1 Chapter One

The girl stumbled through the hallway trying her best not to make a sound. Her movements were always swift and silent just as she liked them. Just as they were always forced to be. In this house, she was a ghost, unless told otherwise. She didn't hate it that way, it was all she ever knew.

She walked into the shared bathroom and quickly threw an elastic in her hair. It wasn't as if the other servants would notice it was gone. They were all too busy trying not to get in trouble.

The bathroom was spotless and the girl made sure not to mess it up. If she did she would just end up cleaning it. She wanted so bad to take a warm shower and to brush the knots out of her blonde hair, but she didn't have any time. She never had any time.

The stairs made no audible sound to human ears as the girl made her way down the staircase, but everybody in the house knew she was coming. That was because the inhabitants of this house weren't human, not for the most part. Even the girl had a part of her that wasn't human.

"Mel, you better hurry up," a mousy brown-haired girl said.

Mel sucked in a breath. She knew she'd be late if she stopped to tie up her hair this morning, but she couldn't work with it in her face.

"I'm sorry, Cara. Are they coming soon?"

"Yes."

Mel felt her stomach flip. She didn't want to deal with her Alpha and Luna after what had happened yesterday. They were already in a bad mood about a rouge infiltrating their land, the last thing they needed was breakfast to be late.

Mel knew that small things set them off, which is why she set the table a little bit faster today.

"Did anybody know the rogue?" She whispered to Cara.

Cara bit her lip.

"No, nobody knew them."

Mel set down a silver fork in the Alpha's place. She made sure it was perfectly set before going to the next place setting.

"I can't believe we had to move the Alpha Summit because of the rogue. I know Luna Carry was looking forward to it. She was sure her daughter would be mated to one of the Alpha's there. Imagine an Alpha power couple," Another, older, female said.

Mel's heart fluttered at the mention of a mate. She had wanted one for a while now. It was possible to find your mate at sixteen, but nothing had fallen into place for her yet. She wasn't devastated, per se, but she certainly wouldn't mind finding her mate soon. It had been two years and she was ready.

"I'll be right back," Mel said quietly.

She had run out of napkins and needed to retrieve some more from the supply room. Mel could hear some pack members coming down the stairs. They would never dream of hitting her, but that didn't mean she wanted to be late. The pack members could say some rather nasty things to Omegas like her. Another thing Mel didn't want to happen was her wolf to be set off. That would make for a rather bad morning for her.

Mel quickly twisted the door handle and hissed when it wouldn't open. Stupid door, she thought. A quiet growl slipped past her lips as she pulled the door handle a little harder. When the door still didn't budge she yanked even harder. This proved to be a mistake as the door handle ended up in the palm of Mel's hand.

Her eyes widened and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She was going to be in deep trouble.

Mel was so worried and anxious she didn't even hear the footsteps behind her.

"You showed that door handle."

Mel turned around only to be met with a tall, grinning boy. Her breath caught in her throat at the thought of him telling on her.

"I didn't mean to," she started. "I was just trying to get nap-"

The boy chuckled, "It's okay. I know where there are more napkins and I can make sure that the door handle gets fixed before anybody finds out."

Mel furrowed her eyebrows. Why would this boy help her? He was the Beta's son, he has no business talking to an Omega. Especially one that had moved to this pack after her parents were slaughtered by rogues. Maybe he pitied her? That's what she would go with.

"Thank you," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes.

In werewolf culture, it was rude to look in somebody's eyes that was above your rank. She should know. She used to be a Gamma's daughter. Mel missed being respected like that, but even more so she missed her parents.

"So, Hulk, what's your name?"

Mel scoffed at the nickname, "My name is Melody, but I-I like to go by Mel now."

Mel had stopped using her full name after her parents died. It just felt wrong to hear her full name come from anybody but her parents.

"Mel," the boy said. "I like it. My name is Jax, and before you ask, Jax is my full name. None of that Jaxson nonsense going on."

Mel felt a laugh bubble up, but she didn't execute it. She didn't have the energy. Mel found that she didn't have the energy for much anymore.

"So what brings to you to Dark Fang Pack, Mel?"

Mel had been rushed to Dark Fang Pack after most of her pack was destroyed. She was rather sure everybody in this pack knew what had happened. Everybody knew the Alpha pair, Beta pair, and Gamma pair had died. Maybe Jax just didn't know who she was. She knew most of the information had been kept a secret, but it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to put the pieces together.

"I was a part of the Red Eye Pack," Mel mumbled.

Jax stayed silent as he handed her a large stack of napkins. This was how pretty much everybody had reacted to Mel in the six months she had been here. Nobody knew what to say. She had lost everything she had ever known in a matter of hours. No doubt they were putting themselves in the situation. What would they have done if their pack was attacked? What would they have done if their parents were killed? Would they have fought? Could they have moved on? Something about it made Mel angry. It wasn't them who had gone through it, it was her. She was the one suffering. She was the one with nobody left.

"I am so sorry. I have no idea what I would do if-"

Mel clenched her jaw, she knew it was coming.

"You don't have to do anything," she said, with venom.

Mel widened her eyes. She had just openly disrespected the soon-to-be Beta. If she wasn't in deep water for being late with the napkins she was in deep water now.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. "I didn't mean that. It's just everybody says they don't know what they'd do, but I'm the one going through it. It just makes me so angry."

Jax smiled, "I can imagine, but you have to careful. Not everybody in this pack in going to be lenient about that. The Alpha and Luna are dead-set on respect."

Mel nodded, her parents had been the same way. Years of training has set priorities like that n her mind. She wasn't sure why now her mind seemed to be a jumbled mess.

Mel couldn't help but notice the sound of more footsteps as they neared the dining hall. People were there, meaning she was late. She took in a deep breath and braced herself.

She stepped into the room and the Alpha was automatically in front of her, making her force her eyes to the ground. Her wolf made it known that she was not a fan of this position. She hated her new Alpha.

"We pride ourselves with efficiency around here. You know that don't you Mel?"

The Alpha's voice was deep and stern. As if he had to tell her she was late. Mel already knew. Her wolf was begging to show the Alpha some resistance, but Mel held her down.

"Yes, Alpha."

"So why are you late?" the Alpha's voice boomed.

Everybody's eyes were on Mel. She could tell they were all thankful they weren't her at the moment. They knew she was going to be punished. Somebody was bound to push the Alpha to his limits today, and Mel had been the unlucky one.

Mel started to shake as the Alpha let out a threatening growl.

"Answer me," he snarled.

Jax was willing Mel to say something, but she couldn't. She was frozen. Between her evident fear and trying to push her wolf down, talking was not an option.

Jax let out a soft growl, "I was talking to her. I'm sorry Alpha."

Mel's eyes widened as far as they could go. Jax had covered for her. Why?

The Alpha let out another growl, "Meet me in my office after breakfast, Jax. We will be having a discussion."

Mel's mouth was still parted as Jax grabbed her arm and led her to sit. Luckily Omega's were allowed to eat with the pack, so she wouldn't get in trouble for this.

"Why did you do that for me?"

Jax gave her a soft smile, "My punishment will be much less than yours would have been."

Mel still didn't understand, but she didn't push it. Too much had happened today already. She had gone six months without an issue, so why was today incident ridden? Well, she knew it was because half of that time she was too depressed to move, but she didn't want to admit it.

"Thank you again, Jax," Mel said.

Jax gave her a wide grin.

"What?" She asked.

He shook his head, "Nothing."

The food was soon passed down to them and Mel piled eggs, pancakes, and fruit onto her plate. This was the one thing she liked about Dark Fang Pack.

"No ham?" Jax asked, with a weird look on his face.

Mel let out a short laugh, "No, I hate ham."

"You-you hate ham?" Jax had a hand over his heart. "You can forget about the doorknob and me covering for you. You are on your own."

Mel could tell from his dramatic tone that Jax was kidding. He was acting as if she had killed his dog and was offering him the head. Mel rolled her eyes but more laughs escaped her. Laughing felt good.

Soon though, breakfast was over and Mel had to hurry to the ballroom. They had to clean up the ice sculptures that had melted yesterday after the party was canceled. It was rescheduled for tonight, which was a Saturday. Luckily all of the Alpha's that had to travel far were staying in hotels and could still come. The others could make it in under a few hour's drive, so everything worked out after all.

As Mel was moping the floors she thought about how uncomfortable it would be, having to be around so many packs during the Alpha Summit. Packs took turns hosting it, so Mel had never witnessed one. She was always too young and it had never been hosted at her previous pack. Of course, it had to be here. Mel groaned softly, she really didn't want to work this event.

Mel didn't mind serving others, but her wolf hated it. She growled and snapped every time somebody demanded something of her. She was made to be a gamma after all. There were only two things that made Mel excited about the event.

The first was that she would see her idol, Alpha Wren. Alpha Wren was the Alpha of the second most powerful pack in the country. Mel thought she was a total badass. Her jet-black hair and dark aesthetic only made Mel idolize her more. Alpha Wren played men like it was game and Mel loved it. Ever since Mel met her when she was five, she idolized Alpha Wren. Of course, Alpha Wren loved Mel too.

"Women in power," Alpha Wren had sighed. "Just as it should be."

Mel couldn't agree more.

The second reason Mel was excited about the event was the prospect of finding her mate. One of the leaders could possibly carry her scent home with them, leading her mate to her. She felt butterflies in her stomach just thinking about it. She was never a hopeless romantic, but Mel could use somebody to love her right now.

Mel shook her head out of her thoughts and continued to mop. She could hear other girls chattering about finding their mates too, she wasn't the only one.

"Let's hope," she muttered out loud.

Her wolf purred in agreement making her laugh. Mel wasn't the only one that wanted her mate. All she hoped was that her mate was everything she hoped them to be. She didn't care what they looked like, what gender they were, who their family was, as long as they loved her. She would give them everything and she hoped they would do the same.

Mel looked out the giant glass window and saw a long black limousine pulling up.

"And so it begins."

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Reading Questions

-What do you think is going to happen at the party?

-What do you think of Mel?

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