The Female Alpha They Cast Out

I was the only she-wolf in the Frostfang Pack in the past hundred years to shift at just twelve. I even earned honors in battle. But my family saw my early shift as an unforgivable sin. When my sister found out, she burst into tears and threw herself into our mother's arms. "It's all right, Elsie. None of this is your fault. Your sister took too much from you before you were even born." My mother frowned and kissed the top of Elsie's head again and again. My father shot me an irritated glare. "Freya, you know Elsie can't shift. Did you really have to rub it in her face?" Even the priest stood before the whole pack and blamed me for Elsie's condition. He claimed I'd taken too much from her in the womb, leaving her too weak to ever shift. To them, I had been guilty since birth. So I walked away. I found a pack that truly accepted me. And when I finally returned to Frostfang, I came back as North Ridge's Alpha heir. Chapter 1 "Bang!" My mother slammed a nearly bare saber-toothed boar bone into my stone bowl. Blood still clung to it. "Eat. Your teeth are strong. The marrow will do you good." As she spoke, she scooped all the tender meat into Elsie's bowl. "Sweetheart, it's getting cold. Eat up. You need to keep your strength up." I stared at the bone in my bowl as hunger twisted my stomach. Months of hunger had made me thin. If I hadn't been naturally strong, I would've looked half-starved. "Mom, I lost a lot of blood in Ice Wind Valley today." I pressed my hand against the wound in my stomach. It was still bleeding. My voice shook. "Could I... have some meat?" The boar had almost torn my stomach open with its tusks when I tried to kill it. My father walked in carrying a cashmere blanket he'd traded three fox pelts for. He carefully wrapped it around Elsie's shoulders, then turned to me with a frown. "You get plenty of praise outside. Can't you let your sister have something at home? Elsie is weak, and her coming-of-age ceremony is almost here. She needs the food more than you do!" Elsie peeked at me from under the snow-white blanket. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault." She slowly got to her feet and picked up a wooden spoon, as if she wanted to give me some broth. But her hand trembled. The hot broth missed my bowl and splashed all over me. I cried out and jumped back without thinking. "Arghhh!" When I opened my eyes, Elsie was lying on the ground. But I hadn't touched her. "Have you lost your mind? Your sister was trying to give you some broth, and you pushed her!" My mother rushed over to help Elsie up, then turned on me. "Mom, I really didn't..." I looked at my father, hoping he would believe me. But he looked just as disappointed. "Freya, go spend the night outside and cool off." Outside the cream-colored linen tent, the freezing wind cut into me as snow whipped against my face. I bit down on the bone with my cracked canines. The bone broke into sharp pieces that cut the inside of my mouth. Blood filled my mouth. I swallowed the pieces anyway and stared blankly into the distance. A figure suddenly appeared through the snow. I straightened and looked up. A sharp stone flew through the snow and hit me in the forehead. "I've always said it. How could a she-wolf be stronger than the males? She took all the food from her sister before they were even born. Poor Elsie has been weak and sick her whole life because of her sister." "Who would dare team up with her now? She might turn on us too." Several warriors from the pack appeared through the snow. None of them had ever beaten me in a full-moon hunt. But now they surrounded me, laughing and throwing stones at me. Some even spat at me. One of the stones cut my forehead open. I bared my teeth in pain as blood ran down the right side of my face. I fled, planning to spend the night in the woods. Deep in the forest, I saw a one-eyed old wolf standing on a boulder near the edge of a cliff. His black coat shone under the moonlight. It was the fifth time I'd seen him. He looked at my wounds and frowned. "A warrior should be the pride of her pack. Do you want to join North Ridge?" Chapter 2 North Ridge was known for its fierce, tough wolves. I stood at the edge of the cliff, biting my lip. I didn't answer. He nodded. "I hope you have an answer the next time we meet." With that, he turned and jumped into the forest. He disappeared into the darkness. For a moment, I wondered if I'd imagined him because I wanted so badly to escape. The next day, I returned from the hunt covered in wounds. As usual, I went to claim the food I'd earned from my kill. My mouth watered when I saw the dark red wolfberries. Finn, an older Beta who had always been kind to me, was handing out food that day. He looked at me and sighed. "Freya, I've heard what people have been saying about you lately." I looked up at him numbly, wondering where this was going. "I know you've always been a good kid. Some people have gone too far. I know you're not like that." I was about to thank him when he continued, "But you're strong, Freya. Elsie is weak. You should take care of her. Be a good sister and let her have some extra meat, okay?" There it was again. Elsie. Always Elsie. What had I expected? I looked down at the dry, dull fur on my chest and gave a bitter laugh. "All right, Finn." "Then we'll save these wolfberries for Elsie, okay?" No one knew that even though the pack called me its war goddess, I survived at home on the bones and scraps Elsie left behind. Months of hunger and untreated wounds finally caught up with me during a sudden snowstorm. As I lunged at a snow leopard, my vision suddenly went black. My legs gave out under me. The snow leopard dodged me and slashed its claws across my chest. I fell and tumbled down the icy slope toward the cliff. A sickening crack filled the air as my left leg hit a rock and bent the wrong way. Pain shot through my body. Half my body hung over the cliff. I dug my claws into the frozen ground and barely stopped myself from falling. "Help... Please, help me..." Just then, a pair of hide boots appeared above me. It was Erik, a young warrior from the pack. He had been secretly following me, hoping to take any prey I'd already wounded. "Erik! Pull me up!" Hope rushed through me. I reached for him with a bloody hand. Erik looked down at me. He looked at my broken leg, then gave me a cruel smile. "Pull you up?" Erik crouched at the edge of the cliff and looked down at me. "The war goddess is actually begging someone as worthless as me?" "Erik, please. My leg is broken." "Good. I'm glad it's broken," Erik said softly, his eyes full of hate and envy. "Do you know that as long as you're in this pack, none of us male wolves can hold our heads up? Do you know Elsie cries to me every day, saying you bully her and want to kick her out of the house?" I froze. "Elsie said she'd be my Luna if you died." Erik stood and stepped on the back of my hand. Then he slowly pressed down harder. "Down you go, war goddess." The bones in my fingers shattered. I couldn't hold on anymore. I plunged into the bottomless ravine. As I fell, one thought screamed through my head. I can't die! Chapter 3 Heavy rain woke me. My fur was soaked and stuck to my body, making every bone show. I didn't even dare look at my left leg. The skin had turned pale from the rain, and the wound had started to rot. It itched. It hurt. I was freezing. I gritted my teeth and spent a whole day and night crawling through the mud. I dragged my broken leg behind me, pushing myself forward with my elbows and my good leg. I wanted to go home. I told myself that once I got home, my mother would make me her strongest herbal medicine. She would boil willow bark, dragon's blood resin, and moondew grass in our stone pot, then add a little of my favorite honey. I'd lost so much blood. Surely they would be worried. At last, I dragged myself to our door. Warm light glowed inside the linen tent. The smell of meat and spices filled the air, just like the home I'd dreamed about every night. Today was Elsie's coming-of-age ceremony. It was mine too. I lifted the tent flap with a muddy, bloody hand and collapsed in the doorway. "Mom..." My voice was rough and weak. "I have a fever. My leg is broken. Can you make me some medicine?" By the fire pit, my mother was carefully cooking a pot of snow fungus broth. She heard me and turned around. Her face immediately tightened. "Why are you coming back this late? Can't you see I'm making your sister's tonic? If I take the snow fungus off the fire even a few minutes too soon, it won't work as well!" "I was out hunting. Didn't anyone tell you?" "Then why were you gone so long?" My vision blurred. Sweat mixed with the rain and dripped onto the floor. "You were never this weak before. Stop getting upset over your sister and staying out all night. Fine, I won't scold you today. I'll make you some meat broth later. Your sister had specifically asked me to." My mother brushed me off and helped me onto a bed at the side. Then, she went straight back to the snow fungus broth. Snow fungus was one of the best tonics we had. I'd killed five hyenas just to trade for that small handful. "Mom, could I have some of that broth? My leg really hurts. And could you get the healer?" "You're the youngest hunter in the pack. How badly could you have hurt yourself from one fall?" My mother turned away and stirred the pot with her wooden spoon. "Your sister is weak, and today is the most important birthday of her life. Do you really have to take her tonic too?" I lay on my cold bed and stared at the bubbling stone pot. I'd nearly died to get the medicine inside it. Yet in ten years, that pot had never once been used to make medicine for me. My father came out of the room and stopped when he saw me. He quickly covered his nose. "How did you get so dirty? We have guests coming for Elsie's birthday. You can't let them see you like this!" He crouched in front of me and, like so many times before, said something cruel in the gentlest voice. "Freya, you've always been the sensible one. Just hold on a little longer. I'll get you a healer tomorrow. I'll ask the pack leader for a snow-ermine cloak. You've always wanted one like Elsie's, haven't you? Don't ruin your sister's night, okay? Let her have this. We have so many guests coming." I looked into my father's eyes. Tomorrow. Again. When I was twelve and an icicle cut my stomach open, he promised he'd make me meat the next day. When I was fourteen and burning with fever, he promised he'd buy me medicine the next day. I'd waited for tomorrow again and again. Now my broken leg was rotting, and ants were eating at my flesh. Then Elsie came out wearing a new alpaca-wool dress. She glanced at my ruined leg. For a second, I saw a flash of satisfaction in her eyes. Then she spoke in her sweetest voice. "Poor Freya. Why don't we give her this broth? I don't mind going without it. It's just... my head might start hurting again tonight..." "Absolutely not!" My mother pulled Elsie into her arms. "Your sister is tough. She can handle it." Elsie brought me a bowl filled with tender meat. In front of our parents, she picked up the largest piece, then let it fall into the mud. She pressed it into the mud with the toe of her shoe. "Oh no. I dropped it." Elsie lowered her voice so only I could hear. "Don't you love eating leftovers and bones? Erik said you looked just like a dog when you fell off that cliff." I looked at the meat in the mud and listened to the storm outside. Something inside me finally broke. For years, I'd held on to one small hope—that one day, my family would finally love me. That hope was gone now. I didn't cry. I didn't ask for medicine again. I lay there listening to the storm and felt myself getting weaker with every second. So this was all I was worth. Less than the ants eating my leg. At least they needed my flesh. If this family didn't want me, I didn't want them either. "Why, Alpha Bjorn of North Ridge! What brings you here?" The last thing I heard was my father's voice, suddenly warm and eager to please. Then I closed my eyes and passed out. Chapter 4 When I woke again, someone had cleaned the mud off my body. My leg had been treated and wrapped in bandages. Outside the tent, I heard my parents laughing and trying to please someone. "Alpha Bjorn! Thank you for sending someone to treat her. But Freya is strong. She'll be fine in a few days. Her leg may be broken, but it's nothing serious! "Taking her to North Ridge is the best thing for her!" That was my father. "Yes, yes," my mother quickly added. "But we couldn't possibly afford all the medicine you used on her." I forced my eyes open. Through the gap, I saw an old one-eyed man standing outside our door. Even without saying a word, he made everyone around him nervous. I had heard of him. North Ridge was bitterly cold, and its wolves were fierce. No other pack on the snowfield dared challenge them. I thought of the one-eyed wolf I'd met on the cliff during the last full-moon hunt. So he was North Ridge's Alpha. I listened as my parents, without even stopping to think, agreed to send me to a pack known for its cruelty. They traded me away for the hindquarters of ten snow oxen. I didn't cry or make a scene. I bit the tip of my tongue to stay awake. Then, using the last of my strength, I pulled the chipped bison-bone knife from my belt. The tent flap lifted. The one-eyed Alpha stepped out, bringing an icy chill with him. My parents followed, reaching for me. "Don't touch me." My voice was rough. I drove my knife into the bed and spoke slowly, making every word clear. "With the Moon Goddess as my witness, I, Freya, no longer have parents or a sister. All the blood I've shed and this broken leg are enough to repay everything I owe you. I leave Frostfang by my own choice and give up the pack's protection." My father exploded in anger. "What nonsense is this! Alpha Bjorn, take this ingrate away!" Bjorn didn't answer. He just gave my parents a cold look. The attendant behind him held out a hide bag filled with glacier silver moss, one of the rarest medicines in the entire snowfield. "We don't want medicine!" Elsie suddenly pointed at the pure white fox stole around Bjorn's neck. "I want that! I just came of age, and my ears get cold. Give me that!" My heart went cold. My life and all the blood I'd shed for this family over the past ten years were worth less to them than something Elsie wanted to wear around her neck. Bjorn narrowed his one eye and looked past my parents at me. I was lying on the bed, barely able to breathe. He gave a cold laugh. Then he took off the white fox stole—the symbol of North Ridge's highest power—and tossed it at my mother's feet like a piece of trash. "Very well." Bjorn's voice was deep and cold. "From now on, she belongs to North Ridge. Whether she lives or dies, whether she rises or falls, Frostfang has nothing to do with her anymore." He lifted my chin with the back of his long blade. "North Ridge has no use for the weak. A she-wolf with a broken leg still wants to act tough? Out in the snow, you'd be nothing but food." Bjorn's single eye turned hard as he stared at my throat. The cold blade pressed against my skin. I stared back at him. Fighting through the pain in my broken leg, I grabbed his blade with both hands. Blood ran down my palms, but I didn't let go. "I have only one life." My voice came out clear and strong. "They threw me away and stepped all over me, but I'm still alive. I can still climb out of this hell! If North Ridge takes me in, I'll never betray it." I knew why Bjorn had come for me. He liked my courage and respected the way I hunted. North Ridge had no young wolves ready to take Bjorn's place, while the hyenas along its borders were becoming a serious threat. That was probably why he had offered me a place. I never thought I would really leave Frostfang. And I never thought I would ever come back. Chapter 5 "Freya, you need to return to Frostfang." I'd spent a year at North Ridge, hunting alongside the pack. Before long, I'd become Bjorn's heir. But then bad news came. Bjorn frowned and rubbed his forehead with his rough hand. "Frostfang is our ally, but I'm afraid they won't survive this winter." I kept my head down and said nothing. I still remembered the day I left. My parents had happily picked up the stole and held it against Elsie's neck. Neither of them even looked back as I was carried away on a stretcher. Of course they hadn't. They'd gotten a good price for me. Why would anyone care how a tool felt? "Child, go and see for yourself. It's time to put the past behind you. Being an Alpha isn't just about physical strength." Bjorn patted my head, his fingers brushing over the small braids tied with the red silk ribbons he'd bought for me. At North Ridge, I ate meat at every meal. I slept on real silk and lived in a marble villa under crystal chandeliers. North Ridge had given me the respect I'd never had before. "Freya! You're going back to Frostfang?" Rune appeared behind me, chewing gum and blowing a bubble. He was my fellow warrior at North Ridge and the first wolf there who had ever challenged me. Now, he was the person I trusted most. "You really want to go back to that awful place?" He pointed at my left leg, then at my stomach. A jagged dark-red scar ran halfway across my stomach. I'd gotten it at twelve while saving the Frostfang priest's grandson. But when I dragged myself home with my stomach torn open, my mother hadn't even asked if I was okay. Instead, she stared at the blood I'd gotten on the tent carpet. "How did you get so much blood everywhere? Elsie can't stand the smell. Go wash yourself before you come back inside!" Rune clapped me on the shoulder. "Your parents sent word, too. They told you to bring back Elsie's favorite macarons and wolfberries. Oh, and apparently, you owe her a life debt." I laughed softly. They really thought they could still control me like before. "What are you laughing at?" Rune threw an arm around my shoulders. "Come on! I'll go to Frostfang with you and beat those bastards into the ground." Yes. At Frostfang, everything I'd done for them had been taken for granted. They'd only ever looked at me with disgust. But North Ridge saw past my scars. They saw someone who refused to break. I was no longer the poor little she-wolf who wagged her tail and begged them to love her. I couldn't wait to see them again.