McKayla's Monster

Chapter 1

"McKayla, it's time to get up," my father said while lightly shaking my shoulder.

"Uurrrmmghhh," I groaned and rolled over, burying my face in the pillow. I hated mornings. They were the absolute worst. People who willingly wake up before 10 am either need to get their priorities straight (sleep being #1) or need to stop dragging everyone else down with them and just let us sleep in.

Hearing the deep rumble of dad's chuckle lightened my mood a bit. My dad was the Alpha of the BloodMoon pack, one of the largest werewolf packs in North America. Ever since his mate (my mom) died in a rogue attack ten years ago, he has thrown himself into running the pack, never stopping to enjoy life. His laughter was a pleasant surprise.

I rolled back over and opened my eyes just a crack. Flashing me a quick smile, dad stood up and said, "Come on girl, you've got a big day ahead of you," before leaving my room. His voice was full of affection, but the slight hint of his alpha tone left no room for argument. Besides, how could I not try my best to please him when he almost seemed to be on the verge of actual happiness. He didn't smile the way he did before mom died anymore and even seeing just the hint of joy that he was showing now got me excited.

Dragging myself out of bed, I trudged to the bathroom to take a shower. When I finished, I brushed my hair while watching myself in the mirror. I looked a lot like my mom, which is probably one of the reasons dad loved me so much. The only thing keeping him alive after her death was his obligations to the pack and the need to protect me and make sure that I was happy. 

Even though I did resemble her, I was only a dull version of her immaculate beauty. My auburn hair fell in frizzy curls about to my mid back, whereas her hair naturally formed the perfect beach waves and went well past her waist. Mom's flawless olive skin seemed to glow with health while my ivory skin looked pale and sickly and had a dusting of freckles across my nose that I despised. Her eyes were vividly blue in an almost surreal way, but mine were a pale dull blue with flecks of grey. The worst difference between us, however, was that while my mom had the tall and slender body of a model, I was much shorter at 5'4 and my boobs and butt were large compared to the rest of my body. My friends tried to convince me that it was "womanly," but I knew that it really just looked strange and disproportionate.

Despite all of these differences, I somehow still looked incredibly similar to her. We had similar facial structures, I guess, but according to my dad the similarities were mostly in our personalities. He loved to tell me all about how she was loving, caring, kind, innocent, sweet, and determined. Then he would say that even though she was gone, all of these characteristics that he loved so much in her had lived on in me. You have no idea how much pressure it was trying to live up to those standards. I never once thought that I would ever be even half the person that my mom was, but dad never seemed too disappointed in me, so I figured that I was doing ok.

After quickly brushing my teeth and getting dressed in skinny jeans and a simple white v-neck tee shirt, I rushed downstairs to meet my dad for our daily training.

I had graduated high school a few months earlier at the age of 16 because I skipped a grade and took as many advanced courses as I could early on. Instead of going straight to college to study marine biology like I wanted, I agreed to spend two years training for the alpha position with my dad. I told him many times that I didn't want the position. I was not born to lead, especially considering my debilitating shyness, inability to make basic decisions, and hatred of confrontation. The problem was that I was an only child, meaning that if I didn't accept the position, it would go to the beta's son, Jared. This was completely fine with me. Jared was an amazing guy and a natural born leader. He was practically my big brother growing up and would make a great alpha, even if it would break my dad's heart a little to see another family leading thepack. He convinced me to train with him for two years and if I still didn't want to be alpha after that, he would support me in pursuing whatever I wanted to do with my life. It warmed my heart knowing that my happiness was more important to him than the title. The few months that I had spent learning pack business were boring as hell, but the extra time I got to spend with dad was much appreciated.

Once I reached the bottom of the steps, I spotted dad in the kitchen. He turned when he heard me and quickly enveloped me in a warm hug. "There she is. Are you excited for today?" he asked, not ending the embrace.

"Excited for training? Not really. Excited to spend the day with you? Of course!" I replied, grinning up at him. 

Suddenly, dad gripped me by the shoulders and pushed me away a little so that he could see my face. His brows were furrowed and he was shaking his head slightly as he replied, "Training? We aren't training today. Have you forgotten what day it is?" After looking at him questioningly for a few moments, a huge grin broke over his face before he responded, "It's your birthday, silly. Today my baby girl is 17 years old. And boy do I have a surprise for you!"

My birthday? How could I forget? I guess it's easy to lose track of time when you've spent every single day for the past few months doing the same tedious paperwork and same workout routines to train. Oh god, I'm 17 today! I haven't even had time to plan anything. Not that I normally had birthday parties (that much attention on me is never fun), but I would usually at least do something fun with my friends. Last year we went to an amusement park for the day.

My dad's next words broke me out of my thoughts and sent me into a panic. "I'm hosting a ball for you tonight, and I've invited all of our allied packs. It'll be the biggest celebration that anyone has ever seen and all to celebrate you, baby girl. Everyone will see just how beautiful and kind and strong you are."

I swallowed hard and tried to keep tears from coming to my eyes. Hundreds of people would be coming to this ball and they'd all see me. I'd have to talk to so many people. I'd be the center of attention. This was my worst nightmare!

I couldn't be mad at my dad though. Not after seeing how excited he was to be doing this for me. He just wants to make you happy  I told myself before plastering on a fake smile and throwing my arms around his neck. "Oh daddy, thank you so much! Tonight is going to be so much fun! I can't believe that you did this for me. I have to go start getting ready!" I exclaimed before running up to my room. Once safely inside, I took a few calming breaths. I was going to have to find a way to get through the night without having a breakdown.

Thank you for reading! Hope you like it. :) 

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