The day it all started

"Rose…” His voice, like fine whiskey, smooth with a slow burn that lit me up from the inside.

My body is not mine to control anymore; my mind doesn’t belong to me. I try to turn around, I try to open my eyes, but in vain. The pressure of a body over me holds me prisoner between the soft sheets as a man touches me with a sense of pure adoration that makes me shiver. When I moan, unable to hold it in anymore, he growls in my ear, like the sound of my pleasure takes away all his human restrain, allowing him to become like the beast his is hiding under the skin.

“Damon!” I find myself calling a name that I don’t recognize. But in fact, I can barely recognize my own voice now. So full of need, pleading for more and more until I melt entirely under his touch.

“I’ve waited so long… Too long.” He whispers, his voice playful, yet so far from a joking now. “I don’t know how gentle I can manage to be, my dear mate.”

“Then don’t be!” I didn’t know if the words come out as an order or a plea. “Claim me until there is nothing left. Like this is the last time when…”

He interrupts me, biting my lips with a dangerous smile.

“It won’t be the last time. Tomorrow we will deal with the problem, and then return here so I can fuck you until you forget all but my name.

I look at the man and a pair of breathtaking obsidian eyes stare down at me. I lose myself in them, in the promises hidden behind his smile.

I lose myself until the darkness claims me entirely, until his voice becomes silent.

*

*

“Rose!”

A voice pulls me back to reality. His voice, again. But this time it’s drowned in desperation and anger instead of the sweet promise of pleasure.

I force my eyes to open again, but it’s so hard. My body feels too heavy and the comfort of the drakness lingers in my soul. One more second. I’ll stay here for one more second.

“Rose!” He shouts again, the sound of the battle invading my ears now. I look around, searching for him, but to no avail. The chaos of war is all around me. Huge beasts baring their teeth, tear each other to pieces, spilling blood on the thirsty ground. Rogues against rogues, no pack came to aid us and the Moon Goddess fell silent.

We lost the war and we are about to die.

*

*

“Rose!”

I wake up!

"Rose! We have to go!" My mother pleads with me, but I just wrap the blanket tighter around my head.

What was that? A dream, it was just a dream, but my heart won’t stop racing in my chest. For a second, it felt like I was burning and out of a sudden, someone poured a cold bucket of water over me.

I stay for a moment, frozen in my bed, in my room, reaclamating myself to the reality. I am home and my mother is calling me to wake up. No blood on the sheets and no war around me.

After a few more peaceful attempts, she bursts into my room and snags the blanket off the bed with surprising power for a woman of her stature.

I remember now… I took a nap in the afternoon, after I came from back school. Today is the Alpha’s son birthday. I hate him, but my mom insisted we still have to go.

Yes, that’s right. This is my reality. The rest was just a dream.

"Why do we have to go? They don't want us there!" I complain, shaking off the bad feelings, trying to grab the blanket from my mom.

"Your grandma asked us to come!"

"She hates us too!"

"That is rude. She was nothing but nice to us!" My mother gave me a warning look. We haven't talked badly about grandma since my dad died. She has no family left and she is an old, lonely woman. And that, apparently, erases all the shit she has done.

"Geee, I wonder why she has been nice lately, mom..."

"Get dressed!" My mother is done with the argument and kisses my cheek before walking out of the room. With the blanket...

I groan, but have no choice. The Alpha's son is turning eighteen today, so it wouldn't look good if a pack member was missing. But the thing is... I am not a pack member. My father was. And he is dead.

I sighed, looking in the mirror, the mist of the dream already fading away.

I am not horrible looking, or stupid, or smelly. I am entirely normal... For a human.

When dad fell in love with a human woman, it caused havoc in the pack. And when they had me, everyone just wanted to put me in a box. Human or werewolf? Well, neither, as fate proved. I am a human, mostly. I have strangely golden eyes when I am annoyed and my claws just snap out sometimes. But that's it. No wolf... no superpowers.

Unfortunately, when I was younger, I couldn't control the small supernatural characteristics that I had, so I was thrown into the werewolves' school. To be bullied relentlessly.

The worst of them all were the Beta's daughter, Caroline, and her minions. Alpha’s son, Axel wasn’t as bad, but taking in consideration he was her boyfriend, he didn’t stop her either. On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy her cruelty towards anyone unworthy of being a warrior and that gave her more confidence.

And now I have to go celebrate his birthday. I have no clue why my mother wants to keep in contact with the pack. Dad is gone... Killed by rogues to protect the damned pack. They say he was a war hero, even though everyone denies there is an actual war. Rogues aren’t organized enough aparently and the fact that many packs in the south have fallen is not enough. The dream falshes before my eyes, but I push it away. Even if a war is coming, it has nothing to do with me.

My grandparents basically tortured my mother for years, because I was not a werewolf and she spoiled their bloodline. We've been living in the human world for years. She has a job here, I can go to a normal high-school and make some actual friends for a change.

"It's important to maintain the connection, Rose. For the last time... If you were to cut ties, you would become a rogue... You could be killed by some other pack!" My mother sighed. I know she is tired of this conversation, but I am tired too of this life...

"How can we know I would become a rogue? I don't have a wolf!"

"I will not risk your life to find out! You have a few more months of high-school and then you only need to go there for important events!"

Ah... the promise of freedom... My mother really knows how to end an argument.

I pout in my seat and we drive in silence for a bit, until she reaches out, caressing my hair.

"My sweet baby... I know it's been hard. For both of us. But I promised your father I would protect you and I am trying to do it the best I can..."

"I know mom..." I answered, tears starting to form at the corner of my eyes. I miss dad...

"We can power through this evening together! Eat some good food and laugh at the ridiculously low cut dresses the girls wear to impress that prick prince."

I laughed. If anyone heard humans calling the bright and shining future alpha a prick... Oh Lord, hell would break loose.

"I don't know why they're trying. Caroline has her claws dug deep in him." I commented.

"Until he finds his mate."

"I think Caroline will kill the poor girl before he even gets the chance to mark her." I shiver as I think about it. The girl is definitely a sociopath.

"He won't let anyone hurt his mate. Your dad almost punched the Alpha when they argued about me joining the pack."

"Tell me. I like to hear the story." It's like a fairytale... My mother had no family, no one. An orphan that was just figuring herself out when she finished college. My dad was one of the best warriors in the pack. They met by accident in the mall and dad knew in an instant. Mom needed some persuasion. But once she accepted him, he didn't care who he had to fight with, she was made part of the pack, of the family. And treated like it.

"Maybe another time, sweetheart. Now it's show time."

We get out of the car and a weird feeling takes over me. Like something is about to happen. I feel like I'm about to puke.

Anxiety? No... Anticipation.

"I have to go to the bathroom!" I told my mom and rushed towards the pack house. I hope I won’t throw up on the nice carpets. They will kill me. But that doesn’t stop me. An invisible string wrapped itself around me and is pulling me towards the house.

"Rose?" I heard her calling my name, worried, but I couldn't stop.

I burst through the front door and run up the stairs to the bathroom. The feeling keeps growing in my stomach, until...

One of the doors bursts open and someone comes out running with the same desperation as me.

I freeze.

"Rose?"

How comes... How comes that, out of the sudden, Axel's voice is the sweetest melody for my ears?