Bound By Betrayal

I knew I had it better than some other rejects, those members of a pack that for whatever reason found themselves at the bottom of the totem pole. My pack took pride in their ability to provide for all of their members my clothes were always clean and were never worn out even if they weren't the newest or most expensive. I was allowed to eat as long as the chores were done and I hadn't displeased the packs Alpha or Beta, so I was not malnourished. And while I could always expect to be tripped or pushed no one was allowed to abuse me excessively because, after all, the Alpha was there to protect the entire pack, even the most lowly. Still that didn't stop the hurt of knowing I am not wanted, the disappointment of knowing that if my mate was one of the members here there was little chance of being accepted, and the shame of knowing I was born to a family of traitors. My name is Ava and this is my story.

I finished the breakfast dishes from the rest of the pack and grabbed a bagel and juice pouch before dashing around the corner to my room. Technically it was supposed to be a storeroom but I was very grateful for the small space that I was allowed to call my own. Only unmated adults and the Alphas family stayed in the pack house, the rest of the pack had homes scattered throughout the ranch. When my siblings betrayed the pack, the Alpha exiled my mother, offering to keep me against the advice of his Beta because I was only seven and obviously not a part of the deception. At first mother was outraged and then desperate to have me at her side, Alpha Richard explained that it would be best for me to have the stability of the pack. My father had been killed in the attack, leaving my mother emotionally crippled and she would be in no shape to raise a child without the support of the pack. Life as a rogue would be hard enough, life as a rogue caring for a child with the burden of a dead mate...lets just say it was unlikely my mother lived to see the next year. And so it was decided. I was moved into the pack house, losing my entire family and any chance of respect in one night.

It was Saturday and I was free once the kitchen and bathrooms were cleaned. I was up before the sun to finish the bathrooms and breakfast was faster on the weekends as many of the unmated members rarely came home on Friday nights. I finished eating as I straightened out my bed and the rest of my room. Grabbing the bag I had prepared earlier I headed out the door to the creek. One of the concessions that had been made was that I was not allowed to change into my wolf without permission from Alpha Richard or Beta Clark so I jogged the three miles. Thankfully, even in my human form that was not a problem and the exertion helped clear my mind. As a child, the restrictions placed on me were not a cause of distress. Barely of age to change form and certainly not old enough to leave the ranch without supervision I hadn't even really understood my position until I was ten. A child starts to shift between the ages of five and seven; they work on that skill and learning to control their wolf until they are around ten. At that age they begin training. Nothing too hard of course, but each and every wolf needed to be able to defend themselves and their pack before the age of seventeen when they are allowed to claim their mate. They may be aware of their mate before that, there is no magical age, it just depends on how you develop and how mature your wolf is, but laying claim on them and making it a monogamous relationship was not allowed until you were seventeen by pack law. Basically, because I was not allowed to free or train my wolf I was unlikely to find my mate anytime soon and because I wasn't allowed to leave the ranch and talk to others, I was socially awkward to say the least.

The joy of going to the creek was that none of that mattered there. I was free to be myself without the worry of offending someone or being judged. I slipped between the bushes that hid me away from the world and concealed the soft grassy bank that was my haven. Staring into the slow water I unbraided my brown hair and stretched out on the ground, my toes pointed toward the water as the tension from the week melted away. Sighing softly I let my hazel eyes drift shut and relish the feel of the early morning sun kissing my nutmeg brown skin. Rolling over to my stomach I reach for the bag I had dropped and grabbed my sketch pad. It was one of my few belongings and was definitely a favorite; the other was the pendant I wore around my neck. It was a jade green crystal cut into the shape of a heart, attached to the top were delicate gold wings that lay on either side of the chain that held it close to my chest. It was close to being a choker now; it had been on the same chain since I was a child and no longer hung as loose as it once had. The chain had been a present from mother, passed down to the youngest girl in the family for generations as she had told me. The sketch book had come from Jared, one of the few pack members who didn't try to act like I didn't exist, or told me straight out that they wish I didn't. I tried to capture the beauty around me on paper, something I could count on turning to during the week when beauty and peace were scarce. The hours slipped by quickly by the creek and the sun was just passed its zenith when I started to pack up. The precious little time I had to myself had danced away with the water in the creek and it was time to return the pack.

As if to drive the point that I was hardly as carefree as I had pretended to be while alone, I had barely made it a quarter of a mile when reality slapped me in the face. Literally slapped me, in the form of Jessica Melby. Jessica had lost an older sister in the failed coupe and made no attempt to hide her contempt for me.

"Watch where you're going you idiot!" her voice was almost as jarring as the slap itself, pulling me out of my reverie. I hadn't seen her sitting out in the sun, with a few other girls from the pack and had tripped over her leg, although tripping over her leg and being tripped by her leg were one in the same in my world. I dropped my bag and tried to mutter an apology when her friends stood up and came to her side.

"Jessica are you alright?" Brandy her best friend exclaimed, "You stupid ox! You may have bruised her leg, what the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed at me.

"She's too stupid to know how to walk and way too stupid to learn where she isn't wanted," Jessica added as she glared at me. I tried to make myself smaller, feeling my cheek burn with humiliation and the sting of her hand.

" At least now we don't have to wait for the boy's to come lug this crap back for us," a low voice uttered from the background. Chris, or CJ as she preferred to be called. She was the Beta's daughter and while she never struck me she always managed to find the most menial or dirty jobs for me. When I saw her I knew that there was some form of cardio or grime in my immediate future. With straight long dark hair and blue eyes that could kill from across the room her looks definitely fit in with the other girls. Her serious demeanor and lack of interest in laying down for any wolf who looked her way definitely set her apart. Honestly I wondered if being the Beta's daughter was the only reason the girls hadn't turned on her, after all her sharp tongue and glare weren't reserved just for me and she wasn't afraid to growl her disapproval at the antics around her.

With an imperious finger Jessica pointed to the collection of blankets, water, lotions, magazines and snacks they had laid out for their comfort. She didn't even bother to speak, knowing that I would handle it without complaint. My wolf growled in my head, she hadn't yet abandoned me but with limited time to shift she was far too weak to to more to express herself outwardly. I consoled her with a sigh as I started gathering thier belongings, taking care not to rip the pages of the magazines or drop anything. I didn't even look up as I heard their voices in the distance laughing loudly as they finished the trek back to the house, its not as if I actually expected help, but it would have been nice.

* we wouldn't have tripped over her legs if she would get used to keeping them closed once in a while* my wolf stated snidely as I arranged the collection into a pile I could manage. My wolf could always make me smile and often replayed moments in my head adding in the changes she wished we could make a reality. It was a bit like instant replay combined with improv and it always helped lighten my mood. For example, right now she was imagining that scene with me telling telling Jessica I didn't trip over her legs I was trying to teach her how to shut them and recommending that they use their big mouths to carry their own crap. Of course I wouldn't be juggling a pink water bottle and a pile of other randomness if I were free to say any of it.

" One day we will be free to speak our minds and go where we want. You'll see, we will get out of here I promise", I reassured her as she sulked in the back of my mind.

Although I understood most shifters felt it was their wolves who kept them strong, for us it was definitely more of a partnership. There were times when each of us were ready to just give up and accept this was going to be our lot in life. I would always tell her we would make our way out one day or prove our worth to the rest of the pack and she would always tell of her dream that our mate would take us away and cherish every moment with us. My image of my mate varied from day to day but it was always a wolf. Don't judge me. The plain and simple truth was that it was my wolf who kept that dream alive and I was willing to give it to her. I personally find that whole knight in shining armor stuff cliche and outdated. I knew that if we were going to make it we would have to take that step on our own. And so I dream of four legged love.

I entered into the house only to hear Jessica's whiny sniveling about how I attacked her and how if CJ wasn't there I wouldn't have stopped. Great. Just freaking great.