I don’t want to live like this forever… There has to be someplace better than this. Somewhere Humans aren’t abused.
“It's okay baby; you’ll be fine. I won’t let him get so angry ever again.” My mother’s voice is the last thing I hear before I pass out and everything goes black.
“Fuck!” I gasp, as I wake up. I hate that fucking nightmare. If I spend too much time thinking about Coal and Quil, I dream about that day. I hated being so much weaker. I hate that so many fucked up things have happened. So much pain.
Checking the time on my small alarm clock, I see that I still have three more hours before I need to wake up.
I throw my hand over my face and groan. I always feel like shit after that dream, but I don’t have time to waste on being emotional. I need to sleep, so I’m alert tomorrow.
“Suck it up, Delilah,” I whisper, before rolling over and hiding under my blankets.
Delilah
“Fucking hell…” I grumble, as I step past the iron gates of the Academy. They’re overgrown with ivy and look like they haven’t been touched in a century. They probably haven’t, honestly. The gates are connected to a massive brick wall that wraps around the ancient building that I learned used to be a castle for ‘royal’ Humans. That thought made me snort.
I look up trying to guess just how high the wall is but roll my eyes. Why have such a huge gate and ridiculous wall surrounding an Academy inside of pack lands? No one’s going to attack this pack, and even if they did, why bother going for an Academy? Only a few of the Wolves attending would be Alphas, while the others would be Betas, Omegas, Deltas, and Lunas. None of the students here are worth attacking… Other than the Lunas, maybe? I suppose the Omega females can be valuable, but only to their mate.
Female Alphas, known as Lunas, are pretty badass if you ask me, but they’re rare. The Lunas have multiple mates as well. I’ve only ever seen one Luna before, and she was kind with gentle eyes and a sweet smile. She had at least six mates following her too. Massive Wolves with mean faces and muscles on muscles. I bet each one of them would rip heads off for her, without her even having to ask.
My heart flutters with envy just thinking about it. I’ve never had anyone but Mama. Even when she was at her strongest, she couldn’t kill anyone for me. Even if she wanted to. She did her best, and that’s more than enough for me. Now it’s my turn to take care of her. Iwillfind a way.
“I heard one of my masters say that it’s so huge because this used to be a castle for ‘Kings and Queens’, whatever those are,” a Human girl named Lily whispers conspiratorially, as she steps up beside me. I’ve known her a long time, but I’ve never really considered her a friend. She was born into a family of already Avowed Humans, making her life easier since the Wolves her parents are Avowed to are pretty kind.
Genny, another Human I’ve known since coming to this pack, is my only friend if I’m honest. Neither of us is Avowed. Yet. Lily was too lost in her own head to be a real friend. She’s oblivious to the abuse other Humans face at the hands of Wolves.
“Kings and Queens are what used to rule the Humans almost a thousand years ago,” I tell her, looking up at the Academy. Most Humans aren’t taught things like that, not anymore, but Mama knows more than your average Human and has always shared her knowledge with me. Lily frowns, and I realize my mistake too late.
“How do you know that?” she asks, clearly surprised and probably suspicious as well. Humans aren’t meant to besmart, just used. No one gives a shit what we know, just what we can do. Intelligent Humans start rebellions, and rebellions are not tolerated. Hence, my annoyance with this dumb ass Academy. What useful information could I possibly learn here when they want to keep us weak?
“Uh, Mama heard Alpha Michael say something about it once…” I shrug, as if that’s all I know; and sigh internally when Lily smiles brightly, accepting my explanation with no further questions. See, that’s what I’m talking about. One mention of Wolves and she just accepts the words as truth.
“Oh, Alpha Michael knows so much!”
The brainwashed girl prances off toward the Academy, probably tasked with retrieving her master's belongings before classes start. As far as masters go, Lily made out like a bandit. I hear her Wolf is quiet, and luckily for her, prefers men. Maybe that’s why she’s so chipper this morning. She knows she’s safe, and there’s no threat of being claimed by a psychotic bastard that gets off on seeing others bleed.
I grimace as I take an unwilling step toward my doom. It took longer than necessary to get here this morning since I had to go back to my house and retrieve the uniforms I left behind. I swear, I didn’t mean to forget them, but this uniform is honestly so horrible. Do I really need to wear a short skirt? My long red hair falls into my face when I look down at the offensive material, trying to tug it down. It’s no use, though.
On my way to the building, I can see a few Humans scattered about. Some are tending to the Wolves they serve. Some, like myself, are just trying to get to class with our throats and lives intact. One wrong move and you might find yourself kicked to the dirt.
I internally cringe when I see one of the Wolves from my pack slap her servant. The guy is twice her size andlooks like he could crush her throat in his fist with ease, but he simply takes the abuse. What else can he do? If he even attempted to defend himself, she could kill him in an instant. She may appear weak based on her size, but she’s a Wolf. They’re deceptively strong. If she shifted, he’d have no fighting chance against her. Not to mention all the other Wolves that would come to her defense if he dared to fight back.
I’ve been here three minutes, and it’s already worse than I expected.
I already know that today will be hell. Every day of my life is some degree of hell in this world. Wolves, Witches, Humans… They’re all the same, it seems. I just want to spend my days hidden in the shadows.
Maybe serve a family of Wolves who aren't known for their cruelty. Perhaps one day I’ll escape. I’ll make it to a secluded cave, where I can hide deep in a mountainside, far away from everyone and everything. That’s the dream. My one true wish that I can never speak out loud. I’ll take Mama far away, and she can live the rest of her days safe from these Wolves and their cruelty.
The universe doesn’t seem to give a fuck what I want though…
Instead, I’ll be surrounded by Wolves twenty-four-seven. It’s such a crock of shit.
This new rule isn’t fooling anyone. “All Humans above the age of twenty must now attend the Academy. Wolves of every pack will be able to claim any unavowed Humans, regardless of the packs they come from. Wolves will create alliances, and Humans will develop skills to better their futures.”I roll my eyes at the sound of the Beta of Primal Moon Pack’s voice in my head. The announcement was made one year ago, so I’ve had oneyear to think about how much more I’m about to hate my life.
Dressing me up, and sending me to this Academy, isn’t going to change shit. I know my true purpose and exactly where my place is in this pack. Beneath the boot of my abusers.
I reach up and tug on the red and black choker I’m forced to wear that marks me as a servant for Primal Moon. Its second purpose is to show that I’m unavowed. If I was to be claimed, this god-awful choker would be changed to the pack color of the Wolf I’m Avowed to.
Every time I swallow, I feel it, and it drives me fucking batty. I have to fight the urge to rip it off of me, constantly. I never had to wear it before, since everyone in the pack already knew the pack we belonged to; but it’s a part of the uniform for Humans, and I don’t particularly feel like dealing with the consequences of breaking the Academy rules. Not on day one, at least.
