Silverproof

They gathered around them—each one of their pack members staring at the scene right in front of them as if it was the most entertaining thing in the world. The silence comforted her, helping her keep her composure well. Alpha Jasper, Beta Diego, Gamma Felix, their mates, and the elders stood in front of her while the rest stood in front of them.

Finally, not a second longer, the alpha spoke. “I, Jasper Gene, Alpha of the Gene Pack, reject you, Willow Quince, as my mate.”

She merely nodded, not giving anything away. They had expected her to be weak, to beg for her alpha mate to take back the rejection and beg to give the matebond a chance. In the sight of him, her should have been broken at the statement but instead, she felt nothing but her wolf inside of her, standing proudly and grinning in encouragement.

The rejection felt better than having to know that she was mated to someone as weak as him. They thought of the opposite of her. They viewed her as weak, let her to go fend for herself at the age of ten after her warrior family died for the sake of saving the pack. The pack that abused her and treated her lower than an Omega.

Abuse in the pack was illegal. It was brought on to the elders of the pack and they would act in justice. However, because she was viewed as lower than an Omega, practically a rogue, they never did anything to help her.

Willow had always felt she was strong. Maybe stronger than any other werewolves. The others may have thought she was weak because she never shifted in front of them. There were even doubts that it was there even though she smelled like a werewolf. No one ever saw her fur, claws, canines, or her eyes. What they see now was a werewolf who may or may not have a wolf, a woman that they tortured and never fought back, a woman that was too weak to even be loved by her mate.

All of them were wrong, she knew that much. Throughout the torture she had endured, what they never knew was that she learned their weaknesses, their strengths, and how to use it against them.

Bruises still covered her body from yesterday’s hits but her face was now fully healed and the pride she wore was evident.

“I, Willow Quince, accept your rejection, Alpha Jasper Gene.”

The alpha smirked and so did his higher-ranking friends. They and the rest of the pack members that was here laughed at her.

Not for long.

Before anyone could move back and disperse to the party that they held each year, Willow cleared her throat and released a bright terrifying smile. It made Jasper’s smile falter but he had his brows raised along with the elders who waited for her to speak.

“I forgot to say something,” her voice came off authoritative, strong unlike the whimpers that she gave while they kicked her to the ground in the past. “I, Willow Quince, sever my ties with the Gene Pack. On this day, I declare myself to be a rogue—free from an idiotic alpha and pack.”

Werewolves who declared themselves to be rogue was not rare but it was frowned upon. Werewolves, as well as lycans that were more powerful than them, always stuck together. Most wolves only became a rogue when they were forced out, not that they willingly walked out of their pack.

Only adults were able to declare themselves to be rogue and this day, after being rejected, she was no longer a pup. An adult. Everything finally looked up for her. It was night. The moon was full and shining brightly at them. She felt that it was a sign. A sign that the Goddess of Moon and Night gave her blessing to break the chains of traditions that hindered whoever she really was.

One of the elders did not take kindly to the insult. Everyone was too shocked to say something except for him. “How dare you disrespect your pack? How dare you speak of your alpha that way? You are nothing but a selfish brat that is weak to—”

Her wolf growled inside of her. She did not like being disrespected. For some reason, her wolf always felt that they were nothing but scum of the earth, the dirty that she walked on. It took a lot of Willow’s self-control not to lash out when she was being abused and what was happening right now was nothing new.

She knew how to handle herself without releasing her wolf. It took eighteen years of practice.

“Alright, don’t get your panties in a twist,” she joked, causing for everyone’s eyes to widen in shock. Nobody spoke to an elder with such disrespect, nobody except her. “Also, didn’t hear what you said? I know you’re old and all but are you turning deaf? I just declared myself to be a rogue which means I have no obligation to respect each one of you even if you never respected me.”

“A rogue,” the Gamma, Felix, chuckled. “It means we can finally kill you, you weak bitch.”

The man charged at her but she was too quick for him. A big step backward and the man landed on the ground, some of the dirt of the earth sticking to him. He had landed with a thud, unable to move from being stunned of her speed.

The air swirled, creating a silent noise that none of the wolves heard. It made Willow raise her hand and capture the Beta’s wrist before his fist was able to connect to her cheek. Diego stilled like Felix who was on the ground, growling and letting his temper rule. Without wasting another second, she used both of her arms to pull on his wrist, colliding her forehead against his nose.

She stepped back again, watching with humor as Felix landed on the ground for the second time. This time, he was trying to get up as quick as he landed. Willow stopped him by bringing down her heavy combat boots down on his back, making sure to put enough pressure that the man felt pain and would be unable to move for a few hours.

A sigh went past her lips. She could only crack his spine, not crush it. This was not the revenge that she wanted. Well, partly, but the main revenge she sought was to let everyone know that she was stronger than any of them.

The warriors moved, ready to take her down so she waddled her finger at them. “Ah, ah, ah, don’t come any closer or I permanently leave your Gamma disabled.” They stopped, each one of them facing one another, unsure of what to do. The sound of the grass being ripped caused for her to look back down and see that Diego was trying to rise through his feet, blood still pouring out of his nose. “You try to get up, I will do far worse than this—”

She placed pressure on Felix’s spine, causing for a few bones of his spinal cord at his lumbar to crack slightly. The Gamma howled in pain. His mate never moved, tears running down her face, begging for her to release him.

The Beta laid on the grass, his eyes glaring at her.

She gazed up at the alpha with a smile while he showed fear etched into his face. “Not going to do anything? Okay. Here’s how it’s going to go. Considering that I broke Diablo Diego’s nose, cracked Felix’s spine, and scared you and the rest to death, I know that the second I leave the territory, you’ll send trackers to try and hunt me. I’ll tell you what to do—nothing.”

“What? You hurt our—”

“Hush grandpa,” she glared at the elder who spoke. “Don’t make me take your tongue and slice it with my claw.”

“You have no wolf,” the alpha sputtered. To the rest, it may seem like he’s taunting her but to her, she could hear the wavering of his voice.

She rolled her eyes. “You thought I had no wolf. I broke your beta’s nose and temporarily disabled your gamma. Isn’t that proof enough?”

No one spoke.

With another sigh, she tuned in her wolf who was excited to make an appearance. Even if it was just going to be seconds. “Here, I’ll put all of your doubts to rest.”

She moved faster than any werewolf, it was her conclusion. It had been confirmed when she appeared in front of the alpha and he had jumped, shaking on the ground he stood. “Boo,” she whispered, her wolf appearing to change the color of her eyes and making her canines descend in a flash. “We good?”

“Y-your eyes,” Jasper gasped. “They’re purple.”

“No, they’re lavender,” she corrected. Her wolf finally had enough and let her take control again, satisfied at the scare she had given at him. Her lavender-colored eyes were back to their light hazel ones. “Hello? You look like you just pissed yourself.”

Everybody looked at the wetness formed on the alpha’s jeans.

Willow laughed. “Great. That’s the reaction I wanted. Okay, I’ll be taking my leave now. If I see one tracker or a warrior trying to get to me, I’ll come back and shatter every bone in your body. Understand?”

And with that, she and her wolf cackled together in happiness. Happy that she no longer had to pretend and suffer every pain they had given her.