1

I was infested with black magic at the age of twelve, and now six years later my therapist tells me that I am in the advanced stages of the disease and that I will be dead in a month's time at the most.

When I asked my Alpha father for 10 bucks to buy cloth for my ceremonial robe, he reprimanded me for three hours.

"You think you deserve to wear our pack's ceremonial robes? You're not even worthy of being called an Alpha's daughter!" Father's words cut deeper than any wound.

"A mere 10 dollars could feed three omega pups for a week. How dare you waste our resources?" Mother's voice dripped with contempt.

"But mom, I'm tainted with black magic and I don't know how much longer I'll live. I just want to put on the ceremonial robes and attend a coming of age ceremony as well. "

"Are you kidding me, our pack is very clean, how can we have black magic. "Mom got even angrier at my words, "Not only are you a worthless omega, but you're also a liar, why do I have a daughter like you. " She hung up the phone.

I sat outside the pack's treatment center, fingering the two coins in my pocket - still enough for a ride back to my den on the outskirts of the pack's territory.

But feeling my empty stomach, I chose to walk back in order to have food tomorrow.

I hadn't eaten properly in days. Yet my parents had just commissioned a crystal platform on Crystal Hill for my adopted sister Vivian's coming-of-age ceremony.

It is said that my father spent a billion dollars on my adopted sister, shipping diamonds of every color from Africa just to spell her name on the backdrop of the stage.

And me, their own daughter, because I was just an omega without a wolf, they banished me to a cold, damp lair far from the pack because they said "omegas need to be sharpened to have power" that was their excuse

Back in my den, I clutched my only possession, the stuffed wolf my father had given me for my sixth birthday, when I was still pack's little princess, before Vivian had even arrived.

Just as I was drifting off to sleep, Father's call jolted me awake.

My hands trembled as I answered, only to hear his roar through the phone.

"Where did all that money in your account come from? You thieving little runt! I've transferred it all to Vivian. At least she knows how to use resources properly!"

But that two thousand dollars was what I earned doing errands for other packs last month.

I clenched my fists, too bitter to speak.

I had hoped they would help me. How foolish I was.

I tried to respond, but no words came out.

Father took my silence as guilt and continued cursing before hanging up.

The pain was unbearable now.

The black magic eating away at my body sent waves of agony through my bones. I collapsed by my bed, retching.

Looking at the mere three dollars left in my account, I forced myself up. I needed to get some healing herbs from the center to ease the pain.

But as soon as I entered the healing center, I saw Vivian walking towards me, a fever patch on her forehead and our parents hovering anxiously behind her with several pack healers.

"Sister, why are you here? I haven't seen you at training lately. I heard you've been staying with some male wolf?" Her eyes dropped meaningfully to my stomach.

Because of the corrosive black magic, my ascites had gotten so bad that my stomach was stretched out.

There are still a lot of red marks on my neck from cheap herb allergies, and even though I'm wearing a turtleneck t-shirt, it looks more like a desire to hide it to others.

Vivian covered her mouth in mock shock.

"Sister, are you pregnant? Where's the father? How could he let you come to the healing center alone?"

At her words, our parents snapped to attention.

"So that's why you wanted money - to deal with your little problem! And you have the nerve to use black magic as an excuse! You're so cursed to wish this disease upon yourself!" Mother's voice rang through the hall.

If only they'd bothered to check on me,

They would have known I'd stopped training months ago. How could I be with any male?

Father grabbed my ear, ready to teach me a lesson in front of everyone.

"Papa, don't be like that, my sister must have had a reason. "Vivian took her father's arm in a false sense of humor, and he hesitated.

But mom got even angrier, she slapped me in the face, followed by a kick, her strength was so strong, it was something I couldn't resist without a wolf, I was knocked straight to the ground by her, it hurt so much...

The world spun around me as I struggled to stay standing.

I wanted to show them my diagnosis, prove I wasn't lying about the black magic corruption.

But they wouldn't even look at it, stomping the papers under their feet.

"Carrying some lowborn's pup - get that filth away from my sight!"For the first time, I thought my mom's voice was so shrill and harsh.

"Please, mom,please...it's not what you think. I've never lied to you. Just believe me this once."

They ignored my pleas, walking away with Vivian between them.