Imogen is her pack's runt. She was a surprise to her family, and a disgrace. Her father is the gamma of her pack so her existence as the runt is a disappointment and disgusting.
Her family wait for the moment when she can find her mate, leave the pa...
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My mother made no comment about my change of outfit, nor the fact that my blood is staining the air from the cut on my arm. She's lost her voice for the time being, the thought of being in the public eye is draining to her more than it is for me.
I don't even think that my father noticed the dress change which is fine by me. Even though I feel drab and lifeless without my curls or my outdoor boots, if this is what I have to do to be allowed to eat again, I'll do it.
"None of you embarrass me, you hear me!" My father snarls at us with such savagery that my mother and I both flinch at the site of my father struggling to control his wolf.
Mercifully, the car pulls up outside of the pack house meaning my father is forced to push his wolf back down into a controllable place. My mother stumbles against my father as he grips her to his side, claiming and harsh. Both my brothers stand in front of me, I find my place behind them. Head bowed, arms hanging in front of my body, I'm in the perfect submissive runt form. My body language alone screams to the wolves that I'm a lesser being and they love it the more I hate it.
"Little tree-wolf what happened to your other dress?" The wolf from before grabs my arm and my attention, forcing me to look over at him as he speaks.
"It wasn't appropriate." I reply flatly before shaking my arm free of his grasp and scurrying after my family.
We are all shown to our seats, I'm placed beside my mother which I am so grateful for. This meal will already be a nightmare so being placed by my mother is a small mercy.
There's a rumbling of murmuring as the other pack and alpha arrive. As they get closer I can feel my subdued wolf nipping and yipping in the back of my mind. I swallow hard and look back down at my empty plate, scolding my wolf as I do so.
A hush descends on the room as the alpha walks in. Still I don't look up even though a shadow casts behind me.
"This is it?" I hear a deep voice scoff and speak with venomous disgust. "This is what I've been waiting for? A fucking runt."
I flinch in confusion, there's no question now that he's speaking about me. Whoever he is.
Taking a deep breath, I decide to move and look at the voice which is speaking about me with such venom. No one else in the room has moved from their shocked expression, even my father has been rendered speechless.
Looking over my shoulder, I flinch as the burning red eyes of an alpha flame into my face.
My wolf whimpers sadly before whispering mate in the back of my head. I gasp as I suddenly realise why this alpha is so disgusted with my existence, he's been given a runt for a mate.
"You'll pay for this." He murmurs to me, his voice laced with the promise of threat and pain. There's nothing I can do except turn my gaze back down to my plate and sniffle the tears in my eyes back to the corner of my mind where they came from.
As soon as the alpha takes his place beside our alpha, the conversation begins to lull back to life in the room. Soon the moments of silence are over, not forgotten because that's all the gossip there is flying around the room, but no one is looking at me which is something.
My mother's hand sneaks onto my lap and finds mine. She squeezes it softly, supportively and I know how desperate my mother is to mindlink me right now, but once again I can't do that. My wolf is too weak, too separate from the rest of the pack to do that. We will just have to settle with holding hands until we can talk freely.
Still my eyes remain fixed on the placemat before me, if I look up the tears won't stop. Right now the only thing stopping them from falling is hiding myself.
When the food begins to be brought out, my stomach growls excitedly and I let my eyes dart upwards towards the door before immediately dropping them once again.
The two alphas and any family they have are served first. Then the betas and finally it is my father and our turn. I will be left till last but I don't care. After my mother, father and siblings are served a plate is wafted before my nose as the server lowers the plate down in front of me.
"No." My father holds his hand, dismissing the food from before me. "She gets nothing."
There's a ferocious snarl from the other side of the room. My eyes dart upwards, intrigued at the protest for me. Down in my gut, I hope it is in fact my mate who is defending me but when I look at him he is disinterested in a conversation with my alpha.
Confused, I keep looking for someone who could have made the noise, but I can't see anyone who is even looking in my direction. Just as I'm about to give up and let my gaze drop back down to my shoes, my eyes link with the man from the apple tree. He's sitting beside my mate, the alpha, meaning he himself is a beta.
I'll admit I didn't see that coming, why would a beta be sneaking around the territory he has just been invited to?
I give up on my thoughts and instead turn my attention back to the flagstone floor and my feet. The rest of the meal passes in a blur, I don't even have the desire to follow along with any conversation or gossip- it's all about me anyway.
Instead, I let myself drift back up to my apple tree and hide in its branches. I hide from this meeting and from the beta, that way I would never have realised that my mate didn't want me.
This morning I was still hopeful that my mate would love me, as a runt and as Imogen... but now that dream is just a shattering of disappointment.
