stairs to my mom, whom I’m sure will explode any moment from now.

Making my way to the living room, I hugged her from behind to calm her down before she went into another screaming fit. I like my eardrums intact; I don’t want them bleeding from stress, at least not today, plus I don’t have any plans to go deaf from all her screaming before I find my mate.

Hell, I have no plans to go deaf even after finding my precious mate. The thought of meeting my mate makes me giddy all the time, and I always wonder what he’ll look like. I am sure he’ll be breathtaking.

The Moon Goddess won’t let me get stuck with an ugly ass for a mate. Even if she does, I’ll love him no matter what, handsome or not. I guess I’m too young to even worry about that for now.

I pecked my mom on the cheek for the third time.

“Hi Mom,” I said, moving back a little. “Check me out. How do I look?”

I asked her, turning around while my floral dress spread as I moved.

“Well, you look stunning, my angel,” she replied, a warm smile on her face.

I jumped in excitement, bouncing up and down the living room like a 5-year-old.

“Calm down, young lady! You need to stop jumping if you don’t want to ruin your dress, plus we’re running late. We don’t want to piss the Big Bad Alpha off with our tardiness now, do we?” she chides.

“No Mom, we wouldn’t dare.”

I giggled and held her hand while she led me out of the house, down to the Pack house. Dad and Aiden were already there.

The packhouse is where the Alpha and his family, along with other members, live. They provide families who want more privacy with a piece of land from the vast parkland to build on.

The packhouse is at the centre of the space, and it’s the largest house–more like a mansion. Big enough to accommodate at least one thousand people, while they scattered other pack member’s houses all around.

We have playgrounds and mini-stores, booths and inns run by the Alpha family and some major families, which remove any reason to go into the cities to buy groceries; we only need the city when in need of something the pack stores don’t have.

We walked down the path that leads to the packhouse, greeting some pack members we met on our way. It was already a few minutes to 9pm. The party starts at 10pm, and the shape-shifting ceremony takes place at precisely midnight. The Alpha would say his blessings from a few minutes to 12, and after that, we shift into an actual wolf.

I’ve consistently been looking forward to this day. My first step to becoming a werewolf is when I can shift at my will. I’ve always dreamt of being a part of the pack warriors, and Dad had always told me to wait till I came of age, which would happen in a few hours. It means I can join the pack warriors at training as of tomorrow.

Mom had always been against the idea of me joining the pack warriors, saying I’m a girl, her only daughter, a princess. She thinks I’m too fragile to be a warrior. Well, who cares if I’m a boy or a girl? It’s obvious my mom does, but hey, I don’t, so it’s all good, right?

Besides, I’ve seen female warriors on the training grounds; they don’t break or bend. Training to become well-built and learning to defend myself won’t do me any harm. Maybe a few injuries sustained during training, but I’ll be fine.

When we got to the packhouse, the party had already started just a few minutes ago. I scurried away from my mom in search of my friends, and I heard her yell after me.

“Be careful! And do not come back with a messed up dress, angel.”

“Understood, mom, I’ll be careful.”

“Alright sweetheart, have fun.”

“Yes, Mom,”

I yelled back. At last, the yelling has ended, and I can look for my friends in peace.

I looked around, squinting my eyes, until I saw Brandon waving at me from afar. I scurried towards him in excitement while trying to avoid everyone in my path as I leaped into his arms in joy and he laughed.

“Hi, Brandon!”

“Hi Ally, you look gorgeous,” he complimented.

I could feel my cheeks turn a light shade of red.

“Thanks, you look handsome as well.”

“Thanks, your dress is beautiful.”

Oh God, I think I might explode from blushing.

“Thanks. Have you seen Bethany?”

“Yeah, we came in together. She went after Chris.”

“Okay, why are you standing alone? Where are the other kids?”

I asked, trying to start a conversation.

“Huh, I haven’t seen them, they must be inside, with Jason.”

“Oh, okay.”

I’ve had a crush on Jason since I was ten, and I sometimes pray he ends up being my mate because I know he feels the same.

“Maybe we should go inside and look for the others. It feels awkward standing here all by ourselves,” Brandon suggested.

“Yeah, yeah, good idea.”

We made our way inside the packhouse. The pack members were all over the place – eating, chatting, drinking, and gossiping.

I saw Dad amid the crowds at the far end of the hall, speaking with the Alpha, and I pulled on Brandon’s jacket, dragging him with me to say ‘hi’ to Dad and the Alpha.

“Dad!”

I called in excitement; he is mostly busy performing his duty as Beta to the pack and we sometimes don’t see him at home.

“Hey Angel, you look great.”

I fidgeted with my nails and blushed.

“Thanks, Dad. You’re not looking bad yourself. Have you seen Mom? We came together,” I asked.

“No, I haven’t, but I’ll look for her as soon as I finish talking with the Alpha.”

I would’ve forgotten the Alpha was standing right next to my dad, if not for Brandon, who nudged me. I turned to him to show him my respect.

“Good evening, Alpha. Apologies for my rude manner and for interrupting your conversation,”

I say as I bow my head in submission.

“Oh, it’s fine. I’m glad to see you tonight. You look charming,” he replied.

“Thanks for the compliment, Alpha, and thanks for throwing us a wonderful party.”

I said, bowing my head with respect again. He touched my cheek, and I smiled.

“You’re so adorable; I sometimes wish you were my daughter. But I know having you as my daughter-in-law would be just as great.”

The Alpha says, making my heart leap with joy at the thought of him wanting me to be his daughter-in-law. It seemed like everything was working fine for me.

“It will be such an honor, Alpha. If Jason is cool with it,” I replied, feeling shy.

“I am sure he feels the same way. He is always talking about you. Go see him, he should be upstairs.”

“Thank you, Alpha!”

I leapt for joy, grabbing Brandon by the wrist while I dragged him upstairs to Jason’s room.

Brandon looked at me and laughed, shaking his head.

“What’s funny?” I asked, furrowing my brows.

“You’re just funny and adorable,” he replied, laughing.

“Stop being a tease, will you? You also get all giddy and clingy with Lisa,”

I counter-attack. At the mention of Lisa’s name, my dear friend turned all shades of red while looking away from me. I laughed.

“Are you shy now? Oh, don’t be. We all know Lisa will end up as your mate. I hope Jason ends up being mine. Do you think he likes me that much?” I asked, out of curiosity.

Well, Jason and I might be friends, but we only talk a little. I always get shy around him.

“Don’t you see the way he looks at you, like you’re the most precious thing in his entire world? I think he loves you...”

Oh, Goddess, Jason loves me! That’s a dream come true even if we are still young.

We made it upstairs to hear the kids having a heated conversation. We pushed the door open with a bang and they turned all their attention to us.

Jason’s face lit up the moment he saw me, a smile creeping up his face. He made his way over to us as he pulled me into a gentle hug.

“You look so pretty,” Jason whispered in my ear.

“T-Th-Thank you, and you look more handsome,” I told him, a blush tainting my cheek.

Brandon’s twin sister latched onto Chris, laughing about Goddess knows what. I sat down beside Jason on the spot left behind on the bed while talking about random things we should do tomorrow.

Soon, we heard Luna yelling for us to come downstairs to the party. We all got up and made our way downstairs to the party, with Jason intertwining our hands.

We each settled down talking amongst ourselves while waiting for the Alpha to address us, and the adults chatted about everything and nothing. The night was going well.

*Ding, Ding, Ding*

The Alpha hit his spoon against the cup in his hold to get everyone’s attention. Just at that instant, the chattering stopped, and all attention was on the Alpha. He cleared his throat before he began.

“I believe we all know why we are all gathered here today?” He asked the members present.

“Yes, Alpha,” we all replied in unison.

“It is almost midnight, and there’s no news that our pups celebrating today will shift for the first time, so let’s not waste time anymore. I’d like the celebrants to come up the stage for their blessing as the Elders perform the ritual.”

We all stood on our feet, walking to the stage. Most of us are friends, but there are other pups from different families in the pack who share the same birthdate as us.

We climbed onto the altar and knelt in front of the Alpha. While some elders in the council started the ritual rites, we all bowed our heads in submission, eyes closed for the acceptance ritual. Everyone was silent; it was imperative it be. After the ritual, the Elders stepped back.

The Alpha motioned us to lift our heads for his blessing, so we did. We all lowered our heads once more, and this moment felt like the longest of my life, but what could I do? Just a few more seconds to go.

The wall clock struck midnight, and it began. I think it started with Jason because he was right beside me. He let go of my hands, and I could hear his bones snap and break. Then, Brandon, Bethany, Chris, Lisa.

The snapping and breaking of bones increased, and I listened to them scream in pain while their bodies took turns morphing into its pure form. In contrast to all this taking place, I remained in my position, expecting my turn, terrified but excited as I waited. Yet nothing happened to me, nothing at all.

It took 30 long minutes of more snapping and bone-breaking before it all stopped, leaving me out.

Howls filled the room and shook throughout the walls. I opened my eyes to see my friends in their wolf form whilst I remained in my kneeling position, staring in confusion and disbelief at the wolf, my human form.

I didn’t quite understand what was happening to me, so I turned to my parents and I couldn’t decipher the looks on their faces; I turned to the Elders for answers, but they had this look on their faces that told me they were as confused as I was.

I’ve been waiting for this day ever since mom first told me about it. And now nothing. I felt useless as I turned to the Alpha.

He had this look of disappointment on his face. Jason’s wolf came closer to me, sniffing me to know what was wrong. My ears perked hearing the murmurs from the other pack members. - their laughs and mockery.

“Why isn’t she turning?” they asked one another.

“Is she human? No, she can’t be. Maybe her wolf died,” another voice murmured.

“That’s impossible; this has never happened in our pack! This is a disgrace.”

“She is a disappointment!” I heard another voice say, and I froze in place.

The Alpha clears his throat, and everyone quiets down.

“Allison, do you have any explanation why you haven’t shifted?”

I shook my head, implying no, as I couldn’t find the voice to speak.

“A thing like this has never happened ever in this pack, and I’m displeased at the turn of events. It is a shame coming from the bloodline of the second strongest family of this pack. An offspring of theirs has failed to shift into her wolf, which only shows that her body is too weak to harbor a wolf. I will not send you off this pack lands, as tradition demands, because your father has been a loyal Beta to this pack. Henceforth, you’re demoted to the rank of an Omega.”

I felt my entire world crumble under me. An omega? Can they even call me one? At the very least, I am only a lowly taboo. This can’t be happening to me; I mumbled under my breath as I could feel tears trickling down my face.

This pack does not give omegas fair treatment or care, and I know I am one. But I was even lower than omegas and I knew the pack members wouldn’t hesitate to point that out to me.

My mom walked up the stage and helped me down, her face stained with tears; she was crying as well. But I couldn’t tell if her tears were because of her disappointment in me or if it was out of pity for what I had become.

Still, I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact of how big of a disappointment I am to my entire family. Perhaps I did something wrong in my past life and I am getting my punishment for this.