His temples thumped with thundering tension as he scrunched his brows with furrowed concentration. Drops of perspiration rode down his light tan face attempting to cool out the tense muscles that were already evoking in him the beginning of a migraine. It's not every day that you get a twelve-year-old having severe migraines, but alas, it's not every day you get a twelve-year-old standing in the middle of the Alpha's personal training quarters with three figures of authority demanding of a twelve-year-old what is out of his control.
The atmosphere was tense as his temples that a slick butter knife would be able to slice through it. He felt the heating gazes of the three adults as they watched his every twitch, frown, and intake of breath as if the child was purposely withholding it to get a rise off them. He was still a child after all. He was bound to rebel.
The young boy's eyes were scrunched with strained concentration, head bent down towards the cold stone floor when he felt someone step forward. Opening his eyes, he found the polished surface of his father's training boots.
"You need to take this seriously Son"
The crisp voice of Ares Solar brought to the boy's fragile heart a pang of guilt. He was his only child. His only hope. And he let him down.
The boy kept quiet not wanting to make things worse.
"He isn't serious at all brother. If he ever was he would have been able to do it with everyone else two years ago. This is such a disgrace to the house of Solar! Despicable! "
A chill went down his spine as his uncle repeated the gruesome sentence he has been repeating to him ever since that day under the blue moon two years ago. The day his life changed, as the moon climbed up the sky shining down on everyone.
He scrunched his eyes back shut, reaching out to what ever force that would let him succeed. His breathing quickened as frustration started to seep in. It had been over four hours since he'd been forced to go through this. Being a daily occurrence he was supposed to be used to it, yet the experience felt just as torturous and tiresome as the first day this started. Which was yet again, two years ago.
"I-I can't"
The young boy whispered, curling into himself in an attempt to make himself smaller against the three powerful males. The ragged cold stone floor had left river-like indents on the clean surface of his knees, dusting the edges with crystallized sand. The ancient floor had been his companion for the last two years. As luxurious and modern as it was, the Alpha personal training quarters was the better version of the dungeons reserved for rogues.
"Try harder!"
The Beta stomped over to him and lifted the lad by his collar all so effortlessly as if he weighed a weed.
"That's enough Aeson"
Alpha Hesiod Henderson intervened giving his beta a look over the child's shoulder to reign in his aggressiveness, which the Beta of course ignored. This was a family matter. A matter within the house of the Solars.
"You need to try harder lad. This is for your own good."
Too ashamed to look his alpha in the face the boy continued staring at the stone floor, hoping time would pass by soon.
"I'll try again Alpha."
He whispered.
His knees crashed with impact on the stone floor as he was back in position to try again.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath In.
Breath out.
Scrunching his temples again he concentrated on the longing image of a wolf. A brown wolf. A wolf as brown as Archer his father's majestic brown Gamma wolf. Digging his nails into his clammy palms, instead of the claws he longed for, the crescent wounds drew out crimson liquid that ran down his palms mixing with his perspiration.
His vision starts fading, the adults voices sound far away. Heart palpating at an accelerated rate he lets out a humanistic growl with the surge of the last bit of energy he could muster.
His legs give out and he falls.
Expecting his chin to meet the ever stone cold floor he closes his eyes too weak to change the course of its direction, when two warm hands wrap around his weak figure.
Even without his werewolf senses, the scent of his mother he could never mistake.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Thundered the angry Asian werewolf. Her dark eyes flickered orange indicating the presence of her wolf Ira with every intention of defending her pup.
She pulled the boy towards her figure shielding him away from the three dominating males that she did not fear defying. The boy sighed in content inhaling his mums scent that smelled like freshly ground Bengali turmeric that his grandma sent them every year for Christmas.
"Step away from him leona. We're not done yet"
Spoke Aries calmly. He knew all too well that angering his wife any further would not end well good.
"Not Done yet you say? NOT DONE YET?"
"That's right Marileona. We're not done yet. In fact I can't wait to be done. Only if your son weren't this useless of course"
Aeson jabbed at his mother. All the years of not being able to produce a child had built their relationship on brittle sticks. And finally being able to birth one, Aeson never did give up the opportunity to mock the brown woman at how 'useless' her 'product' was.
The she wolf directed a threateningly low growl attempting to pounce on her beta, yet her son's partially limp body tightened around her weakly indicating to her his reluctance to her prospective duel.
"Aeson! DO NOT INSULT MY MATE"
Growled Aries stepping in front of his mate.
"A mate who birthed a wolfless wolf."
he scoffed in return.
The boy felt his chest tighten with guilt at how his mother was treated due to his hideous flaws.
"Alright that's enough."
Alpha Hesiod stood in between the two Solar brothers.
"Enough? Of course it's enough! I've had enough! It's been two years since he was supposed to shift. There's never been a werewolf who was not able to shift. The longest reported was three days after the blue moon."
Aeson came bellowing and barreling towards Marileona and was restrained by the Alpha last minute.
"How is that my boy's fault?!"
Marileona growled in frustration.
"He's a Solar! Yet he's a disgrace!"
"Just because Cassian was able to shift before all his peers does not give you the right to bash my Son."
The two in laws continued snapping at each other letting lose days of pent up anger while the by standers stood quiet not wanting to get caught between the cross fire. Fifteen minutes into the argument Aries Solar decided to drop on them three words that got them both to halt their streams of insults.
"We will leave"
"What!"
All three of them snapped their heads towards him.
"You heard me. The only solution to this, is to leave"
"You can't be serious Aries."
Alpha Hesiod approached him with confusion.
"What on earth can leaving achieve"
his brother scoffed.
"Save my son from the horrible treatment he has been going through"
"What are you talking about?"
Hesiod scowled. He was unaware of how the members of his pack had been treating the child.
"The cursed child. That's what they call him"
Said child whimpered with sadness. His parents had not once directly uttered the word to him. The word that met his ears where ever he stepped.
"I'll order them to stop."
"You can't order them to stop voicing their opinions behind your back. You didn't even know. How would you stop them? They either avoid him like the plague or push him around like he's trash. "
"You're my Gamma Aries. You can't just up and leave the pack!"
Alpha Hesiod could not fathom functioning the pack without his best friend, without his head right hand.
"I won't be leaving the pack Hesiod. I just want to move to the end of the pack. Towards the willow forest."
"No way-"
"Let me just do this Hesiod"
Aries asserted firmly.
He tried his best. His son tried his best. It's time to do what's best for his son, instead of what's best for his pack.