Luna Kiara

Am I Worthless?

Oswald

I was lying on my back, staring up at the night sky, pained by her desire to depart. Regardless of her desire to go back to the human city, I was able to persuade her to stay with me for a few days. She was my mate, and I needed to pique her interest in me. The issue was that I had no idea how to woo her.

Despite the bond's influence, she was a human who wasn't ready to accept me. Heck, she didn't even know that we existed. I could see why she desired to visit the human city. She wanted to be among her kind.

I let out a sigh. I wished I had a trustworthy companion from whom I could seek advice. Perhaps then, I could consult on how to charm a human.

Aztec chirped, "I'm here. And I think she's wary of trusting having been harmed by those thugs," he added.

I agreed with a nod. He made a valid point. He was the sole source of support I had during my years of exile.

My lips twisted into a little smile. I was thankful for my wolf since I knew he would always be there for me. I would have been on the verge of going insane if it wasn't for his presence.

However, the fact that my own father had disowned me was a major blemish on my life. Those hurtful words and my stepmother's harsh comebacks would perpetuate my insecurity and lack of confidence. Despite my stepmother's poisoned tongue, I ignored her and completed my training. She used to call me names all the time. Why? Because of my dark skin tone.

Was it my mother's fault that she was a black woman? Was it my fault that I was born with her skin tone? To be honest, I couldn't see why anyone should despise an individual because of their skin colour. My mother was the most wonderful person I had ever met and she had taught me to love myself. I would most likely loathe the colour of my skin if my mom hadn't helped me adore it.

Our pack was a great community where wolves of many races and ethnicities coexisted together. My mother and father were deeply in love. I remembered how joyful we used to be. My father was a fair-skinned man who was head over heels in love with my mother, our pack's true luna.

Unfortunately, my idyllic life was shattered when she was assassinated by our enemies. My mother was heavily pregnant when the werecats attacked and because of her pregnancy, she was unable to shift. Otherwise, she would have fought back.

The dreadful memory made my heart ache. The pack house was invaded by werecats. It was the onset of the end of my happy life.

*****

"Oswald and Olivia, please don't come out. Stay inside, please," Mom stuffed me and my five-year-old sister into the closet when I was ten years old. I was frightened. No...I was terrified like I never was in the past because I knew the pack was being attacked.

"Mommy, I'm scared," I told her quietly.

She smiled and kissed my brow, as she always did.

"Everything will be fine. Just hide."

I followed her advice and gathered with Olivia in a corner. Olivia clung to me, trembling with fear. Minutes appeared to drag by, when I heard a huge bang. Olivia and I were going to crawl out of the closet, but we froze.

"She's right there!" A foreign voice boomed. My heart was racing and my eyes were widening with terror.

"Mommy?" Fearing for my mother's safety, I whimpered and crept up to the door, opening it slightly. What I saw made my breathing get caught in my throat.

Scary looking men had infiltrated the security system. When I realised my mother was fighting a losing battle, I gasped. She was armed with a gun, most likely loaded with silver bullets, but there were just too many assailants.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. A few of them transformed into huge cheetahs and charged at her.

Her bloodcurdling scream was followed by loud roars and growls.

"Mommy!" I screamed loudly and got their attention. Blood and saliva dripped from their teeth as they growled at us. Olivia clung onto me crying in fear. I was too scared to do anything. All I could do was stare at them while holding onto my little sister.

My father and his warriors arrived just as they were ready to pounce on us.

The following several minutes flew by in a haze. All I recall is a lot of blood and a lot of shouting. My mum died on that day. Dad was too late. He dashed towards my mother as soon as the werecats were dealt with and poked her inert body with an agonising whimper before letting out a sincere howl.

"Are you all right?" One of his combatants approached us. Olivia was already sobbing uncontrollably.

I was unable to respond. I wasn't feeling well. My gaze was drawn to my mother's lifeless body, which lay in a pool of scarlet blood. She was gone.

My father shifted back to his human form and approached us. He held us tightly with tears in his eyes.

With a trembling breath, "we still have each other. It is just the only three of us," he whispered.

***

I wished everything had remained the same since that day. I wished that he never remarried. My life had gone from good to bad to worse when Gail had entered our lives.

At first, it was only minor irritations. She used to make fun of me for my skin colour. Of course, she was cunning enough to keep everything from my father. On multiple occasions, she called me names and attempted to gaslight me. Despite the fact that she never physically abused me, she made sure to attack me verbally. I assumed she was attempting to make me feel inferior.

Regardless, I was relieved that she didn't assault Olivia quite as much as she did me. Perhaps it was because Olivia, like my father, had fair skin.

I hated Gail. For the first time in my life, my father reprimanded me the day I told him the truth. I was in my teens at the time. I felt left out and hopeless when he scolded me. Instead of believing me, his own pup, he chose to trust the gaslighting woman.

During my adolescence, I was forced to listen to her poisonous comments every day. The pain would begin when my father left for training and other pack duties. And if he left the pack for political reasons, I'd be in a world of pain until he returned.

I concentrated on my alpha training as the days went. My father planned to give me the pack when I turned twenty, despite the fact that I didn't get along with his new bride. When he announced his plans, I was overjoyed. When I eventually became alpha, I assumed my life would be tranquil. After that, I assumed I wouldn't have to deal with my stepmother.

What I didn't realise was that my stepmother was actually a serpent dressed as a woman. I assumed she despised me because I was dark-skinned. Or perhaps it was because I was the late luna's pup and the heir to my father.

I was mistaken. She had a few more tricks under her sleeve. When I was nineteen, she used her final card to kick me out of the pack. While I was taking a bath, she walked into my room. I stepped out, wearing nothing but a towel tied around my waist, not expecting her to be waiting for me. She surprised me by hugging me from behind. I was startled. From the scent I knew it was her. But what was she doing?

She stroked her fingertips across my chest, much to my fear. A shudder rushed down my spine as the hair on the back of my neck raised. I yanked her fingers away from my chest and turned around.

Her eyes twinkled mischievously as her lips curled into a smirk. She tore her shirt off and hurled it on the floor. I was appalled. I had no idea what she was up to. I wanted to believe that, despite her sass, she would never cheat on my father. But I couldn't take my gaze away. She was flinging herself into my arms.

I felt sick to my stomach. She was my stepmother, and she didn't hesitate to act indecently with me. The door to my room flew open at that very moment, revealing my father, who seemed to be infuriated. Gail collapsed on the ground and started to whimper.

I was taken aback by how quickly she acted. I watched in shock as she retrieved the torn clothing and dashed into my father's arms. A mouth was hanging open.

She screamed, "he... he tried to ràpe me!"

"What! I didn't do anything! She was the one who attempted to seduce me!" I was furious.

However, unfortunately, dad believed his wife's accusations, as he always did.

I gulped down the lump in my throat. Those memories still hurt.

The last words I heard from my father rang in my ears over and over.

"You're a disgrace! I'm ashamed of you! You can't live in peace with anyone! Not even your mate! Nobody will want to be around you! Get away from here! Get the hell out of my pack before I lose my self control!"

I took a big gulp of air. I tried my hardest to dismiss his harsh comment, but they cut a deep wound in my heart.

As I thought about it, my nose stung. Years had passed since that day. I had been living secluded in the woods since then. I scampered away after saying my goodbyes to Olivia. She cried for me, but I pleaded with her to stay strong. The pack needed her. She promised to be the kind of wolf that made our mother proud.

I crossed the border with a sorrowful heart that day. The words he cursed me with kept replaying in my mind. There were times when I believed he was right. Maybe I was a waste of space. A parent's prayer, I had heard, would not go unanswered. Perhaps a curse too wouldn't go unnoticed. Maybe it was coming true. Perhaps my own mate didn't want to be with me because I was a disgrace.

A tear slipped from my tear ducts and rolled out of the corner of my eye as I voiced my biggest fear.

"Am I really that worthless?"