The Alpha King's Runaway Puppy

Harper's POV.

The central square of Silvergray pack was bustling with young people.

For the sake of better social division, every member of the pack needed to undergo an appraisal of their maturity in terms of strength, speed, and intelligence upon reaching the age of 18.

Only the members who passed the appraisal were free to choose their own position in the pack, while those who failed were demoted to Omega and could only perform the lowest level of work.

Today was the day the results of the appraisal were announced.

In general, most of the wolf shifters in the pack would be able to pass the test. So the boys and girls around were excitedly discussing what kind of positions they would choose in the future, or what they would dress up as for their upcoming Coming of Age Party.

However, I stood nervously in the crowd, crossed and clasped tightly my hands, praying to the Moon Goddess that I would pass the appraisal.

Alpha Carter stepped to the pulpit with a sheet of parchment. He slowly opened the thin sheet of parchment, and my heart tugged at it.

After unfolding the parchment, Alpha Carter began to read the notice on it: "In the presence of the Moon Goddess, the results of this year's talent appraisal of Silvergray Pack will now be announced.

"Kelly, qualified."

"Osborn, qualified."

"Mia, qualified."

...

Finally, it was almost my turn and I felt my heart pounding violently. However, Alpha Carter suddenly paused for a few seconds and gave me a meaningful look. It was a look that bordered on pity, which made my heart drop heavily.

"Harper Laurier, failed appraisal. I, Carter, Alpha of the Silvergray pack, announce that you have been demoted to Omega."

The announcement rang through my head like a huge roar, my legs instantly lost strength and I fell to the floor, unable to believe what I was hearing.

The crowd around me began to whisper.

"Oh my goddess, Harper has been demoted to Omega. Elena will be furious when she finds out, she values her family's reputation above all else."

"I heard that Harper hadn't been able to complete the shift successfully, it could be that she had lost her wolf, no wonder everyone called her 'Miss Freak.'"

"Can't she even shift? If she wasn't Alpha Carter's daughter, she would have been kicked out of Silvergray Pack a long time ago."

"She's just an adopted daughter. Kelly is the real daughter of Alpha Carter, and also the first-place winner of this year's talent appraisal. As an Omega, Harper was no match for Kelly's little finger."

The comments and taunts around me penetrated my ears, like a sharp sword piercing my heart, shattering my pride little by little.

18 years ago, Alpha Carter and his wife Elena, the most powerful couple in the Silvergray Pack, had been childless for many years. It was then that they made a decision to adopt me as a baby, as their child. However, not long after I was adopted, Elena found herself pregnant and she soon gave birth to Kelly.

After she had a daughter of her own, Elena decided to send me back to the orphanage. Upon I was returned to the orphanage, I developed a fatal fever. Couldn't bear to let me die like that, Alpha Carter took me home for treatment.

From then on, my status in the family became a bit awkward.

The other pack mates would often compare me to Kelly, but she couldn't stand to know that her "fake" sister had anything better than she did.

So from a young age, I learned to live by watching Kelly's every mood and trying not to overtake her, not even daring to run faster when I was running with her.

Except for that one and only time.

At the age of 13, I had my first shift and felt my wolf for the first time. She was a beautiful reddish-brown wolf, and I named her Mila.

Since I became the first one of my peers to have a successful shift, Alpha Carter was so happy that he rewarded me with a big cake. It was also the happiest day of my life. After that, however, I began to notice that Mila was getting weaker and weaker.

Until one day, I found myself couldn't feel her anymore.

From that moment on, I have never been able to shift and become a talentless freak in the eyes of others.

Unable to endure the verbal attacks around me any longer, I clenched my fists, quickly stood up from the ground, lowered my head, and left the square in a hurry before the announcement was over.

I was walking on the way home in frustration when a person hit me hard from behind, causing me to fall heavily to the ground. My elbow hit the gravel on the ground and bright red blood immediately gushed out.

As I struggled to raise my head up, I saw Kelly standing in front of me with her arms crossed in a condescending manner, making no excuse at all for having pushed me.

She said in a sarcastic tone, "Harper, why could you run away so fast? After all these years of being so brazen about staying in my home, I thought you didn't know what it was like to be ashamed of yourself."

I got up from the ground, clutched my injured arm, and bowed my head without speaking.

Yet, Kelly stepped forward and grabbed my hair vigorously, forcing me to look up, "Now you should finally have an understanding of the gulf between you and me. No matter how hard you try, you are doomed to never catch up with me."

I looked away, trying not to see her smug smile.

However, Kelly kept on grabbing my hair and shook my head, "I just didn't expect you really to be demoted to an Omega. Mom will be very angry when she finds out. You are simply a scourge born with doom. It is no wonder that your parents abandoned you."

Even though I'm used to Kelly's nasty words, she always manages to poke me in the place where it hurts the most.

Before being adopted, I was dumped at the orphanage gate a few months after my birth. Except for a necklace with my name engraved on it, my biological parents did not leave me anything.

In all these years, I have never had any word from them and never heard that they were in search of me. I have no idea why they left me and I don't even know if they are still alive.

I never wanted to compare myself to her, all I wanted was to live a peaceful life, but she always took pleasure in putting me down. If it were possible, I would rather be born into a normal family, instead of living in the shadow of Kelly, as the "worse daughter" of Alpha.

As Kelly spoke more and more aggressively, her beautiful face gradually became blurred and hideous, like a curse that I could never get rid of.

Furious and annoyed, I grabbed Kelly's hand and bit her hard with my teeth.

"Bitch! How dare you bite me?! Get off me." Kelly screamed and let go of my hair, only to find that I was still biting on it.

Kelly kicked my stomach violently. I acted as if I didn't feel any pain, and used my blunt canine teeth to grab hold of her wrist with all of my might, as if I wanted to rip a piece of flesh from her body.

It started to rain, and the large drops of rain were falling on me, taking the heat out of my body. I gradually lost my strength, and Kelly pinched my chin with her hands and threw me to the ground.

I tried to stand up, but she stepped on my shoulder with her foot, causing me to fall back to the ground heavily.

"You have the nerve to bite me now?! Have I said anything wrong? Listen! Harper, you are a piece of shit that nobody wants! If it wasn't for my dad, you would have died in the orphanage. You are not allowed to go home today, just lie here and reflect on yourself!"

My head hit the ground, making me dizzy for a moment, but Kelly's angry curse still rang in my ears. I was no longer able to hold my head up in the freezing rain.

Before I was completely out of consciousness, I saw a man walking up to me...

Harper's POV.

When I opened my eyes again, I found them filled with white, and I soon realized that I was lying in the hospital ward of the pack.

Even though I was treated by the doctor, the wounds on my body were still painful. Since my wolf Mila fell asleep 5 years ago, my ability to heal myself has decreased greatly.

The room was empty except for the wind blowing the curtains. As I was getting out of bed, I suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Don't move yet, the doctor says you need to rest." My boyfriend Mason came in from the door with a glass of water. It seems he was the one who brought me to the hospital.

I was lying back on the bed, and he took a pillow for me to lean on. Then he gave me the water and asked me, "How are you feeling? "

I took the cup and forced a smile to him. "I'm all right".

Mason took a seat by my side and said softly, "Harper, I'm very sorry about your demotion."

His tone was very gentle, but it made me feel even more frustrated and ashamed. I clutched the quilt, lowered my head, and said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Mason shook his head, took me into his arms, and patted my head gently. "However, there is still a gap in strength between you and Kelly. Next time, you should not challenge her rashly."

I was well aware of the rift between us, but what Kelly said today was really out of line. I clenched my fist without a word and just nodded gently.

A few minutes later, Mason let go of me and stood up.

I quickly grabbed his hand, looked up at him, and said, "Are you going to leave?"

Mason did not give me an answer, but he had a very serious look on his face as if there was a struggle going on in his mind.

After a long silence, he said, "Actually, I'm here to tell you something."

"What's the matter?" I asked nervously, his expression made me feel a little ominous.

"We'd better separate from each other."

My heart was sinking rapidly, but I tried my best to keep my voice steady, "Why? Don't you love me anymore? Or are you tired of being with me?"

"No... I would love you forever, Harper." Mason hastily held my hand and kissed me lightly.

"But you know. I'm going to participate in the Alpha election this year. In order to maintain a good bloodline, the Alpha's partner always had high demands. If I win the election, it might be difficult for you to qualify for the role of Luna since you were demoted to Omega."

I held his hand back and pleaded with him in a low voice. "No, Mason...Please don't leave me. Why could you just leave me for an uncertain future when you said you still love me? Is this position really that important to you?

Mason lowered his head, let go of my hand, and said slowly, "I'm sorry, Harper. This has been my dream all along."

I grabbed hold of his collar and forced him to look up at me. "What about our dream? Have you forgotten what we used to dream about?"

Mason frowned, like I was being vexatious, glanced at the door, and whispered, "Harper, calm down. This is the hospital. "

"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?" I felt like I was on the verge of collapse. "You were the one who said that you wanted to build a happy family with me. It was also you who said you would be with me forever, now..."

My prayers did not shake Mason's resolve. Mason suddenly yanked my hand away from him and threw me back on the bed, shouting, "Harper! Didn't you hear me? I told you we were done!"

The ward fell into a deathly silence, and I was frozen at his roar. The man in front of me was still hugging me tenderly ten minutes ago, but now he has become so strange.

Mason flattened the collar that was crumpled by me, and said calmly, "That's all I want to say. I got work to do." Then he turned and left the ward.

I came back to my senses and yelled at his back, "I haven't finished my words yet! You bastard! Come back!"

But he did not look back even one time, leaving me to cry like a helpless child.

Maybe Kelly is right, I'm just an undesirable freak.

**

A waning moon hung in the gray sky, as the rain had just stopped and the smell of dirt and rain filled the cold, damp air.

Walking out of the hospital, I wandered the streets of the pack, not knowing where I should go tonight. A flickering light in the distance caught my attention. When I took a closer look, I found it was the flickering neon lights of a small hotel.

As I walked into the hotel, I only intended to stay for one night. After checking in at the front desk, I noticed that there was a bar. It was full of wine.

Elena was very strict with Kelly and never let her drink, so I never dared to have a drink either. But tonight, after all this suffering, I desperately need some alcohol to numb myself.

I sat down at the bar and asked the bartender to pour me a glass of whatever the strongest drink they have.

Taking the wine glass from the bartender, I lifted my head and drank the liquor in a single gulp, only to find that the depression in my heart had in no way subsided.

Ever since my wolf fell asleep, Kelly has been preaching this story to every pack member. This made me the object of ridicule everywhere I go, and I have been bullied a lot by the elder kids in the pack.

They always called me nasty nicknames and robbed me of my food and ruined the things I like. In those days, Kelly would never stop them, just stand aside and laugh out loud.

Alpha Carter was always busy with his work and seldom takes care of family affairs. And Elena also never paid attention to anyone except Kelly. So, all these years, I have suffered in silence about what those bastards did.

Until last year, when a group of rogue wolves surrounded me and tried to sexually assault me, Mason showed up, fought them off and saved me. From that point on, he became my friend and then, slowly, he became my boyfriend.

Mason was like a ray of sunshine that lit up my dark life. He was gentle and kind, and never discriminated against or looked down on me. I used to have the feeling that with him, I might have a happy life and a real home.

Now, all of that has turned into a burst bubble of air.

Noticing that the glass in my hand was empty again, I asked the bartender for a refill.

The bartender patted me on the shoulder lightly and said, "Excuse me, ma'am. Our bar will be closing soon."

I looked up from my messy wine glass, only to realize that it was already late at night. I stood up from my seat and almost fell to the ground. The bartender helped me up and worriedly asked if I needed any help. Waving at her slightly, I stumbled towards my room.

"301, 302, 303, 304, found it!"

I took out my room card and was about to open the door and go in for a rest, but found that I couldn't open the door.

"Beep beep!" The electronic lock sent out the wrong signal for the fifth time. I was dizzy, leaning on the door, and began to slam the door angrily, "Damn it! Why does the door even torture me? My life is bad enough! Do I have to have to be even more unlucky..."

"Ah!"

Suddenly the door opened. When I was unprepared and instantly lost my balance and fell into the room, a man's strong arms caught me.

Through the clothes, I could feel the hot and tight muscles of his body. The man seemed to have just put on a bathrobe with the neckline wide open. I saw the tattoos on his six-pack abs, like the logo of some organization. I tried to look up, his face as stunning as his body.

As I was stunned, he lifted my chin with his hand and a nice, deep voice rang in my ear, "Where did this stray puppy come from?"