Claimed By The Gamma Novel – Abbie “Oh, Abbie. Finally, you’re awake.” A sad smile flickers across my best friend Ivy’s face. “How are you feeling?” I’ve never felt heavier as I open my eyes to a world of pain; every muscle throbs as if I have been trampled. Memories flood back in a rush – fur sprouting from my skin, bones cracking and reforming, and howl’s tearing from my throat. Pain is all I remember, not that pain is something I’m not used to.
This was a different kind of pain, agonizing yet freeing, only to be trapped again in this orphanage. It’s been eight years that Ivy and I have lived here. I try to sit up, wincing as she helps me. “Like death warmed over. What happened?” Ivy’s expression changes to one of sadness, and I truly take in her form. Now, sitting up, I can see the damage: her dress is barely clinging to her, my claws having shredded most of it. The orphanage headmistress Mrs. Daley will make her pay for that ruined dress, and I know it will be my fault.
Her legs are covered in grazes, and those welts—the true horror of the damage from Mrs. Daley’s cane, show on her skin. “Oh my gosh, Ivy, your clothes.” My hands wave about frantically as I try to cover her bruised and broken skin as if I can somehow stitch my best friend back together, along with the torn fabric. “It’s okay; I can barely feel them,” she murmurs as she moves. At least they are no longer bleeding.
I take in the huge welts, knowing I didn’t cause those, but she wasn’t covered this badly last night when we were locked inside our attic bedroom. Sure, she has always had scars; we both are covered in them, but these are fresh. She winces at my touch. “You did well, Abbie. You finally shifted!” She forces some excitement into her voice before it dies off. “Your wolf was magnificent; I wish you could have seen yourself.” I don’t feel an ounce of excitement at getting my wolf, knowing not only what it means but also knowing Ivy was punished for my inability to remain quiet. “She did that because of me,” I whisper. Ivy nods, her eyes welling with tears. “I tried to stop her, to shield you.” I reach out, gently touching one of the angry marks on her arm.
“You shouldn’t have.” She shakes her head fiercely. “Of course I should have. More than my life, remember?” Her vacant expression returns, and she resumes her soft singing, tugging me back down; I rest my head back in her lap, her fingers tangling in my hair. “Ivy,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “You know what this means, right?” Ivy’s singing stops abruptly. She meets my gaze, her blue eyes suddenly sharp with fear. “I know, Abbie, but we have time.” I swallow hard; my mouth is as dry as a desert. “I don’t want to leave you.” The words are bitter on my tongue; I hate to think about what will happen to her once I’m gone.
Or what would become of Tyson. The mere thought of his name has my eyes watering; he won’t survive Mrs. Daley—especially once Ivy is gone. I know she’ll protect him as long as she can, but her eighteenth birthday isn’t far off, either. And then what? Ivy nods grimly. “But we have time,” she says, a spark of hope in her voice. “Alpha Brock is away on pack business; he won’t be back for a few weeks. I overheard Katrina speaking with Mrs. Daley.” Ivy and I had been dreading the day—the day we would find out if we get to live another, or if it would be the day it all ends.
Because of some law by which all packs strictly live, we were shown mercy or a version of it. It was against the pack law to kill rogue children. We lived a life on the run, but at least we were free. That all ended when I was just shy of my tenth birthday. Now I live