Damon- 18 years old.
Elle- 16 years old, a month away from her 17th birthday
Elle
The constant beeping of my alarm clock rouses me from my no-dream sleep, letting me know it's 4 am.
It's time to head off into training with the Beta and Gamma of the New Moon Pack.
This is my daily route; no other Omega is lucky enough to receive the same treatments.
It is strange how much Alpha Charles and Luna Olivia have invested in a nobody Omega from another pack.
Honestly, they were incredibly kind to me.
Since the day I had my own bedroom, they insisted that everything needed to be perfect and precise as I desired.
As a result, I have a beautiful room that they spent thousands of dollars to redo, a massive bathroom with a rainhead shower, a large clawfoot bathtub, and a small sauna in the bathroom as well.
The only thing that contradicts this preferential treatment is my attire.
Sweatpants, t-shirts, and sneakers, none of them was trendy or stylish.
In fact, they looked even old-fashioned among the girls in my class.
It wasn't because Luna disapproved of my outfit, or I didn't like those pretty things.
The problem stemmed from the only person my age in my family.
Damon Ledger.
He is my biggest enemy and a paranoid control freak since the day his parents brought me home.
At first, it was subtle; I wasn't allowed near him or his friends. That part almost made sense, because I was the outsider they brought in.
But then it escalated. Within weeks, I wasn't allowed near anyone from the pack.
If I lingered too close to a pack member, Damon's gaze would cut across the room.
A single look, and they would step back from me like I was contagious.
He made sure I never trained with the pack. Officially, that was the Alpha's order. Unofficially, Damon enforced it.
He would stand outside while I got my personal training, with his arms folded and watching.
He claimed I wasn't allowed near him. Yet he always knew exactly where I was.
Then the strange rules kept multiplying.
No pool. No parties. No talking to male pack members unless necessary.
No rights for the pretty clothes—he picked out my attire to make me wear "appropriately".
No wonder Timberlake High treats me like a leper.
No one speaks to me unless they have to. I'm certain I'm on Damon's blacklist.
And yet, the one time a boy grabbed my wrist too hard, Damon nearly broke his arm.
He told me afterward that I embarrassed him.
However, he didn't explain why his wolf, Slade, had been snarling.
Damon is nothing like his parents. His father rules with patience. His mother with warmth.
Damon rules with tension.
He is angry, dangerous, the strongest warrior in the pack, and the future Alpha.
As soon as he takes his position as Alpha, I know I will be out on my ass.
Luckily, I have been preparing for that day.
I have excellent grades, can code, and save every penny I earn.
I have created a nice little nest egg to escape this place once I shift and turn eighteen.
I love the Alpha and Luna, but I will never survive with Damon as Alpha.
Absentmindedly putting on the random clothes I picked from my closet, I try to stop thinking of Damon Ledger and enjoy my last day of this summer.
Damon's been away at Alpha training for the entire vacation, and I have never felt so much inner peace.
With him and his cronies gone, I have started feeling the confidence I shoved aside long ago.
With Damon gone, I am beginning to come out of my shell and act like my old self.
I forgot so much of myself trying to make Damon's adjustment to my presence here easier, but fuck that shit.
I am deciding that I will no longer allow him to have any more control over my life.
Putting my hair into a ponytail, I leave my bathroom, taking my new resolve to my private gym to work out my frustrations on the poor unsuspecting Beta and Gamma.
****************************
After a quick breakfast at the kitchen counter, I place my dirty plate in the empty dishwasher.
Then I grabbed my favorites, the Eloisa James novel, and exited the room.
As I pass by the den, I hear the rasp of whispers too low to make out.
The scents leaking from the room tell me who it is inside.
Not wanting the Alpha and Luna to think I am eavesdropping, I scurry down the hall and out the front door.
Inhaling the cleanliness of the fresh air surrounding me, I am truly thankful for it.
My boots scraped against the driveway pavement, as my mind mindlessly took my feet in the same direction it had every day for the last three months.
Breaking from the pavement onto the dewy midmorning grass, my boots sank slightly into the soft dirt.
Without thinking, I let my body take me to a spot that has slowly become my favorite over the summer.
With Damon gone, I have felt safe enough to venture back after staying away for years.
As I make my way through the forest, the sticks and leaves crunch beneath my feet as I get further away from the packhouse.
The longer I walk in the quiet forest, enjoying the subtle chirps of the birds.
Seeing squirrels sitting high in the trees or dashing between the branches chasing one another, my mind wanders to the first time I ever came to this spot.