I sneakily found my way down the vast hallway, keeping my back pressed against the wall. I could hear them in the kitchen and I had a fairly large open doorway ahead, so if I was to get by unnoticed, I would have to time it right. Peering around the corner, I noticed the group of teenagers facing away from me. So, taking a deep breath, I braced myself before leaping across the two-meter gap. Catching myself from stumbling, I internally cursed when the clothes I wore rustled as I staggered. I held my breath in anticipation and just as I thought I had got away with it, a pair of black shoes came into my eye-line. Gulping, I looked up to find the snooty grimace of Sophie. Her red hair was slicked back against her head into a straightened ponytail, grey eyes sneered down at me as she chewed on the gum in her mouth. Her curvaceous hip was poised, arms folded with her phone loosely in her grip. She was stunning, an accurate picture of everything a werewolf woman should be and the future "mate" to the Alpha. But she hated me, with every single passion. The two girls and three random guys behind her had the same feel towards me too.

"Oh my gosh, it's you." She squealed. "What are you doing? Think you can sneak around huh?"Her voice was sultry, as her lipstick-encased lips parted in a chuckle. "Well?"

I stayed where I was on the floor, looking away from her eyes to stare at the floor. "I-I just wanted t-t-to go to my room."

"I-I-I just wanted t-t-t- what? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you through that rubbish." Her current best friend Lucy chortled. Sophie pouted at her, an action that may seem innocent to others but I knew different. "Aw, Lucy don't be like that. It's not her fault she was abandoned and never taught proper English." They all laughed in unison before Sophie grasped me by my blonde hair. I winced as a few hairs snagged in her grip but chewed on my lip, knowing if I made a sound I would get hell from her group. I stood in time with her, her gum smacked against her tongue as she titled her head at me.

"Now... I just got my makeup and nails done all

pretty so why don't you run along and go hide in your room for the rest of the day."

I nodded, my green eyes meeting hers warily. "Oh- okay."Her hand tightened on my roots before she dropped me. I turned to scamper off when a well- manicured foot encased in Louis Vuitton darted out beneath me. I smacked into the floor with a groan. They all burst out laughing and I glanced behind me to see Sophie just smirking at me as she examined her nails, walking away.

"Oh my gosh did you see the way she stuttered?" Her other follower Lou giggled. Tears brimmed as I hurried my way into my room. Slamming the door shut behind me I collapsed into my bed, crying once more for the people who constantly made my life miserable. Today I got off well, but who knows what is coming later?

My alarm blaring rose me from my sleep. Rubbing my eyes, I glanced to see emotional me had set an alarm for 6 am before I passed out so that I could go for a morning walk. Thanks, emotional me! Not bothering to shower since I did last night, I only washed my face before pushing my hair into a beanie. I brushed my teeth and changed into some joggers and an extra-large jumper. I always wore baggy clothes as it turned the jokes about my body into jokes about my clothes. Better for my ego I suppose. I chose to wear my cheap white trainers that didn't squeak much on the wood floor and quietly made my way out of my room and followed the hallways downstairs. The main front doors were already unlocked as the Omega's on breakfast duty today would've been up since 5 am. The front door shut softly behind me and I deeply inhaled as the breath-taking sunrise across the mountain range met my eyes. This was the only time I ever had peace for myself. Early in the morning when all the important pack members were asleep. It was just the lower ranks rushing around cleaning or cooking. I had today off thankfully, as even though I was not treated fairly by most pack members, Alpha Damien made sure we were all treated fairly work-wise. Little did he know I was constantly the target of everyone's insecurities. Let me get into this a little. When I was 3 years old, I was found floating in a river, my body marred with marks and burn I have no recollection of how I ended up in that river and clinging to that tree branch but Alpha Damien and his men were out on patrols when I washed into their sand bed. He immediately took me inafter hearing a pack up in the mountains was taken down by a resistance pack. I never did, and still, never, know the full extent of the situation. I was told that there was no longer a pack there otherwise I would've gone exploring a long time ago. My type was not accepted well. I was an outsider who took up Alpha Damien's time, so he left me in the trust of an Omega family. My adoptive parents were lovely, but even they did not realise the extent of the torments I awaited just for existing. It didn't help that I was 20 years old and still haven't shifted. Most female wolves shift when they turn 14, usually after they have gone through human puberty. Male wolves turned at 16 years old since they tended to go through puberty later than us. It was always a celebration when a normal wolf shifted; a hunt usually followed by a BBQ and a night of partying. When I turned 18, no one seemed to care other than my parents. We weren't exactly sure of my age, so we went with my "GOTCHA" day for my birthday celebrations. I was estimated to be shy of when they took me in, so we just went with it. Along with being an outsider, I had not shifted for years, hence the bullying. In a pack's eyes, I was not normal and most did not want me here. Alph Damien has two children, a daughter called Rosie and a son called Steven who had yet to take over since he had not found his mate; soul mate that is. Every single wolf had a soul mate, another half made just for them. We find our soul mates at 18 years old and a wolf born into Alpha status like Steven cannot take the position until they have a mate or the old Alpha dies. They can challenge the position, but that is to the death. That is why Sophie is his to-be mate. If he does not find his true mate by twenty-five, he gets betrothed to a female worthy of the position. Pack politics. I was always told that a wolf's 'true potential' is made once they mate, hence why he cannot take leadership from his parents. He was 24 now, still mateless, and his sister Rosie was turning 18 this week hence why the pack wolves were running about cooking and cleaning. It's not every day your Alpha's pup turns 18. Strolling through the woods, I found myself following the stream I was lost in so many years ago. If I had just kept drifting, maybe I would've found a better pack that accepted me more. One that didn't harm me both mentally and physically. I found myself rubbing the faded white marks that adorned my skin. The burns I had received as a child were so severe that even enhanced wolf DNA could not shift the scarring. I was thankful that thechild were so severe that even enhanced wolf DNA could not shift the scarring. I was thankful that the pack doctor was able to skin graft and save what he could, but the majority of the scars were on my arms and legs. I must've been crawling through the fire or something; nothing makes sense. But I remember the pain and the needles, and I have hated hospitals ever since. I longed for my history and my heritage but it was all burnt to the ground and destroyed. From what I was told no pack inhabited that land anymore; it was left for nature to take over.

Glancing at my worn watch I was astounded to find it was 6:30 am already, so I made my way back to the packhouse in my constant daydream. Most wolves were up at 8 am for breakfast and training, so I started to hurry so that I could confine myself away from their hate-filled glares