8. Drama

Callista.

The guard escorts me to the bathroom. I think about making a run for it, fleeing the cells, fleeing the pack even.

But that would be the stupidest thing to do. I didn't even have my wolf form yet. I will have no hopes of outrunning Farris' men pursuing me.

There is a plain shower and a bar of soap. The water stings at the scratches on my skin, and I lather the fragrance-less soap into my hair, washing away the grime. At least the water is hot.

By the Goddess, I am angry. Hurt too, but more angry. Never have I been demeaned like this before. I’m not some helpless damsel who couldn’t fend off a bunch of widowers off her. I could control my scent, with practice, I could protect myself. I wasn’t as much of a weakling as Farris suggested. I'm a werewolf regardless of any abnormality I might have and werewolves are strong. I will be able to overcome this if only I am given a chance. 

There had to be a way for me to remain in the pack.

Who was I kidding? No one wanted me here now. The guard who escorted me looked at me with disgust and I’ve done nothing to him. This was my life now, punished for something I didn’t have control over. 

This is going to be my life from now on, treated as a monster. There is no one to stand on my side. 

In the grand scheme of things, I didn't really matter, did I? Who was I anyway? Just a high school student who had yet to finish senior year. An unwanted daughter to a family who couldn’t wait to get rid of me. Someone has yet to find her wolf. A prisoner, a pawn. Betrayed by my lover, shunned by all. I don’t think I would even be able to go to college much less visit a city. All my dreams and hopes, draining down the gutter with grimy soap bubbles.

“You’ve got visitors,” The guard outside says, “Hurry up.”

"Who?" I dare to ask. 

"You can see for yourself." This is the answer I receive. 

I wonder who it is. My family? Their stone-cold faces flash in my memory. Have they had a change of heart? were they here to appease Farris? Did they really love me after all, even under all those misgivings?

I dress in the prison jumper left for me by the guard until another dress arrives. It’s a shabby, orange thing. Now I am truly a prisoner.

True enough, it is them. My heart starts to race in my chest, and I try not to let hope disappoint me. 

They stand in front of the bars, their faces furious. I wonder what they would say.

“Pretty little Callista, I see you’re where you belong,” Ruelle says with a sneer.

So much for hope. Of course, they're here to jeer me. I wonder why the heck my heart is breaking again when I knew that titbit about my family since I was young. 

I can’t bring myself to come up with a reply for that. My mother walks up and stops directly in front of me.

“A stealer,” she says. “We could hardly believe it when poor Farris told us what you are. A cursed creature. Of all the things you could be, you choose to be this abomination. We should have never adopted you.”

“I had no choice in this!” I insist. “I don’t even exactly know what any of this stealer business is!”

But I agree, they shouldn’t have adopted me. Less trouble for me and I would have been spared from this indignity. But even though they haven’t been the kindest, they’re all I’ve got and I hate to admit that I’m relieved to see them. I hoped, even though it was foolish, that maybe they could talk to the Alpha, maybe they hadn’t washed their hands off me yet.

My father clears his throat. “So, uh, we’ve heard from the Alpha.”

Oh, now he chooses to talk? How utterly delightful. I think I have even forgotten my father's voice. 

“And?” I ask.

“We’ve been told that you’ll be transferred to the Rexellen Pack,” Ruelle interrupts.

They’ve been told the same thing that Farris has told me.

“You should be grateful that he hadn’t cast you out,” Says my mother, “Goddess knows it’s what your kind deserve. Instead, he's sending you to the Alpha King.”

“What are you pouting for?” Ruelle asks. “I think that being the Goddess-damned Alpha King's sister-in-law is very enviable, especially in your situation.” She smiles, “It’s also a shame our Alpha is single now. I wonder who he’ll date next…”

Ruelle has always had eyes for Farris. They were a perfect match, though, both rotten enough for each other.

“He could go date a monkey for all I care,” I mutter.

I was basically being pushed into an arranged marriage situation without my consent by the man who dumped me as soon as he sniffed trouble. If Ruelle wanted Farris, she was welcome to him. They would balance each other out wonderfully. Both of them desire wealth and status and don’t care who has to be sacrificed to gain it. Who Farris was going to date was the last thing in my mind, at the moment.

Because these people had raised me since I was a baby, I try to plead with them, pushing aside my dignity, “They’re going to mate me off to a total stranger,” I whisper, “A man I’ve never even seen before, and his brother is the Rexellen Pack Alpha. Please, get me out of this, I promise I won’t be a disappointment again, I promise I will be the daughter you want, I swear on my own life-“

My mother hisses, “After all that you did to us, you’re asking for our pity?!”

“Please-“

“Do you know the shame you have brought on us, you ungrateful child?” She yells, disgust and rage burning in her topaz eyes, “Do you know how the people look at us? What will they say? I raised a damn stealer under my roof!”

“I’m the same person I was,” Her outburst brings tears to my eyes yet again, “I’m still Callista Leander, and I’m still your daughter.”

“You were never my daughter,” The woman I called mother spits at me, “Even before, you never were.”

I’m shocked into silence. I knew she felt like this, but hearing it out loud hits hard. My heart breaks again, which is strange, considering how I did not realize it was possible anymore. 

“I will not be judged and blamed for you any longer.” She finishes her tirade and turns her back to me. “Do as the Alpha says. You have no home here, not with us. Not anymore.”

"You can brush me away that easily?" I ask her because I'm a glutton for punishment. "I've lived with you for the last eighteen years." 

"Eighteen years of regret." That's the answer I receive for my troubles. 

The man I called my father is silent through all this, not even looking at me. While my mother’s weapon of choice was scathing remarks and anger, his was silence. And sometimes it was more painful than her.

“Father,” I call him, but he follows his mate, and walks away to a further corner.

“What a drama,” Ruelle scoffs, “I don’t know what you’re so worried about because no one is marching you to a grave. You’re going to mate with a widowed guy, big deal. Not to mention it's the Alpha King's brother.” She picks at her nails, “Besides, you’re just gonna be bullied and isolated here, now that you’re the stealer. Who knows, the man sounds like a looker. He's definitely rich. You're going to be a part of the Royal family, here, Callista, if it were me, I'd be ecstatic." 

“All of you call the King the most ruthless wolf in existence and you expect me to go into this willingly?" If that is even true I still do not believe that the Royal Family had agreed to take me in. That seems too absurd a notion to come true. People like me did not get visits from Royals. 

“That’s the same thing people are saying about you,” She points out, “The Stealer, enticer of men everywhere. One whiff of your scent and the unmated mind goes insane, void of all reason. You do not know how to be honest, every word that comes out of your mouth is a lie, designed to manipulate and destroy. You do know all the myths and legends out there about girls like you. Don’t you wonder why Stealers are so stigmatized? It’s because you’re little menaces that threaten the sanity of people.”

“And you think a good man will accept such a ‘menace’? You’re carting me off without knowing anything about this man.”

“This again?” Farris’s voice comes. I didn’t see him approach, “Mrs. Leander, must your daughter be such a stubborn pain? Can’t she see how hard we’re trying to save her hide for her?”

“She is my daughter no longer, Alpha,” My mother replies, “She’s not a Leander anymore.”

“I see,” says the Alpha, “Can’t blame you.”

If I could just get my hands on him, this once…

“Your escorts will be here shortly, Callista.” He says happily. I wonder what he's getting in exchange for me out of this. Farris would never just let me go without getting anything in return, that I know. In his hand, he carries an overnight bag. “Here’s your outfit. Be a good girl and get dressed, will you? Gotta look pretty enough for your new mate.”

I take the bag from him, without breaking my stare. His smile is smug. A fit of rage quickens my heart. I draw a blue-colored dress from it, grab the neckline, and tear it off cleanly. Then, I drop it and trample it underfoot.

“How’s that for pretty, Alpha?” I taunt him, taking a savage pleasure in my small act of rebellion.

Farris frowns at it, disappointed. “I never knew you were such a brat, Callista. Shows how much you fooled me throughout our relationship, hiding yet another thing from me.”

“I never hid myself from any of you,” I roar. “Why does no one understand it?!”

The door to the cage opens, and my mother sprints inside, her hand raised. The sound of a slap echoes through the cell. My cheek stings and I clutch at it, the force of the strike flinging me at the bars. Without giving me a second to collect myself, her hand wraps around my neck in a choke.

“You will get dressed,” She whispers, “And you will scram to whoever takes you. Otherwise, I will end you myself.”

I don’t fight afterward, as they bring down another dress. I feel more number than before. My former mother and sister dress me. I make no move to help them as I let them put me in an outfit that is aimed at making me presentable, a dress that flows down my knees hiding my ankles, lime green colored, with the neckline showing off my assets and short sleeves my arms. I hold back tears as Ruelle fixes my hair and then does her best with makeup, skipping the mascara. Being dressed like a child is just another shameful step after being locked up for the night and dumped by everyone that I had ever known and loved.

I won’t take it lying down, I vow to myself. I’ll be strong in the face of adversity just like I’ve always been. I’ve faced trials with my family before. My self-esteem was affected and that affected my relationships at school too. I suppose I am equipped already to deal with toxic situations. This is just going to be one more.

But when the guards come in to take me out, I cannot stay meek. At the last minute, I try to fight them off. I manage to knock one over before they pin me down. Farris approaches, holding something behind him. 

A rush of coldness travels down my spine. 

"Get away from me!" I scream, fighting against the restraining wolves more. 

Farris raises his hands, and my eyes widen. 

He's holding a syringe, that cannot mean anything good!

“Why do you have to be so difficult?!” He yells, teeth gritted and eyes blazing. "Do you have any idea who is coming for you?" 

“I don't care for your lies anymore, Farris! Stay away from me, by the goddess!” I yell back. “Don’t you dare put whatever that is inside me!”

Farris laughs maniacally before signalling his wolves, who kick at the back of my knees. With a scream of pain, I topple to my knees, tears stinging my eyes. I'm trapped, Goddess save me, I cannot run! The rage in me is so potent it hurts. 

One guard restrains me with a meaty arm around my neck. Farris bends over just as I feel the coldness of a needle tip at my arm. 

"No..." I manage to whisper as the needle tip presses in. "Please...." 

"You brought this on yourself, stealer. Be glad it's only wolfsbane." 

My vision starts to blur, and the world tilts. 

"I ought to have put poison in that for the likes of you." 

Those are the last words I hear.