C1 Good Morning and Goodnight

-Kate-

Friday morning arrived and I groaned when my hand hit the snooze button on my alarm clock, my frail wrist throbbing in pain soon after.

I sat up and ran a hand through my ginger-blonde hair and stood up. I felt the room spin for a few seconds before I steadied myself and stood up straighter, my stomach turned and the bile in the back of my throat threatened to make an spill from my mouth.

I quickly downed the glass of water sat next to my bed.

It was almost summer and my birthday was nearing in June. I didn't expect anything...my family was never the type to reward me, let alone for something that wasn't an accomplishment.

I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that my face was still a little pale from throwing up the night before.

Sighing, I grabbed a towel before heading into my bathroom to prepare for school.

••

I descended the stairs, dreading what my mother would say about my choice in outfit today, gods forbid I dress comfortably for once.

"For goodness sake Katherine, go upstairs and change into something better suited I will not allow you to leave the house dressed like some burnout."

She challenged me as soon as my foot stepped into the kitchen.

I'd learned it was pointless to talk back to my mom, she would tell my dad and things would always escalate if he became involved.

Instead, I rolled my eyes and trudged up the stairs once more.

The second time around she approved, I'd picked something more 'lady-like' and mom-approved.

"Wait."

She said as she took the plate of pancakes meant for my brother away from my placemat.

She placed a slice of apple, half of a slice of toast and a glass of water in front of me.

"Watch your figure."

She nodded at me before turning around and placing the hot cakes on the counter.

I finished my breakfast slowly, washing my plate soon after and letting my mom remind me to brush my teeth before walking up the stairs.

I opted out of speaking to her as I escaped the house, leaving her with a quick goodbye to avoid her "inspection".

"Bye mom."

I called as I opened the front door.

I made it to my car, slipping my sunglasses on before starting the engine.

Suddenly I heard someone calling my name from the end of the driveway.

"Hey!"

Dustin.

My older brother, by a year.

"Can you unlock the door?"

I obliged and he hopped in, placing his backpack near his feet before buckling himself in.

I didn't expect an explanation so I did the only sensical thing to do in that situation.

I drove.

Before we arrived at the school he suddenly found it appropriate to speak.

"My car was having issues so...that's why I couldn't take mine."

He explained quickly.

"Drop me off here, I'll just walk it's only a few blocks."

I wanted to just take him there and be done with it but I knew is ego wouldn't allow it.

After all why would he want to be seen with me?

"I'll have Blake take me home, so don't wait for me."

He spoke before closing the door and heading towards the school.

I put the car back into drive and proceeded towards the parking lot.

I grabbed my bag from the back seat, cutting the engine off and opening my door after I'd parked.

As I locked my car and swung my bag over my shoulder, I overheard Dustin and his friends snickering about me.

"There she goes now, what a waste of space."

He shook his head, fist bumping one of his friends before I quickened my pace.

As I found my way through the entrance to the school I found myself gazing at all of the mated couples within our campus, they all looked so peaceful and content with each other.

Everything else to them was irrelevant and it must have been wonderful.

Suddenly I felt my shoulder come into contact with something hard and I winced as I stepped back and examined what I'd run into.

I recognized him to be one of my brother's friends, Chase.

I was puzzled by his presence, as to my knowledge he'd graduated almost a year ago.

"Oh man I'm sorry, are you alright?"

He asked, reaching out with his hand for my shoulder.

"Yes, I'm alright."

I replied, clutching onto my shoulder as I tried to round the corner to my next class.

"Are you sure? That sounded like it hurt, maybe a nurse-"

"Listen, I don't need your help and I don't need it from someone like you. Just leave "waste of space" alone alright?"

I turned on my heel and headed towards the classroom.

-------------------------------

It was finally lunch and I sat a table with a copy of Romeo and Juliet and my bottle of water.

I had no friends around the school, and the friends I managed to make at one point were now sat at a table with my brother.

Reading kept me occupied enough to not notice anyone else...almost.

In the middle of the lunch period, I felt eyes on my back, and eventually the heat of their stare gave me the curiosity I needed.

I found myself unable to concentrate any longer.

I had to find out who it was.

My eyes surveyed the cafeteria until my eyes met his, Alpha Blake Reynolds.

The Alpha of the Shadow Valley pack, one of our neighboring ally packs. He was one of the youngest males to ever become Alpha, he led s large community of Wolves and...he was my brother's closest friend.

His eyes bore into mine and I felt my heartbeat increasing steadily.

The hands that caressed the body of the girl in his lap suddenly made me possessive and jealous.

His face was a stern and handsome a face which never hosted a smile, but before I could embarrass myself further I turned around in my seat and concentrated on steadying my heartbeat.

'Hello, mate.' Blake's voice rang in my ears and I jolted at his ability to form a mind link so quickly.

I turned my head slightly to listen.

He spoke once again.

'Don't look over at me, just get up and walk to the back of the school...we need to talk.'

Within the next few seconds I felt myself standing and throwing away my trash before exiting the cafeteria.

I stopped near my locker before making my way to the back of the school.

It'd been about five minutes and the lunch period was nearly over.

At this point I was fairly certain that I'd been set up and I wasn't a fan of being tardy so I turned to leave.

Only to come face to face with Blake.

"Hello Kate."

"Hi."

"So...listen."

I looked up to meet his blue-green eyes which were smoldering and lively.

He looked away.

"I...I can't have a mate, I mean I can it's just that I can't have one like you. I'm the Alpha of a powerful pack and while your father may be Alpha, you are nothing like him. Strong males like myself are attracted to strong females, hence why I've gone ahead and marked my soon to be Luna. There is nothing from you that I want, except for you to leave me alone. I know it'll be difficult with Dustin and I being friends but think of it as-"

I cut him off as he spoke.

"I accept your rejection."

The four hardest words I'd ever said in my life had just been spoken and I hated myself for it.

"Wait. What? Aren't you-"

"What's going on?"

Dustin's voice cut through the silence and I was almost relieved.

I cleared my throat.

"Nothing, Blake was just asking me for his History report, sorry it took so long."

I stuffed a flier I'd pulled from my locker into his hand before pacing down the hallway into the restroom.

I tried to concentrate on breathing before I had to go to the office, my mate had just rejected me and here I was in the girls bathroom trying to hold myself together.

Pathetic.

I turned in some senior assignments to the office before signing myself out of school and going home for the day.

••

"Mom? I'm home."

I managed to speak as I pulled the sunglasses off of face.

Before I could call out once again, my father appeared from the stairs.

"Oh...it's you."

He spoke as he continued to walk from the staircase towards the living room.

"Where's mom?"

"Out."

I nodded and made my way up the stairs before the stack of acceptance letters slipped from my binder onto the staircase.

Dad bent down to pick a few up, examining the letters before thrusting them back into my hands.

"If you would spend as much time on the pack as you do with school, you would be the daughter everyone says I should have. How about instead of burying your nose in those books you start training? Maybe that would help you become more of a wolf, or at least start to make you into a little less of a coward."

I nodded my head once, ascending the stairs and turning to m room once I met the top.

"Wait."

He called after me, I turned on the second step of the stairs and he threw a pair of gloves in my direction.

Dad called after me, a slight glaze over his eyes signaling that he was mind linked in with someone else.

"One of our own needs the rope from the basement, the white one made for those like us. It's been recently laced with wolfsbane so please don't be an idiot with it, we need it in one hundred percent top condition. Do not disappoint me, deliver this correctly and do not say anything to anyone is that understood?"

I nodded and went to the basement to find the rope, my father was a hard man and I wanted nothing more than to please him. I was the Alpha's daughter and I was supposed to be strong but I wasn't.

I was a disgrace.

I walked with the rope up to my room and set it down in the corner before walking to my closet to find something suitable to wear.

After setting my clothes out I sighed and took a seat at the foot of my bed.

Things around here had gotten increasingly terrible as time progressed.

My mother starved me 'for my own good', my brother thought I was an waste of space, a burden to this family and my dad...he hated me.

I often wondered if life would be worth continuing to live, and as my eyes gazed upon the room an idea sprung into my mind.

I picked the rope up with gloved hands, gazing at the wolfsbane rubbed around the outside I found it sort of...beautiful.

Before I could second guess myself I started to tie a knot, I didn't want to think about it, I just wanted it to be done, I wanted to be gone.

I'd finally finished tying the knot and I gently set the rope down on my bed before walking over to my desk and clearing the clutter before finding a paper and pen.

To Whoever Finds This,

I have not written this letter to tell you that I've run away, I've written it to tell you that your eyes are not deceiving you, and I have taken my life.

I've tried to hold on to that little strand of hope that was left in my body that someone would someday find me worth something, but it left once I realized that there was nobody like that for me.

I couldn't handle it anymore the pain and the pressure were tremendous but the...hate.

It was too much for me to take anymore so I found my way out, I'm sure the gods have not spared me considering I took my own life. Some 'gift' huh?

I'm sorry for being a disappointing addition to this family, and to this pack. I'm sure that my brother will make a great leader once my father, Alpha Edwin steps down.

I hope for my mother's sake that I'm a size zero when you dress me for my burial if I am lucky enough to receive one; and that my mate can be happy with his choice.

I didn't do it to make you feel bad or remorse for anything that you might have done or said to me, I did it because I needed to be released, and now I have been.'

Goodbye Forever,

Kate Michelle Mauren.

Once my letter was written I grabbed a knife from my camping box and took out the blade, I took a deep breath and set up a mind barrier.

No one could set a mind link with me if I blacked out all possible communication.

Letting the blade piece my skin, I made a deep incision from my wrist to the inside of my elbow.

I bit my lip to keep from crying out, the pain which I so greatly feared was my savior at this time, for it made me feel something other than anguish.

After finishing my arms I examined the cuts and came to the conclusion that they were deep enough so that it would take stitches to heal them.

I felt myself dizzying as I stood up.

Usually our wolves could heal our lacerations or cuts but if inflicted fatally enough, you could die.

I had tied the rope to my ceiling fan and moved my chair underneath it to make sure that it was secured tightly.

I took the gloves from my hands and grabbed hold of the rope.

It seared my skin almost instantly and I hissed in pain before I finally fit my head through the loop. I felt my vision becoming blurrier and suddenly I felt a few tears falling from my eyes and I took one last breath before I jumped and let Fate decide what my afterlife would be.

-Dustin-

"Mom? Dad? We're home!"

I exclaimed as Blake and I walked through the front door, tossing my binder onto the table.

"I'm in the living room son!"

Dad called and I smiled, leading Blake further into the house.

"Ugh, dad it smells like rust and...death in here."

I pinched my nose as I entered the living room and soon dad seemed to notice it as well as he furrowed his brow.

"You know, you're right...that's interesting. I only just picked up on that scent...it smells horrendous."

He agreed.

"How was your day?"

He questioned Blake and I, we both replied and he invited us to sit down on the couch to talk about sports, Pack business and things of that nature.

"You know Blake I think you'd make an excellent running partner for Dustin here, you're both about equal in strength and endurance. It makes me wonder what it would've been like to have another son. The gods cursed me with a failure instead, that girl never ceases to amaze me with how weak she is."

He shook his head and before he could say anything else his phone started to ring.

He left the room to take a call and Blake and I were left to each other's company.

"Dustin man, I think there's something I need to tell you."

Blake spoke and I turned on the couch to face him.

"So listen...today, when you came outside and saw me and-"

Blake's sentence was cut short when my dad came back into the room cursing.

"What happened?" I asked.

He groaned and shook his head before ascending the stairs, calling my sister's name with rage and aggravation.

I chuckled and sighed before turning back to Blake.

"So you were saying?"

I asked him to continue.

"Right, so I really don't want this to change anything I mean you're my best friend but today when I was talking to-"

Once again Blake's sentence was interrupted as my dad's scream echoed throughout the house.

In an instant I was on my feet and sprinting up the stairs and I knew Blake and mom were doing the same, when I reached the room however it made me wish I hadn't come upstairs at all.

My dad was on his knees and in hysterics, he kept pulling at his hair and shaking his head as he stared at my sister hanging from the ceiling fan of her room.

No one was acting, as the blood from her wrists stained the white carpet and the room became tainted with death when I realized I had to do something,

"Blake help me get her down, we need to get her to the hospital. Mom please try to call the pack hospital and tell them the Alpha's daughter is in trouble."

Blake and I rushed to Kate's side and I climbed on the bed to get better grip on the rope, wincing once my fingers brushed against it.

"Wolfsbane!"

Blake exclaimed and I rushed to find a knife to cut the rope.

The bloodstained knife laid out on the desk was enough for me to slash the rope and let Blake catch her.

I rushed to her side immediately and my hands shook as I examined her neck, looking for a place to find a pulse that wasn't burned away from the rope.

Her wrists were slashed all the way up to her forearm and I started to panic. This wasn't right, there was no way my sister was dead.

"No no no, this isn't right. This is a mistake, Kate would never do this! There has to be something, there has to be something around here that would explain this."

I paced around the room, searching for anything that would help me. My eye caught onto a notepad in the middle of the desk and I rushed over to it, feeling my fingers stick to the paper from the blood that coated my hands.

To Whoever Finds This,

I have not written this letter to tell you that I've run away, I've written it to tell you that your eyes are not deceiving you, and I have taken my life.

I've tried to hold on to that little strand of hope that was left in my body that someone would someday find me worth something, but it left once I realized that there was nobody like that for me.

I couldn't handle it anymore the pain and the pressure were tremendous but the...hate.

It was too much for me to take anymore so I found my way out, I'm sure the gods have not spared me considering I took my own life.

Some 'gift' huh?

I'm sorry for being a disappointing addition to this family, and to this pack. I'm sure that my brother will make a great leader once my father, Alpha Edwin steps down.

I hope for my mother's sake that I'm a size zero when you dress me for my burial if I am lucky enough to receive one and that my mate can be happy with his choice.

I didn't do it to make you feel bad or remorse for anything that you might have done or said to me, I did it because I needed to be released, and now I have been.'

Goodbye Forever,

Kate Michelle Mauren.

My eyes were filled with tears as the last word escaped my mouth and I sunk to my knees, there was anguish and sorrow in my heart for a girl that I called my sister but I chose to never acknowledge.

We all treated her so terribly, and we were all to blame for her death, there was no way I would ever forgive myself or my parents ever again.

"I'm going for a run."

I stood, pushing my father away and listening to my mother continue to try to explain what was happening to the hospital.

"Dustin."

Dad called after me and I felt my dominance starting to rise.

"I am going for a run. Don't you dare fucking talk to me, don't you dare."

I spoke to him with my back turned before taking off.

-Kate-

I woke up in a small cell and tried to call out, but found that my voice was gone.

"Come forward."

A sultry and aggressive voice summoned me and I found that I had no choice but to follow it.

I ran my hand along side the wall and soon found myself sat in front of the Fates...or rather Fate himself.

His long black hair and piercing blue eyes were a sight and I would almost go so far as to say that I was in awe of his appearance.

"Katherine Mauren, you...killed yourself."

I opened my mouth to respond but my voice was still absent, I looked to him and he sighed.

"Oh, right."

He snapped his fingers and I cleared my throat.

"Um yes...that's correct."

I replied.

"I thought there were three fates-" I began to speak before he interrupted me loudly.

"Well that is a problem. That's not how it works down here in the underworld. Down here I decide who lives and who dies.

Is your name Fate? No, it's Kate.

I, Fate, have decided that you, Katherine Mauren are sentenced to eternal life as payment for wasting your gift of life and as punishment for identity theft."

"What! Who's identity did I steal?" I protested.

A sly grin spread across his face and just before he snapped his fingers, he answered.

"Mine."

------------------------

I gasped for air as I came back and clutched my throat.

"Kate? Kate! Oh my gods, she's alive!"

My dad screamed in horror as he grabbed onto my arms and I reached my hands up to grasp his collar.

"I was supposed....to die."

I strained to get the words out, and I stared at him for a moment longer before everything went black and I was left to the unconscious world once again.