...POV Ian...
When I woke up this morning, I felt strange. I spent the night dreaming of Kattie, my beautiful and lovely Kattie.
Although she was always present in my thoughts, today there was something odd, a longing I couldn't ignore.
My wolf was restless, urging me to seek her out. The first thing we wanted to do was see her. Even though we couldn't get close in the way we truly desired, we longed to have her near. I groomed myself and changed as quickly as possible, striving to look as good as I could for her to notice me.
I rushed out of my room, but I wasn't fast enough. My brothers were already about to head downstairs. I had no choice but to calm myself and follow them. Axel and Sam began to wrestle on the stairs, playfully pushing each other and laughing, while Alex just watched, chuckling and ruffling my hair.
Normally, I didn’t mind, but today I wanted to be presentable for my goddess Kattie. With a quick swipe, I brushed his hand from my head, and he looked at me in surprise, as I had never done such a thing before.
""Someone woke up in a bad mood?"" he asked with a smile, trying to lift my spirits.
""Sorry, brother,"" I mumbled, staring at my feet. Alex was the one who cared the most about me, always attentive to what was going on.
Upon arriving in the dining room, there she was, the one and only, the most beautiful and lovely. Ever since she arrived at the pack’s house, I had fallen hopelessly in love with her. Even though she was only seven years old and I was ten, she seemed to me the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
The first time I saw her, she looked like a princess out of a fairy tale. Her black, straight hair slightly damp from the falling snow. Her hazel eyes, filled with tears, broke my heart. She wore a beautiful sky-blue dress, with thermal tights and brown boots. I fell madly in love with her at that moment.
I tried to date other wolf girls, hoping they would make me feel the same way, but none could have that effect on me. During those dates, I always wished Kattie were by my side. After a while, I decided that if I couldn’t be with my goddess, I wouldn’t be with anyone.
""Did you prepare all this for me, kitten?"" I said, smiling. She returned my smile, and my heart filled with joy. I loved every gesture of hers. I loved being the only one to receive smiles like that.
As I passed by her, I attempted to tousle her hair, to take down the bun that restrained her beautiful black locks. But she leaned back, smiling… at that moment, she collided with Axel. Her smile faded instantly. He began to tease her alongside Sam, and what they did left me bewildered: they buried their faces in her neck, inhaling her scent.
My instincts kicked in. The rage and desire to protect her clouded my mind. I had always kept my distance. That act was an outrage. My eyes turned black, the urge to defend her surged instantly, but fear crept in. The fear that by defending her, my mother would then take action against her, and instead of helping her, I would only make things worse.
I recalled a moment when I had acted to defend Kattie.
It was at a family gathering, and my brothers had been mocking her, pushing her around. Without thinking, I stepped in between them and Kattie, shouting for them to leave her alone. My mother, seeing my reaction, became furious; her anger didn’t fall on me but on Kattie.
From that day, I learned that openly defending her could lead to catastrophic consequences.
Kattie ended up crying, and my mother, in a fit of rage, decided to take it out on her. She began to harshly criticize her, disparaging even her appearance and the way she behaved. She forbade her from joining family activities and even took away her favorite things as punishment. The brutality of her words made Kattie feel so humiliated and rejected that she couldn't hold back her tears. I, helpless, watched as my mother inflicted that cruel punishment, feeling that not only had she hurt Kattie, but she also had drawn a line between us.
The guilt of having made things worse tormented me. Instead of encouraging her, I had made her suffer more. From that moment on, I decided to stay silent, convinced that my desire to protect her only brought more trouble. Every time I saw her sadness, it felt like a weight in my heart increased, sensing that I had failed in the most painful way.
"I'm hungry, stop playing" I said, trying to raise my voice in a tone that could pass for authority. My brothers looked at me and finally left her alone, but that impassive tone left a bitter taste in my mouth.
However, Alex didn't miss the opportunity and told her that she should respect her Alphas, forcing her to look him in the eyes. It was something typical of him; he just wanted her to look at him, asking for respect. Meanwhile, I was urging myself to assert what I felt, but my mother's shadow kept telling me it was dangerous. Kattie didn't deserve to be treated this way, and I needed to find the courage to defend her from everything and everyone.
...POV Alex...
Ian was acting strange today, but I decided not to think too much of it. I assumed it was just nerves about our upcoming ascension as Alphas of the pack.
To calm him, I ruffled his hair as I usually did, but this time he pulled away and then apologized. I couldn't blame him; he was my younger brother, probably too nervous.
“Relax, pup, it will be fine. Don’t be nervous,” I tried to comfort him through our mental link, but received no response.
When we arrived at the dining room, there was Kattie. She had lived with us since she was little and took care of all the house chores. She was like a maid, except she got no pay for her services.
My parents said she was “paying off her parents' debt,” but I always found that wrong. How could a seven-year-old girl bear the burden of her parents? It was incomprehensible, but I was not the Alpha of this pack yet; I couldn't do anything about it; that would change tomorrow.
I had mixed feelings about Kattie. Something about her sparked my curiosity, an intense attraction that only grew with time. But it also made me angry and frustrated.
She always kept her distance from me, as if my mere presence repelled her. But why? I had never done anything bad to her, or at least I couldn't remember. Of the four of us, I was the only one who treated her neither well nor poorly, simply because she wouldn't let me get close.
I envied Ian, whose ability to make her smile was evident. The few smiles I had seen from her were all for him. No one else seemed to notice that he was always there, rescuing her from Sam and Axel when they bothered her.
That need to make myself noticed, without being able to find a way to get closer to Kattie, gnawed at me from within. My position as future Alpha should suffice for her to respect me, but her indifference only left me frustrated. I felt a mix of curiosity and anger that I could not ignore. Every time she turned her back on me, something tightened in my chest. The balance of power has always been essential in our pack, and I, as Alpha, could not afford to be ignored. So, with authority in my voice, I made an effort to make Kattie see me, even if it meant acting firmly.
That's why I wanted her to look me in the eyes and demand her respect. It was the only way I found to make her notice me, but her indifference filled me with frustration.
One day, I saw her looking so pale she was about to faint; there was no one nearby to help her because she was cleaning the dining room alone after breakfast. I acted quickly, catching her in my arms and preventing her from falling to the ground. It was the only time I had her so close, and it felt incredibly good. But as soon as she realized, she pulled away, looking at her feet and apologizing. That infuriated me. I asked her what was wrong and if she had eaten breakfast. Her hesitant reply was that she hadn’t been able to eat anything, which was causing her dizziness and headaches.
Since that day, every morning I served a little more of my portion and left it in the center of the table, as if it were leftovers. It was a way to ensure that he always had something for breakfast. At first, I tried different options, hiding to make sure he ate. Thus, I discovered that his favorites were savory items, except for vegetables; every time I left him some, he separated them and set them aside. He didn't care much for sweets; he only ate a little to have something in his stomach.
Today was no different. There was only one waffle left. I hurried to grab it along with some eggs and bacon. However, Axel didn’t take his eyes off me; he was the greediest of the four and turned red with rage. Annoyed that I didn't give him the last waffle, he stormed off to his room. But I couldn't stay to check if Kattie was having breakfast; I had a meeting with dad to discuss pack matters.
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