HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMBER

EMBER

I mustered my courage and started running the fastest I could. The pounding of my heart syncs with the rapid beat of my footsteps. The moon hung high and was my only source of light. Its ethereal glow on the forest reminds me of the promise my kind had made to the goddess of the moon long before I was born. I may not be as fast or agile as everyone else in the pack, but I have lived in this territory my entire life. Each step I took was closer to freedom that I could never have.

I only halted after my knees couldn’t take it anymore. I heaved and crawled to shelter under an old tree, not caring about the dirt on my clothes.

The air was cool and crisp against my skin. Its gentle breeze carried the scent of damp earth as I continued to heave.

This. This is what I needed to forget how miserable my life was.

They say everything would look brighter and more vibrant, and my view of nature would change once I shift. But I never did. I already reached the age of the majority of our kind. The age of twenty-three should be the latest one could get their wolf. It was already rare, as most meet their wolves in their teens.

Today was my last streak of hope, but midnight had already passed, and I still couldn’t feel anything, not even a whisper from my wolf. My scent was like a werewolf, at least according to people around me, but that was it. Without a wolf, I don’t have any supernatural senses. I’m nothing but a defective wolf that’s closer to a human than a wolf.

“Who am I fooling?” I mumbled, laughing at my own delusion. No one even remembered that today was my birthday, not even my family.

I’m our alpha’s daughter. I should be strong like my siblings or my parents. My mother, who I look up to, was one of the strongest female warriors in their pack before she married my father and became our Luna.

But I’m nothing like them.

I came from Moonlight Pack, the most reputable pack in this land. Despite our reputation, no one respects me, and everyone calls me a disgrace. The only reason why I’m still in this pack is because I was the alpha’s daughter, a shameless woman who hides behind her family’s name. It’s all what they say about me.

The worst part is they are right.

I quietly went back to our house. I’ve exhausted my energy from running earlier and could only walk back.

“Still wolfless, Ember?” I flinched after hearing my sister’s voice. The lights were all shut because it was midnight, and because I didn’t have heightened senses, it was a piece of cake for Astrid to sneak on me.

Her eyes glimmered in the dark. She was two years younger than me but was already one of the best in our pack. She’s like our mom, while our older brother, Malik, is just like our dad.

Me… I’m just the burden, often forgotten middle child.

“You didn’t have to rub it in my face,” I answered soullessly. I just wanted to head to my room peacefully, but she blocked my way. My eyes were already adjusted in the dark, and I could see her face after looking up. My 5’4” frame is small for her 5’11” stature.

Astrid is undeniably beautiful. She has the body sought after by men while having the strength to make them bow to her.

The perfect she-wolf, as they all call her.

“Don’t you think that’s your cue to leave this pack? Aren’t you ashamed as the alpha’s child? All you bring into this family is shame for being wolfless.”

Her words felt more painful than any physical pain I encountered from people in my pack who loved bullying me for being different.

I cleared my throat, taking a step back. “Astrid, please, just let me through. I’m tired and not in the mood to argue.”

“No.” She smiled and suddenly pushed me.

I felt a sharp pain in my arm as I hit the glass table’s edge before landing on the floor. Astrid didn’t waste any time and picked me up, gripping my collar like I was a piece of crumpled paper. The sarcastic smile on her face vanished and was replaced with a disgusted glare.

“I’m so done seeing you in this pack. Do you have any idea how much people talk about you? Not only from our pack but even our allied packs. They always say we’re flawed because of you, the wolfless alpha’s daughter. I can’t take it anymore.”

I closed my eyes, expecting to be beaten up because even though I didn’t have supernatural senses, I was more than aware of Astrid’s annoyance with my existence.

Instead of a hit, I heard a guttural growl from a distance. My eyes widened after recognizing the snarl. Both of us looked in Malik’s direction. He shouldn’t be here. He was supposed to be on alpha training on the Estridge pack.

He charged towards us, grabbing Astrid by the neck. “What are you doing to Ember?!”

I shivered in fear. Malik’s voice was filled with authority, and it was enough to make anyone cower in fear. He was angry, but I didn’t even see Astrid flinching.

“What is happening here? Malik, let go of Astrid this instant!” Another wave of fear gushed into me.

The sudden opening of lights made me close my eyes for a moment. Our mom opened the lights while my dad separated Malik and Astrid.

“Explain to me why you attacked your sister.” Alpha Maurice demanded.

I looked at Malik, shaking my head and wishing he’d just stop. “You tell me. This girl attacked Ember, and none of you heard it. I attacked Astrid, and suddenly, both of you are here. What, is your enhanced hearing selected now?”

Everyone’s eyes focused on me, then quickly came back to Astrid.

“What, Astrid, why did you do that? And why are you even here, Malik? You’re supposed to be in training.” Luna Amira snapped at the both of them.

I bit my lip, feeling myself being more and more ashamed of the situation. This is my fault. Even my own family is fighting among themselves because of me.

“You’re asking why I’m here… I can’t believe this. It’s Ember’s birthday! It’s already past midnight, so I’m already late, but I guess I’m just in time to remind all of you.”

I didn’t bother looking at their reactions, knowing it would hurt me even more. Malik suddenly pulled me out of the house. He was the only reason I hadn’t run away from this place yet.

“I’m sorry.” I stopped running. My knees were already giving out, and I couldn’t run that far.

“Damn it, Ember. Why did you let Astrid hurt you like that? She could have killed you for real.”

I couldn’t help but smile even though tears were already welling in my eyes. “She’s like a tank. What do you think would happen if I tried to fight her? I’ll be torn apart faster than I could throw a punch. I don’t have claws like all of you, remember?” I tried to sound casual even though my voice was breaking.

He heaved a sigh, “I’ll talk to Mom and Dad. This shouldn’t be happening to you.”

“It doesn’t matter. Astrid’s just upset at me for being wolfless. I’m pretty sure you heard people in our pack talk shit about me too.” It hurts, but I’m mostly used to it by now.

In the end, what’s more painful are the insults and neglect from my own family.

His eyes quickly changed, “I never heard such.”

“Because they’re afraid of you.”

“They should be. They have no right to talk like that to any of you.”

He’s always been my protector, especially when we were teenagers, and I was the only one left without a wolf. I know he loved Astrid as much, but she’s more independent than I do, so he’s always trying to protect me.

I wiped tears, trying to escape my eyes, “Thank you for saving me in there… and remembering my birthday.”

There was no way he was allowed to leave just so he could celebrate his sister’s birthday. He must have sneaked out. I didn’t want to interfere with his training, but I’m grateful he arrived at the perfect timing.

Malik took out a small box. “Happy birthday, Ember,” he said. “I should have brought some cake too if I had known this would happen. Dang, I thought I would be able to eat the leftovers.”

We both laughed at his remark. My heart felt lighter thanks to him.

I opened the box and found a simple silver chain bracelet with fire charms as a design.

“Really, you have to wordplay my name?”

He shrugged and laughed, “I have another gift. I promise you that once I became the alpha of this pack, no one would be able to mess with you again unless they wanted to be thrown out of the pack.”

I trust him, but I doubt that it would change anything.