2. Biological daughter

“Who are you?” Alpha Ezequiel growls.

I bit my lips, anxiety is creeping in and disorganizing my body system. I take two steps backward and swallow down my saliva, the sour taste swirls round my throat and I wish that the ground will just open up and drag me in.

“I am… Cora,” I answer him with the least courage I can muster.

“Cora who?”

“Cora nobody,” Lily replies. It is obvious that she is irritated by my unannounced interruption, the time is ticking and our shifting juncture is close.

“I’m sorry for barging in like that, Alpha. It’s my birthday too and I only wanted to join the party too,” I apologize.

“You should not have come when you know that you're late, being clumsy is not an option for an omega like you. Meanwhile, Liliana works hard to see that the rightful activities are being delivered to the pack. With the special abilities of an Alpha, Liliana will make waves and be a great leader one day. I hereby declare…”

Another interruption comes from me, my bones start cracking and my body expands - the time for shifting into our wolves have arrived. Fortunately, others start cracking bones too - this will save me from being scolded the second time. My nails elongate, turning into claws and my fangs grow out.

Gasps are heard from among the crowd, all eyes are on me and I’m beginning to wonder why. Looking ahead of me, I realize that the other celebrants at the podium have transformed into ordinary wolves - including Lily, a fishy conspiracy must be going on here.

But why are all eyes and shocked expressions on me? As I tilt my head to the windows, the reflection I see explains everything - I am a black Wolf. Muffled sounds are coming from every corner of the hall, the people are talking - questioning the display at hand.

With my enhanced hearing ability, I can grab what most of their whispering is about.

“It can't be that the Alpha had an affair with another woman.”

“Something fishy is going on in the pack house.”

“The Alpha’s authenticity must be questioned.”

This last one came from an elder of the pack, if the elders are considering questioning the Alpha’s authenticity, that means that there could be more explanation for what is going on.

The black species of wolves have been significantly reserved for the Alphas and their offspring, every Alpha family dominates in their offspring's genes. So, the first offspring of both genders tend to inherit a handful of the Alpha differential. In other words, the first male and female of the Alpha family offspring are always endowed with special features which include the Alpha aura and werewolf form. Since Lily is the first female offspring of the Alpha, she should have transformed into an Alpha wolf but she did not, and instead - I did.

Could it be that…?

I shake off the thought and focus on the Alpha who has cleared his throat to gain the people’s attention.

“Listen here everyone, there must be some kind of misunderstanding here. I know that it is surprising to see an omega shapeshifting into an Alpha Wolf, I assure you that we will look into the matter as soon as possible. Right now, Lily will still lead the pack run.”

That is an unfair decision to make. The Alpha chose to simply ignore me and acknowledge his daughter who did not even turn into an Alpha Wolf, this blow is too huge for me to accept. I run off without a second thought, going in the direction of the well. I break shift and turn back to normal, then I sit at the edge and burst into sobs.

“Why is everyone and everything unfair to me?”

“Cora, are you okay?” Isla asks.

I shake my head in response.

“I’m sorry for how things unfolded this night, everyone thinks that you wanted to show off and steal Lily's spotlight.”

That is so unfair for all of them to think!

First of all, I had no idea that I was going to turn into an Alpha wolf. I have no idea about who my parents were, I have no idea if they were Alphas or common omegas.

“I won't blame them, an omega with no background story suddenly turns into an Alpha Wolf on the night of her eighteenth birthday. I shouldn’t have come in the first place,” I sigh.

“Don’t blame yourself, that is how fate wants it to be manifested. Let’s go in, the night is getting cold.”

I nod and join Isla to retire for the night. I sit on the cold floor with my head in between my knees, thinking massively about what the next steps will be. Should I run away from this place? Surely, whatever happened tonight is kind of the beginning of affliction. What I'm not sure of is if it's for me or the Alpha family. I fall asleep on the floor, having disturbing dreams about what might happen tomorrow. At that point, it felt as though someone sneaked in and all. However, I jerk awake when cold water tinges on my face.

It is morning already but the fuming anger on Lily’s face is what shudders me more.

“Li… Lily, what are you doing here?” I stammer.

Moreover, surprise visits like this never go down well especially with someone like Lily. She smirks at me mischievously and drags me out to the kitchen where the omegas are doing their morning chores.

“Listen up everyone, today I’m going to be teaching one of your own a very big lesson and the scapegoat is our dearest Cora who tried to steal my spotlight last night,” Lily announces to them.

I shake my head miserably, “Lily, you don't have to do this. You know that I didn't do anything wrong, right?”

“Wrong! You turned into an Alpha wolf, Cora. Something you know that I should have turned to. You are nothing but a liar and a cheat, you just wait for the opportunity to ruin someone else’s life. The same way that you've ruined mine will be the same way that I'll ruin yours.”

She drags me by my hair and throws me to the floor, the other omegas make way as I fall flat. Lily grabs a bowl of flour and dumps it on my face, laughter erupts from the others.

“You think you have the Alpha aura in you, stand up and fight me then. Use your aura to suppress me and make me submit to you!” Lily screams.

I call on that energy that surged through me before to prove to everyone that I'm not a cheat or trying to take Lily’s spotlight - whatever that means. However, nothing happens and instead, I feel empty inside. Lily’s crazy face snickers when she sees no change happening.

“You all can see that, right? Cora was just lying about her so-called Alpha aura, you are a nobody. Without a name and background, you don’t belong anywhere in this pack.” Lily says.

I burst into tears while Lily orders the omegas to throw flour and egg at me. Each dump on my body stabs deep into my soul and hurts me. They only stop when a group of pack warriors storms in with hard faces.

“Where is the omega that turned into an Alpha Wolf last night ?” they ask sternly, the omegas point nervously at me, “Come with us.”

“What is going on here?” Lily asks them.

“The Alpha and Luna have requested to bring her in.”

I follow them behind, with egg and flour on my body and a bad stink that comes from it while Lily follows us at a distance. When I enter the room, everyone holds their nose up. I look down at my feet with embarrassment, what fate could be possibly worst than this?

“Uh - Cora, sit down, please. You’re looking messy this morning,” Alpha Ezequiel speaks out.

I gulp. The uneasy look in their eyes says it all, they must be greatly disgusted with my looks.

“Yeah, the morning chores have been keeping me busy,” I lie. There is no point in telling them the truth about Lily’s assault, they might assume that she is right and I'm only trying to be In her spotlight.

“Is that so?” Luna Aria lets out in sarcasm.

I simply nod.

The Alpha clears his throat and begins to talk, presumably the reason why I was called in here.

“Cora, do you have any idea about where you are from?” he asks me.

“No, Alpha. I was told a series of narratives about how I was found and my foster parents never told me about my real parents until they died.”

“So all your life, you never knew who your parents were?” Luna Aria asks.

“Not at all. But, why all these questions?”

“Do you have any explanation on how you turned into an Alpha wolf last night?” Alpha Ezequiel asks.

“I don't know how it happened, I am as surprised as everyone else that witnessed it last night. I swear I wasn’t trying to gain attention or take Lily’s spotlight, I never had that intention,” I respond hurriedly.

Maybe they are misunderstanding the situation, I never wanted to gain their attention. And if I had known that I would be turning into an Alpha wolf last night, I wouldn’t have attended the party too. I don’t want to drag myself in the mud alongside the Alpha family and I never wanted to get involved with them.

“Cora, after what happened last night, we had to go on an analysis to know the root of what happened last night and it was discovered that you are our biological daughter.”

“What?”