I can tell you the exact moment my life changed. Everything I knew was turned upside down. Being a kid left in the world without parents is haunting.
It all started the day after I turned 13 and my little sister Ava, was 8. My father was the Alpha of the Ice Moon pack and my mother his Luna. Ice Moon pack wasn’t the largest pack but when my dad was Alpha we had 400 pack members.
One day my father was challenged and he had no choice but to accept. I remember how worried my mom was. The wolf that challenged my father was Davien Stockholm. He wasn’t from our pack but he was massive in size even before he transformed. His dark hair fell to his shoulders and his body was muscular.
He lunged at my dad but one thing my dad had on him was speed. My dad ducked and punched him in the stomach. “Yes!” I fist-pumped the air. Ava copied me while screaming, “Go Daddy!”
Davien grabbed his stomach and his head came down and my dad uppercut him in the face. There was a crunch as Davien’s nose broke and blood gushed out. “Ew Mom!” I said in disgust. I looked at my mom to see her worried expression.
“Don’t worry, Mom.” Daddy can’t lose,” I reassured her.
She smiled but her eyes never left my dad. Davien fell to the ground and put his hand on the ground. My dad looked up and saw me staring at him. He smiled and winked at me and Ava.
I smiled back and my mom let out a scream. I looked up at her and then looked back at my dad. Davien lunged at my dad and had him pinned to the ground.
My dad struggled against his hold but couldn’t break through it. Davien cocked an arm back and punched my dad in the face. Over and over again. I stared in shock as my dad’s face became unrecognizable.
I screamed, “Stop it! Stop it, please!” Ava was crying hysterically. Davien stopped and turned to me and my mother. He looked down at my dad and said, “Give me the title and I will spare you and your family.”
My dad’s eyes were covered with blood as he said, “I, Eduard Biscoff, step down as Alpha from the Ice Moon pack and declare Davien Stockhom as the new Alpha. In exchange, Davien Stockholm has promised my family and I, our lives.”
After that day, my parents and I were cast out from our pack. We were declared rogues. I’d never lived anywhere but with the pack and the same could be said for my parents. My father didn’t know how the human world worked but he grew up building the pack up along with his father.
He was determined to save us from going rabid. So he decided to move us to a human city where they both could try to get jobs. It wasn’t easy but with what we were able to salvage they bought a small house.
We had a roof over our head and they both searched for jobs and put me and Ava into human school. It was hard for me to adapt, for the four of us. We weren’t used to the eerie silence now that we weren’t a part of the pack.
We couldn’t even link each other. I honestly think if we didn’t have each other, we would have gone insane, or rabid like other rogues. Thankfully we could almost fill the void with our little family.
It was quiet without a pack but we made it work. My dad got a good job as a contractor and my mom eventually got a job as an accountant for a small company.
He’d come home and tell us about the newest house or business he was working on. Mom would be cooking in the kitchen and I’d listen to him go on and on. When he finished a project he’d drag us out of there and we’d marvel at his work. Every day went by filled with dad’s stories and mom’s food.
We couldn’t go for runs or be a part of the forest because we lived in the city. I think that killed mom and dad the most. Their wolf’s suffered and they were easily irritated but we were able to make it work.
“Just wait until you see this one!” he told us one day after work. We were going out to check out dad’s latest project. He’d been working on an internet cafe packed with the latest PCs and equipped with a small coffee section where baristas would make drinks. He was excited to show us the section where customers would order fresh hot sandwiches when they would get hungry. He was excited to be working with something tech-related.
On the way to finally see this new place in person, we were hit by a semi-truck and I woke up to a room with machines beeping and an oxygen tube down my throat.
“She’s coming to, hey, honey?” I reach for the tubes and yank them from my nose and mouth. Every breath I inhaled was painful and tore at my throat, tears welled in my eyes.
Looking around I saw the nurse running towards me from across the room. She noticed me pull out the tubes. She grabbed my hands and I croaked, “Where’s my mom?”
A look I could only identify as pity flashed in her eyes before she grabbed both of my arms. She looks me in the eyes and explains to me that there had been an accident.
“Okay…” I said and waited for the rest.
“Honey, your parents, and your sister… they all died on impact. You’re the only one that survived.”
I couldn’t hear anything. I-what? They… they died? My mom? My dad? Ava? I was too cold to cry. I couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be true. How… how could they just be gone?
I reached out, I screamed, I thrashed. Two more nurses were called in and held me down. The first nurse injected something into my arm and I slowly lost control of my body. I went limp and they laid me down slowly in bed.
“It’ll be alright, it’s going to be okay,” she said soothingly. “It’s going to be okay,” she said again as she looked into my eyes.
“The accident happened on Half Moon pack territory. Alpha Joshua and Luna Rose have taken care of everything. You’ve been out for a couple of weeks and we weren’t sure you were going to ever come to.”
My world is crashing around me and I feel like my breath has been stolen from me. I don’t have any control of my body as I lay there in bed. Dead? Gone?
The nurses leave me and a few hours later when whatever they gave me wore off, she comes back again.
“What am I going to do now?” I whisper when I see her.
“Oh honey, Alpha Joshua has informed us that you are to be cared for as a pack member. Don’t you worry yourself! He has taken care of your medical bills and I’ll let him know you’re finally awake!”
Her eyes gloss over as she mind links someone. I haven’t seen a mind link since I was a kid and it’s almost weird to witness. Her pupils were covered by a white fog. I look around the room and notice flowers on my bedside.
When the nurse ends the mind link, “Who bought me flowers, Nurse?” I ask.
“Oh! Alpha and Luna have twins. They just turned 14 and her daughter Mavy has been visiting you. I think the two of you will get along.”
As if we conjured her, the door opens and a black-haired girl peers in. “Hey! You’re awake. Thank goodness, I was worried you’d sleep for the rest of the year. She bounces in with a big smile on her face like we’ve known each other for years. She’s got black hair and grey eyes and dimples poke both sides of her cheeks.
I don’t have the strength to smile or reply. I look away from her and stare at the wall. I don’t know what I’ll do now, where I’ll go… I’m just a kid. The lump in my throat is too hard to swallow.
The girl doesn’t say anything more until she leaves but she comes back. Day after day until I’ve grown used to her visits.
Today she’s brought more flowers, and she’s talking about her day again.
“…. Thanks for the flowers,” I say.
She looks around the room, not knowing who was talking. She turns back to me, “Was that you?!”
I nod.
“Oh my gosh! So you can talk! I’m glad you like them! I wanted to bring something to brighten your room up. Shane helped pick them out. He’s my brother.” She smiles.
“So mom and dad say you’ll be staying at the packhouse with us! I’m so excited to show you around. You’ll most likely be going to school with us too.”
Mavy and I sit and she talks for the rest of the afternoon where she fills me in on herself. This time, I listened.
She tells me she’s in the 8th grade and will be going to Trenton High next year. The Half Moon pack has been peaceful and has alliances with most of the surrounding packs.
She tells me about the packhouse and how big it is but warns about her dad’s OCD. “Fair warning everything has to be perfect 100% of the time. My room is my own but the packhouse doesn’t have a speck of dust.
The other pack members are okay.. when we initiate you into the pack you’ll be able to talk to everyone. Was it hard being a rogue?” She asks.
I think of my parents and feel sad again. I think I might cry but nothing comes out, “No…”
She stares at me and decides it’s better to move on. “Did you like anyone where you came from?”
“No.. we stayed to ourselves. I didn’t have time.. to think about boys.” I told her.
“Well, I’ve been friends with Trent, he’s my next-door neighbor since we were in diapers. He’s my dad’s betas son and puberty has treated him well.” She blushes, “He’s just a friend but he’s pretty, like prettier than me.”
“We grew up making mud pies together he’s obviously just a friend..” she says super fast. I smile at her and nod.
Note to self, Trent is off-limits. She smiles and grabs my hand, “I know that you’re not in a good place right now but just know that I’ve got your back.” Her words make tears come to my eyes and I smile and nod. I feel a little better knowing I’m not completely alone in the world.