Chapter I

The day Ellean was born was a beautiful day. Snow lay on the ground. Yet, the sun shone as though giving its blessing on this child born on this bright and beautiful day.

The Black River Clan Pack celebrated with Alfred and Sonja Warren as their youngest child was born into the world.

But soon, the celebration came to an end when the pack Doctor Elisa Smith informed Alfred and Sonja that their baby daughter was deaf.

Sonja looked down at the baby, handing her back to Elisa.

"I don't want her; she's deformed. It was supposed to be perfect. I can't have a deformed youngling."

Elisa carefully holds the baby while trying to soothe Sonja. "She's only deaf. She will have a normal life if you take care of her."

Alfred rubs his large hand over Sonja's head as she wails, "We will take her home. she can stay in the backroom. Don't worry, darling; we'll figure something out."

Sonja sniffs softly, dabbing at the tears in her eyes. "Yes, darling, I will listen to you."

Alfred nodded. He was the Beta and needed to show his good side to the rest of the clan. Of course, Alfred didn't want a child with a handicap, but what could Alfred do but take this home and figure something out. His eyes hardened; no one had ever had a handicap in their family as far as he knew. And the Warren family could trace their genes back to the Royal Family Clan.

Picking Sonja up in his arms, Alfred nodded to Elisa. "Just put the baby in the baby carrier, and we'll head home."

Alfred and Sonja soon reached home; their other two children waited eagerly to see the baby. But soon, their eagerness turned to unhappiness when Alfred told Jenny and Cody that their baby sister was deaf.

"How will we play with her if she's deaf?" Jenny looked down at the baby that was sleeping in the baby seat.

Alfred shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about that right now. She probably won't be able to play anyway."

"What are we naming her?" Cody shoved Jenny out of the way to take a peek at the baby. He had always wanted a baby to play with, but now that dream went away. How could a deaf baby understand anything?

"Your mom and I decided to name her Ellean."

Jenny and Cody nodded. They didn't care what she was named as long as she didn't take attention away from themselves.

The Warren family soon settled in with the new baby. Ellean was a good baby, hardly ever crying. Instead, she would lay for hours in her baby seat, looking around with her big grey eyes. Ellean had learned that it didn't help to cry because no one came to pick her up. So the family left her alone, forgetting about her unless Ellean screamed from being hungry. Only then would they half-heartedly give her a bottle to drink.

Alfred and Sonja thought it best if everyone just forgot about their youngest daughter. Ellean wouldn't grow up to marry anyway, so why not raise her to be a servant instead of a little princess. And so that is how Ellean was raised, as a servant, with no love or affection. Yet, she never lost her wonder and innocence.

By the time she was four, they had moved her to the packhouse giving her odd cleaning jobs, letting her sleep in a small room that was barely big enough for her to lay down. She learned quickly to stay out of the pack's way; with her being deaf, there was no way she could hear them come towards her.

Ellean often got kicked or slapped around. Her ears would sting a lot from the cuffs she received from other wolves. But no one ever stopped to think what they were putting Ellean through was wrong. Instead, simply because she was different, the pack abused her.

By the time Ellean was old enough to go to school, everyone had conveniently forgotten about her. The Black River Clan pack had put her to the back of their minds. She wasn't worth mentioning to other clans. So thus begin Ellean's slave life of abuse and wounds.