•Ashley•
When my eyes flew open, I felt an excitement in me and awaited the voice other people my age often felt.
I stayed in that position for several minutes, but felt or heard nothing. With a sigh, I sat up, pulled the miniature cake I had smuggled into my room last night.
I lit the candles on the cake with a lighter before wishing myself a happy birthday. After that, I ate the cake with relish.
I wasn't bothered about keeping some for anyone, as I knew no one would remember my birthday anyway.
I quickly arranged my room, then moved to my bed. I pulled out a wooden, rectangular box and knocked it open.
Currencies of different values were strewn all over the ground. Happily, I reached out to pick them.
After counting, I felt even happier seeing the money was now enough for me to go to the city.
Feeling someone in the room with me, I tilted my head backwards, but failed to see anything suspicious.
With a shrug, I hid the money under my bed and walked out of my room.
My mother wasn't at home and it was boring to stay at home. Just then, I heard the voices of some pack members.
"I'm thinking of volunteering for the cleaning of Alpha Duel Ceremonial Site. What do you think about it?"
"I was also about to tell you of my decision. I heard a lot of hands are needed for the cleaning."
"Let's head there together then."
I could no longer hear them, but that was no longer my concern.
"Hello?"
I stopped hearing the voice. Turning around, I furrowed my brows in confusion, wondering if I heard right.
Seeing no one, I turned to my front and walked towards the wooden door.
"Idiot, aren't you going to answer me?" The voice came up again and my hand, which was about to lift up the latch, stopped.
I am now beyond upset after being called an idiot.
"If there's an idiot here, it's you! Not only did you call me and hide, but you also are an abusive bitch!" I said furious.
"What's this? Did I come to the wrong body? I'm your wolf, you idiot!" The voice lashed out.
I paused, before getting excited. My wolf? I finally had a wolf, a buddy to talk to?
"Hey, my name is Ashely Rowland. What's yours?"
I heard her sigh before saying. "My name's Kiara. It's a pleasure to know you're sane!"
Although I felt offended, I didn't pursue the matter again. I lifted the latch and walked out of the door, closing it afterwards.
When I got to the Duel Site, I was a little surprised to see a lot of people in it. I thought this was voluntary or is there a pay?
Kiara was a little lost. "What is happening?"
"The Alpha has two sons who are both outstanding, so he's kinda confused who to give the position to. So there's a duel between them. Whoever wins, will take up his position."
When I talked, I lowered my face to the ground and stood in the waiting line.
"You know, I can only see the floor and not what's happening in front of me." I heard Kiara say it again and sighed.
"I'm kinda unwanted here. So it's not safe for me to be sighted." I timidly replied.
Kiara said nothing for a few seconds before hissing. "Why would you be unwanted? Unless you have some sort of sickness or..."
"I'm scarred!" I hurriedly said, breathing out heavily.
Unfortunately for me, my voice attracted some other workers who turned to look at me. The moment they recognized me, everyone started moving away.
"So, because you're scarred, you think you're unwanted? What kinda mentality do y'all have?!" I heard Kiara shout.
"Stop, okay?" I sighed and walked out of everyone's view. "I've been living like this for 18 years and nothing has happened to me."
"You have been living that way alone. Now, I've appeared and I'm not going to live like a sore loser!" Kiara rebuffed.
I expected her to say more but unexpectedly, she went silent. After staying three minutes without hearing her voice, I felt guilty.
"Look, I'm sorry. I just prefer to talk to people while putting on a mask. I don't blame them because my scar is also disgusting."
"How did you get it?" I heard her ask.
"I've had it since I was young. I have no idea why."
"When we get home, hold up a mirror so I can get a glimpse of what you look like. For now, what exactly did you come here for?"
"To clean up." I replied and got up from the ground.
"You live here or are you a slave or something?"
The question made me laugh out. "You're funny, Kiara. So you think only slaves get to clean the town square?"
"I don't know. It's my first time."
I caught sight of a woman dropping some dustpans. To ensure she wouldn't see me, I walked up to her and swiftly grabbed one.
"It's good to know I'm not in a totally useless body." I heard Kiara say smugly.
"We need to clean up here before 4pm. Then we'd rush home to have a change of clothes so we could witness the fight with our own eyes."
Kiara didn't decline, so I got to work almost immediately. By 2:56pm, everyone was done. The cleaning lasted for three hours.
"Did you know, Marcellus is the son of the woman his father had an affair with back then?"
"I suspected that, because Marcellus and Maverick are both the same age?"
I stood still when I saw one of two women glance around, then leaned over to whisper into the other's ears.
Although I didn't hear entirely what she said, I did hear something about Marcellus being the weaker one.
"Marcellus and Maverick, they must be the ones who'll be dueling today?" I heard Kiara ask and nodded.
By this time, I was already on my way back home. "There are. However, I think I prefer Marcellus to Maverick. Maverick has this evil gleam in his eyes but always smiles. Marcellus on the other hand, is quite cold, hardly smiles but looks like someone who lacks love."
"Just say you like him and stop beating about the bush." Kiara laughed.
This time, I was beyond embarrassed as I quickly shushed her. "Don't spout nonsense!"
"Okay!"
When I passed my mother's room, I heard her talking in a small voice, but recalling the duel was soon to begin, I hurried into my shabby room and got dressed.
I hit the road once again with a changed dress and a face mask. I got to the townsquare just in time to see the fight begin.
Unexpectedly, my heartbeat quickened as I felt a prickly heat. I never realized what it was until I heard Kiara shout out in excitement! "Mate!"
Marcellus who was inside the ring, turned towards my direction, his eyes clashing into mine. My heart beat slowed down when I heard Kiara sniffle out in certainty.
"That's our mate!"
I guess I distracted him as he got hit on the jaw by Maverick. This, of course, didn't stop him from looking at me again. This time, a lot of people looked in my direction. "Come on Kiara. I think we need to go." I muttered underneath my breath. However, Kiara, who was excited about meeting her mate, didn't want to leave without acknowledging him. "Why do we have to leave?" She whined. "His stare is attracting attention. I hate basking in the limelight." This time, I didn't wait for her to respond, as I quickly ran away. Not long after I ran off, I heard the sound of running footsteps behind me. I hid behind a pillar and watched him glance around with a calm expression. Just when he was about to walk towards it, one of the pack warriors, Cage Sandler, Marcellus' best friend, ran up to him. "Bro, you suddenly took off in the middle of the duel. Everyone will think you're scared of Maverick." Cage said. Marcellus didn't look at him, but had his eyes pointed towards my directio
~Marcellus~Father had scolded me right after I left appeared before his eyes. "Do you know what your action today cost me?" I lowered my head and nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry I disrespected you, but I had a pressing need I had to attend to." "What need could be more important than a duel the whole pack has been looking forward too? Or did brother realize he was going to lose and called a truce?" It was no one else than the evil saint in person of my half-brother, Maverick. His voice is a great thorn in my flesh and each time, I wish I can put an end to him. "You should know when to speak and when not to! Or do you not realize you're disrespecting father?!" I yelled, snapping my head to the direction of his voice. The man stood silently beside my father, grinning wickedly at me. "If you two bicker here, you're disrespecting me more!" His words seemed to calm the growing tension between us as Maverick looked away. Although I couldn't meet father's eyes, I roamed my eyes around
~Ashley~Willow took my hand and led me out a little farther from the spot I was attacked, then she let go of me. Now, I laid naked on the sand as I hadn't gotten to where I left my clothes. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but I want you to stop coming around Marcellus. Marcellus is my mate and I will not condone someone like you going close to him." She said with an evil smile. It was cold outside, and because I had used up my strength when I let Kiara be in charge, I nodded weakly. "You answer with your tongue when you talk to me. However, I can tear it out of your mouth and render you mute so you can nod your head whenever you are asked a question." She grinned. I looked down at the sandy ground and supported my weight with my hands. "I've heard you, Willow. I promise you, it won't happen again." I could see Willow was not ready to relent. She glanced around and walked up to me, then she squatted and drew closer to my left ear. "Ashley, I don't care if you're his rea
~Ashley~I woke up because of the chirping of birds. It was a pleasant morning as the golden sun rays suggested, but recalling the last thing that happened before I fell unconscious, I got up immediately. I looked beside me to see the dry bones beside me. His skin had gone thin and clung to his bones so tightly that it was difficult to tell them apart. I felt nauseous remembering I had rendered him in such a condition by draining him of his blood. I staggered to the river bank and instantly drew water up with my hands. I splashed it multiple times on my face before I breathed out in relief. My eyes soon narrowed down to the water which reflected my face. A spotless face. Without any scar on it! Minutes of staring emotionlessly into the water didn't help, my face still remained the same. I was prompted to splash mud on my face when I heard hurried footsteps coming from the forest. I felt a hard hand press down on my shoulder then I was thrown backwards. I landed on my back and w
I guess my nagging took Cassie by surprise. It also caught the attention of the other wolves. Then I heard the girl who had brought the news say, "Omegas might be low in rank, but they are still considered better than those without any rank. Talk more of an ugly, terribly scarred, duckling." "You—" The word slipped out of Cassie's tongue before I could stop her. Surprised at my defiant look, Cassie snorted and lowered her head angrily. I turned to look at the girl and smirked amidst the mud which had stiffened my face. "Omegas like you only know how to look down on the pack members. If we don't give you the fear you want, that makes you like us." I had a lot of things in my head so I didn't bother to listen to whatever she had to say or the surprised gasp that rang out of everyone's lips. I walked into the house and slammed the door shut. When I got to my room, I picked up my mask and headed to the bathroom, taking with me a small, rough mirror. I once again confirmed I was beau
I heard Cage move from where he stood to my front. Then he squatted to my kneeling height. "You were the only one we saw there, are you sure you saw nothing?" Once again, I shook my head. "I really didn't." "That's okay, you can raise your head now." I heard Maverick say and obliged by looking up slowly. I evaded everyone's eyes and stared towards the air. I saw Cage nod his head at Jerry who walked forward with a necklace. He held it thinly and dangled the pendant. "Isn't this yours?" I looked down on my chest to notice the crescent pendant which often hung on my neck was nowhere to be found. "I must've lost it when I was running." I replied. Jerry breathed out and turned to Cage. "I found this right beside the body of Omega George." That was when it hit me! It must've fallen off when I went unconscious. "You better not be lying because—" Jerry was interrupted with the abrupt presence of Marcellus. He entered the room like he owned the place. How could I forget, he really d
~Willow~I waited anxiously in my room for night to cover. If there really was a vampire beside the river, it could be my only chance to make father happy. I was distracted when I heard a knock on my door. So I got up and walked towards it, when I opened it, I came in contact with a servant. "The Alpha's eldest son asks for you to meet him beside the lake." She delivered, bowed slightly and walked away. Marcellus wants to see me? The thought of it made my wolf excited. Without wasting another second, I slipped out of my room and headed towards the lake. When I got there, I found him seated on his usual spot, his drawing book in his hands and his attention solely on whatever he was sketching under the moonlight. However, he closed the book as soon as I got closer to him and got up. We stared at each other in silence before I decided to break it. "You asked for me." He breathed out and walked towards me. I could hear his soft breathing and the urge to be marked by him overwhelmed
~Ashley~I woke up due to the voices in my head. "Blaine, Kiara, can you two lower your voices? I'm trying to sleep here!" Kiara quietened but as the demon that she was, Blaine didn't want to. "Come on, there's no need to be harsh on the little wolf." "Who do you think you're referring to as little!" Kiara rebuffed, getting ready for another squabble. The same one which woke me. Just when I was about to caution them, the door to my room swung open and Cage walked in. "Good morning and sorry for entering in such a rash way. Your presence is needed at the meeting room." He said as he walked towards me. "Ever since I got into this house, I've lost my right as a pack member as most of them now think I killed one of my kind." I said as I got up from the wooden bed. "We didn't really blame you, we just hoped you had seen what happened. But I don't think you're needed again because another killing transpired last night." He smiled and looked towards the door. "Let's move along while