Claimed by the Alpha I Hate – Episode 06
The knock at the cabin door came long after midnight. Daisy’s grandfather opened it with a crossbow raised, prepared for whatever wandered the forest after dark. When he recognized the soaked, exhausted figure on his porch, the weapon nearly slipped from his hands. “Daisy? Goddess, I almost shot you. What the hell are you doing here, kid?”
Daisy had rehearsed an explanation during the long walk from Eastwind, but none survived the sight of him. “Grandpa, I… I abandoned the pack.” The words broke apart, and so did the fragile control that had carried her through the woods.
He lowered the crossbow at once and pulled her inside. “It’s okay, sweetie. Come on.” He did not demand details or remind her of pack law. He wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, guided her toward the fire, and gave her the first safety she had felt all night.
Daisy never returned to the Winter Solstice celebration. She left Scott, Mila, and the severed mate bond behind, though the wounds followed her into the forest. Her mother remained in Eastwind, angry and bewildered by the sudden departure. Daisy could not make herself explain everything over the phone, and shame turned the distance between them into silence.
Six months changed the rhythm of her life. Dawn at the cabin began with running through steep forest trails, followed by balance drills, combat practice, and hours spent learning to defend herself without a wolf. Her grandfather trained her with the discipline of the Beta he had once been, never treating her as fragile.
One morning, Daisy drove a practice staff toward him. He blocked, turned the weapon aside, and sent her stumbling through the dirt. She recovered before falling, pivoted, and struck again. This time the end of her staff stopped inches from his ribs.
“Getting better,” he said, pride hidden beneath his gruff tone. Sweat dampened Daisy’s hair, and her muscles trembled from exertion. Six months earlier, Mila could have cornered her without resistance. That helpless girl felt farther away with every lesson.
“It’s not enough.” Daisy lowered the staff but did not relax. She had grown stronger, yet no wolf answered inside her. “I need to get stronger if I want to be able to shift someday, right?”
Her grandfather’s pause was brief enough that she almost missed it. “Right.” He turned to gather their equipment, keeping his face away from her. Daisy had noticed such silences before, moments when he seemed to know something about her missing wolf that he refused to share.
She checked her phone again. No missed call waited, and the messages she had sent remained unanswered. Her mother had been angry when Daisy left, but anger did not explain weeks of silence. Vera Storm had never ignored her daughter this completely.
“Have you heard from Mom yet?” Daisy asked. “I know she’s still mad at me for leaving, but she wouldn’t just stop answering my calls.” Worry had been gathering quietly beneath her training. Spoken aloud, it became impossible to dismiss.
Her grandfather set the equipment down with care. The movement told Daisy more than his expression did. He had heard something, and he had been delaying this conversation. Cold spread through her before he began.
“Eastwind was invaded by the Blackwood Pack,” he said. “They’ve taken over.” Daisy stared at him, trying to understand how Scott’s newly inherited rule could have collapsed in half a year.
“What? Where was Scott? He’s the Alpha.” Despite everything he had done, the title carried a duty to defend Eastwind. Scott had wanted power badly enough to destroy their bond for it. Surely he had not surrendered the pack without a fight.
“He fled,” her grandfather answered. Disgust roughened every word. “Little coward that he is.” The revelation was bitter vindication: Scott had rejected Daisy for being an embarrassment, then abandoned his people when courage was required.
Daisy barely had time to absorb it before she saw grief settle over her grandfather’s face. His shoulders, usually held with military firmness, sagged. The invasion was not the worst news he carried.
“And your mom…” His voice failed. He reached for Daisy’s hands, and she felt his fingers trembling. “Honey, your mother is gone.”
The forest seemed to fall silent around the cabin. Daisy waited for him to correct himself, to explain that Vera had escaped or been taken somewhere safe. No correction came. Six months after running from Eastwind, Daisy learned that the home she had abandoned had fallen—and the mother she had left behind would never answer another call.