-Dani-
The ringing of my alarm woke me up at six AM sharp and my eyes fluttered open, I sighed and flung the quilt off of my body letting my feet touch the cold concrete. The basement wasn't an ideal place for someone to sleep during the winter, but it was my room and I was grateful that I even had one. Before I could take more than three steps towards the stairs I felt an overwhelming pressure starting in the center of my forehead, my brother was trying to speak to me through our mind link.
'Dani'
I didn't reply, he knew I was listening.
'I need you upstairs, now.'
I slipped on a pair of pants and a shirt from the floor of my room, I didn't usually have time to brush through my hair so it didn't come as a surprise to me when I felt the matting in the back of my head. I grabbed a water bottle from under my bed and started up the stairs.
"Kale," I greeted him with a bow.
"Alpha Lican is coming back tonight from his meeting in Iowa, we expect the house to be nothing but presentable by tonight. You will not be attending school today, I suggest you get to work now."
"But-" I opened my mouth to protest and was instantly met with the back of his hand. My head whipped to the left and I felt warm liquid fill my mouth. I jiggled my tooth with my tongue, spitting it into my hand feeling another one growing in immediately.
When I looked up he was turned on his heel and walking down the hallway towards his room. I stood in place, my fingernails cutting into the palms of my hand before following orders and descending the stairs towards the cleaning closet.
The alpha was a male, a man of 20 years old, his father passed away and in doing so, passed the title of Alpha onto his only born son. I was the sister of the only living son of the Beta of the pack, our parents went missing, and when it was determined they were dead around my seventh birthday, my brother was pronounced Beta at the age of nine. Since then, he's been working under the thumb of both the Alpha and his deceased predecessor.
The three strongest families of the pack resided in the pack house, there were five tiers to the house of Lycans. The first tier was the Alpha family, there the Alpha oversees everything from the perimeter line to the cul-de-sac of houses in our community. Next came the second tier which belonged to the Beta family, the Beta works directly underneath the Alpha, seeing that the orders are followed and even giving orders of his or her own accord. The third tier was the pack warriors, they were there for the protection of the families and the children of the Alpha and of the Beta. Level four was where the omegas were stationed, omegas were there to carry out regular orders for the good of the pack, making themselves appear normal to humans and give the impression that Lycans or 'night monsters' weren't real. The last and final tier of the house was for the pack shaman, the wisest and eldest pack warrior, whose position it was to provide insight and advice for the Alpha. The pack Shaman was also capable of taking an Alpha's place in an Elder meeting, should that event ever arise.
I was part of the second strongest family in the pack, yet I slept in the basement. My brother called me weak, and the other lycans I attended school with looked down on me, as a weak link in a pack of Lycans was unheard of.
I felt my teeth elongating and I stopped my anger from surfacing, it was dangerous. I had changed form or 'shifted' as my brother called it, on my fifteenth birthday. It was agony, feeling my bones break and change into those of a wolf, which made the experience both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. It was the anger I couldn't break past, it surfaced quickly and made itself known. The savage part of me reveled in the anger and wanted to dominate my psyche...but the part of me that was still human knew better.
Control.
Breathe.
It's just another day.
---------------------------------
It'd been hours since Alpha Lican's return and I was of course was stuck in the basement, the sound of loud bass thumped and the myriad of heels clacked against my ceiling.
Suddenly and surprisingly my door was swung open and I listened to a man and woman descend the stairs,
"There's no beer down here!" The man yelled towards the top of the stairs, his call was followed by laughter and the door slamming shut.
"I guess they want us to be isolated..." the woman giggled, I recognized her voice. Casey Scherman, her father worked as a guard to the Lican perimeter.
I stepped back further into the shadows of the room, his hearing picked up on my steps and I cursed internally.
"Show yourself," he ordered, and I felt myself stepping grudgingly into the light, his command was law.
"Oh my God...what are you doing here?" Casey smirked, a chuckle playing in her voice as I stepped forward. I cleared my throat and readied my voice to reply,
"The woman asked you a question," his voice echoed throughout the basement and I jolted backwards unintentionally.
"This is... my room," I replied, directing my eyes towards the floor.
"Your room? But, I don't understand... are you... ?" My eyes rose and I felt my hands getting warm, the only person to ever call me by my name without effort was my mother.
"Danielle Rover," A sarcastic smile stretched across Alpha Lican's face before his eyes met mine and their once gray color turned dark and black. Curiosity, lust and adoration appeared in his eyes but as quickly as they were there, they were gone. I knew his expressions well because they matched mine, I wasn't as adapted to the Lycan form as well as my pack, but it didn't take an idiot to figure out that I was his mate...and he was mine.
"What the hell is going on?" Kale's voice interrupted my thoughts and my head snapped to the doorway, he descended the stairs slowly.
No one answered, what was I to say? What was anyone to say?
"Kale...your sister interrupted the Alpha's party," Casey's voice broke the silence.
My head turned towards her and my eyes beaded into her skull, that little liar. I watched as my brother looked between Casey and I.
"She brought Alpha Lican down here under the impression that there was alcohol in this ratty little basement. Obviously she lied," Casey shrugged her shoulders, resting her hand on Alpha Lican's chest.
Kale's eyes narrowed and he looked to me,
"Dani...I would like to see you outside. Now." He spoke through gritted teeth before turning towards the Alpha and Casey and apologizing profusely.
I walked up the stairs and towards the back door. There was no doubt in my mind that Kale was going to punish me for insubordination against his orders of the night to 'stay in my room' and 'keep quiet'.
I paced back and forth, waiting for my brother to come outside and scold me, slap me around and send me back to the house. Finally, the door slid open and he stepped into the moonlight.
"Dani...I gave you an order to follow tonight. You disobeyed me and deliberately tried to get the alpha alone, this is something I can't tolerate. You know what has to happen." He spoke. I nodded and walked closer to him, expecting him to swipe my leg out from under me I hardened my abdomen to take the fall.
Instead he made me kneel in front of him,
"What were you doing with the Alpha?" He asked. I looked up at him and his fist immediately came into contact with my cheekbone.
"Answer me." He demanded.
"The Alpha came down the stairs with Casey, they were looking for something. The pack locked them in the basement together, I assume they think the Alpha and Casey make a good match-" Another blow to the face stopped me mid-sentence.
"You do not ever talk about the Alpha and his relationship. Tell me the truth about tonight. I will not hold back on you because you are my blood." He promised. I believed him, but all I could do was tell the truth.
"The Alpha came down the stairs with Casey, they were looking for something. The-" His next punch made my knees wobble, he was increasing his strength with every attack. My right eye was swelling, it was becoming harder and harder for me to see.
"Why was it so important for you to see him? What significance does a man whom you've only seen twice have to you?" He spat.
"He's my mate," I managed to mumble through the thickening blood pooling in my mouth.
This time, his fist went into my stomach and I doubled over, gasping for air.
"I didn't know that lying was a trait you picked up over the years, Dani." He spoke harshly as he grabbed my hair and slammed my face into the sliding door.
I felt my nose tear to the side and I groaned, he grabbed my jaw next and brought me up to his level so that I was face to face with him. My feet struggled to touch the ground again,
"You...don't know...anything about...me." I managed to speak with blood spewing from my mouth and he dropped me onto the ground.
"You're right, and I never want to. You're nothing but a worthless excuse for a Beta, and a poor example of a sister. Every time I see you, I feel bile in my throat and I want nothing more than for Rogues to tear you limb from limb while I watch so I can congratulate them on having more courage to stand up to a ranking wolf than you have ever had in your pathetic life."
He brought his fist back once more and knocked my head into the concrete of the poolside before wiping his knuckles on his pants and walking back into the house.
-Kale-
My sister had the tendency to destroy everything that made me happy. Perhaps what I said was cold but she needed to learn that the way she was living was not going to last her long in this world. She needed to be stronger, and she wasn't going to learn that if I let her pick flowers and sing songs all day.
"Kale," Alpha Lican's hand found my shoulder and I smiled,
"Alpha," I replied. I made my way towards the kitchen to wash my hands and he followed,
"Formalities Kale, you know you don't have to call me Alpha. To you it's always Drew." He chuckled, bringing a cup to his lips before noticing the blood on my hands.
"You alright?" He asked, gesturing towards my knuckles. I nodded and looked to him,
"I'm fine. It's not my blood, Dani...I'm sorry about her, she really needs to learn when to shut up-" Suddenly his hand was wrapped around my throat and his eyes grew dark and bold.
"You hurt her?" His voice was overflowing with dominance and aggression before his eyes softened and he cleared his throat, removing his hand from my neck.
"She...needs to learn to be tough, to take a beating." I straightened my shirt out.
"Right, no you're absolutely right. Strange girl she is, you need to keep her close to you." He nodded to me, glancing around the room nervously before chuckling and shaking his head and exiting the kitchen.
The party ended at around 1 AM and I let my legs carry me to my bed, before I could flop down and let myself fall asleep my hand found a note on the side of the bed.
'Kale'
'Tonight was a night to remember. Not only did my only brother call me a liar in front of our Alpha, he let an Omega disrespect me in front of my mate. The second our eyes met, I knew that I was meant to be his but I was also aware that I could never be that. When I told you that you knew nothing about me, I wasn't lying.
You aren't aware of the rage that constantly boils within me, how much I yearn for freedom from you and this fucking hell of a life. You never notice how much malice is put into my glare, how much disgust emits from my stares. I cannot control these urges anymore, I have no choice but to go rogue and leave this pack behind forever.
On my fifteenth birthday, you insisted that I stay inside all day and all night. It didn't work Kale, I was so confused as to why you were keeping me locked up all day, but now I know and I want you to know that your plan failed.
I shifted.
That's right. I found my wolf, and I've been needing to release her for too long. There will come a day, when you will see me again and the only thing in your eyes that will be visible is fear. You will know nothing but fear when you are in my presence, and I can't wait to show you what that is like.
-Dani
The last paragraph of her note sent chills through my body, and I knew...that my sister was gone. She'd been replaced by a monster.