While Judith, on the other hand, was scurrying around engaging in conflicts to which she was not invited, challenging authority figures and knocking others to the ground.
And when they had to fight at the end of the day, Judith always prevailed because she was the war god's favorite.
Serena hated that.
****
Unless their mates were found in other packs, no pack was an enemy to anyone or a best friend to anyone.
At the time, it was decided that if a wolf was seen in another pack without permission or invitation, the wolf was considered to be trespassing.
A wall separated the Ace and Hilltop packs. There were approximately nine packs, excluding the rouges who formed their pack far away from the others. No pack interfered with the other packs unless invited to do so.
So, on the thirteenth birthday of the three girls, Judith decided to give herself something that no one else could: she wanted- no, she went to visit her neighbors.
'What if you get caught? I'd be punished as well,' Serena reasoned with Judith after telling her of her plans. Her heart skipped a beat the moment those words left her mouth.
Judith knew she couldn't leave the house without anyone noticing, especially since it was her birthday but the thought was thrilling and sent fluttered joy within her stomach.
'I'm not going to take any more punishment because of you!' Serena issued another warning, this time sounding more dangerous than she usually would.
There was a rule that a Beta was responsible for what the Alpha did, whereas the Alpha was responsible for his or her pack.
Serena was not going to be punished for Judith doing something so stupid as this. Every time the other girl did something stupid, she had to be punished as well.
Why must this be the case? Did she request to be the next beta? Why was she born if she was going to have a life like this?
The worst part was that Judith never apologized for getting them punished. Another reason to despise her.
Judith had better be joking, but Serena knew how she was; there hadn't been a day when she hadn't joked and done exactly that.
Judith paid no attention to her. Rather, she tore through the Ace pack's defenses.
How did she manage to do that?
On that day, all the packs were said to celebrate the day the first prophecy of a woman as a war leader was given;
No pack knew which pack she would be chosen from at the time. So they all held feasts and celebrated on that day to show how they welcomed the news.
As a result, their birthdays were celebrated with a feast. Some packs abandoned the tradition because they had expected the leader to be one of the three girls, which was now obvious to them.
Whereas Judith's and Peace's packs would hold one, she knew the others who never stopped would be preoccupied with preparations.
It was ideal for her to sneak in without them noticing.
So Judith waited for everyone to enter the grand hall. Everyone dressed elegantly as if they were there to impress her.
They had arrived with gifts and to introduce themselves and their children to her. Everyone was waiting to see her, dressed in the most majestic clothes she wore on all her birthdays.
But that say, on their thirteenth she was dressed casually in slacks and a t-shirt and walked down the stairs when her name was called.
Her hair was neatly pinned back with the gel her mother had made herself.
Despite their shock, no one dared to point a finger at her or say anything negative about her.
Nonetheless, her mother was enraged. She kept signaling her to return and change. Her stunning gown was already on her bed.
Judith scanned the area for her father, but she didn't see him. He was most likely in his office, speaking with some of his men, so she knew it was only her mother who would deal with her.
When her mum realized that she wasn't going to change any moment soon, she nodded and smiled at everyone while she walked through the guests and by hand, gently went upstairs with her.
'Can you tell me what you're wearing? Did you forget you're the next Alpha?' Her mother reminded her, almost as if she was afraid her daughter would be nothing more than a laughingstock in the marketplace the next day.
'I don't feel well. I just came down to let you and dad know,' she replied, her voice tired and sad.
She didn't want to cough because it would make her mother suspicious or overly concerned about her.
Judith admired her mother. When she wasn't in the mood to exercise or practice, her mother always read between the lines and asked her father to be patient with her.
Her mother was always kind. She was a great cook, a wonderful mother and wife, and a hard worker; she was so many things... Her father, on the other hand, only listened to her- the Luna.
Her mother was also one of the warriors who had to give up their titles to marry. Fortunately for her, she was mated to the Alpha and thus knew how to govern.
'Are you serious, sweetheart? What happened to you? Why didn't you inform anyone? Didn't anyone bring you any medicine?' The woman peppered her with questions, her voice trembling with concern. She felt her arms and forehead to see if she had a fever.
She was, on the contrary, warm and showed no signs of illness.
Her mother, on the other hand, did not press any further questions because she knew Judith had been working very hard since to ascend to her father's throne.
"All right, dear, I'll notify the room of the situation, so you can go lie down and get some rest. Don't worry, I'll talk to your father," she assured, parting her back and leaving her daughter in her room. Judith made a joyful sound.
Serena, who was well aware of what she was doing, couldn't help but chew meat with distaste.
She was boiling on the inside and wished she could whack the nonsense out of Judith's head, but she couldn't even stop the throbbing in her chest.
****
Judith ran out of the house through the back door about thirty minutes later. She was aware of the number of guards stationed at each post.
She knew exactly where she wanted to go. She could escape and break in with her eyes closed in her pack.
But you couldn't call an Alpha moving about in her pack, breaking in, or escaping. Right?
She was already at the border after another thirty minutes. The borders were the areas with the most and tightest security.
She had two choices, either introduce herself and have them report to the rest of the team and later her dad finding out or she had to fight them. Either way, her dad was going to find out and she didn't want that.
As she stood there contemplating, an opportunity availed itself.