Freya

It felt the same.

It smelt the same.

The scent of mildew clung to the Moonblade Pack House like a shroud. I shoved open the heavy oak doors, the aged hinges groaning, the damned thing announcing my unwelcome arrival.

Within these moss-covered walls, resided the family I wasn't quite a part of anymore. My father, the almighty Alpha, and my mother, her smile not-so strained, had never truly embraced the daughter fate had dealt them. Their hearts belonged to Baron, my elder brother. Baron was the epitome of everything a werewolf heir should be. He'd claimed his wolf on his eighteenth birthday. The furry creature was magnificent. I watched, as a scrawny twelve-year-old then, with envy at the time.

Years sped by. Alex and Gideon, my twin brothers, followed in Baron's footsteps, their transformations marking their passage into manhood.

Lo, I, the runt of the litter, remained stubbornly human. My eighteenth birthday arrived and departed with the predictability of a sunrise, leaving behind me behind nothing but human. The little hope they had in me died altogether. They cast me out. They had told me that their pack no longer had space for a wolfless daughter.

Now, Twenty years old.

I stood there in the giant mirror of the Moonblade Pack House, feeling smaller than ever. My dark hair, a mess as usual, looked very much like the mess of emotions waltzing in my gut. Golden skin, like everyone else in this werewolf family, stretched tight over cheekbones. At five-foot-four, I was a sparrow lost in a family of eagles. My brothers towered over me, their shadows stretching long across the floor.

I checked for any sliver of familiarity. Something that would prompt then to recognize me at first glance. It had nearly been two years. I had changed. And even if they did, it didn't matter anyway. They wouldn't recognize me, not truly. I was the odd one out, the she-wolf who never phased. Even if they did recognise me, I wasn't here for them. I was here for something else, for someone else.

Every corner of this house screamed the truth - the hushed whispers behind my back, the pitying looks that followed me everywhere. I was not a wolf. I had no wolf.

Tonight, though, things felt different. Probably because people had laid off my case for a while. The house was beaming with something.

Excitement.

Anticipation.

Alpha Thane Jagger. The prodigal son was returning after two years away. Two years after my dad, the former Beta, had held the reins. I had never met Thane, which was weird considering my family's position. But it was bound to happen, since there was always an excuse to keep me away - "cleaning duty" they'd say. Better to scrub floors than witness the real pack business, they'd implied. But I wasn't their little housekeeper anymore. I was free. And tonight, I wouldn't be denied. Because, every Wolf. Everyone in Moonblade had been invited.

I was a nervous wreck as I approached Moonblade pack. My palms were sweaty, and my heart pounded against my ribs. I had my black jacket zipped high and the hood pulled low over my face, just a safety precaution. The scent of woodsmoke that had made my childhood, now felt suffocating. In the same pack which I once belonged to, I was now an unwelcome ghost. The wolfless daughter.

Most pack members averted their gaze as I passed. It felt nice to not be constantly judged by eyes, but their practiced indifference a far cry from the warmth I craved. The Moonblade Pack wasn't known for its open-mindedness. While news reached us of other packs had been integrating with humans, even witches and the occasional vampire, ours remained a closed society. It was a whole fortress built entirely of werewolves.

After two years of my father, the former Beta, holding the reins, Alpha Thane Jagger was finally returning.

I had been tempted by the forbidden fruit of curiosity, and goddess knew I had to see the Alpha Thane. Never having laid eyes on Thane, I couldn't help but be drawn in by the anticipation that spread through the pack.

But a sly serpent named Baron. My brother, the current Beta, wouldn't be pleased to find me here.

"I don't believe this!" It was Baron, his towering form filling my vision. Fear flooded my veins. Before I could react, his iron grip clamped around my arm.

"Hey!" I yelped, twisting against his hold but finding myself immovable. "Baron, please!"

My hood tumbled back, revealing the face he despised - a face devoid of the wolfish pride his gleamed with. A collective gasp from the nearby crowd heightened my humiliation.

"Everyone is invited," I mumbled, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Every werewolf is indeed invited," he snarled. "But you seem to have forgotten one crucial detail, sis. You don't have a wolf."

"It says 'guests' on the invitation," I countered, my voice gaining a touch of defiance. "And technically, I am still a member of this pack."

Baron's eyes narrowed to slits, his grip tightening on my arm. "Technically, you were disowned two years ago. Remember, disappointment is not a family trait we tolerate."

A low growl rumbled in my chest.

"Disappointment?" I echoed, finally meeting his gaze. "Maybe your disappointment is the reason I don't have a wolf, Baron…” My voice trailed off.

His grip faltered for a second, but it immediately tightened and was quickly accompanied by a sneer.

"Don't try to turn this around on me," he spat. "You're the weak link, the chink in our armor. You always were a runt, a shadow clinging to the pack's coattails. Now you want to slink back in, hoping for scraps from the Alpha's table? Pathetic."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "Scraps? I don't need scraps, Baron. I just…" My voice faltered.

Baron scoffed, a harsh sound that echoed in the night air. "You haven't been family since the day you were born a whimpering, wolfless pup. You're an embarrassment, a stain on the Moonblade name. Get lost before I drag you out myself."

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, blurring my vision. But I refused to let them fall.

I let myself free from his grip, and made for the gate.

I trudged away from the pack house. Each word of Baron's echoed in my head. It felt as though I had been disowned all over again. A sob escaped my throat. I quickened my pace, needing to escape.

The woods was right ahead. A gnarled root played a wicked trick on my foot, sending me sprawling onto the earth. Pain flared through me. Tears streamed down my face, hot and unchecked. I had never felt so outterly alone.

No humans, they said. A threat, they called me. They had refused to banish me, because they feared I would expose their weaknesses to the humans. Laughable! As if this broken girl, this anomaly without a wolf, could pose any danger to the mighty Moonblade Pack. The thought was absurd!

Sniffling back a fresh wave of tears, I pushed myself up. My body ached. The long walk back to my ramshackle home stretched before me, daunting yet… different.

I owed my small home of a cottage to my grandmother. It had a tiny kitchenette faced a table for one, a lonely throne. A curtain separated this little lving space from my air mattress and bean bag chair. Stacks of well-worn books, my escape, awaited me by the bed. There was only one separate room – a simple bathroom.

Slipping into my only nightgown, I crawled into bed, seeking comfort. At least Saturday, my sleek black cat with his piercing yellow eyes, loved me unconditionally. He purred contentedly. But the quiet was shattered just as sleep began to claim me.

Now, the rickety door of my tiny cottage in the Moonblade woods was under siege by a relentless pounding.

Saturday twitched his ears and hissed. The pounding escalated, panicking through the thin wood.

Who could it be at this ungodly hour? Visitors were a rarity. A knot of dread tightened in my stomach. Could it be Baron coming to drag me back? The thought made me shiver.

Forcing myself to my feet, I took a shaky breath. My hand trembled as I reached for the worn baseball bat resting by the door.

Inch by agonizing inch, I crept towards the door. Peeking through a crack, I squinted into the darkness, desperately trying to identify the visitor on the other side.

"Freya!" The roar echoed through the flimsy door, shaking the very frame of my tiny cottage. My heart lurched. Now, it was replaced by the insistent pounding and the unmistakable bellow of my brother, Baron.

The audacity!

After kicking me out of the alpha's ceremony like a stray cur, he now had the nerve to darken my doorstep? My first instinct was to bolt, vanish into the very woods that provided my only refuge. But with werewolves, escape was a fool's errand. Their senses were far too keen, their speed unmatched by my human limitations. Fighting was out of the question too. I was as fragile as any human, maybe even weaker.

A sigh escaped my lips, a wisp of air lost. Fear iced my veins. What did Baron want?

"Freya!" The roar hammered against the flimsy door.

The pounding escalated, punctuated by another bellowing call. "Freya! Open up, you runt! The Alpha demands your presence!"

Runt. Baron had always reveled in reminding me of my shortcomings, the constant thorn in his perfect, wolf-kissed side.

Scowling, I moved stealthily, peeking through a crack, I squinted into the darkness.

“I'm right here.” I said, the door still clutched close. I couldn't open it, just yet.

"Took you long enough," he sneered. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you have any recessive wolf Gene in you at all. Takes forever to answer a simple knock."

"The Alpha wants to see me?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Baron scoffed. "Don't play dumb with me, runt. You heard me the first time. Now open up before I break this damn door down."

He slammed his fist against the wood once more, the force rattling the rickety frame. Alpha wanted to see me? What could he possibly want from me? But before I could voice the question, Baron spoke again.

"Look, just hurry up. The Alpha doesn't have all night to wait for a useless, wolfless pup." He spat.