Fighting for What's Mine
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Nylita Maxwell
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Chapter One
ALINA
‘Do you have to go?’ I asked, pulling on my brother’s arm as he and the future Alpha stood at the edge of the forest that surrounded our home.
Damien ruffled my hair with a bright smile on his face. ‘Don’t worry, lil bit. We will be back in two years,’ he said before giving me a tight hug.
I pouted and stomped my foot, ‘It’s not fair! I want to go with you!’ I cried out, getting my parents to chuckle and shake their heads at me.
‘Lina, honey, they will be training to lead this Pack into the future. It is not something to be taken lightly, sweetie,’ my mom said, leaning into Dad with a sad look on her face.
Alexander came up to wrap his arms around me, hugging me tightly. ‘Don’t worry, Alina. We will be back sooner than you think,’ he said, releasing me and picking up his stuff.
‘We will have plenty of stories to tell you about training and more things to teach you,’ he added as Damien moved closer to the trees.
I could feel the tears I was holding back fall down my face. I didn’t want them to leave me. They were my best friends. My protectors. I watched as they were just walking away from me.
Just as they reached the very edge of the forest, Alex stopped, dropped his bag, and ran back to me.
He grabbed me into a tight hug, whispering, ‘I will be back, my little starburst. I promise,’ before he and my brother disappeared into the forest for training.
Gasping, I sat up in bed.
I hated dreaming of the day my brother and Alpha left. It was basically the day my social life had died. With them gone, I realized that I was the most hated person in the Midnight Pack. At least among the kids my age.
I yawned and turned my alarm off, groaning and getting out of bed. Knowing I needed to be quick if I wanted to have a good morning. I sighed as I looked around my bedroom.
Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong in the world you lived in? Check.
Like something very important was missing in your life? Also, check.
You were out of place but still felt like you had that one place to just … fit. Check on certain conditions. Mostly when I was alone.
That was how I felt every day in the magically fantastical world that I lived in.
I knew who I was, a Human living among the fairy tales, and I was fine with my life. I just felt like I was missing something in my life.
Something deep within my own soul was telling me that I was more as I stared into the forest that surrounded my home.
In the Midnight Pack that I called home I was the only Human. A Human child that had been found by their Beta in the dead of winter eighteen years ago.
I had been raised by the Mated Beta pair of the Midnight Pack as one of their own, but I still yearned to understand why I was here. Where I came from and why I had been left behind. I knew the forest held my answers and so much more, but I knew it was an unattainable goal.
I breathed a deep sigh of longing as I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom.
The stories I had been told about the forest that surrounded our home were basically carved into my mind. I knew of the dangers that lived within the trees. I still wanted to know what was past them.
I knew that as a Human I stood no chance against anything that called those trees home, but I was determined to one day go beyond them.
I wanted to see more than just the place where I didn’t really belong.
I wanted answers to why I had been left behind by my real parents. Not really knowing what lay beyond the forest only made me work harder to get stronger. Train my body and mind to be better, even for just myself.
The day I found out that I was just Human was the day I knew I had to work twice as hard as everyone else.
*flashback*
I was still trying to sneak into the forest behind my house, but I was caught by my brother and the alpha’s son. It was humiliating to be hauled back into the house by my brother. I was only 15 years old, but Damien was still bigger than I was.
‘Stop fighting me, Lina.’ Damien growled as he held me tightly against his chest.
‘Let me go! I want to go and find my Wolf!’ I screamed at him, trying to punch and kick him as he wrestled with me.
‘That’s enough! Alina, get inside,’ my father’s strict voice called out, stilling my struggles against Damien.
‘Don’t be too hard on her, guys. Lina just wants to see more than just these grounds,’ Alexander, the Alpha’s son and Damien’s best friend, said as I slowly walked into my house.
I felt warmth fill my chest at the thought of him sticking up for me.
Mom was sitting in the living room as I walked in, a look of despair in her eyes. I had run to her in tears, demanding the answers they had not wanted to give me.
I should have shifted. I should have at least heard my Wolf. I was different, and I didn’t like that.
That’s when my parents told me the truth. Mom needed a reason to live, and Dad brought me to her, hoping she would see me as her own.
I cried for a week after that, not leaving my room for anything. I had to come to terms with it on my own, and I did.
*end of flashback*
I have known that I was basically ‘picked up’ since I was fifteen years old. The day I should have at least heard my Wolf. I didn’t have one, and I never would.
Despite knowing I wouldn’t really stand much of a chance against the evil in this world, I still wanted to go. I wanted to find out where I had come from.
Even if I hadn’t been allowed into the surrounding forest, the trees held a special meaning for me. They called out to me when I was close, almost singing to me, trying to draw me into their depths.
My family had all told me that it was too dangerous for me to go in alone. Not that they would take me there with an escort.
I was just a Human.
I was not a Werewolf like them. I was the odd one out in this world I called home, and it left me longing for more. I knew I was not as strong as the beings that hunted in the night, but I was more than determined to make sure I could hold my own in a fight if I needed to.
My mother was so afraid to lose me that she had restricted me mainly to the open Packlands. She didn’t care that I had spent most of my time training. She didn’t see that I had tried to make sure I could at least go into the known parts of the forest with someone.
I didn’t want to be completely useless. I could still at least hold my own in a fight. I wanted to at least prove to myself that I was not defenseless. I had at least the chance to train with two of the best fighters in the Pack growing up.
The future Alpha, Alexander, had helped to train me with my brother, Damien. They taught me all of the basics of fighting and how to at least protect myself from danger.
It had taken me a year to convince them, but when I did, they helped me change myself for the better. They had understood my need to at least know how to defend myself. They had always been there for me until they had gotten old enough to leave for advanced training.
I was lost when they left. Without them around, I had been subjected to much harsher treatment than before. I had never realized they had been my shields until they were no longer there to protect me from the ones who didn’t want me here.
They were going to be taking over the Pack when they got back. The ones who hated me would become just as powerful in the Pack as we all got older. While I was left as the burden among the Wolves.
I wanted to be angry with them, but I couldn’t. I just missed my best friends. I enjoyed my night training with them. I felt better about myself each time I went to the open meadow behind our house to see them waiting for me. I especially enjoyed having Alexander there with me.
I felt like a part of the Pack because he chose to acknowledge me. The fact that I had been crushing on him since I was fourteen didn’t help, but I got over myself when I realized that he could never really love me.
I sighed as I made my way outside to stand in front of the forest that was just behind the house. Alex deserved so much more than just me.
He was an Alpha. He deserved a Luna who could actually fight by his side. I would keep myself in the friend zone, regardless of what I really wanted, and make sure he was happy when he found his Mate.
I sighed again as I pulled myself out of my errant thoughts before they got too delusional and turned away from the tree line. I had been waiting for Damien and Alexander to come back.
They had promised to be here for my birthday this year, but they didn’t show up when they had promised. I felt a little letdown but knew I couldn’t really do much about it.
I couldn’t find the anger over the hurt. I knew why they were gone, but I still felt like they had abandoned me for something better.
