Marked Wolves

Happines POV

"Wake up you filthy mutt and make yourself useful for once! I want breakfast to be ready and served immediately. The whole pack is waiting for you. I cannot believe we did not get rid of you when we had the chance a long time ago, you are purely a waste of space in this pack and nothing else." A loud voice that I knew well growled out, jolting me awake, pulling me straight out of my dreamless and unrestful sleep.

I did not have to open my eyes to know who it was. I felt my body ache and protest as I stiffly got up from the worn-out mattress that I called my bed. I heard my shoulder bone cracked as it attempted to release the knot from sleeping in such a tight curled up position. Instantly, I winced at the small noise. With the lingering pain that pulsated throughout my body from last night's beatings, and the painful memory still fresh in my mind, my whole body instinctively froze and braced itself for a second beating.

"What are you doing just standing there? Not only you are useless but you are also illiterate. Hurry the hell up mutt." He snarled menacingly. I hobbled towards my sink located in the corner of my minuscule living space. I glanced down at the floor the whole time, purposely avoiding eye contact with my older brother, Alexander.

His rough hand suddenly jerked out and he grabbed my wrist. I whimpered at the tightness of his grip. Alec pulled me back violently before I could reach the sink. Another whimper involuntarily escaped my lips as I felt his grip tighten. "I did not hear a "yes sir" you disrespectful mutt. How dare you treat your Beta this way. Learn some respect or else." Shaking in fear and pain, I stuttered out a meek

"yes sir" and then braced myself for the impact as he abruptly raised his hand. Alex slapped me hard, making me lose balance and fall over. I laid helpless on the dirty floor, in shock, and in pain. The dizziness made my head pound.

"Speak up next time you incompetent idiot. Now, get up and get ready. If breakfast is not ready by eight, you are going to get the worse beating of your life. I will make sure that you are unable to walk for the next week. Am I understood?" he hollered, as he exited my small living space.

"Understood," I whispered before I carefully got up, my world still spinning. I reached up and touched my cheek tenderly. I winced at the contact, retracting quickly my hand. There is definitely going to be a bruise there tomorrow. Another one for the collection.

."Happiness…it hurts to see you go through this. I am so sorry that I am not able to heal you…I'm just too weak…" My wolf, Mandel whimper, her voice meek, filled with pain and faded as she struggled to speak. I can not remember when was the last time we had a proper meal. They fed me enough just so that I don't die, merely scraps and pieces of leftover food that they did not want or was too rotten for them to eat. The lack of nutrition made both my wolf and I extremely weak and undernourished. It affected especially Winter as she was the beasty side of me. Without food, she is powerless, unable to heal us, or fight. "I understand Mandel…It's okay, I can take the pain. You need to rest as much as possible and regain energy. I'll try to get food into our system soon." I told her, trying desperately to sound confident.

I had planned to run away from this pack one day, even if that meant that I was going to become a rogue. I wanted to set out to find my mate and find my happily ever after. Therefore, I needed Winter to be in the best shape possible. I was willing to spare her from all the pain that comes from the abuse and beatings and give her all of my strength. It was a sacrifice I was full-on willing to make, it's our only chance and hope of escaping.

"Hopefully, that day will come soon Happiness. We will finally be able to live well and freely. Maybe share this life with a mate if we find him. Oh, Happiness, he will enter our life and be a beacon of light in our dark world." Mandel expressed with a tint of unbridled and pure happiness in her tone. Mate, that one word alone made me feel giddy. When a werewolf turns sixteen, they will be able to find their mate by their scent. When I was little, before tucking me away for the night, my mom would always tell me the story of how she met my dad, her eyes always sparkled with happiness whenever she did. I hope I will find a mate that will love me and treat me right. An escape and a new beginning.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard an all too familiar voice yell out, "Omega, you better hurry up and get breakfast on this table immediately. My patience is running out." Alpha Benson Black Alister, is a powerful, ruthless, and merciless Alpha. Out of everyone in the pack, he abuses me the most. Not wanting another painful beating, I rushed and did my morning routine before heading downstairs. I made my way to the spacious pack kitchen and started to make a typical American style breakfast and soon, all the food was ready to be served. I brought out the plates to the awaiting pack members in the dining room. Once everyone was served individually, I left to clean up the kitchen and do the dishes.

"Happiness, we need to eat something soon. We can't continue to live like this. Please human, we need to eat if we want to survive a little longer." Mandel whimpered.

"I know Mandel…maybe they will be kind enough to leave some leftovers today…if not, then I will find scraps for us to eat," I responded, and as if on cue, my stomach grumbled loudly. Once the kitchen was spotless, I waited for the Alpha to call me to complete my duty of clearing the table once everyone was done eating.

"Omega, we are done eating. Come at once, make yourself useful and clean up this mess mutt!" Alpha Benson hollered. I walked quickly into the dining room and hurriedly stacked the dirty plates and sorted the utensils, before taking them back to the kitchen. No one helped and not a single word of gratitude was spoken from the whole pack. I also noticed that they ate all of the food, leaving no leftovers for me. I sigh quietly and guess this meant that I would have to go all day without food again.

"I am sorry Mandel…we have to bear the hunger a little longer." I proceeded to do the dishes, making sure that each plate was spotless as one speck unwashed could earn me a beating. Once I was finished, I looked at the time and cursed under my breath. I was going to be late for school if I don't leave right away. We, werewolves go to a special werewolf only school, humans are forbidden to attend. Of course, me being an omega meant that I was bullied a lot in school, especially by Benson and Alexander. It was mandatory to go to school until you reach the age of sixteen, and the consequences of not attending are harsh. A werewolf without an education gets kicked out of the pack and is forced to become a rogue, a full wolf, a rank lower even than an omega. Nobody wants that.

I slipped on my worn-out Uggs boots, grabbed my plain white backpack filled with completed homework and school books, and began the long walk to North Wood Academy. Suddenly, as I was walking, I felt raw eggs being thrown at me, one painfully hitting the nape of my neck and another landed on the side of my head. Benson and Alex howled with peals of laughter as they watched egg yolk run down my face and clothes before driving off. I sighed and kept walking.