CHAPTER 1

Practice gone wrong: Danika

"Argh!” I felt severe pain hum through my lungs as her feet collided with my ribs. I toppled over, my hand going to hold the pith of my pain, from her kick to my gut.

'What are you doing? Come at me, you sick, good -for-nothing weakling!" came the spiteful voice of Bianca, my elder sister, as she came at me once more, forcefully, not giving a fuck about her initial infliction on me.

I jerked back instinctively with a loud cry, as I saw her feet, accompanied by her hand barreling towards my face. My face! She knew how much that unsettled me; having a scratch on my face. "Not my face, Bianca!" I managed to snag at her. She scoffed, seemingly unfazed.

I was weak, very weak at this point, and she knew it but didn't care, just to prove her prowess over me and gain my father's approval.

"I'm tired," I muttered loud enough, hoping she heard me, still bent over nursing my aggrieved ribs. I stole a peek at her in case she decided to lurch at me in unawareness. Oh, she can very well do that.

Her chest was heaving in scorn as she gaped at me with nothing short of resentment in her similar blue eyes we had acquired from our mother.

She stumbled forward to me, a retort at the tip of her tongue for me. "Tired?" She began, maliciously, “How can you be tired over something that small?!" As she spoke, her fist balled. I staggered back away from her. "We are having a competition that I need to win, and you say that you are tired?" she huffed menacingly, and whipped about to look at the man sitting at the far corner supervising us; My Dad. Right now, he had fury etched in his eyes as he observed me.

As usual, I knew what she wanted to do even before she opened her mouth to speak "Dad," Bianca forged petulantly, "Did you hear what she sa_"

She didn't get to finish before he was up and barging across the space separating us as fast as the wind, towards us.

Me specifically.

Oh no. It only meant one thing...

Smack!

The resounding echo of his coarse palm across my cheek, resonated through the empty space of the training ground. I tumbled to the ground and quickly sat up steadily, knowing what followed if I remained on the ground. Tears were fast falling down my face.

He didn't give a shit about me and how I was feeling. His icy looks bore into me as he motioned to me. "Get back to position. Now!" He roared. "I don't care if you are tired or not, I won't have you disgrace this family any further.” He rode on, fury mixed with raw hatred oozing from every word he spat at me.

I was already fragile- like any move from me to fight now would be like offering myself as a punching bag for my sister to use for her training which she would be very glad to use, anyways. I was shivering from numerous body aches I had suffered since this training started, coupled with the several beating I have been receiving from them.

The beating I got yesterday that left a large hideous scar on my back was still very fresh. Even at that, he didn't care before ordering me out for training today for some stupid pack competition that would be happening tomorrow which he knew I had a little to nothing chance of even making it to the last position. I was mostly the laughing stock in the previous competitions and I knew this wouldn't be any different.

I tried to get in a position of attack, balling my fist and willing up very strength remaining in me to be able to at least escape this evening's torture from my father, even if I had to get it from my sister, yet, it was nothing compared to that of my Dad.

After stuttering on my feet and falling down numerous times, I realized I couldn't, no need to force it. I was shaking profusely and might pass out anytime soon. “Dad, I can_”

Just as the word 'can't' was about to leave my mouth, stifling air was knocked off my body, and I saw myself flying through the air at a Jackie Chan firefly speed. I tensed, closed my eye, and prepared to crash against the hard granite ground, but fortunately, it seemed an angel took pity on me, and I felt myself being suspended in the air.

By something.

Magic!

Yea, I know what you are thinking, and I wished the same too. I peeled my eyelids slightly open to take a peek, and to my greatest surprise, it was no magic but my Dad's hand holding unto my shredded dress collar, with his rimming red hate-shrouded eyes closely peering down into mine as his lips quirked to the side. “I won't say this again, start training at once!" He snarled and flung me off to the ground like some stinking garbage. I knew I stunk, but still, I didn't deserve that from anyone. Not to mention my own father.

I saw my sister's feet appear before me, and slowly I looked up at her with teary eyes, pleading for her to take pity on me and go easy this one time.

She snorted and bent to yank me ferociously “Get the fuck up and fight me, weakling," she whisper-yelled, with venom.

I accepted my ugly fate this evening and prepared my mind for her further assault. I slumped my head in defeat. I should have known she wouldn't listen to me. What was I thinking?

The sound of her feet padding across the ground as she ran to me in attack, was the only cue I needed to get into position, to get another round of lethal beating from her in the name of training.

I know you must be wondering who I am and why I was so weak and listless. Yea, I sometimes wondered too at my level of clumsiness but it only arrives at one reason...

My name is Danika Michaels, a seventeen-year-old she-wolf, and a very powerful one for that matter. At this point, I know you would probably be more confused about how I could be powerful and had my ass whooped by my sister. Yes, this is my story.

I would be turning eighteen by next tomorrow, and right now it was the most interesting day that I was anticipating with everything since I found out I was going to finally meet my Wolf, find my mate, and hopefully, he would accept me and take me away from all the pain and agony I have had to suffer from my family and pack members since the day I was born, all because they said I had been the cause of my mother's death.

A long time ago I had sought answers from my grandma, after wondering for so long why everyone hates me so much, why the very people who were supposed to care for me were the very ones tormenting me. In my pack, Diamond Dwellers pack, I was treated lower than an omega, and most times even the omegas spit at me when I appeared in public.

My grandma had after so much pleading and prodding from me informed me how my mother, who was a very powerful warrior of our pack and a peace-loving woman, had breathed her last the very day I was born. She confided in me how much my Dad had loved and adored her, and how he had changed from the very day she died to become a direct opposite of who he used to be.

I had cried so hard and wished I had the power to bring back my Mom and instead be the one that had died that very day in her place. I didn't want this. it wasn't my fault that this happened and yet I have to suffer all the consequences. Grandma had consoled me and told me I had to endure all of his indifference until I found my mate and left. And to be frank with you, I have been having this gnawing feeling at the pit of my stomach that this very escape method was going to go awry for me. Unless my mate came from outside this pack, ‘cause technically, everyone in this pack despised me.

They said being powerful was supposed to be a blessing as you could be a resource to your pack, but mine was nothing short of a curse as it brought me nothing but grief, suffering, more agony, and hatred from my own kinsmen.

I swore from the day my grandma told me everything, that I was never going to use my power against anyone come what may. This was why most times even when my sister got on my last nerve, I would choose the diplomatic way and walk away, making a fool of her.

I had gone through a lot in my life because of this very decision of mine. Firstly, everyone in my pack made a mockery of me and spit in my face, calling me very awful names that hurt really bad hearing them. Secondly, my Dad got easily provoked by everything I do, and brought out his anger at me at every slightest provocation, just to get back at me for supposedly killing his wife, who happens to be my mother.

Petty if you ask me.

Have I talked about my sister, hers was something else that I loathe talking about to anyone. I was all by myself in this cruel world. Every time, she brought her likewise ill-mannered friends home to taunt me and gang-beat me if I did anything that irked her.

Oftentimes, she would bring them over to litter all over the house and mess everywhere up knowing I was the one that was going to clean up her mess which I would never dare to hesitate to do if I still craved to have my bones holding me up. My Dad supported all of her stunts at me and encouraged every one of them.

However, that wasn't my problem at all. The worst thing that she did to me was steal my powers. Now, very full moon, she with the support of my father, would tie me up at the back of the house in a sand dune that was directly facing the moon, and at exactly 12:00 midnight when the other pack members transformed and howled to the moon in the worship of our moon goddess Atreides, she would perform some form of magic which I sense she got from a dark means and stole as much power as she wanted, leaving me drained and weak throughout the season.

I wouldn't have minded-call me stupid-but I was furious because after stealing my powers, she would use them against me and even walk around the pack posing as powerful to the others. She would get their admiration and praise, while in return I got their scorn and hateful spite.

Back to the present.

I landed butt flat on the ground and squirmed as she came on top of me, with her fist balled to slam on my face. I closed my eyes and waited for it, gathering all my wits to withhold the scrunching bones somewhere in my face that I noticed she had suddenly decided to destroy today.

"Enough!" I heard my father's voice reverberate and opened my eyes to see my sister's aggrieved face muddle before she cursed at me and hefted off me, kicking me as the last mark.

"Danika, go and prepare dinner and make sure for your own good it is tasty," My Dad slurred and started walking away. He paused at the door and whipped around to glare at me. "Whatever you have to do, Danika, make sure that you develop magic to make it to the third position tomorrow or..." he huffed and stormed inside.

I let the tears flow in tides down my face because I knew what he meant by that. He didn't need to finish the statement for me to know what would happen. And as it stands I wasn't close to ready for the blasted competition.

“Somebody is going to be buried alive tomorrow." The evil bitch, Bianca, sang glamorously as she stood from the seat she had been resting and started making her way inside. She stopped to give me a victorious smirk. “Hurry up with the dinner, I'm fucking hungry." She sneered the last part and vaulted in, ignoring my menacing glare at her, wordlessly.

I stood and started wobbling to the door, all my body aching badly. I wish they would postpone the competition at least for another two weeks, but I knew that was impossible since it was used to mark the full moon occasion that was coming in a few days.

As I unsteadily limped into the house, my heart thumped as I thought of what would be my fate tomorrow at the pack’s arena. Maybe I will have to try to use my power in order to bypass tomorrow's punishments that I will earn if I ever came last in the competition like the other ones.

The question was how could I use a power I had only heard of but never used before?

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