2. The Wrong Daughter

(ELYN) 

THIS IS HOME. SWEET FUCKING HOME.

This was my home, with the Luna lording over me, an Alpha father who barely had time for me, a mother who lived in shame and silence. This place was a reminder of everything that was wrong with me, my life.

It was not my fault that I was born, but as far as everyone in the pack was concerned, it was MY fault. I shouldn't have been born.

My mother was not the Alpha's mate. He strayed, and I was paying for it everyday now. 

I hated everything here, except two people. My half sister, Reyna, and my best friend, and the love of my life, Liam. As long as they were there, even this hell would be worth it.

***

The pack land was decorated with lights and lanterns. The sound of a soft piano floated in the air, and the melodious voice of a woman singing a song about magical destinies and goddesses softly entwined with the piano chords. Everything looked beautiful. Breathtaking.

Reyna turned eighteen today, and no expense was spared for the birthday celebration of the future Alpha. Reyna Adams.

Soon, Reyna would take over Turquoise Falls, and she deserved it, too. She was kind, smart, and she trained endlessly. She would make an even better Alpha than the current one. 

I had turned eighteen a year and a half ago, and I celebrated my eighteenth birthday in my room with a cupcake and a candle, and Liam. Then we drank the bottle of Gold Wolven Whiskey Liam had stolen from his dad, the Beta, and we emptied the whole bottle, got drunk, and then we went to a tattoo artist and got matching tattoos. It was not posh like this party, but it was still the best day ever.  

I ran a comb through Reyna's silky brown hair, before twisting it around it to a soft braid, and putting it up. She looked like a woman. "Tomorrow is going to be awesome," I whispered and she smiled.

"I am done here. Why don't you go and wear your dress, El," Reyna said as she pushed me out of her room.

"That is not a smart idea," I said to her, a frown on my lips. I had to work, and the dress Reyna had gotten for me was too beautiful to wear while you were serving drinks and colorful cocktails to the guests. She didn't know it, though. 

She was amazing, but she also lived in her own bubble. I never wanted to break that bubble. Her innocence and her childlike wonder and her compassion needed to be preserved. From everything and everyone, especially from her mother's viciousness.

So whatever Luna Amelia did to me, I kept it to myself.

Even without a wolf, I knew I could definitely beat her, but... I could never do that to Reyna. 

"Why not? I spent an hour trying to pick it out for you, El," she complained, and I smiled a little. I was only a year older than her, but sometimes, I felt like a decade older. Like she was my kid.

"Okay, I will, Rey. Later."

Luna Amelia glared at me as she saw me coming out of her daughter's room. She motioned to me and I sighed as I walked towards her. She glared at me before she handed a black dress to me. 

"Put on your uniform, and try not to be so obvious. Be invisible."

Be invisible was her usual advice whenever there was some celebration going on in Turquoise Falls. I bared my teeth in a shark-like smile before I walked to my room, and hurriedly put on the itchy uniform and walked towards the bar that was set for the guests. The bartender gave me a look before he thrust a tray into my hand.

I stared at the Frosted Champagne filled in the crystal flutes, and I wished I could ditch this and go and drink the champagne hiding in some dark corner. I walked through the crowd of people and handed them the flutes. 

"Here comes the whore," a whiny voice greeted me, and I sighed. It was only fair that I had a special bully, too, not that I needed all that special attention, anyway. I pressed my lips together as Ella Cohen stood in front of me, her arms crossed across her bountiful breasts. 

Nineteen was too old for a bully, but of course, when you were the Alpha's illicit daughter and your mother, the disgraced warrior, you deserved it, and more. 

I was tired of hearing it over and over.

"Yeah, I am a whore! And here you are, once again wasting my time. Pay me for my service, Ella, or get the fuck off. Don't be a cheap, stingy bitch."

Her face turned a weird shade of red as she glared at me. I didn't know why some people relished in the misery of others. Ella was one such person who had her high from hurting others, especially me. Not that I got hurt by her words, mind you. She was nothing more than a pesky gnat to me now. 

"Freak... It is no wonder your wolf didn't want you." She glared at me before walking away. I wished her heels would break and she would fall. 

FREAK. Yes, I think I was a freak. 

My dad was an Alpha, my mom's parents were from a powerful line of gamma warriors. So I should have a wolf, a strong one at that. That was the rule.

But I was the exception to the rule.

I was one of a kind.

And not the good kind either.

***

The party was in full swing, and I hated it. My ass itched. Everything itched. I just wanted to rip the dress off and run ass-naked. Luna Amelia would have a heart attack, which was almost a tempting thought. 

I wondered what my mother was doing. I hadn't seen my mother in three weeks. Not that we did anything together when I visited her. 

Sienna always kept looking through the windows as if she was waiting for something. The last time I visited her, I told her that no one was coming to save her or me from this hell, and her eyes turned so broken I almost wished I could take the word back. Sienna had once been a warrior. I had seen her pictures. Now she was nothing.

Reyna walked out of the pack house when the loud fanfares started, pulling me out of my thoughts. The crowd stopped talking and sang songs and chanted in ancient tongues. 

I hid behind a tree as I watched her cut her big cake. Her mom was on one side and her dad was on the other side, and they all had big smiles on their faces. Family. I had never had that. 

After the cake, everyone went to eat the banquet that was set up. I quickly went to the room and changed out of the uniform, and wore the dress Reyna bought for me. It was silver with an embellished bodice and a plunging neckline. A small spark of a smile lit my face when I thought about Liam before I closed the door and walked out.

“WE ARE MATES!”

That was the moment my world crumbled, the moment I had been waiting for since the very first second I realized I might be in love with my best friend.

The colorful lights burned my eyes. What did I expect?

Reyna must not have seen my bloodless face. She went on, her voice a high-pitched squeak of excitement. I had always known she liked him, too.

“We found out when he turned eighteen, but we wanted to keep it to ourselves till I turned eighteen," Reyna said to me, her eyes twinkling. "It is amazing, isn't it?"

It is! For her.

Liam Black. The only boy who ever loved me, as a friend, of course. It was my fault to fall in love with a Wolf, because I always knew this day was coming when he would find the other half of him.

I wasn't lucky enough to have a wolf or a mate. A Tainted was someone who had no power. We were people who were forced to live a mediocre life in a land full of power and magic. 

“...and we couldn’t wait, but we have to. And sneaking around is also thrilling, but we only kissed and-” Every word that came out of her mouth felt like arrows. Pointed to perfection, aimed straight at my heart.

For a second, I wanted to hate her, but I wasn't even allowed the reprieve of hating Liam's mate. I could never hate Reyna. She was my ray of sunshine in this dark hellhole.

The pain in my heart was unbearable, and I felt like I would drown from the suffocating feeling. But the look in Reyna's eyes, that unparalleled happiness. How could I hold a grudge against her for having something so magical, even though I wasn't given a chance to feel that?

"I couldn't wait to tell you, El, but Luna Amelia told it would be better if we do it when Reyna turned eighteen," Liam whispered. 

F*ck Luna Amelia, I thought. 

I wanted to be anywhere but here. I looked at Reyna's smiling face and smiled, even though it was hard to do so. She deserved only the best, and he was. His kindness and heart and soul. They would be perfect together, indeed. Me, I wasn't kind and strong like Reyna Adams, the future Alpha of Turquoise Falls. I had my demons, and the demons had me.

"Congratulations, guys. I am so happy for you. I need to go, though. I just remembered something I have to do," I mumbled as I speed walked out of there, trying so hard not to burst out into a sob.

Wading through the bodies, I finally reached the open bar set up in the front. The server gave me a look and smiled softly, as if he could understand my sadness. I had never gotten that kind of sympathy from anyone let alone a stranger, and it made me want to sit down and bawl.

“Can I get a bottle of wolven whiskey?”

“Miss, are you going to drink the entire-”

“Please,” I whispered, and he contem[plated for a second before he handed me the bottle.

I was running towards the pack house, intent on getting away from everything when I stumbled into Ella Cohen.

“Are you enjoying the party? I saw Reyna and Liam kissing and it was quite passionate, too. What did you think? That somehow, magically, he will become yours?” Her eyes were malicious, and I could sense the wave of hatred rolling off of her. I had always had the power to sense a person’s emotions. Hatred. Love. Honesty. Maybe the goddess gave me that power out of sympathy when she took away my wolf from me. 

“SHOO,” I swatted at her. “Go tell your master that you failed to make me cry, dog,” I scoffed as I took another swig of my whiskey, enjoying the burn. I knew who was Ella's puppet master. 

"It is no wonder your wolf didn't want you."

I wanted to scream and shout, but I was too tired to even do that. I just turned and walked towards the woods. I had enough of people and their wickedness for the day.

I stumbled deeper into the woods, knowing very well I might get lost. Maybe I wanted that. To get lost in the wilderness. I took a few more swigs of my whiskey. The whole place was eerily quiet, and the moon was softly glowing. The wind was hissing... and then I heard it.  

A twig breaking from somewhere in the distance. Leave crunching. I cursed my luck.

“Who is there?” I whispered, knowing very well I should start running. A man walked out of the tree, followed by another.

“We are lost,” he said. “But- we are here for the Alpha’s daughter’s birthday. Our Alpha sent us with a gift. Do you know where-”

“I am the Alpha’s daughter.”

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