2- Early Riser

Four years later….

The roosters hadn't even managed to crow the crack of dawn when upstairs at the Greystone residence a young girl instantly snapped awake. Slithering out of bed as the eternal alarm clock registered that it was nearly five in the morning, further proof of her need to be up for the day.

Feet touching almost silently on the freezing cold floor of her bedroom, Netayah made her way through the darkened chambers. All the while failing to turn on the lamp. There really wasn't any need for that, as her eyes slowly adjusted in the darkened chambers. Super heightened vision allowed her to see in the shadows. Night vision had always been a highly revered and coveted ability among all the packs. As there were very few people that had ever acquired the ability, only the most noble and powerful had.

Netayah was only the sixth person in history among the Black Bear pack that had been entrusted this ability by the Moon Goddess. As far as she knew anyway. And when it came to the other packs even less warranted the ability, as there were eleven in total. When this ability alone should have been enough to make the members of her pack envious, as it was so envied, it seemed to do the exact opposite.

It'd been nearly a year since Netayah had unintentionally alerted people to the unique ability she'd been born to, which hadn't had the desired effect. Netayah shuddered at the memory of what had happened when it had been discovered, the humiliation and shame that she'd endured. Despite it having been three years since the horror of her awakening and the horrible curse placed upon her, things in her pack hadn't gotten any better.

Just as she'd expected to be the outcome when Netayah had finally returned home, upon confessing what had transpired in the glade, her life had never been the same. Goddess help her, how did this happen to her? Why was she the one forced to suffer? To endure all the cruelty that'd been bestowed upon her?

Having no desire to anger anyone for her tardiness, Netayah hurriedly dressed for the day ahead. Outfitted into a pair of slick black leggings and the same color spaghetti strap top. Her hair was then pulled into a ponytail and she slipped on some shoes.

Stalking out of her bedroom once she was dressed for the day Netayah quietly made her way downstairs, being sure not to disturb the rest of her family. Neither her brother nor older siblings would be thrilled if she thought to make any noise that awoke them from their sleep, forcing her to bear the brunt of their anger. As they were always telling her they were betas, meant to assist the alpha in his ruling and protect the pack. Which couldn't be accomplished if they were too exhausted to think.

Remembering the last time she'd accidentally woken one of them from their sleep, she tiptoed down the stairs and then towards the back of the house. Relieved when none of them hollered out in anger, proof she didn't have anything to worry about, Netayah focused on her morning chores. Although the kitchen wasn't dirty she proceeded to wipe down every surface to be found, the scent of cleaning supplies engulfed the room. It failed to matter that she'd cleaned the room only the night before, if she was lax in her duties her mother would be sure to show her displeasure.

When she'd ensured that both the kitchen and dining room were once again sparkling clean, Netayah then turned her attention to breakfast. The grandfather clock in the living room announced it was seven in the morning when she heard the commotion from upstairs, proof the others were waking. Hurriedly rushing around the room at the knowledge the rest of the family was up for the day, determined that everything would be ready for their arrival.

As she heard the first creak of the staircase the table had been completely set, loaded down with pancakes, sausage, and bacon, three kinds of syrup and fresh butter. Breakfast having come a lot faster this morning than usual, that'd hopefully keep her out of trouble. Netayah was at the counter preparing a fresh pot of coffee, knowing her father and brothers would demand it, when she heard the noise behind her.

"Well if it isn't the ugly duckling," her sister Serina, older than her by three years at the age of nineteen, sneered evilly at her little sister as she sauntered into the kitchen. "No wonder you don't have a mate with a face like that. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Netayah failed to respond to the cruel taunts she received from her sister, though she did look at herself in the reflection of the window. Ugly Duckling was one of the many nicknames that her siblings had elected to heap on her head the last couple of years. All in the vain hopes of humiliating and shaming her, to prove her to be the disgrace that she was. Honestly, Netayah didn't understand the connection between the name and her, as far as she could tell she wasn't as ugly as her sister claimed.

Despite she was far smaller than the other members of her family at barely five foot even and no more than a hundred bounds wet, that was the extent. She had been born with curls that were starting to go more white than blonde that framed an oval face, a set of pert full lips and almond-shaped purple eyes. Netayah knew from quick glances at herself that she had a perfect hourglass figure, with C-cup breasts that thrust high and a nicely rounded backside.

Netayah wasn't a vain person. Far from it to be truthful. Personally, she didn't see anything awe-inspiring, but judging by the way male eyes followed her she had to be attractive. Even knowing the shame and disgrace that she was to her family, and the pack, those eyes followed her everywhere during her time away from the house.

She bowed her head, “I'm sorry my sister, I will do better."

A cruel hand shoved at the back of her head causing her forehead to smack against the edge of the cabinet, snickering laughter emerged. "Don't you dare call me that, you are too much of a disgrace to ever be my sister."

“Yes, Serina,” she said obediently. As Serina walked off to head to the table she focused on pouring the coffee into the required mugs. Determined this morning everything would be perfect. Loading down the tray with the morning coffee for the males of the family, Netayah hefted it into her arms and headed to the dinner table.

Only the next arrival wasn't paying attention to where they were going, running their body right into hers. Before Netayah could regain her footing, she lost her balance and upset the tray of coffee. She was forced to bite back the scream of pain as steaming hot coffee splashed all over the front of her shirt, then more down her arms, bringing blisters to the surface.

“Ugg, you brat, look what you've done!" Andrew Greystone sneered in derision at the teenage girl standing before him, his large beef hands angrily pushing her out of the way. “Watch where the fuck you're going, leech, you got coffee all out of me and now I have to go get changed again.”

Netayah shuddered in terror as the man walked out of the kitchen, knowing he'd make her pay for daring to get his clothes dirty. Out of all the members of the family, Andrew was the worst of them. At twenty-three he deemed everything had to be perfect and anything less than that was shameful. If Andrew had his way about it then when her disgrace was discovered, she would've been thrown out of the house, banished and disavowed by the family.

It failed to matter to him that this morning's fiasco wasn't her fault, he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, she was automatically responsible. Ever since her failed awakening, everything and anything that had gone wrong with the family, both inside and out of the house, was her fault. Netayah was a curse upon the world, thereby her mere presence cursed them too, bringing all the ilk of the world.

One time Netayah even thought of informing them of such a shameful disgrace and powerless Greystone, they seemed to think she had a lot of power. Of course, she had thought better of letting that glib taunt tumble out of her mouth, aware the repercussions wouldn't have been pretty. It never was when she thought to talk back to them.

Pushing aside her wandering thoughts Netayah dropped to the floor, hurriedly cleaning up the mess on the floor, before the others could injure themselves. In a matter of a few minutes, she'd discarded the broken pieces of the ceramic into the trash bin, then mopped up the liquid everywhere. Though the remainder of her older siblings—17 year old Helena and Henry—walked into the room, pushing and smacking on the way, that was the extent of the altercation.

A drastic improvement from usual, as normally all of her older siblings worked double time to taunt, torment, ridicule and abuse her to the fullest extent. They must be feeling charitable this morning if all she had received was a couple of cruel words, a push and a few smacks from them. It was a change.

Upon finishing up making a second tray of coffee for the men, ensuring that no one else was coming, she carried it towards the table. Sitting it down at the head of the table, a mighty man of massive muscular build, dark locks framed an angular face, still looking eternally thirty-two. He snatched up the red coffee mug that she'd placed down on the table in front of him, glaring at the girl responsible for its presence, “What the fuck is this? Where is my mug?”

She ducked her head, “I'm sorry, father, it broke."

He snarled angrily as the mug was slammed down on the surface of the table, oblivious to the sloshing of the coffee over the brim, "That is the fourth time you have broken a mug this month. I'm not only stuck with a curse for a daughter, but a clumsy one too."

“I'm sorry, father,” she readily apologized.

Father was the only title she dared use to refer to him. Although at one time he'd been her daddy, having been the very center of her world she'd been the apple of his eye, that had all changed nearly three years ago. The second that Phillip had learned of the disgrace that his daughter had become he'd immediately turned his back on her, like all of her family had.

If it hadn't been for the intervention of her mother, cautioning the need for a servant in the house, he would probably have thrown her out by now.

“Be gone,” he growled.

“Girl,” Abbie spoke.

“Yes, mother?”

Abbie Greystone stared up at the teenage girl before her, the second youngest of her children, though amber eyes failed to show emotion, “Do not forget you need to be outside of the Alpha Square at promptly three o’clock. Don't be late."

She bowed, “I won't, mother.”.