Life is not a fairy tale. Life is hard and painful. It's dark and empty. Maybe for most people, it's happy and always sunny, but that's not the case for me. Who am I? My name is Rain, no last name, just Rain. I'm an orphaned witch in the Blue River werewolf pack. I always wondered what my parents were like, and why they abandoned me in a wolf pack of all places. Did they just not love me, was I a mistake, are they even alive? I'll never know the answers to the many questions I have, and I doubt I even have a future at all.

Everyone in the pack hates me, well everyone but my best friend Jessica Tompson another orphan. Her parents were killed in a rouge attack on the pack when she was 7.

With her family all dead, even though she was born into the pack, she became an orphan just like me. Except when she hits 17 she gets her wolf and her place at the pack house, I unlike her will become a pack slave. I won't even get my powers till the next full moon after my 17th birthday, not that I have anyone to teach me how to use them.

Oh yea, my birthday is supposedly in three weeks (the pack didn't know my actual birthday so they were just guests), And Jessicas birthday is a week and a half before mine. Maybe that's why we get along so well. The pack still has a birthday party for her with a cake and gifts since she is technically still a member. Even though they don't have a party for me she always keeps a few gifts wrapped to give to me and she even makes me a small birthday cake since I don't get a party because I'm not part of the pack.

Sometimes I wish I was never born. My life has been long and miserable. But Jessica is always trying to make it better. We spend most of our nights in our small room, on our bunkbeds talking. It's always about something different. Jess says it's so I don't get bored but I think it's just because she doesn't like repeating herself. But Goddess does she love to talk and I love to listen.

"Rainie bug... Rainie... Rain!" Jess yells while kicking the bottom of the top bunk to wake me up.

"Im up i'm up!" I whine, wiping my eyes.

"Oh thank the Goddess for another beautiful, sunny day" Jess beams while looking out the window. "I'm so excited, I can't believe just two more weeks and I'll be getting my wolf and be able to scent out my mate! I hope he's handsome."

"Jess, what's a mate?" I ask while climbing down from the top bunk of our bunk bed.

"A mate is your other half, your soul mate, the person that's supposed to love and cherish you for the rest of your life." She says with a smile on her face.

"Will I get a mate?" I ask thinking how nice it sounds.

"I'm not sure, I don't know much about how all that stuff works when it comes to witches." She says as we walk through the hall.

"Oh ok," I responded flatly. I knew it sounded too good to be true for me.

"Don't worry Rainie bug. Mate or not you'll always have me by your side." She says with a smile.

"I love you, Jess," I say with a small smile of my own as I walk down the stairs of the orphanage and walked towards the kitchen to start cooking breakfast for the younger orphans.

After they've all eaten Jess and I make sure they're all dressed and have everything they need before Jess walks with them to school. When everyone is gone it's time to get to my daily cleaning. There are eight bedrooms, the kitchen, the living room, and two bathrooms to clean, then I move on to the laundry and make the beds before starting dinner for everyone. I'm the only that's had to clean and cook since I was eight. Ms.Leana says it's to prepare and train me for when I turn 17 and become the pack slave and they move me to the packhouse basement.

"Rain, I'm home from school," Jess calls out as she walks up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms where I am. As I turn around she can see the panic on my face and she realizes I'm not done with the cleaning or even started dinner. And we both know if everything isn't done and perfect when Ms.Leana arrives for her weekly show-off walk-throw with the Alpha to show him how clean she keeps everything she'll be embarrassed in front of the Alpha and ill get wiped again.

"Oh no. You're not even completely healed from the last lashes you got." She says panicking as she jumps into action running to start the laundry and dinner as I finish up the last two rooms. After about twenty minutes the floors are swept and mopped, the kids' toys are put in their bins, beds are nicely made, and windows have been wiped down.

"Only thing left is the stairs," I say to myself. I quickly grab my wet rag and sprint out the bedroom door and down the hall. As I get to the first step and start wiping them down the front door opens. "I'm fucked" I whisper to myself making sure I say it low enough so they don't hear it. I walk down the stairs and turn the corner Ms.Leana walks a few feet behind the Alpha as he inspects the house. She sees me hiding in the corner and if looks could kill I'm pretty sure I would already be dead.

After ten minutes of the Alpha walking threw the house doing his inspection he congratulates Ms.Leane on keeping everything so clean, hands her a bonus check, and leaves. As soon as he's gone I know what to expect. She grabs me by the hair and drags me down to the basement where she keeps her whips. She chains my wrist to the wall and rips my shirt to expose my back.

"You little bitch. I clothe you and feed you and yet you choose to embarrass me in front of my Alpha!" She yells as she swings the whip down hard onto my bare back.

"No Ms.Leana, I'm sorry. It was a mistake. Please forgive me." I plead with her threw gritted teeth. Trying my hardest not to cry because I know crying will just make it worse for me. The only thing she hates more than being made to look bad in front of the Alpha is a crying orphan... Well that and me.

After a few more lashes from her whip, she's finally done. "Clean yourself up and get supper ready. The kids will be home from school soon and want to eat" She states before walking back up the stairs and out the front door to go shopping with her nice bonus.

"Oh Goddess Rainie, this time is worse than the last. Why doesn't she understand you're not a wolf, you take so much longer to heal." Jess cries as she walks down the stairs unlocking the chains that hold my wrist to the wall and assessing the damage done to my back. "Hold still so I can clean you up."

"There's no time Jess I have to get supper ready before the kids get home from school," I say trying to get to my feet.

"It's already done now stay still like I told you so I can get you cleaned up." She states as she starts wiping down my back gently with a warm wet rag. "You don't want the kids to see you like this do you?"

"You're a lifesaver, what am I going to do without you when you leave?" I say.