The Moon Swap

BIP, BIP, BIP, BI...

Her hand slammed the button of her alarm clock. She wasn't sleeping, though. She was up and ready, sitting in front of her mirror, brushing her long, golden, wavy hair. As she went to pull them up in a ponytail, her eyes dropped to the hem of her shirt, right at the base of her neck. Shades of blue, purple, and red were creeping out from under the fabric, slowly crawling towards her chin and jaw. She dropped her hair, sighing silently, and grabbed the concealer on her desk. She already had to cover the nasty bruise grazing her temple, and the finger marks around her upper arm. She pulled out an oversized hoodie from her wardrobe, though the sun was already indicating that, in addition to the usual torture at school, she would suffer from overheating today.

"Briella!" She let out another sigh, at the sound of the scream her mother just screeched from down the stairs.

Reluctantly, she got up, put on some leggings, and rushed out of her room. She was stunned not to see any mad wolf at her door, ready to escort her by force to the school grounds for the graduation. That scared her even more. Would that mean they...

“BRIELLA!” She jumped forward, weeping in silence, turning the corner leading up to the kitchen.

“I’m here, Mother.” She said, her chin dropping down, her eyes fixated on her toes.

“Finally! What took you so long? And what are you wearing? This is totally inappropriate for your graduation. Why didn’t you wear the sundress I bought for the occasion?” Her mother, Dimita, snarled in annoyance.

“It’s only a ceremony with speeches I don’t take part in. I’m only going to get my papers, and then I will be off to the campus and won’t be around in your paws anyway.”

“And you will do great.” A husky voice resonated in her ear as her father, the Alpha of the Blue Blood Pack, entered the room, putting his hand on her shoulder, slightly squeezing it. A guilty warmth began to grow in the hollow of her belly, quickly disappearing at the sight of her mother’s face. Her father, Alister Parker, let her go and walked to his mate, embracing her, diverting her attention from their daughter.

“Let her be. She got good grades, despite...”

“Okay, can we not go there so early in the morning...” Briella whispered, but sure enough, her mom’s ear caught it.

“For once, we agree.” She growled, grabbing a bag from the counter and shoving it into the arms of Briella.

“Off you go now, then.”

No words of congratulation, of encouragement, of motherly love. None. Her father blessed her with one last look, and she took off, mixed feelings brewing in her stomach as she was both relieved and terrified to leave the Packhouse.

She walked with that quick pace that was meant to say ‘Please don’t approach me, I’m in a hurry’, trying to keep people at bay. Hoping to keep people at bay. As she got closer to the bus stop, she glanced quickly to the left through the golden veil of her hair.

Crap. They were already there, despite the early hour. The Vixens. Funny name for a group of she-wolves, but pretty accurate. Four was the number of minions waiting for Briella, obviously, in a final clash before graduation. The Queen was missing. Slouching inside her clothes, as if she could make herself shrink, she tried crossing the street and changing sidewalks to avoid the pre-beating she would get if they noticed her.

Too late.

“Where do you think you are going, useless b*tch?”

Briella stopped in her tracks. It was vain to run now. She sighed and stopped in her tracks.

“How can I help you guys?” she whispered, bracing herself for what was to come.

“You are not seriously thinking of attending the graduation ceremony, right?”

The Four surrounded her, blocking any escape route she could think of, other than fighting it off. Which wasn’t an option.

“We don’t want to see you there.” Glage snorted, pushing her shoulder with a too well-manicured finger. She didn’t have to shift to have claws.

Briella winced as her nail dug through the fabric of her clothes straight to her skin. She caught the scent of her own blood dripping faintly along her arms. It was superficial, but still, she didn’t hold back yet again.

“Or anywhere else, for that matter. You are a disgrace, no-wolf.”

Yes, to the world’s eye, she had no wolf. She was a disgrace to her family, her mother especially, and to her father, too, despite his graceful attitude to save face. She didn’t have any friends, as it would be a social suicide to even be seen with her.

The sound of tires screeching against bitumen broke the silence, scorching her ears, the Four breaking their circle as a car stopped one hair short of her foot.

“Good morning, Briella. Everything alright?”