Chapter 2: Sent Away

Kate’s POV:

I broke away from Hilda’s hug, a shiver running down from my spine as I gazed upon my grandfather’s face.

“Alpha, I-” Hilda tried to speak up but grandfather raised his hand to silence her instantly.

He approached me with daunting steps, his black eyes fixated on me with anger. I tried to compose myself in front of him but the mere presence of him made me shaky.

“What are you doing here? Just because it was your birthday yesterday, does not mean you can skip your session.” he rebuked with a deep raspy voice.

His eyebrows were furrowed and the same disappointed expression he harbored for me was on full display.

My heart sank to the bottom of my chest as I failed to look grandfather in the eye. I did not want to attend the session but any protest I had would go unheard of by him.

Ever since I was 13, when I had not transitioned yet, grandfather did everything he could to help me get my wolf. But when nothing seemed to work, he thought beating the crap out of me would help get my wolf out of me.

He got our pack’s beta, Axl to torture me brutally in the dungeon for the past five years. On my grandfather’s orders, Axl had no mercy on me even if I was a mere child. He would beat me physically and abuse me mentally as well. There was not a single day that went by were I was not subjected to torture.

And today was no exception despite the nightmare I had already gone through.

“Alpha, please, let the girl rest for today.” Hilda requested while joining her hands . However, that did nothing but anger grandfather even more.

“I pay you to work here, not tell me what to do.” he snarled at her before grabbing a hold of my wrist and dragging me out of my room.

No matter how much I cried or squirmed, he did not care. He kept on dragging me hard until I accidentally cried out.

“He r-rejected me.”

Both my mind and body were subjected to a lot more emotions than I could handle. The fear within me, caused me to open my mouth even though I did not want to.

“What?! Nash rejected you?” he asked, grabbing my face with force.

“Yes. He did not want a wolfless she-wolf like me to be his Luna.” I cried as I revealed the bitter truth.

I could sense the rising anger that was building up inside my grandfather. Without a warning, he raised his hand and delivered a stinging slap across my cheek.

“This is the f*cking reason, I spent so many years trying to get your wolf out but what did I get for it? Nothing, absolutely nothing. And now you go ahead and f*ck up the only good thing you could give me as a granddaughter.” he spat out with hatred while his jaw clenched.

“Grandfather, I’m sorry.” I tried to apologize but he slapped me again.

“Enough! I don’t give a f*ck about your sorry.”

“Marrying Nash was the only thing you could’ve done to bring some form of dignity into our family, but you decided to ruin it. Did you ever think how ashamed I am right now to have a useless pathetic granddaughter like you?” he asked, his eyes shooting daggers at me.

I felt a tightness in my chest instantly as he mentioned that. I felt abandoned as I had no one, not even my own mother and father apart from my grandfather. But now, even my grandfather did not love me.

Tears spilled over my face as I mourned over my mother’s death. She died 4 months after giving birth to me. Everyone, including my own father, blamed me for her demise.

My father was so upset that he turned to alcohol to drown his sorrow but soon, he let it consume him entirely. Because he was an alcoholic and I was wolfless, my grandfather had to remain Alpha of the pack.

I always missed my mother and often wished that she could’ve taken me with her instead of leaving me to rot in this life.

“Hilda, get her ready. I’m sending this good for nothing to Umbra Academy. Hopefully, they can do something about her because I’m fed up.”  he announced before walking away from me, not turning his back towards me for a second.

“Hilda, please don’t cry.” I sniffled, rubbing the lonesome tear threatening to fall off her face.

Instantly, Hilda held my hands in hers and warned with concern, “Kate, you can’t go to Umbra Academy. They’ll shred you alive over there.”

“I know, Hilda. But there’s nothing I can do. My fate is sealed.” I said with defeat, lowering my head.

Umbra Academy was a school for the elite of shifters and witches where they were taught how to rule and steer ahead in this power-hungry world. Although it seemed like a promising place, bullying and murder were often found to take place on its campus.

I was doomed before I even arrived there. A powerless wolfless she-wolf like me would not stand a chance.

“No it’s not. Here, take this and run away to the human world. You will be safe there and no one will treat you any different for not having a wolf. You’ll finally get the life you deserve.” Hilda said, handing me over an envelope that she fished out from her pocket.

Opening the envelope, I was shocked to gaze upon several dollar bills stashed inside.

“No, Hilda. I can’t accept this. This is your money and besides, even if I leave, grandfather will find me anywhere in the pack.” I said, handing over the envelope back to her.

“That’s exactly the reason why you should wait until you reach the Academy. It’s in the Umbra Pack. If you leave from there, the Alpha won’t be able to find out about this..  At least until you find a place to hide in the human world.” She pushed the envelope back to me, making a sob once again.

“Thank you so much for caring about me, Hilda.” I cried with gratitude. I did not know what I could have done without her in my life.

—-------------------------

The car halted as the guards carried out their inspection of the vehicle. I stared at the giant iron gates with the logo “Umbra Academy” erecting from the top.

My heart could not stop beating rapidly the entire journey and it increased even more once we entered the gates.

I stepped outside the vehicle and gulped as I scanned the entrance of the building.

The tall broad white cement columns combined with the gold decor gave the place an expensive luxurious appearance.

However, I knew exactly what lied below its neat mask.

“Welcome to Umbra Academy, Kate Harris. Your grandfather entrusted us to wip you into a powerful leader like himself. I can assure you that your experience with us will be like never before.” Stacy, the administrator of the academy spoke with a high confident tone.

With a meek appearance, I followed her around, clutching my backpack as I couldn’t help but feel uneasy in the academy’s premises.

I couldn’t shake the feeling as if someone was keeping an eye on me the entire time.

As I continued to follow Stacy, I let out a scream in pain as my body collided with someone in front of me.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I rubbed my nose, viewing the person in front of me.

I felt as though my breath was sucked away from me, the moment the man’s eyes fell on me.

He was tall, handsome and had a rugged look to his face. His deep brown eyes drove a shiver down my spine as it was fixated on me. He wore a black leather jacket over his gray shirt that struggled to conceal his rock hard muscular frame underneath.

“Hey! What are you doing? Apologize right now!” Stacy yelled as she ran towards me, forcing me to bow my head in front of the ominous man.

“S-sorry.” I let the word escape my lips as I grunted in pain over Stacy’s handling of me.

The man stared at me with a cold expression before turning around and walking away without uttering a single word.

“For the time that you’re here. Make sure you screw one thing into your tiny mind. Never disrespect  Alpha Deimon Lombard like that. Do you get it?” Stacy held onto my shoulders, drilling her words into me.

I nodded obediently before my eyes landed on Deimon’s figure once again.

My nerves were tied in knots, knowing that the future Alpha of Umbra Pack also attended the Academy.

He was the strongest Alpha out there, with the power to kill a dozen werewolves with just his bare hands.

My heart couldn’t stay at rest knowing that a beast like him was near me.