1. Introductions

I am perfectly aware that I should be proud of my high status in my pack. Being the daughter of the Beta is something that no werewolf would dare to be ashamed of for the privileges and respect received from being the offspring of such a high classed member in the pack would be only second best to the Alpha himself. I am the heiress to the Beta position, the only child of my mother and father; that in itself is something that I should be looking forward to, but I often look upon the Gamma's daughter with envy coursing through my veins. Scarlett McKenzie, for that is her name, could very well be the dullest wolf in our pack. She is not as strong as most, not as beautiful as others, nor is she as intelligent as the pack doctors. Even her name has thrown people off, for every wolf in our pack has a name unique and strange compared to the human's; yet hers is only average and quite in the norm.

Alas, I subtly admire her freedom and her carefree language. I watch as she talks like there are no issues in this universe and the constant expression of serenity resting on her face as if it were a silk sheet, transforming the plainness that it covers into something beautiful and desired.

I, on the other hand, am the complete opposite. I must talk in a proper fashion as it is to go well with my position despite the fact that it clashes horrifically with this era. I rarely feel the sweet feeling of tranquillity, as peace is the one privilege that I fear I may never earn. I am bombarded with constant studies from the pack educators and am trained every day in the art of combat and battle strategies as well as learning commerce simultaneously. You must be thinking, 'that makes no sense!" Well, I meant what I said literally. While I spar with my combat teacher, my business and law teacher quizzes me (only before a test, though).

I can feel myself shudder at the mere thought of my commerce teacher; the fact that he is only twenty one years of age and so thoroughly involved and passionate for political things makes me sick to the stomach. I believe that politics is just an absolute load of rubbish. Of course, most pack members would agree with me but the humans believe that they rule this world and the way they think they keep their reign over it is by using a lying weasel of a politician to represent them all. I can assume that I am a little harsh in my judgement of politicians and I must be generalising them into one weasel-like category. I do not care much for politics at all, however as they say, it's each to their own.

I kick a thin tree branch out of my path and dawdle along the track I had marked for myself. This trail leads just along the outskirts of our pack's territory but not so close to the perimeter where the warriors on guard duty might find me. Although, I don't know why I worry as I had discovered long ago that the standard patrol guards are actually quite dim-witted and don't care much about what is already on the inside of the territory. Quite the opposite from the elite warrior divisions our pack provides. They have eyes only for intruders, not members within our community. That would explain why most of the pack patrol-guards were still unmated.

I finally arrive at my destination: the Amber Ash River. The reason for its peculiar name would be due to the fact the river winds from our territory all the way across the land to supply the Amber Moon pack. They are a friendly pack but my father believes their leader is nothing but a fool. Alpha Aeyrgon, our pack leader, has met with Amber Moon's own Alpha Tridium and agreed that he is quite ridiculous but that he also makes a fine ally.

Of course, their pack respects ours as they should. The River Ash pack is one not to be trifled with as we are victorious against every war the rogues have thrown at us.

"Accalia!"

I jump at the sudden voice in my mind, startling the fish that were lingering near the river bed. One of the faults of being a werewolf would have to be that there is hardly ever any privacy. Our whole pack has the ability to use mind-links to communicate with each other in both times of emergency and just casual conversation.

The person who had shouted at me would be the Alpha's daughter, Faoiltiama 'Moonstreak' Aeyrgon, my closest friend since birth.

"What?" I reply, my wolf beginning to shift uncomfortably from the disturbance of my rare moment of relaxation.

"The Alpha is holding a meeting and Beta said that he wants you here. He couldn't find you- wait; where are you exactly?" Moonstreak has the tendency to blurt her words into a couple sentences and expect you to understand the gibberish that she dumps in your mind.

"I'm down by the river; tell my dad that I'll be there soon," I sigh, standing up and dusting off my backside.

"Right, well hurry because it seems extremely urgent," she responds, her voice holds tones of nervousness and I can practically imagine her wringing her hands together while her cheeks burn a flustered red.

I nod even though she won't see it. I throw my backpack on the floor beside me and get into the correct posture to shift. My body's bones change lengths and begin to grate past each other, moving into different positions. The pain of shifting has become numb and I feel nothing but an uncomfortable churning in my stomach. Every stab of pain that use to claw through my body and the agony that had once rushed through my veins has numbed itself. Although, I believe I can speak for every wolf when I say that the sufferings of shifting are absolutely worth it.

Being in my wolf form sends my heart soaring in ecstasy, I am free. I am a bird being set free from its cage, a lion escaping from its containment and a prisoner released from her restraints. This feeling of freedom compares to no other.

I come back to the realization that I am supposed to be moving quickly, not revelling in the sensations of non-confinement.

I swoop down and secure the strap of my bag between my jaws; my lengthy teeth have clamped down on the leather to secure its position. I lurch forward, sprinting down the winding path with supernatural speed, which I can say is a blessing.

With each leap I make I am closer to the pack house. It is where important meetings are held or just events that require the whole pack to gather. Our group is rather large but with numbers comes power. Moonstreak claims that our pack would have to be one of the biggest packs there is. A normal wolf pack has about 200-300 wolves; our group has around 536 members if I remember correctly, which I always do.

As I slow to a stop at the pack house I realize I had forgotten to change into my clothes. I groan which sounds extremely strange coming from my mouth in wolf form. I watch as wolves waltz into the pack house, none in their animal form.

I sigh, there is no way in hell that I am walking in there buck-a*s nude; I suppose I'll have to set the trend of attending meetings like this. I inhale deeply, setting my sights on the doorway and trot quickly but confidently to the threshold.

My father stands as an usher, welcoming everyone in and once his gaze lands on me his puffed chest deflates and he pinches the bridge of his nose. He glares at me and shakes his head.

"Should I even ask?" His voice booms in my mind which already triggers a headache. My God, this man speaks as if he is yelling across a damn country when in reality he is speaking into some ones bloody brain!

A whine leaves my mouth and I look down, fighting to keep my appearance while struggling to stop my tail from tucking itself between my legs; a natural canine sign of submission. I am the daughter of a Beta and I sure as hell will not back down to a man… despite that man being my father. Ah, it seems that my ego's priorities are a little muddled. I should really work on changing the things I feed to my pride.

"Do you wish to progress through tonight's events without thinking your daughter to be a fool?" I ask, my voice travelling to his mind much gentler in comparison to his and I let sarcasm seep through my tone.

He seems to think about this for a moment, "Preferably not."

"Then you obviously do not want to know that your daughter forgot to bring a pair of clothes before shifting."

He rolls his eyes and pats me on the head, ruffling my fur. "Preferably not," he repeats, "go in."

I grin. A wolfish grin, mind you. As I strut inside desperately clinging onto my confidence I can feel the stares of most members of the pack on my back. Someone bursts into laughter, keeling over with his hands on his knees.

"What happened, Prospero? Forget something?" A boy my age, nearly twenty-one, mocks me. How dare he use my last name in such a way? I am basically royalty in the modern day. There are rules and etiquette that I have gone through great pains to learn and this idiot can dare to taunt me?

 I snarl and snap my teeth in his direction causing his laughter to stop in an instant. He stills, watching me carefully as the rest of the crowd ignores us and continues to talk amongst themselves. The area we stand in is isolated so most of the pack would not have heard us anyway. His friends take a small step back before abandoning him, leaving him with me; smart move.

"I suggest you silence your tongue, Delta; or you may very well lose it," I growl and watch as he gulps visibly, his Adam's-apple bobbing up and down.

"Sure, whatever keeps you calm," he shrugs. I glare at him and watch as he squirms under my gaze. As the daughter of a Beta there are great privileges amongst negative points. One of those privileges being I am stronger than the average male wolf with an aura of power that gets lower classes to submit.

"What is your name?" I respond; his eyes widen; he knows he's in trouble.

"Mercutio Woolsey," he replies. I narrow my eyes, working his name out in my head. Usually a name of a member of the pack would have a certain relation to wolves in different languages; but for the life of me I couldn't figure out where the hell Mercutio came from.

"Mercutio…" I mutter through our mind link. My fiery temper has cooled and puzzlement has replaced it. "Woolsey: that's from English origin."

He nods hesitantly, watching me carefully as I struggle to put together his name. A lot has to do with a name in a pack; it is either your downfall or your strength. Power comes within a name. "Yes, it means victorious wolf."

"What kind of a name is Mercutio?" I know that it is incredibly rude to question ones name; no wolf was an exception to that social rule. Unfortunately, I had just blurted it out; the words tumbling from my mouth as water falls over a waterfall- it's uncontrollable.

He looks taken aback although quite offended. He scoffs and stares at me with cold eyes. "My mother named me Mercutio. She had a thing for the human theatres and a character's name from one of their plays caught her attention!" He's not speaking in mind link any more, although he keeps his voice to a reasonable level as to not attract too much attention to ourselves.

I nod, staying silent. I have crossed a boundary, this I know. I have no right to scold him further, although he seems to have calmed himself. His green eyes twinkle as he scratches his head with embarrassment.

"Anyway, it's better than Romeo. That would have been humiliating," he grins sheepishly at me. The mood seems to have calmed and we have slipped into a small conversation without both of us expecting to.

I furrow my eyebrows (a look that seems quite strange on a wolf) and try the name out in my mind, repeating it over and over.

"Romeo?" I question him. I watch as his eyes widen and he stares at me with bewilderment.

"Everyone knows who Romeo and Juliet are! It's just the rest of the characters no one knows about."

"Characters? Oh! A movie? Book?"

"Yes- ugh, sort of. Romeo and Juliet are the characters in a play called 'Romeo and Juliet'."

"What strange names."

"Ah, but what is in a name?"

I watch him carefully, what a strange boy! One moment he is taunting and in the next he is launching into conversations about human plays. He is staring at me, his hands held in mid-air as if he is waiting for a reaction out of me.

"Right, you don't get that reference," he mutters in realization. I feel a twinge of guilt as I watch his disappointment; he was talking so passionately about some theatrical thing and here I am just gawking inappreciatively.

"You share your mother's love for the… arts?" I venture the question and watch his eyes light up once again.

"Definitely, especially Shakespeare," his words seep into my mind and my eyes widen. Shakespeare, why of course! Who doesn't know of Shakespeare? William Shakespeare is dead now (he was human), but I've met a friend of his that had lived on, being the werewolf he was.

"But don't you tell those idiots I call my friends there that I love the theatre. It's apparently not a thing for men to enjoy," he rolls his eyes. I nod and am about to tell him about Shakespeare's friend, Adrias, before I am interrupted by the Alpha.

"I welcome you all and it is a pleasure to see the members of the River Ash pack gathered here before me. Unfortunately, the news I bring is not one of good tidings," Alpha Aeyrgon sighs, clenching his jaw. Whispers arise from the middle of the crowd, where all the lower ranks stand, causing me to grimace. Now these fools will set themselves into a panic and cause chaos.

"Please, do not be anxious, I am merely asking you to be cautious from this point on," Alpha soothes. "There has been a sighting of the Blood Rite pack moving through the upper lands south-west, which is of course, where we reside now."

At this point my body has gone numb and I stare, a picture of shock. The crowd erupts into panicked cries and children whimper, grasping their parents' legs for comfort. But how can the parents ease their offspring's fears when they themselves are terrified?

The Blood Rite pack is the largest and most powerful pack of all. I have never seen a pack as fearsome as them. Their Alpha is Roman Dreycov, he is only a few years older than I but he inherited the Alpha title when both of his parents were killed during battle. The war had been between the rivaling Claw Throat pack and their leader had slaughtered half of Roman's pack.

Roman's first act of battle as an Alpha was to rip the Claw Throat pack to shreds, no survivors. Now their clan has multiplied greatly, 912 members to be exact.

The Alpha catches my eyes and I know he can sense my fear. He grimaces and attempts to calm down his now chaotic pack. "Please, do not panic! As I said before, I am merely asking you to take caution."

I don't miss the pointed look he shoots at the Omegas. They are the trouble makers of the pack. They were sweet enough but absolutely too adventurous for their own good. They have wild spirits and although they are the lowest ranking pack members, they are incredibly good natured.

"We have to move then! Their pack will demolish ours if they are coming here to take over our land!" A woman cries from the back of the crowd. My gaze moves to face her and I immediately feel pity. She has two children clinging onto one of her legs, a baby in her arm, her free hand holding the tiny fingers of what seems to be an eight year old and a shocked fourteen year old boy standing beside her. Her motherly instincts have obviously kicked in. Her husband lays a soothing hand on her shoulder, kissing her on her tear streaked cheek. The man picks up the wailing infant from the mothers grasp and holds the baby, cooing softly to calm her cries.

I scan over the rest of the crowd, trying to calm my nerves that are flailing about. I feel a hand resting on my head and acting on instinct I bare my teeth and growl at the person who is stupidly courageous enough to touch me in my wolf form while I was… taken off-guard. 

I immediately cease my warning growls when my eyes land on my father, standing beside me. His fingers pat over my fur in a soothing way as he gives me a tired smile.

"I understand that you are afraid but we will stand together and we will stay here. We have done nothing to provoke war," Alpha speaks out once more, quieting the crowd as they mull over this thought in their mind. I feel anger boiling within me, I will not die because my Alpha is ignorant.

"With all due respect, Alpha, the Blood Rite pack's Alpha is a fearsome and blood-thirsty twenty-four year old young man with no experience. His parents were murdered which is why it is safe to assume that he is mentally unstable. Besides, no pack in their right mind just leaves their territory for the heck of it," I speak into Alpha Aeyrgon's mind and his amber gaze shifts to look at me. I bow my head slightly, a sign that I am not challenging him or purposefully disrespecting him. 

Although he is over three hundred years old, our werewolf gene slows the ageing process significantly. It differs for every werewolf but the average is every hundred years we age bodily wise ten years. However, the wolf gene only starts to slow the ageing process when a wolf turns eighteen.

So, Alpha looks as if he is only in his mid-thirties. His jaw clenches and he stares at me as though he is forming a response. Finally, his voice speaks in my mind. "Accalia, your stress is understandable and I am confused as well. As the leaders of this pack we must remain confident and calm."

Then I see it, the inner turmoil raging beneath his cool and collected façade. He turns away, dismissing me from the mental conversation. I sigh, and notice my father's hand has left my head. I look up curiously to find him staring intensely with the Alpha who returns my father's gaze. They are speaking to each other through the mind link and my heart lurches uncomfortably when the Alpha glances at me.

My eyes flit away from his and I turn from the two men, trotting off to find someone I know. What were they talking about? Surely the Alpha wasn't telling my dad that I was talking to him in a disrespectful manner? The Alpha seemed to hold a sense of understanding regarding my state of panic- er.,. concern.

"Accalia!"

I scan my surroundings to find the person who yelled out for me.

"Over here!"

"Where?" I growl to her in our mind-link, I can't see her and it's extremely embarrassing for a wolf of my stature to be seen looking confused and lost.

"With the Omega's!" Moonstreak responds, this time in my mind with delight clear in her tone. Well, it's not hard to know where they are, their group alone creates 60% of the noise in this room. Wait-

"Why are you with the Omega's?" My question is simple and confusion runs through my voice clearly. Why would Moonstreak be mingling with who her mother calls the "riff raff?" The young woman in question doesn't respond for a good few moments, leaving me embarrassingly eager to hear her voice.

"Well, why not? Isn't it a future Luna's job to interact with her pack members?" Moonstreak questions, making me roll my eyes and continue searching for her in the crowd. I finally catch her narrowed green eyes staring in my direction. My own gaze squints a little in return and I begin to trot towards her.

"Not every Alpha female is mated to an Alpha male, for all we know you could be mated to a Beta," I muse, hoping to release the tension in the conversation.

 Although Moonstreak may be my best friend, she is still the Alpha's daughter. She has Alpha blood coursing through her veins. If we were to really break out into a verbal fight, I would be forced to apologize and submit. If we were to fight physically, I would be able to snap her in two. 

Unfortunately, were she to order me to stop I would be forced to obey.

"Ew, why would I be mated to a Beta?" Moonstreak sneers playfully, her nose crinkling in disgust. I move faster and when I arrive by her side I nip her hand jokingly. She yelps and pulls her hand away, her thin lips pouting. "If they are all similar to yourself, I definitely hope not to be mated to a second-in-command."

"The next time I bite you, a finger will be missing when you recoil in pain," I snort. Moonstreak laughs sarcastically but wisely keeps her hands to her chest. I remove my gaze from her face and turn to observe the Omega's who stand in a sloppy semi-circle before us. They all are chattering amongst themselves, completely oblivious to my presence.

I realize that I actually enjoy being able to blend in. Without everyone's eyes turning to me and then to the floor immediately. One boy glances at me indifferently before returning for a second look close after the first. His dark eyes squint in curiosity and then widen with realization.

"Hey," he nudges the person next to him. I glance at his friend and am pleasantly surprised to catch sight of Mercutio's face. The younger boy is new to the pack, I can tell. He must've been taken in by us because he was abandoned in the human world as a young pup. Some families do that from other packs, cast away the runt of the litter and leave them to the mercy of the humans. I wince in sympathy. Wolves usually have their first shift when they hit sixteen years of age. That's when the Alpha of a pack can sense the newly changed wolf and their distress.

The boy continues in hushed tones, glancing at me with curious eyes, "isn't that the girl everyone calls the Beta B***h?"

Mercutio stiffens and snaps his gaze to stare at me. My muscles go slack and my jaw drops open as I hear what the wolves have been calling me behind my back. Does everyone know me by this name?

A growl rips from my throat, catching the attention of all the Omega's. They turn to face me, their bodies moving without thought to perform the primal instinct of submission. I look at each one of them, all of the wolves in turn looking at the ground within a second of eye contact. I don't really know where to go from here, I've got their undivided attention and have no idea what to do with it. I have to admit that I'm still reeling from the name.

Beta B***h.

Accalia Zykan Prospero, the Beta B***h.

I realize that I still have all the Omega's staring at me in confusion. I glare at the boy who, in response, clenches his jaw and shivers. I move forward to face him and he takes a small step back. I growl, warning him to stay put. He becomes deathly still, no movement being seen at all from his rigid body.

"Beta B***h?" I growl into his mind, I can imagine that my voice sounds like something akin to my father's. The boy flinches and looks down. As I am a fairly large wolf, the second largest female wolf in the pack (second to the Luna only), I can come face-to-face with a man just under six feet and be at perfect eye level. So this boy is significantly shorter than myself in wolf form. I actually find this quite humorous due to the fact that I am 5'7 in my human body.

"I'm sorry Beta-" The boy begins, his voice loud and quivering. I roll my eyes and interrupt.

"Mind link!"

"I'm sorry Beta Prospero, I didn't mean to offend you. I thought you knew, I'm only just new to this pack. I was brought in yesterday! I overheard a few Average's talking about you and they called you the Beta B***h so casually!" The boy cries into my mind, his voice oozing with fear. He's pleading for mercy indirectly.

I sigh, he's stupidly naïve, "What's your name, boy?"

"Josh Menzies," he replies almost immediately. "Uh, Joshua Thomas Menzies."

I raise an eyebrow ridge at him, do I look like I care about his middle name? He shifts uncomfortably under my scrutinizing gaze. His name is so… American. So human. So unintelligible.

"Josh, I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable. You're dismissed," I say, my voice significantly softer. The boy's shoulders relax and his rigid demeanour slumps unprofessionally. He turns and walks away quickly to the rest of his friends and Mercutio.

Moonstreak had been watching the whole ordeal silently, regarding me with soft eyes. I look to her tiredly and she gives me a warm smile, her cheerfulness immediately making me want to curl up and die. Does she ever stop smiling for more than a minute?

"Are you okay?" Moonstreak questions.

"Yes, just fine," I say. But I don't think I am. I feel as if I have severe anxiety creeping into my mind like a cancerous tumour. It has to be removed before it does any damage, if left to grow it can never be removed.

Anxiety.

The vile word has a taste of bitter pity whenever someone says it. Surely I could not be experiencing anxiety. And if I am, then why now? It's not the first time I've been called ridiculous names that mock and insult my stature. But Beta B***h has seemed to hit me hard.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good opening chapter. I liked the history shared and the conversations. I like the set-up of the characters. Giving them strength and weaknesses. I like the personal conflicts in the chapter. A strong ending to the excellent chapter. You are a very good writer. Create a interesting tale. Please send me read requests if you write some more.
Coyote