Wolves and Daggers

Lia's POV

He towers over me, his eyes black with anger, his claws extended and I watch them come down on me.

"No!" the sound jars me from sleep and I jolt up. I wince and grab my head, a sharp pain rings through my head.

"What the hell?" I curse, massaging my temple. I stay in that position for a while till the pain recedes.

I am in the woods, naked. With a heavy sigh, I stand up and start looking through the holes in the trees for spare clothes. Clothes are always stashed in trees for unplanned cases like this, though it is never advisable to morph on your own and so close to human territory.

I found a pair of shorts and a tank top in the groove of a tree. They are a few sizes too big for me but they would have to do. The sharp pain still lingers and I squeeze my eyes short, in a hopeless attempt to chase it away. I cannot remember everything that happened last night, I remember Alpha Verrick and I getting into a fight over another of my defiant stunts, as he likes to call them.

He had said something that set me off, but the nagging pain in my head hinders my remembrance. The last thing I remember is running off in anger, that must have been when my wolf took over.

I suddenly pause, I cannot feel her. My wolf, I cannot feel her, it is almost like she is asleep or hiding from me.

"What did you do?" I growl but still nothing. I huff and start making my way back to the pack. Great, my wolf has gone and done something stupid in anger and Alpha Verrick is going to make me pay for it.

Another huff leaves my lips as I look around me, I must be very far into the woods which means a long walk back to the pack. "Perfect time for you to come out now," I tell my wolf, still nothing.

"Fine, be that way. Your running privileges have been cut off."

My life is the exact opposite of roses and sunshine, so thorns and thistles are a more accurate description. I have no family ties, no mother or father, from what I was told I was found by warriors at the edge of the pack. Cast away and unwanted. So, Alpha Verrick in his ironic benevolence took me in and made me an omega, because it makes perfect sense to

"make the orphan helpless girl a permanent slave to you".

Omegas are born as slaves to the Alpha, they are taught from birth about the life of servitude and expected to lay down their life for their Alpha whenever the time calls for it. Now, every other kid around me then wore it as a badge of honor but I hated it and I opposed everything. I did not like the idea of living for someone other than myself, I was an anomaly then and I am an anomaly now. Safe to say this did not go down well with the pack members, the omegas hate me for staining their perfect servant reputation and the other pack members hate me for thinking I could be one of them. It is a surprise Alpha Verrick has not banished me yet.

Banished, an image of Alpha Verrick yelling those words flashes through my mind and I wince at it is followed by the same sharp pain. What the hell happened last night?

This should not be too hard to piece together, Alpha Verrick and I get into it once in a while. He seems to be the only one in the pack who does not see me as an abomination. He would yell at me for stepping out of line and I would defend myself, that kind of thing, it happens about twice a week or so. So why is this different? What did he say to set me off enough to bring out my wolf.

The familiar scent of my pack floods my nostrils as I get close to it, my ears pick up the footsteps of the pack members. But these footsteps sound hurried, and even more odd they are hurrying towards me.

I have barely stepped into pack territory when men surround me, pack warriors.

"Shit, did I do something really bad?" I ask. Once in a while Alpha Verrick and I get really pissed at each other and he sends the pack warriors to come get me and throw me into a small room as punishment.

But these men are different from the ones I am used to, their faces are hard as stone and none would look me in the eye, "Omega Lia," I look up to see Daren, he is our pack's military head. I frown, why would he be here?

Daren's expression is even worse than the men, when he looks at me, I see scorn and anger welling in his eyes, "You are under arrest," two men immediately seize me by the arm. I struggle and curse but their grip is vice-like.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Alpha Verick."

I immediately went still.

"What?" my stomach drops and I look at Daren, I turn to the other men around me but no one is cracking a smile, "You are serious," I breath, dread and grief suddenly feel me.

I am not sure how or when, but my eyes suddenly mist over, "What happened?"

Daren walks up to me till he is in face, he wipes at my eyes before staring at the teardrops on his thumb, "Save the fake tears for trail," he spits.

"What the hell are you talking about," I snap at him, I try to struggle out of my bind but the men would not budge and I still can't filll my damn wolf, "Why would I kill the Alpha?"

"I'd like to know that too, we all would," I smell him before I see him, Beta Lucas' strong stench of pinewood coupled with his intimidating aura. He has always disliked me, if he had his way, I would have been banished a long time ago.

"What happened to the Alpha?" I choke out.

He walks up to me and seizes my hand, he seems to examine them before turning to Daren, "There is blood under her nails," Daren immediately joins him and takes my other hand. They both exchange glances.

"What happened?!" I yell at the men.

Beta Lucas cocks his head, "You tell me, the Alpha was found mauled to death in his bedroom and I would bet anything that is his blood under your nails."