DOAYS - Chapter [Five]
After the Alpha gave his speech, an unnatural silence fell over the crowd. The rest of the group, who were about to shift for the first time, moved away from each other to give each other space to shift. All the while, I kept my eyes on the ground, not wanting to gauge the others' facial expressions. I couldn't help shaking while swallowing continuously. We had to wait for the full moon to peek out from behind the scattered clouds. Once the moon's rays washed over us, we had to stare up at the moon for the shift to start.
"Stop fidgeting! You're going to have a heart attack before we can shift," Orion said in a condescending tone of voice, ignoring the prospects of the pain we were going to go through in the next couple of minutes.
I huffed out and replied, "I can't help it. You're not the one who has to handle the pain that comes with the transformation, so shut it!"
"Pussy..."
"Bitch."
"OK, everyone! The time has come," the Luna shouted out, making me flinch.
A few seconds later, the grass underneath my feet lit up underneath the moon's rays. I hadn't looked up at the moon as I was supposed to. A sickening crack, followed by a scream, pierced the night. Alisha fell to the ground a few feet away from me. She began ripping off her robe as her claws ripped through her fingernails, coating the white robe in blood. My heart sank into my ass. How could I not? I watched on, transfixed, as she transformed in front of me, followed by the other three.
"Caleb!" my father's steeled voice cut into me. "Get a move on. You're wasting time!" My father scowled at me, but my mom drew his attention away by placing a hand on his shoulder.
I had one choice. If I dallied on any longer, my father would have jumped off the platform and forced me to look up at the moon. Gathering my courage, I stared up at the full moon. Before I could enjoy its beauty, a searing bolt of pain flashed through my skull and down my spine. My eyes watered as I staggered backward. Another bolt of pain stabbed me in the base of my spin. I crumble toward the damp grass, claws digging into the damp grass. Nothing could have prepared me. The pain was agonizing. I bit into my lip, tasting the iron in my blood. Luckily, before the pain became too much, I blacked out.
The moment I regained consciousness, the world around me lit up in an array of saturated colors, clearer than it had ever been. I scanned the surrounding forest, realizing that it wasn't as dark as it was before. Sniffing around, a wide variety of scents bombarded me. My body still ached, but nothing too overwhelming. Slowly, I lifted my head and glanced around me. The first thing that caught my eye was Alisha, who pranced around her parents. They laughed at her silliness. She didn't change into an omega which shocked me, but a delta wolf. Her coat was golden, fading into a gray undercoat. As for the other three, there was one gray wolf and two reddish wolves. But soon, the attention I received from everyone around me pulled me out of my musing.
"What are they staring at?" I asked Orion.
The lousy mutt snickered and then replied, "Well, let's just say they're suffering from shock."
I growled and then heaved myself off the ground, struggling to regain my footing. "Stop with your fortune cookie answers and just tell me!"
"Bitchy, are we?"
I shook my head and said, "Just forget I asked. You're an ass."
"Oh, honey! You're gorgeous!" My mom yelled out as she rushed to me and enveloped me in a spine-crushing hug.
I backpedaled but to no avail. I tried to complain, but I couldn't talk. A couple of low-pitched whines escaped my maw. Soon enough, nearly all of my family surrounded me. Most of them looked at me with awe edged in their faces, but my father hadn't. His face became stoic before he muttered out.
"An omega... What a disappointment."
**********
After my dearest father's (note the sarcasm, please) remark, I wanted nothing to do with anyone. Yet again, for some unknown reason only to him, I was yet another disappointment to him. However, my father paid for his stupid remark by having his nuts scrambled by my mom. His cries of pain and clutching his nuts were the best birthday present I could have asked for.
For two days, I had locked myself in my room, ignoring the world. The pack was in an uproar that Alisha didn't turn into an omega, as they hoped. And yet I did. It was not like I asked the Moon Goddess for the honor. It was extremely rare for a male to turn into an omega wolf, but it wasn't unheard of. I had no clue why our goddess chose me for such a role.
After I turned back into my human form, much to the protest of Orion, who wanted to go for a run, I quickly fled the field, not daring to look anyone in the eyes. Once I reached my room, I wanted to talk to Justin, but he ignored my calls.
I sighed and rolled over, pulling the duvet over my head when a knock on my bedroom door awoke me from my slumber. I've been sleeping too much of late...
"Caleb!" my mom shouted out from behind the locked door. "Open this door, young man! Before I break it down for you. You can't keep hiding from the world."
And why not? I was an omega, which meant that the Alpha would keep me imprisoned in the pack. My dream of going to college was over. I groaned, rubbing my eyes as my mom kept hammering on the door.
"Stop whining and open the door before she kills us," Orion grumbled.
I slowly emerged from my cocoon before replying, "Would that be so bad? I don't want to end up as a breeding tool for some idiot alpha to build an alliance with another pack. The Elders are already up to their old tricks, no doubt."
"If it comes to that... we'll think of something. We have an ace up our sleeve, don't we?"
My left hand immediately shot to the leather bracelet I had around my right wrist. I dragged my nails across the smooth surface of the leather. "Yeah... We do."
I slowly stumbled out of bed, getting used to my new body. After the transformation, I had grown to a whopping six feet tall and had grown muscled. Not as much as my brothers or the Alphas, but I wasn't as lithe as I once was. Another shocking transformation was my eyes and hair. I went from blond to having pure white hair and my eyes were now pale gray.
My feet shuffled along the plush gray carpet as I made my way toward the bedroom door. If I could have avoided the whole situation, I would have, but my mom had other ideas. If I didn't open the door soon enough, she would have broken it down and dragged my sorry ass down the stairs.
I reached out and unlocked the door. A soft click of the lock silenced my mom's voice. As a precaution, I hurried back to my bed and crawled back under the safety of my Star Wars duvet. Not that the force was going to help me strafe off the biggest tongue-lashing from my mom.
The door slammed open seconds later. I hid under the blankets, listening to my mother's footsteps thundering toward my bed. Childishly, I gripped the bedcover tighter, not wanting her to rip away my only form of protection. Pathetic, isn't it? But I wasn't in the mood for being dragged out of my bed.
"Come on, honey," my mom said, grabbing onto the duvet and pulling it off me, but the child inside of me whined and gripped tighter onto the cover. "Don't make this harder on yourself. Hiding from the world won't solve your problems."
I groaned out and replied, "Don't care." I hadn't given up fighting my mother off, hoping she'd have given up eventually, but it wasn't the case.
With a final vicious tug, the duvet slipped from my grasp. The cold air raced across my exposed legs. I shuddered. I glared up at my mom as she grinned at me. My eyes then latched onto Justin, who stood against the wall, leaning onto it.
"Morning, snowflake," Justin chuckled out. I gripped the nearest pillow and threw it at him, which he easily caught. "Aww. Don't be mad at me. That pretty face of yours will turn sour if you frown too much."
I groaned out loud and then sat up on my bed. "What do you want, Justin?"
He threw the pillow back onto the bed. "My father told me to collect you. The Elders want to talk."
A sudden bout of rage burst from me. I growled out, startling my mom while Justin frowned at me. I stumbled off the bed and glared at him. "You can tell the Elders to fuck off!"
"Caleb!" my mom shouted, slapping me on the chest. Funny, it didn't hurt. "Have some respect!"
"Why? All they do is sit around and try to destroy other people's lives for their benefit. No doubt they want to whore me off to some sleazeball of an—"
"Enough!" my father's voice boomed out. He stalked into the room, glaring at me. Two days earlier, I would have cowered under his dominance, but it didn't bother me as much as it used to have. "Hold your tongue."
His words only made me madder than I was before. A gluttonous growl slipped from my lips. "Fuck off."