I was already caught so there was no use hiding anymore. I stepped out of the darkness and was fully able to take in the scene in front of me.

Brittany was in a dress the color of a sparkling emerald. It hugged her slim features and flowed down to the floor. From her makeup to her perfectly styled bun, she looked like a million bucks. Blake who was standing next to her looked equally good in a tuxedo and a matching tie. I wonder if they matched on purpose or if it was an accident.

“Amelia,” Brittany said my name with no hint of remorse or surprise.

If I didn’t know any better, I would honestly believe she orchestrated the entire thing for me to catch them but from the annoyed look on her face, it was obvious that she didn’t expect me to walk in on their conversation.

“How could you?” were the only words I could utter, “You are my sister. How could you do this to me?”

“All is fair in love and war,” she shrugged. “Besides, you know that everything I said was the truth. I want him and our union will do more good for him than yours will.”

“Did you really have to go behind my back and do it on my birthday?” I turned to Blake, “And you; you lied to me that you were busy and you were here making out with my sister.”

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes and I angrily wiped them away. My hand came away black and I cursed myself for using Brittany’s mascara in the first place.

Blake opened his mouth to speak but Brittany effectively stepped in his path blocking his view of me. She placed both her hands on his shoulders and forced him to stare into her eyes.

“You want me, just as much as I want you,” she told him, “This is the only opportunity that you will get to do this. Reject her and we can be happy together.”

“Please don’t do this,” I said as the first tear slipped free, “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me and you know it. You said you loved me, do you remember? Don’t do this to us.”

“You can be Alpha,” Brittany whispered, “You can be powerful and no one will ever tell you what to do again. You will have everyone in this pack beneath your little finger and you will have everything that you want with a snap of your hands.”

“Don’t listen to her,” it was almost comical how we were both trying to convince him, “I love you Blake and that is enough for us both.”

Blake slowly placed his hands over Brittany’s that were resting on his shoulder and he pulled them off. I let out a sigh of relief as I realized what he was doing. He was pushing her away, which meant that he was choosing me. He was choosing us and our love over her desperate attempt to sway him.

My relief however was short lived when I saw him pull Brittany to his side and slide his arm over her waist.

“I’m sorry Amelia,” he called me Amelia, not Amy, “But I’m going to have to end this.”

“No,” I shook my head in disbelief, “No, please tell me this is a joke.”

“I have to reject you Amelia; I’m sorry.” He at least had the decency to look guilty, “But I am choosing Brittany.”

I will never be able to translate the pain I felt into words. It felt like someone had just taken a knife to the center of my heart and twisted it in then ripped it out. My legs gave way and I crumpled to the floor in a heap of tears.

Vibrations wracked through my body as the pain took control of me from the inside out. I struggled to drag myself out of the balcony and away from them but I couldn’t will my body to move. Even breathing felt like a chore and I wanted everything to just end

Suddenly, I heard footsteps and I saw the shiny brogues that belonged to my father. I looked up at him at the same time he stared down at me and his lips formed a distasteful sneer.

“Get off the floor Amelia; it is embarrassing,” he looked up at Brittany and Blake, “What is going on?”

“Father, Blake and I are going to be together.” I could hear the glee in Brittany’s voice, “Aren’t you happy for us?”

“I am darling,” he smiled genuinely and I felt another wrack of pain go through me.

I must have blacked out briefly because the next thing I realized, I was in a pair of arms hovering over the floor and for a second I thought it was my father holding me until I heard Brittany’s voice.

“I don’t see why you have to carry her Blake,” her voice held annoyance and disapproval, “You are my mate now, do you realize how weird it looks for everyone to see you carrying my sister out of the party?”

“She passed out Brittany,” his voice held patience as he spoke to her.

“Brittany is right,” I heard my father say and the hurt I felt ran deeper, “It would look unseemly for you to be holding your ex so intimately.”

“I will never speak to her again if that is what you wish,” Blake began, “But just allow me the decency of getting her back to safety and taking care of her. I feel guilty for what just happened and the pain that she just went through.”

Brittany made a sound close to a scoff and I peeled open my eyes a little to see her looking at my father and silently pleading with him to take her side. I expected him to but then he looked at Blake and sighed.

“This will be the last time you come in contact with her,” he warned, “Once she is fine; you are never to interact with her again.”

Blake nodded, “Yes sir.”

Without another word, Brittany and my father stood to their feet and that was when I realized that we were inside my house. We were inside my bedroom to be exact. I can’t remember the last time my father was in here and I surely didn’t think that this would be the circumstances under which Blake would come in here for the first time.

I waited until I heard the door click shut, signifying the exit of my father and sister before I spoke.

“Let go of me,” I whispered and that was when Blake realized that I was awake.

“Amelia,”

“Put me down,” I was surprised that my voice came out stable considering how bunched up and how much pain I was in on my inside, “Put me down and get out. I never want to see you again.”

He sighed and gently placed me down on the bed, “Amelia, I need you to listen to me.”

“You betrayed me Blake; you betrayed us,” I sat up so I was looking directly into his guilt stricken eyes, “over the promise of being Alpha.”

“You don’t understand-,”

“No you don’t understand!” I all but yelled, “I would have never done that to you, ever. I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“You don’t have a wolf Amelia,” he yelled, “I couldn’t be with you.”

I swallowed down the hurt I felt at his words and suddenly the last few months felt like a big joke. There I was trying to be perfect for him and this is what he has to say about it.

“Get out,” I managed out and he opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off, “Get out, Blake.”

He sighed and without another word, he turned on his heels and left the room.

BLAKE’S P.O.V

Intense pain and guilt filled me as I forced myself to leave that room. I had zero plans of leaving her unattended but I knew that the wisest decision was to give her space. She would fall asleep soon enough considering how drowsy and sleepy she looked while she was speaking to me.

I waited the better part of seven minutes before I pulled the door open and sure enough, she had fallen asleep again.

I slowly made my way over to her and stroked her cheek softly. I have never had the privilege of seeing Amelia sleep. She is always awake and always running around and doing something that she always looked so stressed but in her sleep, she looked like she was at peace.

As I stroked her face, I couldn’t help but think about how we first met. She was grocery shopping and I was there with some friends of mine. We were being stupid and racing our grocery carts and I hit her with mine. Her bags tore and everything spilled and I will never forget the way she started apologizing to me and simultaneously crying over the groceries.

I had seen her around school before because I knew Brittany and I offered to buy her groceries back on the condition that she went on a date with me. She was stunned of course and she asked me if it was a prank and if it was then I could just lie to my friends instead of actually embarrassing her.

Something about her pulled me in that day and as I got to know her, I fell head over heels in love with her. She was the smartest, kindest and most beautiful person I knew and it hurt like a bitch to reject her on that balcony but I had to do it.

Before I started walking around with the cool kids, I was an adopted kid and everyone knew it. I was thin and lanky and all the kids would pick on me. It took years of masterful planning to get to where I am now and the thought- the idea of having all that power at my fingertips. No one will ever be able to hurt or bully me again.

I love Amelia but I need to have that level of support behind me and Brittany can give it to me. It is no secret that she is the favorite daughter. If she asks her father for the moon, he will string it on a leash and bring it to her. If she asks for every star in the sky, he will not hesitate before giving it to her.

If I mate with her then I am secured for life and that is something that my love for Amelia cannot guarantee me.

I looked down at her sleeping features and pressed a small kiss to her forehead. She stirred a little but she did not rouse and I hoped that she would understand and one day come to forgive me for what I had done to her today.

I knew my actions would make her life worse than it already was with the bullies but I figured that if I got the Alpha position then I could at least help ease the pain a little for her.

I stared at her for a minute longer before I realized that it was time to say my goodbyes. I reluctantly left the room to inform her father that she was now resting and I would be leaving but he wasn’t in the living room.

I made my way towards Brittany’s room hoping to see her there but she was not their either. I decided to roam the corridors as a last minute attempt to find them when I heard voices coming from a door.

I peeked in and saw Brittany and her father standing in the room. They were facing the other end so they couldn’t see me and I wanted to announce my presence but something stopped me from doing so.

“You did a good thing today Brittany,” I heard him say as he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, “I would have never been able to come up with it myself; you are brilliant.”

“Thank you father,” I saw her preen at the compliment, “Blake is an attractive man and I wanted him so I thought why not get him? Amelia was simply an afterthought.”

“Did you slip her the pills today?” her father asked and my interest was piqued.

“I couldn’t father; she made breakfast and she didn’t leave the table once, there was no chance for me to slip it in.”

“That was irresponsible of you Brittany,” I had never seen or heard him scold her like he did, “Don’t you realize that you could have cost us everything today? She could have shifted from the amount of emotion she was in. If I hadn’t seen what was going on and shot her with a dart then she would have.”

I was instantly confused. I thought back to the balcony and how Amelia was writhing in pain on the floor. Looking back I realize that her posture and her moans of pain did remind me of when I was shifting for the first time and if that is true then why would they want to stop her and why would her father have hit her with a dart to prevent her from shifting?

If anything, they should be excited that she was finally about to shift. Her inability to shift has been the cause of contention in the pack for a while and it has cast some doubts on their family.

“I’m sorry father,” Brittany’s voice brought me back to the conversation. “I just thought it wouldn’t matter because we have given it to her every day for years. I figured that one day would not make a difference.”

“You know the truth Brittany, and you know how powerful it is,” he chided, “There is a reason we give her that poison every day and you were about to ruin it in the span of a few minutes.”

I had to slap my hand over my mouth to stop the gasp that escaped me when I heard the word poison. Thankfully, the duo didn’t hear me because Brittany still had her head cast down and her father was staring at her with a disapproving look.

How could they even think of poisoning their family so she wouldn’t shift? I knew that there were so bad blood lost between all of them but I had no idea that it ran this deep. I had no idea that they would do something as despicable as this to their family.

Amelia is the nicest, kindest person that I know. Everything that she does, she does with her family in mind and it would kill her to know that they have been doing this to her for years. I can only imagine the hurt and the heartbreak that she would experience hearing this. It has already been a terrible day for her.

I didn’t want to hear any more so I quietly slipped away and made my way towards Amelia’s room. I had to warn her about it. Even though I knew it would break her heart, I knew that she deserved to know that she was in danger. I just hated that I was going to have to be the one to break her heart two times in a day.

AMELIA’S P.O.V

I woke up with a pounding headache. I looked down and realized that I was still in my dress from the party and that was when the memories slammed into me at full force. I forced back the tears that had gathered in my eyes and cursed when a stray one fell and I had to wipe it away.

I am used to having horrible birthdays. One time, my father forgot me at home and took Brittany out for ice cream and cupcakes. When he returned and saw me, he dismissed me without apologizing and I cried for a week after that.

This birthday however trumps all the bad memories and the bad birthdays. I knew Brittany didn’t like me so much but I would never have imagined that she would do something like this and take my boyfriend from me. And Blake- I thought he loved me and I was so sure that he would fight for me.

Thinking about him brought another fresh wave of tears and even though I tried to fight them, they still fell. I was wiping away my tears when my door opened in a rush and Blake creeped into my room.

As I looked at him, I remembered why I fell for him in the first place. With his curly brown hair and his innocent eyes, his lean arms that used to hold me close and his lips that used to whisper words of encouragement in my ears. He looked a little scared and confused but most of all he looked determined.

“Please leave Blake,” I found my voice although it was shaky, “I don’t want to see you and I don’t want to talk to you.”

“I know that but you have to listen to me.”

“I don’t have to. I want you to leave. Besides, shouldn’t you be with your new mate.”

“For fuck’s sake Amelia,” the harshness of his voice had me stopping mid rant, “This is important and I really need to talk to you about it.”

I swallowed deeply, “What is it?”

He poked his head out of the door as if he was checking to make sure that no one was there. When he was satisfied, he made his way over to my bed and leaned down so his lips were by my ears.

“I don’t want anyone overhearing us,” he explained, “I know that what I did today was horrible.”

“Blake-,” I began but he cut me off.

“Let me finish please.” He cleared his throat before continuing, “I also know that I am the last person that you want to hear from but I need you to listen to me. You aren’t safe here and I cannot tell you more than that but you need to leave.”

“I can’t leave Blake. This is my home and my family. I have nowhere else to go.” I didn’t realize I had started raising my voice until he slapped his hand over my mouth to keep me quiet.

“I know you don’t trust me anymore but trust that I have your best interests at heart. You need to leave.”

Footsteps interrupted us and he flew from my bedside and leaned against the wall. By the time my father and sister opened the door, it was as if he was never by my side in the first place. He looked at them and walked out of the room.

I would have thought the last few minutes were an illusion if not for the pleading look he shot me before he exited the room. Brittany gave me a victorious smile before exiting the room after him.

“You are awake,” father’s voice was devoid of emotion, “You disgraced us out there. What were you thinking, falling on the floor and crying like a child over a boy?”

“Why don’t you love me father?”

I wasn’t sure if he was more shocked by my question or by the fact that I answered his own question with a question. He looked at me with a quizzical expression before he finally schooled it back into neutral.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about,” my voice cracked on the last word, “Why don’t you love me the way you love Brittany? Did I do something wrong? If I did then I am so sorry but all I want is for you to love me.”

He let out a deep exhale, “Amelia you are upset and that is why you are saying all of this. The Blake boy is not worth your tears.”

“I loved him father and Brittany took him from me.”

“Listen, I cannot interfere in matters of the heart but I know this is hard for you and that is why I am here to give you an option.” I sat up higher, suddenly curious as to what he was about to say, “I have spoken to a neighboring pack of ours and they are willing to accept you there for college.”

“You want to send me away,”

“No, but I don’t want to watch you hurting.” He placed a hand on my head and I wondered when last I had seen him do that, “You can leave tonight. I will even help you pack.”

I thought about his offer. I have never left this pack before, in fact, I haven’t even finished exploring this pack. It has been my home since I was born and leaving it sounds scary. But it also sounds better than having to show my face around daily while people talk about how Blake left me for my sister. Distance might also be a good thing because it might help me get over Blake and Brittany’s betrayal.

I looked up at my father who was staring down at me waiting for my response and I nodded. His face broke out into a smile and he helped me out of my bed and helped me pack all my things into a bag.

When we were done, he gave me a soft smile and led me to his study where he kept his car keys. He took down the key for his black SUV and handed it to me. I was shocked by his actions. I learnt to drive a while back but he has always been adamant that I never touch his cars.

“Thank you,” I pulled him into a hug, “Thank you so much.”

“You should leave before Brittany returns.” He gave me an envelope that contained some money, “This should help you on your journey.”

I gave him one last squeeze before dragging my bag out of the house and shoving it into the backseat of the car. I saw him standing on the porch watching me and I gave him a small wave before I put the car into drive and started off to the next pack.

THIRD PERSON P.O.V

Once Amelia was out of sight, Gregory went back into the house and waited the few minutes he knew it would take her to reach the pack border before dialing the number of his beta who picked up immediately.

“Amelia ran away. She stole my car and the money that we kept aside for the renovations,” Gregory said to his beta, “As of this moment, she is now a rogue and is to be treated as such.”

“I will let the border patrol know.” His beta said and effectively hung up the call.

Gregory turned the phone around in his hands and the ghost of a smile grew on his lips. He knew that because Amelia’s wolf was subdued then she wouldn’t feel the effect of being a rogue but other wolves would and the neighboring pack would kill her before she was able to explain.