The Queen {Book One of The Choosing series}

Chapter 1: The Value of Her Freedom

The Vengeful Oak Pack has always treated their members based upon a hierarchy.

Ranked first are the Alpha and Luna, they are the rulers of the pack. They make the rules and dish out the punishments.

Second is the Beta & Beta female, they are the ones who fill in if the Alpha and Luna are absent. If anything were to happen to the Alpha and Luna, the Beta and Beta female are to take over as the Alpha and Luna.

Third is the Gamma, they are kind of the like the secretary, with the Alpha being President and Beta as Vice President. They help out with anything the Alpha and Beta need.

Fourth is Delta, they are the ones that are in charge of training the warriors. They are the commander of the pack's army.

Fifth is Epsilon, they are the warriors. They make up the pack's army. Their main objective is to protect the pack at all costs.

Sixth is Zeta, they are the surgeons of the pack. The doctors that perform surgeries are racked slightly higher than the general doctors.

Seventh is Eta, they are the pack's general doctors. They are still highly ranked and treated with a lot of respect.

Eighth is Theta, they are the rest of the pack's medical team, such as the nurses and assistants.

The ranking follows the Greek alphabet, ending with Omega as the 24th and lowest rank in the hierarchy. They are the slaves of the pack. This is my rank. We are treated with no respect in the Vengeful Oak Pack.

The Vengeful Oak pack has a dictator for an Alpha. He rules with a strict set of rules and if anyone were to break them, they would face dire consequences. I speak from experience. Just last week, I took an extra roll for dinner because I was hungry from working at a construction site all day.

I received 11 whippings, just for taking some extra food. Extra food was only allowed to the top 11 ranks, including the Kappa, who are the head cooks, bakers, and chefs, and the Lambda, who are the assistant cooks and assistant bakers. I am the lowest of the pack, which meant that it was a big mistake on my part to take more food, a mistake that I paid the price for.

At that moment, I wanted, I desired nothing more than to be free. I craved freedom, a life away from this, a life where I am treated with respect.

Things weren't any better at home. My parents were very similar to the alpha. They were authoritarian, very strict with a large set of rules. I was not allowed to speak to anyone outside of our family unless it was a higher ranking wolf who spoke to me first, I was not allowed to hang out with any of my friends, I was to complete the chores with utmost perfection, I was not allowed to eat anything outside of what they allow me to have, I was not allowed to play with my younger brother, Nicholas, because I am older and I must be responsible and act maturely. If I were to go against any of these things, then the consequences would be horrendous. I knew better than to speak back to my parents. I knew better than to do anything that would result in punishment.

I have lived with the pain of feeling worthless as a slave to both the pack and to my family for 16 years. I am technically an adult in the werewolf world now. I could leave, I could run. I look at the sleeping form of my baby brother. I love him more than anyone in the world. I can't leave him.

I stayed for another year until one day the Alpha caught my brother reading his son's book. The Alpha's son, Darius, was friends with my brother, at their age they didn't see rank. Darius had gifted that book to Nick. The Alpha thought that my brother stole the book. He wouldn't listen to me when I told him that it was a gift from Darius. I was punished for speaking out of place. The punishment for stealing was far worse than the whippings that I received. My brother must spend a night in the woods unguarded with no one to protect him. The Alpha ensured that no one would be there to save him if something were to happen by locking me in the dungeon tonight. He knew that I would protect Nick with my life.