Three - Resigned

Ember

She had resigned herself to packing as much as she could when she left the Luna’s office.  She knew the woman didn’t like her, but these were extreme consequences for something she hadn’t even done.

Good thing she had started making a point of recording all their interactions after that one time when she was twelve and she had slapped her for no reason.  She had been hesitating to use all the evidence she had had, since Alpha Anson still showed her respect despite them not living like a married couple.

But now, she thought it was time to make sure Alpha Anson knew exactly who his Luna was.  But first, she needed to pack her things; since she had no doubt that Luna Bernadette would get rid of every single thing she left behind.  The evidence would keep until she had found her feet, but she was about to blow up quite a few things in this pack.

Not that Ember had all that much; she had always been conscious of the fact that she was an intruder in this pack.  Some of the pack members treated her with kindness, but she knew that a lot of them did not like a human living in their pack when not mated to one of their own.  She had always been somewhat of an outsider.

So she had kept her requests of Alpha Anson to the minimum when he had asked her what she wanted as gifts.  She had quite a few high quality and high priced items, but that was mostly because he insisted on buying top of the range items when she had asked for anything; especially when it was technology.

She was halfway done packing her computer setup, when there was a hesitant knock on the door.  Glancing up, she saw a contrite-looking Ilene standing in the doorway.  Ember couldn’t help feeling enraged with her supposed friend’s betrayal and she walked to the door and closed it in her face, locking it for good measure.

She had thought she was her friend, but she had gone directly to blaming her for what had happened, never considering that the Luna had always hated her.  Everyone knew that and she still threw her under the bus without hesitation.

“I’m sorry, Ember.  I panicked and thought that she wouldn’t punish you as badly because you’re the Alpha’s favorite…I didn’t know she would kick you out of the pack!  Can we still be friends?”

Ember ignored her; feeling betrayed by the only she-wolf she had thought was her friend.  She had done nothing wrong and now she was homeless.  And no one in the pack would dare go against the Luna’s decision.

She was alone; maybe she always had been and she had been fooling herself, thinking that they would care about her at all.

“Please, Ember!  I made a mistake; can’t you forgive me?”  Ilene was still whining through the door.  “Could we at least have dinner together…and breakfast, before you go?  Please?”

Ember ignored her and finished packing her technology.  Then she started on her personal effects.  Thankfully Alpha Anson had given her all her personal paperwork when she had turned sixteen, so she didn’t have to worry about that.  Bernadette was just petty enough to destroy them so she would have nothing.

She would go to the academy.  It received high praise, since alphas and future Lunas had gone there for generations.  Of course, Calum was not there, since he was in college already, working on becoming the future alpha of River Ash Pack in an accelerated program meant for future alphas.

Ilene’s whining had died down after a while and she hoped she had left.  If Ilene could betray her so easily, she clearly wasn’t her friend at all.  And she wasn’t going to keep in touch with someone she couldn’t trust.

Ember felt alone again, like she had when she had found herself in that hospital after her father’s death.  Maybe she always had been alone.  That night when she lay in her packed up room, she finally allowed the tears to flow.  She had gone from anger at the betrayal to feeling utterly small and alone.  She was an orphan, going on a scholarship to a prestigious school, but she had also heard the rumors that the academy was like a cage for the wolves.

Caged wolves had strict hierarchies defined by strength, power and cunning.  In the great scheme of things, she would be outranked by everyone there.  She just hoped that meant that they wouldn’t take their anger out on her.

But she also knew wolves, and though she had hidden quite a lot from Alpha Anson, she also knew that she was likely to be a favorite target, just like she was here.  She was a human in a world of wolves; they would make sure she understood that.

She finally cried herself to sleep.  The next morning, she took great care in treating her irritated eyes from her crying the previous night.  She would leave, showing no weakness, with her head held high.  And she would arrive at the school with the same.  She would not show weakness to the wolves, because that was as good as placing a neon target on her back.

She would do anything and everything in her power to keep herself from being the target of wolves that thought they had to make a point.  She was smart enough to protect herself when no one else would.

The moment she stepped out of her room, she found the head omega, Mrs. Thomas smiling sadly at her.  “I heard what happened, little one.  Bernard will be here, soon to help you carry your things down and I’ve made you a hearty breakfast, because you can’t leave on an empty stomach.”

Ember gave a faint smile and handed over the egg timer, which was the last thing she had fixed for the kitchen.  “I fixed this for you, Mrs. Thomas.  I hope you find someone else that could fix the broken tools in your kitchen.”

Mrs. Thomas scoffed kind heartedly.  “Don’t you worry your head over us, little one.  You make a success of that school they’re sending you to and maybe you’ll even find your match there.”  She answered with barely contained tears.

Mrs. Thomas was fond of her, since she had grown up with her taking her under her wing as a female parental figure.  Ember was close to tears as well, but she refused to show weakness.  “Humans don’t have mates, Mrs. Thomas.”  She answered with a forced light giggle.

“Just you wait…”  Mrs. Thomas answered as if she knew something no one else did.  “Come along, we should have you full before they come to bring you to the academy.  I also packed you some snacks to bide your time.  I will be sending a treat to you every so often, young lady.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Thomas.”  She smiled faintly and followed the older she-wolf down the hallway, after she had closed her door.

She studiously ignored Ilene who was waving her arm off where she sat in the dining room and went into the kitchen.  The staff was shooed away by a stern Mrs. Thomas who insisted she eat breakfast first, before they all say their goodbyes.

Ember was moved by their care and quickly ate her meal.  Mrs. Thomas placed a large box of treats on the kitchen counter next to her, making sure she understood that it was meant for her.  The car arrived just after she pushed her empty plate away and Bernard told her that all her things were loaded.

She was engulfed in so many hugs from the kitchen staff before she left with her box of treats.  The smartly dressed male standing next to the back door of the Bentley was also a wolf.  Without a word, he opened the door for her and she got in without a backward glance.  Once she sat inside the car with the tinted windows, she glanced one last time at the pack house.

In the upstairs window, stood Luna Bernadette with a smirk and on the front porch of the pack house stood Ilene with a tear-stained face.  The omegas, who had come to see her off, had been herded back into the house and just like that, her life in the pack ended.

She was no longer part of the River Ash Pack.