The Rejected Alpha

I was standing in a corner of a very beautiful house, shaking.

I was scared, absolutely terrified, but I didn't know of what.

I saw a couple, probably in their thirties, back up into the other corner of the room I was standing in. The man was badly injured, the woman less so, both bleeding, a look of sheer terror on their faces.

A very nasty loud and vicious growl was heard from behind. This caused the woman to weep even more and the man, who could barely even stand up, tried to shield her with his last strength.

I hid myself further behind the curtains that were shielding me. Tears where streaming down my cheeks and I couldn't stop the scream that erupted from me as a large creature pounced on them, ripping them to shreds in a matter of seconds.

When the beast was done, it started to walk away, its head completely doused in blood. Then it abruptly came to a halt a couple of metres away from the bloody scene and sniffed the air.

Oh no, had it sensed me?

It slowly turned to my direction.

A low growl came from the beast before it ran towards me, full speed, ripping the curtains that were shielding me, away. It stared at me with cold hard eyes, a fire burning behind its grayish-blue eyes. It took a step closer and I shut my eyes knowing it was all over....

"Adriane! Wake up!" Someone shrieked whilst shaking me. I opened my eyes to see Mavis, my friend, shaking me with a panicked look on her face. When I became aware of my surroundings and I realised that I wasn't dead yet, I got my breathing under control. Then I spoke.

"What?" I asked wiping the sweat off my forehead. My heart was still racing.

"You were having a nightmare again." she told me frowning but looking somewhat relieved. Her green eyes scanned my entire frame to make sure I hadn't done any harm to myself this time. It usually gets so bad that I end up scratching and clawing while I sleep and sometimes, my body becomes a canvas.

"I know, but it felt so real this time." I said sighing. I keep having this re- occurring dream and every time it gets scarier.

Wait, scratch that. It's a nightmare.

That doesn't go away and that doesn't change, except for intensity, that always goes up.

After some minutes of silence, Mavis stood up.

"Ok, enough with the afternoon naps then, come on, its time for dinner and you know Luna Kelly doesn't appreciate latecomers." I smiled at the thought. The Luna was a really nice lady but she did have a thing for tardiness.

Sighing, I got up and went to the bathroom to quickly brush my teeth to get some fresh breath since I had been sleeping. I came out later and followed Mavis out of the door and we made our way towards the dining hall. Luckily the Alpha and the Luna hadn't arrived yet, so Mavis and I quickly took our seats.

I was staying at the Alpha's house with some other people and the Alpha himself, Alpha Derrick of the Midnight Moon pack, the Luna, Luna Kelly and their two kids, Gracie and Michael.

I moved here after I was found on their forest grounds about a year ago...

**Flashback from last year**

I got home from school that day in a bad mood. I was late to school because I accidentally broke my alarm clock the day before. I got detention, my history teacher gave me a whole crap load of homework and my bike broke down on my way home, so I had to walk the rest of the journey, in the pouring rain.

What a great birthday.

So I got home in a bad mood, obviously, but it turned around when I saw the surprise birthday party for me. It wasn't really a party, but there was food, drinks, a cake, my parents and my five year old sister who was busy oogling my cake.

It was perfect.

It really made me happy, and not to sound shallow but the highlight of my day was the gift I got. They got me a car, an actual car. Granted it a slightly beat-down Chevy that belonged to my dad, but it was mine now. A car that I'd actually be able to drive now that I was finally qualified to get a license.

It was a quiet, intimate affair. We ate, opened gifts and watched movies. All the woes from earlier that day long forgotten.

We had a lot of fun that night and when I went to sleep, my parents and my little sister, Gabriella, came to tuck me in. It was something they stopped doing a while ago, since I was no longer a child, but it turned into a birthday ritual instead. With my mom telling me every year that no matter how old I think I'm getting that I'll always be her little girl.

Very sappy I agree, but it didn't stop the smile from making its way unto my face as they all gave me goodnight kisses on my forehead.

Yes, that night was perfect.

At least, up until that moment.

'We love you sweetie, happy birthday' My mother had said before they exited my room.

I fell asleep feeling content with myself, not knowing how little those words meant to them.

Later that night, I woke up with the loudest possible scream I could have ever imagined.

A scream I couldn't recognise as my own even though it tore right through my throat.

My lungs were on fire.

I was about to die.

My heartbeat frantic.

I was certainly dying.

All I could feel and think was pain.

All over my body.

I felt like I was being crushed and stretched at the same time.

And I was pretty sure I was already dead.

Excruciating pain.

It was unbearable. I felt my bones breaking all over my body.

I could feel them dislodging from their sockets only to bend back into new positions.

My flesh felt like it was being torn apart by some invisible forces and moving across my body to settle in new areas.

I realized I wasn't dead, but I wished I was.

I could feel the pressure from my insides, like someone wanted to pull my intestines out from within.

My rib cage cracked and seemed to have reformed larger than it was before.

My spine bent and suddendly snapped back up, throwing me out of bed.

I couldn't even feel my body slamming into the ground with how much pain I was in.

What was happening to me?

I could hardly breathe properly. Or more like I couldn't concentrate or even remember how to breathe since my lungs felt like they had fallen to the pit of my stomach like everything else in my body.

I could feel every single thing happening to me and yet it was happening all so fast.

My parents had rushed into my room.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?!" My mother cried.

I believe that's what she said anyway, my mind was foggy. And I was in pain.

I couldn't even respond, I was too busy screaming.

I felt needles pierce their way out of my skin only to realise that it was hair. Hair was coming out of everywhere. My arms and legs, even my face. I was begining to get covered from head to toe in thick long hair strands.

I could hear my screams, and then other voices echoed in and joined in this orchestra of painful and terrified screams. Probably my parents also screaming in horror, or pain? Was something happening to them too?

Catching a glimpse of them through labored grunts, I realized that it was indeed only me going through this. And maybe the voices were only in my head.

My jaw suddenly snapped open, causing a halt to my screams when I nearly choked. I couldn't breathe.

It then hung loose, allowing my airways to open up again as my facial bones all elongated, painfully stretching the skin while hair grew on it simultaneously.

I was painfully aware of every minor detail that was going on in me, killing me with this torturous amount of pain.

I really just wanted to die.

Everything was happening at the same time yet the pain registered individually.

I remember my sister rushing into the room holding the teddy bear I got her, just in time to see me finish transforming into the monster I had feared all my life.

The monster that plagued me in my nightmares. The reflection in my wardrobe mirror was too much to handle.

I was drained, exhausted, out of breath and absolutely terrified, but I could still think.

And all I could think at that moment was that I hoped this was a dream.

This would be a nightmare, of course, but still so much better than accepting that this is my reality.

But it seemed to be.

After the painful transformation, the look on my parents face said it all.

They were scared of me.

And I completely understood. I was scared of me too.

I was a monster and Gabriella only confirmed it.

"Monster!" She screamed as she threw her teddy at me and rushed out.

She was still a baby, and just witnessed me turning into a creature from horror stories.

I understood that too.

My parents were still frozen to the spot until my mother fainted.

"Mom!" I had meant to say, but instead an animalistic sound came out of me. My dad looked at my mom then back at me.

"Get out!" he screamed at me.

"Dad?" I meant to say but again, words failed me.

He made a quick grab for the baseball bat I kept near my wardrobe and swung it at me.

He actually tried to hit me with it. My own baseball bat.

The one he'd gotten me. All in fear of what had happened to me.

I tried to understand that too, but it still hurt.

I couldn't handle it, so I jumped out of my window and ran, and ran, on all fours, out of civilization and into the thick forest, as far away from home as possible, afraid of the monster I had become.

But just like trying to run away from your shadow, there was no way to escape this, unless I plunged myself into complete and utter darkness.

I woke up when something fell on my head.

Groaning, I opened my eyes and looked around.

The sun was unbearably bright and hurting my eyes.

Then I saw a pine cone by me, which I'm pretty sure hit me.

My mind felt fuzzy.

"What is your name rogue?"

A male voice, seemingly coming out of nowhere, cut through the air.

I was a bit startled to hear someone in the middle of nowhere but I looked up nonetheless.

I saw a man standing a few feet away from me, and I couldn't help notice that he was butt naked.

I quickly shielded my eyes.

"Argh, dude, don't you have manners? Put some clothes on! That's just disgusting." I scowled, trying to shake the image out of my head.

I could feel the slight remnants of a headache as I did that.

"Funny you should say that, have you taken a look at yourself?" I heard him chuckle.

Oh no.

That's when I felt the wind hit my skin.

My bare skin.

I was naked.

I was m