Alivia’s POV

I’m plucking weeds on roof top.

This just became my favorite job in past three months. Because it gives me a temporary escape from the dark kitchen and those constant bullying and verbal abuses in my life.

I look up into the clear blue sky and take in a deep breath of the refreshing morning air.

The weather is great.

Standing up high like this allows me to look far away into the distance, over our packhouse, over the forest and mountain.

I can stay here all day. If it isn’t for—

“Hey Alivia!”

A loud cry interrupts my tranquility. I let out a long sigh and look down. There’s a group of teenagers about my age gathered on the ground.

Bullies in my life.

“What?” I raise my voice asking.

I feel safe up here because they can’t touch me with the distance in between.

A tall girl steps out of the crowd. Eve, the leader of this gang, looks up to me with a bright smile on her face.

“Alivia! They need you by the front gate! Come down now!” she shouts to me.

I bite down my lips with my guard up. She’s just here passing words? No, she can’t be this nice.

“Cut it off! You are just messing with me!” I shout back.

“I’m not. See for yourself.” She points at a direction.

I gaze over and find a yellow flag hanging down from the central tower, the call for gathering of all pack members.

She is right. I need to be by the front gate in five minutes!

As reluctant as I am, I can’t disobey the pack’s order. So I quickly move over the edge of roof and stretch out my left foot to reach for the top of my ladder—

But I step on nothing but air.

My ladder is gone!

I let out a short cry and scrabble against the roof edge to stay in place. But half of my body is already dangling in the air.

I quickly glance down and feel vertigo.

Crap! This is 6 story-high!

A loud round of laughter and cheering break out from down below. Eve’s voice is the most prominent one. Sounds like she is laughing her heart out.

“Stop it!” I scream at the top of my lunge. “Give me my ladder back!”

“You seem like you like it!” she replies loudly, “Girls! Hit her with pebbles! 10 bucks for her body, 50 for her head!”

My palms are sweating. My body sliding down inch by inch. Just when I’m struggling to pull myself up, a hard rock hit me on my arm.

Ouch!

“Score!” somebody cheers.

Pebbles fly to my direction like a spatter of shower. I suffer the dull pain all over my body and cling to the edge as tightly as I can.

“Stop…”

I grit my teeth holding my tears. But I know they won’t listen to my begging. The more suffer I am, the more pleasurable they are.

“Let go Alivia!” I hear Eve shouting to me, “There’s already one cripple in your house! You might well be the second one!”

“Don’t call my father a cripple!” I roar back furiously.

Shit, my arms are shaking violently. I’m losing it.

“But he is! And he is a murder! He killed our Gamma’s mate! You are a cripple killer’s daughter! Girls, hit her down!”

Pebbles attack me even harder, carrying their anger and hatred.

That’s why everyone hates me.

My dad, a veteran warrior, came back from the battlefield three months ago. They said he caused the death of our Gamma’s mate.

Gamma Karl is our pack’s hero, a world-famous War God. Everyone loves and respects him, especially young girls.

I know those girls are glad to see the spot of Gamma Karl’s wife become available. So everyone is urging to bully me, to please the newly widowed bachelor, striving to become his second chance mate.

A large rock lands on my right arm. With a grunt, my right-hand breaks loose.

One more hit. I’m going down.

Yet just then, a booming horn resounds through the town and forest. That’s the call for immediate assembling of all pack members.

“Fuck! We’re late. Let’s go!”

All my bullies scatter around and disappear into the distance, leaving me dangling with only one hand.

I need to be at the front gate too. The punishment for late comers is too severe.

Looking down at the height, I close my eyes and let out a long breath. Screw it. I’m a strong wolf.

Jumping off from the height won’t kill me…right?

So I loosen my grip on the edge and aim for the grass. And jump.

The grass softens the landing, and my wolf instinct makes me crawl my body up when I touch the ground. So I didn’t get hurt. Except my left foot is slightly sprained.

But I didn’t have time to check my ankle. I need to be at the front gate, now!

So I run, dashing through the empty backyard and heading towards the assembly point. By the time I arrive, panting out of breath, other pack members have already gathered in alignment.

I receive quite a few hostile glares when I quietly join the team. I was a mediocre nobody growing up. But my dad’s incident changed that—not in a good way though.

Now I am a renowned freak.

I ignore those staring eyes and keep my eyes upfront. I still don’t know why they gathered all pack members. It must be for something important.

Like our Alpha coming back.

Our Alpha has been out fighting a rival pack for half a year. Luna Sonya and Gamma Karl are with him, along with all other veteran warriors.

Our pack is undefeatable. We haven’t lost any senior pack members in ages.

And that’s why people couldn’t forgive my father for causing the death of Gamma’s mate.

Everyone by the gate wait in silence. Minutes later, there’s a long howl coming from the distance. I crane my head for a better look and see a line of cars heading towards the front gate down the road.

We recognize the leading car. It’s our Alpha’s. He has really come back!

All members bow their heads down as cars halt by the front gate. A man gets off the car, our Alpha Arrant.

He is a sturdy man in his fifties with bush mustache and a bald head glistened in the sun. We all love and respect him, for he is not only a nice Alpha but also an easygoing person. Under his reign, we live happily in peace.

“Members!” his deep voice resonates through the packed square, “I’m proud to announce that we have defeated our enemy with great victory!”

There’s a deafening roar of cheering. Everyone is clapping excitedly.

Alpha Arrant raises a hand to quiet down the crowd before continuing, “And everyone, please join me in giving another round of applause to our hero, the man who brought triumph to our pack once again, our Gamma!”

The applause suddenly grows louder, mixed with young girls’ screaming, sending birds from the forest flustering into the clear sky.

In the midst of chaos, a giant figure appears behind the car door.

Our War God. Karl Elbertson.

He stands beside Alpha Arrant like a huge tower, easily seven feet tall. He has wide shoulder, firm chest, and huge arm muscle, like every fiber of his body is made of rock. Yet in contrast to his muscular body figure, he has the most gorgeous face of a man I have ever seen. His intoxicating blue eyes are sharp and intense.

As a man in his early thirties, Gamma Karl is different from those teenage boys at my age. He is mature and sophisticated.

He is a man.

Girls besides me are gasping excitedly as if they will faint the next second. Gamma Karl was every girl’s dream. But he found his mate years ago causing a bunch of breaking hearts.

Now that he is mateless again, every girl sees a chance with him.

Yet in contrast to other’s excitement, my heart sinks down instantly.

My father is said to be the cause of his mate’s death—though I didn’t believe it. With Alpha and him back, will they sentence my father?

Millions of terrible ideas whiz across my mind as Alpha dismiss the group. I heard girls saying that they would visit the pack’s hospital later. Because all coming-back warriors will be there today to examine their body, including Gamma Karl.

After a little hesitation, I decide to join them.

But I’m not going there to flirt with Gamma Karl as other girls do.

I want to talk to our Luna Sonya, a nice and reasonable lady, and to beg her for giving my father a chance to clear his name.

I need to act fast.

Before Gamma Karl starts avenging his mate’s death.