The Alpha Beast's Rebel Wolf

Carissa POV "Are you ready?" My brother, Matthew, filled the silence as we entered the SUV. I knew he was addressing me and not our mother. They'd been to these functions before, whereas I was new. I knew I needed to attend, however. Our father was expecting us. I turned my head to the right and smirked up at him. "I was born ready. I've been practicing my game face all week," I joked while showing everyone in the car my best game face. Not that either of the other occupants cared for my playful banter. I pushed those feelings deep down and focused on my father. I couldn't believe he was commemorated at such an event as Honourable Pack Beta. It was a prestigious event that didn't typically involve smaller packs like ours. It was a surprise, so it was hard not to mention anything in the week leading up. But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce you all to a bit of backstory, something to help pass the time while we head to the ceremony. My name is Carissa Carter, but most people call me CC. I tell myself that it is less about my not fitting in with the Carter family and more about it being a cool nickname. I was born the second daughter of Beta Anthony and Kimberly Carter. They never mistreated me—physically, anyway. Emotionally, my parents were void when it came to me and my needs. I quickly learned that my parents only wanted two pups, one son and one daughter. They never expected that one night, while my mother was out with friends, she'd meet her true mate and stray. They also never expected her to turn out to be pregnant a few weeks later. My mother came clean about the infidelity, and to save their reputation, they decided that it was best to continue to pretend I was Beta Anthony Carter's pup. That was also how quickly my name became known as CC. I was never referred to as a Carter by anyone in the family—a subtle jab within the family dynamic each time she was forced to respond to it. You’re probably wondering why my father never felt the pain of my mother cheating; that is strictly a true mate benefit. When you take a chosen mate instead, you take the gamble on trust in all aspects. Marking your mate is a wolf's primal instinct, and when you accept a chosen over waiting for your wolf's true mate, they rarely wish to claim what's not truly their own. My father gave my mother the ring she wanted, but not the mate mark. However, because of this, he had no idea how often she may have strayed, and it ate at him constantly. After I found out the truth, our dynamic changed. My father never mistreated me, never spoke down to me or anything; he didn't spend time around me. I looked nothing like my mother, which meant I looked like a walking reminder of the man my mother strayed with. Honestly, I felt bad for my father. I knew he was a good man, but he was struggling to accept an affair and an affair baby. Because of this, my mother all but abandoned me. She figured that if she disassociated from my existence, everything in her marriage would fall back into place. Delusions and denial are funny traits to pay into, but go for broke, I guess. Unfortunately, neither parent wanted me, so I was left with a nanny or my own devices. This made me a bit of a natural survivalist. The upside was that I loved Ginny. She was like the mother I never had. Ginny had been my nanny since I was three months old, and my father realized my mother wouldn't accept me as an attempt to get my husband back. Although he didn't want me, as I was the constant reminder of the reality that he was avoiding, he couldn't bring himself to accept a pup being neglected—not even a bastard born. Over the years, my parents grew further and further apart. Beta Carter could never let his guard down, always demanding to know where Kim was. It was exhausting to keep up with the drama of it all. They hid this behind closed doors; no one knew what we pups knew. Imagine it: every time you were out in public, you had to pretend to love a woman who betrayed you and praise a pup who looked more like the unknown male who robbed your marriage of its sanctity. That would be hard for any male, much less a high-ranking one. I did feel bad for my father. His perception of marriage and his family was tainted now through no fault of his own. When the big blowout happened at home that night, no one could predict how far my father was pushed. I knew he wouldn't be the same, but my siblings and mother thought it would blow over with a few hollow apologies and soft attempts at making things right. But something spoken can not be unsaid, and words hold power. Telling your husband that you wish you had left with the unknown male with whom you strayed, at least then you would be sexually satisfied, was probably the worst thing our mother could have shouted out in anger. Your emotions don't justify or excuse your poor behaviour. They amplify where your feelings are. They hold power—the power to build and the power to demolish. My parents were the first-ranked couple in two generations to invoke the official mistress clause. Something that can only be permitted if chosen mates. Alpha Kane approved the request, and there was nothing my mother could do to stop my father from taking a mistress. This completely tore the family apart. Although it was entirely Kim's fault, she refused to accept blame and take accountability for her past indiscretions. Brittany and Matthew blamed me solely, and our mother shut herself away from the world unless there were official mandatory events. Perhaps she thought that, like in the past, my father would cave and come catering to her as he had to keep appearances. That ship had long sailed, however. Our pack eventually noticed that their Beta was now spending every evening at his new apartment and not at home. That was when our pack discovered the truth. They also discovered, thanks to Brittany and her pursuit to salvage her own image, that I was a bastard affair offspring; my birth father was unknown. That information was something our mother wasn't telling anyone else, not even my father or Alpha Kane. Our pack also discovered that their Beta had not only moved out months ago but was also actively living with his girlfriend, Lindy Monroe. She was a transfer. She came from the human city and had her own catering company. To be honest, I liked Lindy. She was nicer than my mother, and I often wondered if my father and Lindy were actually true mates. I have never seen my father as happy as he was with Lindy. Lindy Monroe was the exact opposite of Kim Miller-Carter. What surprised me most about Lindy and my father was that he accepted that Lindy was born wolf-less. I wouldn't have thought the great Beta Anthony Carter would accept a defect. Runts and the wolf-less were considered defective by many packs. They tend to mate with humans or other shifters because of how judgmental wolf packs are. Most wolves will never claim the defects, and without a wolf, you’d never feel the intense mate bond, only a simple attraction pull. Beta Anthony Carter, a man ruled by the book, suddenly seemed not to care. He was putting his happiness above the image he thought he had to maintain as Beta. I respected him more for following his own wants and not what was okay with our pack. It also made me realize that my parents hadn't been in love with one another. They used the fact that they had pups together as a reason to stay together. Keep the Beta image strong. My mother's stepping out of their marriage gave my father the leverage he needed to finally follow his own desire and not the path laid out for him by someone else. As for Lindy, I got along with her more than anyone else in my family. When Ginny passed away, I was left all alone. Ginny always cared for me, so no one needed to remember to check on me. All seventeen of my birthdays were spent with just Ginny and a few of the kinder staff. The gifts weren't fancy ones like my siblings would get, but I appreciated everything gifted to me. It was done out of genuine care and love. After she died, my heart was broken, and I thought I would have no more pleasant memories within the pack, but Lindy didn't hesitate to fill that role. I imagined it was because Lindy understood what it was like to be unwanted or looked down on. Lindy quickly stepped into the maternal role, teaching me all the girly things like makeup, hair and picking the right dress for my figure and complexion. Suddenly, my father invited me to dinner with him and Lindy. I knew Lindy had requested it, but it was still a bridge my father and I could use to get to know each other better. I learned that my father was funny when he was not arguing with his mate. Imagine that. I had spent years hiding away, alone in my room, thinking my father was this big, angry guy, but it turned out that he wasn't. He was just hurt. I wondered if we were more alike than we realized. We were both trapped in a life we didn't want or ask for. It was like swimming against the current, but you didn't know how to swim. That's what my life always felt like, and she now wondered if that was how the great Beta Carter always felt: bobbing in the water, hoping to swim. None of that matters now, however. We have gotten a lot closer and are repairing the fragmented bond we had. I continued to watch outside the window while my brother drove the SUV to the secret location of the event for their father. My mother, Kim, was in the front seat, and I sat alone in the back, watching the trees go by. "Why isn't Brittany coming with us?" It was a little odd that our sister wasn't with us since it involved her biological father. "She is coming with Ryan in a separate car." Ryan Davis, future heir of our pack and top-tier douche-bag. He was your typical golden boy image bully with an even larger ego than his six-foot stature. They had been dating for just over a year, and despite their heated argument, which terrorized our pack at times, they stuck it out. They were toxic together; everyone saw it, but they always went back to each other, no matter what. It was a terrifying tale of what lay ahead for the pack's future if they became the power couple leading. Trinity Falls pack was considered on the smaller side for wolf packs in the country, with member counts of around three hundred, and roughly two hundred were warriors trained to protect those within the pack. Trinity Falls was once a proud and welcoming pack. Still, with Alpha Kane Davis stepping down soon, he has been giving more responsibility to his son, Ryan, who wasn't the most studious or kindest of people. This also meant that my equally douche-bag of a brother, Matthew, has been walking the line of tyranny alongside him as his Beta. None of that matters, however. I will leave for school after the summer break, and then I could petition to join a new pack if things get bad or go into lone wolf status. I have good standing and a clean record, so I knew I wouldn't be turned to rogue status. I had been interning as a junior assistant with Alpha Kane for the last year after school; despite my bastard status, I was in an excellent place for the future. I could adapt and handle most of the financial reports and the Luna workload that Alpha Kane took over after Luna's passing years ago. He still refused to take another Luna, but rumours were that he was a bit of a horn-dog with some married females—strictly rumours, as I hadn't seen anything around the office. I worked hard with the plan to apply that knowledge to my applications for joining a new pack later in life. Treasurers don't hold powerful titles but are invaluable to packs; that was the goal after graduating from University. I felt the SUV begin to slow down and come to a stop. "Okay, we're here. Let's get a move on." Matthew turned the engine off and jumped out of the vehicle before I could even grasp that we had arrived.