The frosted grass crunches under my feet. The breeze is crisp and cool, slowly making its way through my hair, sending chills down my spine.
Vast trees loom over me, reaching for the heavens.
I can hear the faint sounds of songbirds and squirrels chattering among the bare branches.
Freedom.
"This is what freedom feels like," I mutter to myself, internally overjoyed to be away from the hellhole of my pack.
It hurts me to even call it 'mine'. It certainly does not feel like I belong in it.
All my life it always felt like I belong somewhere else. No one accepts me, or my personality.
Life in the hellhole is simple: disobey the Alpha Orion or the counsel and you get punished, though they always seem to give me the worst punishment possible, whether I deserve it or not.
The kinds of torture? Cleaning up events alone, scrubbing the Counsel House, serving the alpha personally which always results in a beating, or, worst of all, getting locked in The Pit, getting cut off from the world, staying in complete darkness. No sun, no fresh air, and no beautiful sounds of the creatures of the forest.
Somehow, the pack members find the most foolish ways to get me into at least one of the punishments every week, though I've managed to stay away from The Pit for a few months.
The lesson that I've learned? Life is unfair.
Before I have time to finish my thoughts, a howl pierces through the serene silence.
It's Agnar Castillo, the dunce that adopted me when I was a baby after Orion found me.
My backstory was quite tragic, and it still is:
The alpha, Orion, tells me that I was found in the woods with a name engraved into my skin and nothing else. What was that name? 'West', but it wasn't just engraved into my skin. It was burned.
Yes, not only did my parents (whoever they may be) abandon me in the forest during a freeze, but they felt the need to burn my last name into the backside of my wrist.
Not only that, but Orion decided to name me after the scorch marks that he found me with.
'Ashlyn West'
The fool of an alpha insists that he 'rescued' me, but only an idiot would think that. Heck, he should have let me die out in the cold. Everyone would have been happier that way.
It sounds like a story that mothers would tell their children at night before they go to bed, but obviously no one wanted me around, and it's nothing that I'm not used to.
I pay attention to the howl. The message is clear: Agnar wants me back for he gets caught for letting me escape the territory.
I'm never allowed outside the boarders. Orion thinks I'd either get killed or run away. (And I would most definitely run away, but the only thing that keeps me from doing so is my best friend, Emery Verlice. She seems to be the only one who understands me in the slightest way.)
I huff at the howl and continue my walk through the woods. If they want me back, they'll have to do it themselves. Besides, I don't care if Agnar gets in trouble with the counsel or not. It's not like he cares about me.
The howl is heard again.
I ignore it entirely and focus on the crush of frozen grass beneath my feet and the sweet song of the birds.
Imagine being able to fly through the clouds, having no problems at all...
CRACK
My head snapped around towards the origin of the sound.
The bushes.
I scent the air.
It smells of something strong...something powerful...something...familiar.
No...someone.
Someone very much familiar...
I squint my eyes at the bushes, quietly extending my claws, though staying in my human form.
At that very moment a heavy force toppled onto my backside, slamming me against the frigid ground.
I snarled and wriggled but it was no use; I was pinned.
"Going for a little stroll?" her voice hissed in my ear. Her dominant hand was pressed against the backside of my head, giving me a face full of frozen dirt. "I can't believe you fell for that trick in the bushes."
"Alora Sapphirus," I growled, still trying to loosen the daughter of the alpha's grip.
"Ashlyn West," she mused. "Trying to run away, even though you knew I can easily kill you?"
"Only in your wildest dreams," I spat.
Alora grabbed the sleeve of my black leather jacket and flipped me onto my backside, still pinning all four of my limbs. The alpha's daughter was dressed in her combat outfit, wearing a dark grey shirt and black, and skin-tight trousers that were decorated with rows of thin syringes filled with poison. (I guessed she wanted to use them on me, but her father probably wanted to do it himself.) She had dark hair, almost completely black if not for the tints of burgundy that shined in it and her skin was pale and smooth, similar to my own. We could almost pass as sisters, which was a horrifying thought.
Alora had always been able to do whatever she wanted. She was depicted as the perfect werewolf or the popular girl, with all the friends and all the parties she could ever want. It was true, she was quite powerful. Even I wouldn't pick a fight with her, but knowing who her father was and knowing her attitude made me have no hesitation.
Her ice blue eyes narrowed. "Then what were you doing outside the boarders? You know that my father, the alpha, does not want you running off to probably get killed by a deer," she snickered. "Now I have to clean up your mess."
I sneered. "He probably sent you so he wouldn't chip a finger nail. I think he would be the one to get killed by a deer."
Alora pressed her forearm against my throat and lowered her face only inches away from my own. A deep growl grew in her throat and her breath smelled of spearmint. "Listen well, you fool. My father could whip your ass any day, as could I. You're just jealous of him and me. If anything, you should thank him for saving your pretty little face seventeen years ago."
I pried at her forearm, managing to breathe again. "Why would I bother to thank him? He should have let me die, because anything is better than his pack. Even death itself."
Rage flashed in her eyes and she raised her hand, ready to maim my face in a second. "How dare-"
She couldn't finish.
A howl cut her off, but this time, it was not Agnar.
It was Alpha Orion.
Alora Sapphirus grunted and stood, hoisting me up forcefully, keeping a tight grip on my wrist, right where my scar lay. "You're not worth my time. Let's go. I'm sure my father has come up with a genius punishment for you this time."
I hated to admit it, even to myself, but she was right.
Alpha Orion definitely planned to make my life as miserable as possible, no matter what I did to deserve it or not, but whatever he decides to do, I made an oath to myself to never stop fighting until I get the freedom I deserve.
How's the first chapter?? What do you think will happen to Ashlyn now?
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The Elementals
Werewolf'She's different then us...and much more dangerous...' * * * Ashlyn West was always an outcast. Ever since she was found in the forest as a baby, with a name and nothing else, she felt like her life was on a leash and she never knew why. When...
