The Alphas' Runt

Chapter 1: She

She was born into an already completed family. They had the firm Father, the elegant Mother, the strong Son, and the beautiful daughter. They would have been the ideal blissful family in the eyes of others. Nonetheless, they had once loved and accepted the idea of her existence. However, that was soon abolished when her pre-existence started hurting them. In all honesty, it was not her fault. There was only the poor timing to be blame for. Her family would have gotten rid of her had she not been more than halfway ready to meet this cruel world.

And so, she was brought into this world on a rainy day where the only warmth she received was from the towel wrapped around her by the human midwife. She had not been brought to full term, for there was no strength left in her mother to do so. She was a tiny baby, only weighing 1.9 kilograms. The family had a made a deal with the midwife to take care of the girl for she was a disgrace to have in the family.

The midwife took the supposedly bundle of joy back home and cared for the tiny baby like her own. It was an anxious night for the midwife, constantly wondering if the small baby would even make it through her first twenty-four hours. Thanks to her genes, the infant pulled through and grew up like a normal child though much weaker and smaller. The midwife and her husband, a baker, loved her as their own and tried within their means to give her a happy home.

Yet, try as they might, they were no competition to the fearful Beta and the restrictions set by them. At merely eight years old, her parents took her away from her one and only home by throwing her into the woods. She lived in a shed, nearing the end of the border, and far, far, away from the main house. The old couple lost a source of income and beyond that, a daughter they held dearly in their hearts. They wanted to bring her back to live with them, but without the extra money from her biological parents, there was nothing they could do except visit her as often as they can.

However, as time went by, the years got better of the couple and soon, it became impossible to make frequent trips. Weekly trips became fortnightly visits, monthly visits and later, visits became a once in a blue moon occasion.

When she was eight, she received her necessities for free. While the shed was rundown, there was still water and electricity running. Food was delivered once a week, and she had hand-me-downs from her sister.

When she was twelve, her family decided that they had done enough charity and started making her work. She ran errands and helped to clean their house whenever there was no one around. Her faint scent made it easy for her to go near the pack without suspicion. While the chores were difficult and sometimes, plainly ridiculous, she always took it with no complaints. Back then, being around her family, as much as they were mean to her, was usually the happiest moments of her days.

However, happy moments were sacred and soon, at thirteen, she learnt the meaning of loss. The midwife passed away, filling both the young girl and the baker with grief. They barely learnt to cope with the loss and grief before a new bundle of surprise came into both their lives two years later, lighting up the darkness that had enshrouded them both.

The baker's runaway daughter came back to leave her son with the baker, only to never appear ever again. The baker was made a grandfather, for the first time, to his newly found biological grandson. Since she was old enough, the 15-year-old decided to visit the baker instead of waiting for his visits. Taking the opportunity to escape her lonely shed, she spent her free days wandering around the town area, learning new things, and forming treasured relationships with the shopkeepers.

When her family first found out about her slipping out, they gave severe punishments, in the forms of beatings or extra chores. However, they slowly realised that with her faint scent and the absence of suspicion from their pack, there was no harm with her leaving her shed, if she earns it of course. They could not be happier if she were far, far, away from them. Still, she had to plead multiple times, complete numerous task – some utterly ridiculous – over a year, before being allowed that freedom. So, whenever there were no errands to run or housework to do, she would stay at the Baker's, playing with his grandson, Zachary.

However, her moments of freedom were the only exemption her biological family made for her. Apart from that, she still spent most of her teenage years doing chores, running errands, being a punching bag for her siblings, being ignored by her parents. She was denied of many things, including education, family love, and the worst of all, a name.

The only reason she could read, speak, and write was thanks to the old couple who tried their best to teach her the basics. Even after their separation, the old couple would often bring her books, hoping that she would continue learning.

She did, to the best of her abilities. Books brought her to places she could never go and imparted her knowledge beyond the woods and the town. Books allowed her a glimpse of the world outside of her boundaries. Yet, despite the couple's efforts and her passion, any books found would often be burned, thrashed, or ripped apart by her family. In their eyes, she was unworthy of even learning. She was nothing more than a rotten pest, undeserving of even a name, only as "it" to them. She was only born because abortion would have cost them even more, considering their circumstances. Since she was allowed to live and breathe, she would serve them as her repayment.

Since they were not related by blood, the old couple did not feel worthy enough to give her name, only giving her a nickname – Peach, after their famous peach pie. It fitted her like a glove, with her cheery attitude and kind personality. Despite her situation, she still felt blessed and thanks the Moon Goddess everyday for being so lucky to meet the old couple. She would hate her family if she even understood what that meant. She was only confused and upset as to why they acted that way towards her and simply understood it as a norm. They were mean because of her wrongdoings. Being brought up this way with no exposure to any other families made her family's methods seem normal to her, even as she caught glimpses of affection from the outside world.

She was someone who should not have been born into this world. She was weak and unworthy of the superior bloodline running through her veins. She was a werewolf, yet there was barely any scent of wolf on her. She was a descendent of a long running family line of Betas, yet her physical strength was inferior even to humans. She was fragile in every aspect and has yet to turn at the age of 19 with Betas turning at 18.

Everyone has a place in this world, a position in the pack.

She was the runt of the pack, the lowest of all positions even though little knew of her existence in the big pack of 300.

Everything in her life was against her but she was always trying her best to live and not merely just survive. Her blessings could easily be counted on one hand, but she was going to need more hands soon.  

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