The Lycan’s Curse
Chapter 1

Larissa

The sound of people coming my way make me inch further back into the dark night. It's constantly like this. No matter where I've gone, I never fit in, am never left alone. I can only be thankful that at least this time, those ordered to provide me a roof over my head haven't been part of my tormentors. Instead, they've simply turned a blind eye onto the abuse it is clear I still find myself facing.

I was fourteen when I arrived here, bloody, beaten, nearly dead. The alpha took pity on me when someone caught me trying to steal food, learning of my past. His wife didn't like me, not surprising considering most females don't like me, and refused to let me stay in his home. After I healed, I was taken to the Sayer's, given shelter and food, but little else.

The alpha is one of the few members of this pack that don't know what is still happening to me, albeit in far lesser ways, well usually, but still happening. Only once or twice have they actually drawn blood in the last almost four years. One major incident when I was sixteen that kept me away from others for a long time while I healed.

I'm certain Alpha Matthew would be furious if he knew, but his wife makes sure that I don't get near him.

I don't truly know why women despise me. It's not just women from the packs, it's girls at school-the normal high school that we attend to blend into society. Even the female teachers there hate me. They take delight in putting me down, upsetting me, physically and emotionally abusing me.

One wouldn't think that women, especially mated females and mothers would be like that. But it happens with them even more and I'm thankful that Alpha Matthew brought me to Elijah and Elisa rather than any mated or married couples. The two were twins, brother and sister, sparing me from those that seemed to hate my very existence.

It hasn't been easy, forcing myself to stay, but the abuse I found here has been less than anywhere prior. Until more recently at least. But now it's not just females I fear, it's the males that are following the alpha's son's suggestions that I honestly am most fearful of succeeding. That's why I intend to leave the pack in the morning and never return.

It's the fifth pack I've lived in since my birth, my own mother abandoning me and my father soon after. I don't know where she is, and I tell everyone that she's dead. It might be true considering she broke the sacred bond of mates by leaving.

It wasn't as bad until my father died when I was three. He kept me safe and near him at all times, only allowed a female couple to watch me when he couldn't. After he died, I wasn't allowed to stay with them. The pack's alpha didn't approve of their coupling, but it was evident that they were fated mates. He couldn't deny them without angering his mate, whose sister was one half of the couple.

I was sent to my aunt in another pack, nearly dying the first time when my cousins turned on me, my aunt not stopping them. I was six when I left it, the alpha sending me to another pack claiming I was too much trouble for them. His sister, who lived in the new pack, didn't want me any more than my aunt had, allowing all of the children there to torment me until I was nearly ten. When the alpha learnt that I was being punished daily by the teachers, using hot rods to punish me for doing nothing, he sent me away, half- dead to another pack.

I almost wished he hadn't because there, in the larger pack, the abuse was worse. That time, I left when I was fourteen, running away, dragging myself across two states, still too weak to heal my injuries from the last night there. I landed here, almost killed the rest of the way by their guards when they caught me stealing some food. It was luck that had Alpha Matthew coming through the area when the jerk had his hand on my throat. Another minute and I'm certain he would have succeeded.

The last nearly four years has been yet another trial. The boys had their own methods of torture. Catching me, mockingly showing me off to the others when I was shifted, making my wolf ashamed. The girls were worse though, their words and fists ganged up against me, generally in small groups, overwhelming my weak wolf. That's what they all considered her, and by extension, me. Weak, worthless, and I can't wait to get away.

This time though, I won't be running away bloody and broken, I swear. I'll be leaving with enough money in my pockets to set myself up somewhere safe. I heard the rumors about a group of unpacked shifters deep in the forest a few states away. There were wolves, bears, lions, and tigers, and even talk of dragon shifters and half-breeds-shifters with magical parentage. They lived near one another but didn't rule themselves as other packs did, meaning no one dominated the others, and that sounds like heaven to me. I have enough money to get a bus ticket out of here and that is precisely where I'm going, just as soon as I can in the morning after I'm eighteen. Able to choose for myself to leave the pack. Until then, only being thrown out will allow me to leave, and I know Alpha Matthew would never do that. If I walked away from the pack before my birthday, he'd send someone out to bring me back.

The voices grow louder, and I cringe, hearing Noah, Alpha Matthew's son's voice within it. Of all the boys, he's been the worst since he turned eighteen at the beginning of the schoolyear. I'm thankful that my birthday is late, in June, because we're now finished with school, and I can hide from the rest of the pack more. I have a job in the regular world, I'm a waitress and it's clear that even with humans that just met me, women don't like me. Another reason why the unpacked group sounds perfect-they're mostly men. "Have you seen her?" Adam asks as I climb the tree a bit higher, seeing the two groups meeting.

"No, she's hidden her scent again," Noah states, a growl in his tone that I know the others don't understand. I do and it's the other reason I'm prepared to leave and never come back.

Noah unfortunately seems to be my mate. I don't know why the stars would mock me so much, but I refuse to become his-nearly as much as he refuses to allow me to be his.

"It will wear off eventually, then we'll find her," David assures him with a sickening smile.

"No one will know it was us either," Adam adds, taking out a bottle I'm quite familiar with, one that hides your scent, allows you to blend in with the earth and keep other shifters from discovering you. It's typically used by the guards, to keep those that might attack from knowing where they were in their patrols, but I nicked a few bottles of it from their last shipment, hoping to use it to get me out of here easier.

"It has to be done tonight, I won't get another shot," Noah stated glaring at his friends. "Find her now. Then we'll mask ourselves and take her somewhere that no one will hear her scream." "Why tonight?" David asks, a question I can see on the others' faces.

"Because I refuse to be mated to that weak, mutilated mistake," he replies, that same growl in his tone. "She turns eighteen tomorrow and my wolf won't allow me to harm her after that." "Hold up, that mutant is your mate?" Adam asks, a hint of laughter in his voice. "What god did you piss off?"

I stifle my gasp as Noah instantly has Adam's neck pinned to the ground, lowering myself further against the branch hoping they didn't hear me, wouldn't see me. I'm dressed in mostly green to blend in with the trees, but there's still a chance they'd be able to see my nearly white hair if they look in the right spot.

"Hey, man, he's your friend, it was just a joke," David says, as he and two others pull at his shoulders. "How long have you known?"

"Since I turned eighteen. Hers was the only scent I could suddenly pick up and it's disgusting. I won't let her be my mate but once she's eighteen..."

"It will be impossible to resist the call to her and your wolf would die to protect her at that point," Adam states and he nods, spitting on the ground with his disgust. How he could possibly think he's more disgusted by it than I am I don't know.

The entire year he's been snarling at me worse and worse and two months ago I figured out why. I was out here hiding much as I am now and Noah came walking into the woods, following my scent. He was cursing his wolf for wanting to find more of it, demanding that I wasn't good enough to be his mate. That night, I started planning my escape from here, growing more worried with each day that I would feel that mating bond pulling me towards Noah.

Every day that only the disgust remained, I breathed in relief. Even now, seeing him, scenting him doesn't do a single thing to me, which is astonishing. It's normal in the weeks building towards one's eighteenth birthday to begin preparing for that instant need that would hit, if both mates were in the same spot, known to one another, and of age.

For me, I haven't felt one stirring, but that doesn't mean I won't wake tomorrow and feel different. It's also why I intend to leave as soon after first light as possible. The pack members have to see me before I can leave. If not, Alpha Matthew will be forced to send out a party to look for me.

I stay where I am, keeping an eye on the group searching for me as the moon creeps higher into the sky. With every hour that takes us closer to midnight, I can tell Noah's anger and fury grows deeper, but I remain content.

There's a pull at my wolf when the moon reaches the apex, a tingle flows through me, but it's not that of a mating urge. It's something different, strange, and I can't deny I like it. Noah is directly below the tree where I'm still hiding minutes later, but I thank the stars that it seems he still can't find my scent. They don't know that thanks to the trees, it's prolonging the mask.

A little smile hits as he doubles over in pain. He's refused to acknowledge, accept that I'm his mate, making his wolf try to break free to get to me, mark me as his. The two sides of a shifter being so unaligned is as painful as dying. If I were the forgiving type, his pain might make me feel bad. But after the torment he's put me through, especially the last ten months, his pain doesn't affect me.

"Look, we'll get you home, then find her tomorrow," Adam says, grabbing hold of Noah. "You stay in the house until we have her taken care of and no one else will know that she was supposed to be your mate. With her dead, the mating bond will break because you're not fully mated yet."

"She can't stay hidden for long, not on her birthday. It's custom for the alpha to wish a happy coming of age to all shifters. We'll follow her afterwards and find a way to get rid of her if we can't find her before then," David suggests, the other two agreeing with him and I'm prepared to wait them out tonight. It's a warm night and my wolf, though perhaps weak, burns from within deeper than most.

First light hits around five-thirty, and I slip back to the house, ensuring everything remaining is in my bag. No one will think it odd to see me walking around with my messenger bag, not when I've made it a point to take it to work with me every day. Slowly over the summer, I've smuggled out most of my clothes, hiding them inside a duffle bag, in a locker at the bus station. I bought the ticket for the eight-a.m. bus out of here today. Now all that remains, is ensuring the alpha sees me, and finding a way to get to the bus station before Noah's friends find me.

There's no way to fight them all off. Four against one is impossible odds for a strong wolf shifter. It would be suicide for me. I have to be smart about it, ensure they can't find me alone. In front of the others from the pack, they can't blatantly drag me away. My best option now, is to get a ride into town from someone from the pack. I'll leave the note for the alpha at the café where I work. He or someone from the pack will go to check on me when I don't come home tonight. Perhaps not tomorrow, but in a few days at least and find it, I'm sure.

As soon as I saw people heading up to the packhouse I left the safety of mine, blending in for a few moments at least to get into the space safely. The alpha is already at the head table and his head lifts, smiling when he sees me. If the rest of the pack was like him, I would stay, but I won't risk my life another moment.

"Ah, if it isn't the birthday girl," Alpha Matthew states, quieting the room. "Happy coming of age, Larissa. We all wish you well in finding your mate."

The others mutter their agreements begrudgingly, and I let out a quick breath not seeing Noah's friends in the area. It's going on six-thirty when the alpha and his beta come over, delivering the normal birthday gift-a bottle of wine meant to strengthen the drinker to endure the first mating as it at times could be brutal if the animals were unrestrained.

"Thank you, Alpha, Beta," I say thanking the stars again that I feel no pull towards Noah, despite his scent lingering in the air. He's upstairs in the packhouse, restraining himself to not come to me. I can hear it even if the others can't, feel it somehow, and yet, I have no desire to get to him. I glance at my watch giving them a smile adding, "I'd best be going, it's a long walk into town to work."

"I am headed into town to get some supplies," our beta, Samuel, states glancing from the alpha to me. "It is on my way; I'll save you the long walk in at least."

Blessed stars you are my guardians. The thought floods my mind and more warmth filters from within, making the crowded room a bit stifling. "Thank you that would be wonderful."

"Let me go get the truck and I'll meet you out front," Samuel says, then leaves after a nod from the alpha.

The stars seem to be guarding me even more when Alpha Matthew walks me towards the front himself a minute later. "Don't be disheartened that you haven't yet found your mate within our pack, it is quite large, and we do have several members still away." "No worries, Alpha. I thank you for your kindness. Not many would have taken me in as you did," I add as we reach the doors.

"You were a child, no one deserved what had been done to you. You have turned into a wonderful young woman and any man would be lucky to have you as their mate. I truly hope you find him soon and within our pack," he replied, and I could only nod with a smile. Had his son been anything like him that statement would have been most welcome, but I would rather die than be forced to mate with Noah.

Samuel opens the passenger door for me, and I climb in, holding back a grin when I see David's suddenly white face as he comes around the corner. He knows there's no chance for them to get near me when I'm with the beta, and the ride to town is comfortably silent.

I give Samuel a wave goodbye as I'm moving into the café, getting my final paycheck before handing an envelope to Nora. She's one of the few women that didn't seem to hate me upon contact, well, her and her girlfriend Willow actually. I guess lesbian couples like me at least. Maybe it's something to do with my poor wolf that puts out a bad scent to other women.

"We're going to miss you, but I know it's been hard with so many girls giving you the stink eye when their boyfriends pay attention to you," Nora says making me hold back a slight laugh.

"Thanks for the job. I really appreciated it. I um, I couldn't quite tell everyone that I was leaving so if Matthew or Samuel, or one of the other adults from the neighborhood come in to ask if you've seen me, can you give them this?" I add, taking out the letter for Matthew. None of the other adults would dare open it or keep it from him. "I just don't want them trying to talk me out of this. They'd think it strange for me to want to go find my birth mother."

"Of course, honey," Nora agrees, taking the letter. She's aware that I'm supposedly 'adopted' and that the pack operates as a huge neighborhood, taking care of one another. She has no idea who or what we really are, and I intend for it to stay that way. "Thank you," I tell her before heading out the backway to get to the bus station. As soon as I'm out the door, I spray myself so no one can figure out which way I went and take off to reach my bus on time.

The duffle bag is full now and I have to give it a bit of a tug to get it out of the locker. Most of it are clothes that others in the pack outgrew, and my guardians were given, not realizing it was another way for the other kids to mock me. They'd see me in something that was once theirs and say how much better they looked in it than I did, or that I was too poor to buy anything myself.

Where I'm going that won't matter, they won't know a difference and all I can do is smile as I finally leave this place.