VALERIE
I am so tired!
I'm super exhausted and I'm not sure if I'll continue doing this!
One more step...just one last step and I will be out of the Silverstone Moon Pack's territory.
Right now, I'm torn between taking that final step and turning back.
I have lived in this land almost all my life and back then, life used to be good until my parents died. I was only a few years old when that happened. Our Pack was attacked by rogues and due to the attack, my father who happened to be the Beta decided to perform and fulfil his duties to the Pack and went to protect it.
I vividly remember my mother's words of reassurance to me and my siblings. She told us that everything was going to be okay and that dad would come back, but that was before the mark on her neck, just above the collarbone disappeared. After it vanished, she ran into the battle ground and never returned. I later found out that she had killed herself from the heartache of losing her mate. I saw her body with the knife that she used in slitting her throat open!
My brother, sister and I were all adopted by my father's sister Amelia and her mate Idris, not long after the death of our parents. The title of Beta was then given to Idris after the death of our father. Our family had always been the second strongest and it stayed that way, keeping us as the Beta Family in the Pack.
However, retaining my family's position was the least of my problems. I had bigger problems to worry about!
It all started on my thirteenth birthday. Well, having two werewolf parents meant that you were expected to shift on your thirteenth birthday. My sister Sheila and my brother Jasper both shifted immediately they turned thirteen. Everyone I knew of shifted on their thirteenth birthday but I didn't, neither did I shift on my fourteenth nor my fifteenth birthday! This came as a shock to me and a source of mockery from the rest of my friends and close family.
As a result of not shifting at the expected age, I was tagged as the loser, the freak, and the weakling of the Pack. It was definitely a sudden change for me, having nobody to stand by me!
Sheila is three years older than me and she never liked me. Though we are sisters, we look nothing alike. I have brown hair while hers is blonde. Her eyes are icy blue, while mine are brown. No wonder she believes I don't fit into her idea of a perfect family. When everybody starts agreeing with her, she's more than excited!
Jasper who is a year older than me has also connived with his buddies and they have joined forces to bully me. In fact, he has even given them tips on how to torment me better!
My brother and sister are the only family I have left after my parents died, but they never considered me as their sister. To them, I am an extra.
My best friend Lyla quickly becomes my ex-best friend... her choice of words, not mine.
My new father and the man who adopted me is quite ashamed of me. To him, I am an insult to his strong family. My new mother, my true father's sister agrees with him without any fight. Without delay, I'm quickly thrown out of the house and made to sleep in the store. No monetary benefits are given to me other than my school fees, so I work in a local eatery to earn extra money. Sheila lends me her old clothes to me to wear!
The only reason I was allowed in the Pack house was to cook, clean their rooms, do their dishes, wash their clothes, complete their notes, and the list goes on and on... I had no choice since it was the Alpha's order!
The Alpha of the Silverstone Moon Pack, Alpha Dean hates me. He considers me to be a curse to his Pack, and his son, Shawn Franklin, can't agree less with that.
Shawn Franklin is my brother's best friend and next in line to be the Alpha of the Pack and he is the biggest bully. Being next in line meant for him to take over the Pack as the Alpha from his father on his eighteenth birthday. Shawn can write his own series of books on how to bully someone because he's an expert at that! His only purpose in life is to ruin mine and to make the matters worse, everyone in the Pack treats him like a demigod!
I really hate him since he's one of the main reasons why I've left my pack. Life under his dad's rule is hell and I can only imagine how it would be when Shawn takes over as the Alpha. He's taking over in a few months' time. I'm already feeling pity for the girl who will be paired with him to be his mate!
About mates, every wolf has one. Only on our eighteenth birthday or even before then will a wolf come to know who the one destined for us will be. A mate is the one person who will love you unconditionally. It's the best thing about being a werewolf, a great blessing from the moon goddess for us werewolves!
In the werewolf lands, temples are built by each Pack for the moon goddess. She's the only one whom we're supposed to worship and it's the duty of each and every Pack to protect the temple. Many rogues come to our pack and try to take the silver statue we've made in her image and other treasures present in the temple. Just so you know, werewolves are immune to silver.
Being a werewolf, that's where it all counts in the end. I'm not a wolf, I'm just human... at least, not until I shift and meet my mate!
Yesterday was my fifteenth birthday. Nobody even remembered it and I was glad for that. Instead of eggs and basket balls being thrown at me, my father whipped me with his belt for not ironing his shirt. Sheila and mother gave me their own share of yelling. Nobody saw me cry. Nobody saw me watching the moon outside, waiting for the change to happen.
I have nobody with me, no family, no friends, no mate, and not even my own wolf. Maybe I really am cursed. I've always wondered if maybe my birth parents would treat me like this as well, if they were still alive. Would they too consider me worthless? I don't even know why I've not met my wolf yet. I have no answers to any of my questions, whatsoever!
Last night was unbearable for me. The very thought of continuing to live like a slave for another whole year, or possibly forever, scared me. I sobbed, even went to an extend of crying myself to sleep.
In my dreams, I felt it....I felt the presence of someone... The person spoke in a deep voice, advising me to seek out the answers to my questions, and I realised that I could never find them if I continued being my Pack's slave!
Therefore, I woke up at three this morning, packed a few clothes and all the money I had in my backpack. I got dressed into my usual grey jeans that suited my body and threw on a white top, and wrote only a goodbye in a quick note. The note was only written to let them know that I left on my own free will. I promised myself not to turn back until I crossed out of the pack territory, and I've kept my promise so far.
So here I am, standing at the border of the Silverstone Moon Pack's territory, one more step away from being free from this hellhole. I don't know what life has in store for me out there. Will it be better or worse? But I'll never know standing here, where the last red flag marks the end of Silverstone Moon Pack territory.
Ahead of me I can see a blue flag marking the beginning of the Waterfall Moon Pack's territory, our neighboring Pack to the West. No wolf can pass a Pack's territory unless permission has been granted to you by its Alpha. But you know what? I'm not a wolf...I'm a human and humans don't stay in Packs!
And so, I take that one final step and I'm out of Silverstone Moon Pack territory.
"Finally, it's your chance, live your life Valerie." I say to myself in encouragement and I start walking towards nowhere in pursuit of my new life!
Checking the time, I realise it's already six. I've been walking for the past two hours and I'm sure they've found out I am missing.
"Don't think about that hellhole you've come from Valerie, new life remember?" I warn myself, not letting my thoughts to wander.
I don't know where I am since this is a new territory and I am not even worried. Even if any wolves see me they won't kill me because I am a human. That is the werewolf law.
A few minutes later, I stop walking as I grow too tired to continue. I need water and the bottle I have is now empty. Faintly, I can hear the sound of flowing water. I hope and pray that it is a nearby river or lake therefore I follow the sound. I come to a sudden halt when I reach it and I'm petrified. It's an ocean and my jaw drops at its sight!
Like the Silverstone Moon Pack, the Waterfall Moon Pack's territory is also really close to the coast. Great... this means no drinking water for me. Staring at the ocean right before me, I concentrate on the waves rising and falling, enjoying it's serenity and peace.
Some minutes pass by and I feel the sudden urge to swim even though I do not know how to swim. I stand from where I am seated on the beach sand and I make my way to the water. When the waves touch my feet, I can't resist. 'What is really happening to me?' I ask myself in a panic mode. I don't know how to swim for goodness sake!
Some years ago when Shawn 'accidently' threw me in a pool, people had had to save me once they realised I couldn't swim. But now, standing at the ocean's edge, I find myself being called by it's calmness and blue colour. I must have gone crazy because it feels right despite not having any idea on how to swim!
When the water reaches hip level, I kneel down and my body is completely submerged in the water and I begin swimming. If anyone has been watching me, they'd think I have gone insane, but there is no one around since it's an isolated beach. Call it a miracle, but I don't feel like I am dying and I don't feel the need to breathe in any oxygen. I am just moving like a fish in the water, my hands are at my side and I copy some of the movements of the swimmers that I have watched on the television before.
As I swim further and deeper into the ocean and with each stroke, I feel more and more at peace. There isn't any noise around me, just quietness and total silence here. It feels like home and I get the feeling of being safe. I feel happy and strong. I don't know what is happening to me because any other time I would have been scared of drowning, but right now, I am super excited and it feels right.
Suddenly, I feel someone grabbing my arm with more force than necessary. I start kicking my legs and I start swallowing the cold salty water as I struggle to breathe and grow extremely panicky. I feel weak and like I am going to die. I open my eyes and try to see who is holding me but I can't. The last thing I remember is being pulled to the surface of the water, and then darkness engulfs my whole being.