Chapter 1 Unhealthy Rivalry

The drizzling rain hit the panes of the window as Clarissa looked out of the window her mind solely on what had happened that morning.

She knew her parents so well, especially her father.

He'd stop at nothing until she mastered all the skills her annoying trainer had been giving to her.

She growled.

Grabbing the curtains and tearing them into shreds as she gasped in horror.

This is the third time she's doing this in one week.

And she knew her mom would take no shit from her.

Looking around,she opened the window and looked down.

Several guards lined up the walls of the house with their guns loaded and claws ready to tear off anything at all.

She gave up the idea of jumping down and running to.......

God knows where.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I must confess she isn't taking the classes seriously".

" Gigi is doing just fine." Malcolm said, standing in front of the alpha king and his wife. His voice firm as he stood rigidly in front of the regal couple.

Gigi, adopted by the alpha pack when she was just a child, had been a full human until a life-saving bite transformed her into a lycan.She was a full human until she got bitten,to save her from dying.

Uriel nodded slowly, his sharp jawline tightening as he turned to look at Felicia.

Her expression was unreadable, but her nostrils flared ever so slightly, a subtle sign of her displeasure at the constant comparisons between Gigi and their biological daughter Clarissa.

He knew she hated the fact that everyone compared Gigi to Clarissa.

"Felicia's lips thinned into a taut line as anger simmered beneath her cool exterior. "Malcolm, you may leave," Uriel stated, his deep voice reverberating through the study.

Malcolm bowed respectfully, his footsteps echoing against the hardwood floor as he exited, leaving the alpha pair alone.

As the door clicked shut, Felicia whirled to face her husband, her eyes blazing with a fierceness that belied her delicate features. "Comparing an actual Lycan to a minor coyote?" she demanded, her tone laced with skepticism and a silent challenge for him to deny her accusation.

Uriel sighed, running a calloused hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. He had expected this reaction, this clash of wills that had become all too familiar.

"If we don't compare them, she's not going to be serious," he reasoned, his voice low and persuasive. "She will keep taking everything for granted."

His gaze hardened as he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the chair's carved armrests.

"She's still living her youthful exuberance, and that's hardly what we need. The blood suckers are multiplying every day, and it's threatening to us."

A muscle twitched in his jaw as his words took on a sharper edge. "We both know they have no heart! They do not care if it's a newborn, a youth, or an adult, they would just feast on them and get things over with."

He paused, running his hands through his hair.

He turned to look at the door then back at her.

"She needs to know her place, she just need to. She needs to be prepared. To be able to face the challenges which comes with handling a whole clan. Do you understand?" He questioned, sending a look of both hope and concern to Felicia.

She sighed before nodding.

"Yes,I do." She replied and walked over to the door. "When is the next leaders meeting?" She asked.

"Probably next week, I'll ask Yolanda to check." Uriel stated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gigi quickly walked away the moment she noticed her mother coming out from her father's office.

She'd heard everything that went on inside.

She knew they loved her.

But the love they had for Clarissa was more intoxicating and real compared to hers.

She knew this but her heart always finds it hard to understand it all.

She's older than Clarissa by two years.

Yet they favored Clarissa more than they did to her.

Her heart felt heavy as she struggled to breath hard.

She'd fought so hard to belong here.

To make sure everyone embraces her.

She made sure she was good in her academics.

In sports.

Almost in everything.

She fought to be where she was.

And yet she was still struggling for recognition in the face of her parents.

She walked into her bedroom,banged the door and felt the frame rattle.

She'd heard the words clearly.

Heard her father's voice loud and clear.

"She needs to know her place. Needs to be prepared to face the challenges which comes with handling a whole clan,do you understand?"

She tried as much as she could to blink the tears away. Was it her fault? She was trying so hard to be perfect and still there was nothing that seemed satisfiable enough for them. For how long did she have to keep proving herself?

Gigi was older than Clarissa by two years, yet her parents favored her sister, their natural-born child.

The weight of their expectations weighed upon her shoulders like a suffocating burden.

For years she fought so hard, just to belong, to earn their respect and trust. She excelled in everything, academics, sports...even pushing herself to her limits in every aspect of her life desperate to prove her worth.

And yet, no matter how hard the tried, she still found herself facing the harsh reality of invisibility. She craved recognition more than anything.

Tears stung her eyes as she banged through the door of her bedroom, the frame rattling violently from the force of her entry. Her father's words echoed in her mind, a constant refrain that cut deeper with each repetition.

Nothing would stop her from contending for the throne.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moans echoed through the halls and it originated from behind the thick oak doors of Lord Duncan's chambers. While the guards were stationed outside, shifting uncomfortably as they tried to ignore the sinful sounds as much as they could.

Lord Duncan had dismissed the court elders abruptly, his body practically vibrating with an insatiable hunger. He roughly summoned a young maidservant, practically dragging the trembling girl into his quarters. Her cries soon joined the chorus of wanton noises.

The guards grimaced, all too familiar with these depraved episodes from their powerful alpha leader. Lord Duncan seemed utterly consumed by his beastly urges in the wake of the council meetings. His feral side clearly overwhelmed any sense of decorum.

The piteous wails from the poor maidservant eventually gave way to a sudden silence. The guards exchanged knowing looks, their stomachs turning. They would soon be tasked with disposing of yet another of Lord Duncan's brutalized chicks.

Sure enough, the heavy doors creaked open to reveal Lord Duncan's imposing figure. His muscular torso glistened with a sheen of sweat, his eyes hollow and expression chillingly blank.

In the shadows of the vast bedroom, the guards caught glimpses of the girl's torn and bloodied undergarments amidst the ruins of rummaged bedsheets.

They've had to pull the dead bodies of some sluts out of the bedroom.

Or burn them to ashes.

The door burst open as Lord Duncan's mighty form walked out of the bedroom.

His chest glistening with sweat.

His eyes held no emotions.

His shaft looked bigger in his pants.

Clear evidence that he had not been sated.

"Clean it up,burn her up."

The deafening command went into their ears.

They walked into the room,clearing and cleaning everything possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lord Duncan's huge frame took the entire space on his seat as he rubbed his forehead.

A wife?

A chuckle tore through his lips as he closed his eyes.

He chuckled to himself again.

Imagining himself being married and trying to have kids.

He shut his eyes at the thought of that.

Hell he didn't want a kid!.

But he was definitely getting a wife.

How pathetic!

After the wreck of his parents' relationship.

He couldn't think of getting into the entanglement called a 'marriage.'

He was still finding it difficult to know why they'd want him to be married before...

The door opened, putting a stop to his thoughts as a maid walked in.

"Josh Caden is here." She said as he sprang up from his seat.

"What the..."

"Longest time buddy." The most demonic voice he'd ever heard greeted as he rolled his eyes back

Growling in rage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere in the castle, Princess Clarissa defiance met her mother's stern gaze.

"Mom, I'm taking this seriously," the teenager protested.

"No, you aren't," Felicia chided. "Malcolm didn't make those claw marks up, did he?" Her eyes narrowed at the tattered curtains hanging askew as evidence of her daughter's lack of restraint.

"You clawed them again," she said sternly. Clarissa merely pouted her lips petulantly. "It was a mistake."

Their discussion was interrupted by Clarissa's younger sister, Gigi, breezing into the room carrying an armful of books. With a sly grin at her sibling, Gigi piped up,

"Mom, can I have a word with you?"

Felicia nodded at her other daughter. "Of course sweetie."

"I was wondering if we could do a competition between all the teenage girls, then the guys can do theirs after? I know..." Gigi began.

"That would be great, but first are you certain about this?" Felicia asked skeptically.

Gigi nodded eagerly. "Of course Mom, I'm certain." Her gaze slid over to Clarissa, her smirk growing. "I'm certain." She replied before heading out.

"Why does she suddenly want a competition?" Carissa questioned with a cocked brow, knowing deep down that her sister could be up to something.

" So she can show how good she is at fighting". Felicia responded. "Or wolfing down other creatures?".

" Humor me that!" Clarissa said with a light chuckle. "She's not even a full Lycan." Clarissa said, laying properly on the bed.

"All the more you need to show us what you've got". Felicia stated with sterness written in her eyes. "You cannot just sit and expect us to know you've got potential. Prove it!".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yes!" Gigi screamed the minute she walked into her bedroom.

Now the queen had given her the opportunity to show her skills and she'd definitely do it.

Looking around the room,she smirked evilly to herself.

She's the first child and so the throne rightfully belongs to her.

Not some weak girl who calls herself a Lycan.

She hated the fact that a coyote had bitten her to keep her from dying.

Of course all had been strategic.

She'd cut her veins on purpose and let the blood flow out of her bedroom.

At first she'd been awake but as the time went by,she fainted.

She was almost gone when one of the maids saw her and brought her back to life.

Since then, she'd been undergoing training even without her parents knowing.

She vowed to be stronger than Clarissa.

Or any other teen werewolf.

This is just the beginning.

Next she'd devise a plan and make sure she tells it to the alpha king.

She must be made the clan leader.....she will be made clan leader. She smiled to herself.

~~~~~~~~

Duncan walked briskly toward his window, his body was heating up badly.

It was the day again.

The day he hated the most.

The day of the full moon.

He walked toward his bed and grabbed the bag in which he kept a cloth.

And then he slowly walked out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He slowly laid his bag down.

The moon effect on him was getting harder and harder to ignore.

He stepped backwards.

Pains radiating through his body.

His legs were becoming weak and weak in carrying him.

Hair were beginning to erupt from his body.

He scratched down on his fours.

Grunted for a while and then his wolf took over.

He was in his wolf form again.

The wolf he hated.

Why was he born an half Vampire and half Werewolf.

Just Why?!...

He despised the werewolf clan and will always do.

He is a vampire and will always be.

No one is allowed to find out about this secret.

He will keep hunting on Werewolves and this secret will die with him.

He grunted for a while and soon he was back in his human form.

Completely naked.

He got on his feet and quickly put his clothes on.

Checking on intervals if anyone was approaching.

He stared at his torn clothes on the floor and sighed.

He grabbed his bag and slowly walked off.

Back to his home.