routines

The birds were chirping, and the sun rays shone through the gaps in Annabelle's blinds as she heard her stepmother yelling to get up. She lay there for a few more moments imagining she was one of those birds free to soar above the clouds without a care in the world.

With a heavy sigh, she rolled out of bed and got dressed. No point in putting it off she thought to herself – it'll only make them angry. Her room was on the second floor next to her father's. This was so they could keep an eye on her sleepwalking though Anabelle suspected it was so they would know if she tried to escape in the night. Her room was bare except for a bed, a locker, a wardrobe, and a few books. She descended the stairs slowly, gauging the mood inside the house this morning, before entering the kitchen.

Her stepmother was in the sitting room watching tv and her father wasn't downstairs yet – though he rarely ever was. Her list of work was waiting for her on the kitchen table as usual when she entered. She quickly got to work cleaning out the area the dog slept in and providing fresh food and water for the animal. She hated this part of her morning, but it had to be done. Next, she took Casey for a half-hour walk around their area.

They didn't live in the packhouse despite their father being the Alpha of the pack. This was because he had married a rogue after exiling his wife for breaking pack laws. Annabelle had never found out what the laws she broke were, but it must have been severe because talking about her mother was forbidden. After she finished walking Casey, she returned to the kitchen, swept the floors, unloaded the washing machine, folded the dry laundry, hoovered the stairs, and finally sat down for some dry toast and water.

After she finished her meager meal, she did the dishes and collected her backpack from the hallway. She waited at the door for her brother Evan. Evan was next in line for the Alpha position in the pack. Whether he would take the position was unknown as he and Annabelle's father had a very strong distaste for each other. Whether Kevin would pass the position to Evan or to another was yet to be seen. Evan met her at the front door, and they left for school. Their school was a 15-minute walk into the pack territory.

Annabelle loved her walk to school with Evan. It gave them time to talk about their life and how awful Jenna their stepmother could be. It was their small slice of peace in an otherwise tumultuous life. They always left for school at 8:15 despite the building not opening until 9:00. Annabelle enjoyed sitting on the empty basketball courts before school to study or just contemplate her life. As the alpha's daughter, she should be popular and strong, but on account of Alpha Kevin being an angry drunk, he had run the pack into the ground.

Many who lived in the pack were poor and destitute and had lost loved ones defending the pack from rogues. Those who tried to leave were killed or tortured by Alpha Kevin. Due to these events, Annabelle was a social pariah in school and spent most of her time avoiding being tripped or having her belongings stolen. Jenna her stepmother, had started locking the food cupboards so she was always hungry and weak and as a result, she felt her wolf Lily start to fade away, which left her defenseless to those who were angry at her father.

She spent every day possible in as many extracurriculars as she could to avoid Jenna's wrath while her father was drunk. She was a member of the cooking club, the French club, the library, the litter pickers, the school council, the school choir, and the business club. While attending so many clubs gave her freedom from her family, they did nothing to improve her reputation and standing in the pack. As today was Tuesday, Annabelle had no after-school clubs to go to, so after she discussed the homework assignment with her French teacher, she began the walk home. She usually met Evan at the crossroads, but there was no sign of him.

He attended a different school than Annabelle. As the future Alpha of the Blue Moon pack his studies were centred mainly on business, war tactics, and diplomacy. Annabelle attended pack training but also pursued common subjects in school, like English, maths, French, business, cooking, and art. Usually, Evan would be waiting at the crossroads for her as she approached, and they would complete the walk home together. She assumed he had been held back to discuss something important and continued home without him.

She was already running late on account of the discussion with her teacher, which Jenna would already be angry enough about. She didn't want to risk being any later. She was deep in contemplation about what tonight's training activities would be when she looked up and noticed Evan standing outside their house. As her wolf had left her due to being underfed, she didn't have the usual wolf eyesight and didn't notice the tears threatening to drop from his eyes, or the torn shirt collar until she was already in the garden.

She tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't answer or meet her gaze. He continued to stare straight ahead with a steely, unfaltering gaze. Annabelle was used to having anxiety about opening the front door to her house after school, as she never knew what awaited her but today, she was terrified. Alpha Kevin seemed to hate Annabelle and Evan and doted on his and Jenna's son Fred. Despite hating both Anabelle and Evan, this didn't stop him from treating his firstborn son and heir better than he treated Anabelle.

As she opened the door, she pondered what Evan could have done to be standing outside with a torn shirt. She approached the living room where Jenna and Fred were sitting. Jenna had a glass of wine in her hand which wasn't unusual. Anabelle proceeded to apologize for being late (she was only ten minutes late, but she knew from experience that Jenna wouldn't care) and explain she was talking to madame Jiroux, but Jenna cut her off. To Annabelle's complete shock Jenna told her it was fine, and that dinner was ready for her on the table.

Annabelle never got dinner before her evening chores were completed and Casey had her walk. Feeling bold, she asked Jenna what had happened with Evan. What Jenna told her struck fear into Anabelle's timid body. According to Jenna Alpha Kevin had checked Evan's phone while he was at school and discovered Evan had been conversing with their mother. This was strictly forbidden and sent Alpha Kevin into a blind rage. Annabelle was shocked. She had always longed to find her mother and discover what had happened that led to her exile, but she never dared to disobey her father the Alpha. The fact that Evan had done just that as the future Alpha. Shocked her to her core. She did not know what would happen now.